Vicki J

Ok, I must be missing something here. I see that there are a few people who are mad at lpbndinfo and can't for the life of me figure out why. Did she hurt someone or is it just the need to know? I give advice to people on a few of the boards and quite frankly they don't know who I am. Does this really distress people that much? I thought we were all here to help each other on our journeys no matter who we were. So what if she knows/works for some doctors in the field. Maybe they're ok. I think it's up to the people getting the band to check out the doctor of choice regardless of what someone on this board says. I mean, I've heard good and bad about lots of doctors. I know that there are a lot of people I know that would be grateful for any information that they received about how to get the band. How many people have gone to doctors for all sorts of reason knowing that they weren't the best but because they had no other choice. I sure would like to know what set this off. Oh yeah, I use my office email also because it's the one I check the most.

Some insurances will take Weight Watcher's or something like that as a supervised diet. Check with them. Also, you can go to bandstersinsurance.com for more information.

Have your friend call the bariatric department at Kaiser. That's what I did in northern California because I got so tired of all the different information.

Hi Cindy - SSF is also a very long and painfully slow process. From what I hear the timing is even longer. They say that it will be 5 to 6 months from the orientation to just your first appts with any of the bariactric staff. I don't know about Fremont. I went through Dr. David Le and I'm pretty happy with him. I meet with him on the 8th for my follow-up appt and he will decide then if I need a fill. Right now I'm loosing, eating about what they want me to eat but getting hungry at about 3 hours. They want to see you go 4 to 5 hours in between meals. They have you go see your surgeon once a month for a year for fills and just check-ups. We also have to go to a post-op class once a month for a year. Thankfully that is in my area. The surgery went pretty well. Day 2 was my worst. All in all, I'm happy with my surgeon. As Warrior said, you WILL get frustrated. It is an emotional roller coaster getting to where I'm at. The trade off is a whole lot of money being spent. Good luck on your journey! Warrior - Good to see you online!

You get to choose where you go? We didn't. They said that they broke Northern California up into sections and where you landed is where you went. I hope you're right. SSF has a 20 to 24 week wait from what I read on the board from the time you go to orientation until your next appointment. I don't know about Fremont. If what I read is true, then it will probably be around 8 months to a year for surgery. That's only a guess though. I was pretty amazed at the difference in the different Kaiser processes. The nurse at SSF told me that one of them didn't require a psych appt. I have been talking to another person who is going through Richmond's process and it is totally different too. So, I don't know what to tell you on the other ones. All I know is now that I have gotten the surgery I'm sure glad I put up with all the hassle. I'm doing pretty well and I'm loosing really good right now. I've lost 4 pounds since starting solids on the 26th. Of course, probably the only good thing about being on the liquid diet is you loose pretty fast. I think I've lost around 13 pounds since surgery. Right now I'm doing really good with the hunger situtation. I'm thinking he'll probably want to wait on a fill for a while since I can only eat a little and I can last the amount of time they want you to between meals. I'm crossing my fingers that I've somehow ended up one of the lucky ones that won't need too many fills. But I'll let him make that decission. Good luck on your journey through Kaiser's process. It will get frustrating but it will be totally worth it.

Hi - I am really new to this and have just found out that Kaiser may cover WLS. I would like to know if anyone out there has used Kaiser in the Sacramento/Roseville area and can help me through this. My BMI is around 43 and I do have some comorbities. Also, does anyone have a doctor they can refer me to if mine is anti-WLS?

I've been laying around healing. I had one bad day (the day after surgery) and I've been doing pretty well since then. The only other problem that I had was I wasn't taking in the protien I should have been for a few days and boy did I feel it. I'm on track now and only have a little pain when I overdo it. I've lost around 10 pounds since surgery. I had put a few back on due to not being deadly strict on my diet but have lost those and a few more. I can't wait to start up with more than their "full liquid" diet which starts on the 26th. I heard about Dr. Alami. I guess he injured his leg during one of the sports he plays. My other friend who has him went to Dr. Le or Li for her fill but is really hoping he gets back soon. She isn't unhappy with the other doctor but really likes Dr. Alami. I don't feel hungry at the moment. I will probably get to that point as things go on. I have an appointment on the 8th and if I need it I can get a fill at that time. I won't get one if I feel like I do right now because I don't want to get too full. I'll just have to see. The hardest thing about going back to work for me is the port site got sore from all of my moving around. I still have to wear my pants partially unzipped if I'm going to be sitting up straight because I get sore. It all has to do with how my bulges go. The port is actually a few inches above my pant line. Oh well. Minor issue. Everything else is healing nicely. Hang in there through the holidays. You'll get your fill and be happier right after the new year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!!!!

