Repost: Don't leave Sarah

I wrote this as a response to Sarah R.'s early post.  I wanted to repost it for anyone considering leaving this forum because of the negetive posts about the band that may not have read Sarah's original post.  IF you are frustrated by the negativity, scared off by the nay sayers, stressed about your decision to have Band surgery, this is for you too.

Peace,
Lisa O.


Post Date: 4/5/11 10:03 am
I totally understand how you feel Sarah, but please reconsider.  The power of your personal experience, the good bad and ugly included, is an important message to newbies and others that are following in your path.  The gastric band is not going away, it was just approved by the FDA for BMI's of 30 so now, more than ever, it's important that all sides of the story of living with a band is shared.

I think that the band bashers get to us because down deep inside, we all worry that we could someday lose this tool that has helped us like no other.  It is scary, but so is surgery, dealing with the emotional issues behind compulsive over eating, addiction, malabsorbtion, etc.  We knew going into this that there are risks.  At some time, before our surgeries, we had to make the decision of which surgery would work best for us based on our limited knowledge no matter how much research we did.  Often, it ultimately comes down to what the insurance companies will cover and which is the least expensive proceedure if we are self-pay.  It's a crap shoot at best!

But, what if all of us with positive experiences, even those that end up with issues, didn't come here to share our stories?  What if we let the band bashers scare us all away because their style or delivery offends us and makes us more fearful of what could happen to us?  Where would you and I be if we didn't have the benefit of the experiences of those that went before us?

THAT is why I keep coming here.  I ignore those that ruffle my sensibility feathers.  I block those that right out offend.  But I keep coming here to read the good and the bad because I learn something everyday.  I feel led to Pay Forward the many blessings I've received through the others that stick it out too.  Jean, Kate, Elena, KathKeb, etc., etc. don't need to come here anymore.  They could stick to the Grad board and ignore the hundreds of newbies that come to this site.  What if they weren't here to receive you and I when we were new and excited about the awesome opportunity we had to battle obesity?

Don't leave Sarah.  If you're like me, you get more than you give and leaving this forum will only hurt you in the long run and deprive so many that will benefit from your awesome success living with the band.

Best~
Lisa O.

Yea, what she said!  Please stay around!  We need ya!

Hugs,
Kristi

Thank You! I need you all too

Please don't leave.  I'll understand because it can be frustrating.  I took a break for about a month.  Now I'm back on and determined to just not read posts from certain names.  If they post on comments of any of mine... I'm just going to block them.

I think you are particularly important to this board because you have had some hard times with your band. But you are still here to show that even with problems, we can succeed.

Please stay. The more happy-bandsters leave, the more the board becomes skewed towards the negative.

Kate

Thank You!

I agree I have been helped a lot coming on here. 



                                                                                      We need all of you.

                                                                                               Connie

Thank You!

This my reply,  copied and pasted from Sarah's post "For your information"

Steph M. Jeffrey A. Hunter REALIZE Band (05/28/10) Member Since: 05/27/08 [Latest Posts]

Post Date: 4/5/11 11:30 am If you leave (or anyone else who is a great resource for those who need support, rational advice and just plain old empathy) the a**holes win!  Don't let them win by leaving...stand up to them and post accurate, first hand experiences that reflect a true lap-band experience.  There are some who have had bad experiences (NM and Hislady for instance) who can tell their stories without scaring people away for fear of being ridiculed, they are not who I am referring to.  I refuse to back down to those who attempt to BULLY those who don't agree with them into submission or those who when you feel like *hit 2 days post op, tell you that your band will fail eventually, when all you are looking for is advice on how to manage gas or sore incisions...it really is laughable when you know the whole story...but not when you are a newbie who feels afraid to post ANYTHING for fear of the vultures swooping in for the kill... How many of you have been pm'd by people who have been afraid to post publicly when having a problem for fear of being rediculed, bullied or called stupid for their choice of surgery?  I have about 5 or 6 who have done that and I'm sorry, but that is just not ok. Please stick around Sarah...we need more like you... Steph Goodbye 290, 280, 270, 260, 250, 240, 230....

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Thank You!