Should people barely over 200 lbs or below 200 get Lapband or any WLS...?

[Carrie_C 9]

I had the surgery out of vanity also. I was also tired of being fat and not being able to do what I wanted to do. My BMI was almost 41 when I had it, and people have told me the same thing, that I didn't weight enough. I really don't care what others think. I'm the one who has to look at myself in the mirror everyday.

[MacMadame 81]

i have had a few people on this website especially in the chat room make resentful comments in regards to my desire for a lapband. i wish those folks could view my and my friend's decision for surgery as a chance at "prevention of obesity". instead, they act like we self-absorbed light-weights are robbing a more deserving peron of a chance at good health and happiness.

Well if your BMI is 30, you are obese so it's more morbid obesity prevention. I definitely see that attitude sometimes... as if only so many surgeries can be performed so if you get one, that means someone "more deserving" can't get one. Of course, it doesn't work like that at all.

Btw, one of the places I post is the Lightweights board at ObesityHelp.com. Everyone there started with a BMI of 40-ish or less and there is no judgement about why you want surgery. You guys should come by and check us out.

I'm the one who has to look at myself in the mirror everyday.

When I look in the mirror, I see myself as at about 135 lb. :yikes: So it wasn't vanity for me. It's more an example of how the BMI charts are limited. Whenever I go over 200 lb. I am miserable physically, but the charts say I'm not MO until I'm I am 212 or higher.

Btw, this is what I looked like at my hightest weight:

IMG_1180.JPG (image)

IMG_0064.jpg (image)

Now look at those pictures and tell me with a straight face that the person in there hasn't got a serious weight problem and just needs to cut out the soda (which I didn't drink, btw).

Edited January 17, 2009 by MacMadame

[Jachut 487]

i have had a few people on this website especially in the chat room make resentful comments in regards to my desire for a lapband. i wish those folks could view my and my friend's decision for surgery as a chance at "prevention of obesity". instead, they act like we self-absorbed light-weights are robbing a more deserving peron of a chance at good health and happiness.

This is what really gets to me, this feeling that by having the surgery you've robbed someone else to have theirs.

I hate that attitude, hate it. There was a thread the other day about this, someone complaining about her boss (sorry "someone" if you're reading). It was such a mean spirited post, like eveyone wants to hog all the weight loss just for themselves because they deserve it more. Its so darn stupid, thinking this way. Everyone's journey is individual and has nothign to do with anyone else.

[Carrie_C 9]

Yea, there are plenty of bands to go around for everyone.

[crickpoodle 0]

hi all -

before bed last night i went to the chat room here on LBT and began by asking if anyone had knowledge of the mexican doc i am considering for banding.

other chatters started asking why Mexico. they asked my BMI, height, weight, age, jean size, lots of stuff. they began criticizing me because i said i wanted to lose 40-45 lbs. i explained that weightloss had been a life-long struggle for me (and my mother and my sister). i said i feel like the band would be a tool or aide in my weightloss journey; that i didn't expect it to be a magic pill or any easy way out. they did not agree at all.

there were probably 8 different chatters, maybe more. the text was moving so quickly i could hardly keep up and type, too. one woman put her text in capitals and started "yelling" at me. she said it's people like me that give WLS a bad name. one man named dan said i was being weak (another said ridiculous) and that i should just join weight watchers and start walking. one person said two or three times to the other chatters, "...go check out crickpoodle's profile." another comment said, no good doctor would give me a band, only a hack from mexico who only wanted money. i didn't know they would take my situation so personally or that i would be a lightening rod for so much criticism.

i wish there were a way i could have saved that stream of chat. i wish you could read it. i wish i could re-read it. i want to remind myself never to go back there again.

i thanked them for their opinions and logged out. i went to bed feeling horrible, near tears. i know i shouldn't give them so much power over me but i was left feeling very selfish and vain and in doubt of my own motivations for wanting WLS.

[luluc 6]

i thanked them for their opinions and logged out. i went to bed feeling horrible, near tears. i know i shouldn't give them so much power over me but i was left feeling very selfish and vain and in doubt of my own motivations for wanting WLS.

crickpoodle - just stay out of the chat room is my best advice. i've been there MAYBE three times - nobody has anything nice to say.....so find your support outside the naysayers.

who cares how much you have to lose?? your obese w/a bmi of 30, and the fact that american doctors or better yet the insurance companies prefer you to get fatter & develop comorbidities is a $%^&*! SHAME. your money, your body, your decision. there are MANY on this board that go to Mexico for the lapband, so critizing those doctors is pretty sad, considering many of them have taugh US drs how to do the lapband surgery.

low bmi patients are NOT a strain on the insuarance companies in approving WLS for others who are MO or SMO, and to blame many of us that are in that category is dispicable. would LOVE many of them in your "chat rm" discussion to join this thread - now that would be FUN!!!

