Headhunter

Hi, Gaynor; Welcome aboard! You'll do just fine. You are particularly fortunate in that you have hit target weight BEFORE the band was removed. So sorry about your complications, yes, the problems (when they arise) CAN be ugly and life threatening. There are those who have had sweet success with the band, and it has come easily for them. They, uderstandably, are huge proponents of the band. Others, like myself and you, have not been as fortunate in THAT regard. Although my band experience was a massive failure, I am grateful that I went through it, because I ultimatley learned HOW to eat correctly....NOT as a result of the band, but as a result of it's failure. Having the band in me led me to a better way of life. For you, the Band has served it's purpose. You are done with it. And now it's time to move on. Congratulations on your Graduation to a new life! Tell us a little more about your experience. You said the Band almost killed you (which I know can happen). Tell us the story! David

Hi, Great topic! SElaine, thanks for putting this one up. I still have my band, but it is coming out on May 7. I have discussed the reasons elsewhere, and I won't go into it again, suffice to say that it's history. Maybe I can offer a few words of encouragement to those that are facing a bandless existence. First of all, DON'T MOURN the loss of your band. CELEBRATE the fact that you had it while you did, it served it's purpose, and you BENEFITTED from it's presence. You are a different person now than when it it was placed. A lesser person (in the way we want :crying:) and a greater person for having lived the experience. If you mourn the loss of your band (and I can understand the fact that it really is mourning), you may become somewhat depressed, and we know what THAT can lead to. So celebrate your relationship with the band, and let it go. You HAVE the ability to do this yourself. I promise you that. You have come SO FAR on this journey and the reward is just around the corner. You just need a different strategy. My band became totally non-functional a while back. I had lost only a few pounds before it went "belly-up" (no pun intended, but a damn fine pun anyway :cry_smile:). I proceeded to get over the loss, and subsequently lost around 90 pounds. You can too. Look at the fine example of sophrosyne as she outlined above. She is moving forward. You can too. Please remember that you did not become obese because you were born without the Lap Band. Obesity is a complex issue, but more than anything, really, it's a mind game. I'm not suggesting that it's all in your head, but it's a big part of it. If there's any interest here, I'll come back and talk more about how I was able to function without a functioning Lap Band. Don't give up, guys. This is another beginning for you, and you need to begin looking at it that way. Even though this is an Installed-band oriented board, I know that there are TONS of GOOD people here that will be your support group, if you want them; I know I will! Don't give up; the best is yet to Come! :biggrin:

Yeah, I'll agree with you. For me, the grades were important for the career path I wanted to pursue, and really important for the college iI wanted. I have a teenage son, and I encourage (but not push REAL hard:wink2:) him to get good grades, because to get good grades, you have to study. And I want him to LEARN how to LEARN. In reality, I know that people can be very successful without ANY college, but they need to have the ability to acquire knowledge. So I push the studying thing so he will know how to learn what he needs to know. Oh, and I guess (when i think about it) the socialization part of high school is important...learning how to interact with people, etc.

Ok. please point out what phrase I used that implied with such SPECIFICITY that "that there lawsuits popping up everywhere for people to sue for having had the band." I never SAID that, I never IMPLIED that and YOU are reading what you WANT to read into this. I DO believe that there WILL be lawsuits in the future. I have NO DOUBT of it. And I think the number will increase. But "popping up all over"? those are YOUR words, NOT MINE. Again, WHERE did I state or even IMPLY that the band was evil??? "evil band and how it will ruin everyone's lives-- they just don't realize it yet! " Where did I say THAT???? Point it OUT, PLEASE! Oh, and the hidden agenda? explain that one too, while you're at it.

Yeah, it sucks while you're in the middle of it...and when you're dealing with weight issues, it sucks double. neveragain makes a good point....CONCENTRATE your efforts on your GRADES. THAT'S what important in High School....everything else is BS. Get those grades!

Wow. I am REALLY surprised that he removed it after only a week, unless there was something he saw that was REALLY wrong with it. What did he say when you asked him to take it out? did he try and talk you out of it?

Ok, I stand corrected. on SOME forums, the software allows SOME mods access. Apparently here, that is NOT the case.

