NWH Questions

I'm waiting for a call back from Newton Wellesley with an appointment date and I'm hoping that some of you can share your experiences with me. How long did it take to get the initial appointment? How long after the appointment was your surgery scheduled? Which surgery did you have? How long were you out of work? Did you have a private room in the hospital? I hope this is not too much, but I'd appreciate any feedback. Thanks! Ann

Hi Ann, I had my surgery back in may of 2005, so i am a bit fuzzy on the details.... but I will do my best... 1. I had my initial call in march I believe and it was towards the end of the month, and they got back to me within a few days. 2. My first appt was in early April and my surgery was exactly 1 month later.... I was shocked that it all happened so fast because I was reading these boards and remember so many people saying how they waited. It could have been a combination of my approval though, my insurance at the time, my appts all went fast...... they have you meet the nutritionist, the pych eval and of course the surgeon. And you have to go to one of the group meetings and the name of it escapes me at the moment..... i went to around 6 of them, as i had been researching it for months. 3. I had the RNY Open 4. I was out of work for 6 weeks, and could have gone back after 4, but took full advantage of my approval and just wanted the time as I knew once I was back.... it would be a while before I would get time off again!!! 5. i Had a private room, but ONLY because I paid for it. They like to put you in a room with another paitient that is having WLS also. I am a very poor sleeper and I am also a very private person and did not want to share the bathroom. I live alone and I could go on and on... but the bottom line is... it was worth the extra money. My insurance would only cover a shared room, so I had to pay for the extra cost of a private room. 6. ANY AND ALL OTHER QUESTIONS ARE WELCOME.... but will answer them on this website as I do not really like to email..... Peace Jess PS. Dr. GAzMURI was my surgeon.... i adored him and his staff. I attended a dozen or so meetings and still go to them. i highly recommend you do the same. ask as many questions as you can. this was the best thing ever i did for myself. YES it is scary as heck, and you should be scared and you should ask questions. 5 questions is NOTHING. ask a million. i'm happy to help. and also..... i am no expert..... my answers are simply my opinion, the staff at the hospital know best, but also go to the main portion of this board and ask there too!!!

Here is their website /www.newtonwellesleywls.com it tells you what meetings you need to attend before surgery and as Jess said you MUST quit smoking. I did I think the reason I was able to this time was because there was something I wanted more. Gwen

Hi there and Welcome. I had my surgery on 8/24/06 I went through the process rather quickly, I had about a month wait from the time I called to my 1st appointment. You need to go to a new patient meeting before you initial appointment. From 1st meeting to surgery was just under 2 months for me. I have awesome insurance and the only thing I had to have done was the sleep study, depending on co-morbitities you may have more tests which may take longer. I had open RNY w/ Dr. Thayer (now retired) and I was out of work for about 3 weeks but only went back 1/2 days for the 1st week and 1/2. I did have a private room ask about it when you do your preop appt at the hospital they do not guarantee one but will try their best. It cost me and extra $132 I think (ins didn't cover the extra cost) but it was certainly worth it. If you have any other questions please feel free to ask Good Luck Gwen

ps. the only reason i said "you should be scared" was because this is not something to be taken lightly..... i was not trying to freak you out or to cause alarm. The surgeons at NWH are top notch and they know their stuff. they are great. I researched this for years. I tried so many other means of weight loss from Jenny to atkins to you name it...... but the bottom line is that i have a disease that needed medical intervention. If you do, and you need this.... then you should go this route. I also had a sleep study, as Gwen mentioned in her above post. I had to go through my primary care physi. and they had to fill out roughly 10 pages of paperwork that then had to be submitted to to NWH ..... it was no 'cake walk' believe me..... the insurance company wanted A LOT of information before they would approve me. I then had to get all kinds of blood work, and did I mention that I smoked ciggs and had to quit before I went into NWH because I knew they would do a nicotine test????? OMG, that was prob the hardest part..... and it remains to be a challenge!!! And then I had to get time off from work. and then i found out i needed my gallbladder out. So, as wonderful as this is, please think long and hard and be prepared for a bit of a rough road ahead..... but also be prepared for a wonderful rainbow at the end of it.... Jess

Thanks to both of you for your replies. I got an appointment for December 13 with Dr. Gazmari and I'm going to the new patient orientation on 11/30. One major problem developed, though. The doctor's office told me to call my insurance to verify the bypass is covered; I called and it's not covered. I don't know if you can appeal it if it's excluded from your plan. I'm going to post the question on the board to see if anyone has any experience with this. Ann

hi Ann, that is so stressful!! I honestly dont know what to say, but i would stilll go to the patient orientation and i would ask on the main boards and keep asking quesstions and DONT GIVE UP because when you really want something and if you keep fighting for it...... you usually get it, if it is meant to be ....... maybe there is a different procedure that IS covered that can be done? or maybe there are certain "co-morbidities" that your insurance company isnt aware of that you have that will insure coverage? Jess

I went to NWH. I attened the new patient meeting (held last thursday of the month) on 6/29 I scheduled my first consult on 8/30 (first available) I requested to be put on the cancelation list. Got my appt moved to 7/26 recieved my surgery date 1 week later in the mail for 10/3 had a follow up appt 9/1. I had RNY Lap gastric bypass. I plan to go back to work on Monday 11/6. I didnt have a private room in the hospital, you can request one, I did but didnt get one, on my second day they told me one was available, My roomate and I got along so I was fine and told them not to change me. If you have more questions ask away. Jess

I went to the first seminar on september 28th i believe. they made my 1st appt on December 27. i put my name on the cancellation list. they called me and moved me up to december 6th. then just last week on october 24, they called me and had a cancellation the very next day and do i want it. of course i said "yes", so i've had my appts with all docs. and now i go back on the 15th of november for a weight check (because they want you to lose some weight) and they should have a date for me then.

I haven't had surgery but all I can tell you about is the scheduling of my appointment. I got a call in the middle of October and they scheduled me for Jan 10th, I went to the new patient meeting on October 26th and they changed my consult to November 15th. It could have been a lot sooner but me and my mom booked on the same day. Her origional app was Jan 24th. Did you end up getting your appointment yet? I know they are booking into Feb but there were tons of cancellations too! Goodluck!