DOES ANYONE KNOW

DOES ANYONE KNOW OF ANY MEETINGS ON WLS IN THE WORCHESTER/SPRINGFIELD AREA? I LIVE IN STURBRIDGE AREA, AND WOULD LIKE TO JOIN A GROUP. THANKS.

Hi Cathy... I live in Southbridge and no there aren't any lapband support groups in the area. I was actually thinking of starting one though. There is one in Worcester at Umass. I went once and was NOT impressed. So I thought it would be nice to start a better one. -Holly

Fallon on Plantation Street in Worcester has informational meetings on the second Thursday of every month, at 5:30 in their annex building. Part of their program is you go to two of those informational meetings, then you get your psych eval, then start a six-week group meeting, as well as seeing nutritionist. Cathy -- you say you have no insurance....do you qualify for Mass Health?? Two of the woman in my group had Mass Health which is paying for everything -- one woman even had Mass Health paying for a cab taking her to her meetings. Good luck to you.

Backtrack a page or so and read my posts on the programs at Baystate and Mercy in Springfield. The Baystate program has multiple meetings per month but they are backed up 1 year to 18 months at this point. The Mercy program uses Dr. Fiallo as a surgeon and Dr. Keroack for the weight management program portion. I was approved yesterday!!! (Insert happy dance) and I have a date of December 15. The Mercy program has meetings- call Dr. Keroack's office to find out times and locations. They are led by a psychologist and are very well done. The Baystate meetings are HUGE- several hundred people- and headed by a very sweet dietician who does a great job but the meetings come off as a infomercial to sell WLS sometimes without any hardcore information. Check on MassHealth- they pay everything for WLS with minimal hoops to jump through for approval. Apply for Mass health and don't exhaust your savings that you need for everyday expenses while you lose weight and recover. Christie