Rosie O’Donnell Makes Hurtful Comments About the Lap-Band on “The View”

[2muchfun 8,927]

Carolina girl,

I was specifically asked to back up my statements so I did. I think Rosie is entitled to say whatever she wants and for everyone to be all "offended" is ridiculous. She stated true statements...it wasn't a personal jab at anyone and she deserves to be defended so I will defend her. That doesn't mean I don't wish others well, it means I think others are acting childish and ridiculous.

Yeah, I've seen those same lame arguments before. One study from the infancy of the band and two op-eds. How about this one jessi? I'll take this study of 161,000 WLS patients over your silly little study of 82 patients from 20 years ago. You really need to study harder and double check your "Facts" before you publish such ignorant comments.

http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/291785-new-jama-surgery-study-shows-weight-loss-surgery-is-getting-safer-and-more-effective/?p=3289664

[mrsto 2,925]

Now Star Jones tho she denied it, she is super thin last time I saw her

Star Jones had a bypass a few years ago. It was no secret; she talked quite openly about it.

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

Star Jones had a bypass a few years ago. It was no secret; she talked quite openly about it.

She talked about it after keeping it on the down-low (as was her right) for nine years post-op.

http://www.today.com/health/star-jones-her-weight-loss-i-wasnt-plus-size-i-1C9381962

[mrsto 2,925]

She talked about it after keeping it on the down-low (as was her right) for nine years post-op.

http://www.today.com/health/star-jones-her-weight-loss-i-wasnt-plus-size-i-1C9381962

I didn't realize that so much time passed before she opened up. And as you say, it was her right to do so.

[kyrickchick64 468]

Absolutely! I was speaking of her results

[auntiemel 275]

Much of the research has been leaning towards the band as being subpar to the sleeve and/or bypass. I don't watch the view, but I know Rosie o'donnell has always been outspoken and brazen in her comments.

I think that we shouldn't take offense to her comments, just know that she may have the same information that many of us have seen on the band. I spoke with one surgeon who doesn't even perform band surgeries anymore.

I chose the sleeve for my own reasons and believe everyone is entitled to what they want done with their body. One surgeon told me

I should have bypass, but I knew that that wasn't right for me.

Good luck to anyone that chooses to pursue weight loss surgery as a means to better their health.

[Monamarie413 2]

Rosie is known for her outrageous comments! Of course she is going to criticize other surgeries because she did not choose that one. Does not make her view on the View right. Somewhere out people will start to realize that all weight loss surgeries are the tool for those of us that are at that point in our lives where we need help. Like she did!

That is what she should be focusing on not the procedures themselves. I don't watch the view either. Too jumbled with a lot of tension.

[Monamarie413 2]

Wake up folks! She didn't make her comment because it wasn't the procedure she chose for herself. She made it based strictly on the fact that Christie's politics don't match up with hers. If it had been a fat Democrat who had made that choice, her whole tone would have been completely different. She is an extremely rude, highly partisan, big mouthed pig (I don't care how thin she gets either) who lives to hurt others who don't think just like she does. I used to watch the view, but after they brought her back on the 2nd time, that was all I could take.

[Beth Pets 36]

When I had my sleeve done about one third of the other folks on the Bariatric wing were originally banded and had to go through getting it taken out in order to be sleeved. Frankly, I think she's right. There may be some successes with the band but the lower rate of loss and the even more rapid rate of regain seems to indicate that, in general, it isn't the optimum choice if you want to lose weight and keep it off.

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

Aside from the political rants above, there are two actual issues raised by Rosie's comments:

1. She dissed the lapband's effectiveness, angering lapband patients who found and/or still find the band successful for themselves (whether they still have the band or have had it removed). Should she have done that?

2. She "divided" the WLS community where (I did not know this until Rosiegate) that it's politically incorrect to say that one WLS procedure is less effective or desirable than another. Did she cause a division?

