Has anyone gone to Portsmouth Naval Hospital?

Welcome Cindy! I'm not versed on the PMN procedures but other folks here are on a roll with answers. I wanted to say "hey", glad you are here & best wishes with everything. Do keep us posted! All best.....

Hmmm Interesting...When I went last March for the Oregintation the classes were not a requirement either...just strongly suggested. Maybe you should speak with someone there and explain the schedule problem. Maybe there is another class at another hospital you can take at another time instead. I seen the nutritionist at Ft Eustis...but it had to be ok'd with them first... I find out when my surgery date is TOMORROW!!! Dont stress it and just try and find someone who will work with you...they normally do all the can! Brandi~

Hi Cindy! I am new to all this also.  Just wanted to say hello and wish you well with your experience at Portsmouth. So far from what I have read on the board, everyone has posted good things about PNH and all doctors there.  So far my experience there (which has been limited to orientation and speaking with Ms Miller on the phone) has been very positve.  My number is #703 which should be coming up in the next few weeks.  But from what I understand from the time our number comes up it could be another 4-8 weeks before surgery actually is done.  In the meantime I will continue to be a sponge soaking up all the information I can.  This board continues to be a great source of information.   Susan  :)

hi cindy. my name is melanie. i am going through the process of trying to get wls at pnh as well. my number is 763. i have not attended nutrition classes there. i joined weigh****chers online ($65 for 3 months). the doctors at pnh said weigh****chers online will qualify as a documented weightloss attempt. i attended my first support group meeting ther tonight. it was AWESOME! everyone there was so friendly and encouraging and willing to share their personal experiences and answer questions. i was really uptight about how long the wait for the surgery might be, but attending the support group helped put things in perspective for me. wls is a major surgery and a lifelong change. i'm looking at the wait time as time to continue to condition myself, my family and my household to this lifelong undertaking. hang in there. good luck. semper paratus! (i'm a former coastie:) mel

I was at the meeting as well:)  Hope to see you next month at the meeting. marion

Hi Cindy... I had mine at PNH 10 months ago w/Dr. Mann. At that time, it wasn't that the weight mgt classes were mandatory, it was that SOMEthing was.  As long as weight loss attempt is documented. Wether it be weigh****cher or Jenny Craig...I went to the classes because they were  free, primarily...lol.  I had spent enough on those other programs...lol. What Dr. Mann said to me was "from now til surgery, if you gain weight, I'm gonna make you wait..."...lol.  So, you just have to show them that you're willing to do the work to lose weight. I have to say that I was able to lose some weigh while attending those.  The nutritionist is Linda.  She's very knowlegable, but is not an advocate for WLS.   Dr. Mann is a nice man.  Patient.  Ask him all the questions you need to.  Did a  great job on both Jen and I.  Right, Jen?...lol. Gotta get to work... Welcome to the Va board! J   

I say Dr. Mann is a miracle worker! Joy, you and I look like different people...even though you can't tell from your avatar...HINT HINT LOL! When am I gonna see you again?

I know!  That darn avatar!...lol. Ill come to the next get together for sure... I seem to be stuck at 145.  Ill take it. I have 2 months for my goal of 100lbs. I'm at -90 now. I expect when it gets warmer, Ill be able to  drop those 10 easier. You look GREAT!  It's going good?   You're right, we look like 2 different people...   

Cindy... If ya look at the pics in my profile, you'll get a better understanding of what I  look like now....

Joy you look great!  I'm so excited to start posting pics, but I won't dare until I start seeing the scale go down some!  I thought about Weigh****chers or Jenny Craig, too, but I just can't see paying for it.  I *think* I've working something out to start going to the Wednesday afternoon classes at PNH, but I'll have to leave 20 minutes early to get my kids and I'm going to have to pull my daughter out of school earlier on those days (she'll only be missing nap time and snack time-no biggie).  I'm determined to make this work!!