Please Tell Me!

I don't have a problem with people finally coming clean about band issues after years of problems, I don't have a problem with cheerleaders.  I am a cheerleader for sleeves and DS.  I don't even have a problem if someone doesn't come clean about years of problems.  I have a problem with people calling us names and blaming us for being 'negative' merely because we post facts, stats, peer reviewed journal articles, and our own personal experiences.   The name calling is childish.

Sure, this board is dead and we are blamed because we are the above, honest.  But how does anyone explain how the Realize board is more dead than this one and that one never had all the 'negativity' of stats posted?  People would go over there to 'escape' the negativity of facts and stats and it is far more dead than this one.

I guess that blows the concept of 'the lap band board is dead because people are negative.'

Posting TRUTH about our experiences is not negative.  Not being honest about band issues while encouraging everyone ELSE to get a band is karma.

I wish I knew.

I have noticed cheerleaders won't respond to those kind of posts ...

Maybe they are ashamed and embarrassed on how they treated us when we tried to share our experiences and then karma got them? I don't know. ..

Please, don't be ashamed, just be open and we will be very understanding, unless you continue to hide from us.

I respect anyone's need for personal privacy.  I'm comfortable posting about my issues.  If a person has been thru the wringer with band complications, they might need to recover emotionally, as well as physically.  They owe no one anything, here or anywhere else.  I don't believe that them posting their former successes with the band, being problem free for the early part of their band journey is cause to berate and criticize.  I was there.  

What I do see as a bit hypocritical, is continuing to profit from having had a band, encouraging others to get bands TODAY, with everything we know.  I cannot in good conscience, recommend a band to anyone.

I know I did nothing to cause my band problems and I have no reason to be "ashamed".  It was a common thing to read of pbs, "fickle" bands, random tightening.  This was presented as "a normal part of banded life".  That is inherently wrong.  Food and water we eat and drink should arrive at the stomach without difficulty and never come up.  There is nothing normal about bands getting tight "for no reason" months or years after the last fill.  

Just a guess, but I think some previously adamant bandsters may be embarrassed, especially if they had been warned against the band, or join the the "blame the bandster" mentality, wanting to believe that any bad things could be avoided if you are just compliant, and problems only arise if you are doing something wrong.

I only know a few bandsters IRL, and I know that is the issue for one of them. None of them are banded anymore, nor do they come here. I think that's unfortunate, because they DO problems resulting from the band, and I think there is a community here that can help with that as well.

There are a few folks that were very vocal about their band love, and when things changed, they were vocal and honest then too. Gotta respect that.