When I log in, I click "New Content" and then directly into the "Lap Band" section....

And yet, it seems the majority of posters there are people other than those with the lap band surgery??

Even when the OP is is a Lap Bander, and asks a specific lap Band question or comment, the majority of responses are from those who have had other surgeries?

Is this giving the OP a realistic discussion????

I have had the lap band procedure....I cannot and will not post under a topic that was started and pertains to say, Sleeving, for instance. I have no experience in this area, so I cannot comment, and I seldom go to those forums....

I have no knowledge of other bariatric surgeries and the possible similarities, but I feel it can be confusing to hear other peoples advice and personal experiences when they have not had the same surgery as the OP.

Especially someone just starting out, and has a specific question pertaining to their surgery.....

I know you can enter a "General" wight loss discussions, and that there are forums specific to the different procedures, why are they all mixing in, and cannot participate strictly within the area of interest???

Yesterday there was a topic started by someone who had the Lap Band Surgery, and the question was very specific to life with the lap band.

This morning I go back to read through the many comments made since yesterday, and was surprised to see the over all majority of comments were from people with gastric Sleeve.....

In this particular topic, I do not think the experiences are the same, and the original topic got watered down in the process....Newly banded people reading that topic will get a very unrealistic view of what the experience is really like with the Band.

Edited May 28, 201412 yr by B-52

I would agree with TMF here. No one answer or advice is more valuable then another. We all have something offer and sometimes the thing I just needed to hear or read comes from someone who is not a banded. They might be having some of the very same issues but with their WLS. We are a community of WLS patients we are not so very different.

Yes we all have issues that are unique to our WLS but we can say that about each and every person on the face of the planet. We are all unique with our own individual issues but that's what makes this forum great, we are able to learn from each other and motivate and share our journey with each other.

If you are new to a WLS or you are yet to have a WLS this is the place to come and explore all your options and ask all your questions. If you are not sure if a person is answering a question related to your WLS you can always ask. What is true about getting stuck for the band is also pretty true about getting stuck for a sleeve. What is true in over eating and eating slider foods for all surgeries can be pretty much the same. The one thing the banders don't have to worry about is the dumping and the malnutrition that those who are sleeved and bypassed might have to worry about. We are not taking supplements for life, though we have our own maintenance issues.

So really it's all relative I can understand why Alex brought the site together, and I can also understand why there are forums that are separated yet also open to others to comment and share. If your looking exclusivity well I guess this is not the place for you, but you can always create your group in the private groups and invite only bandsters to post with you....the options abound my friends.

When I log in, I click "New Content" and then directly into the "Lap Band" section....

And yet, it seems the majority of posters there are people other than those with the lap band surgery??

Even when the OP is is a Lap Bander, and asks a specific lap Band question or comment, the majority of responses are from those who have had other surgeries?

Is this giving the OP a realistic discussion????

I have had the lap band procedure....I cannot and will not post under a topic that was started and pertains to say, Sleeving, for instance. I have no experience in this area, so I cannot comment, and I seldom go to those forums....

I have no knowledge of other bariatric surgeries and the possible similarities, but I feel it can be confusing to hear other peoples advice and personal experiences when they have not had the same surgery as the OP.

Especially someone just starting out, and has a specific question pertaining to their surgery.....

I know you can enter a "General" wight loss discussions, and that there are forums specific to the different procedures, why are they all mixing in, and cannot participate strictly within the area of interest???

Yesterday there was a topic started by someone who had the Lap Band Surgery, and the question was very specific to life with the lap band.

This morning I go back to read through the many comments made since yesterday, and was surprised to see the over all majority of comments were from people with gastric Sleeve.....

In this particular topic, I do not think the experiences are the same, and the original topic got watered down in the process....Newly banded people reading that topic will get a very unrealistic view of what the experience is really like with the Band.

We include posts from our General Weight Loss Surgery forums together with Lap-band results. I think that's what might be throwing you off. There's a little known feature you can use in order to control the results you receive when you click on NEW CONTENT. The last link on the right hand side of the New Content page is called "FILTER BY FORUM" Check or uncheck the forums you're interested and they'll be the only ones appearing in your New content.