Missy281

Oh....thank you so much for letting me know! That makes me feel a lot better Yay! Thanks again

hi! thanks for the feedback! I faxed my paperwork in at the end of last week and got a call from them today. They got me an appointment with their social worker for this Thursday (the woman on the phone said something about it being their first appointment). I went on their site and saw that the process at Beth Israel (once they have approved your paperwork) starts with seeing a nurse and a medical doctor, at which point you discuss what needs to be done for the rest of the process. I'm somewhat concerned because they scheduled me with a social worker first....should I be? Did this happen to any of you? I'm now a little confused about how the process works....Any input would be much appreciated! Thanks!

Thanks for the great advice and support everybody! You've all been super helpful! I'm now realllly excited about getting the band and am no longer worried about the meds (though I will still discuss them with my doctor/surgeon, of course). Thank you all!!!!

Hello! I just recently posted an intro about myself in the intro forum and I got some really great feedback and advice, so I thought I'd ask a question specific to this group -- if anyone has anything they'd like to share, I'd really appreciate it! So, I have depression and anxiety...both of which are pretty severe (when unmedicated). At this point in my life I'm doing very well in dealing with my mental health -- I am on medication and I feel good, most of the time. But it does go up and down sometimes (though definitely not as often as it had a couple of years ago). I'm concerned that the psychologist who interviews me/talks to me during my screening process (I think that's what it's called) will think that I'm not ready or that since I have depression and anxiety at the level that I do (even though it's well treated), I'm not a good candidate for surgery. If someone could give me a general idea about how the psych evaluation works and what it is that they take into consideration and how it sort of works, I would really, really appreciate it. Oh, one other thing. I'm also on a lot of medication. I don't mean that in a bad way -- I just mean that I've been seeing a doctor (who's considered to be at the top of her field in my area) for years and throughout those years we've come up with a combination of meds that, when put together, make it better and effectively treat my anxiety and depression. But it's a long list of morning and night time meds (even a few in the afternoon -- for energy). Do you think this could be an issue as well? What I'm really trying to do is predict what might cause a problem or stop/delay me from being accepted to get the surgery done (and not by insurance, I mean by the actual weight loss surgery center/program). Sorry for the long post. Again, any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks everyone!

Hey bigmomma, I'm totallly with you on this one! I've made an appointment with a great surgeon but it's not for another couple of weeks! Aghh! I'm so ready and so willing to lose the weight with the help of the band, I just need to be patient...which can definitely be a big struggle for me.... And I wouldn't give yourself too hard of a time with the few extra pounds you've gained -- just think about the future and how much better it's going to get, especially if you continue to put the work into it that you are now. Keep it up! You'll do great!!!!

Thanks for letting me know tackingmeback! I sent in (faxed) the screening/qualification questionnaire that's on their webpage. I hope they call to make an appointment soon (that's how it works, right? that's what it says on their web page anyways...) Do you mind telling me which doctor you used? And whether or not you liked your experience there? Anything you could share about it would be really great! Thank you!

Hello! Could anyone please tell me what sort of time frame they have for getting the lap band surgeries done at Beth Israel? I mean the time starting from when you first meet your surgeon until the date of the surgery? I know that there are a ton of tests and appointments to get done in between those two times, but I was wondering if anyone has been able to do it in a shorter period of time (i.e. less than 2 months)? Any knowledge or help would be very much appreciated!!!! Thank you!!!

Oh really? I guess I misunderstood the women on the phone (sorry for the confusion!).... Thank you for letting us know!!!

Hey LBWannabe! I actually talked to the assistant of the doctor I'm going to see (Dr. Vernon) in early June and she said that I had to pay a $100 fee -- but I'm really not sure if that's the fee for everybody or if different patients (w/ different doctors) get different fees, etc. Glad to hear that you'll be at the info session!

