Have you ever wondered what else bariatric surgery can do for your health beyond just weight loss? If you're on a weight loss journey, or even just considering it, this episode will help you see how metabolic surgery can transform your overall wellness, not just the number on the scale.

Dr. Saurabh, a board-certified bariatric surgeon and obesity medicine specialist, joins us to talk about the true power of bariatric surgery—including its ability to reverse or improve conditions like type 2 diabetes, GERD, sleep apnea, and high blood pressure. He also shares how hormonal changes after surgery play a key role in resetting the body’s metabolic function and offers advice on what to look for in post-op care.

Tune in, and don’t forget to join the BariNation Community to attend community meetups, watch exclusive bonus content and support the podcast for as little as $5 per month!  You can also contribute to BariNation and become a Drive To Thrive Supporter with a one-time or recurring donation.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• (00:00) Opening
• (01:45) Dr. Saurabh is a board-certified bariatric surgery and obesity medicine specialist 
• (02:26) Being certified in obesity medicine allows a doctor to offer both surgery and medications
• (06:23) Benefits of surgery beyond weight loss, including type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, and GERD
• (08:43) Reversing type 2 diabetes through hormonal changes
• (10:31) Many health concerns improve even before significant weight loss 
• (14:15) Short-form education on Instagram delivers key messages about holistic bariatric care

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Metabolic and bariatric surgery offer far more than weight loss—they can lead to remission or improvement of serious health conditions like type 2 diabetes, GERD, sleep apnea, and high blood pressure, helping patients reclaim their health and extend their quality of life.
• Choosing a provider who is certified in obesity medicine ensures a more comprehensive, holistic bariatric care approach that addresses the root causes of obesity and supports long-term success through personalized treatment plans.
• The bariatric community at BariNation provides ongoing education, expert insight, and support after surgery, empowering patients with tools to celebrate non-scale victories and live a full, vibrant life post-op.
• Dr. Saurabh is the latest Bariatric Surgeon and Obesity Medicine Specialist to join BariNation as an expert.  You’ll see him on future podcast episodes, in the BariNation Membership Community leading groups, and getting onboard with us on the Struggle Bus some Tuesdays at 7p eastern/4p pacific answering all your metabolic wellness questions.  

RESOURCES:

•  BariNation Website

Tune in, and don’t forget to join the BariNation Community to attend community meetups, watch exclusive bonus content and support the podcast for as little as $5 per month! You can also contribute to BariNation and become a Drive To Thrive Supporter with a one-time or recurring donation.

• BariNation - Email
• BariNation’s How to Find an Obesity Specialist Guide
• Shireesh Saurabh, MD | Seattle, WA
• Dr. Saurabh Partners with BariNation
• Dr. Saurabh - Instagram

GUEST BIOGRAPHIES:

Dr. Shireesh Saurabh

Dr Saurabh is a board-certified general surgeon, and a fellowship trained bariatric surgeon. He received his medical degree from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (A.I.I.M.S). He completed his General Surgery residency from the Drexel University College of Medicine and Bariatric Surgery fellowship from University of Iowa. He specializes in advanced laparoscopic, robotic, and endoscopic surgical techniques in general and bariatric surgery. He is involved in research related to bariatric surgery and has presented his results at various national conferences. He is part of several local and national committees related to American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). He is also board certified in Obesity Medicine. Dr. Saurabh practices at Swedish Weight Loss Service at the First Hill and Issaquah locations, both in Washington State. 

Melanie Lindell

Melanie Lindell, LMHC, serves as BariNation’s CHRO and is a licensed counselor with over a decade of experience in trauma and abuse. A bariatric patient herself, Melanie had Roux-en-Y surgery in 2019 and faced a complex recovery that included complications, additional surgeries, and time on a feeding tube. Her passion is helping others heal and thrive, and she considers it a privilege to walk alongside fellow bariatric patients as a support group leader.

ABOUT:

If the BariNation podcast helps power your bariatric journey, become a monthly podcast supporter and help us produce the show! Visit www.barinationpodcast.com and help us support people treating the disease of obesity with humor, humility, and honesty.

Jason Smith: [00:00:00] Hi. Welcome to Nation, where we support the bariatric community with humor, humility, and honesty.

Natalie Tierney: Our goal is you leave us today feeling hopeful, inspired, and ready to live your best bariatric life.

We think it's really important that people know weight is kind of secondary to the other [00:01:00] things that are going on internally, and people might not realize all of the benefits that surgery can provide for them beyond. Wait, and we know this is a passion area of yours, so we're really excited to to hear about those benefits from you, the expert ourself, [00:01:15] and the other person joining in on this conversation is the amazing Melanie Lindell.

So

April Williams: [00:02:15] You said something really interesting and I'd like to clarify. So not only are you a board certified bariatric surgeon, but you're also certified in obesity medicine. What does that mean, and why is that important?

So I can basically do surgeries as well as, um, prescribe medications for, um, weight loss.

Now that I know what I know when I am meeting with people for my own personal care. I ask them if they have the certification in obesity medicine, because what that tells me is they understand this from [00:03:30] a disease lens, and it is a very holistic approach to all of the facets of your life that obesity can impact.

