Bidmc

[singingintherain 1]

I just re-registered again today after visiting once way over a year ago.

I tried 12 step, weight watchers and who knows what else to try an avoid banding..but I am 40lbs heavier after all that dieting!!

A year ago April, you replied to an inquiry, Sherry, about Insurance, but I just wasn't ready to take the step.

This week I am going to the Info meeting at Beth Israel to find out more.

I have read on another board I looked into today that people were not satisfied with their stay there as they were placed in with geriatric patients who kept them up, nurses who were not knowledgeable of care for banding post-op recovery, dirty room,and other complaints.

I really am leaning towards Brig & Wom since they have whole floor dedicated to Bariatric procedures.(that's if my hmo will refer). But their introductory seminar is not until the 13th of the month.

So I plan to attend both and ....Get Informed!

Was your stay at the Beth Israel Hosp. favorable?

Any more from Cambridge on the board these days, gang?

singingintherain

[SherryW 4]

Hello Singing, I have to say BOTH my stays at BIDMC were great. The first surgery 2/13/06 to place the band I stayed at the West Campus. That was prior to them having a dedicated Bariatric floor that, I'm understanding BIDMC DOES have now. Then I just recently have revision surgery and stayed at the East Campus hospital and although it's not a dedicated Bariatric wing it was fantastic. The beds were really comfortable and no patients kept me up really. Just the usual coming to take my vitals woke me up. They kept me really comfortable and all the nurses were really friendly and helpful. My calls to the nurses station never went unanswered. The staff at the Bariatric center for my regular visits have also been great and I can't say enough about the nutrionists I've met with. Both Kelly and June are great and very supportive and really listen. I can't say enough about them.

It's definitely worth checking out both hospitals and go with the one you're most comfortable with. Good luck with your journey :tt2:

Sherry

[musicfrommyheart 0]

I just re-registered again today after visiting once way over a year ago.

I tried 12 step, weight watchers and who knows what else to try an avoid banding..but I am 40lbs heavier after all that dieting!!

A year ago April, you replied to an inquiry, Sherry, about Insurance, but I just wasn't ready to take the step.

This week I am going to the Info meeting at Beth Israel to find out more.

I have read on another board I looked into today that people were not satisfied with their stay there as they were placed in with geriatric patients who kept them up, nurses who were not knowledgeable of care for banding post-op recovery, dirty room,and other complaints.

I really am leaning towards Brig & Wom since they have whole floor dedicated to Bariatric procedures.(that's if my hmo will refer). But their introductory seminar is not until the 13th of the month.

So I plan to attend both and ....Get Informed!

Was your stay at the Beth Israel Hosp. favorable?

Any more from Cambridge on the board these days, gang?

singingintherain

Hey Singingintherain!

Wow, am I glad to run into someone who is just starting the process like me :tt2:. Welcome!

I, too, have been investigating the whole idea of weight loss surgery for a year, trying not to have it.

But I am so glad that I have made the decision to go ahead with it. I have been to two info sessions at BIDMC and I really enjoyed the staff and the surgeons there.

I for one can't say anything about the hospital stay. But when I filled out my paperwork and went in for my first visit (labs, etc) they told me that I could request having a private room post surgery for an additional $175. I thought that was a great option, since I wasn't sure how I'd feel after surgery and whether I'd want to stay with someone else. So....just a thought for you.

I plan on going to the next few info sessions. If you ever want to meet up and talk, pm me here. I'd love to connect with someone who is also at the beginning stages of this process.

Best of luck to you!

-music

[singingintherain 1]

I am definitely going to the meeting at BID tis Thursday.

It is good to meet another person seriously considering this procedure!...and I guess we all have places where we have had a bad experience, but yet that does not mean the place is bad overall.

--------------------------

[musicfrommyheart 0]

I am definitely going to the meeting at BID tis Thursday.

It is good to meet another person seriously considering this procedure!...and I guess we all have places where we have had a bad experience, but yet that does not mean the place is bad overall.

--------------------------

I agree, I've noticed that everyone has their own set of challenges in the whole "band experience". But, overall the response has been overwhelmingly positive. I feel really encouraged, knowing that so many people have had the same procedure done. I cannot wait to get this done, I am really excited :wink_smile:.

-music

[singingintherain 1]

Great to hear from you music.

Last night I went to my 1st intro meeting and heard pros and cons of both surgeries.

One problem was the requirement to lose 10% of the weight BEFORE being banded. LOL...if I could get rid of this hunger that causes me to eat, I COULD lose the 20% on my own and wouldn't need a Band !