Hi Jennifer! Thanks for the response! Yeah I totally get that the lap band isn't a quick fix -- I've been researching it like crazy and I'm trying to plan it out so that I can have time to adjust to the lapband lifestyle and all it entails. before the hectic school year begins. I talked to Dr. Vernon's secretary about when she though it might be likely for me to have the surgery done by, and she told me that if after I have my first appointment with Dr. Vernon (on June 7th) and can get all of the appointments/tests done that are needed before the surgery within the 2 weeks following my appointment on June 7th-- that I'll most likely be able to get my surgery done sometime in July. She didn't know for sure though, but I'm hopeful that it'll work out that way. If it doesn't, I'll do my best to adjust (I could possibly get the surgery done during a school vacation in the Fall or something similar -- school is about 2 hours from home, otherwise I wouldn't be too worried about any of it). I'm actually really interested in attending any support groups that the BWH weight loss center has going on this summer (both pre-op and post-op). Do you know if they have any support groups for pre-op patients? Or is anyone welcome to the post-op sessions? I'd like to learn more and hear from other people about their experiences as much as I can Thanks for your help!!!

Hi again! Yeah, I think you're right about the PCP approval, but it shouldn't be a problem. I talked to my insurance company and they told me it would only take a day or two for them to approve it, so that's one less thing I have to worry about, which is nice. And I'll definitely try not to get my hopes up about getting surgery before school, but I'll still keep my fingers crossed anyway It's good to know that the recovery period might not be as awful as I thought it woud be, but we'll have to see! Thanks for your help!

Hi tinywishes123! Thanks for all the great info! That was very nice of you I did actually call the BWH about 30 minutes ago and spoke to Kaitlin (Dr. Vernon's assistant). She was so nice and super helpful. She too told me that I need to attend an information session, so I signed up for the one you mentioned (on 5/22). She even set me up for an appointment with Dr. Vernon for June 7th! I'm excited that it's coming together so nicely! I've been reading old posts (in this thread) and some said they were able to clump some of their appointments together and sort of rush the process a little bit, which would be good if I could try to do that. I'm only a little anxious about it because I'm going back to school full time in September I thought it'd be helpful if I could get the surgery done earlier so I can have more recovery time (like hopefully late July or early August). Anyway, I know that it's gonna be a long process, but I'm really excited about it! Thanks for helping out!!!

Hi there! I'm planning on getting a lap band and I'm considering going to Brigham and Women's to get the surgery done. I've heard great things about Dr. Vernon, so I think I'd like to see her (if possible). Could anyone please tell me how the screening/pre-op process goes at Brigham and Women's? I am hoping to get the surgery done before the end of the summer, because I go back to college in the Fall. After talking to my insurance company about my plan, I learned that it's not supposed to take that long for me to be accepted (after or if I am screened/accepted at Brigham and Women's). Does anyone know or have an idea of how long it takes to get an appointment for screening and then how long it takes from then until I can get the surgery scheduled (and eventually done)? Is it mandatory for patients to go to support groups before the surgery or anything like that? Any help you could offer would be very much appreciated! I hope you are all doing very well! Have a great day and THANK YOU!!!!

Hi there! Okay, so this is my 3rd post on the forums so far today (it's my first day on the forums too), but I think that is it after this one, so please bare with me! I've gotten so much great advice and support today! I just have one question -- does anyone know whether or not it's okay to have your surgery in one hospital and then the majority of your post-op care in another with a different doctor? I go to college two hours away from where I live, and though I plan on getting my surgery done here (where my home is) before the end of the summer, I won't be able to drive the 2 hours back and forth all the time between home and school in order to get to all of those post-op appointments. There's a well-known hospital with a great weight loss surgery center in the same town as my school...do you think they'll see me and do those post-op appointments with me even if I haven't done the actual surgery with them? Again, THANK YOU SO MUCH. You guys, simply put, ROCK.

@stephyanders -- Thanks! That's good to know. But do you know if that includes the "screening" appointments? When you come in and meet with a dietician/nutritionist (and get your diet for the next 2 weeks all settled and everything), psychologist, and surgeon (I know you meet with him before your surgery, but I think it's also important to meet with him earlier than that too) -- don't those appointments kind of get spread out over the course of a month before your surgery is even scheduled? Again, thanks so much for your help!