My take on Rosiegate is that it's illogical to deem off-limits debates about the relative effectiveness of WLS procedures within, of all places, the WLS community. Every prospective WLS patient has to deliberate about and decide which form of WLS is appropriate for them. It's one of the biggest decisions about WLS we all made.

FTR, I'm 6 1/2 weeks post-VSG-op. I've never had a lapband, but it was the procedure I first explored with my surgeon, since I had thought lapband and gastric bypass were the only two WLS options. Until he described the sleeve, I had never heard of it.

My surgeon (who has done thousands of all three WLS procedures--and supports his past lapband patients) discouraged me strongly from having the lapband citing these facts, based on his education and experience and the experiences of thousands of his WLS patients over the past 10 years:

* The lapband wasn't designed to be a permanent fixture in the human body,

* Fills / adjustments can be difficult to get right,

* The band works imperfectly for many patients in helping them to lose weight,

* Patients find it easy to game/cheat the lapband, obviating the lapband's efficacy,

* Most lapband patients regain their weight when the band is removed, and

* It can slip and erode in ways that damage patients' stomachs and other nearby body organs and tissue,

* Some lapband patients find they are unable to fly due to pressurization changes that may affect the band's fill and cause major discomfort and pain

Those of us who are sleeved have met online many banded patients who wish to transition from the band to the sleeve. Some of their stories of banded life are horrific, particularly about stomach damage caused by their bands that sipped or eroded.

Therefore, this forum and its members don't want to discourage anyone from discussing WLS procedures' pros and cons, their continuing / changing utility, and their risks.

And now that I know more about the three WLS procedures, I agree with the gist of Rosie's comments about the band. What would be very interesting to me would be a civil discussions about which procedure is appropriate for whom and which one(s) are NOT. The decision tree can't be that complicated.

[new me1475 33]

Maybe Rosie needs think of try to lose weight or jog around the block a few times.

[mrsto 2,925]

Aside from the political rants above, there are two actual issues raised by Rosie's comments:

1. She dissed the lapband's effectiveness, angering lapband patients who found and/or still find the band successful for themselves (whether they still have the band or have had it removed). Should she have done that?

2. She "divided" the WLS community where (I did not know this until Rosiegate) that it's politically incorrect to say that one WLS procedure is less effective or desirable than another. Did she cause a division?

My take on Rosiegate is that it's illogical to deem off-limits debates about the relative effectiveness of WLS procedures within, of all places, the WLS community. Every prospective WLS patient has to deliberate about and decide which form of WLS is appropriate for them. It's one of the biggest decisions about WLS we all made.

FTR, I'm 6 1/2 weeks post-VSG-op. I've never had a lapband, but it was the procedure I first explored with my surgeon, since I had thought lapband and gastric bypass were the only two WLS options. Until he described the sleeve, I had never heard of it.

My surgeon (who has done thousands of all three WLS procedures--and supports his past lapband patients) discouraged me strongly from having the lapband citing these facts, based on his education and experience and the experiences of thousands of his WLS patients over the past 10 years:

* The lapband wasn't designed to be a permanent fixture in the human body,

* Fills / adjustments can be difficult to get right,

* The band works imperfectly for many patients in helping them to lose weight,

* Patients find it easy to game/cheat the lapband, obviating the lapband's efficacy,

* Most lapband patients regain their weight when the band is removed, and

* It can slip and erode in ways that damage patients' stomachs and other nearby body organs and tissue,

* Some lapband patients find they are unable to fly due to pressurization changes that may affect the band's fill and cause major discomfort and pain

Those of us who are sleeved have met online many banded patients who wish to transition from the band to the sleeve. Some of their stories of banded life are horrific, particularly about stomach damage caused by their bands that sipped or eroded.

Therefore, this forum and its members don't want to discourage anyone from discussing WLS procedures' pros and cons, their continuing / changing utility, and their risks.