Anyway..I am still determined to go to any lengths to get this done.

I am going to another meeting tomorrow night in Boston to et more info and visit another fascility.

What are you looking into these days to get you going closer to having the Band?

singingintherain

[musicfrommyheart 0]

Great to hear from you music.

Last night I went to my 1st intro meeting and heard pros and cons of both surgeries.

One problem was the requirement to lose 10% of the weight BEFORE being banded. LOL...if I could get rid of this hunger that causes me to eat, I COULD lose the 20% on my own and wouldn't need a Band !

Anyway..I am still determined to go to any lengths to get this done.

I am going to another meeting tomorrow night in Boston to et more info and visit another fascility.

What are you looking into these days to get you going closer to having the Band?

singingintherain

Hey Singing in the rain,

Was your meeting over at Brigham & Women's? Wow, the 20% does sound like a lot! At 280, if I had to lose 20% before having the surgery, that would be 56 pounds for me. At BIDMC, they say that you have to lose at least 10 pounds. That seems more reasonable to expect from patients who are really starting from rock bottom. While I do agree that being a part of their weight loss program can help you reach, if not exceed, your goals, I want to be sure that I'm involved in a program that sets small, manageable goals that help me feel like I'm making significant progress. (and that's just my two cents on that subject, lol.)

These days, I'm celebrating, I have logged my food intake for the last five days (small goal #1 met :thumbup:) and I've also started a journal. I've noticed how much of my thought process is so centered around how I feel physically. While others are focused outward, on life, or on the next social engagement, I spend so much time mapping out events based on my physical pain. For instance, the walk from my house to the bus takes so much energy. Or, the pain in my ankles at the end of the night. Deciding where to sleep to minimize my back pain (the couch wins every time, even though I have a brand new bed. aaargh!)

On Tuesday, I go to BIDMC to get an echocardiogram, meet the medical doctor, and the nutritionist.

I've been looking for scar pictures from people. I'm concerned about the healing process after surgery, since it doesn't look like I'll have much down time, unless I postpone the surgery until the summer time, which I just can't bear to do.

So, those are some of the things on my mind. How about you? Did attending that info session give you any kind of thoughts on the pros and cons of the surgery?

-music

[singingintherain 1]

Tomorrow I go to the meeting at Beth Israel Deac and next week I go to my final meeting at Brigh and Wom.

For some reason I gravitate towards the Brig.

One thing I definitely want is a facility with a good post op support ring to attend and good aftercare as well as a good facility and , above all, experienced specialist.

So next week I will be on the forum looking up drs and finding out about the treatment received by the guys and gals here.

Do they provide a nutritionist to help you lose the 10 lbs? Even 10 lbs is monumental for some of us!

One of the many reasons I chose the Band vs the GP, music, is the weight gain is not scaringly dramatic! I'd rather lose steadily and moderately...if I don't do it that way, my body will look sick and saggy ...especially at my age (a young looking 59 so I am told)

[musicfrommyheart 0]

Tomorrow I go to the meeting at Beth Israel Deac and next week I go to my final meeting at Brigh and Wom.

For some reason I gravitate towards the Brig.

One thing I definitely want is a facility with a good post op support ring to attend and good aftercare as well as a good facility and , above all, experienced specialist.

So next week I will be on the forum looking up drs and finding out about the treatment received by the guys and gals here.

Do they provide a nutritionist to help you lose the 10 lbs? Even 10 lbs is monumental for some of us!

One of the many reasons I chose the Band vs the GP, music, is the weight gain is not scaringly dramatic! I'd rather lose steadily and moderately...if I don't do it that way, my body will look sick and saggy ...especially at my age (a young looking 59 so I am told)

Hey Singin ,

I know what you mean about BWH. I worked there for many years. I did find the staff in the weight loss clinic weren't as nice as BIDMC, but that could've just been one bad experience and not the whole team.

So far, BIDMC seems to have a great post-op process. In one info session, a large group of post-ops came in at the end and spent a lot of time just talking about their experiences (they meet often right in the area where the info sessions are held) and answering questions. It was great to pick their brains and hear about everything from their decisions to have the bypass, or the lap band to excess skin and how they dealt with cosmetic surgery.

I agree with you about choosing the Band over GBP. I for one, just would prefer to have all of my organs in one piece. I do think it's a great surgery and it works well for people. But I have a hard enough time electing to have surgery on my body at all, let alone to have irreversible surgery. I am hopeful that, with the band and the BIDMC team, I can help conquer my weight issues without having GB surgery. Some of my friends who have the sleeve or the bypass feel the exact opposite. They feel like it wasn't UNTIL they had GB surgery, that they started feeling like things turned around for them, so *shrug* it truly is a personal decision.

