New to VA, looking for support grp

Hello VA Message Board, I just moved to Northern Virginia from San Diego, and I'm looking for a support group. BTW, I really LOVE VA!! So much better than San Diego. I know that some support groups that are run by surgeons will only accept that surgeon's patients. But do any of you know of any groups that would accept an 'outsider?' Thanks a bunch, and looking forward to meeting you.

What area are on you? NOVA? There are a couple of support groups via Fair Oaks Hospital (FOH) in Fairfax. Staples Club is one and run by a nutritionist from the one doctor's office. This is usually the first Monday on the month - though there are some changes to that based on conflicts and schedules. This is at 6:30 pm. Here is the link to the dates: http://www.obesitysurgerycenter.net/events.php And the other Journey Together is run by the bariatric staff from FOH. That is usually the 3rd Monday of the month. This is also at 6:30 pm. There is a special session of Journey Together scheduled for Saturday June 3rd at 10:30 am, I believe. I'll check on that. The speaker is a therapist who specializes in eating disorders. Should be very interesting. One member of the support group is a patient of hers and raves about her. There is another group that meets informally at Paneras in Fairfax (Fairfax Town Center - West Ox Road by Route 50) at 10:30 am on the 3rd Saturday of the month. Great group. They are very welcoming and fun too. This group keeps in touch via a Yahoogroup. Email this email address to "join" the group. WeightLossSurgerySupportofNorthernVirginia-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Kathy

Welcome! Kathy mentioned all of the groups I know about....but I wanted to say welcome to VA! I'm a native Californian (northern CA though) and can't agree more with you about VA! Christina S

Hey, welcome to NOVA! Kathy throughly covered the support groups over at Fair Oaks, and I don't really have anything to add there. There ARE other area hospitals, but I think that Fair Oaks is the leader in bariatric surgery in the area if not the region. I know there's some stats on it somewhere. And you might love living in NOVA now during our three weeks of spring (which magically have stretched to about 6 this year, but I don't want to jinx it!) but you might reconsider in August when you're stuck in bumper to bumper traffic for hours on the beltway and it's 95 degrees and 100% humidity outside! Julie

Hi Sweetie....I can't help you with the support groups but I sure can welcome ya to VA....I live in Danville which is the middle southern area...almost to NC. This is the best board in the whole country and so many caring and loving people here. Welcome and glad you are here. Hugs, Betsy

Hey there, So glad to have you here in "good ol' Virginia" So glad you like our humble state. You will find that everyone here at OH is so helpful and supportive. As far as the support groups goes......it does depend on where you are in the state. It varies from one area to the other. I am in central VA and Tinkerbelle (who is a WLS success story) heads up our meeting once a month at John Randolph Hospital in Hopewell. It's held the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m. So if you are anywhere in the Tri-cities region or surrounding counties this may be the meeting for you. The Tri-Cities are just south of Richmond by about 23 miles. Let us know what part of Virginia you are in and then we will be more able to help you find a group for you. Here's me sending you lots of love, well wishes and a great big WELCOME. I will look forward to seeing more post from you in the near future. Love ya, Kathy

Hi there! Looked at your profile and saw that you are Tricare Prime. We have a great support group at Ft Belvoir that meets the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 630 in the Main Conference Room at the hospital. We have a wonderful surgeon who usually comes to all the meetings. It's a good group and we are always interested in having post-ops come! Hope to see you there. Jen

Thanks so much to all of you that replied to my post. This is very helpful info! I live in Stafford, so the Ft. Belvoir or Fair Oaks groups will probably work best. Hope to meet some of you nice folks along the way. All the best, Cantweightanymore 66 lbs. lost, 48 more to go...

Hello and welcome to Virginia! I live in Stafford just like you and I will be attending the Staples Club meetings in Woodbridge, VA. If you want to email me, perhaps we can go together! The meeting is at the Potomac Hospital and it starts at 6:30. I have not been to a Staples meeting yet, but am looking forward to the one on June 1. I commute from DC, so as long as traffic is flowing, I should be back in Stafford around 5:15. My email is [email protected].

Welcome to VA and to our wonderful board. I attend the Staple club meetings so I hope to see you there. courtney