:eek: Hi everybody..im new to the site and io wanted to pose this question becosue its dawned on me that my friends/family opposition to the band is stemming from their comfort with my obesity. I think my older sister who is overweight but cant get baned for other health issues enjoys me being overweight becouse she doesnt feel judged and has someone to to go to lane bryant with

My younger sister, is a dancer and thinks i need to simply go to the gym and diet but i have numerous health issues, im 5'6, 270 pounds and I need help. I know banding is dangerous and the natural way is best but i know i need help

My friends like me being their plus sized sassy friend but the moment i mention i want to lose 100 pounds they have an issue. They are starting to make me doubt banding ...does anyone else have a complete lack of support and still got banded :confused2:

Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, instead of an M.D. Both types of docs get degrees that have almost identical training, etc. Historically it has been their philosophy of care that has made D.O.'s different. I have usually prefered D.O.'s because they are willing to try other areas of treatment and not just go for the quick fix (not that all M.D.'s are looking for the quick fix, so please no one take offense to that. It's just my personal opinion). I have also had many excellent M.D.'s over the years. Basically, it's the kind of person they are and what kind of care they give rather that what kind of initials they have behind their name. As long as I'm getting the best care possible, that's really all that matters.

If you were a member of a family of alcoholics, would you drink to keep them company?

This whole journey is so difficult, and even more so when you have a family that is not supportive. Mine is not supportive at all. I wasn't planning on telling anyone but my mother. And the only reason I was going to to tell her was because I felt that I had too. I am going to Mexico for the surgery, and I felt that I needed to tell her where I was because she would know that I was gone for the 4 days. She was so against it, she decided to tell my entire family about it and convinced them to call me and encourage me not to do the surgery. I've had an influx of phone calls and emails from my siblings and my father as well. They are all against it. I am just so angry at my mom for telling everyone. She says she did it because shes just so concerned for me. Just dont know what to do.......

I took a different approach, I only told my immediate family which consist of my husband and two kids. I didn't want any negative feedback or all the questions and dumb remarks. I'm sure my mom would have been supportive as she had WLS in the past but I just couldn't bring myself to tell anyone. I don't like my life being the focus of people's conversations as I have enough people at work that want to talk about me. My private life is just that PRIVATE! I've heard enough people talk about WLS and the band (especially) that I know they are not educated and I just don't feel like being the one to explain it to them. To many people think its a quick fix and we here know that it's not, we know that the weight only comes off if we work to get it off. Good Luck!

Life is a short run, we are in here to make the best out of the time we have. Less weight=more time? What do you want?