Vicki J

Well, it sounds like you're on your way. It must be getting pretty exciting. I met with Dr. Le today (surgeon) and I'm now officially on the list for surgery. I'm pretty happy about that. I told him that I am required to take a week off at Christmas time and if they could find any way to get the surgery done then that I would be really grateful. So they put that on a note next to my name on the list but made sure to tell me they were making no promises. Worst case senerio is late February. At least I got that much. I have to go to one of the classes that we must attend after meeting with the surgeon in November in SSF. I couldn't make the one up here on the 27th but Dr. Stiles said that that was ok. It took us 3 hours to get there today and I arrived 8 minutes before my appointment. I was sure sweating it. I asked him how strict they were about weight and he gave me this really funny look because I have lost so much. I had to explain to him that some of the women are concerned about that time of the month (LOL) which was not the truth. Some of the people I have been talking to are having a hard time with the weight loss and they asked me to ask. He said that they have 250 per WEEK joining and that they are not going to give surgery to those who don't want to follow the plan. He did say that they wouldn't worry about 5 pounds or so that women might gain but that they must show that they are following the program. In other words, they are going to be strict. He assured me that we cannot loose too much weight because they go by our start weights as to whether or not we qualify for the program. So, I'll just keep going. Glad to hear you're on your way. Keep me posted on how you're doing.

36 pounds since August...I guess you would. Congratulations on the weight loss.

Congratulations! From what I have heard they are so backed up that those of us who went to orientation in June won't be banded until February or March. You'll do great! I'm so excited for you!

I am so sorry to hear about your hernia. Are you ok with the bypass? I know that when I chose to go with the lapband it was because I don't like the idea of someone rearranging my insides. Having said that, I also told my husband that if the only choice I have is the bypass, that is what I'll get because the only thing there is no choice of is keeping the weight on. So they are booked until February. Is that for the lapband also? I imagine so. Bummer. I was preparing myself for January. Now it will be even further away than that. That also means I may be as far away as March. Lord, keeping motivated is sure hard these days. :eek:

gagabutton - How did your appointment go with Dr. Alami? I meet with him on the 23rd. Did he give you any idea on when you might expect to have surgery? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Hey April - Did you get your surgery?

The first thing we need to know is where you are from. This makes a whole lot of difference. I'm going to the So. San Francisco Kaiser and right now I have heard that it is taking 16 weeks just to get your first appointment after orientation. If things go as they have in the past after that, it will take you probably at least a month to get through your appointments (if you're lucky) . Once you meet with the surgeon it's another 2 1/2 to 3 months until surgery. That means you need to be patient because the process is taking close to 8 months at this point. I started in June and if I am lucky I will have surgery in January. At the time of my orientation they predicted 3 to 6 months. I'm not setting my hopes on that. During this time you will be required to follow their pre-op meal plan which is really a 1200 calorie diet. They don't want you to call it a diet because you are supposed to be changing your way of thinking about that and adapting a new lifestyle. It's frustrating sometimes but the only other choices I have would be to self-pay and I think that I can be patient rather than do that.

Hey Warrior - It was sure a good thing that you caught that. Glad to hear that they've got you going again. These large gaps that they have make it really hard to keep motivated. I had to take a lifestyles class that was about 3 hours long and our initial orientation that was a couple of hours long. I don't know about this 5 hour class. But I hear that even the 3 Kaisers that do this have totally different programs. I have a class at the end of the month on the 27th in Sacramento that I have to attend. I guess I have to go to them until surgery from now on. Once a month isn't too bad though. They also have me scheduled for my phone appointment with the nurse on Friday and then I meet with the surgeon on the 23rd. After that besides the classes the only thing that is left is the pre-op appointment (normal surgery thing) and the surgery. Hopefully I will have the surgery before the end of January. They are saying 2.5 to 3 months after the meeting with the surgery unless someone cancels and I'm sure the waiting list for that is huge. My friend, Kim, just had the surgery on Wednesday and I have also been in touch with someone who got their surgery in July. Both say that they are happy with the staff and are doing pretty well. Kim said that the worst of it is the port site. It was pretty sore the next day. I haven't heard from her since then. She was pretty whipped just from the fact that she had surgery. She said that there was another girl in the room that had had the lap band surgery on the same day and she was up walking around and chatting with everybody. It goes to show you the difference between people. I'm so happy that they have this scheduled for you. You'll have to let me know what it was all about. It will be interesting to find out the other Kaiser's method of operation. I heard one doesn't require a psych evaluation. They're not hard anyway but it's just a curious thing. Keep on them and be the squeeky wheel. This will happen for both of us. I know your frustration. As my sister told me...this time next year we'll be looking back and saying that it might have been frustrating but we'd do it all over again. Take care and email me privately if you want to.

