The pain of a surgery can persist after physical recovery.
Gastric sleeve surgery is a kind of bariatric surgery that is often performed on people who do not meet the requirements for gastric bypass or duodenal switch surgeries. In gastric sleeve surgery, close to 60% of the stomach is removed, so that the stomach resembles a sleeve. Because of the rapid weight-loss, stress, and causes of the surgery, many people need the help of a support group after they have had it. Luckily, many groups exist on the Internet for gastric sleeve support.
Facebook: Gastric Sleeve Support Group
As one of the largest social media sites, Facebook has its own gastric sleeve support group. The group is moderately sized, with a little over 700 members. It is an open group, and offers links, discussions, and member-submitted photos. Many of the discussions focus on brands of protein shakes, costs for the procedure and after-care, and questions about side effects. Because of Facebook's wall feature, members are able to post about their day-to-day struggles and victories.
facebook.com/group.php?gid=25715813575&v=info
Vertical Sleeve Talk
Vertical Sleeve Talk is a large forum for all topics surrounding vertical sleeve surgery. It caters to pre-operation, recovering, and post-operation patients. The range of ways to participate and topics to cover is extensive: progress journals, recipes, fitness, female and male-only discussions, questions and answers, weight loss support, financing, and even reconstructive surgery, which is sometimes needed by people with excessive loose skin.
verticalsleevetalk.com
Living After WLS
Living after WLS (Weight Loss Surgery) is a large website dedicated to all forms of weight loss surgery, including gastric sleeve. It seeks to foster warmth, acceptance, and community for people who have had the surgery. The website includes a discussion forum, a library of articles and information, and an extensive recipe index. The Neighborhood, the site's discussion forum, features a range of topics from dietary questions to emotional support.
livingafterwls.com
Tags: gastric sleeve, sleeve surgery, discussion forum, Gastric Sleeve, gastric sleeve support