Responses be damned

People don't make decisions you agree with.   News at 11. Follow up story, Webster changes spelling of "lose" to "loose." Hey, shut up, it's a rant thread.

Touche'.  Point taken.  That's why I posted it here, in a rather safe place, because you guys pretty much shoot from the hip and don't cry when someone raises a rather delicate subject.

Crap, Bert cries when Bambi's mother gets shot.

All people should be surgically altered in accordance with my rules, For I Am The Light And The Way. I swear to Me, I am having bracelets made.

I'll buy a damn bracelet. Did this post require a response?? LOL

I'm with Bert.  It happens.

I went to an info session and have browsed the boards long enough to see a few groups of people... a. will use it as a tool and make the changes in life to make it work for them b. those who will always think it's a quick fix and want to eat the same way and blame the band or the doctor or someone else in life. c. those who didn't realize what they were getting into and hate life afterwards but still lose a lot of weight. Of course there are other people out there that are different.  I worked with someone who had it RNY several years ago and lost a good amount of weight and now slacks on his "diet" (or lifestyle).  He has beer on the weekends, has chips with his sandwich at lunch, a snack out of the vending machine.  Then I know others who eat completely clean and don't sway at all. I really see it like alchoholism for a lot people and, unfortunately, the way the system is structured some people who may really need the surgery can't get insurance coverage for it.  There was an article about a girl in Ft. Lauderdale area who wanted to get the surgery so badly that she saved as much as she could and got it done in Mexico, but she has passed away from complications. The supervised diet requirement used to bother me b/c I thought that it was common sense that if someone is desperate enough to have major surgery that they must have exhausted their other options.  I think that with the popularity of WLS some people don't realize the permanent changes they are making and that there is always a possibility of complication down the road.  My mom has some type of medical condition that has not been diagnosed.  It started with fatigue symptoms, joint pain etc.  Now, several years later, she has lost a lot of weight due to gastric issues and malabsorption and the doctors aren't sure if it is all linked or not.  This made me rethink whether I really want WLS surgery even though I feel it would improve the quality of my life.  Anyway, back to the diet thing.  A person has to be committed to the life changes involved anyway so I don't see why someone would not be willing to do that.  My new insurance does not cover any weight loss related treatment at all so I am going to try Weigh****chers (AGAIN) for now.  Maybe this time (5th try :)) I will keep it off.

hi, I definitely did not want to make this pro or anti WLS.  Christ, that's becoming as controversial as pro or anti abortion advocates.  God help me for getting caught in that trap. I think your post was right on, and yes also very elementary.  We have all been around these boards long enough to see the patterns.  Heck, there are TONS of perfectly happy people out there who have had WLS, lost the weight, and are mostly healthy.  Then there are the others who have died from their complications, or are dying. Nobody knows the long term risks but I think what is coming out for those that are 2, 3, 4, 5 years out should be enough for people to sit up and say Wow, not "not me." With WLS there are certain habits that you have to get into anyhow.  I know that it's easier to have that tool, that quick weight loss.  But in the end, not more than a year later, it's back to the same old same old.  We really have to stop being such an immediate gratification society where we want it NOW and aren't willing to work hard for it.

Thank you for responding and I wish you good luck this time around.  If you read my profile I speak constantly about accountability and honesty with yourself.  Maybe knowing what you know now this time around WILL be the charm.

 

The other thing I've noticed is that a lot of the successful people have had a big change in their social network.  They find that, after they have surgery and food is less of a priority, they don't seem to have as mu*****ommon with friends as they thought they did.  It's an easy trap since most social occasions revolve around food. I have heard a lot of people say that friends said they had change from the surgery and they weren't fun to be around.  When I look back on it though, I got the same response when I lost weight.  Unfortunately, when you're fat like me, it is difficult to do basic activities because of getting worn out easily, afraid of not fitting in things (like a kayak) and just people staring and thinking that you are no longer a human being so they ask really stupid questions. Really I would never be against the surgery.  I think that maybe it is a little too accepted now, but I also feel that way about all of the elective cosmetic surgery that's done.  I understand wanting to grow old gracefully, but it does seem that people have gotten addicted to it like soda.  I wish people could be a little more accepting of themselves (and others) when it comes to looks. *Disclaimer Of course, it's just my opinion and my opinion in now way is intended to express the views of others or indicate that I expect to inact laws that reflect such.

LOL @ your disclaimer. My disclaimer: Shari is the Light and the Way, buy her bracelets.