Main VSG Board - Justifications

I have noticed that only a few of you post there. I find myself remembering why I stopped coming to obesity help. I really want want to give advice from what I have learned over the last year as i think it could help some newbies and i know i was there once myself. The problem i have is that few seem to know how to use the search function and many more are just looking for the okay on whatever justification they have made to come off plan. For the few of you that still post there. How do you get past this and still stay positive and helpful?

In just the past couple of months I've gotten where I don't go over there very often.  I just can't deal with the massive amount of people on there now and the lack of information regarding post-op eating they seem to get from their surgeons.  I hung on there for a good three and a half years without feeling that way and then BAM, I couldn't take it any more.

Don't get me wrong; I'm glad so many people are getting help for obesity, and I'm glad that so many people have discovered the great support that we all found in OH.  It was really my only support, since I went to Mexico for my surgery.  (Well, friends have been great, too, but going on and on about my weight loss surgery would be rude ... especially when my two best friends are obese, too, heh heh.) 

When I do pop over there a couple of times a week, I just scroll down the posts and see if there is anything worth answering.  Generally there isn't :-(  I figured I wasn't the only one to feel this way.

--Dorothy

I think we ALL know how much OH has helped each and every one of us to maximize our weight loss and get truly educated about WLS and the scientific basis for our weight loss after surgery. But some things we just plain outgrow. Sticking like glue to the main forum is something we are all probably maturing past at this point in our journey. It is like AA--at first people sometimes need to go 3-4 times a day to not take that next drink--then as the months go by, they have learned the tools and figured out their own motivation factors and no longer need to get the same fix over and over and over every day to stay sober. I take it as a good sign that we can "de-tox" from the main board. The newbies over there will do it the way we did--they will figure it out amongst themselves.

 Sorry to hijack Bunnymom, but every time I see your adorable pup under the chair, I'm picturing  ,LOL.

To the OP, it is hard to go back there sometimes and I am so greatful that Diane started this board!

I'm currently on sabbatical from the main VSG board. I generally scroll through the posts every day and read a handful but rarely reply anymore. I just couldn't take some of the craziness and needed a break.

These boards helped me so much when I was brand spankin' new and I feel like I've given some back... but want to give more back... just not right now. Maybe in a few weeks or months I'll go back there again. For now, I'm livin' life!

Since I received so much good advice and support from pre-op and throughout my journey there, it just makes sense to me to pay it forward.  Yeah, there are a lot of disheartening things going on and you can't fix stupid, but I think in the long run, it's nice to have someone listen and respond.  It was a Godsend to me and I just try to return the favor.  Like those above, I just scroll through and pick and choose who I can/cannot help.  Not really sure that anybody listens but it makes me feel like I'm helping...

Deb

That's why I stayed as long as I did. But after a while, it wasn't working for me on any level.

Good advice there, it is state of mind I suppose. I too received lots of help in the beginning and want to pay it forward. I suppose I will just do the same thing and skim through to see if something catches my eye. Thanks all...

I still post, but less and less.  I look through the threads to see if I can make a difference somewhere, but if there are already good answers or if the issue is so off of my radar that I just can't relate, I move on.  I stay away from the posts that look for validation for bad behavior, as it just upsets me.  I still get many IM's every day asking for help and I try to focus on those.

I finally stopped going. I help newbies in other forums that I find less frustrating. I finally realized it wasn't my job to save all of them and I had to do what would work for me long term. There are too many people on the main VSG board and that makes it hard to develop personal relationships or keep up with the posts. In my other forums where I interact with newbies, there are less people and that works better for me.