Newbie: First Appt. Date at Mass General in April

Hi all, I just signed up here today. I just got my first appointment date yesterday for Mass General for my evaluation. It's for April 5th. I'm excited and depressed that I have to wait so long. My PCP approved my request and referred me about a month ago for Lap-Band and now I have to navigate all the red tape. I have a BMI of 42.9 and have sleep apnea and depression, as well as increasing cholesterol and triglycerides, etc. I'm on Medicare/Medicaid, with Medex as my supplemental insurance, so from what I've gathered from my research, I qualify for the surgery from an insurance point of view. I just have to wait and see if I'm approved medically. I'm 42 years old, female, no kids. One of the things that concerns me is that I have a history of eating disorders. I hope that doesn't disqualify me. I haven't been bulimic in years, so I hope they don't hold that against me. Now I'm mostly just an emotional overeater, and I'm in treatment. I've decided that I need to have surgery now because I'm starting to have physical problems as a result of my weight. My knees hurt all the time, I'm out of breath a lot, I've put on abdominal weight, which I've never had before until recently. I've always been active and never really felt particularly 'weighed down' by my fat until I broke 300 pounds. Now suddenly I waddle instead of walk, and I can't seem to exercise without feeling like I got hit by a bus for 3 days afterwards. I hate it. I'm used to feeling fairly agile and strong, and all of a sudden I feel disabled. I have a girlfriend who was like this, only much worse, and she had a RNY with Dr. Randall and now she can move around easily and without pain, and she doesn't get out of breath, and I want to feel that way again. I can't wait for my appointment, and to get this ball rolling. I have a few questions. Are my chances of getting approved for surgery by the treatment team increased if I've been dieting prior to my appointment? I'm not sure if they want to see me at my worst or want to see that I have the initiative to get things started and see what my compliance is like. My high weight has already been recorded by my PCP, so I guess that is good enough as an official record of my BMI. Will losing weight and lowering my BMI disqualify me for surgery? I'm sure I can knock off a few pounds, but I've got 150+ pounds to lose, and I can't do that alone. I don't want to diet beforehand if it's going to screw up my chances of getting approved. Also, I really want to start doing some walking, and a walking group or walking buddy would really improve my chances of getting off my duff and doing it. I'm not capable of doing long distances right now because of my condition, but would love to at least get moving a bit, weather permitting. I'm in Waltham. Any groups out there? Or anyone nearby looking for a walking partner? I have a couple of dogs who are always grateful for a stroll, and a recently retired mother who could use some exercise as well, and might be persuaded to join in (no leash required for her ;-) She's in better shape than I am and pretty fun (and understanding ). Well anyway, I wanted to introduce myself. I'd be glad to hear about anyone else's experiences with MGH, recent press notwithstanding, especially their Lap-Band surgeon and program. Just when I was beginning to think we were going to have our first winter without any major snowstorms: Here we go! Everybody have fun and be careful. It looks to be a bugger of a storm!!! TraZey :-D

Hi Trazey, Good Luck with your appointment. I am going to Beth Israel so I can't answer your questions about starting to diet before you go to your appointment. Do they have an information night at MGH that you start going to. I know at BID they do for people thinking about the surgeries. The thing they tell us is to at least start to exercise 30 minutes a day. They want us to do something, like walking or just plain old moving around. Go to a mall and wall or just pace back and forth in front of your TV. Any type of movement will help. It is good to do before surgery to help with the surgery. I am having LAP RNY on March 5th. It is just 3 weeks away. Chat soon, Clare

Wow, three weeks! You must be excited! Good luck with everything. I know I need to start walking, and want to, though I cringe at the thought of doing it, my knees hurt so bad right now. Cold or no cold, I guess I need to do it. Everytime I try, I end up with swollen knees. The dogs will appreciate my efforts, though. That's why I want to find a walking group or buddy. I figure my chances of doing it regularly are improved if I'm held accountable to someone else to show up. I'll have to check to see if the Burlington Mall has a walking group. I have a gym membership but I'm much more likely to go regularly if I have someone to go with or meet there. TraZey

