Would you do it again? Everyone please answer

Speaking of Avatars, do you have red eye or are you just so full of crap?

Stoned.

Ummm...WHO exactly are you suggesting "****s themselves," Bette? Surely NOT DSers--because as you probably know because you are so learned--we do NOT **** ourselves. Given the amount of crap spewing out of your mouth right now, it is hard to believe you do not crap YOUR pants daily.

To the OP and any newbies reading this:

If you are considering weight loss surgery, do yourself a favor and find out about ALL of your weight loss choices: DS, RNY, VSG and the bands.

Look at the long-term stats of each one. Ask yourself how long you would like to keep the weight off (purely restrictive surgeries have not been successful in the long-term, 7-10 years--see the ASMBS link below). Ask yourself if you have been good at dieting before. If you have been, then "weight loss surgery" probably wouldn't be in your lexicon right now. Think about who you are and what you can live with.

Me? I never wanted to be on a restrictive diet again (I sucked at dieting and would "cheat" and regain my weight again and again because restrictive diets don't work in the long run for MOST people) AND I wanted the best long-term odds of success. I chose the DS. It's been 18 months and 200 pounds later and I love life. I want others to know you have options beyond the RNY and bands.

See page 10 of this guideline document of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. It lays out the stats nicely. The members of this group do ALL of the WLS, so there is no bias.

http://www.aace.com/pub/pdf/guidelines/Bariatric.pdf

As you can see, the DS has a excess weight loss rate, 7-10 years post-op, of 60-80% and the RNY has a 25-68% rate and the band has 14-60%. That means if you only had 100 pounds to lose, the DS would keep 60-80 pounds of that off and the RNY would keep 25-68 pounds of that off, and the band would be 14-60 pounds on average, seven to ten years out. I like the odds of the DS!!

If you want to buy into the hype of the band shills that the bands are "easily reversible," then please go visit the revisions forum here on OH and ask THOSE people how easy it has been for them to get that sucker taken out when there is a problem. Surgery is surgery. Nothing is easy and "easily reversible."

Don't get me wrong. NOT everyone should get the DS. You have to be willing to take care of yourself. Take vitamins, eat protein and get regular labs drawn. However, if you can't do these simple things, you are probably not equipped to get ANY type of weight loss surgery, anyway. 

Best of luck to all of you, no matter what surgery you choose to have.

Nicolle

Seriously? That's what lap-banders are reduced to? You guys have bullied everyone who ever had a problem with the band into thinking it's their own fault, and now you claim that people who got another WLS **** themselves???

I think you cut a little bit too close with that razor.

There are a few banded folks who do have the attitude that if the band fails it's the person's fault and not the band but those people are not the majority.

With that said, you have to admit there are some DSers who harass, annoy, follow around, insult, and slam dunk anyone for having made the choice to have a band.  They have come here and invaded the boards (and I'm not referring to a post here or there but invasion), scared the **** out of newbies, made fun of people and all because they don't want DS.

DSers have a horrible track record here and it is one they earned well.  You just don't approach someone that had surgery a week ago and laugh at them about their laff band or choke chain and tease them like a school yard bully telling them they will fail.  It's just plain wrong.

Why not do as others do and when someone asks about the surgery type you have or had, answer the question and leave it at that?

I'm not saying YOU have done these things but many others have.  It leaves a bad taste in the mouths of the regs here.  They start getting defensive with any DSer and you can't blame them.

I'm not a fan of the band, not by a long shot.  But I will go up against DSers and defend banded folks any 'ol when they start pulling their crap over here.  People have a right to get the surgery type that they want, period.

In other words, lap banders might have chosen the wrong surgery, but by God they're just better people?

And because of the fact that they are better people, it's OK to lie and say that if you get another WLS, you will **** yourself?

This is a pretty vicious cycle--lie to people to trick them into getting a lap band, and then lie to them and tell them it's their fault that the lap band didn't work.

No thanks.

Honey, you DSers lie about the band ALL THE DAMNED TIME, so pot, stop calling the kettle BLACK, okay???

WTH?  What post are you responding to?  Certainly nothing I wrote.

When you want to address what I wrote please feel free.

Tempers flare and people take it personally when facts & data are posted about a choice they made.  I've never quite understood that --- I'm not defined by the surgery I had.  I researched, and made the choice based upon what best suited me.  I assume others did the same, and that any of us that is further along on this journey would want each person seeking information about WLS to have ALL of the facts at their disposal to make an informed decision.

That is exactly how this thread was going.... personal experience was asked for and given --- until Bette made the choice to take it elsewhere.

So, with THAT said, I believe YOU will have to admit that some LapBanders lie and spread misinformation.  I can't be bothered to take a stab at her motive, because I could actually give a rats ass what her issues are --- but you can be assured that I will come in cleaning up after her lies, as will a number of DSers.  You may find that to be harassing, annoying, stalking, insulting, etc.... but, it is absolutely none of those things.

Some of these threads do get pretty entertaining when the gloves come off, but I have yet to see anyone get made fun of because they didn't a DS.  They get called out for defending their choice with inaccurate information --- and as you know, having been involved in many of these surgery wars yourself, that is seldom for the benefit of the person who has already had their WLS, it is simply to correct their misinformation for others who may be reading.

I DID acknowledge that some banded folks blame the person instead of the band.  I could not have been more clear about this.

You need to merely look at old posts to find DSers that are making fun of banded people.  They DO and you know it or you are hiding under a rock.

People have the right to make the right surgery choice for them whether you like it or not.