Author Topic: Gastric bands  (Read 5234 times)

Offline souxi

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Gastric bands
« on: March 28, 2008, 12:52:51 pm »
What is your opinion on people who have gastric bands fitted? I have just read yet another article about a hugely obese woman who had one fitted when she reached something like 25 stone. Why does it seem that some people simply cannot seem to loose weight the "proper way", ie through dieting? I lost almost 3 stone about 3 years ago and I,ve kept the weight off, why can,t these women do the same? Do you think that having a band fitted is "cheating"? Obviously these women have no self control or willpower so it,s obviously a last resort for them, but what makes me cross is when these people say that it,s too hard to diet; why? It isn,t too hard to open the fridge or a crisp packet or a packet of biscuits is it? So why is it too hard to diet? What do you think?

Offline forsythia12

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Re: Gastric bands
« Reply #1 on: March 28, 2008, 02:43:08 pm »
i don't know enough about the issue.  i watch what i eat, and try to stay fit, but i've never had an addiction, or weight problem, so for me to say anything conclusive would be ignorant.
however, i worry about those who get surgery because many of the rammifications can be deadly, and i fear for their health and welbeing in the long run.........but again, i don't have enough info.

Offline souxi

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Re: Gastric bands
« Reply #2 on: March 28, 2008, 03:11:26 pm »
The woman in the story I was reading, WAS eating up to 40 bars of chocolate a day!! Now I,m sorry but there is only one word for someone like that.... PIG.
That is just plain simple greed. Ultimately you control what food goes in your mouth. You don,t have to eat a whole packet of biscuits or a family sized pizza, or family sized bars of chocolate do you? She was just plain greedy. Yes maybe she did have an addiction, in that case it should have been treated before she resorted to such a drastic measure, because as you rightly said, the health risks are enormous. More so I would think the bigger you are.I just think that maybe people should do more to help themselves before they resort to surgery. I mean 40 bars of chocolate? It,s a wonder she wasn,t sick. I can eat about 2 squares maximum and that,s it. Any more and I,d be sick. I read about another woman who was also clinically obese, ie she weighed well over 25 stone. She was on a flight to somewhere, and the pilot actually had to stop the plane and make her sit at the back because she weighed the front of the plane down and they couldn,t take off!! I,d have been mortified. It stopped her stuffing her face though and she went on to loose weight normally.

Offline forsythia12

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Re: Gastric bands
« Reply #3 on: March 28, 2008, 04:01:13 pm »
also, let's not forget there are a tremendous amount of psychological issues here as well.  i know that sexually abused people, especially women, are known to put on the weight to hide behind, or become unappealing, or eat to ease emotional pain.
i think there are no simple solutions.  i think there are several components to obesity.  greed is perhaps one of them for some people, but there are other reasons too for many.
i thought people who underwent surgery had to be deemed mentally healthy by a psychiatrist first, or had to recieve counselling for a period of time before a doctor would perform such a task.  i'm sure many doc's out there just want to have clients and make a buck or two, but i thought credible ones ensured proper councelling first.  dr. phil does a lot of these stories, and he has a lot of usefull information about the topic.  not sure if you're a fan of his, but his website might be worth a look.

injest

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Re: Gastric bands
« Reply #4 on: March 28, 2008, 05:55:05 pm »
What is your opinion on people who have gastric bands fitted? I have just read yet another article about a hugely obese woman who had one fitted when she reached something like 25 stone. Why does it seem that some people simply cannot seem to loose weight the "proper way", ie through dieting? I lost almost 3 stone about 3 years ago and I,ve kept the weight off, why can,t these women do the same? Do you think that having a band fitted is "cheating"? Obviously these women have no self control or willpower so it,s obviously a last resort for them, but what makes me cross is when these people say that it,s too hard to diet; why? It isn,t too hard to open the fridge or a crisp packet or a packet of biscuits is it? So why is it too hard to diet? What do you think?

I think there are other issues with some people. For example thyroid problems can cause weight gain, your genetics make a difference, and your circumstances.

While it is nice you did it, I wouldn't consider the less fortunate to be 'weak'

injest

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Re: Gastric bands
« Reply #5 on: March 28, 2008, 05:58:52 pm »
The woman in the story I was reading, WAS eating up to 40 bars of chocolate a day!! Now I,m sorry but there is only one word for someone like that.... PIG.
That is just plain simple greed. Ultimately you control what food goes in your mouth. You don,t have to eat a whole packet of biscuits or a family sized pizza, or family sized bars of chocolate do you? She was just plain greedy. Yes maybe she did have an addiction, in that case it should have been treated before she resorted to such a drastic measure, because as you rightly said, the health risks are enormous. More so I would think the bigger you are.I just think that maybe people should do more to help themselves before they resort to surgery. I mean 40 bars of chocolate? It,s a wonder she wasn,t sick. I can eat about 2 squares maximum and that,s it. Any more and I,d be sick. I read about another woman who was also clinically obese, ie she weighed well over 25 stone. She was on a flight to somewhere, and the pilot actually had to stop the plane and make her sit at the back because she weighed the front of the plane down and they couldn,t take off!! I,d have been mortified. It stopped her stuffing her face though and she went on to loose weight normally.

