Scared /Getting Discouraged

Good morning,

 

Let me start by saying that I am proud of my self for making the decision to do the surgery.  However, I am getting discouraged a little with the process.  In the initial the nurses and doctors presented the process as if it will be easy flowing and informative.  I have run into a few issues, mainly finding a support group in my area.  I am required to meet at least 2 times a month  (most of them meet only once ).  Has anyone else experiencedthis when searching for a group?  Please help me with suggestions. 

 

I am scared because this is a major step.  I don't want to let myself down, but I know that I will have to be honest with myself and that is not easy.  Oh and the giving up the wine thing has me drinking it more.  I know it's a psychological fear, but I love wine.

 

Please Advise.  Thank you.

LadyLME 

I think you'll find it quite cathartic to just write these fears out, get them on screen and read them back to yourself. There are any number of hoops that you will be asked to clear along the way. I can see the wisdom in these steps now that I'm on this side of RNY. I think it's so important to know if you're even able to resist certain foods, do certain exercises/movement, take your vitamins, drink your water.

So many people take the journey to GETTING the surgery as the finish line. It's the opposite actually, the journey to getting the surgery is only the warm up. The journey is then lived every single day after the surgery. The hoops are in place to mimic the conditions you will be living with after the surgery.

Also, it will help those advising you to include some more info. What surgery are you getting? What is your current weight? And so forth. Your advice will differ with different procedures. 

Good luck in this great adventure! 

Yey, Gary!  You get it!  

This WLS life is not easy.  It takes a boat load of commitment and sacrifice.  You must have the willingness to take a long, hard, look at yourself and do whatever it takes to make the necessary changes to be successful.

The surgery is the easy part of the journey.... every day that follows is hard work.

Jumping thru hoops sadly is part of the process for a lot of people. Do you have to meet with a support group or can you meet with a therapist instead? Do you have to be in a support group in person or can you attend a session online? Tell your Dr/ins what problems you're running into, they might be able to offer alternatives.

Stick with it, it's ok to be scared, it's a major step. Be careful with the drinking wine thing, cross addiction is a serious problem, not to mention the whole drinking your calories thing. Try not to be discouraged you can make it thru this & you'll probably find that in the end it was worth it. Good Luck to you!

I would check with the doctors office that you talk with and ask them where the meetings are and where and when. If it is a requirement----they should know! I had to attend them and I gotta say that they were over 30 miles from my place (or I would go all of the time). One was over 30 miles away and the next closest one was around 50 miles away----so I can relate. And this whole process is all about getting approval from the insurance company and since they are always looking for a way to "not pay" is why this is a complicated process and not a smooth sailing schedule of appointments. I hated it too-----it took a year to get all of the appointments done before I got approval. Yes, they denied me that 1st time the doctor submitted the paperwork and my insurance company originally told me it wasn't covered (it was; but they made it hard and emotionally stressful). Being on this site helped me alot! I researched and was on here for a couple of years before doing the surgery.

Brenda

If the thought of giving up wine is making you drink more wine, you need to get help.  Find an AA meeting and go to it.  A person with an alcohol addiction has no business having weight loss surgery.  You need to get that under control first.  Your internal organs will be stressed enough after the surgery.  Do not add alcohol to the mix.

Call around and ask if you can attend different surgeon's or hospital support group meetings.  Hospitals have to have them to become a Center of Excellence. 

When I traveled, I called ahead and went to a Support Group Meeting 1000 miles away from home. 

Find them and go.  Search on the internet for bariatric surgeons and hospital Centers of Excellence, make a list, call them all to get the dates for their support groups and if they allow visitors (is people who had surgery elsewhere).  The ones at hospitals usually do, individual doctors decide for themselves. 

You can do this!! Make a list and get started.

I made a commitment to go to 10 out of 12 support group meetings a year.  Best decision I ever made. 

 

As others suggested, I would call the surgeon's office and find out when and where those support groups they are requiring. My surgeon wanted me to attend at least one before surgery and a second one immediately after. Since I was in the hospital following my surgery for 24 days, I missed that immediate after meeting. And I came home the day before the next one and was not leaving the house for a while once I got home. My closest support group is 2 1/2 hours away. But I'm on this site at least twice a week and just reading everyone's stories and experiences has helped me keep a healthy perspective. I know I can come here in an "emergency" and ask for guidance.

Prior to my surgery (when we thought everything was going to be a piece of cake), I had talked to the NUT about starting a support group up here in my neck of the woods. I know of at least 6 people who have had WLS (some in Mexico, some decades ago) and all of them said they would be interested... but we all want the support of a NUT. She told me we might be able to work out something, but I don't see her again until November.