1. People who have only been banded for 4 months and are calling themselves a failure because they've "only" lost 50lb!

HELLO, people!! We did not have the gastric bypass, what did you expect?? This surgery is not designed to have you drop 30lb a month - that's one of the main reasons, people choose it - because it is a far safer procedure and gives a safer and slower loss rate. 4 calendar months is only 17 weeks and a loss of 50lb is almost 3lb per week, which is WELL ABOVE the average and is a fantastic weight loss. If you've lost 50lb in 26 weeks (6 months), you are losing at 2lb per week and that is a GREAT loss rate. If you have lost 25lb in 6 months, you are STILL in the average of 1-2lb per week, which is a perfectly healthy and sustainable rate! Yes, some people lose faster but even if you've only lost 20lb in 6 months, I'd bet a week's wages that that's better than the six months you had BEFORE banding. Stop thinking negatively and calling yourselves failures! Those numbers are a great success and should be celebrated.

2. People who say "oh I have no restriction but I'm PB'ing and sliming every time I try to eat solid food".

HELLO!! You DO have restriction! What do you think is causing you to PB/slime?? If you are feeling hungry between meals, it is probably because you are drinking your food instead of eating it! Try eating solid foods very very slowly and well chewed - you'll feel much fuller for much longer. If the first meal of the day is troublesome, try having a hot drink (tea, coffee, ff chocolate, whatever you like) 30 minutes before the meal to prepare your stomach. If you're not hungry in the mornings and are starving at night - don't eat in the mornings!! Save your daily calorie allowance for when you ARE hungry and EAT it in solid food, not soft easy foods (unless of course, you are still in the post-op healing phase). If you can't eat solid food (slowly and well-chewed), you don't need another fill - you are too tight!

3. People who obsess about getting "enough protein" and drinking Protein shakes

HELLO AGAIN!! Let me repeat, we did NOT have the gastric bypass. Our bodies are still perfectly capable of absorbing all the nutrients that we eat and there is no need to increase protein intake to compensate. You should be able to get in all the protein you need by EATING, not by drinking supplements. Eat lean hard Proteins if you can, choose tuna or crab meat if you have trouble with hard protein and you will get all you need. Eat good fresh vegetables and you won't need Vitamin supplements. You will also feel much more full doing this and won't be complaining about being hungry all the time!

Whew!! That feels good to get that off my chest! I know my loss rate isn't the fastest out there. It is currently running at 1.7lb per week and that is the rate I'm aiming for. I could make it go faster if I exercised more, but I do an average of 30 mins x 4 days a week (sometimes more, sometimes less) and I am losing at the speed I had planned upon and I'm thrilled with the results so far. My fitness level is noticeably improving, I'm not hungry except at meal times, I'm satisfied after my meals, I only have problems with getting stuck or PB'ing when I stop paying attention when eating and don't chew well enough or eat too quickly (still working on that), and I AM NOT A FAILURE!

That is what I am talking about. A real Woman who identifies with her strengths and weaknesses. i just finished responding to a women who openly labels herself as "self-righteous" and knows that her opinions are right because she is successful. i cannot take it!

I'll respond to that! It's BOTH!! I think it starts in the office and tricles over into lack of ownership on the patien't part. I believe that the doctor's offices are not educating the patients properly!! There is also an element of patients needing to take responsibility for their own health and healthcare!

I am a nurse. I am educated and I did a whole lot of research for my brand spankin' shiney new Lap Band (can you tell I'm excited?!). But there are things that I have learned on LBT from reading all the posts that I was never told about at the office! I take them to the office and ask, and they say, "well, yeah, that could happen" or "yes, you could have large amounts of saliva come out if you eat too much". Come on! These things need to be told. The good, the bad and the ugly!

I am a firm believer in patient education. Help them help themselves. We are not stupid. Many have done their homework, but most have not (unfortunately). Also, many offices treat their patients like they are bothering them. Most appointments are short so there isn't much time to ask questions. Many times, patients don't know what TO ask. The seminars are fine, but often people are overwhelmed with choices...do I have RNY or LapBand? Which band would I choose? Dumping syndrome or fills? How about no surgery at all? Maybe I should try the liquid diet instead? It goes on and on. Once they decide they want surgery it becomes a whirlwind. Then if they do ask a question, they may get "well we told you all this at the seminar"!! Argh! I hear patients say these things and it frustrates me.

