Ok, I know for some of the pre-ops that attending meetings are required to qualify for surgery...but for those of us who are now on the other side...

Do you willingly and happily attend bariatric group support meetings? If so, how often do you have these meetings in your area? Does your doc office run them or are they independent?

My group runs mine. Actually, the psychologist who does our psych screenings and counseling runs it:) I've gone twice...and felt kinda...meh about it.

On the one hand, it's nice to be among folks going through the same experiences...but there's a lot of repetitive information. Which is cool and necessary when you're new to the process.

I do enjoy the personal stories:)

Around here they are run by the Hospital, but I believe that there are also private groups. I went to the support groups that were required pre-surgery, but I really didn't get anythng out of them so I don't plan on doing them again. Have other folks found them helpful?

Dunno? I've never been. I found one at the hospital up here that meets on April 2nd and I'm planning on attending. It meets quarterly.

Then I have 2 that meet every month down in the Med Ctr which can be as much as 1 1/2 hours away with traffic (for a one-way trip). But I'm thinking I might start going. Cuz I want to keep the motivation high?

But was really interested in everyone's experiences too!!

1 minute ago, FluffyChix said:

Dunno? I've never been. I found one at the hospital up here that meets on April 2nd and I'm planning on attending. It meets quarterly.

Then I have 2 that meet every month down in the Med Ctr which can be as much as 1 1/2 hours away with traffic (for a one-way trip). But I'm thinking I might start going. Cuz I want to keep the motivation high?

But was really interested in everyone's experiences too!!

I think the main problem I had with them was that they were almost entirely pre-op folks with a couple of post-op success speakers. So it wound up being about the post op folks talking about their success and the pre-op folks asking questions of those folks about recovery and diet. If you could find a post-op only class I think you might get more value out of it.

53 minutes ago, aNYCdb said:

almost entirely pre-op folks with a couple of post-op success speakers.

i also noticed that mainly pre-op OP attended the support group.

(out of necessity for insurance) i wish there had been meetings for

OP that were early post op+, would have been nice to learn more

from speakers, or others that were more experienced WL patients.

in other words - groups not beneficial to me/didn't attend

(docs office did initiate) the groups)

kathy

Our monthly meetings are run by the dietitians. I haven't gone to my first one -- it was postponed last night because of snow. I've heard its mainly veterans.

@FluffyChix Its a shame your center's meetings are so far away -- maybe the local meeting will be OK. Maybe once a month I could justify such a drive. I'm lazy, LOL.

Edited March 21, 20188 yr by Apple203

1 hour ago, FluffyChix said:

Ok, I know for some of the pre-ops that attending meetings are required to qualify for surgery...but for those of us who are now on the other side...

Do you willingly and happily attend bariatric group support meetings? If so, how often do you have these meetings in your area? Does your doc office run them or are they independent?

In the first stages I went. Meetings are mostly geared for people in weight loss phase. I rarely go to meetings now. I only go when I get calls from local surgery friends. We still support each other. It's also a chance to just talk and go have coffee before the meeting.

It helped to get the basics down. Veterans seem to come back when they have a gain or struggling.

our groups are put on by the hospital.

• We have support group once a month ran by a nurse
• A behavior change class - four classes at night for a month. A Psychiatrist teaches the curriculum.
• An amazing bariatric cooking class. The dietician has a large kitchen with overhead cameras. Two 70 inch TV to view. Mostly it's just social. Best part is you get to sample the food.

2 minutes ago, jenn1 said:

In the first stages I went. Meetings are mostly geared for people in weight loss phase. I rarely go to meetings now. I only go when I get calls from local surgery friends. We still support each other. It's also a chance to just talk and go have coffee before the meeting.

It helped to get the basics down. Veterans seem to come back when they have a gain or struggling.

our groups are put on by the hospital.

• We have support group once a month ran by a nurse
• A behavior change class - four classes at night for a month. A Psychiatrist teaches the curriculum.
• An amazing bariatric cooking class. The dietician has a large kitchen with overhead cameras. Two 70 inch TV to view. Mostly it's just social. Best part is you get to sample the food.

Dang!!!! That's amazing!!! I wanna come live by you guys!!

1 hour ago, Apple203 said:

Our monthly meetings are run by the dietitians. I haven't gone to my first one -- it was postponed last night because of snow. I've heard its mainly veterans.

That's so funny Apple! I was going to go to that one too last night. Maybe we'll meet in real life at one of the meetings!

I was given the option to attend 2 different groups, both of which meet one evening per month. The first group is run by my surgeon's office, and the 2nd is run by the hospital where I plan on having the surgery. I've attended each group once, and I found that both seemed to consist mostly of post-op patients, though some of the attendees were just a few weeks post-op. One of the groups invites guest speakers, such as plastic surgeons, to address the group from time to time. I'll probably keep attending as long as I don't have any scheduling conflicts. Free water, but they need to offer food!

I would like to attend them (even though, from the one I attended pre-op, they seem to be MOSTLY pre-op patients), but 1) they're over an hour away and 2) they're only held once a month on a date/time when I have to work.

The practice I had my surgery through has a support group every two weeks. They strongly encourage pre and post-op to attend. I attend on a regular basis and find that I get a lot out of them both from the perspective of when I'm looking for info or when I'm able to share info with others about my experience.

VSG 10/11/17
HW = 360
SW = 292
GW = 220 3/7/18
CW = 218 (6'5") [emoji256]

I was given the option to attend 2 different groups, both of which meet one evening per month. The first group is run by my surgeon's office, and the 2nd is run by the hospital where I plan on having the surgery. I've attended each group once, and I found that both seemed to consist mostly of post-op patients, though some of the attendees were just a few weeks post-op. One of the groups invites guest speakers, such as plastic surgeons, to address the group from time to time. I'll probably keep attending as long as I don't have any scheduling conflicts. Free water, but they need to offer food! [emoji3]

I find the thought of a WLS support group offering food sort of odd. I think they should encourage breaking the habit of associating food with events like that. We can make it through a few hour meeting without food.

I wish my doc’s Office had a better one. It’s once a month and aimed mostly at pre ops and those in the first couple of months.