There was a point when each one of us decided that we HAD to have the surgery. I think that there was a single "moment" for most of us when we decided that we had had enough, and that we WOULD have the surgery. I'd like to hear about YOUR decision moment....here's mine: It was at Knott's berry Farm in Orange County, California. I was there with my wife and young son. We had spent the day doing all the usual stuff (the log flume ride is great fun, went on it 15 times!). We went on most of the rides, but then we decided to go on the Ghostrider. This is a HUGE wooden rollercoaster. It is very well-regarded by Coaster Enthusiasts. I'm not a huge coaster fan, but it's my understanding that people that love wood coasters LOVE this one. So, we decided to go on it. It was a long wait, as is normal for Knott's. When we got up to the point where we got into the car, and I stepped into it, I knew that there would be a problem. I was too big to fit into it comfortably. But, I sat down anyway, and tried to get the seat belt around me. It wouldn't go. One of the attendants came over and tried to assist me. She stood up on the side of the car and tugged and pulled the belt until she was able to Snap into the other end. this whole process took a few minutes, and EVERYONE was staring at me and snickering. It was holding the ride up, too. I cannot tell you HOW embarrassing that was; one of the most humiliating moments of my life. Then the ride left the platform. I was in AGONY with that belt cutting into my gut. I couldn't breathe. And the motion of the ride was making me sick. I almost passed out several times. It was 3 of the most miserable minutes I have ever experienced. When the ride returned to the platform, I could not wait to get out of there. I stumbled out of the car, and I fell to the ground. My wife helped me up, and we went downstairs to the exit. I found a tree planter with a bench around it, and I sat down...fell on it, actually. I sat there for a while, and for the first time in my life, I thought I was going to die, right then and there. I wondered if I was having a heart attack. I was sick, my heart was racing, I was sweating....it was awful. It was there, at THAT moment that I decided I would have to have the surgery. I had been discussing it with family and friends and clergy, but I had not made anything NEAR a decision. I was just THINKING about it. But there on that concrete planter, I decided I would have the surgery. So, what was YOUR decision moment?

Nothing to feel foolish about there. That stuff happens!

And you are correct. Some like the drama. Some really want to know what happened. I never said that everyone was interested in my story, but I think I am safe in saying that plenty are.

Yes, now THAT really added to the dialogue in a positive manner, now didn't it? AGAIN, you have not read my posts. A doctor who performs these surgeries told me that it was his opinion that it WILL be pulled. And it is HIS opinion. I would not disagree with him, but I would not entirely agree either, but for different reasons than you might think. I WILL sue my doctors. And can you explain why THAT is "pulled from my ass"? AGAIN, you contribute NOTHING. you ask NO questions that I have not answered. You merely take shots. I'll assume that you're proud of that.

Sades, Thank You. I could not have said it better. And thank you for the good wishes. And thank you to EVERYONE that has wished me well, publicy and privately...means a lot. In spite of what you may think of me or my motives, I DO have surgery upcoming, it WILL be messy, there WILL be a long recovery, and the outcome IS uncertain. So, the good wishes from those of you that offer them are accepted with great gratitude.

