Hattiesburg support group meeting

The Hattiesburg support group meeting is Monday June 19th at 6:30 pm at Pine Grove. Joy Arnold who is a therapist will be there to discuss the possibility of starting a new support group for those people who are 1 or more years out from surgery. Several of us in the support group have discussed how the current support group really no longer meets our needs as further out patients. The meetings mainly revolve around the needs of preops and recent post ops. The old food demons and other issues that arise farther out are not really addressed. Joy is going to discuss some of these things and see about having an additional group for those of us who need more of a therapeutic group meeting to address issues and problems we are having with losing those last pounds or regaining and such. The reason for trying to get an additional group together came about because the older members have suddenly just stopped coming. And when contacted they mentioned they get nothing from the meetings anymore and feel they need something different from what is currently available. So, if you are interested in something like that come and join us and get in on the discussion and planning phase so we can get this off the ground. Hope to see many of you there. Melissa Lap Rny 1/15/04 277/135

My interview is at 9 that morning. I want to open a checking account while I am there and then I will be headed back. I want to come to the meeting so remind me about it. Call me Monday morning. Christine 275/150

I know I need to attend that meeting, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it back to Hattiesburg. My preop appt. is at 9 that morning w/ Dr. Whitehead. I guess I see him first & then I have to have some preop tests done. Don't know how long that takes, but I do know if it takes forever I won't feel like coming home & then going all the way back. But it's the last support group meeting before my surgery, so I don't know.

Oh this sounds wonderful to me. I have become so board with the meetings lately. Plus I look forward to seeing my buddies and on the nights I go they arent there. lol lol I think us post ops it would do us much good to have a meeting to ourselves cause there are some things we need to talk about that the pre-ops maybe dont need to hear you know. I also wish we could set it for say 5:30 or 6pm. I live 30 miles from H'burg and cant go home to wait for the 6"30 time and who wants to hang out at work that late. lol Anyway planning on being there Monday night so look forward to seeing you. BTW What interview you got Christine? Just being noisy. lol lol Love ya Denise

So does this imply that perhaps anyone who is new or in the process of being approved for WLS should not plan to attend this meeting on the 19th? I need to attend meetings but do not desire to attend a meeting that would not address any of my questions, etc. and also would not want to be bored or become discouraged or confused!! The suggestion for another group for post ops as you mentioned is a great idea ... why not just have two groups meeting during the scheduled seminars ... but then that would involve two speakers huh??? Oh well... told ya I was a newbie... so look over anything I stated that didn't make sense!!! s keep you all safe, Wanda Mack

by no means you come the 19th. Actually the support group meetings are for everyone no matter where they fall on the wls spectrum. It is that usually the meetings are very geared towards post op's or newley out of surgery so most of the meeting is taken up with things of that nature which is great cause i enjoy talking about my experiences it is just that sometimes I need to discuss things that are going on with me with others that are as far out as myself. Nothing what so ever against newbies. I am assuming that Monday night we will just discuss maybe setting up a special time for those of us that are interested in coming to a separate meeting. Denise

Joy will not be taking up the entire meeting. So, plan to come with any questions you have and they will be addressed. I look forward to meeting you. The reason they don't want to have two separate groups meeting at the same time is that they want us farther outs to also be able to come to the regular meeting to answer questions from a first hand experience point of view for the pre ops and new post ops. Nurses and doctors can answer lots of questions, but being as they have never had the surgery there are things they can't tell you that someone who has had the surgery can. It is very important to have a support group that has people in it from all stages (before and after surgery) so that newer ones know what to expect and can learn from people farther out. But it is also important to meet the needs of those who are farther out from surgery which is what the additional group would do. It would provide a place for those farther out to address the issues that often come back to haunt you at around 1 year post op. Lots of people think that once you have WLS everything is cured and wonderful. Not so. There are reasons that people get to a point of needing WLS whether it is an eating disorder (binge eating, compulsive eating, emotional eating, etc.) or a medical issue. For me it was obsessive-compulsive eating disorder for which I am in therapy for. If it is a psychological reason, then look out. The hunger returns along with the dependency on food. And unless you address the disorder through therapy and a great group of supporters you can gain the weight back and end up right where you started which is what we all want to avoid. I shutter even thinking about a possibility of going back where I came from. Whew!! Not a good thought LOL. But, anyway, come to the meeting, please. I think you will definitely get a lot from it. You will learn alot about what to expect in the beginning and farther out. There should be lots of us farther outs there to answer long term questions you have. I think this will be a really great meeting for all of those who come whether they are new or old WLS patients. Joy is a great therapist (she is mine LOL). Plus, you may have some great ideas to share with us. Hope to see you there. Melissa