And now that I know more about the three WLS procedures, I agree with the gist of Rosie's comments about the band. What would be very interesting to me would be a civil discussions about which procedure is appropriate for whom and which one(s) are NOT. The decision tree can't be that complicated.

Geez..... This thread is like the gift that keeps on giving.....

I chose the lap band/plication because it leaves me with an option at a later date; the choice to reverse it if something changes in my life. I have ZERO judgement on what others have chosen for themselves. ZERO. I was scheduled for a bypass, but cancelled two weeks prior; too permanent for my personality type. When considering all surgery options, and forward thinking about illnesses that could arise in my aging years, I did not want to remove most of my stomach because I may need it for absorption of nutrients. AGAIN, no judgement on those who chose to go that route. Believe me, I love the idea of having surgery & being done; no fills, no whatever. But I'm very cautious when it comes to permanent changes to my body, and what I chose is what I can live with. To each his (or her) own.

Lets give this a rest already. I cannot stand Rosie O, and chalk up the crap that comes out of her mouth as her personal "agenda". Lets all live and be well with our choices. After all, we've lost weight, reversed co-morbidity health issues. There is no debate here. Live....and let live.

Edited October 4, 2014 by mrsto

[boccob81 244]

I had the band removed it was screwing up my esophagus and leaking and just not working . Went for the sleeve .i love it !

[NewLife'sGr8 241]

I don't watch The View, maybe caught a couple episodes when it debut's. I thought the whole premise of the show was to get women of varying ages and varying opinions, to speak on certain topics so the public could realize there are a wide range of opinions on any given subject out there. I thought it was up to each individual watching to take the discussion, to form their own opinions..

I was banded in '09. due ortho injuries resulting in multiple surgeries, I wanted to have enough nutrients to heal well. I requested a slow. gradual fill which I'd hoped would coincide with the end of surgeries. 8 surgeries in 4 yrs; 2 with lots of blood loss that rendered me unknowingly, extremely enimic.

It hasn't been easy but I did lose 100lbs in those 4 yrs. In 2013, I experienced band complications of my own doing- picked up smoking cigs after 5yrs smoke-free, due to extreme mega- stress. The stress inflamed the band site. Smoking inflamed the band site, Alcohol increase inflamed the band site & a too-tight adjustment following the last of my surgeries further complicated already well-inflamed band site. I ended up awake all night with those uber annoying, hacking, night coughs. Then, the acid reflux. Burning all the way up my esophagus to my throat-OW! Then on top of the cough wake ups, I began also waking up an additional 2-3x's a night, vomiting blood that pooled in my tummy from the acid.

I had the band loosened & gained 15lbs in 4 mos. The gastric symptoms were treated with omniprozole & some other liquid tummy med & it healed nicely. The PA put back 1cc and it seems ok though there are nights I still cough all night. Still trying to figure out the new sweet spot. I've lost 10 of the 15lbs I'd gained so am now @ 95lbs lost, 5yrs out.

Even with all that, I'm not considering tossing the band and giving up. I'm pretty confident that once my mind's in a place where I have reduced that mega-stress enough to stop quitting smoking again, my tummy will stop being so inflamed & the band will again do its' job. I have 25-30lbs to lose to get to my goal weight.

I'm not offended by Rosie's comments @ all. It is what it is. My PA informed me the band has had a low success rate in general; that I'm an exception to the rule. So what!

I'm glad I'm still in the 50% group of band successes. I took Rosie's comments with a grain of salt; it's just her opinion based on whatever she knew @ that point in time. We've all done research to chose whichever WLS we get. What I discovered that informed my decision to get banded would probably offend the sleeve & RNY people. Who cares? We're all in this together, learning as we go, even Rosie.

Anyone who makes their WLS decision based solely on "Rosie said..." should maybe consider a lobotomy instead of WLS, IMHO.

[mrsto 2,925]

Anyone who makes their WLS decision based solely on "Rosie said..." should maybe consider a lobotomy instead of WLS, IMHO.

LOL!!!