[fr1endly2]

Ok...I always have been a big supporter of Oprah, but today the total focus of her show is on bashing WLS.

Does this make anyone else mad!!! She is saying that people that have WLS are not dealing with the true issues and they will turn to other addictions.

Ok....this may be true for some, but what about all of the others leading a healthy life! I am so pissed! I think we should all write in and tell her how we feel about it!

[pugmama]

you write and I give you permission to sign my name... you know how many people have approached me about ALCOHOL now! GAWD! I'm not even a drinker. I understand the underlying issues, but I think it's really s****y for her to bash us. Sorry we all can't have someone cook for us every night and a personal trainner. She should be giving us props for saving our lives, no matter how we had to do it!

[PeggySue]

Lisa, i too watched it.. and even went to themessage boards to write... but all thoes women, including Carnie Wilson all had addictions weather or not they had WLS. I thought Oprah had a lot of nerve to run WLS down.. gee I guess if we had her trainer, chef and money we could all
have her big hips and big boobs and wear thoes lycra tops she is so fond of wearing. She is pretty much full of herself and I personally cant stand watching her....the show did nothing for WLS and all the benfits it gives people like me who could have had a heart attack at 55.
I will write to her sponsors and tell them I will not be buyng whatever she is selling on her show.. I guess Ill quit now... an I angry.. you bet! Peggy
PS--- as for Carnie Wilson did I care she was addicted to
pot when she was in her teens... that tells me she can be addicted to anything else....see Dr. Phil!

[fr1endly2]

YEAH FOR me this saved my life weight loss surgery!
I felt i was also a heart attack or stroke waiting to happen
at 310 lbs and 43.

I think her storey was horrible!!!!
Sheesh!
ANYONE else catch this and have views????

[Pillows]

I unfortunately missed the show and therefore can't accurately make any statements or assumptions right now. I do understand that the transferance of addictions should be addressed, and is a valid concern. I will flat out admit that I have never drank alcohol and hope not to start now, but I have never been more tempted to do so in my whole life. However, this is not some side effect that I am about to blame on my surgeon or the surgery or not being well informed prior to my having it. I would still do the surgery over if given the chance and accept responsibility for any side effects it may have in my life. It is unfortunate if there were unjust or unfair judgements made, but sadly enough this is something we will have to deal with and battle our whole lives. We knew this going in and we just have to remember that we did this for us and not for some celebrity. It is things like this that make me understand why Star Jones decided to try to keep private her surgery and I think that support for each other instead of retaliation against the world is the best approach for our success. We will never be taken seriously in the mainstream if we automatically jump to the deffensive every time someone says that the surgery is wrong. I would never want to try to impose myself on someone else that wants to tell about their struggles with the surgery. I think that anyone looking into the surgery need to know both sides of the coin. I also don't want to make it seem as though if you are having a hard time post op that you can't reach out and say that you are struggling. We as a community cut our legs out from under us if we get so enraged that we discourage open and honest expression about the different things that can happen. By making things swept under the rug, we only enable the temptations of bad habits and addictions to take over in our lives. I hope that you will all understand that I can see where you are coming from in your disgust at how it was portrayed, but there are other things to consider. Please try to search your feelings and motivations before you go and try to harm a celebrity's reputation by wasting your time with hateful thoughts.
Janae

[DocSanae]

We don't have Oprah here, so I can't say anything valid about the show, or what she particularly said. I have to take into consideration her body language when she discussed whatever, not just her words, to make my own judgement.
However, there are a few things I can say.

You first have to consider, obsessions and addictions don't always mean drugs, alcohol, or food. They are only things that you ingest, so shows up in some physical form. There are other things. Shopping complusively, gambling, racing, whatever. I don't think there's one person in the world who doesn't get high from something, not a one who has a secret obsession for something. It's just human. Fortunately, some have been given the tools early to make that obsession a productive one, while others have not had that chance, and ended up making destructive habits. If you think you have a destructive habit, then you work to make it productive instead. To think that one is high above any of these temptations that may be destructive is just plain arrogance.

Whatever others say, the choice of surgery is up to you. But, as Janae says, you need to know the good and the bad side of the surgery, and the limit it has. It isn't a cure all for all your griefs, as I am sure you all know. For some, you also do have to face whatever issues you dealt with up to now, with food as your mediator, if that is what you used, directly with your mind instead, and that can be a tough job. For others, you have to realign and relearn what eating healthy is, because, well, you never were given the chance to eat in moderation and for health, before you really understood what food to live, instead of live for food, is. Realigning and rebuilding your life around things you have never moved with before is tough. But you can all do it with patience and perseverance.

That said, you can go the conventional way--watch your diet and exercise, deal with your life issues with/without the help of therapists (everyone has life issues, make no mistake there, Oprah has hers, I have mine)-- but there are temptations all around, and science is beginning to prove that it isn't all in your mind, there are things that factor in as physical/physiological/medical that requires medical intervention. You may be in a time crunch to lose the weight that is destroying your health and life before you can get the excess weight under control, so you need a tool to buy you some time. This is what the surgery is.

It is unfortunate that wellknown people will attempt to discredit a necessary procedure and the people who need it. Whatever you say, you always have to keep in mind, the next one could be you.

Don't waste your time on people who will never understand, or try to understand. It's just going to eat at you. Keep your heads up high, work diligently at whatever you need to work, and the world will come around. Plenty of evidence in the world that shallow people will eventaully see their own downfall, whether king/queen or beggar.

((((((HUGS))))) & to all.

[fr1endly2]

I have no problems with seeing the bad sides but then make it a mini series and also show the good! NO big deal i dont really like TALK SHOWS
anyway. I just felt she didnt also portray good! BUT its really all about ratings! AND i imaigne the down side gets the hupla where the postives
dont. PERHAPS that why i dont go for the talk trash TV at all. JUST tuned
this in for the topic as i did when tyra interviewed carnie wilson and others that had WLS. I watch these episodes to bring debate to the forums and conversation flowing. NOT my kind of tv at all..I am, however, more a reality tv buff and cant wait till AMERICAN IDOL kicks in and im enjoying
the bachlor this season as well.

[bren]

I missed the show.. I was planning on taping it but forgot all about it!

[fr1endly2]

BREN u really didnt miss anything worth seeing!
I would have rather seen a WLS episode on
complications post op then how this was covered.
JUST me

[pugmama]

But what I don't get...
We get judged for so many things... what race we are... what life style we lead... what sex we are... and being FAT was just another to add to that list. Why is it that, Oprah, of all people, feels the need to pass judgment. I know we can't hide from the world and everyone passes judgment but with her power and influence, you'd think she'd be the one to celebrate getting healthy, no matter how you do it. Like Lisa... I have no problem discussing both sides of the surgery issue... I do have a problem with educating people only on one side, in this case the "bad" side. I'm not MAD at Opra... I'm disappointed with her and her approach. Ratings or not, people look to her for guidance.