Dr. Shireesh Saurabh: So it's something to look for. Yeah. No, I, I think it's, it's important to [00:04:00] know all the aspects about obesity.

April Williams: Yep.

Melanie, what has your care been like really working with an obesity medicine specialist?

But when I met my surgeon, you know, he said, you're a patient for life. And so they have the holistic [00:04:45] approach, they have the ongoing, you know, annual checkups. My six years, you know, coming up this next month. And you know, I'm getting ready for my giant blood panel. But even when I had to get a new primary care, I asked my new primary care, specifically, what's [00:05:00] you're experiencing working with atric patients, right?

And just this extra layer. But my person, my new primary care, what she said to me was, I feel comfortable taking care of you. It's not my primary specialty, but I worked [00:05:30] within those patients to feel confident to walk with you. And that gave me enough to sort of start the road of trust. And then, you know, if life lifes and things happen, you might need to like maybe find someone that is, you know, more special.

April Williams: Well, and part of the reason that [00:06:00] many of us go into atric surgery is that initial thing that we're looking for is weight loss because we think what we're battling is our weight.

Dr. Shireesh Saurabh: people call atric surgery as weight loss surgery, which is fine because you know, you do lose weight.

There's also a risk [00:07:00] reduction for cancer. The mental health improves, quality of life improves, and then there are a lot of non-scale victories you could have after atric surgery. You know, I've had patients tell me about how they can, uh, sit in a booth in a restaurant, or when they go on a, [00:07:15] uh, on a plane ride, they don't need to extend their seat belts.

April Williams: Uh, we would agree with you and if you're watching this episode, you're seeing Melanie and I we're like, bobbleheads.

We're working really hard to change the words that we say to [00:08:00] ourselves. 'cause when I went in for surgery, and I think Melanie, you too. I called it weight loss surgery, but now I know. No, my surgery was about my sleep apnea. It was about my elevated cholesterol. It was about my elevated A1C. Those were the things that I was really [00:08:15] after care and treatment for.

Along with the disease of obesity,

So, uh, with insulin resistance, what happens is your body, your pancreas goes, starts working extra hard to produce more, uh, insulin, and then eventually your. Pancreas stops working and you get diabetes and then [00:09:15] you get in, you are put on medications for diabetes and some of these are, you know, some something which can increase the weight, like insulin or mm-hmm.

Your body starts producing, uh, this hormone GLP one, which is what, um, these medications are also on. So your body starts producing ozempic in manjaro for you after atric surgery. And, and these hormones, they, they act [00:10:00] on the pancreas and increases the insulin secretion. And also improves, uh, insulin, uh, resistance.

April Williams: Melanie, did you experience some other, you know, these like cures if you will, or, or treatment options once you [00:10:30] underwent MBS?

Lower esophageal sphincter muscle, I think is the actual name for it. Um, had erod it and so I was choking on everything, like everything would come back up. And so he initially sent me over to someone that, you know, was looking at, um, [00:11:00] the fund application and that guy said, you know, first of all, you'd have to lose, I can't remember what it was called, 70 pounds.

It just, and so what he said, he goes, but there is a procedure that you could have done that would immediately correct that. And I, so [00:11:30] I was only ever a candidate for gastric bypass. One because of my gerd, and two, because of this, um, muscle. And so, and he said, and then you would also have the benefits of what it would do.

So there was this nice [00:12:00] little window that I was on my way to all of these things, you know, needing, you know, intervention and this one. Procedure addressed multiple things. And one of them was immediate, like that rerouting I, I no longer was choking on, you [00:12:15] know, and he said that would be day one, that one would be gone for good.

Yeah.

Dr. Shireesh Saurabh: Yeah. That's amazing. Yeah. That's, that's really good.

Ra, who's on our screen with us today to help you treat it. So now is the time. And if you have already undergone surgery, but you're feeling [00:13:15] disconnected from your surgical center, right, or you're having other issues, it's time to reach back out and find that provider that is a perfect fit for you. So three things that I recommend that you do in this show notes, you're gonna see a link to Dr.

If you're a patient of his, you're gonna get. Membership at a discounted rate, which not everybody gets. And an ability to continue to learn from him and and other experts. And once you start following you on Instagram, [00:14:00] once you listen or watch this episode, you're gonna wanna keep learning from him because he is not only amazing, but he's fun and you just have a really great way of delivering this big education in very.

Bite-sized, digestible trunk. So we very much appreciate that about what you do.

Attention span is also small, so that's why, uh, I, I try to keep it like one, one message at a time, one educational thing at a time, um, uh, so that people can keep that, grasp it and keep it to themselves rather than, you know, giving a one hour lecture [00:14:45] about atric surgery. Um, I mean, no one can follow through that.

I, I would not do it myself.

Bye friends. Bye-bye. Bye.

Natalie Tierney: Join [00:15:30] us at barination.mn.co. If you found this podcast valuable, help us produce it by becoming a $5 monthly supporter@Barinationpodcast.com.