Son needs a mentor/guide

Hi my name is Barbi and I'm a RNY post op 11/30/05. I've been fairly successful on this journey having lost 205lbs to date.  My 21 yo son, Christopher (TOPHER215) is now starting his journey. He keeps telling me "you don't understand" to a certain degree he's right, I don't know what it's like to walk in his shoes as a young obese man, who has been obese from the time he was 12. I can however, relate to all the other obese issues we go through. He's made commetns like.... "Before your surgery I used to have someone to defend me. Someone who understood me." " You abandoned me" - from an obesity standpoint. I'm helping him get up and running on this forum. He' is not your typical 21 yo. He doesn't like to sit @ a computer all the time. Went to the WLS in your 20's and that's primarily young women. He keeps saying he needs to be able to relate to other men like him.  I'm posting tonight hoping someone(s) can "pay it forward" and help my "little guy" out.  He's accomplished so much in his short life, I don't want him to miss out on anything. Right now he's just struggling to come to terms of his obesity. You might say the **** hit the fan Monday when he went to see his PCP and they couldn't calculate his weight because the scale wouldn't compute.  You can email him here or @ [email protected] or  call him @ 239-465-1637.  Thanks in advance for any help you can lend! Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!!

I've been doing the exact same thing with a young guy in Puerto Rico through email...I really enjoy helping out pre-ops! I'm a stay at home dad right now so any extra interaction with people over the age of 3 is always welcomed!  I just dropped him a message inviting him to share his questions with me and or the great guys here in the men's board...you might remind him too that we usually do a live chat on the Men's forum chat room on tuesday nights at 8:30 eastern...

Qbandiva, Nice request, good to have a loving mom.  But it sounds like your little boy is no longer little or a boy,...for what its worth in your relationship.  I have 3 daugthers,...go figure,...13, 17, and 21.  I have learned, while I still like to spoil my little girls, they are no longer little or like to be treated as girls rather than the young women they are.  They have also transitioned from Daddy's girls to teenage momma's buddies.  Its a bit of a different approach now.  Dad doesn't understand,..you're a guy,...so I get what happening for you on the otherside of the gender thing. I put a call into Topher's cell and will try to be of any aid he is interested in.  I started at 408 and am now 236 from Open RNY Sept 06 (9 months). I am at [email protected] and cell 804-426-2250, VA. Joe

I would love to help you son my weight problem started when I was about twelve and I continued to get bigger and bigger throughout my life until I hit a high weight of 740 pounds yes I said 740 pounds I had my open RYN on 8-30-07 and I'm now at 433 pounds so I know what your son goes through as an obese young man have him send me an E-Mail at [email protected]

Let me shoot him an e-mail. Maybe he needs someone close to his age?  I'm 24-years-old and I've been big ever since I can remember.  I reached my all-time peak of 497# last year so I understand the whole scale-not-being-able-to-compute thing.

Barbi, I sent Topher an e-mail a week or 2 ago, and haven't heard back from him.  I'm 30 and just had surgery this year.  Are you sure he's looking to make connections on OH?  Feel free to pass my login to him, as I'd be happy to answer any questions he has. --Dave