Orientation class

This is more of a vent then anything.....I attended my orientation class this morning and was shocked by a certain person in attendance. And before anyone else says it....I understand people cope with nerves differently.

There was a couple (seated beside me) that seemed like the whole thing was a joke....they laughed about not drinking pop every again saying "like that will ever happen." They were very rude and arguementitve with the nurse and to top it off made a comment about my not being big enough for the surgery.

I don't even care about the comment they made, my frustration is that they are even allowed to continue with the program.

Anyway that was just me venting.....I am super excited for my next steps and taking control of my weight.

They may not be able to continue.

It is quite possible that they won't get approved. If they are not serious about making the necessary changes and ALL the work that is required to get approved this may not be for them.

Just because they went to Orientation doesn't mean they get the prize at the end.

Diligence, hard work, mental stability and a willingness to succeed are all components to getting the approval to move on. Accepting our faults, failures and making plans to make changes are a huge part of this process.

Keep your eye on the prize. They will probably fall by the wayside.

Very annoying and disruptive to those that are serious about this process. It would annoy me too.

Couldn't say it better myself :)

They more than likely wont proceed. If by chance they do and are approved they will not be siccessful with attitudes like that which sucks for them.

Keep your head in the game and youll do great!

HOW RUDE... I have no filter so basically I would have told them to shut up....LOL.... I was so touched by how wonderful the program was and what an opportunity it was that I would have said something. You are kinder than I...and about the comment about you ....HOW DARE YOU would come out of my mouth pretty quickly! everyone has their own path.... stick to yours people....! Take care you will do fine, my guess ..they won't!

I've heard from some surgeons that you can have pop (diet pop) after surgery, if you can tolerate it. It's apparently a myth that carbonation "stretches" your pouch/sleeve.

I think a lot of orientation sessions are like that, really - any group gathering. There are always some rude/ignorant people.

I remember at mine a girl came about 45 mins late and then went on to try to overtake the class, talking over the teacher and saying how she doesn't understand how surgery could work for her as she NEVER eats anyways! Really!?! You are super-morbidly obese, but you never eat.

There were also several in my class who never seemed to hear of WLS. How does one go about getting a referral, and then heading to orientation without doing SOME sort of research on their own????

I think many of those are ones who most likely won't make it through the whole process. I also think that's why they make it long with several appointments, to see who is truly committed. Stay true to the course and you will do great!

And just a heads up, don't miss appointments at TWH without calling first. I was there one day when a staff member came out and said to the front desk "so and so missed today" and the reply was "ok, I will call them now and tell them they have been removed from the program and must go back to their DR to get a new referral if they want to start again". They seem pretty strict about that - as they should since so many are waiting for these appointments.

Good luck on your journey!

It sounds like a frustrating experience. My frustration with your story is that that people who run orientation are not trained facilitators (experts in their field, yes... but not experts at running group meetings) and so they don't know how to manage those dynamics when they happen. That should never be allowed to happen, to continue. It makes it uncomfortable and unproductive for everyone.