So, you all are right. Some of the questions on here are ridiculous. I can't believe that someone who complains that they "can't breathe", are having "severe, crushing chest pain", pain in their side so severe they can't talk", etc. etc. can find the time to type it all on here and wait for answers!!!! Go to the ER. Period. I mean seriously? You can't breathe but you can type?

Okay, I'm done venting now!

~C

I agree with you, to a certain extent. I personally feel that the onus lies on the patient to make sure that they are educated. I think the doctor and his/her staff should do their best (from an ethical standpoint, if nothing else) to inform the patient, but I think the patient should make sure that they are informed, especially when it comes to elective surgery. With emergency surgery, it's understandable when patients aren't sure what's what when they're recovering and getting back to the life they lived before surgery. But I honestly don't think there's much of an excuse when it comes to an elective surgery that usually takes weeks, if not months, to arrange.

So, I have to admit it quite irritates me to see so many people on the board blame their surgeons for not informing them of things, when the majority of the information is so easily accessible. I really want to ask them if they bothered to do any research at all before jumping on the surgery bandwagon. I generally manage to hold my tongue, though. But I also won't make posts that commiserate with them and heap more blame on their surgeon, simply because I feel that the ultimate responsibility for making sure the patient is informed about everything that comes with banding was the patient's.

I agree with you, to a certain extent. I personally feel that the onus lies on the patient to make sure that they are educated. I think the doctor and his/her staff should do their best (from an ethical standpoint, if nothing else) to inform the patient, but I think the patient should make sure that they are informed, especially when it comes to elective surgery. With emergency surgery, it's understandable when patients aren't sure what's what when they're recovering and getting back to the life they lived before surgery. But I honestly don't think there's much of an excuse when it comes to an elective surgery that usually takes weeks, if not months, to arrange.

So, I have to admit it quite irritates me to see so many people on the board blame their surgeons for not informing them of things, when the majority of the information is so easily accessible. I really want to ask them if they bothered to do any research at all before jumping on the surgery bandwagon. I generally manage to hold my tongue, though. But I also won't make posts that commiserate with them and heap more blame on their surgeon, simply because I feel that the ultimate responsibility for making sure the patient is informed about everything that comes with banding was the patient's.

Surgeons only have so much time to sit and talk to each patient.

That's why they started doing the seminars. Frankly I think they should take it a step further and say " Ok you decided to have lap band here is a lap band seminar " and go into even greater detail about each surgery .

But I agree Its not fair to sit back and place all the blame on the surgeon .

I have a doctor that is very good at making things clear, spelling things out giving as much detail as he can . And he cant tell me EVERYTHING. He also KNEW I was researching and talking to others for well over a YEAR before I ever saw him .

I am with you i want to ask people did you even Research anything before they went and had this surgery .

I went into the OR very confident that i knew jsut about everything I could about this surgery that someone could with out actually having the surgery . I cant imagine going into it NOT feeling that way .

Mindy

Whoops, I went and opened my mouth about the stuff I said I wouldn't in another thread here in RnR. Let the fireworks begin.

I agree with you, to a certain extent. I personally feel that the onus lies on the patient to make sure that they are educated. I think the doctor and his/her staff should do their best (from an ethical standpoint, if nothing else) to inform the patient, but I think the patient should make sure that they are informed, especially when it comes to elective surgery. With emergency surgery, it's understandable when patients aren't sure what's what when they're recovering and getting back to the life they lived before surgery. But I honestly don't think there's much of an excuse when it comes to an elective surgery that usually takes weeks, if not months, to arrange.

So, I have to admit it quite irritates me to see so many people on the board blame their surgeons for not informing them of things, when the majority of the information is so easily accessible. I really want to ask them if they bothered to do any research at all before jumping on the surgery bandwagon. I generally manage to hold my tongue, though. But I also won't make posts that commiserate with them and heap more blame on their surgeon, simply because I feel that the ultimate responsibility for making sure the patient is informed about everything that comes with banding was the patient's.