If you head to the Burlington Mall let me know. I drop off my daughter to school in Wakefield and the mall is not far from there. Clare

Clare, I'll check it out and see if the mall has any particular program, or if they have a schedule for walkers or something. They might have something on their website. With our world encased in ice for the moment, walking outside right now is downright risky. I'll let you know. TraZey

Hi Tracey, Good luck with your appointment. I too have been going to MGH. I have recently been approved. I did not start dieting before hand. I wanted them to see me as I am now. I was just very unfront and honest about everything. I met with the three doctors and they all told me they were going to recommend me. I'm not trying to get in touch with my surgeons secretary....we are playing phone tag. Tonight I'm having a sleep study done. They want to make sure I don't have sleep apnia. I was told they are booking the surgeries about 4 months out. Good luck!

Hi Sarah, Good to know someone else who's at about the same stage as me. Four months out is good to know. I was wondering about how long a wait it was. I was figuring on a summer surgery, now I know that sounds about right, if I'm approved. I suspect I'll be approved. I meet the physical criteria, and I'm in good hands psychologically. One thing that concerns me is that I read that having autoimmune or inflammatory disease can make you a poor candidate for the Lap Band because of the overly reactive immune system. I hope that doesn't disqualify me. I guess I'll find out soon enough. My PCP didn't seem to think it was going to be a problem. Are you having the Lap Band or another surgery? If so, who is your surgeon? I'm not sure which surgeon in the group is the Lap Band surgeon. I know it's not Randall. He doesn't do laparoscopic surgeries. I'm curious to know who it is so I can read up on him/her. Uh, the sleep study. I remember that. I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea about 5 years ago, so I will probably get to forgo that experience with MGH. I use a CPAP machine, and it has become my best friend. I never knew what a good night's sleep was until I got that thing. About tonight's study, let me just say, it's a good thing you're having it on a Friday night, because you're gonna be tired tomorrow, LOL. Good luck with the study, and let me know how it goes. TraZey

Hi Tracey, I am not going for the Lap, but the regular gastric bypass. My aunt just had the lap band and her surgeon is the same as mine. Dr. Matthew Hutter (I think that's how you spell his name, it's in my profile). She has an auto immune disease and it didn't make any difference. Actually she just got through battled breast cancer and she still had the lap band. I believe they have just starting taking lap band candidates at MGH. Good luck! Sarah

Hi Sarah, It's good to know that they don't rule out autoimmune cases. The way I figure it, if the body does reject it, they can always take it out, right? I didn't know that MGH just started doing Lap Bands. I guess Hutter will probably be the surgeon I'll have, then. Now I can read up on him. Not that I'm worried, I just like to have as much info as possible. I was going to go with my girlfriend to Dr. Randall's monthly group this past Thursday just to get more info and meet some people, but with the storm and my cars locked in ice, that didn't happen. I'm disappointed that I have to wait another month, since the MGH one is the same week as Randall's group in Medford. I have another friend who just had the Lap Band done this week at a different hospital, but she's still recuperating and didn't want visitors, so I'm still waiting for a chance to talk to her about how she's doing. It'll be good to have someone I know who's just a little further along the road than me who can give me some guidance. I'm SO glad I found this website. It's been great having all of you to talk to. TraZey

Hi Tracy, I'm going through the MGH Weight Center too. My surgeon is Dr. Hutter and I'll having the lap RNY. From what I gather, the doctors there want you to try to lose weight before surgery because your liver won't have as much swelling and it would be easier to go around it during surgery. But, it's not mandatory to lose weight. They encourage walking and eating healthy. So, if you lost some weight I'm sure it would only show how committed you are to change your life. I started out with MassHealth insurance and was told that there is a mandatory 6 months of nutritionist group meetings to go to when you have this insurance. Sorry to bum you out. It's what my physician (Dr. Rosenblum) at the WC told me. I started out in August and I'm having the surgery on March 12th. And I switched to BC/BS insurance so I didn't end up having to do the 6 month thing, only 4 weeks. Hope this helps, and if you have any more questions about MGH or anything else, send me a message and I'll try to help.