Fairly new to CT board

Hi everyone, I've only been on the CT board a few times, and that was quite awhile ago. I'm from East Haven. I was wondering if we have any sort of support group in the New Haven County area. I would love to talk to more people nearby. Thanks for your help. I had open bypass May 25, 2004. I'm down almost 80 lbs. Hope to hear from you guys soon. Take care

Hi Debbie, I am from Old Saybrook and have no idea where the support groups are except the one in Middlesex Hospital on Monday nights. If that is the one you go to.. I am looking forward to meeting you. Sounds like you have been doing great since the surgery.. Continued good luck. I am fairly new to CT and I am so happy I found this board.. the support is awesome and the people are wonderful. Hugs Pattie D

Debbie, I am from North Haven. Its hard for me to get to my Dr. support group in Middletown these days. This board has a wealth of knowledge and wonderful support. Stick around. What surgeon did you use? Does he have a support group you can go to? Joanie

Debbie- no answer for you- just wanted to say 'Hi!" Glad you've joined us. We're happy to have you. let us know if you every need anything (else) Lisa C

Hi Debbie, There are a few support groups that meet in the greater New Haven area. There is Dr. Bell's group which is open to anyone and that meets the 1st Tuesday of every month at Yale. There are meetings at St. Raphaels but I am not sure of that schedule nor if they are open to the public or not. There were some meetings that were not affiliated with any doctor or hospital that were being held in Ansonia and Waterbury I think but I don't hear much about those anymore. Some of us try to get to a meeting once a month in New London at Lawrence and Memorial Hospital which again is not affiliated with any doctor or hospital. That next meeting is Sept. 22nd at 6pm. (time change). You could car pool if interested in that meeting. Hope this helps and welcome to the CT Boards!! Linda

Hi Debbie: Hello from Norwalk! My doctors, Tim Ehrlich and Niel and Craig Floch, offer support groups at Norwalk Hospital and St. Vincents in Bridgeport. In Norwalk, they're the first and last Tuesdays of the month. St. Vincent's I'm not exactly sure, but you can get the information from their web site, www.fairfieldcountybariatrics.com Hope this is of some help, the groups are EXCELLENT. Maybe I'll see you there! God Luck, Bob M.

Welcome to the board Debbie! We had our surgeries only 4 days apart. I know there's a support group at St. Raphael's hospital, various times. I'm not sure if that helps at all. Goodluck! Michelle

Hi, Debbie! I'm pretty new to this board, too -- about 4 weeks. I'm in Hamden and go to my surgeon's support group in Middletown on Monday nights (when I can), but I've heard that there's a support group (unaffiliated) that meets in Hamden (at the Miller Library) on Monday nights. I don't know if it's every Monday or just once a month. I've got the phone number of the leader/organizer somewhere. I'll look for it and let you know. However, I've found this board to be more helpful that the support group. Some of the people at the support group are on this board, too, and it is nice to see them in person, but there's not a lot of time to talk before and after the meeting and sometimes what's being discussed at the support group may be something I already know, so I might not get much out of that hour. On the other hand, I check this board almost every day so I'm getting more frequent support here. Another thing for you to keep in mind is the periodic get-togethers of people from this board. I went to a dinner last weekend in Middletown attended by 27 people. A few were SO's and some were pre-ops (like me), but most were post-ops. We were there for about 3 1/2 hours and I had a great time! Everyone was so nice and so open about everything and willing to share. Hope to hear from you again on this board, Debby