Support Groups

Well I'm a very newly post-op patient (8/30/05) and I'm hoping that there is someone who can offer a suggestion for me. I see a therapist on a regular basis and she said that part of the condition of approving my surgery was that I get involved with a weekly support group. My surgeon has a monthly group, but my therapist wants me to get more support. Anyone know about a weekly support group that is available in Maryland? Thanks! - Nancy

Nancy, No I do not know of any weekly support groups. If you do find one please let me know also. Good luck to you and I hope to be approved soon. Denise

Nancy - I was thinking about this some more and the only thing I could come up with weekly was OA ( http://www.oa.org ) but I'm not so sure how WLS friendly they are or if a 12 step program even makes sense. I did OA many years ago when I lived in Boston but they have chapters all over the country. It is pretty good as far as addresing some of the emotional issues but that group may be clueless when it comes to WLS specific topics. WLS specific support wise you are probably just going to need to put together a variety of different groups or maybe speak more to your therapist about this and have your therapist speak with Dr. Kligman. Maybe she will ease up on the weekly requirement if she knows you continue to participate in an online group as well has his monthly meetings. Good Luck! If you do find anyone running a weekly WLS support group let us all know!

There is a monthly WLS support group that meets in Pasadena. check out last months posts at http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/state-forums/MD/postdetail/14659.html?vc=0

Dr. Barry Greene works with Meri Goldberg, a psychotherapist who specializes in eating disorders and works extensively with weight loss surgery patients. She has several groups as well as seeing patients privately in her office in Silver Spring. Even if working with her is not an option, she might perhaps be able to refer you elsewhere. Refika

Nancy the best suggestion I can give you there is to suggest you combining different support groups together to make up a weekly one. For example Dr. Kligman has a once a month, St. Agnes has one on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month. On the 1st Wednesday it's a 2 hour group 1st hour is post-ops only from 6-7 and then from 7-8 its open to both pre and post ops. On the 3rd Wednesday of the month it's just from 7-8. I think Crofton which is open to everyone meets on the last Tuesday of the month. It could do some positive things for you to attend different ones it allows you to bring things back to the table especially at Dr. K. because its a new group. In addition the St. Agnes group encourages you to bring your support person if you want which will help when your at home dealing with it on your own. My angel attends the Crofton group and loves that group because it's more intimate. I am sure your therapist only wants this to be in your best interest. The nice thing about St. Agnes's group is that at most of the group meetings our therapist and nutritionalist attend to help with the emotional and eating side of the surgery. I hope this helps and good luck with your wl results. Denise

Hi Nancy. I am post op, and I also attend the monthly support group meetings held in a residence. Diane is great, her home is in Pasadena and we currently meet the second Wednesday of the month. If you are interested I live in Brooklyn Park and would be happy to car pool with you for your first meeting or any in the future. Feel free to drop me an email if you are interested. Best of luck to you. Patty 7/9/04 279/140

I consider my TOPS (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly) group to be a weekly support group. It is a non-profit group that will give you a weekly weigh-in and support. The organization is WLS friendly but not every chapter has experience with us post-ops. Check w w w . t o p s . o r g for a chapter near you. I also attend my Dr. bi-monthly meetings for support specific to WLS. Good luck! Genna

Nancy - One more thing too... I think it is great you are getting a suggestion to blend a variety of support groups in our area from others as well but keep in mind that the pouch rules and guidelines for one support group/surgeon might not be the same for other support groups/surgeons. I know you already know this but your #1 priority should be to follow the practices that your own surgeon and nutritionist preaches so if you get conflicting info always default back to what Dr. Kligman and Mary B suggest since they are the ones partnering with you for your follow up. For example: One surgeon may say that you fluids up to 30 min before a meal and starting fluids again 30 min after meals. Our surgeon wants us to do up to 30 before and 90 minutes after a meal. Another example: One surgeon may say drinking alcohol is ok in moderation but Dr. Kligman forbids it until you are a couple years out and even then it needs to be in moderation if at all. Third example: Dr. Kligman is fine with us having caffine in moderation. He says a cup of coffee in the morning is no problem even right after surgery as long as you can tolerate it. I know other surgeons that say no caffine at all. Also, keep in mind different groups could be in various stages post-op. A group that has been together a few years post-op might have different topics they will cover that might not be as applicable as our support group with Dr. Kligman that is just 5 months or less post op. On the plus side, from an older group you will probably be able to bring back some good tips about what life is like a year plus out and start getting a feel for the different issues people start to get into once they are at goal and trying to maintain weight. Let us know how it goes!

Nancy, Even though I live in Dover, DE, my surgeon is located in Havre de Grace Maryland. His support group meetings are the second Tuesday of every month at 7PM at Harford Memorial Hospital in Havre de Grace. We have both pre and post-op patients in attendance as well as support persons. Chris Bauer is the director and she tries to have a topic for each meeting and then open discussion. Upper Chesapeake Bariatric Surgery sponsors the support group meetings. As far as the program allowance goes, Dr. Smoot has us on 3 meals a day, 4 ounces post op. No liquids for 30 minutes before and after a meal. NO snacking - I got lectured for this at my 3 month check up last week. We are also to take multi-vitamins, calcium supplements, iron and drink 64 ounces of water a day. Jean Surgery - 23 May 05 - open RNY/75 pounds lost to date