Looking for WLS support groups in Northern NJ

Anything that meets around the Teaneck,/Passaic/Hackensack/Ridgewood areas would be perfect.  Thanks!

Sorry, I'm central so I don't pay enough attention to other posts about where support group meetings are held in those areas.  Wanted to say your flashing avatar is great, and your transformation is phenomenal! Pam

Thanks Pam (I'm blushing! )  I didn't make the avie, though, a friend on the RNY board did.  a number of us had them done at one time and it was nuts for a while when we would all post.  Your eyes went crazy! 

Hi there! I attend the Support Group at Hackensack Hospital.  It meets the first Thursday of the month from 6:30 - 8:00 PM. Unfortunately, there is no meeting this month, as the woman that runs it is out of town for a conference. If you want more info on it, just let me know. I also know that Valley runs a support group which I can get you more info on if you want.  I didn't make note of your surgery, but theirs seemed to be much more lap band oriented when I attended it. Wendy

I am very interested in the Hackensack Hospital group - any more information you can give me (including building, address, how to find out if a meeting has been cancelled) would be TREMENDOUSLY appreciated.  Are the people who attend in different stages?  The support group I attend now is either mostly lap-banders or people who are years out from surgery.  I'm close to finishing my first year and would appreciate being around people in that category. Is there any charge to attend? Thanks, Wendy, I appreciate your responding to my message! I'll also take the info on the Valley group as well - might as well.   Cyndi

Hey Cyndi... glad I can be of assistance! As I said, the Hackesack group meets the 1st Thursday of each month from 6:30 to approx 8:00 PM.   I have been attending since January 2007, and this month's meeting is the only one that has been cancelled (and, again, this is because the faacilitator is away at a conference). The group is run by Annette Wasielewski, the Nurse Bariatric Coordinator for Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMED). The group is open to everyone - doesn't matter where you had your surgery, what surgeon you used, or what surgery type you had.  There is what I would call a small core group of old-timers, but we also have lots of people around the 1 year mark (myself included) and newbies and pre-ops. You would go the HUMED campus and park in the parking garage.  You will get a voucher to cover the cost of the meeting from Annette, so you don't have to worry about paying for parking (this does not cover the cost of the valet parking). To get to the meeting location, just enter the main Hospital lobby and check in at the "Guest Services" counter (that cracks me up.. .like it's a hotel, right?).  You will get a vistor's pass and a card with the directions through the building to the meeting room.  It's really not hard to get to, but there is a bit of walking involved. NOW... as for the Valley meeting, from what I recall, they meet on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month starting at 6:00 PM and running for about an hour and a half.  They meet at the Kraft Center building on Essex Road, I think it is - off of Centurty Road.  I dont' know how familiar you are with the area, but it is not too far from Route 17. Their meeting is run by a gentleman names Gio, who does all the fills (from what I can gather) for the Lap Band patients that had their surgery at Valley.  There is no fee to attend (at least I was never charged!) and it's open to anyone from what I can tell (again, I didn't have my surgery there and it never was a problem when I showed up at the meetings). The majority of the people there were Lap Banders, and I'm not sure how far out most of them were.  A couple of times there were a couple other RNY folks there, but it usually seemed like I was the only one. If you want any more info than that on the Valley meetings, let me know specifically, and I will call my cousin for the low down, as she goes to those meetings. Hope this all helps.  Where in NJ are you, btw?  You can see by my profile that I'm in Hawthorne. Wendy

Wendy, I think I'll skip the Valley meetings for now.  Thanks for the detail on the Hackensack meeting - this means that the next scheduled meeting is on May 1st at 6:30 pm, correct?  Is there a number I can call to make sure it is still being held on that date?  Would I contact Annette Wasielewski? Do you go to any other support group meetings?  I do attend a nutritional support group meeting once a month at Chilton Hospital in Pompton Plains.  It is run by the nutritionist I see who is PHENOMENAL! As I've noted, the one I attend is not so interesting anymore, I appreciate more of a mix, people in all different stages of thei "journey" and different procedures...

I live in Passaic, NJ.  So, we're at about the same stages of our journey - hope things are going well with you! I look forward to meeting you next month (May 1st). Cyndi

May 1st would be correct! I just called the number on the hopitals webpage for the Bariatric Center, but all you get is a recording with numbers for the various surgeons.  I know they are working on upgrading the webiste, but it hasn't happened so far! I will let you know if I hear of any changes for May, but that meeting is as scheduled so far. Wendy

cancelled???? oh no...........I was planning on attending tonight - this was going to be my first time attending in hackensack

Michelle - looking forward to meeting you too!