Dispensing of medical advice- a warning for Newbies

So glad you posted this.  When I had my brand new sleeve 5 weeks ago I posted about how I was feeling and was surprised at how attacked I felt :(. So I decided not to post as much as I would have liked to.  I am on here for support and guidance, not to be told that my way(my dr's way) is wrong.  Thanks for Addressing this.

I don't mean to highjack happyteacher's post, but I have to jump in here and say that I'm so sorry that you have been made to feel that you can't post whatever and whenever you want! ANY question that you have about your journey is an appropriate one to ask. I do recommend using the "search" function, but only because there is a wealth of knowledge to be found in the archives, not because I wouldn't want to answer your questions. Yes, those who have been here for a while get frustrated with seeing the same questions posted again and again on the boards, but what people forget is that while we may have seen a specific question a zillion times, it is the FIRST time that the person posting has addressed that question. What people also forget is that there's a magical tactic for dealing with threads about "redundant" topics that they find annoying... SKIP THEM.

You post whatever and whenever you want! There are a lot of great people here with amazing insight into this journey... Heck! Feel free to PM me anytime!

good grief, really? that's awful. 

Well, in spite of your surgeon's way for being so "wrong" you've done amazing job thus far!  (insert sarcasm here) Keep up the good work!

Thank you for taking the time to write this.  This forum tends to be flooded with people who are about to undergo surgery or have recently had surgery.  They are looking for answers as to why they feel a certain way and if they're doing the "right" thing.

I am disturbed by some people who pretend to have training in the fields of medicine, psychiatry, psychology, etc., but have nothing other than their own personal WLS experiences as a basis for their recommendations to others.  It's a disservice to those attempting to negotiate the minefield of WLS when you're told that there's only one way, and it's their way.  If your bougie size isn't correct, you will fail.  If you don't reach below normal BMI, you are a failure.  If you are so unfortunate as to have cancer during your weight loss journey, you had it easy.

Many posts are cloaked in the guise of helping YOU, but it's often an ego stroke for the OP.  Beware of wolves wearing sheep's clothing.  In fact, don't be a SHEEPLE  

There is good information to be found on OH, but it should be easy to distinguish from the pontificating know-it-alls.  Just keep reading.  

I agree with all you've said here, and I'd like to add:  It's like I say about legislators who dictate what I do in my classroom:  they are "experts" in education because they went to school once.

I think sometimes folks equate personal experience with expertise.  They aren't one and the same.  Folks have to find what works best for them and their own situation.  There is no such thing as a one size fits all approach, and I certainly hope that anyone who is considering WLS or who is early on in the process realizes that there's more than one way to skin a cat. 

 Thank you for posting this!

This post is fabulous!!  Now if only the self-proclaimed royalty could take their heads out of their asses and actually read it!

Impossible.  They block anyone who disagrees with them.  Fortunately, those numbers are increasing as the word has spread  

The scary thing is that those people tend to block anyone who disagrees with them.  Which is frightening because it means that new board members won't actually see any opinions of dissent, just opinions that agree.  This will just lead new members to think that everyone actually agrees!  Very frustrating and, potentially, extremely harmful.