PMRI Meeting Last Night...

I attended the PMRI session last night and it was not as good as the prior session. Although there was a full house and many of the people were post-op I didn't recognize anyone, except for Tina and Shay. It really surprised me that a lot of the the audience members have not educated themselves very well on protein, reading labels and gastric bypass surgery. I am going to talk to Julie about initiating some additional PMRI sessions or classes on more advanced topics for gastric grads such as caloric intake, nutrition and dealing with image. Topics that have less to do with the weight loss issue and more to do with health and longevity. I enjoy supporting people but I just want to continue to learn and pick the brains of the professionals. Rob

Hey Rob, I agree strongly with you about last night. Even though I am still in the pre-op stage I was still pretty amazed by how uneducated some post-op's were last nite about protein. And some of the questions......makes me wonder what type of research they did before hand.....Beside the required studies/clearences by the surgeon's office. I heard some say they new nothing about Obesity Help.com and some didn't even know what a smoothie was and some folks don't even keep food diaries. In order to keep track of there daily intake. Did they realize this PROTEIN is thier LIFE. There habits were something to be desired. Please don't think I am knocking anyone because any information I get I love to share and pass on what I know.....This is a tuff journey.... but well worth journey And hats off to all my post-op friends I have meant online and in person. You guys rock with information and staying educated on this journey and always willing to share What great mentors I've found among you guys/gals. Keep up the good work Shay

That's a good idea Rob. The more people they have getting so far out from their surgery dates, the more they are going to have to address some of the other issues. I for one am very interested in the health and long term effects this will have on me. Weight loss is wonderful, but to me it's almost like a happy little side effect, if that makes sense. I'm thrilled with being able to sit in a booth, or feel better about the way I look and all the social aspects of being "acceptable" again, but even more, I am thrilled with the way my diabetes has responded, my blood pressure, my cholesterol...all the slow silent killers that were ruling my life preop. Linda

Oh, yeah Rob I forgot that is a wonderful suggestion to ask Julie about also... ~Shay

I guess I am glad that I missed that meeting then, if it wasn't that great. It worries me to hear that pre-op and early post-op are not being well educated on what life is like after surgery. Once you have the surgery there is no turning back. I know that I wanted all the information I could get my hands on to, before-after and during the surgery process. I still read and search out information. KNOWLEDGE GIVES US POWER! I am planning on going to Thursday night meeting at the VA-Hope to see you there. Nicki

I think many people are having this surgery for the wrong reasons! This is indeed a life long commitment. I stopped going to PMRI because it of the same reasons you indicated above and due to the number of people that attend. When I first started about 2 years ago there were about 15 people tops at these meetings. Times have certainly changed!

Health and Longevity really is key isnt it. Julie is big on that so I am sure she will be up to helping with new classes...when I was lower on my protein she explained that you dont notice it right away its in the long run. (which I understood that). Ive been high dosing the protein but its true about people not researching. I have come across ALOT of people that are just almost clueless and its really scary! I really fear for them because we have SERIOUS nutritional needs to be careful of. I wasn't able to attend the meeting My son was ill...but Julie is my nutritionist too. I will also mention it when I see her. It would be really nice to hear about MORE long term items that might come up. I am worried about calcium deficiencies. I have heard alot of scary stories about bone density and osteoperosis and such due to weight loss surgery and also some people *****ally worked at the calcium. Check out Michelle curran's profile there is alot of great "long term" info there. But just things like that I really want to learn even more about. I want to pick brains too!!!! Thanks for bringing this up! Elizabeth M -49lbs

In defense of the PMRI meeting, it may have not been as good as the last one (which I did not attend), but it was still good. Any infomation is a good thing, if it's something that you already know, it reinforces. It may also be said in a different way which will just further your understanding and knowledge. I enjoyed the meeting, I needed it, and did learn a thing or two.

I agree with you Tina. Even though my last couple of responses about the content of the Monday night meeting were somewhat bias, it's just because it's a situation that almost happened to me. I agree wholeheartedly that ANY knowledge is a good thing, whether it reinforces something you already know, makes you think (about something you thought you knew), teaches you something you didn't know and so on....

PMRI does do a great job in educating the patients I don't have a problem with the staff there. I just wish the group was a bit smaller so everyone had a chance to ask the questions they may have. I get discouraged when the group gets to talking and you loose the control of the room. That is why I started my own support group. I still do attend the PMRI meetings so I can catch up with my friends that I've meant along the way.