Hi Brenda,

I am 6 1/2 months post op.  I had my surgery in Charleston with Dr. Shin.  I live in Raleigh Co. Good luck it may seem at first the 6 months pre op goes by slow, but it really does go fast. If you have any questions I will be more than happy to help.

Rhonda

Hi, I know its been awhile since you posted and I hope things are going better for you. I cant speak for everyone who has wls, but I think you'll find that most have this surgery to get healthy and live a long happy life. I guess there are some who get led astray. Your wife seems to me like one who did. She apparently made some new (not so good) friends. Im sorry you had to go thru all this with her. There are alot of people on here who have lost an incredible amount of weight and still very happily married. I really hope your in a better place now and your grandson is doing good. Hope to hear from you. This forum needs to be a little more active.

I had surgery 3-14-13, also through Winchester. Live in Romney and work in Jefferson Co

Get inspired this Saturday at the ObesityHelp regional one-day event in Falls Church, VA on Saturday, October 11^th
Fairview Park Marriott
3111 Fairview Park Drive
Falls Church, VA  22024  
1-703-849-9400

  Use code “Cardinal08” for discount tickets (or ask your OH support group leader for their code to get more savings!)    Join us Friday night for our Meet-n-Greet walk!  Walk begins at 7pm when we will meet in the lobby.  We will walk for approximately 30 minutes, then return to the hotel for coffee and introductions.  Share you before and after pics!    Hosted by Jackie Thodos Jackie Thodos is a Gastric bypass post-op, ObesityHelp Support Group Leader,.OH Support Group Coach and co-founder of Obesity Freedom. Since her surgery, she has been very committed to the Bariatric community, and helps people succeed everyday with her successful support group in Fredericksburg, VA and beyond .   **Special Breakout Session:  Donna Wilkenson of the DC Divas** Talk about a strong woman!  As the tight end for the region’s only female football league, Donna Wilkenson knows first hand what it means to stay focused on a long-term health goal.  Hear her inspiring story and learn her best tips for staying strong, keeping fit and building motivation no matter where you are starting from!   Saturday Speakers include:   Dr. George Bitar, Plastic Surgeon
Dr. George J. Bitar is an award-winning board certified plastic surgeon and medical director of the Bitar Cosmetic Surgery Institute with offices in Fairfax, Manassas and Vienna, Virginia.  FREE CONSULTATIONS AVAILABLE!   Dr. Osvaldo Anez, Bariatric Surgeon Over the past twenty years, Dr. Anez has been perfecting his technique for open RYGBP until he developed the mini incision open RYGBP. At the OBESITY SURGERY CENTER, Dr. Anez and his associates have performed over 4,000 mini-open RYGBP in the past 4 years with excellent results. FREE CONSULTATIONS AVAILABLE!   Dr. Merle Goldberg, Psychotherapist   Learn the tricks of CBT, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and see how it can help you stay focused and on track with your weight loss maintenance. 

  Kathy Nickerson PhD, Relationship Expert Kathy will teach you how to keep communication with your spouse, family and friends strong before, during and after your weight loss surgery.  New information for long-term post-ops and those just considering surgery.  Don’t miss it.   Margaret Lilly, Stylist and Wardrobe Specialist Basics and Beyond – how to look good while losing.  Margaret Lilly will show us what works together well during your weight loss journey.  She’ll also share tips and secrets for creating a slimmer look with what you already own!
  Jeremy Gentles,  CSCS, Bariatric Exercise Physiologist What’s the best way to gain strength after WLS?  What about maintaining your weight loss?  Get all of your fitness questions answered with our fitness expert Jeremy!     

  Get inspired this Saturday at the ObesityHelp regional one-day event in Falls Church, VA on Saturday, October 11^th
Fairview Park Marriott
3111 Fairview Park Drive
Falls Church, VA  22024  
1-703-849-9400

