To all the newbies on the Maryland board...

WELCOME!

I realized from reading a few posts this past week that there are a lot of new people lurking around reading posts! That's great. Congratulations to you all on starting your weight loss journey. So far this has been an incredible experience for me and I am excited for you that you are getting started yourselves. This board (and site) can be a tremendous resource for support and advice (though be sure to always take your surgeon's advice first).

It's not much, but I invite you all to read my blog. I've tried to keep a semi-accurate account of my journey and prep-work all the way up to this week...I am down 80 pounds in 5 months and I am experiencing all kinds of improvements in my health.

I wish you all the best!

Thank you Laura!  I'm so looking forward to this!!  I think my pre-op stuff is done as of today.  I just had to have an endoscope done in addition to the regular psych eval, which is done already.

I have 4 more months of nutrition counseling and looks like I can be scheduled sometime in April. 

Congratulations on your success!  You are definitely an inspiration to us newbies!  :o)

Hi Suzie! Congrats. Yes, it does seem as if you are almost done...now it's just hurry up and wait, right?  I did the 6 months with the nutritionist and it felt like it would never be over. When I look back, it was a drop in the bucket. Not only that, I was so much more prepared from all the research I had time to do. I think for that reason that this has been a lot easier for me than it could have been. I hesistate to use the word "easy" because much has changed and there has been some really tough stuff to get through (mostly emotionally) but all in all, this has been wonderful. Thank you for saying I am an inspiration. It's still a bit crazy for me to see myself as a post-op because I was pre-op for so long. lol Good luck and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask on here or personal message me. I'm glad to help. There are a lot of wonderful people on here.

Hello,

I am very new to this as well.  Today I went to my first informational seminar.  Learned alot but I am sure I have alot more to learn.  I do have one major question, I hope you know so I don't have to wait until my appt for consultation.  Would I still have to wait the 6 months to try and lose weight before doing other appts if I have been on Weigh****chers within the past 3 months?  My last weigh in with WW was 07/31/10 and had been in it for over a year.  Am I understanding correctly that the 6 month period is to show you tried to lose weight?

Hello Robyn! Well, it depends on your insurance. What I would recommend you do is contact yout insurance company and ask them to provide you with the exact description of coverage for  weight loss surgery. In that document they should outline exaclty what you need to have surgery covered. Then your surgeon's office will have their own requirements as well and most of these surgeon's are well versed in what each insurance company expects. Most insurance companies require 6 consecutive months of supervised weight loss. Some even require it be with a doctor. Some of them accept weigh****chers as long as you went to the meetings and it was 6 consecutive months. So the answer is that I can't answer that for you - I'm sorry! But research, research research. That way you don't do any unecessary waiting. Good luck!

Hi newbies! Welcome and feel free to ask any questions you might have.

Hi.  I'm a lurker, but am kind of a newbie also.  I start my 2 week pre-op diet tomorrow.  I am nervous and excited at the same time.  I'm nervous that I won't have the appropriate vitamins and protein for after the surgery.  I would like to buy stuff at local stores instead of buying online.  We are in a new neighborhood that doesn't always get packages at the right time.  I went to Costco today and found liquid Multi vitamins and liquid Calcium Citrate.  Any other suggestion from Costco and or Gnc/Vitamin world?  I'm looking for chewable or liquid iron...any suggestions?

Thanks for the short rant.  I'm sure I'll have other questions.

Cindy

I was told that a multivitaminn such as centrum or centrum chewables would be sufficient , i was told that the equivalant store rands would be fine to , I was told Caltrate would be fine to use as well, Walmart usually has the vitamins buy one get one free, Centrun is on sale at target for 6.00 and the chaewables are 11.00. Hope this helps.
Cindy

Hi Cindy! Congrats on starting your journey. You will want to get a list of your required vitamins from your surgeon if you haven't already. Costco is great. Also Wallgreens, Walmart, etc. carry the calcium, the B12 and the D. It sounds like you are well on your way! For protein, I started testing different premade shakes as well as powders before surgery and I suggest that if you're seeking something that's just right for you. Just to suggest a few: Unjury, Body Fortress, and Max Protein. You can find that stuff in GNC, Walmart, etc.

Good luck to you! Keep us posted.

Are their ny forms of the protein shakes that taste better than others in your opinion?