[crickpoodle 0]

luluc -

thank you for your encouragement and kind words. i just hope mexico goes well for my friend and me. i hope we choose a competent and caring surgeon.

thank you again for your kindness. =)

[jane410 0]

.I was banded Oct. of 2007. I weighed 195. I am 4'10 and I can tell you I was very overwight fo my size. I have lost 60 lbs. I went from a size 20 to a size 12. I can breath for the first time in a long time. I had a lot of belly fat which is very bad or the heart. I have battled my weight like the rest of you all my life

I feel a lot better about myself. Ii still have some weight to lose but I'm confident that I will lose my remaining lbs. Thanks listening.

[Carrie_C 9]

I'm sorry they were so mean in the chat room. That is one reason I don't go in there anymore. I'm sure you will be fine after your surgery.

[pattygreen 5]

(First time posting on this question.) I personally feel that each person needs to make that decision for themself. I had my surgery at 281 pounds. I gained about 50 lbs in the 1st year before my surgery. I spent nearly 25 years of my life weighing around 215. I was comfortable at 215. But not happy with my appearance. At 215, I didn't feel the need for surgery. Never even thought about it. But, by the time Ihit 270 or so, now I started contemplating surgery. Some may feel that at 215 they would have had it. It's definitley your own decision because only you know where you are comfortable or happy. You have to remember that wls is elective surgery. Thus why you and you alone can elect to have it at any weight you choose. It has been 4 months since I had my WLS, and I've lost 40 lbs. so far. When I reach my comfortable 215 again, I will be thrilled to be at that weight. Anything after that will be pure icing on the cake!!!

[HeatherO 7]

pattygreen, You said it perfectly. :0)

It is such a personal choice and unless you are ready for it, it is not the right choice for you. If you are ready for that commitment at 190, 215, 270, 350, etc and are obese, than the time is right regardless of what other people say or think.

[HeatherO 7]

i thanked them for their opinions and logged out. i went to bed feeling horrible, near tears. i know i shouldn't give them so much power over me but i was left feeling very selfish and vain and in doubt of my own motivations for wanting WLS.

I am sorry that you had that experience. I also don't bother with the chat rooms because it seems like the overall tone of conversation is not always positive and it has too much of a "gossip" feel to it.

You would think, or at least I would, that people who have struggled with obesity or weight to the extent that they would consider surgical resolution would be more tolerant of others struggling with that same problem. What I have found in real life is that others struggling with obesity can sometimes be considerably less tolerant or supportive than the population at large. Why this is, I can't even begin to speculate.

All I can say is that you shouldn't let anybody get you down. Do what you need to do for yourself, people in a miscellaneous chat room mean less than nothing in the overall scheme of what happens in your life.

I went to Mexico. I did alot of research beforehand, and was very happy with my experience. I found good aftercare for afterwards and made sure that all my options were covered. I have also had excellent results, reached my goal, and I am very proud of where I am today. I have no doubts that some others "poo poo" my decision (it has happened before), but I live in this body and I have no regrets.

[crickpoodle 0]

heathero -

congrats!!!... on your pregnancy!! =) i don't know if this is your first time or not, but being a mom is so cool and fun! you are the first "prego bandster" i've run into but i've heard it can be a great success and a blessing in the post-partum.

your words of encouragement regarding my misgivings are meaningful and kind. thank you.

may i ask who did your band in mexico? were you happy with that experience?

best regards,

Edited January 19, 2009 by crickpoodle

[green 6]

heathero -

congrats!!!... on your pregnancy!! =) i don't know if this is your first time or not, but being a mom is so cool and fun! you are the first "prego bandster" i've run into but i've heard it can be a great success and a blessing in the post-partum.

your words of encouragement regarding my misgivings are meaningful and kind. thank you.

may i ask who did your band in mexico? were you happy with that experience?

best regards,

Crick, I am sorry to hear of your humiliating experience in the chat room. It can be just as tough/impossible to shed 40 lbs without outside help as 140, I think. I weighed 195 lbs the morning of my operation and I am 5'6". I had my band done in Toronto, Canada and, yes, 40 stubborn lbs was what I was hoping to get rid of.

The band, by the way, worked like a charm for me because I don't have a sweet tooth. I am a volume eater. Stick with the band rules and you will do just fine. Congratulations on getting the band!!!!

[Debi H. 0]

nice question maybe we should revamp the insurance industry. why do we have to be sick before we can get help.

Im 4ft 11" and 165 pre-op. Banded on 12-12-2008. Yes I paid for it myself, but i didnt want to wait till i get heart problems or diabetes etc. I battled weight issues most of my life. Tired of trying things that didnt work. I am looking forward to my first fill, but mostly to being in good health and alittle thinner too!!