I had my psych evaluation in August 07. It's a pretty straight forward thing. They seem to be looking for the fact that you know what you are getting into. They go over the emotional eating thing, do you have any people who are addicts, alcoholics, etc. in your family - that type of stuff. One of the things that they are looking for is that you fit what they think is the type of person who can succeed with the band. Therefore, if they hear words that tell them you eat emotionally or that you have a lot of family/life issues they become concerned. I don't think that they would ever cancel you permanently unless they thought you would be doing yourself harm if you got one - i.e. anorixia or something like that. The band does take some work so that you can succeed and from the sounds of it getting stuck isn't the place to be. I've only been banded for 9 days so I'm still on liquids and I don't want to go to the stuck place. If you are a person who has a lot of problems with emotional eating, they want to get you the help you need to work through those problems. Again, they are doing this to try to help you succeed. I didn't feel that any of the questions were "trick" questions. It's pretty straight forward. My daughter has had some emotional issues and is having to complete some classes before she gets banded. She is comfortable with this which is good because it has put off her surgery for months. Don't let that get you worried because the whole process is taking months now. She wants to get the issues resolved because she doesn't want to go through surgery just to be in the same place she is now. I have read of people who did not recognize their emotional ties to food and have become depressed because they don't know how to handle their problems after banding. I'm just rambling here so please don't take offense. Once again, the psych appointment is pretty easy. Just listen to the question and realize that they are on your side. I hope this helps.

Well, the next time you guys hear from me, I'll be a bandster!!!! The day has finally arrived and I'm so excited. It's truly been a long 6 months. See you on the other side!!!

Lana - Glad to hear that you've got your fears taken care of. Going into surgery is stressful enough without other worries harping on you. Checking out all the information available online is a good thing. Glad to be of help! Want2beme - I know how you feel about being worried about attacks because you say something. If people check out this thread, they will see it happened to me just because I accidentally worded something a little wrong. I think we should all be able to voice our opinions and experiences without fear of becoming a national enemy. LOL

Lana - Sorry for the late post. For some reason LBT isn't sending me my messages about people responding now. Hmmm. Imagine, a computer malfunction. Who would have thought? LOL No, I haven't worried about getting too skinny. One of the beauties of the band is that it's adjustable not only tighter but looser. If I find I can't quit loosing (wow what a thought), I would have them loosen it. I have warned my family that there will come a time when they will be telling me I'm skinny enough but that my goal is a healthy BMI. I reassured them that I'm not even shooting for the lowest point in that range but that I'm determined to not be overweight or obese. I'm so excited about all of this. I can't believe it's only 6 days now until I'm banded. It sure has been a long 6 months getting here. I guess I should be grateful because I found out that people who are just starting out on the So. San Francisco Kaiser program are now having to wait 5 to 6 months for their next appointments. That means that it will be close to a year for their surgeries if they don't have any problems that slow them down. That would be really hard. Kaiser seems to be very overwhelmed with the number of patients that are flooding into the bariactric department. I can't help but think that it is because they decided to do the lap band. Anyway, good luck on your appointment. On the 11th I'll be heading down to SSF to stay the night so I can get up in the morning for surgery. Just think, you'll be heading for your surgery sooner then you think.

Lana - Welcome aboard. I've got surgery on the 12th. How far are you in the process. Morningoasis811 - I figure that's what will happen with me too. It will be interesting to see if they grow with the knowledge we hope they learn.

Welcome Morningoasis811 and Joannieg. It's always nice to meet fellow bandsters in the area. Of course, technically I'm not a bandster yet but I will be on the 12th. Whoohoo! That's 2 months earlier than they were expecting to get me in. Of course, I think I know why the appointment came up. The surgeon will be out of the office the last two weeks of December and that means instead of 2 weeks on full fluids it will end up being closer to 4. Anyway, I'm glad to hear that the magic bullet is a good thing. I had heard lots about it on another site and decided I would prefer it to the big blenders. Since it looks like I'll be married to it for a month I'm glad I got it. So when you two were on full fluids you were able to blend meats and everything? Just no chunks? Kaiser is pretty new at the band and they tend to give more of the bypass instructions than the band. I don't want to do anything that will harm my band in anyway but I may be looking for more by the end of the month. LOL <someone's arm perhaps> I want to keep the calorie intake down so that I can use this time for loosing more weight. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks everyone for your responses. April - Thanks for the food info. It looks like I will be on Stage II until January 8th. Dr. Le will be out of the office until the first week of January and the only appointment was at 11:15 on January 4th. I had them move it because I got one on the 8th at 4:15. That way I will only have to take a half day off. It means that I will have to do Stage II for 4 more days but I'm so tired of using all of my time off running to SSF. I will survive it. This is probably why there was a cancellation and why they got all the way down to me. Nobody else wanted to wait 3+ weeks to get off of Stage II. I purchased a Magic Bullet in hopes of adding a few different things to the Stage II stuff towards the end. It came highly recommended on another site. I'm really excited about having the surgery. I'm trying to stay away from ANYONE who snuffles, sneezes or coughs. I swear I will be so mad if someone gets me sick right now. As far as praying goes, I've been doing that for 6 months regarding this proceedure. As the process goes along, the prayer changes. So trust me, I will be saying a few before I go under and afterwards. I figured I would do some meditating the night before to relax me. That along with a good book and a hot bath should do the trick. Thanks again for the info. Want2beme - The only doctor I have in the Sacramento area is my PCP. Kaiser doesn't have bariactric docs in the Sacramento area yet. What are you looking for?

