Question about Support Group Meetings

  For those of you who attend bariatric support group meetings, please answer these questions:
1)  What do you LOVE about your meetings?
2)  What do you HATE about your meetings?
3)  What changes would you like to see happen at your meetings?

Inquiring minds want to know!  

LoL

(((HUGS)))



 

i'd be interested in reading the responses to this as i am attending my first support group tomorrow evening.
thanks!

I have gone to 3 meetings. What I love is that at the beginning of the meeting everyone says when they had surgery and how much they've lost. At my first meeting (I was pre-op at the time) I sat there with my jaw to the ground, WOW, very encouraging. I love that if someone is having a problem everyone brainstorms to try and help. There really isn't anything I hate. I will be going to meetings every month. Nobody really knows what you are going through unless they've been there.

I attend at least 3 support meetings per month, usually sponsored by my surgeon.  I usually learn something new at every support group, even though I'm 5 years post op.  It helps to reinforce good post op protocol too.  You get to meet other post ops where you'll find out you're not the only person having an issue.  Hearing other post op experiences will probably help you on your wt loss journey.  I attended one of my normal support meetings last night in Redlands, CA.  The large room was packed, with probably 100 people in attendance.  About 1/3 of the room were post ops, others were there to meet preop requirements, and many were there to learn about possible issues after surgery.  I really wouldn't change anything at the meetings I attend.  I've have recommended these meetings to others who have PM'd me who have been unhappy with support groups they've tried in the past.  These support groups are lead by a 12 year RNY post op, which helps many "newbies" feel at ease with many recommendations. My surgeon also has his bariatric nurse attend at least 2 of these meetings each month, to help answer more techinical questions, or questions about script meds after surgery.  DAVE

 I attend a weekly (face-to-face) meeting for postops and just started with a weekly teleconference support group. The IRL group is a bit large so not everyone gets a chance to talk but we get a lot of diverse opinions and different experiences. Not just RNY people there but all different types of surgeries and lots of vets. If I could change the meetings, I'd rather have them focus on support & free form discussions, as they tend to be kinda "lecture-y" on information that's informative but not necessarily needed.
Now the teleconference group, THAT'S meeting the need of a real support system with only a few attendees. We're just getting used to the mechanisms of teleconference so missing out on that nonverbal, face-to-face communication would be the hardest thing. I love that SUPPORT is the focus and structure is a bit less rigid than the large, in-person group.

I attend a monthly support group under the auspices of my surgeon and his partner. It is for all weight loss surgeries but the vast majority of the participants are RNYers.

I love the group. It is mostly women, many of whom are in the 6 month to 2 year veteran category. People are on the whole extremely supportive, polite and helpful, and the energy is very positive. It is facilitated by a nutritionist from my doctor's team and is a very helpful conversation. Sometimes on nutritional issues, sometimes on body image issues, and a few months ago they even brought in a psychologist who spoke about disordered eating.

I started to attend 5 months before my RNY. There are always a few pre-ops and they are welcomed and encouraged to ask questions during a special pre-op time at the end. The welcoming attitude was what made me feel comfortable and ready for my surgery.

I wish that it met more often, as I would go more often.

1) The topics.  We typiclly do half the meeting covering a topic first.  Something like Plastics, Supplements or goal setting.
2) The size. I go to 1 meeting that is about 30-40 people and it takes half the meeting just to do  
     intros and people easily get bored and start talking .I go to another meeting that while
     growing is still fairly small. 
      People holding private discussions while others are talking.  Annoys me like nothing.
      People who don't want to listen to others input and believe that they aren't making mistakes.

3) A change in peoples attitudes and showing respect for others. 

My surgical group has a support group meeting 4 weeks per month in different towns in our area.  One is tonight as a matter of fact!  We are in a fairly rural area, so each meeting is at least a 20-30 minute drive for me, but I do manage to make at least 2--3 each month.  I find them very helpful and informative and I always feel so inspired and motivated when I leave.  As others have posted, at first we introduce ourselves, tell when we had our surgery, and how much weight we've lost.  That's always a fun part of the meeting - I LOVE hearing others' success stories and now sharing my own.  We usually also have a guest speaker of some sort.  We've had our nutritionist, a plastic surgeon, an exercise physiologist, a psychologist doing her doctoral research on RNY, the founder of Celebrate Vitamins Co., etc.  The speaker talks for about 1/2 hour and the rest of the meeting (1 hour) is for questions and open forum discussion.  I do like the format and always learn something new.  There is only one thing I don't like, and it only happens at one of the meetings.  It's in a smaller town, and many of the people have been attending the meetings at this site fairly long term.  They are a very friendly, chatty bunch, but sometimes the sidebar conversations drive me crazy.   This particular facilitator doesn't do anything to discourage that, so it's distracting.  But they are a really fun bunch of people!