One of the most honest blogs on WLS (this patient sustained a seizure
disorder after her gastric bypass and found 150 other patients who had
suffered the same) is apparently closing shop.
I know the blogger had
gotten a lot of pressure from those who wish to cheer-lead the surgery
because she had mentioned that several times but it mostly, seems that
the more involved she became with providers, the less she seemed to want
to blog candidly about what she experienced on the negative side of
WLS. Providers started asking her to speak at their booths, and paid
for her trips to conventions... when that started happening, I wondered
how long her candid blog would continue - it's difficult - next to
impossible, to refuse those types of perks, especially for a young
mother whose disability (epilepsy after WLS) kept her from working and
that's exactly how those who have had a difficult time with the surgery
tend to be silenced - that or settling lawsuits out of court in exchange
for the patient's silence about the repercussions from their WLS
surgeries.
I've stuck in so long (since 1999) because I have not had
WLS and thus there is nothing they can really offer me to shut up (although I
know my name is not spoken with love in many WLS circles). One patient,
Trish Hargis (RIP) called it the "conspiracy of silence".
Trish courageously got on "Obesity-help" which is financed by the WLS
industry, as well as wls_uncensored listserve, and talked plainly about what she
had experienced but unfortunately, her WLS contributed to her early
demise at the age of 54. I see so many folks go into weight loss surgery without
knowing that, at best, with a lot of work on a daily basis and blood
work every 6 months etc, the WLS surgery can only offer them a 2%
greater chance of keeping their weight off than going at it with a non
surgical program like Weight Watchers (Mayo Clinic study early 2000's
for one - Swedish Obesity study for another).
Sorry to see that blog go - it was a good one....
Thursday, March 20, 2014
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