BLOCKING PEOPLE

 Nic, I am very aware that the best  way to change a board can often be from inside, joining in and posting. But I do have sympathy for those who come back to what they felt was a supportive board to find  it is now unfriendly, or for people who left because they felt unwelcome and pop back hoping it might be friendly once more. Nostalgia can mislead. I remember RNY v LB wars, DS ve LB wars, protein shake wars! The board was never drama free. 

But those *****gularly post to say how unsupported they felt when they had problems should remember that currently those who feel unsupportd are newbies with minor problems or those with successes.

How frightening for someone who has had a band for a couple of months to post to ask about an occasional PB to get a responses asking why s/he is surprised and saying that removal is virtually inevitable.

Like you I ge lots of PMs, and some of  mine are also from people who don't dare confess problems! They want help but not simple forecasts of doom.  I also get PMs from people wanting to how I lose my weight and I hope you have  read enough of my posts to know  I am honest with them.


Kzte

I was shocked and applaud the other night when I posted. I was telling MY experience with the Lap Band system and I was wanting to post more about pregnancy after having Lap Band surgery due to lack of information. Right off the bat I was informed that I was rude because I was telling people about my success. I was on OH a lot 3 years ago and it was not like this.

I don't understand why people who has had a revision are still on the Lap Band board??????????

we hang out here to try to offer support for those who are having complications, and asking questions and we provide answers based on our knowledge, especially if they are on fence on which WLS surgery they should have.

Reemmber the lapband board is open to EVERYONE,  the successful banders do not own this board.

Good point! 

"....why people who has had a revision are still on the Lap Band board?????????? "

They claim to be trying to HELP.  They aren't BASHING the band, they just want everyone to know the truth because the evil manufacturers LIE and the surgeons LIE and if not for them, we're all going to be killed by the band.

And note how extreme all of their experiences are:   the BAND almost killed them....or they were near death from being malnourished....or the band suddenly slipped (for absolutely no reason) & almost strangled them....or their liver and other organs were damaged by the band.....

After the first 3 or 4 most extreme, near death, not my fault, I did everything perfect, I hate the band posts (in which they're only trying to help), I started ignoring them.  

Wow, how hurtful is THIS?  My band DID almost kill me. How is this post supposed to make me feel?  I wish I were just a big, fat liar... then I wouldn't have had to go through the pain I did. And my family and friends wouldn't have had to feel helpless and horrified for me.



I've seen posts like yours, c_cubed, for years... you think I haven't witnessed people having to eat their words over the span of 10 years? I have. And I've never seen a single person apologize. Ever. They just disappear because they feel too ashamed of the nasty things they said.

 That. Exactly.

There was nothing wrong with my post.  There was nothing nasty about it.  I only repeated what you and a few others having been claiming to have happened. 

I've been on this forum for about 8 months.  I get it.  The band can randomly stop working.  It can slip.  It can do limitless damage.  It can kill you.

I appreciate all the warnings and I appreciate that you and others have made it your mission to warn us, but you've offered NOT ONE solution.

What I should I do??  Seriously?

I go to my surgeon every 4-6 weeks as follow-ups.  I get fills under the flouro.  I follow the guidelines damn near flawlessly.  What else can I do that will make you and others happy, other than have my band removed and have a revision?

 I wish you continued success.

 Because people come back here with issues and need help, what kind of help can you offer them if you have not had problems or band failure? That's right, you can't offer them anything but the advice to go somewhere else to look for help. 

And I don't think people jumped all over you because of your success, they jumped on you b/c of your finger wagging and telling people how to act on a public board. Sometimes we have to remember that we have to take the good with the bad, and that support isn't always telling people positive things that they want to hear.

In my opinion, as long as we can talk civilly to one another, there is room on this (or any board) for everyone. Honestly, I want to hear from the folk who had bad experiences with this, or any operation. This is the only way to learn. And heck, it would be nice to know some warning signs that something MAY be up.

But we also need to be careful when it comes to people’s experiences. WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT. Just recently I had issues with being “stuck" quite often. After reading some posts concerning this, I thought “OH NO, MY BAND SLIPPED". I went to the Doctor, we did an upper GI, and lo and behold, my band was fine. I realize it was ME that was causing these issues. I was eating too fast, I was eating DRIER foods, and the sizes were bigger than normal. Once I went back to “basics I was fine.

While mine was a “false" alarm, I was glad I read all these other posts concerning some signs of a slipped band. It was those posts that made me go see the Doctor. Honestly,  I am unsure if I would have if I didn’t see them. And if I kept on going the way I did, who knows what damage I would have caused myself.

Now please, I am NOT saying band failures are the fault of the person. I have admitted repeatedly that bands do fail.

Just because someone is in the medical field doesn’t make them an expert. As I stated earlier, I’ve met many Doctors/Nurses/etc who are clueless when it comes to Bariatric stuff, or they have misinformation concerning it. Honestly telling someone to eF off and die and to go kill themselves speaks volumes how confident you are in your assertion, and being able to argue your point like an adult.

So for me, BASHERS stay on the board and SHARE YOUR experiences. Please don’t be offended when I share MY experiences. And I promise I won’t take offense when YOUR experiences contradicts MY experiences. I am strong enough to realize we’re both right, and neither of us are wrong.