dianeseattle
Member
I posted this originally on May 17th, 2019. I felt like it was worth posting again, because the member I was addressing at the time is bariatric-surgery-AWOL, so to speak. I think we're a very welcoming group and that everyone who has joined recently feels that. Here's that old post:
WELCOME TO OUR GROUP!
I feel very motivated to speak about this group as it exists right now. I joined early in March and MamaBear [edited for accuracy: joined a week after me,] but we had never met.
I am a super advocate of talking to your doctor constantly after surgery if you are having problems. I also urge you to contact your nutritionist, and if you don't have one, get one. And contact your family doctor as well.
This group, like so many others on the internet, tends to ebb and flow. People come with problems, or looking for support, or wanting to hear your story, or anxiety prior to an upcoming surgery date.
Then when they find their answer, they are gone with the wind. That's why 12,000 people [edited for changes: almost 13,000] have come and gone in this group over its lifetime. I think it was founded in 2010. That's cool.
Unless you're one of those people who has so many friends she or he can't keep up with them, or feels he or she doesn't need anymore, please consider hanging out anyway. If you have gotten some help from us, you can do the same thing for someone else. The core of the group should be at least 50 people talking, sharing, crying, laughing.
MamaBear, Brenda, Kay, Tex, Moody, Nicole, PinkJulie, Weezy'sJourney are just a few of the people who really work at giving advice or comfort. There are at least a dozen others who are out having surgery right now. And there's at least another dozen that isn't doing as well and doesn't really want to talk about it yet and they might be home feeling depressed about their lack of success.
I left off a lot of names because I'm not sure what they're doing but also I left off the names of people who are having very big problems that were beyond our ability to fix. I wish there was a nomenclature for those of us who have had mixed experiences but really want to help others. You know, under your name where it says New Member, Active Member or bariatric guru.
Maybe this title would be something like Maintenance Member, someone who has found this group to be extremely helpful and doesn't ever want to leave, but really would like to read more stories by more people, and would like to see fewer people dropping off.
By the way, make sure you click on the little symbol in the bottom right corner. Indicate if you're like love or otherwise have a reaction to that person's postings. This is extremely important. This is how people get promoted up the chain and the reward for that is discounts on bariatric products.
Lastly, please make yourself visible, let us hear your voice, let us know your problems, let us rejoice in your successes. You can even just send a one-line post saying, "I really don't feel like talking today but I wanted you all to know that I am still here." Maybe as we progress along, we can have a digital fashion show, where we show the smaller clothes we can get into and let us chart your progress.
WELCOME TO OUR GROUP!
I feel very motivated to speak about this group as it exists right now. I joined early in March and MamaBear [edited for accuracy: joined a week after me,] but we had never met.
I am a super advocate of talking to your doctor constantly after surgery if you are having problems. I also urge you to contact your nutritionist, and if you don't have one, get one. And contact your family doctor as well.
This group, like so many others on the internet, tends to ebb and flow. People come with problems, or looking for support, or wanting to hear your story, or anxiety prior to an upcoming surgery date.
Then when they find their answer, they are gone with the wind. That's why 12,000 people [edited for changes: almost 13,000] have come and gone in this group over its lifetime. I think it was founded in 2010. That's cool.
Unless you're one of those people who has so many friends she or he can't keep up with them, or feels he or she doesn't need anymore, please consider hanging out anyway. If you have gotten some help from us, you can do the same thing for someone else. The core of the group should be at least 50 people talking, sharing, crying, laughing.
MamaBear, Brenda, Kay, Tex, Moody, Nicole, PinkJulie, Weezy'sJourney are just a few of the people who really work at giving advice or comfort. There are at least a dozen others who are out having surgery right now. And there's at least another dozen that isn't doing as well and doesn't really want to talk about it yet and they might be home feeling depressed about their lack of success.
I left off a lot of names because I'm not sure what they're doing but also I left off the names of people who are having very big problems that were beyond our ability to fix. I wish there was a nomenclature for those of us who have had mixed experiences but really want to help others. You know, under your name where it says New Member, Active Member or bariatric guru.
Maybe this title would be something like Maintenance Member, someone who has found this group to be extremely helpful and doesn't ever want to leave, but really would like to read more stories by more people, and would like to see fewer people dropping off.
By the way, make sure you click on the little symbol in the bottom right corner. Indicate if you're like love or otherwise have a reaction to that person's postings. This is extremely important. This is how people get promoted up the chain and the reward for that is discounts on bariatric products.
Lastly, please make yourself visible, let us hear your voice, let us know your problems, let us rejoice in your successes. You can even just send a one-line post saying, "I really don't feel like talking today but I wanted you all to know that I am still here." Maybe as we progress along, we can have a digital fashion show, where we show the smaller clothes we can get into and let us chart your progress.