What Are Your Weight Loss Surgery Resources?

[Alex Brecher 10,516]

No matter who you are, you need help during your weight loss surgery journey. There are all kinds of decisions to be made, from which type of weight loss surgery to get to whom your surgeon will be to how much of which kinds of foods to choose as you lose weight and how to handle plateaus.

Who are your sources for information? Do you depend on online resources and BariatricPal members? Do you have weight loss surgery patient friends who can guide you? Did you choose your surgeon based on your doctor’s recommendation, or maybe based on online directories with reviews and ratings? Share your resources and we can all get ideas on where to go for good advice on weight loss surgery!

[Andrew0929 1,102]

At this point, this app is my primary source of info. I no longer attend support group meetings as the subject matter became redundant after a few years.

[Dairymary 533]

I had my surgery over six years ago, but the resources I utilized are all still relevant for anyone having WLS today. The only exception is probably how I chose my surgeon. At the time, VSG was still considered experimental in the US and my insurance would not cover it. My daughter is a gastroenterologist and did not want me to get a Lapband or bypass because of the complications she sees. As an RN myself, I wasn't too keen on either of those procedures, either. She consulted with colleagues in the bariatric community and they recommended VSG with Dr. Ariel Ortiz in TJ. Made for an easy decision, was a great experience and I had an easy, pain free recovery.

After surgery, my main support came through emails with my surgeon, my daughter, my friends, husband, local bariatric support groups and a therapist. I was the only VSG patient in the support groups for a long time, but for the most part the struggles are the same no matter what surgery you have. My friends and DH helped smooth the way and My therapist was instrumental in my long term success since most obesity issues are psychological, not physical.

i saw my therapist for about 3 years and attended group support for 5+ years. Due to personality incompatibilities within the group I quit attending and turned to online forums like this one only recently. Glad I had "real life" support when I was a newbie, but the online community provides me a rather interesting touchstone to the bariatric world at this point.

[Newme17 3,444]

My resources come strictly from BP and RealSelf and educating myself through other websites. Reading the experiences of other members helps me to know what to expect, if any, when I get my WLS. As far as a surgeon goes, I just went with who my PCP referred me to and after looking him up, he's a great doctor; great reviews. I don't think I'll join any support groups outside of online communities simply because I get loads of information and motivation here.

[Julie norton 2,850]

My support group seemed to be a conduit to Wls. Supported by the hospital. Taken over by a few blabbers. Poor moderation. I do like this site, but I kinda pick and choose the advice... veterans: You mean the most be me. You have traveled down this rocky road and have the scars to prove it. I read all the seasoned posts and I also try to encourage other newbies.

Without sounding smug, sometimes I can see where some people are just not ready to change their deep habits and give it over to a new way of life.

Thank you

[Suziebear 48]

My support group through my doctor has been helpful, but I have really liked bp. There's lots of subjects that are more personal discussed here and not at support group.

[achappex3 346]

I looked my surgeon up online and researched a few others. I'd like to think I got pretty lucky.

Resource wise: BariatricPal has been my best friend. I also us ObesityHelp. I plan on attending support groups as well. Other than that I have used google, YouTube, and have even talked to some on instagram.

[Diva Taunia 198]

I had my surgery back in 2008, so the resources were different back then. My biggest resource was actually YouTube, where there was a huge community of people recording their journeys and it was incredibly helpful to be able to watch someone go through the whole process. I wanted to give back so I did the same and recorded my entire weight loss surgery (RNY Gastric Bypass) journey from pre-op to post op on my YouTube channel as well. If anyone is interested, it's at www.youtube.com/divataunia. (I have things listed in playlists. I'm also a musician as well.)

I attended meetings at my hospital, but they were geared mostly towards pre-ops, so I stopped attending after a while.

I found some other online resources and forums, but I found those to be very hostile at times, so I never really stuck with them. That's why I decided to form my own community and create my own radio show. I still host that now every Tuesday at NOON PST: www.backstagepassradio.com. We discuss issues involving weight loss surgery, weight, body image, and even do giveaways. I'm lucky to have BariatricPal.com as a program sponsor!