Yeah, I'm doing ok. I got back into exercising a little this week. I need to do better at it but at least I'm headed in the right direction. Since you only have to loose 10% of your weight you'll have plenty of time. I think that if we tried to do the diet to the letter we'd all be crazy. It's surprising how little weight loss it takes to make us feel better. Mark my words, the surprises keep coming. I'm wearing pants that I couldn't get up past my knees when I started this and they are getting baggy. I must have zoomed through the size 16 phase because I don't seem to have many clothes in that size. Since I'm starting to wear that size (either tight 16 or loose/falling off 18) I will need to go and get some things so that I can have them to wear. It's hard because I can either go to work looking like a little kid in Mom's clothes or like I'm trying to be a teenager in tight clothes. Just a little more weight or shaping up and those 16's will be just right. Some of them fit really nice now. I guess it's the difference in the cut. Oh, well. I took a picture of myself today because my friend who got the band on Wednesday wanted to see what I looked like. So I sent her a before and now picture. It was nice to see them together because I can see the difference. I didn't take my measurements when I started and I wish I had. I hear that you can be loosing inches even if the scale has stalled out. BUT I'm not going back so I can get the measurements. LOL Take care and keep me posted on how you're doing. By the way, Kim had her surgery through Kaiser and Dr. Alami on Wednesday. She said her port site is sore but everything is good. She's tired because of surgery but she is feeling good otherwise. She was happy with the staff and Dr. Alami. She's going to keep me posted on her journey so I will pass it on.

Yeah, I do. Mine is an 02 Heritage grey over purple. My husband rides an 04 Road Glide silver over teal. I'm a real beginner riding on my own. I only have a few thousand miles under my belt and believe me that's a real beginner. LOL I've ridden with my husband for over 25 years and enjoyed it enough that I thought I would try my own. I still ride on the back of his sometimes. I think I would miss that if I gave it up completely. It's funny how you have to learn to use your body differently when riding as you loose weight. They kept telling me that the bike would want to go straight and I kept telling them it kept wanting to fall over. Turns out that when you don't have as much weight in your rear it does take more to turn the thing. Did you guys go to Street Vibrations?

Yeah, they started in February of this year. Before that they only did the bypass here too. I guess this is new to the Kaiser system and there are a lot of Kaisers that don't do it. I assume that in the future they will do them everywhere. I live by Sacramento and have to go to San Francisco for all of my appointments and the surgery. It takes a lot of time off because of the appointments but I have tried to make sure that I don't use my time off here at work so that I can get this done. I'll have to go to San Francisco once a month after the surgery for fills and that will go on for a year. It makes it a little hard but it will be worth it. They do it at three of the bay area hospitals but you don't get to choose which one you go to. I guess some of the other ones are a little harder to get through the program. They are getting 200 people a week into the program and not any more operating time. One girl that just went through the orientation said that the next appointments are 16 weeks out. It was 8 when I went through in June. It's a real mess. But if I can do it through my insurance then they will cover the fills and anything that happens. I wonder if people realize that a lot of insurances won't cover things like slippages and such (even if they are emergencies) if they have the lap band surgery done privately. I think that changing insurance will be a headache afterwards because of the same reason. So I plan on having Kaiser for the rest of my life.

Yeah, you certainly do have a supportive husband. Good for him. What I want to ask you is why do you give the impression that you're mainly doing this for your intimacy? Whenever I tried to loose weight and that was the main reason (it's not a bad one *grin*) it seemed like I failed. I have gotten to a point in my life that I'm tired of hurting, wheezing, and squeezing into things and I'm finally doing this for me. Selfish? No, it will be a benefit to both of us. But I think to be successful you're going to have to deal with why you're there in the first place and start loving yourself a little more. I really hope that all goes well with you. It's great that you have a way to get the surgery done. Since you mentioned that you have Kaiser I assume they don't do it up there. I have Kaiser too and even though they are painfully slow the price is right.

Congratulations!!!! How could you not loose weight when you have worked so hard? What a great start for your journey. I decided yesterday that I needed to start taking my breaks again and walking. I was doing really good at doing at least that and then slipped back into the work rut and stopped. I don't get much in but it's better than nothing. You're an inspiration! This is something I really need to work on. I can't believe that I can do so well on the diet but I'm having so much trouble with the exercise. I guess we all have our sticky spots. Personally I wouldn't consider RNY unless it was the only thing available to me. Loosing the weight is the number one priority but doing it in a healthy manner is also right up there. I have seen people that have had the RNY and quite frankly they all look like they've been through the ringer. I also want the adjustability of the band. With the RNY, if you stretch out your pouch you can't fix it unless you have major surgery again. Anything that goes wrong is major surgery. The band can be fixed most of the time so easily IF it has a problem. Nope, I don't want anybody rearranging me on the inside. But it is a personal decission. That instant gratification is a pull to a lot of people. But if you really dedicate yourself to loosing weight, you can do what you and I are doing and we will do just GREAT with the band. Keep on walking and inspiring us.

