Repost: Why I Chose the Band

And PS - not that my post wasn't long enough but I need to add one more thing:

I used to post the exact same things you did when I first came on here 5 years ago.  EXACTLY the same.

Amazing what time and perspective can possibly do to a gal. 

:)

 WLS is not one size fits all. Just because it's right for you, doesn't make it right for all. 


Um  . . .hello?  I SAID THAT! " Based on MY needs, the band was the right choice. Based on YOUR needs and hopes, perhaps not. But it was right for ME. And it worked beyond my wildest expectations."

Ya see that part where I say it worked for ME? And may not be right for anyone else?

Just sayin that perhaps you need to read what I said before you attempt to call me on it. 

People can have a band, not have a band, have a VSG or and RNY or a DS. I don't care. They can have their stomachs removed and their bowels unplucked and their ******g lips sewn together if it will help them lose weight and live healthier lives. It's not my decision to make for anyone else. I was asked once again (one of HUNDREDS of times in 8 years) why *I* (there's that pronoun again - I!) chose the band, not why ANYONE ELSE should or should not, for that matter.

Second, WE are not the ones who insist that our chosen procedure is right for everyone, and we're sick of being called stupid, uneducated, etc. because of our choice. NO surgery is right for everyone, but some people on OH want to believe that THEY are the all-knowing ones who shall dictate what procedure is the "right" one for all.

Um defensive much?  I wasn't "calling you" on that.  The "you" was universal, not specific to you personally.  Wow.....

My dear, the rest of us are simply saying why we, WE, chose the band and found it wasn't the best choice in hindsight because of what we have LEARNED.

Forgive me, I don't recall calling you stupid.  As a matter of fact, I'm positive I did not.  As for uneducated, you were.   We ALL were because the data that is available NOW is different from the data available THEN.  For example, while I'm fascinated with the thought of writing a book, I don't know the first thing about it.  I am UNEDUCATED ON THE TOPIC .  That does not mean I'm STUPID.  When I get a chance to learn about it, maybe I still want to pursue it, maybe I don't.  But for surgery, I sure as hell want to know the pros and cons before I get cut open.  Perhaps if people would recognize that difference between stupid and uneducated there would be less vitriol on this board.

EVERYONE is the "all-knowing" one who has to decide which procedure is right for them personally.  Would you rather not have all the details?  If you went to reach for a pot on the stove, and I knew it was hot, wouldn't want that information?  You can still reach for it, maybe you have a pot-holder in your hand.  But I think it's my obligation to tell you it's hot ANYWAY. 

I don't disagree with you - there are some major a-holes on here.  But I find that when I try to provide a dissenting opinion I get jumped on, just like now.  Doesn't mean I'll stop.  EVERYONE deserves to know both sides of every surgery. 

First, do not condescend by calling me "my dear."

Defensive? Maybe. But your response went directly to my original post, not to someone else's, so you'll have to forgive me for not catching that "universal" you.

Second, the tone of your original post was as if you thought I was advocating the band as the perfect weight loss solution for everyone, which is not the case at all, as I just pointed out. People ask why *I* had the band, and I told them. Readers were left to decide whether it's right for them or not.

Once again, I repeat: people can have a band, a sleeve, a bypass, a DS, whatever. I don't give a crap. It's THEIR life, THEIR health and THEIR future, not mine, and I would hope that EVERY person who opts to have someone cut into their body investigate EVERY single aspect of that procedure very, very carefully before they do.

Third, I don't believe any of us who carefully considered the information and details available at the time were either uneducated or stupid. We based our decision on the information that was available at the time. Remember: at one time, everyone thought the world was flat, believed that the sun orbited the earth, because that is all we knew of the world. You can't be "uneducated" about information that did not exist. What I knew of the band in 2003 was the information that was available on it at the time. It's entirely possible and quite probable that 8 or 10 years from now, bypass, sleeve and DS will be considered barbaric solutions for obesity. Things change.

Yes, obviously statistics on the band have changed. I would, again, hope that anyone who wants WLS would be a responsible enough consumer to investigate every procedure and every surgeon very, very carefully before making a decision. Anyone who makes a decision to have what is still a major surgical procedure based on a billboard needs to reevaluate their decision-making processes. The surgeons who present those ads, who tout WLS as being as simple as getting your car washed need to have their own values reevaluated.

Had the current statistics on the band, regarding slips, replacements, erosions, etc. been available in 2003, I may not have chosen the band. I don't believe that any of us were lied to or lied to by omission when we investigated WLS 8 or 10 years ago.

However, were I to make a decision TODAY, based on TODAY'S WLS stats, I probably wouldn't opt for ANY of the 4 procedures, because the band is still physiologically the only one acceptable to me.

Finally - I have never once said that there should not be dissenting opinions on this board. In FACT, I have said more than once that I welcome the people who have, unfortunately, had problems with the band purely BECAUSE people need to hear both sides (or, rather, all sides) of the band. 

Ugh, I feel like I'm talking in circles.

People WERE uneducated that the world was round and not flat.  They were not stupid for thinking so, but they were UNEDUCATED.  Unfortunately, there was information out there when you and I were banded but it was discounted because the studies were small.  It makes sense now because there were fewer banded patients.  Fewer patients = fewer experiences.  Ergo, studies were discounted as "outliers".  We know now the "outliers" may or may not be the great exception they were thought to be. 

For example, baby aspirin has caused Reye's Syndrome for years.  There has been a causal link for some time, but it is only when a LARGE sample was collected that the recommendations for children's pain relief were changed.  Why?  Because the public and the pediatricians were uneducated that the risk was as large as it is.  When they became educated, the mindset changed. 

You're 100% right, there will be advances in Obesity that WILL make ALL of the surgeries look "barbaric", including the band which I noticed you left out of your sentence.  Having something inserted in your body that could potentially erode through your stomach could be considered barbaric by some.  Just saying.....

Definitions from the dictionary:

Uneducated - lacking education
Education - Obtaining information about or training in a particular field or subject

You seem to be putting emotionality in that word and connecting it constantly with "stupid" which are too VERY different things.  Why is that word offensive to you?