Nope. Won't go away. But, you CAN choose to ignore what i have to say, and i encourage you to do so...you have added nothing to this dialogue. LauraD, explain what you mean by "Factual". I mean REALLY, explain that. Explain to me what you would like to hear from me. What have I said that is NOT factual? I CHALLENGE you to dispute ANYTHING that I have said. Am I an "author" now? No, I'm not. Point me to my work, please. demonstrate where I have ANYTHING to sell. And why do I need to be banned? TELL me THAT. I have said OVER and OVER that THIS has been MY experience. And MINE ONLY. I know that there have been others like me. But you don't want to hear that, right? in PM's I have enouraged people to go ahead with their surgeries. The Mods have access to those PMs, THEY can see what I am saying privately and THEY know I am not trying to sell anyone anything. Beckyintexas, I have communicated with Willsmommy privately and I supported her in her journey. PM her, she'll tell you that. And Nicole, yeah....it's the #1 Internet marketing forum on the net. THAT'S why I went here. To find help figuring out how to reach people with what i have to say. You might be unaware of this, but MARKETING does NOT always mean SELLING SOMETHING. It's about communicating a message. I opted to NOT go that route because IM has become a little crass. And I ask you again: what is it that i have said here that has been HURTFUL???? Have i scared some people? Hell, YES I have. And people NEED to be scared a bit so they look at exactly what they are doing before they do it. I want people to be Scared enough so that they find the RIGHT doctor, the RIGHT hospital, and do the RIGHT things before the surgery, do the RIGHT things after the surgery, and TO GET HEALTHY in the process. WHAT is SO WRONG with THAT statement??? Remember those movies they used to show us in High School drivers ed? the ones that showed people in horrible accidents? That was to SCARE us into driving correctly...and most of us took that lesson to heart. You're going to have a foreign body placed in YOUR body. There are SOME KNOWN complications. The Risk is SMALL, but it is still a RISK. For many people, the benefits OUTWEIGH the risks. The risks are diminshed by doing what you are SUPPOSED to do before and after the surgery. ALL of that is part of what I am trying to say. What is WRONG with THOSE statements? NOTHING. I had a BAD experience, and it continues to this day. It was PARTLY because of an incompetant doctor, partly because of choices I made, and partly because of pure bad luck. What is wrong with offering to help people make DIFFERENT CHOICES than I did? What is wrong with wanting people to the RIGHT thing, following the protocols correctly, etc, etc ,etc. If I am asked to be on a National Talk Show where I can encourage people to approach this process the RIGHT way, WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT? Yeah, you can lock this thread. and you can ban me if you wish. but I won't go away. Just because a few people on this board Don't want it mentioned that someone had a problem with the procedure doesn't mean that there aren't MANY others who are interested in what i have to say. Again, I challenge anyone to find REAL FAULT with anything I have said above...and I mean REAL fault and not the imagined stuff that you have to dissect into unrelated pieces to find fault with. And, i encourage the Moderators to view my PMs, and you will see that that I am selling nothing, and offering enouragement to people engaged in this process. If you don't want to read my comments, then simply go away. There are people that DO want to hear what i have to say, as evidenced by the numbers views this thread has gotten.

Hi, Taz; I was banded at a medical facility here in los Angeles,....I am reluctant to divulge much about the where/who for reaons I have stated several times here (there's a thread on it over in the Complications section). I'll PM you....

Sorry, i already "'splained" that on the other thread. Nothing to explain, except what you are TRYING to make of it. There is NO NEW information there except intestine was swtiched with colon...as I "'splained". So, you are suggesting that I should have introduced myself by saying "hey, I have a great story to tell you, but I need you to know upfront that a few months ago I considered writing an ebook about my expereicne and was looking for suggestions from marketing pros on how to get it out there, but I never really did anything thing about it other than outlines and interviews, and I need to tell you this rightnowrightawaysoIcanGetstreetcred........." You think THAT would have given me credibility? hardly. And, in reality, it might have been the CORRECT thing to do to simply WRITE the books and let people judge for themselves. That way I wouldn't have to deal with folks like you, now would I? You need to find something else to do. you really do.

Mac, he really didn't try and steer me either way. he did ask me why I had chosen the Lap Band. I told him it seemed like viable option: it was reversible, it was adjustable. and it sounded great on paper. I will state emphatically that he did NOT give me any detailed information on the potential risks. I did think i was aware of the apparent risks, as i had done a fair amount of homework on the process. I sensed that when I answered his question about why I had chosen the band, he was satisified that I knew what I needed to know. And keep in mind that this was several years ago, there was not as much history on the band, as there is now. I'm not sure that they were entirley aware of the all the risks. But I DO NOT recall any moment when they sat me down and said "These are the risks". I think they should have, but that's just my opinion.

HOCKEY BUFF???? oh, c'mon! i hate hockey, and i'm not a sports fan at ALL. although i like ice skating, but i have always spent more time with my butt on the ice than upright. No online gaming, either. Offline, well, some. as far as my moniker, you will find that headhunter and other derivatives are pretty damn common on the net. I surprised that this forum did not have "headhunter" taken...most do. But i use a lot of different names for different forums. everyone does. You're working pretty hard to discredit me. That means that you fear that what I am saying just might have some validity.

