prairiedog

Okay I feel sure I am likely going to offend someone here, so if you are easily offended stop reading now!
 
I don't often get on my "high horses" but I am today.
 
I have heard people complain and moan and groan about surgery being a waste of money and time. Well my first questions is....
Did you follow you doctor's orders?
Did you listen and follow what the nutritionist said?
Did you go in to see the doctor and discuss issues?
 
If the answer to any of those are no then you wasted your own money! I work hard to make a living and I am not going to give my money away for nothing. I am paying my surgeon and my nutritionist a prime rate and honey you better bet I am going to listen to their orders. If I feel like something they told me is unfounded then I am going to discuss it with them and see if we can come up with a plan- for example multivitamins make me sick. For some reason multivitamins make me very ill, for a first couple of months I took individual vitamins throuhgout the day to prevent getting sick. After that I ask my doctor to test my levels and everything was great. The doctor gave me clearence to stop taking most of the vitamins only if I had my levels checked monthly. I have and everything is fine. I still take B vitamins since those have always been low.
 
I didn't just do my own thing and ignore his advice. We made a plan and I followed through.
 
My opinion, again this is MY OPINION, if you are not going to follow doctors orders then don't spend the money and waste the time to have surgery.
 
If you are not willing to commit totally to what it takes to be successful with WLS don't do it. It may be that you aren't ready right now, but in time you will be.

I find it hard to believe that so many lap band patients do not follow their doctors instructions. You are given post op instructions of liquids and upgrading your diet slowly for a reason. You band is stitched to the stomach and eating before you are supposed to YES CAN BE HARMFUL. When you eat the stomach has to work and churn and move and if you are filling it with food before you are supposed to then you are not giving your surgery sites time to heal. Its not just about your incisions but about the band placement too.
 
Why risk it because you are hungry? Why take matters in to your own hands and eat what you want when you want then down the road you will be the first person complaining the band failed me.
 
Any doctor gives you instructions for your health. Do you not take your routine medications like they were prescribed? Would you not take insulin or high blood pressure medication just because you didnt feel like it? Heck no you wouldn't. So why take a chance with the band? A month out of your life is not going to kill you to be hungry. Just do what you are told to do then you won't have to be asking did I do something to hurt my band.