Hey April - Boy I hope I do as well as you have after surgery. That's great!!! I can imagine that Dr. Almani is happy with you. You're really doing a good job. A fill on Christmas Eve...LOL. No Christmas feast for you. But in my way of thinking that's a great Christmas present. I will have to wait until just after the New Year to get mine. But my Christmas present is not only the band but the day after I get to start Stage III if he lets me. What all did you eat for Stage II? Can we blend things up into liquid and eat just about anything? I have to get all this information because in just 18 short days I'll be joining you. Whoohoo!!! I'm so excited and nervous.

I just got called yesterday with my date! December 12th. Yahoo!!!

Whoop!!! Got a call. My date is December 12th. I'm totally blown away. I didn't expect one until February. What a great day!!!

Wow. I grew up in Loomis. My DH and I both graduated from Del Oro as did our siblings. My mom lives off of Humphrey on Brooks Avenue. I have made it all the way to having seen the surgeon. They have me scheduled for a couple of classes within the next few weeks and if everything works right (cough, cough, sputter - sorry choked on that one) I should have surgery around late February. I started this process June 5th with the same orientation that you are going to. I think that when they started doing the band that they opened the proverbal flood gates. The actual proceedure is pretty simple just drawn out and run by skinny people who I think don't realize obese people's line of thought. IMHO. I am, however, glad that Kaiser does the band because it sure made it possible for me. I will send you a personal message with my email address. I would be happy to have another band buddy.

Actually, I live in Penryn. I haven't checked out anyother support groups other than the one they will require me to go to at Kaiser in Sacramento. I belong to a thread called smartbandsters.com and I think that between the two it will be enough. Where are you located?

Too bad. It sure sounded like a good plan. LOL I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving in spite of work.

It's good to hear from you. It sounds like surgery went ok. You worked hard enough for it. So you'll be going back to work just in time to take a day off for Thanksgiving. Good planning. I hope that things continue to go well for you. Keep us posted.

This question has been asked a lot on smartbandsters.com. There is a bariatric nurse that has had the lapband for 9 years now on this site. She has said on numerous occassions that the band will out last you. I know this is meant as a figure of speech but I trust unless you have one of those rare instances that can happen in all surgeries that this is something that most of us will never have to replace. Keep in mind this is coming from a 54 year old, so I don't know about those of you in your 20's. Jessie just makes the blanket statement. She wrote a pretty good book about banding, too. She's been at goal for 8 years. She had to go to Mexico for her surgery and now works at a bariatric center in Washington. Hope this helps.

So, they put 3.5 in at surgery? Who did you have again? Dr. Le said that the band came with a pre-priming but that they didn't put anymore in. I wonder if the 3.5 is the "pre-prime". I hope that is what we all get at the time of surgery. I'm glad to hear all went well. Did it hurt? Sorry, had to ask. I hate the drive home ESPECIALLY on a Friday night! OMG, that probably hurts worse than the fill! LOL How long before your next fill? I know...questions, questions, questions.

I didn't know that skating was so hard on you. I mean it has always been hard on me...I fall down all the time. I'm just going to play it by ear. I think that if you do it right and don't abuse it then Motrin or NSAIDS will probably be ok. Hopefully, I'll never have to find out. I'm finding that the chiropractor and stretching do a lot for it right now.

Maybe I'll try that. Like I said, mine isn't too bad yet but I didn't want to get into the same spot as my mother and not be able to get help. She can hardly walk because of the RA. My doctor said that if I needed something he would take care of me. I really don't want to use them but if I have to I'll just use them the way some people do with taking Pepsid first and then the anti-inflamatory.