Has anyone ever said this to you?

Good Snowy Wednesday! Since my surgery, I have had two people come up to me and tell me they wanted to know eery detail about surgery because "I might just have to do that". Now, I wouldnt mind if the people were canidates.... and I would then be happy to inform them of what I have gone through. BUT they are each about 30-40 pounds over weight and healthy. (makes me ill) I gracefully informed them that you have to be 100+ pounds over weight and have to have co-morbs to go with it.. you cant just go in and have this extreme surgery because you dont want to diet anymore. In a way I was offended.. I asked one of them if they thought I did this because it was the "easy way out" because it is just the opposite... and of course she said no... Just wondering if any of you have run into this type of comment?

I do get this quite a bit. There are many people who have been banded that are "only" fifty pounds overweight. Most of these people are self pay or have a very generous health care plan. I know of at least 10 people personally that were way under 100 lbs at the time of their banding. It can be frustrating for me as well but I realize that everyone has their own breaking point to realize that surgery is their best option. For it was being 150+ lbs overweight while for some it might only be fifty pounds. I think part of my frustration comes from wishing I had my surgery when I didn't have quite so much to lose but my journey is what it was and I have to accept that. I do get frustrated when I meet people that view this as an easy fix though. I make sure I relate to them how much I exercise and that I still have to make wise food choices. The only way that it is easier for me is that I am never hungry so I am not as tempted to eat. But I could just as easily pile the weight right back on from making poor food selections. So yes, grrrrrrr.....some people do have a way of being annoying when it comes to the surgery Eileen

I thought you were a bandster when I wrote the above post. I think the brightness of the snow has blinded me a bit and making it difficult to read posts. Yeah, that is what it was Eileen

Becky I have not had the exact same experience..but I have definitely educated lots of my coworkers on this surgery. Their only experiecne was a former worker here who ate everything under the sun after her surgery and not much success..a yr later she was having a revision. When they saw how I have been eating post op..and know about my exercise routine..I have had people comment how differently they feel about this surgery now. There are two girls..who have seen my weight loss...after surgery and are looking into LAP banding. My sister was my biggest critic going into this..and is now one of my major supporters now that she has seen me in action! I know its not up to us to educate others about this surgery..but the word needs to get passed on that this is NOT the easy way out! Hugs Joanie

Honestly, weighing in the 230's now, I would not have this surgery again. I think at this weight, it's something I can do on my own. I am very grateful for the surgery and the HUGE burden (120+lbs) it has taken from me. Someone needs to walk in our shoes for a while to see just how "easy way out" it is (isn't!). I feel like I'm being punished for being fat. Not only can I NOT eat the things I used to love, and I LOVE eating, but I HAVE TO DIET and EXERCISE!! How is that easy? Yes, getting 100 lbs off was easy. I followed the instructions to a T, and got some results.. but by no means was this the easy way out. Now, part of me, the positive part of me knows the 100's of positive things about this surgery. I always keep that in mind when I think about how hard I'm going to have to work to get the rest of this weight off and how I would have never of been able to do that w/o surgery. I also keep in mind that I have to change the things about me that made me take such desperate measures in the first place. So, yes, it does happen to me.. people make smart @ss comments all the time, when they only have 50 lbs. to lose like it's their miracle cure. Last I checked, I'm NOT 130 lbs.. now THAT would be a miracle! Take care and keep up the good work! Michelle