Yeah, it is great. I was so bummed out because I spent 2 weeks on a plateau looking over the edge hoping to fall off. I finally fell off this week and had one of those big losses. It really made my week. Now if it will just keep going. I haven't gotten the band yet but I'm sure looking forward to it. I want to make sure that it keeps coming off and that it STAYS OFF! By the time I get through Kaiser's system I'll be over half way there. Oh well, at least it is in my future. You're doing fabulous too!

I would also like to keep in touch with the both of you. Maybe we should start a Dr. Alami thread. LOL

No, unfortunately, I haven't. I've been so busy this week but I have no other plans this weekend but to get everything organized and started. I really need to do this because the only thing that makes me really happy with the weight I have lost is the look of what is left behind. I know that I have to do this while I'm loosing or I will be severely disappointed when I reach goal. I'm only 12 pounds away for Onederland!!!:whoo:I'm totally jazzed about that. I finally fell off of my plateau and I've lost 5 pounds this week. After all of the frustration is sure is great to have a big loss. I haven't changed much either. I did, however, quit eating my dinner after 6:30. Maybe that's all I needed. I have found that eating out is easier than we build it up to be. You just have to take a minute to get the brain under control and then pick the best you can. Veggies are pretty safe so that veggie platter may be your saving grace. You'll do ok, I'm sure. Keep me posted on how you're doing. I'm trying to get a line of communication going with a woman who had her surgery with Kaiser SSF in July. She said she really liked Dr. Alami. That's who I am set to see next month. Take care!!!

Margie - I am so glad to finally hear from someone who has gotten their band from SSF. I am to meet with Dr. Alami on October 23rd. I started my journey in April with the referral and orientation on June 6th. They are so overwhelmed there now. You seem pleased with the surgery and the surgeon. I'm happy to hear that. Did you get the new band? How full did they fill you during the first couple of fills? I am hoping that I can get some of the fills on Saturdays but I realize that might just be a pipe dream. It sounds like I won't get the band until sometime in January. But I've been following their plan since orientation and have already lost 48 pounds. Hopefully by December I will have lost over 60 and be half way down. Any tips that you can give me for getting through the system faster, please let me know. Otherwise, I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and hoping that I have a banded future.

Ryan - Why don't you get your doctor to write a compelling letter about your health issues and you do the same. Take them to your husband's employer (or he can) and see if they will lift the exclusion. I have heard of one person who got this done. If they don't then I would contact obesitylaw.com. I have heard they won't charge unless they feel they can win but they give free advice. I'm not sure but that's what I have heard. Melanie222 - Congratulations!!! What a score on your part. I am also going through Kaiser in northern California. Where are you from. The Kaisers in northern California are sure overwhelmed by all of the people getting WLS. They just keep getting further and further behind. It's a long journey but it will be well worth it. They have me on a "pre-op meal plan" (1200 cal. diet) to shrink my liver and such. You loose pretty good on it and I feel that I have to loose it anyway and I have their guarantee that I won't be kicked off the program if I loose too much so I just keep working on it. I look at the band as something to not only help me loose weight but to also help me keep it off. Once again...congratulations!!!

With that kind of dedication you're going to breeze through this weight loss thing. I keep telling myself that I'll start "tomorrow" and get this exercise thing really buttoned down. Well, I'm doing the same thing that I did with the old diet routine and tomorrow never comes. So, I've made a commitment to myself to go in and set up my room with the bowflex and treadmill tonight. No TV until it's done. Maybe if I treat myself like a kid I'll do it. LOL

Unfortuately, in SSF at least, they don't have a system set up where they call you if an appointment becomes available due to a cancellation. I was told that it was my responsibility to call them everyday to find out if one became available. I haven't done so until now because my calendar has been rather full. I am, however, going to start doing exactly the same as you. I'm not in the same position because I do have an appointment but would like to see it moved up. One of the things that I totally hated was the fact that they didn't contact me and tell me anything. I called once and asked which orientation group they were scheduling and got a better answer. I also kept an eye on my appointments via the webpage and saw them before I actually got the information from Kaiser. This, however, can be rather addicting and disappointing. When I started this program I was told that I would have the surgery within 4 - 6 months of orientation. Fortunately, mine will be only a little longer than the 6 months. I probably could have found a way to self pay but I couldn't justify strapping my husband and me because I didn't have the patience to go through the Kaiser program. My plan through the City of Rocklin pays for the surgery, I just have to pay my $15 co-pay. I'm not sure how I would feel if I were still getting the silent treatment. From what I was told by a friend of mine going through the system, they ask at the required classes (you attend after your appointment with the surgeon) if there was anything that you felt wasn't handled right. One of the things that came up is this lack of communication. When I go on October 27th if they ask I'll tell them the same thing along with the fact that it concerns me that they consider this an elective surgery. To me this is about as elective as cleaning out your arteries to avoid a heartattck or stroke. Both are PREVENTATIVE not elective. Enough of my soapbox routine. Email me privately if you want. I am very interested in your progress.