I like the Lap Bands slow weight loss. I like hoping that the slow weight loss will help me not have to deal with so much excess skin. I looked at my puffy stomach and tried to imagine all the fat gone, but the skin still left. That was a hard thing to picture, lol.

Oh, and one more thing! Yes, they do provide you with a nutritionist. In fact, the same day next Tuesday, when I have the echo and meet with the medical doctor, I have to meet with a nutritionist. I've had to log my eating for four days into a form that I will present and go over with her so that we can make an eating plan for me to help me lose the ten pounds (or more, hopefully) before surgery.

Lately, too, I've been wondering which size band the surgeon might recommend for me. I wonder how they choose which size to put into a person? I know that BIDMC uses different sizes for different people, so I'm curious about that...

-music

[musicfrommyheart 0]

Hello Singing, I have to say BOTH my stays at BIDMC were great. The first surgery 2/13/06 to place the band I stayed at the West Campus. That was prior to them having a dedicated Bariatric floor that, I'm understanding BIDMC DOES have now. Then I just recently have revision surgery and stayed at the East Campus hospital and although it's not a dedicated Bariatric wing it was fantastic. The beds were really comfortable and no patients kept me up really. Just the usual coming to take my vitals woke me up. They kept me really comfortable and all the nurses were really friendly and helpful. My calls to the nurses station never went unanswered. The staff at the Bariatric center for my regular visits have also been great and I can't say enough about the nutrionists I've met with. Both Kelly and June are great and very supportive and really listen. I can't say enough about them.

It's definitely worth checking out both hospitals and go with the one you're most comfortable with. Good luck with your journey

Sherry

Hey SherryW, Just wanted to wish you a happy new year .

I hope that you are healing well and feeling better.

Sherry, do you have any before and after pics? I tried to look at an old thread to see the link that you'd posted a long time ago, but so many other people had posted since then, I couldn't find yours.

-music

[SherryW 4]

Hi Music...I think my profile still has a before and after but it's really a before and IN PROCESS LOL. I just went to my post-op visit today for my revision surgery. I'm not off liquids YEAAAA lol.

I see the comments going back and forth regarding BW and BIDMC truly both hospitals are great. I can only say from experience I really like BIDMC and I'd recommend it to anyone. The nutrionists there are awesome and truly you spend more time with them than the docs anyway. They really help and give alot of suggestions on how you can substitute things, better choices, work on stress etc. Kelly and June are great and both very very friendly. The staff also gets back to me pretty quickly when I ask a question too it's nice. They also have a Bari-buddy program if you want to join it. It's a list of fellow bariatric patients you can contact for a buddy or questions etc. I'm on the list....feel free to look me up :thumbup:

Good luck with the process friends...I wish you the best.

[musicfrommyheart 0]

Hi Music...I think my profile still has a before and after but it's really a before and IN PROCESS LOL. I just went to my post-op visit today for my revision surgery. I'm not off liquids YEAAAA lol.

I see the comments going back and forth regarding BW and BIDMC truly both hospitals are great. I can only say from experience I really like BIDMC and I'd recommend it to anyone. The nutrionists there are awesome and truly you spend more time with them than the docs anyway. They really help and give alot of suggestions on how you can substitute things, better choices, work on stress etc. Kelly and June are great and both very very friendly. The staff also gets back to me pretty quickly when I ask a question too it's nice. They also have a Bari-buddy program if you want to join it. It's a list of fellow bariatric patients you can contact for a buddy or questions etc. I'm on the list....feel free to look me up :thumbup:

Good luck with the process friends...I wish you the best.

Thanks Sherry!

For some reason, I can never see people's photo albums when I click on their profiles. I can only see them if I follow a link or if I look in the huge before and after forums. I wonder if I'm doing something wrong, I couldn't see your pics.

At any rate, thanks for your response. I, too, feel really comfortable with BIDMC so far.

-music

[SherryW 4]

Ok I think I did this right. The first picture is 4am the day of surgery and the last picture....I think is Dec 2007 before I started having trouble with my band. The name of my files is the weight of the pictures lol. 277, 227 and 212.

[SherryW 4]

4am doesn't do me good in this one hahaha

[musicfrommyheart 0]

Oh my gosh, Sherry you look wonderful! I know it's been a difficult journey, but you look amazing.

Congratulations on everything so far :thumbup:.

-music