Pre-Op Choice of Surgical Procedure Made: Gastric Bypass OR an Interesting and Unconventional Way of Thinking About The Decision-Making Process

[Gabriel29 1]

Ever taken or ever been administered the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, a standardized psychometric test of adult personality and psychopathology? You probably have many times before, but you just didn't know it. Psychologists and other mental health professionals use various versions of the MMPI to help develop treatment plans; assist with differential diagnosis; help answer legal questions (forensic psychology); screen job candidates during the personnel selection process; or as part of a therapeutic assessment procedure. Often, these tests are administered by companies selecting from a vast pool of prospective applicants for an open position. However, I have been told before that seldom my thinking may be unconventional and I might sometimes take a novel approach to viewing my world. Therefore, even though my operation is not until late next month, March 2017, I have an explanation that I came up with of why I chose the Bypass over the Sleeve. I told my psychologist this, and he thought it was brilliant thinking.

Ever seen the classic Stanley Kubrick film, A Clockwork Orange? In the movie we follow the main character Alex Delarge. "Alex is the narrator, protagonist, and antihero. He is portrayed as a sociopath who robs, rapes, and assaults innocent people for his own amusement. Intellectually, he KNOWS that this sort of behavior is wrong, saying that "you can't have a society with everybody behaving in my manner of the night." He nevertheless professes to be puzzled by the motivations of those who wish to reform him and others like him, saying that he would never interfere with their desire to be good; he simply "goes to the other shop." In an analogy or parallel to this, I fit the character of Alex Delarge, not as a sociopath, but simply as a Morbidly Obese Person. I know that chronic obesity can lead to major issues such as Type 2 Diabetes or High Blood Pressure. Luckily at the age of 29, I have been blessed by many years of good genes based on the fact that my only issues right now are sleep Apnea, ADHD, and Major Depressive Disorder (in full remission). Anyways like I said, I am acutely aware that my current eating behavior/habit is wrong and can eventually lead me to trouble. Therefore, in the past, I have been recommended that I consider undergoing Bariatric Surgery if I can't control this behavior/weight myself.

Next, later in the film A Clockwork Orange, "Two years into a prison sentence, Alex eagerly takes up an offer to be a test subject for the Minister of the Interior's Minister of the Interior's new Ludovico technique, an experimental aversion therapy for rehabilitating criminals within two weeks. Alex is strapped to a chair, injected with drugs, and forced to watch films of sex and violence with his eyes propped open. Alex becomes nauseated by the films and then recognizes the films are set to the music of his favorite composer, Ludwig Van Beethoven. Fearing the technique will make him sick upon hearing Beethoven, Alex begs for the end of the treatment. Two weeks later, the Minister demonstrates Alex's rehabilitation to a gathering of officials. Alex is unable to fight back against an actor that taunts and attacks him and becomes ill at the sight of a topless woman. The prison chaplain complains Alex has been robbed of his free will, but the Minister asserts that the Ludovico technique will cut down crime and alleviate crowding in the prisons." One of the reasons why the Gastric Bypass procedure is so effective is because of its special caveat, the Dumping Syndrome. A form of operant conditioning, the Dumping Syndrome focuses on reinforcement or punishment to weaken voluntary behaviors, like eating the wrong foods. Therefore, one is in a sense losing an amount of free will with Gastric Bypass. In the Adjustable Gastric Band or the Sleeve procedure, you do not get this extra feature, and I feel that the reason why the Gastric Bypass procedure is so superior is that it will not only make my appetite smaller, but it will also control my eating behavior. This is something I need. I think that the reason for Bariatric Surgery is a last resort to change unhealthy eating habits.

The last point I am going to make about the Gastric Bypass is very controversial unconventional thinking, but I feel that it is something that is very necessary to consider. What is a contingency plan? A contingency plan is defined as devised for an outcome other than in the usual (expected) plan. It is often used for risk management when an exceptional risk that, though unlikely, would have catastrophic consequences. It is also an often-discussed topic in the world of non-profit management. Fast forward to the end of A Clockwork Orange, “Alex wakes up in a hospital with broken bones. While being given a series of psychological tests, Alex finds that he no longer has an aversion to violence or sex. The Minister arrives and apologizes to Alex. He offers to take care of Alex and get him a job in return for his cooperation with his election campaign and public relations counter-offensive. As a sign of goodwill, the Minister brings in a stereo system playing Beethoven's Ninth. Alex then contemplates violence and has vivid thoughts of himself having sex with a woman in front of an approving crowd, thinking: "I was cured, all right!"” In regards to the term contingency plan and with the finale of A Clock Orange, the point I am trying to make is that God forbid there is some sort of major complication with the Gastric Bypass procedure, there is a contingency plan for it. Doctors don’t like to mention this, but it is not completely permanent. It CAN be reversed. Even though it is impossible to mend several nerves that help with normal gastric function, the procedure itself can be reversed and can restore 95% of what the patient had before the surgery, to begin with. However, the Gastric Sleeve cannot be reversed. The sleeve can be revised to the Bypass, also known as a Duodenal Switch, but you cannot get your original anatomy back. I know it is then silly to compare that situation with Alex in A Clockwork Orange. However, I have read many forums where the reversal procedure has saved many people’s lives for those who couldn’t tolerate the Bypass.

Anyways, this is what I told my psychologist, and he thought it was an incredible way of looking at an important decision. Please share with me what you think?

Thanks,

Gabriel