In-Person Support Groups

I didn't go to a support group pre-op, just the required information session. Post ops I went to one meeting. I didn't like it because 1) it wasn't WLS patient specific- it was general weight loss. 2) it always heavily geared towards pre-ops.

That being said- I'm supposed to speak next month at my hospitals meeting.

Good to know! I definitely don't think I'd get as much out of it if the group wasn't specifically focused on WLS, though interesting to note the focus in your group on pre-op.

My surgeon's office has a weekly support group that is mostly geared to pre-ops. It is during the week at the lunch hour and I have trouble getting away from the office then or I would probably go more often then I do. I make sure that I make my appointments with my surgeon for the same day and go early just to see if I learn anything. It is occasionally useful, but I feel like I am going at least partly to give practical advice to the pre-ops coming through.

It sounds like a lot of your programs have support groups geared towards pre-ops! I do feel like, if I were to go to one of these meetings, it would be to hopefully meet and hear from post-ops and their experiences, so that's awesome that you try and go when possible! :)

My Bariatric program required attendance at 3 meetings prior to WLS: one pre-op informational; one support group for 0-6 months post-op; one support group for over 6 months post-op. I usually attend a monthly in-person support meeting run by my Bariatric group at a location 1/2 hour from me (their offices where most support meetings are 1.5 hours away). I find some meetings more interesting than others largely due to who is in attendance. The participants are a mix of pre-op and post-op (immediately after surgery up to several years past). The leader sometimes talks too much so it is difficult to get peer support, but not always.

I find OH better because it is always here when I need it, I check in with my regular groups daily and I find it easier to discover people you can relate to (larger population). But I'm getting as much support as I can however I can get it!

That's kind of cool, that your program had different support groups for different stages. I totally get the usefulness/enjoy-ability of the session depending on who is there. And overly chatty leaders who don't leave time for others to share their thoughts can be really hard to sit through...

Yes, I'm finding OH to be super helpful. I'm pretty active online in other circles, and it's super convenient to be able to pop on here when I have a moment and check in. Though I'm all for tons of support, and I do think it'll be nice to have RL people I can talk to about WLS issues.

I went to a couple of them pre-op and maybe two or three post-op. It seems like most of the people are either pre-op or newly post-op, although there were always a couple of old timers there. I wouldn't feel self-conscious about my weight if I were you - everyone who goes to those (unless they're someone's spouse or other support person) is either obese or used to be obese...

Yeah, I know feeling conscious about my weight at something like that is sort of silly. It sounds like a lot of people here had groups with a decent # of pre-ops, so that's promising. I'd feel awkward being the only one. :)

even if they were all vets (which they won't be - there might only be one or two of those there), don't forget they used to be obese, too. Even though I'm normal weight now, I'll never forget that I used to weigh almost 400 lbs. Your weight is not going to faze anyone there at all!

The first 2 years, I went to many face-to-face support group meetings. Many programs allow anyone to attend, not just their own patients. Call around.

I enjoyed meeting other WLS people in person and am still friends with many of them today. Their support was invaluable to me in my quest to become a healthier person.