Hi everyone-- Thanks for the advice! It seems like most of you think that I should get it done close to my school. They do have a great weight loss surgery center there, but I am still a little concerned about getting the surgery done this summer. Could anyone tell me how many appointments you have to go to in the month or so after having the surgery? I'm planning on getting the surgery done in July or August, and I won't have a place to stay during the time after surgery before school starts up in September. I live in a city that has several excellent weight loss surgery centers/doctors/surgeons, but I suppose those places/doctors are about the same (if not better) than the ones near my school...I mostly just can't figure out how I can get it all done this summer while I'm away from school but then go back to school after I've recovered from surgery and have been to the majority of my pre-op appointments...but I'll work on it. Thanks for your help everyone! You've been great!!!!

Hello! I'm a 21 year old college student, thinking about getting the lap band procedure done. I have to admit, I am a little (okay, maybe more than a little) nervous about it. I'm 140+ lbs overweight and I feel like getting the surgery done would help me get the excess weight off (along with a strict diet and regular exercise). I'm still slightly hesitant about whether or not it's a good idea for me though. I desperately want to lose weight because I know how much at risk I am for serious health issues (and I also don't want to spend my college years feeling bad and ashamed about my weight and not really living life to the fullest and being happy and confident about myself), but at the same time I feel like maybe I haven't tried hard enough with diet and exercise? Maybe I am taking this a step further than I should? I've been doing diets and exercise programs like Weight Watchers, I've seen a nutritionist in the past 3 years, and I've been trying to exercise regularly, but I just can't seem to lost the weight. Am I at fault here? Wow, sorry if that's getting a little too deep or personal. I just worry that I haven't tried hard enough, that there's something wrong with me. Does anyone else feel like that? I mean, for me at least, exercising is hard because it's hard to get the energy and motivation to do anything because my body feels so tired all the time and moving is just hard as it is (so I don't even bother trying, because I don't see it getting better any time soon), and dieting is hard because there's just sooo much weight to lose, that I've almost given up. I was hoping that getting the lap band would help give me a boost so I can get up and running with losing weight. Is that a bad way to look at it? I'm sorry for the long introduction -- I just thought I'd put it all out there because, at this point, I'm not sure which direction to go in or what to do with myself. Any words of wisdom (or even just words), would be appreciated! Thanks!

Hi everyone and thanks for the responses! @ 2muchfun -- sorry for the confusion, I meant to say doctor's office (where I go to get the prefills after surgery). @ everyone -- I've definitely considered doing the surgery near my school, but the thing is that I was planning on getting it done this summer, before school starts in September. I don't really have the option to get it done anywhere but home, because I won't have the time to recover from the surgery once I'm at school (I would imagine) and also because I won't have anyone to support me while I'm there (I've heard that having good support is important when doing something like this). My other worry is the "what happens after college?" I'm not planning on living where I go to school once I graduate, so I suppose this is a trick issue. I'm really glad you all brought to my attention the fact that most doctors won't do fills for other doctors' patients, because that's a major factor in deciding whether or not to do the surgery at all. It's a lot to figure out, so I'll have to keep working on it. Thank you all so much for your input! You've been very helpful!

@marfar7 Thanks for your response! I'm so happy for you for getting better and for feeling so much better! Thanks for the support and encouragement, it really helps to know that someone has been where I've been and has "made it to the other side" as well as gotten so much better! Thank you!

Thanks everyone! You guys have been really helpful! Now I don't feel so worried about my psych evaluation and meds

Hi everyone! Thank you so so so much for your advice and support. I've been thinking through it throughout today and after seeing your responses, I'm definitely leaning toward getting the surgery done. I really do want my life to "start" now, and I think that the surgery can help me get there (though I do understand that I'll be doing the real legwork). I think it'll be worth it. I'm actually really excited about it now and am looking forward to getting the process started! I haven't chosen a doctor/weight loss center/hospital yet, but I'm working on it and I'm going to an information session tomorrow night at a weight loss center/hospital in my area. Again, thank you so much for your help and encouragement! You guys are awesome!