REQUEST: Forum for Positive Upbeat Posts

Please seek a second opinion from a different surgeon. I would not trust a surgeon who would put a lapband on someone who has a BMI of 55. We are not being "mean", we are being realistic when we tell you to do more research. We want you to be successful.

With your BMI, you should forego all the forums other than the DS forum.  There you will find people who will give as many unicorns and glitter you can handle for a surgery that has your name written all over it.

Do not, I repeat do not, go to the lap band forum.  All sorts of suffering and misery in there!

I consider myself a pretty positive poster. I do post when I have had a bad day. Weight loss surgery is not a magical cure. I have lost 143 pounds but I still deal with a daily struggle to make sure I stay on course.

Pretty much everyone here posts the good the bad and even the ugly. If we didn't hear the bad parts I think we would feel cheated in a way. Thinking life was just going to change. 

There are problems that happen in real life. It can be hard sometimes to. 

Being positive at all times is not real. I am happy I had surgery. I wouldn't want to go back. I can walk five miles with no problem. I also can get depressed and feel bad. I try to get my ass moving when that happens.

Why don't you start a group like that?  That way - you can make sure only positive messages and comments are there. I am sure OH would help you to set it up. 

Thank you all for your responses to my post.

It appears that a number of assumptions were made so I thought it would be helpful to provide some background.

? My decision to have gastric banding (lap band) surgery was made after careful consideration and with full knowledge of all bariatric surgery options and in consultation with my surgeon.
? My bariatric surgeon is located in the United States, in the Midwest, and has over 20 years surgical experience in all types of bariatric surgeries.
? My surgeon holds an officer position on an internationally recognized bariatric organization
? The surgical practice is a Center of Excellence with American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), Cigna, United Health Care and also received Blue Distinction through Blue Cross Blue Shield.
? Although lap band may not be as popular as the sleeve or gastric bypass, it is still a highly regarded surgery that is performed over a thousand times a year in the US according to my surgeon and other bariatric health care professionals. It is FDA approved.
? Lap band has the quickest recovery and the lowest risk level for complications of all bariatric
? My surgeon uses an X-ray fluoroscope during lap band fills to ensure that any issues are caught immediately (real time continuous full motion images provided during the fill) and does a post fill X-ray fluoroscope as the patient drinks a Barium Sulfate compound to review the flow rate, etc.
? I have undergone extensive medical testing as required by my insurance carrier that included a psychiatric evaluation as to my background and ability to be successful following bariatric surgery.
? I have gone through six months of medically supervised education classes that are led by a licensed nurse practitioner, a registered dietician, a bariatric surgery coordinator and more.
? I belong to an in person monthly support group that is led by a registered bariatric dietician. I've been a member of this group since January 2016.

The potential for complications exists with all of the bariatric surgical options. I know people who have been successful with lap band, the sleeve and gastric bypass. I also know people who have had complications with all of these surgeries--often due to not following the physician's instructions as to what to eat, when to progress from food stage to food stage, drinking alcohol, taking aspirin, not chewing food well, eating ice cream and chips.

My interest in a message board that only focuses on positive upbeat messages in that I would like to pop in and read posts that are focused on good news. This website offers a large number of forums where people can discuss all types of issues. I think it would be nice to have one where only positive upbeat posts are shared. For example, "I walked a mile today. Feeling great." "I'm down 1.8 pounds this week." "I received a great compliment..."

And yes, I smile when I talk. I have a lot of friend. I'm happily married. I love to laugh. I'm highly educated and work in professional position. I believe in God and angels. I love sunshine and looking at the stars. I haven't seen any unicorns, but I feel like a princess most days.

Good luck, you're going to need it.  We'll be here for you when you realize that your surgeon is a quack and you made the worst mistake of your life ...

No matter what surgery we have it doesn't change our heads. Sometimes a negative post may help someone out there. We are joined by common thread of obesity.

Reading something negative can help us. It may make someone feel not alone in life after WLS. It maybe something funny that  had happened to them. Or it can be something so sad. When someone understands where we are coming from it does make life much easier. 

I am three years out in 15 days. My life is easier physically but emotionally not always. We come here with a lot of baggage. Some we have know idea that it is there. We medicated ourselves with food for a very long time. Looking in the mirror can be hard sometimes.

This is a good forum. There are a lot of people who want to help each other. No one wants anyone to fail. People being successful with WLS helps all of us. It sucks to tell someone you had the surgery and they roll their eyes. Then proceed to tell you about the weights loss failures. Here we can vent when something like that happens. We can understand it also. Someone who has never had a weight problem does not understand what we went through.

Good things I hear them everyday. Life is not always easy. It is not always horrible. 

I didn't make a single assumption about you, nor did I judge you. I will tell you that I know one person in real life more than five years out who has not only not had complications from her band but also kept her weight off. One. I know more who have had intractable GERD , esophageal errosion, regain, and a host of other issuues.

I had a 54 BMI, and WLS was the last house on the street for me. I wanted to maximize my chances. I did not consider the band; I knew I would not lose enough weight. I also did not want to run the risk of multiple long-term complications associated with the band. Then too I did not want to screw around with fills, etc.

The band is a prime example of planned obsolescence.

No one was mean, rude, or impugned your dignity or character. The fact is that people very much need to hear the good, bad, ugly, and absurd of WLS. Most surgeons won't tell you some of the nitty gritty because they don't know it. My surgeon was a smart, studious man who did an excellent job. He's not a WLS patient. He couldn't share with me the joys of constipation, for example.

I had the band done in 2003. That's 13 years ago. I've watched the band damage SO many people, including myself. I had mine removed after 2 years because it nearly killed me. I still have the side effects from the damage it caused to this day! It's a really, really, really bad device. It's not a matter of, "Just because it happened to you doesn't mean it will happen to me." The band is bad. It just is. And you're doing yourself a HUGE disservice, seriously. I wish I could make you understand how awful it is. And then when the band damages your body and you want it out, you have to fight to get that thing out. If you want to revise, chances are you'll be out of luck. So, even if you've lost weight, you'll end up gaining it back...we all do. Then you're back to Square One. It stinks.

Really and truly, most bariatric surgeons are steering their patients away from banding because of the reasons I've listed. It makes me SO sad to see yet another person waste their chance at becoming healthier. Getting a band is just a big mistake. I can't even be diplomatic about it anymore because it makes me so angry. A center of excellence doesn't really mean a thing. I had fluoroscopies done, too, and it didn't show the damage being done to my diaphragm. It didn't show how the band was damaging my Vagus nerves. If you haven't researched referred left shoulder pain with the Lap Band, make sure you do. You should probably prepare yourself for that inevitability. It's not fun at all. Feels like being stabbed repeatedly. Oh, and painkillers don't do anything for it since it's the nerves that are irritated. It's super common due to the fact that the band comes into contact with the diaphragm and the Vagus nerves that run through it. 

I also used a Center of Excellence -- the Cleveland Clinic -- and they highly discourage the LapBand surgery.

I had a BMI of 57 -- very close to you -- Please consider reading the LapBand forum http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/lapband/ -- to learn more about the surgery you are considering.

Good luck.