Local Support Groups - ThinnerTimes - Gastric Bypass Forum, Lap Band Forum, and Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Forum

Marella · 06-01-2008, 03:10 PM

Those of you who attend WLS support meetings conducted by your doctor, your hospital, nutritionist or other... would you please share what goes on at your meetings, how they're conducted, what you think is positive about these meetings, and what is missing from them, how you would run them, or make them better, and if they are worth it, and why.

Just curious as to how similar or how different they are... plus, this may help make each of our personal monthly support meetings a better environment for at least 1)attending, 2)losing, 3)maintaining

In my support meeting -- I've been to about 5 -- there are mostly RNY patients, about 20, (one or two Lapbands). Not all were done by the same doctor or even at the same hospital... they may have gone out of the area where their insurance had coverage, but go locally for support or just moved to the area.

My support group is largely from the nutritional standpoint run by my nutritionist, and only helps with our food choices and plateaus. Well, the ones I've been to, anyway, though we did cover post WLS reconstructive surgery at one of them.

When we start the session, we go around the room, introduce ourselves by our first names, tell what surgery we've had, when, and how much we've lost (everyone claps or cheers!) OR we tell where we are in the pre-surgery process from just thinking about it, to already being scheduled. The whole meeting lasts about an hour and is held once per month.

I was just wondering if perhaps a way to instill this life change and positive maintenance would be if our support group should be more like Alcoholics Anonymous and go around the room and announce that we are overeaters. Or announce our improved quality of life. Or announce the medical problems that we had, or have had, or have overcome, so that we constantly remind ourselves FOR THAT MONTH until the next meeting to maintain ourselves because we don't want to announce that we slipped on a banana split.

Thanks for sharing anything and everything, please.

OsoDelDesierto · 06-03-2008, 06:09 PM

My local WLS support group ("TUSWLS") meets three times a month, once on Tucson's northwest side, once on the east side, and once in the central part of town. Members can attend one, two, or three meetings a month, as they prefer. The group also runs a Yahoo message board, although I generally read messages there much more than I post them. The group also sponsors monthly WLS-friendly potlucks, parties, clothing exchanges, etc., and organized a day-long seminar last fall that was fun and wonderfully informative.

The people who lead the meetings are a board of five women, all post-op WLS patients, some of whom are five years out or more. They emphasize that they are laypeople who do not give medical advice, but their info is approved by the surgeons.

The northwest and eastside meetings are primarily support meetings, similar in format to the one you describe, Marella, but with an added component of education on a specific topic that changes each month, such as vitamin absorbtion or base metabolic rate calculation or exercise. The central meeting is called Never Obese Again ("NOAG") and is just educational in nature, not for support - extremely informative on WLS-related topics, but with no sharing of goals reached, struggles, clapping, etc., as in the two support meetings. Members can weigh in before or after all of these meetings, if they choose to.

Members are pre-op and post-op RNY, VSG, and LapBand patients of many different surgeons at all stages of their process, but the majority are patients of my surgeon, Dr. Patrick Chiasson, and his partner, Dr. Stephen Burpee. VSGers have started to outnumber RNYers because Drs. Chiasson and Burpee are performing so many VSGs now. LapBanders are a small minority in these meetings, but they also have a separate group in town, and other groups are available, including the group run by my former surgeon's office (bless his heart).

I'm going to the eastside meeting tonight, actually (first Tuesday of the month) and am really looking forward to it!

Marella · 06-03-2008, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OsoDelDesierto

...similar in format to the one you describe, Marella, but with an added component of education on a specific topic that changes each month, such as vitamin absorbtion or base metabolic rate calculation or exercise.

We do that to. I've gone to one where the hospital chef/dietition extraordinarre gave a class on low-fat cooking, substitutes, etc., with lot's of taste tests. It's the first time I ever tried hummus, and we had three different recipe versions.

At another one we discussed post weight loss plastic surgery. We had pictures, and a rep from a local office that specializes in this. She was fantastic and covered so much.

Unfortunately our meetings are limited to once a month, but I think it's because I'm in a small town, and, although we have a huge room that can seat 100, we have only about a 1/4 of that show.

I love my nutritionist/dietitian who runs the meeting, she's extremely empathetic, a very sweet girl who really wants to help and to connect, but she is sooo super skinny, that when you deal with someone who's never had a weight issue, it's really hard to connect when you're at the other extreme.

I wish we had some successful long term maintenance people. That's why I like TT so much.

Eric, thank you very much for sharing. It's good to know that there's a meeting going on somewhere should you need it for hump day or just to connect. I'm sure that it's a great help that has contributed to your success and will probably be around to keep you on track toward your goal.

All the best,