RE: Hi All : ) Newbie RNY 12-22-04 , Delmar Iowa (near Dewitt)

Hello all : ) My name is Tim Sytsma, I live in Delmar Iowa. I am 41, a senior university student at WIU in the Quad Cities, and I had RNY laproscopic surgery on Wed 12-22-04. I am doing well, but I am interested in meeting other people from Iowa, and finding out about any support groups that are meeting in the QCA area. My surgery was done by the fine staff at Satori Hospitals, Covenant Health Systems, Surgeon Dr. Matthew Glass**** and I cannot rate them or their professional skills high enough : ) They are located in Waterloo/Cedar Falls, and this program is really tops, I highly would recommend it to anyone looking for less invasive WLS. Please take a moment to post here and introduce yourself, I would like to network and meet others from Iowa both Post and Pre Op, and any suggestions on POST surgery would help, I am 9 days out from surgery or so and I have lost 25 pounds, I am doing well, walking alot, and enjoying a propensity for banana Blue Bunny sugar free popsickles. I am on a clear liquid diet until thursday when I start Stage II diet. Jello, Broth, Water, and de Carbonated diet pop (blender works well after letting it set in the fridge overnight with cap off : P) This helps remove all the carbonation. Any suggestions would be greatly received, I dont have an angel but the people here at Obesity Help.com and on the forums have been **wonderful** and very encouraging. Happy new Year :0)

Hello Tim, i'm Laurie from Clinton,I had open Rny done in April of 2003 I weighed 341 and now 176 I go to the meeting in Davenport on the 3rd Wednesday of the month at Gensis hospital its a very good meetings and nice people alot of them are on the boards here. welcome home and I wish you speedy recovery have a great holiday Laurie

Hi Tim, Welcome to the losers. You chose a wonderful surgeon & program at Sartori. There are several of Dr G's patients, me included, that post on this board. My surgery was last December and I have lost around 150 lbs so far with about 30 more to go. I believe that support groups are a real help & we have one at Sartori on the first Monday of each month. I realize it's a long ways for you to go but just wanted to let you know about it. I do know that the one at Davenport is really good also so you might want to check that out. They don't require that you had your surgery there to attend. Good to see that you are handling your liquids well. It seems like a long time but it is so worth it. Our new tummys need that time to recover before it has to start doing the difficult job of dealing with solid foods. Don't get too discouraged if, when you do go to stage 2, that your tummy is a it picky. It will come with time. I remember those days. Boy, I never know cottage cheese could taste so good! By the way, there is a yahoo group consisting of mostly Dr G's patients that you may want to join. You can join us by sending an e-mial to [email protected] . The members are friendly, very helpful, ready to give advice, commiserate with you, and share their experiences. Dixie

Hi Tim, Welcome and congrats!! This is a great group and the support is wonderful. I live on the other side of the state. I started at 325# on 9/16/03 and am at 170# today. Hope everything continues to go great for you. Happy New Year Nut

Hi Tim: Welcome and congratulations on your loss. I live in Davenport. I had my surgery 02/03/04 almost a year out. I started at 216 and am at 133 now. I had my surgery at Trinity. There are 2 support groups on the IL side of the river. Trinity has one and there is another group that is not affiliated with any hospital. Both are fine. I attend the Genesis one in Davenport when I'm not working. They are very friendly and always welcome new people. This page has been my best support since I can log on anytime. The people on this page are terrific! The support groups are a great place to meet some of these people in person. Good luck to you during the next part of your journey. I can tell you now that I don't have a single regret about the surgery. It has all been worth it for me. Good luck and just post if you have questions. Happy New Year! Eileen

Hi Tim, First of all welcome to the losing side of life I'm over by Sioux City so just a few miles apart A bunch of us did meet last summer when we went to see Carnie Wilson give her seminar. We are hoping to get together again this summer. My surgery was 4/20/04 starting at 265, today I'm 185 with 35 lbs to goal. Make that 45 I want some playing room You will find a great bunch of people here ready to help with support & a listening ear. Carolyn

Hi Tim! I'm Stephanie, I'm in Cedar Falls, originally from St. Louis. I had my lap done on 12-16, so I'm pretty close to you! I just started pureed foods Thursday. You're so lucky to be doing so well with your fluids, I HATED it!! I've lost 29lbs so, I think I'm doing pretty good. Isn't Dr. G the best? And Sartori too? I had the best experience there than at any other hospital I've been to. And Dr. G's staff is soo wonderful too. If you want some great advice about anything, come to the Iowa board, the people here are sooo knowledgeable. Anything you can think of, they have been through. Welcome and I hope you stick around! Stephanie

Hi Tim My name is Lisa Young, I'm 29. I'm from Marshalltown, Iowa, (an hour North from Des Moines). I had Open Gastric Bypass December 23, 2003, with Dr. Eibes in Grinnell. I weighed at 350 and now I'm down to 225. I have 40 pounds to go, until I get scheduled for the tummy tuck. The hardest part of the surgery. I had friends from work that told me (after) that I should have died, and put me down. I couldn't handle the stress from work and quit. I am now going back to college to get more skills in Office work. Not sure what I'm going into. But I'll find it out later. I had my high school reunion this fall, and people couldn't believe it was me. What a surprise. So things do change. Well, I guess that's about it. Good luck with having no problems. Your friend Lisa Young

Hello.......I am in Dubuque~ I had lap RNY Dec 8th 2003 I started at 293 and now I am 162. I had my surgery at the U of I but try to go to the Davenport support group meetings as much as possible! I will be going this month.......they are held at Genesis! They are a great bunch of people there! Congrats on the surgery, sounds like you are doing great! Hope to see you around here more and let us know if you need any help or advice! Take Care Jesi

Hiya Tim - so glad to hear you are doing well! I am in Des Moines and had lap RNY on 11/22, starting at 292#. Today I am at 247 - got a ways to go yet, but it's going quicker than I expected. The Des Moines support group meets the 3rd Tuesday of each month, if you are ever in the area. Welcome!