New to NC

Hello Everyone, I just moved to Raleigh. My husband got transfered and we moved down here from Richmond. I had surgery last June, with Dr. Neil Hutcher in Richmond. I'll still have to go up there for my follow ups, he refuses to release me to another doctor (he's really possesive ) I just wanted to say Hi, and make some new friends. I'm uh, 38 I think.. mom to one beautiful almost 11 year old girl (just 2 more days), and wife to a wonderful husband. I had an open RNY on June 6, 2006 with no real complications. I've lost about 72lbs and I'm thrilled. Laney 258/186/?? Whenever my body is done

Hi, I am Antoinette. I am new to the message boards. I am waiting for a stress test. I had surgery on my shoulder to repair a tear in the cartilidge. The cartiologists wants a stress test done as a scan not a treatmill stress test so I have to wait prehaps another month until I can get left arm to raise up over my head for the darn scan. It is disappointing. It is the final test before they send off my information to the insurance. I have been doing this for a few years first with Atena and then I changed to BCBS and I feel soooo close to an approval that this setback knocked the wind out of me. I am 48, I work in RTP. Raleigh is quite nice. Congrats on the weight loss! My highest weight was 297. I weight earlier this year was 270 and since July I am down to 251. I have a 26 -->27 Jan 25 Son. He is College in Chicago. We moved here 15 years ago and we love it here. Ocean a few hours away, Mountains a few hours away. Perfect. Antoinette

Hi! I am relatively new. We moved into our new place in October. We came from Fairfax, VA. We are so happy here!! I had my surgery down here at Durham Regional in May of 2000 AND my sister-in-law lives down here so we have family. We have been trying to get down here and finally made it. We are very happy and I hope you will be too! Paula

Ladies, Thank you for the welcome. So far we love it here. We are currently on the Cary/Raleigh border while we look for land to build on. Know anyone looking to get rid of at least 10 acres?? Laney

Hi Elaine. We just moved to North Carolina from Charlottesville, VA 10 months ago. We really love it here. Welcome! ~Ellen

Hello Elaine and Welcome to NC! I am Pam Stephenson and am a successful 4 year open Rny post-op ( 2/24/2003 Dr. Paul Enochs), living in Garner area. I have maintained a 200 lb weight loss and have founded one of the best local support groups ( started 2/2005 with 5 folks and now we consistently have 25 - 30 folks at each meeting. We provide support, freindship and fellowship to each other. I am a firm believer that participation in a support is key to continued WLS success. We meet the 1st and third Tuesdays of each month. In Jan 07 both meetings will be in my home. If you are interested in joining us, pease let me know and will provide directions. If I can be of assistance to you during your WLS journey, just let me know. Pam Stephenson Second Chance Bariatric Surgery Support & more...

Hi Pam, I am interested. I hope that I can learn a lot and be a support to others. I'm a bit of a "unique" case. I was a first for my surgeon who has done over 3500 surgeries. I have celiac. That means no wheat for me. I had been diagnosed for almost 2 years when I went for surgery, and had to show him that I was under control with diet, and that my intestines had recovered from damage done. I think that no wheat was actually a bigger dietary adjustment for me. and without that, I would have never been able to adjust to the post-op dietary changes. However, I have to be extra careful now, because I can have trouble with mal-absorption two ways, from the bypass, AND from damage caused by wheat ingestion - You never know when a label is wrong. Please let me know when the Jan meetings are. I will try to make them. I do have to go home to Massachusetts (where I'm originally from, though Richmond has been home for many years) for my StepDad's funeral, and then My Inlaws will be coming for a visit.. I'm buying property to hopefully start building the dream home, and unpacking a bazillion boxes. So a quick recharge with some new WLS friends would be welcome. Laney

Hi Elaine I am pretty much a newby to this site. I am still trying to make a decision between the Gastric Bypass or the Lap Band. I am originally from Richmond, Virginia. I moved to Charlotte, NC in 1997. So Welcome to NC it is a beautiful state from the shores to the hills. Best Wishes

I joined this site back in March 60, but found out shortly after that any type of gastric bypass was excluded from my policies. So of course I got discouraged. My husband's insurance changed Sept 1 and now I am covered for surgery. My journey began 10/25 with my first visit to the Duke Weight Loss Surgery Center. I found out yesterday that I have been approved and I am going to meet my surgeon 1/5/07 with surgery on 1/9/07. So I am so excited and scared at the same time. Amanda Stone-Secrest

Hi, I'm also new to NC. I live in Greensboro and moved here a few months ago from Denver, CO. I'm over a year post-op and have lost over 100 lbs. but due to a knee injury (which has prevented me from exercising regularly), I've stopped losing. I'm looking to get set up with a bariatric surgeon here to explore my options. So any suggestions would be helpful. My insurance with BC/BS of RI kicks in in Feb, so I'll need to get set up with a regular PCP too. Does anyone have suggestions for questions to ask a doc when looking for a new PCP? I feel like sometimes that I'm more educated about my surgery than most people in the medical field, so I sometimes doubt the advice I receive. I guess I just need to know that I'll be in safe hands! Thanks! Jessica