"My Lap-Band disaster" is the headline of
this Salon article. Go and read it, then come back and let's discuss.
This woman, who weighed 175 lbs, couldn't find a surgeon in the U.S. that was unethical enough to give her a lap band, so she went to another country to find one. She says that she read everything she could about the lap band, but if she had, she would have found out how crucial aftercare is. She'd know that flying to London a couple of times a year for a fill is not the extent of it. She'd know that the people who are the most unhappy or least successful with their lap band, tend to not have access to good aftercare (for example,
this poor girl who got hers in Mexico) or go into the surgery ill-informed and with unrealistic expectations.
"Every time I tried to eat broccoli or carrots or anything healthy I used
to enjoy, it would get caught in my throat and hurt so badly that I
would race to the bathroom to puke." Nowhere in the article, does she talk about learning to chew, chew, chew, and eating slowly, all the lifetime behaviors we have to modify. Which, as you and I know, goes hand in hand with band. Obviously, her band was already primed when it was inserted. Due to her difficulties eating, she resorts to slider foods. We've all been there. But then, she goes to have FLUID ADDED.
Basically, I'm all stabby now that this woman - who did not meet the criteria for this surgery - got it anyway, and now gets to speak about it in a public forum. My husband urged me to comment on the article, but I avoid internet article comments like the plague. Comments are where hope goes to die. But I'm not above verbally abusing Salon on twitter, for that inflammatory headline, and for showcasing this author.