I agree. That is why I said it's BOTH! I like your idea of having another seminar after the initial one. I know that some offices are big enough, staffed well, lots of money, etc and maybe are already able to do this. I'm talking about the majority of the patient's that are left with questions they didn't even know they should ask about. I don't know that I have the answer, but I can speak from both sides of the fence (being a patient and a nurse) that improvements should be made in this process.

I know that surgeons only have so much time to educate. I am like you though. I would NEVER dream of having an ELECTIVE surgery without researching it. Obviously if it's an emergency that's different.

Just to say this: I know patients that have chosen the Lap Band simply because they were "grossed out" by having their intestines "touched" or "I don't wanna lose my hair" or "I still want to eat sweets and stuff I like and not have diarrhea".

So in conclusion, the patient should be doing as much research as possible and hopefully armed with questions that they can take to their sugeons/nurses and ask!

~C

wow who knew R&R was so exciting? why wasn't I told?

I was reading some posts on here last night and I confess to feeling exasperated when someone posts that they have had an issue with their band and the most common bit of advice they get is to go to a lawyer. Sometimes I think - be pleased that they found the complication, they are fixing it and you are not dead. But that is me being insensitive I think.

mss: Thank you! Applause!!! You're not being insensitive. Sometimes things go wrong. It's not always the surgeon's fault. I'm sure there are cases where it is, but not all the time. And not every case is worth a lawsuit either. I don't know where you were looking or what you're talking about, but always remember you only have one side of the story.

~C

I think part of the problem is that the surgeon's office does tell them most of what they are asking about... but that's the key, they "tell". Most people can't take it all in and latch onto a few items and forget the rest. My GP's office always sends me home with tons of written material that repeats what the doctor told me. Some bariatric programs do that too and they repeat info and have lots of classes too. I think that all helps.

Of course, some programs are better than others and I get the impression that some programs really don't tell patients this stuff and that's a shame.

Okay, I have one that has been annoying me for a long time!

Ever read threads where the title says:

Help!!! Having potty problems!

HELP!!!!!! OMG I CAN'T GO POO POO

My tummy hurts really bad!

These threads make me crazy. Since when does banding cause otherwise normal adults to revert back to 6 year old English skills? What rational adult calls their banded stomach a tummy and what sane person over the age of 12 calls their bathroom issues poo poo or potty help?

I don't even respond to those threads. As far as I am concerned if a child is posting they need to ask their parents for their bathroom help.

That's my rant for the day.

Okay, I have one that has been annoying me for a long time!

Ever read threads where the title says:

Help!!! Having potty problems!

HELP!!!!!! OMG I CAN'T GO POO POO

My tummy hurts really bad!

These threads make me crazy. Since when does banding cause otherwise normal adults to revert back to 6 year old English skills? What rational adult calls their banded stomach a tummy and what sane person over the age of 12 calls their bathroom issues poo poo or potty help?

I don't even respond to those threads. As far as I am concerned if a child is posting they need to ask their parents for their bathroom help.

That's my rant for the day.

I'll second that. One of the many, many nice things about being an adult is that you now have the ability to communicate like one.

Minor hijack here and I apologise, however, I need to know: Turler, what on earth is your avatar?

LOL!! She is a Pekingnese dog!! Isn't she the cutest darn thing you ever saw? She is all fluff!

~C

Oh, I can see her now! Because I couldn't see any facial features the picture looked like a black hole surrounded by hair. Believe me, I looked at it a long while before asking.

Oh, I can see her now! Because I couldn't see any facial features the picture looked like a black hole surrounded by hair. Believe me, I looked at it a long while before asking.

That always make me laugh! A lot of people ask me and I think it's so funny because she really is just adorable. She has a big personality to go with her big hair. Everyone that sees her (in person) just falls in love. She is not your typical bug-eyed Peke.

Okay...sorry...hijack is over!

~C

Hmmm....The reason I am here is to learn, ask questions, meet people in the same situation....am I wrong? I just think that people are always needing to feel superior to others. It seems there is a heirarchy even in this forum of people feeling superior to those who are "newbies". Get over yourself.