Lied? hardly. as i said, originally the results from my FIRST set of tests were relayed by my primary Doc. Later, when I met with the FIRST surgeon about this matter, he confirmed that it was the colon, and my present surgeon said Colon as well. I said Intestine back then because that's the info I had. I was pretty gung-ho about this for a time, and I thought I wanted to become the spokeperson/advocate for others that had had problems like mine. I wanted to Tell the world about this, and what I had found that would be MY personal answer to obesity. That was pretty short-lived, though, when the reality set in that I was going to face some serious surgery and a long recovery. I gave that idea up, but as I have moved closer to my surgery date, I have felt very compelled to do come forward with this, on a little different level. I decided to just start talking about it on forums. You know how I found THIS forum? I went to Google, and searched on the phrase "reasons to have weight loss surgery", or something similar to that. I had planned on writing a multi-page report discussing the various reasons that people have or feel that they have to have weight-loss surgery. I was going to comment on those reaons, and then give my perspective, based upon MY experience. That search brought me here. And I just started posting. But i'll say it again. Nothing in my story has changed about what happened, expect that MORE stuff has happened.

Yes, this is all accurate. nothing wrong with what I said here. I stand behind it totally. I have felt that I SHOULD be on a crusade to make people aware of what I experienced. at that time it was suggested that i use the Internet marketing model to get my message out. I didn't puruse it, because the IM model has begun to smack a bit of fraud on some levels, and if I was going to do something with this, it was going to have to be more legitimate than squeeze pages and opt-in lists. So, have I placed a resoure box in my sig? nope. have I tried to direct ANYONE to a monetized website? nope. have i written an ebook? Nope, but I might, and i'll give it away for free. So, please read it again and you'll find my story quite intact. "Actually, this is a niche I am now entering. My story is quite Unique and compelling. In a nutshell: I was VERY overweight...morbidly obese most of my life. Metabolism VERY VERY messed up because of all the diets I had been on that failed. Had weight loss surgery - it DIDN't WORK, my metabolism was SO screwed up, lost only NINE POUNDs as a result of the surgery, and put all of that back on. Infections from the surgery almost killed me, 4 trips to emergency. Had to have additional surgeries to clean up the mess....had an open wound in my stomach for a year as a result. THEN, I studied,and studied some more, and found a methodology of eating and living that SAVED MY LIFE. Lost ninety pounds EASILY in a few months, I have NEVER been this healthy. There's a lot more to this story TONS of energy, up at 4:45 every morning, work until 11:00 at night. My whole life has turned around as a result. So, I'm putting a package and program and Ebook together. There are answers out there.....you just have to be willing to do the research......" "So, I'm putting a package and program and Ebook together." I'm looking for the part in that sentence that says "to SELL to you"....hmmm.....I don't see it. Do you? I think some of you DO see it, even though it does not exist. "

and a reply to that would be....so what has changed in my story? Intestine to colon? I mispoke. Because I was told by my primary physician (who was the first to see the scans) that it was the INTESTINE. The Surgeon that reviewed later stated COLON. And have I tried to sell you anything? Nope. and i won't. And my story has NOT changed. and it WILL NOT. I have interveiwed those with problems. Bunches of them. I have interviewed other doctors....MANY others. But I can't get any doctors to commit to using their names. I was considering putting my story in ebook form. have i done that? nope. That was months ago. And my condition has not changed. And the story has not changed. and it won't. So, keep trying.

yeah, the only thing worse than talking while driving is TEXTING. Those people are just plain stupid. Should be an executable offense.

Mary, that comment about the Nurse was NOT directed at you...it was meant for another individual....sorry you thought it was, no offense intended!

" "Never....im totally with you..I received a private email from this guy slamming me big time. There is something wrong with him, there truly is. I did contact the site and reported him as well as put him on my ignore list. He was verbally abusive, ignorant and hateful. This guy has some serious issues and I felt it was best not to even answer his private email to me....anyway, glad we are in the same ballpark. Thanks for the post." I am responding to this post for ONE reason: in it, she gives the impression that I INITIATED a contact with her that was unprovoked. this is NOT the case. She PM'd me first, with a rather nasty little diatribe. I responded in kind. I do not wish it to be thought that I am attempting to provoke people individually, off-list. That is NOT the case, but she is attempting to make it appear so. I simply responded to her. End of Story.

Ok., Never, that's fair enough. I don't wish to escalate this any more. I appreciate the good wishes, and send you the same. We'll just leave it at that.

I with ya on this one. PUT THE FREAKIN' PHONES DOWN! I was almost run over yesterday in by some idiot who was talking on their phone RATHER than looking both ways while turning right at the corner where i was trying to cross. Personally, I don't think that these new laws that outlaw Handset use in the car will do much good....I think that ANY use of a cell phone in a car should be BANNED. It's not the handset, it's the DISTRACTION!!!!