swedishfish1020

I hope it goes fast! I have 3 friends that have gone through the surgery at Kaiser and none of them had to take the 12 week class. They saw the nutritionist, psychiatrist, surgeon and completed the required tests As soon as they qualified with weight loss, they were a go. Tomorrow is my 4 hour orientation. Do i get weighted again or talk to anyone one on one during this orientation?

I just scheduled my orientation in Kaiser Sac. How long has the process been for you?

So I finally made the first step to start the weight loss surgery adventure. I am a member of Kaiser NorCal. I went to my adult medicine Dr and My BMI was 36. I have had severe joint pain for a couple of years and serious back issues confirmed by a MRI back in 2009. And since high school, I am shrunk 2 inches. I am also a very healthy person when looking at all my blood work. I have no life threatening problems. My Dr. told me to take the overview class offered by Kaiser. I did and then asked for the Dr. for a referral to Richmond. He said he wouldn't refer me and gave me Phentermine for weight loss and Vicodin for the joint pain. Any suggestions you can give me on where to go from here. I really don't want to have to gain more weight to have the surgery. It's already a struggle standing through a 8 hour work day.

I wish I had an orthopedic surgeon. Maybe I can get my Ob/Gyn to refer me. I just picked up a prescription refill from the doctors office. Inside the envelope was a Weight Loss Surgery Cheat Sheet. I just can't figure him out.

Here are the reasons he gave me. 1. Even if I have surgery and lose all the weight, it doesn't guarantee me that my joints will stop hurting. 2. I don't have any of the required conditions that weight loss can correct. and the general reasons like: It's dangerous, it's a drastic move and it's just may not work at all. I weight 222 and am now 5'6 (used to be 5'8 in high school). The Dr. says, looking at my chart, my "happy" body weight seems to be 206 so he said I just need to drop about 20 lbs and I will feel much better. That's easy for him to say.

I really thought when my doctor referred me to the overview, that he was in agreement with my decision. I really love my doctor so I'm torn whether to switch to another Dr. or take it as a sign that it's just not meant to be. I can lose the weight. I just can't keep it off. I was considering going to talk with the gal that gave the overview class. I really liked her and she seemed genuinely interested in the patients, Even in the video they showed, it talked about getting the weight off for osteo arthritis and joint pain. I'm not mad, just disappointed. Thought I'd finally found the help I needed and was on the right path.