Thanksgiving

[dianeseattle]

I'm not as active these days in this group as I used to be but like everyone else, I am having a really hard time with the weirdness of 2020.

Nevertheless, I want to say thank you SO much to the membership here.

You may not know how much you have helped me because I haven't specifically told you. I've been a member of this group for almost 2 years and I have checked the group every single day, no matter what I was feeling or what I was doing. I rely upon this group for support, even as people come and go. If you are a newbie, I want you to know that you have the power to affect me profoundly, along with every other member of this group.

If you're lurking or you're shy and you just haven't been able to post for some reason only you understand, please believe you're in a safe place and you're welcome. There is someone just like me who is relying upon you and cannot wait to hear what you have to say.

If you have posted a message and no one has responded to it, please don't think you were not heard. There are so many powerful messages here and so many affecting words. Sometimes it's just hard to read and respond. Sometimes we need to process the truth.

Thank you for being my friend, my family, my support, and literally, some days, my everything.

 

[missyinacage]

Aww, Diane that was beautiful. This really is a special group and I'm so happy that I found it. And you personally welcomed me with open arms and it was/is greatly appreciated. It is also wonderful to have someone here who has truly had long term success. You give us hope for our own futures.

 

[dianeseattle]

Thank you for saying that Missy, because it gives me the opportunity to say that you have been amazing since the first day you arrived here. I so look forward to reading every post you write and even though people don't always say it, you have been an enormous help to dozens, maybe even hundreds of people here. Keep posting and for anyone else reading this, if you think you don't have anything to offer, you are wrong. Even if you think you're a failure, your posting will be of such enormous help to so many here.

Please, participate and offer anything you have to say. Because everything you have to say is a pearl or a diamond or a ruby and there are people you adorn with your jewels of wisdom.

I know I can be blunt sometimes with my responses to people. But this is not a place to coddle others. We who have experienced eating disorders and obesity and health problems because of carrying too much weight do not need to be coddled and patted on the head and have somebody go, Awwww, you poor thing. That's how people talk to fat people instead of respecting our intelligence and telling us the truth. Don't pull punches and behave condescendingly when somebody needs to hear the truth.

I arrived here on March 5th, 2019, and there wasn't a single other person here. I had a serious problem with terrifying pain and nausea. I was convinced something had gone wrong with my surgery. A day or two later another woman arrived and she and I began to exchange (MamaBearof4, I miss you, where are you?). Then another woman popped up, and another and within a few weeks we had a group.

This group had died, probably because nobody cared enough to speak the truth and be direct. By coddling people and lying, you help no one and you waste your own time. This group is a success and has been for a long time because people refuse to lie to each other.

Most importantly this is a group of peers. No one here knows any more than anyone else. A lot of people, like me, write extremely long, involved posts. Sometimes we sound like know-it-alls.

But our posts have no more information and are no more intelligent than the people who write out of desperation and fear as surgery is looming or they're having trouble sticking to a pre- or post-op diet, or they have serious health problems and are about to take on a chemical cure. This is no place to have your ego stroked. This is a place where you can truly help somebody and be helped by somebody and to me that is such a blessing. Look for all the answers, and don't be dazzled by the people who might think they are superstars. As often as not, those people are telling you something that is wrong because it happened to them so they think it happens to everybody. Once Upon a Time everyone here knew nothing. This is a place where we share and grow, come and go.

We all have different experiences but we also share identical experiences and we'll always have questions no matter how far along we are. It's almost magic that this group exists.

As I said I am glad I've been able to help others, but I would be ungrateful if I didn't acknowledge all the people who have helped me so much. You can bet your ass I would not be here, hanging out on the internet, if it was not essential to my life.

And that is why I posted this message under the heading "Thanksgiving." I do not automatically equate that word with turkey and dressing and gluttony. When I think of Thanksgiving now, I always think first of this incredible group.

Thank you to everyone and to the tens of thousands who have come before you and me. I love you as you love me, and we all love and welcome every person who is struggling because we have all struggled and have never found acceptance in the world outside our peer group.

{{{{{{Missy}}}}}} !

 

[Kayleigh]

Diane, You have been a huge support to me since I joined this group a few months ago. I’ve read many of your posts and comments that have lifted me up and have been especially helpful on days that I’ve struggled. Thank you for being hear and sharing.

 

[dianeseattle]

Kayleigh, I love having you here. I remember your very first post. i keep track of people and watch them grow emotionally. The way to grow in a support group is to share. And the way to let people know they have grown is to respond to what they say. I have been in a lot of support groups, and on the internet they are almost always destined to fail. But this is the best support group I have ever been a member of.

I wish everyone here could have known all the other people who have come and gone. But even people who are relative newcomers are saying things that inspire me and show promise of long-term help for someone.

Thanks to everyone here for the help you've given me. If you could only see how pathetic I was the day I landed here, you'd know how powerful your stories have been.❤❤❤❤

 

[Mollie]

I am new to this forum, and I do not know how to use this. So I will reply here. I had gastric sleeve surgery July of 2016 in Mexico so I did not have any after care. I have been having extreme nausea again which has been a ongoing thing. I have lost over 120 pounds in which 20 pounds were lost
In June of this year. I need to know what works well for nausea, I have tried everything! Thanks everyone

 

[JudyNY]

I am new to this forum, and I do not know how to use this. So I will reply here. I had gastric sleeve surgery July of 2016 in Mexico so I did not have any after care. I have been having extreme nausea again which has been a ongoing thing. I have lost over 120 pounds in which 20 pounds were lost
In June of this year. I need to know what works well for nausea, I have tried everything! Thanks everyone

Hi Mollie, welcome to our group. The only thing I can think of that isn't medicine, is ginger. You could try ginger tea, ginger lozenges or crystalized ginger that they sell in the spice aisle. But honestly you should have a doctor check you out. Just because you had your surgery in Mexico doesn't mean that a doctor here won't be able to figure out what is going on. Do you have a general practitioner? If not, then maybe call a bariatric center near you and tell them what is going on, if you can make an appointment there or if they have any suggestions on who you should see. Good luck and I hope you feel better.