Oh yeah, and make sure you make all of your appointments. You'll be back in the same place if you miss any.

3 miles! You are doing so much better than I am. I'm happy if I can get a half mile in a day. Where do you ever find the time? If you keep that up and follow the plan, you'll be a size 2 by the time you get your appointments. LOL You definitely won't have any problem loosing 20 pounds. I had my orientation June 5th and as of right now I'm down 43 give or take a pound. My scale likes to do that... I've been plateaued for about 2 weeks now and that gets really discouraging. But do yourself a favor and don't just maintain. I mean we have to loose it anyway so keep going. You'll reach goal that much quicker and be so much happier. I asked the director of bariatrics if you could loose too much weight and then not be considered for the band. She told me that I met the requirements to be in the program when I joined and that I joined in good faith so there would be no amount of weight I could loose that would stop me from getting the band. Think of this as a time for getting your head around not eating as much and being in control of what you eat. It will be one less thing we'll have to adjust to after the band.

And I thought SSF was bad!! Unfortunately, there are so many of us that need this surgery that Kaiser is getting overwhelmed. Of course we all know that there are only 3 Kaisers, right? LOL I'm hoping that as they see how many of us want this surgery that they will open up some of the other Kaisers to do it. I wouldn't be unhappy at all if they decided to do it in Sacramento or Roseville. That would certainly ease the load somewhat. Words of wisdom....Ok....this is for the rest of your life. I mean being done with the weight and being able to do whatever you want is so huge that when you look back on this and say it was a bitch but truly worth it. I don't know how long you had to wait for say your first car but I had to wait quite a while. Once I got it I felt like I had made a great accomplishment. Then the payments started....well we all know that drama. Anyway, what I do while I am waiting for the process to end is read the boards and use this time to loose whatever I can so that when I do get the band it will take me less time to get to goal and then be able to finally stay there. I'm not going to tell you that it's not discouraging or that I don't have a hard time of it sometime. I do. But for the first time in my life I have put myself first and I plan on keeping myself near the head of the line. I neglected myself for so many years and that's why I now have to wait this thing out. Even my husband has commented on how I've changed and how I now take the time for me and I'm interested in me. Keep on bugging them. When they cancelled my psych appointment on me I blew up. They were going to give me one for October 1st which would have put me another 6 weeks out. I called back the following Monday and guess what...they had a cancellation for the following Friday which only put me another week out. Then I called them to make sure the appointment with the surgeon was set. So bug them. They view this as elective surgery (that's a quote) and therefore not urgent. All of the girls at the department in SSF are skinny and have never had to deal with this outside the job. BUG THEM WITH A SMILE ON YOUR FACE!

No way...16 weeks until your next appointment!? :omg: I'm sure glad that I pressed the point with my psych evaluation. If I had waited until Oct. 1st for it, I probably would have been into the spring before surgery. Of course, it could be that anyway. I go to see the surgeon on Oct. 23rd. From what I am being told it's 2 1/2 to 3 months after that before surgery. That means January possibly even February before surgery. Hmm...I'm having my appointment with the surgeon on my oldest daughter's birthday...maybe surgery on my son's (2/7). This could get interesting. Well, if you follow their plan you'll loose that 20 lbs and more. I had my orientation on June 5th and have lost 43 lbs so far. It's not really hard just a pain to measure and weigh everything. But so was WW. I haven't been doing any real hard exercises, just walking 3-4 times a week for about 1/2 mile. They are going to be doing surgery on a whole bunch of us skinny people so we can keep it off. LOL Keep me posted on how you're doing and email me personally if you want to. I have a couple of other people who are going through the Kaiser process that I keep in touch with. Kim is due to have her surgery on Oct. 2nd or 3rd. She went to orientation on 5/22. That just shows you how bad things are getting in the bariatric department.

Someone told me that the Kaiser in Longbeach did them. I'm not sure though. I know that is Northern Cal we don't get to pick where we go. You would have to contact your patient services to find out.