Waiting for DHMC

Hi, I have completed all of the requierments that DHMC has requested and I am now waiting for an appointment with the dietician and finally with Dr. Kispert. This experence has been quite fustrating at times. I have sent and re-sent them information that they asked for and when I inquire about it they can't seem the find it and they seem to be very disorganized with the paperwork. Has any one else had any problems? I guess I am just anxious to get this ball rolling!

Hello Christine, I had my surgery at DHMC, also with Dr. Kispert... Let me tell you he is great... I too had a lot of trouble with them misplacing or needing some kind of other paper work or something to slow the process down... All I can tell you is to keep calling them... But be nice about it.... I called every week to see what was going on... felt like it took forever to final get scheduled for a date... But when I did... man, things just flew by after that... Believe me all the stuff they make you go through up there is worth it in the long run... They get you very prepared for what is going to come... It took me almost 1 1/2 years to final get an appointment from when I first started looking in to this... But it was and is well worth the wait... My surgery was 5/15/03 @ 406 lbs I am now 10 1/2 months out and down to 243 lbs... That is 163 pounds... gone... that is almost a whole person off my back forever! Stick with it... and good luck....

Hi CHristine, I am between Keene and Nashua. I am seeing Dr.Drinkwater in Nashua. So far the office has really impressed me. Jen, his coordinator is super organized amd always returns calls. She even called my PCP for a referral for the nutritionist. I have met Dr.Drinkwater and been to the info session and 1 support group. I see the shrink next monday. Dr Drinkwater has a very strict program which I like. Go to the forum for your surgeon and see what the other patients think. Maybe the office staff is having a bad week or something. Good luck to you and feel free to email me! Chris

Hi Chris, I have several friends that have had the Bypass Surgery done at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. I wanted to go to DHMC for my surgery because it is easy to travel to from my home. I had the impression that their program was good, but I am now realizing that is not the case. It has been nearly 1 1/2 months since I sent them all of my required information. I have called several times and left messages and they do not return the calls. When I do get to talk with the secretary she would say that she did not have this or that. Finally last week she conceeded that she did have everything, but that I would not hear anything from them until the end of May. So that means I have to wait to get my appointment for the dietitian and then wait for the appointment for the surgeon who will give me a date for surgery. I am sorry, but I am ready now, I do not want to wait for another 6 months or more. I have read everything I can find, I think I could almost do the surgery myself. AND they want you to keep off the weight that you are required to lose. If I could do that I would not need to have this surgery! I am not sure what is happening up there, I think maybe they need to hire some help! So anyway, I called the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and I have any appointment for April 20th with the surgeon. The secretary there said that since I have everything already completed that they can probably book my surgery for June or July. They will make that appointment on the day of my consultation. I will let you know how it goes!

Hi Christine, I saw that you have been waiting forever for DHMC to contact you. I also saw that they lost your paperwork. Join the club! I started out at DHMC in Manchester but they lost my forms, didn't return calls, I never knew where I stood, etc. I started to get really frustrated and thought, heck if this is what they are like now, what will they be like post-op?!?? You can see my entire experience with them on my profile. I, like Chris, am now a patient of Dr. Drinkwater. I first met him in September and after a rocky start with my pre-op weight loss, have a surgery date of 5/26. I am thrilled! I know you are meeting a surgeon in Boston but I wanted to tell you if for whatever reason it doesn't work out in Boston, I highly recommend Dr. Drinkwater and his team. He is excellent, as his coordinator Jen and the dieticians, Jane and Susan. The whole team dynamic is outstanding and you feel like a person; not a number. This was lacking with the DHMC program. Anyway, best of luck to you. Denise

Hi, I had the same problem 2 years later I have my surgery date 5-26-04 yea! Hold in there! It takes alot of time.

Hi Christine - I feel your pain!! I started this journey at DHMC in Lebanon, N.H. I attended all of the meetings, I completed all of the forms and had all of the physicals that were required and I waited and waited and waited. I heard nothing from DHMC. Then one day last November I received a call from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, asking if I was still interested in having a gastric bypass!!! (I had sent them an application at the same time I had sent one to DHMC which was in July 2003). I had my first appointment at BIDMC on November 26, 2003 and had my surgery on Feb. 23, 2004. They were awesome and I had a fantastic surgeon, Daniel Jones. I highly recommend him. To this day I have still not heard from DHMC.

How long a wait do you expect before surgery? Laura