support groups?

I live in southeast kansas, and really really NEED A support group, anywhere from paola to ft scott . any people here know of one? I need some help!!  thanks, susan

Hi, Susan.
I wish you lived closer to Winfield, so you could come to my group. :)  I'm sorry, I don't know of any support groups near you. You might post on the Main forum, as it gets more traffic. Also, consider starting a group of your own. You don't have to be at goal to be supportive. You just need to be willing to help others on their journey, as they help you on yours. Also, you can get excellent, free support group leader training right here, to become OH-certified. If you're interested, just PM me and I'll do my best to help you get started in the process.
Good luck in getting the support I know you need and want. If an OH PM pal would help, I'm available. :)
Blessings,
Mary

Hi, Mary,

I am almost 3 months post-op and live in Wichita. The only support group here is mainly for lapland people. I'd love to start a support group for RNY people. My sister is 8 months post-op and could certainly use the help, as could I.

Would you mind giving me help to get a group started here?

You can post here or my email is [email protected]

Thank you so much!

Shari

Hi, Shari.
I'd be delighted to give you some pointers. I don't have much time today, as my husband and I are getting ready to head out to Wichita, to celebrate our April birthdays. :)  I'll shoot you an email, with a question or two, and we'll see what we can come up with.
I'd love it if you and your sister would come to my support group the second Saturday in May, to see what we do. I can understand if you'd rather not drive that far every month, but it might be fun a time, in the short run. :)
Look for an email from me soon.
Blessings,
Mary

Mary,

We have just started a new support group in Coffeyville KS and I would LOVE to visit with you on some ideas for getting it up and running!
There are some wonderful resources on here that I have yet to take advantage of, but I would love to visit with other support group leaders as well!!

Carol in Coffeyville

Hi, Carol.
In reading your response to Lisa, it sounds like your group is much better than mine! :)  I have yet to have a speaker come. We're a small group, so we'll wait to call in speakers.
If you are not an OH-certified support group leader, that's where I'd recommend you begin. It's free, and it lends credibility to you in the eyes of doctors and others in your community, because they see that you are willing to gain ongoing education.
To begin the process, email Debbie Doty at [email protected]. She will let you know what to do. It doesn't take too much time, and, once you're certified, you will have access to the Support Group Leader Board forum here, as well as a library of support group meeting topic information fact sheets and agendas. There are also regular support group meetings for support group leaders via the telephone.
After becoming an OH-certified Support Group Leader, I would encourage you to consider becoming an OH-certified Support Group Leader Coach. Again, it's free, but there is a waiting list, so you might want to put your name on it now. :)  Those classes will give you more tools, in helping to support your group's attendees (as well as people right here on OH.com), to help them move forward in their journey to weight loss and health. Both the support group leader and support group leader coaching classes are done via telephone conference calls. I was a bit skeptical, wondering how that phone format would work, but it works surprisingly well.
One fun thing I do at our monthly meeting is something called the Goodie Basket. In a large basket, I put a variety of things: a teaching cd on a weight-loss friendly topic, a diary, a food journal, a book of interest to the weight-loss surgery patient, a weight-loss friendly cookbook, a box of protein bars (or something like that), a Psalms for Surgery cd (for those who desire that comfort before & after WLS), a certificate to redeem for a free subscription to OH Magazine, a Biggest Loser water bottle, a box of Crystal Light, bubble bath, etc. (you get the picture). As people come in to the meeting, they take their little slip, with their name on it, and they put it in the jar. Toward the end of the meeting, I ask someone to draw a name. The person whose name is drawn gets to choose something from the basket. They love it! It's a lot of fun to see what each person chooses. :)
Another thing I do (and I learned this from one of the OH support group for leaders meetings) is to have a folder for each person in the group. The week before the meeting, I put in each person's folder all the handouts for the meeting. When they come in to group, they know to get their folder, pull out the contents, and put the folder back as they leave. That way, it saves all the movement and shuffling of trying to pass out handouts. AND if someone is absent, you don't have to try to get handouts to them. They're already in their folder, when they return. :)
Along with the meeting topic, we take a look at 2 weight-loss friendly recipes. Both are on a handout, and the nutritional info. is included. One of the recipes is there, ready-made, so those who want to can have a taste. The members enjoy that, and they like trying new things at home. We're always looking for new, high-protein recipes, in particular.
Well, that's about all I have in my bag of tricks, so far. The most important thing is that you, as the group leader, be joyful and caring. Everything else will fall into place. :)
If I can answer any other questions, just let me know. I wish you and your group members much success. They're lucky to have you!
Blessings,
Mary

Mary,
Thank you so much for all those WONDERFUL ideas...those are awsome!
I don't believe for one minute there is such a thing as a "better" support group than another! I believe you are successful as long as your still in it to educate and share with each other..has NOTHING to do with numbers that attend. I'm just there to plant seeds of information , hoping that my fellow WLS'ers will grab ahold of it and learn to apply it at their own pace in order to keep healthy ...long term...NOT just the first few years out...it can be quite a challange as I'm sure you are well aware!
I did contact Debbie a few months ago and never went thru with the process due to my job getting so busy and crazy! I NEED and WANT to do that process, it is SO important for my fellow members that I actually KNOW and understand what I'm trying to communicate ! Thank you for the reminder and encouragement! I will contact Debbie again!

By the way....Vitalady is coming to our neck of the woods this month!  June 27th in fact.Would LOVE to have you and your members attend and get acquainted! We will be having a local bariatric doctor and plastic surgeon on hand as well to answer medical and "nip and tuck" education!
I am assuming it will be OK to post that on the site here to advertise it!? Maybe Id better check with someone first! What do you think?
Carol

Hi, Carol.
Thank you for your kind words. You're right, I should not get into the comparison thing. [You'd think I'd have learned that by now.] :)
I'm not sure about advertising your group or speaker here. You may need to be OH-certified to do so. I mean, I know that's one of the perks--having your group advertised, as well as being set up with an on-line virtual support group page on OH.com (which I have but haven't done much with, yet). Just email Debbie, and she'll let you know if it's okay.
Thank you for extending the invitation. I'll mention it at group next Saturday. I'm not making any promises, but if you could PM me with all the details (especially directions), I'll see what everyone thinks. It sounds like a fun excursion. :)
Blessings,
Mary

Wonderful!
No...silly question? HOW do I PM you!? LOL!!!
Carol

Oh, Carol, I'm sorry. I assumed you knew how to send a PM (personal message). Click on my name, marylaw, which is right under the quote I use, instead of a picture of me, in my avatar. That gets you to my OH profile home page, and in the upper left hand corner, you will see something that says "Send message." Click on that, and you can type a PM, which goes directly to me and to my email address. No one else sees PMs. :) Hope this helps, and so sorry that you had to ask. :( But now you know how to do it, so it's all good. :) 
Blessings,
Mary