Hey fellow MA bandsters,

SherryW and I are interested in starting a thread for all our MA bandsters so we can get to know our neighbors! We hope you join in!

I'll start.....

My name is Chris, I am 32, have been overweight since I was 5 years old, although I am at an all-time high right now. My band date is October 2nd, and I cannot wait!! I am single and dating, I work in insurance, and I have a great and supportive family & group of friends - including SherryW and her DH. lol. Oh yeah, my mother is also getting banded, and she is having surgery one week before me.

I'd love to meet my other MA bandsters and hear about your progress!

Chris

Hi everyone. I am scheduled for surgery on November 9th and while I am a bit apprehensive, I can't wait to get it done. My family is realy supportive but it isn't the same as having those of you who have gone before me. I will definitely keep posting here and would love to get together as we all make this journey TOGETHER!:clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2:

hi kiki

welcome i too am having my surgery in november, on the 8th. just wondering were are you having yours? i.m having mine at beth israel.

Hi!

I will be having my follow up at BI but could not have surgery covered in the states. I did a lot of research and while I would rather have stayed right here, at least my follow up will be local. I live in Northboro (Worcester County). Where are you from?

hi kiki. i'm from revere.just wondering what type of insurance do you have? are you going to mexico? i think that i would be very apprehensive about going out of the country, were you? well i guess there are alot of good doctors out there too. i've heard of alot of people going out of the country and have everything go well. so good luck. and enjoy the trip when you go.

hi dreamining big again

my ins from work Blue cross blue shield if alabama would not pay for the band

so on my own and out of my pocket i got bcbs of mass on my own and out of my pocket, they do pay for banding. i only had my band done on 8/1 so the bill has not been paid for yet. It should and i hope it does.

deb

Hi everyone I am from the Worcester area and have just had my first appt this week at the weight center at Umass Medical. I had my intake physical. I dont have a bmi of 40 but it is over 35 and i have diabetes and high blood pressure. I was told i will probably be okay and will be approved for the wls. Great! so I mentioned the lap band. the Dr told me he would probably recommend bypass.. I was very surprised. He said they are getting better results with bypass instead of lapband with diabetics. I was really surprised by that and honestly a little upset. I really thought the lap band would be the way to go. I was wondering if anyone else was told they should have the bypass instead of the band? I know everyones medical history is different so any feedback would be appreciated!

Hi kimmi. At the info sessions I went to at BI, they mentioned that there is something with gastric bypass and the hormone changes that happen from cutting the stomach that almost always cures diabetes. I want to say it was something like 85 or 90%. Perhaps while you are in the research phase you should check out another hospital's info session, like Beth Israel, and see what they have to say.

That being said I think it is your choice to decide which surgery you would like to have. Granted you should talk to doctors and listen to what they have to say, but there is a very big difference between gastric bypass and the band and it's your body. Your body = your choice.

Keep us updated as you go along!

Hi everyone I am from the Worcester area and have just had my first appt this week at the weight center at Umass Medical. I had my intake physical. I dont have a bmi of 40 but it is over 35 and i have diabetes and high blood pressure. I was told i will probably be okay and will be approved for the wls. Great! so I mentioned the lap band. the Dr told me he would probably recommend bypass.. I was very surprised. He said they are getting better results with bypass instead of lapband with diabetics. I was really surprised by that and honestly a little upset. I really thought the lap band would be the way to go. I was wondering if anyone else was told they should have the bypass instead of the band? I know everyones medical history is different so any feedback would be appreciated!

Hey Kimmi, I live in the Springfield, Mass area and had my lapband surgery on 8/17/06 at Bay State Medical, by Dr. Haag. I am an insulin dependent diabetic and take meds for hypertension, I choose to do the lapband because I don't need to lose over 100 lbs and I felt more comfortable with the less invasive surgery. I am now 30lbs less and I am taking less insulin, I was on two shots a day and I am down to one (only if needed do I take two shots), but the majority of the time I only take one and I feel so good. I am gonna see my doctor and ask if I can try getting on oral meds, and if all goes well I can get off of everything. My doctor told me that I should go for what ever surgery I felt comfortable with. I wish you all the luck with your decision. If you need a friend, let me know.

Hi Everyone

I just joined the Oct thread about 2 weeks ago. Thank you, Chrispygal for letting me know about the MA thread. I live in Blackstone MA

I am currently doing the liquied pre-op thing. I am getting banded next Thurs (10/19).

I think it would be great to get together and support each other. Please let me know if anything is started yet.

Thanks all, I am looking forward to sharing my journey with you all.

good luck 3 beauties! how is everyone doing? i am at a plateau but hopeful it will break soon! i want to say goodbye to 250!

threebeauties - sherry and i haven't started our support group yet, but want to do it soon. I'll chat with her about it this weekend and see if we can start up in November.

Hi all not much to say this week all is going well, just to let new people popping in I am in westrn Ma, in palmer. I would love to chat with you all

Lets get something going?

deb

Hi rainbow~

I will be out your way tomorrow. Taking the kids to Fright Fest at Six Flags for the day !

Hi MA Bandsters. SherryW, myself, and a couple of other MA Bandsters are going to set up a chat in the chat room portion of this site around 7pm tonight. No real agenda just yet, but we thought an on-line support group is better than no support group! So hope you fellow MA Bandsters can join us. If you're not from MA and still want to join us, feel free!

hi chrispy and sherry,

JUST WANTED TO SAY HI! IM GOING IN FOR MY GALLBLADDER REMOVAL TOMORROW @ 7:30 AM @BIDMC. ONE MORE STEP CLOSER TO MY LAP-BAND HURRAYYY!!! HOPE EVERYTHING GOES O.K. IM A LITTLE SCARED NOW, BUT I'LL BE FINE ONCE IT IS OVER. SORRY I JUST HAD TO VENT A LITTLE. HOPE EVERYONE IS DOING GOOD!!!