  Use code “Cardinal08” for discount tickets (or ask your OH support group leader for their code to get more savings!)    Join us Friday night for our Meet-n-Greet walk!  Walk begins at 7pm when we will meet in the lobby.  We will walk for approximately 30 minutes, then return to the hotel for coffee and introductions.  Share you before and after pics!    Hosted by Jackie Thodos Jackie Thodos is a Gastric bypass post-op, ObesityHelp Support Group Leader,.OH Support Group Coach and co-founder of Obesity Freedom. Since her surgery, she has been very committed to the Bariatric community, and helps people succeed everyday with her successful support group in Fredericksburg, VA and beyond .   **Special Breakout Session:  Donna Wilkenson of the DC Divas** Talk about a strong woman!  As the tight end for the region’s only female football league, Donna Wilkenson knows first hand what it means to stay focused on a long-term health goal.  Hear her inspiring story and learn her best tips for staying strong, keeping fit and building motivation no matter where you are starting from!   Saturday Speakers include:   Dr. George Bitar, Plastic Surgeon
Dr. George J. Bitar is an award-winning board certified plastic surgeon and medical director of the Bitar Cosmetic Surgery Institute with offices in Fairfax, Manassas and Vienna, Virginia.  FREE CONSULTATIONS AVAILABLE!     Dr. Osvaldo Anez, Bariatric Surgeon Over the past twenty years, Dr. Anez has been perfecting his technique for open RYGBP until he developed the mini incision open RYGBP. At the OBESITY SURGERY CENTER, Dr. Anez and his associates have performed over 4,000 mini-open RYGBP in the past 4 years with excellent results. FREE CONSULTATIONS AVAILABLE!   Dr. Merle Goldberg, Psychotherapist   Learn the tricks of CBT, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and see how it can help you stay focused and on track with your weight loss maintenance. 

  Kathy Nickerson, Relationship Expert Kathy will teach you how to keep communication with your spouse, family and friends strong before, during and after your weight loss surgery.  New information for long-term post-ops and those just considering surgery.  Don’t miss it.   Margaret Lilly, Stylist and Wardrobe Specialist Basics and Beyond – how to look good while losing.  Margaret Lilly will show us what works together well during your weight loss journey.  She’ll also share tips and secrets for creating a slimmer look with what you already own!
  Jeremy Gentles, CSCS, Bariatric Exercise Physiologist What’s the best way to gain strength after WLS?  What about maintaining your weight loss?  Get all of your fitness questions answered with our fitness expert Jeremy!

hi shannon. I just found the wv forum also.... i live close to parkersburg, wv and Dr. Shinn will be doing my surgery. Are you post-op?

Hi Shannon, I going to have surgery through WVU Bariatrics in Morgantown, WV but medicare shut me down after I had everything done and waiting for approval, because the clinic was certified... I live in Waynesburg, PA and charleston is so far away :(

better really think about it. I am a ex husband of a wife that had surgery back in 2006. I believe in my heart that most people or alot of people that go and have this surgery do so because they think it is a magic bullett. Well its not!! My own personal opinion is there is more negative about it than there is positive. There is so much that the family of a candidate for this surgery is NOT told. Noone ever told me there is a 75%divorce rate. No one ever told me that my wife would trade her food addiction for an alcohol addiction that years later turned into a pill addiction and most of all noone ever told me that is she didnt stop smoking she stood a significant chance of getting bleeding ulcers in her digestive tract. Well she has and the first time she bled out, they transfused 6 units of blood. She of course should have died.  Did she lose weight. Yes! 100+ pounds and I can almost hear a collective gasp! see wow isnt that wonderful?? there is an up side to health issues that may have been avoided, but now said ex wife is facing four felonies for bad judgment that she used. One thing to note here. I was married to this woman for 16 years. She NEVER had a problem with alcohol the whole time were together. someone from the outside looking in would have probably said probably that I myself was going to be the one with a problem. Luckily that hasnt been the case. Within the first year of having gastric bypass. Her body processed alcohol differently. She now gets sloshed on very little. she has no tolerence now at all. Before writing this I had just gotten off the phone with her. She said that over the past 7 years or so everthing bad that has happened to her, she feels the root cause is gastric bypass surgery. Its possible that is she wouldnt have had this surgery she and I would have worked thru our differences and maybe still be together. Too late for that now. I'm raising her biological grandson because her life has been such a mess since 2006. He's doing great and is on the B honor role. 

2013:  20 Funny New Year's Resolutions

When it comes to New Year's resolutions, our family members and friends can get quite creative and even funny with what they resolve to do in the New Year.  Here a few good ones I have heard along the way...Oh, and a few of my own!

1.  I resolve to stop procrastinating about procrastinating!

2.  I will stop sending Facebook messages and emails to my loved ones when they are in the same room as I am!

3.  I will use my treadmill for something other than a place to hang my jacket.

4.  I will not sit at the kitchen table in my PJ's all day.  Instead, I will move my computer to my bedroom.

5.  I vow to never take a laxative and a sleeping pill on the same night!

Click here to read more!

Have you had your surgery yet? If so it is very common to have depression for a while but it gets better hun.