Almost 56 years old and yes I am real - Thanks Naomi for reposting from last week

Sadly, I do remember when this board was much more fun and informative.  I have had my issues with the band, and am revising to the sleeve, but I know it has worked for a good amount of people. 

I stick around to offer support to those that are having slip related problems, as I remember how terrified I was when it happened to me. 

I have tried to stay out of the surgery wars.  I know that there have been things said on both sides that are regrettable.  We are all passionate about our choices and maybe sometimes get too defensive when we feel we are being challenged. 

The band literally changed my life.  It helped me to shed almost 100 lbs before my slip, and with the weightloss, I was forced to deal with a lot of bad things in my life.  I have dealt with most of it, and have become a much stronger and better person for it. 

I wish you nothing but luck and continued success with your band!!

Melly, I am so excited to hear that you are able to revise to the sleeve, although very sorry to hear that you need to have a revision.  One thing I have learned over the years is that sometimes the lapband fails the person even when we do everything right.  I wish you great and continued success with the sleeve.

I understand the passion on both sides. I truly do. It took me about a year before I even wanted to read "lapband failure" stories. I thought (wrongly) at the time that it had to be the person's fault they were having trouble. Now I know better.  But for all of us, it takes a great deal of determination to undergo WLS and none of us want to think about the "what if's".

I'm sorry about your challenges. WLS changes us forever. And sometimes there is a lot of crap that comes with those changes. And sometimes life just isn't fair. But as they say, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. So, stay strong! And thanks for taking the time to respond. I wish you ALL the best with your new sleeve!

(I wish I could change my screen name - my first name is Linda - but I was in a rush to reply to that original post I just used my initials)

 Melly, I am so excited for you! I hope the Sleeve gives you the results the band could not, as I spoke about in the other post, you have my up most support and always will.....you've tried two lap bands and it is obvious that your surgeon did not install your band right, and I so sad you had to go through all these surgeries just to get your weight off....you will be in my prayers for uneventful surgery and a successful Sleeve journey!

Thanks so much, Naomi.  You have always been very supportive and nice to me.  I do miss hearing your Match.com stories....I remember one involving swinging from the chandelier or celing fan??  ha ha However, seeing your wedding pictures was also very nice.  

I hope that your band continues to serve you well!!

Hi LDW,

I think you may have taken comments (on the thread you're referring to) as directed towards you... and they seem to be directed at Naomi, not you. I don't know if that makes you feel any better or not... but I thought I'd tell you since you said you were feeling emotional lately. 

Congratulations on your success! You look great. 

Is the nurse from Oregon named Sandy?  I have to disagree with you about her... she was a nutjob and dangerous, too.  She signed all her posts with, "Sandy RN?"  And dispensed "medical advice"... BAD medical advice... until she was asked to stop, actually.  She used to post over on Spotlight Health forums back when I first had my surgery, too.



You have done really well and I am truly happy for you that things have worked out well for you.

Thanks Ms Mcdoodles you are absolutely correct thank you for the correction! Loves ya!

You look fantastic!

From all of us newbies! Thanks for posting. It is nice to hear the positive as we are motivated and don't need to be pushed down since we did make the decision to do this surgery.

Best wishes to you, you look great!

you look wonderful-so healthy and happy!  thank you for posting--it's great encouragement for those of us who are fairley new to the banded life.

betsey

It's good to see some positivity.  I have stopped posting much on this site, as I have no dog to fight, no products to sell, and no advice about which surgery is best for everyone.

I have a lap band because that is what I was given medical clearance for, pure and simple.  Had I been approved for something else,  I would have had a different type of surgery.

My lap band has neither been a complete success, nor a total failure.  I have made some good friends on this site but found myself discouraged and sometimes fulfilling the prophecy from reading all the postings about how my band would fail.

It might fail.  I hope not.  In the meantime I have to take responsibility to eat properly and exercise and to be the best band patient that I can.   

I believe that is what we should encourage one another on this site. If others wish to provide information as to why they feel a different type of surgery is better, it should be done with respect for those of us already on this journey as well as those considering their options.