I live in the Des Moines area and I am just starting my journey. Looking for others in my area for support and guidance.

Congratulations to you and your wife!

So glad to see this thread. Live in Norwalk. My insurance doesn't cover wls so I have been researching Mexico as an option for about 3 months. I am ready to book and am looking to August. Anyone know of any support groups in the area? I am worried about having a network post-surgery.

Yes Unity Point has one in West Des Moines on the first Saturday of the month and anyone is welcome to come to it. Normally it is required by most insurances to attend at least one informational support group. But if your not able to do it through insurance it would be just informational but lots of questions could be answered. About Mexico procedures I haven't heard any talk about that at support group. Hope this helps Look up Untiy Point Weight Loss (https://www.unitypoint.org/desmoines/classes-and-events-details.aspx?id=baab9cdd-0a9c-4905-a9dd-85957470da8b&typeid=d0c9b280-d721-4180-b9a5-f692a8d3b220)

So glad to see this thread. Live in Norwalk. My insurance doesn't cover wls so I have been researching Mexico as an option for about 3 months. I am ready to book and am looking to August. Anyone know of any support groups in the area? I am worried about having a network post-surgery.

Thank you!!

There are tons of Facebook support groups too. Some are better than others. I had my VSG in January and my wife had her's in February. We live in Ankeny so if you ever want someone near by to chat with, we're here for ya. Good luck!

Me! I'm in central Iowa and 11 months out!

@@Julez_schmidt Hello! Congratulations on your success!

I am still learning how to use this app, so I apologize if I mess up! I'm in Newton, IA and commute to DSM for work daily. If anyone is interested in meeting to chat sometime, let me know!

Hi!! I'm in Des Moines, IA. Getting sleeved July 28. Excited/nervous about post op course

So glad to find all of you! Don't know why I didn't think of search "iowa" before now!

I started my journey on March 1st 2015. Having surgery with Dr Smolick on Tuesday, Nov 24th. It will be almost 9 months since I started so I am ready!

Have lost almost 60 pounds since I started and hope to be down by at least 65. Sounds like most of you have already had the sleeve. How are you all doing? Is there anything I should know before my date?

I had my surgery in mason city and lost 130lbs

Just popping in to see if there's anyone around the Iowa City area! I would love to connect.

Hello...I'm from DM. I'm seriously considering the sleeve surgery. I'm going to an informational meeting in a couple weeks. I guess that's the first step. I'm hoping to gather info, suggestions, etc from these forums. For those of you that have had the surgery, how are you doing with it? Any regrets?

Hey Luckygirl, welcome! My wife and I live in Ankeny. I was sleeved in January 2015 and she was February 2015. I had lost 110 pounds but fell back into some old habits that I'm working in breaking again. That's my only regret, falling back into old habits. Who are you looking at for your surgery. We had LaMasters at UnityPoint.

Good morning!! Congrats to both of you on your success!! Way to go!! You'll get back on track. You've come this far, you can do it. I'm considering either LaMasters or Cahalan. Leaning more towards LaMasters. Did you do a liquid diet before surgery? I've read that some people did have to and some didn't. Did you do the 6 months of classes before making your decision? Is that a requirement for insurance to cover it? Did you tell anyone you were doing the surgery? I've only talked to my dr, husband, daughter and therapist. There's reasons I can't share it with my extended family. That's a chapter of it's own lol. How did people respond to your weight loss? How did you handle the questions? Did you or your wife lose a lot of hair? How can you prevent it? Is there a way to prevent a ton of loose skin? Sorry for all the questions lol.