Sorry guys, I need to rant about something and get it off my chest!! Usually when I go in for a fill, I actually look forward to sitting in the waiting room and talking to the other people there, trading stories and progress with them. It's my only chance to talk to other people face to face that have a band. When I went in for my last fill not too long ago though, I was biting my lip and had to tune out the conversation that was going on around me. I know I shouldn't be judgemental but there were some ladies in there talking about how they eat big bowls of spaghetti, one lady was talking about drinking beer and soda all the time, one was saying she was there for her first fill and didn't think she really needed it because she had only started out with thirty pounds to lose anyway (I still don't beleive that because I don't think my doc would band someone with that little to lose). What made me the most angry was this one lady said she didn't care if she only lost a little bit of weight with her band, it wasn't like she was going to be out any money since her insurance paid for it. She flat out said she wasn't going to change WHAT she ate for ANY reason, she like the kind of food she liked and that was that. I was sitting there thinking to myself that if she had to spend her entire savings like I did she might have a different attitude about it. It just frustrated me to no end. I don't understand why people would have this kind of attitude towards this wonderful tool and chance they have been given. Ok, now I'm done, I feel better now that I have vented!!

Hi Brandy,

I'm not even banded yet, and I feel ya! That is so frustrating! I would never even consider having the surgery if I weren't going to be dedicated to it!!! I have insurance that will pay for my band, but with that said...I had to go through a lot of hard work, emotions and all that goes with 'the process' leading up to being banded (I get mine April 10th)! WOOHOO!

I'm sorry you are frustrated, but it's their loss--well, lack there of! lol

~Carol

BrandyK-

One way to consider these people without losing your temper or your mind is to think about success with the lapband. It is a bell curve. Think back to statistics. The average person is at the top of the curve but it takes 50% to stack the lower half. That's where these people come in. You with your committment will be well above average, one or maybe even two standard deviations from the norm. I plan on being in the very successful end of the curve.

And think, better them than you down there in unsuccessful land.

they are only punishing themselves! you can smile smugly when you are sitting in the waiting room with a normal BMI!

Sounds like getting the Lap-band was the "in" thing to do for them. Know that you did it for all the right reasons!

I am so glad that I do not take my band for granted. I have had great results so far, but I really work for them. I was a self pay and I won`t throw my money away. Donna

If I didn't know that I didn't write that, I would have that I had. I remember sitting in the doctor's lounge and hearing the exact type of conversation. All I could think was "I bet I lose more than they do." Now, I don't know for sure, but the nutrionist swears that those who follow the list do and those who don't, do little.

I wasn't self pay and Iam still horrifeid. For one thing, those are the kind of people who lower the stats on the band working, thus making it less likely that insurance companies will pay in the future. I would have had a hard time keeping my mouth shut!

The program I belong to makes you eat like a post bander for 1-2 months pre-op. It is not easy but I have already lost 14lbs in under a month. I think it would also weed out people like those you overheard in the office that would not lose the initial weight and therefore would not have been approved. It has been difficult but it also has helped me to understand this is a big and difficult road and I am happy to go down it. Keep fighting the good fight.

Ignore them..... and don't let them drag you down... I admit it would have got me mad too (im not self pay but had to jump through hoops to get insurance to pay) but everyone makes their own decisions... if they want to eat all unhealthy food they wont be successful..while the rest of us bandsters who choose to eat well will be actually able to reach goal... and they wont...

I know nobody's perfect but there is a difference between those whom try to eat well and those who don't give a damn..

I know i've slipped up before but to sit there a purposefully do so is beyond my imagination

Last time I was in the waiting room waiting for a fill, there was an old man talking to his wife (apparently both hard of hearing by the volume they were yelling). He was worried that the Dr. was going to take him off of his Viagra. LMAO... it was all I could do to not laugh!

I really hate it when people brag about what they can eat despite having the band...it doesnt make me jealous, it pisses me off....especially when they are losing and Im not...I usually stick to a strict diet and still get griped at by my doctor, however someone who brags about getting down a burger loses 10 pounds WTF!? Doctor praises them and scolds me....NOT FAIR!! Ive heard all kinds of stuff in the waiting room, so now I just choose to go to the Dr. when its not a busy day because i get pissed off WAY too easily. Ive heard people bragging about getting unfilled for the holidays, Ive heard people being down on themselves and griping the whole time they were there about being fat, I hear people moan and groan about not being able to eat the crap food they were eating before the surgery and how much they miss it...I even hear them putting down people who HAVE lost all their weight and are just doing checkups or ppl they just know that had it done. We should support one another, not make it a competition :thumbup:

oooohhh and I totally got hit on last time I went to the dr! it freaked me out...I was wearing a shirt that was a little low-cut, and I guess I was maintaining it well because I was trying to dig in my purse and talk on the cellphone, and this guy walked by with his girlfriend or wife or something and totally took a nice STARE, not glance, STARE at my cleavage...and said "hi, how you doin?" I just stared at him like are you serious? LOL it was freakin funny though....oh and one more thing lol.....

I took my very thin and blessed BFF with me one day, and she felt so uncomfortable that she will not go back because everyone looked at her and made remarks under their breaths about why she was there...She was just accompanying me because I have to drive so far to the dr and I didnt want to go alone....but I guess they assumed she wanted a band lol

Brandy,

First of all, let me say cogratulations for losing 60 pounds!!!! That's awesome. I certainly can see why you are frustrated with what you heard at the doctor's office.

It makes me sad to hear that someone would actually go through with all of this and then not take it seriously.......but, they are not going to reap the rewards. YOU WILL AND ARE!!!! Just keep smiling and hold your head up high and be proud of what you have achieved and are going to achieve.

You wil be the WINNER in the end. You cannot control what others will do or not do, but you can control what you do. Stay focused and we'll all be here to support you. :-)

i remember the first seminar i went to...it was during the question and answer time, a lady behind me says "what about bread? i gots ta have my braaayud!" over a year ago and my wife and i still laugh about it!

What bothers me is that people like that are included in statistics on band failure. They are failures; their bands aren't.