Any open support groups in Des Moines area?

I am having surgery in a couple weeks, and I would like to attend a support group here when I get back (I am going to Mexico). Is there a support group in the area that I can attend? I am having a vertical sleeve. I know that's not very common, so I am cool with going to a support group that has different kinds of surgery. Thanks!

I don't know of any "open" meetings, but I am highly interested in your choice of surgery. Can you tell us more about it and what led you to make that decision? jean

Yeah, definetley! I chose the VSG because I don't want the malabsorption of the RNY or DS, and the band just wasn't sitting right with me. I was talking to my doctor and he asked me if I was totally sold on the band, and told him (honestly) no. But I don't want the malabsorption part of the RNY because I have not had children yet and I want them to be the most healthy they can be, and I don't want any deficiencies while I am trying to raise them. Anyway, when I told my surgeon that I wasn't 100% commited to the band, he suggested the VSG. Patients with a high BMI like me (53) loose more weight than with the band, and if needs be some years down the road, adding a DS on top of it is very easy. I have been doing a lot of research on the band and it hasn't felt totally right for me. As soon as I looked into the VSG I knew it's what would work well for me. I will still have a fully functioning stomach, it will just be teeny tiny, like an RNY stomach. People on the band board are always talking about not wanting their inards hacked up, but they have a lot of problems with keeping that huge part of the stomach they aren't using. And I have never cared one way or the other whether my organs are hacked Anyways, I'm rambling. Basically I chose it because it is a happy medium between the two surgeries.

Cristie, My support group would welcome you. We have lots of people who have had surgery other places. Click the link to my doctor on my profile and there will be information on our support group. It meets the first Saturday of each month at 10:00 a.m. - usually at Iowa Methodist Medical Center. We will soon be adding a therapist that will offer group therapy for one hour of each meeting. The surgery is a wonderful tool but doesn't address the psychological issues that got us to this place or help us deal with the many challenges we face after surgery. Please feel free to email me if you need directions or further information. You are welcome to come before surgery as well. Our surgeon always attends and devotes at least an hour to any questions. The nutritionist is also present at each meeting and she is great. Hope to hear from you or see you! Jan Marie