There but for the grace of God. How sad for those people. 

What must have happened in their lives to make them feel that the only happiness they could get was eating? I am grateful to be more fortunate.

Offline delalluvia

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Re: Gastric bands
« Reply #6 on: March 30, 2008, 03:56:20 pm »
If the weight gain isn't a physical issue which can be addressed and dealt with by medication and treatment, then the problem is emotional and psychological.

I think by-passes and gastric bands are a great treatment.

But if the overeating was a psychological problem, surgery won't help the person very much.

Look at Carnie Wilson.  She blared publicity about her gastric bypass, had the surgery shown on the internet, she did it to save her life due to the health issues of a 5'5" woman weighing over 300 lbs and spoke about her family problems with her father.  But they were making up and reconciling.

She dropped to 140 lbs and looked and felt great.

She's back up to 208 lbs now and is having a great deal of trouble keeping it off.  She never lost the weight after her 1st child, she didn't like to exercise, didn't like limiting what she ate.  And here is the result.

One of my best friends is 5" tall and over 200 lbs.  She is Ms. A-type personality, she is strong and disciplined and organized and successful in her career, but she cannot lose the weight no matter how hard she tries.

She - and I - have always known her weight gain is tied directly to the abuse she had as a child.  It is some sort of 'acting out' or 'response' to her parents who abused and didn't protect her and now are in denial about ever having hurt her in anyway.  She watches "World's Biggest Loser" and has noticed that a great many of the contestants as well have emotional issues.  These are not healthy well-rounded people.  For example, healthy, well rounded people have no desire to eat 40 candy bars a day.  They have issues they need to deal with and they may never be able to lose and keep off the weight until they do.

injest

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Re: Gastric bands
« Reply #7 on: March 30, 2008, 05:02:44 pm »
If the weight gain isn't a physical issue which can be addressed and dealt with by medication and treatment, then the problem is emotional and psychological.

I think by-passes and gastric bands are a great treatment.

But if the overeating was a psychological problem, surgery won't help the person very much.

Look at Carnie Wilson.  She blared publicity about her gastric bypass, had the surgery shown on the internet, she did it to save her life due to the health issues of a 5'5" woman weighing over 300 lbs and spoke about her family problems with her father.  But they were making up and reconciling.

She dropped to 140 lbs and looked and felt great.

She's back up to 208 lbs now and is having a great deal of trouble keeping it off.  She never lost the weight after her 1st child, she didn't like to exercise, didn't like limiting what she ate.  And here is the result.

One of my best friends is 5" tall and over 200 lbs.  She is Ms. A-type personality, she is strong and disciplined and organized and successful in her career, but she cannot lose the weight no matter how hard she tries.

She - and I - have always known her weight gain is tied directly to the abuse she had as a child.  It is some sort of 'acting out' or 'response' to her parents who abused and didn't protect her and now are in denial about ever having hurt her in anyway.  She watches "World's Biggest Loser" and has noticed that a great many of the contestants as well have emotional issues.  These are not healthy well-rounded people.  For example, healthy, well rounded people have no desire to eat 40 candy bars a day.  They have issues they need to deal with and they may never be able to lose and keep off the weight until they do.

exactly, no one WANTS to be so heavy they can't function....and heaping MORE abuse on someone isn't helpful.

I have heard from victims of sexual abuse (and have seen some research) that they feel if they stay fat no one will want to have sex with them again. The fat is a 'shield' to protect them....

it is so sad.

Offline forsythia12

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Re: Gastric bands
« Reply #8 on: March 30, 2008, 05:09:40 pm »
exactly, no one WANTS to be so heavy they can't function....and heaping MORE abuse on someone isn't helpful.

I have heard from victims of sexual abuse (and have seen some research) that they feel if they stay fat no one will want to have sex with them again. The fat is a 'shield' to protect them....

it is so sad.

that's exactly what i was trying to say

injest

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Re: Gastric bands
« Reply #9 on: March 30, 2008, 05:15:41 pm »
also, let's not forget there are a tremendous amount of psychological issues here as well.  i know that sexually abused people, especially women, are known to put on the weight to hide behind, or become unappealing, or eat to ease emotional pain.
i think there are no simple solutions.  i think there are several components to obesity.  greed is perhaps one of them for some people, but there are other reasons too for many.
i thought people who underwent surgery had to be deemed mentally healthy by a psychiatrist first, or had to recieve counselling for a period of time before a doctor would perform such a task.  i'm sure many doc's out there just want to have clients and make a buck or two, but i thought credible ones ensured proper councelling first.  dr. phil does a lot of these stories, and he has a lot of usefull information about the topic.  not sure if you're a fan of his, but his website might be worth a look.

I am sorry!! I went back and looked and I missed this post!

you are right on the mark I think, Leigh Ann....