Support. . .

Well this past Saturday we had yet another wonderful support group meeting at Barix in Langhorne, PA. . . 

For those lurkers out there, as well as those new to or considering this journey, I cannot stress enough the importance of support from those people *****ally know what it is to put ourselves on an operating table to deal with our obesity health related diseases.

I really can't say with any certainty where those who are further out have gone, probably living wonderfully enriched lives, is my guess, but once in a while, we hit a bump and who better than another person living this journey to get us back on the track with what works and/or just to give us an extra word of encouragement. 

I am only speaking for myself here, but at 5.5 years post-op, I can tell you that the people I've had the pleasure to meet in the past 6 years as I began to consider the options of WLS, have helped me more than I could have imagined.  They shared with me the wonderful moments that make this magical, but there is also the hard stuff, the aspects that some don't even consider as they embark on this wonderful journey of ours.  There is the time when we become "normal" meaning our weight has stabilized, the compliments, "how good you look", stop coming and perhaps, like myself, you work somewhere, where people never knew the former you and you begin to slide a little here and there because perhaps you don't know how to self motivate . . . maybe you're even dealing with another component, called cross addiction (alcoholism, gambling, sex addiction), whatever it might be and wind up feeling all alone.  Well you're not, there are people who know how you feel, people who are living life feeling like, okay so I lost my weight, but it hasn't made me feel whole and didn't solve whatever prior issues I had or thought I had as a result of WLS. . . 

A good counselor who has experience with our population can go a long way. 

Another thing that helps, is having a support system of people who, by virtue of experience, try to offer encouragement based on their cir****tances, which is what we try to do at Barix.  We talk about the deeper issues, in a non-judgmental manner, on how some of us are dealing with various post-WLS issues and how we might continue to walk the road of "successing".  As you so often hear, the surgery is on the body, but the deeper issues, of our thinking processes and how we relate to food are the core of what got most of us to WLS.

None of us are counselors, all of us, with the exception of the nutritionist on hand at each meeting, are WLS post-ops, offering encouragement, based on personal experience.  We have pre-op/new post-op meetings for those pre-op to 9 months out and then there is the group for those further on. 

If you are interested in joining us, no matter where you are in the process, look for the postings of meetings and come on out, all are welcome and we are a friendly lot.

Laureen

Laureen,

I soooo wanted to be there on Saturday but I spent most of the weekend going back and forth to the hospital with Steven. He had the stomach virus that is going around. It hit him extra hard because he also has colitis. He fell in his bathroom Saturday morning, he could not stand, was sweating and weak. Called for an ambulance and they took him to the hospital. He was there for about 6 hours, then came home and seemed to be doing better. Sunday he woke up, he was very weak and his blood pressure low. He was also complaining about shortness of breath and nausea. So, had a couple of my friends come over and help me get him to my car and back to the hospital we went. He was rehydrated and sent home. He started to feel better then I got the stomach virus Sunday night....I am just starting to feel better today and Steven is back to work.

So there is my story of the weekend from hell!!!

I would have much rather been at support!

Beth

Beth,

      So sorry to hear about you and Steven and the dreaded stomach flu.  I've missed seeing your posts on OH.  Because I don't frequent Facebook my contact with many people comes via this board.  Did your daughter escape the stomach bug?  Hope that you make a complete recovery very soon.  Been helping out with standardized testing this week at my old school.  God I hate testing.  I have been working with a group of first graders and one of them had a meltdown yesterday.  Thank God that he was better today.  Tomorrow is their last day of testing.  Hang in there.  Take care.

Donna