vkgirl

It does seem that it's just a bit different for each service area. I'm in Orange County and I have my last class on the 23rd - same week as BlaqBeary Woohoo!!! I went to see my PCP/the bariatric doctor last week for an unrelated issue (hiatal hernia - boo!) and we talked briefly about things. He told me that we don't have a post Options appointment with him, but the case manager sends everything over for him to review the last couple of weeks and they order everything at that time. A girl from a prior class did some make-ups in mine and she showed me a letter that she received from KP around week 10 with all of the info about where her surgery would be, that an ultrasound and labs would be ordered, etc. So, a bit different than everywhere else. Now, here's something interesting I learned last week. I was on another board, Thinner Times, and there was a girl there who was from Kaiser and was having her surgery done with PB. Apparently, PB is scheduling much further out than what Kaiser is saying. She didn't get her consult appointment until about 5 weeks after Options (don't know when seminar was completed) and was told that she would be called with a surgery date in 2-3 weeks. At week 2 she called them, and they told her to call wait another 2-3 weeks. Plus, a girl in my class has a brother who finished his Options in June, and just had his consult in late August and is waiting for a surgery date still. It took almost 2 months for his consult!!! I brought it up to my PCP and he said that PB is giving them reports that they are an average of 4-6 weeks from authorization to surgery. So, I just know that I'm going to be super pro-active with them and assume that they're not scheduling as quickly as they're telling Kaiser...

Hi BlaqBeary! Thanks for all of the great info! I'm going to the Riverside seminar tonight, yay! After reading your post, this is all starting to feel real, you know? Depending on time, I'll try ask about the pre and post op diets. Specifically, how long you need to be on liquids. I've tried the premier shakes from costco, I like those much better than the Optifast, but they still make me queasy. Ack, I just realized it's 12:45 and I want to take my kids to my mom's house at 2:30! I better get moving!!!

Woohoo! Another pound! Go you! I'm still working on getting my head in the right place so I can get my 10% lost. I'm down 9 lbs, but have 18 to go... I would have loved to go, but my Options classes are Thursday nights and the next make-up for week 6 isn't until AFTER this class is over. No, not going to miss it. I might try for the Riverside seminar next week, or do a make-up for week 11 next week and go in September. I'm thinking I'll just hoof it on over to Riverside which means I have to leave my house at like 2ish so I can avoid the heaviest traffic. I figure the sooner I can get this prelim stuff done, the better. Did they give info on the pre-op and post-op diet plans that they use? I'm not loving the Protein shakes so much and I see people having to do 2-3 week pre-op and post op liquid diets - YUCK! Oh, one more thing. How long did it last?

Kristykreem - Do you know if you can attend one of the seminars at Pacific Bariatric prior to finishing the options program or getting the referral? I'm in Orange County and finish my Options class on 9/23. My pcp is the doc in charge of the WLS program in OC (lucky me, seriously) and I was thinking of going ahead and scheduling an appt with him for right after the classes are over. I'd have to do it now as he's a popular PCP as well as the WLS doc, and his next open appt is in late September. I've got some timing issues that can really screw this all up and I have a narrow window of time to try to have the surgery done or I'll have to push it out until next summer unless I can get things taken care of quickly. FWIW - in the Options orientation, they had made sure to point out that Pacific Bariatric had a 3 day stay versus a 1 night stay for the KP hospitals.

Now that's creative and a "healthy" way to raise your BMI! :001_smile:

What a bummer! Do you have to have one or two co-morbidities if your BMI is 35-39? I don't remember. I thought that hypertension counted, but I haven't seen anything about high cholesterol. I could see that one as being iffy since obesity doesn't always mean high cholesterol and vice versa. Have you ever been tested for sleep apnea? I know that seems to be another of the big co-morbidities for consideration. You might not think you have some sleep/breathing issues, but you just don't know. If you had asked me a few weeks ago if I did, I would have said no way!! But, my husband has told me that I snore a lot. He never told me that before! It was usually if I was really tired or sick. Snoring doesn't mean you have sleep apnea, but it also doesn't mean you don't. If I wasn't considering this surgery, I would go ahead and have myself tested just to be sure. However, my BMI is over 40, so I qualify already, and I don't really have any comorbidities. Good BP, decent cholesterol, no major weight-related health conditions - a fairly healthy morbidly obese person. While I don't know how to go about appealing, I do think you might want to talk with your PCP about being tested for sleep apnea. Are there any other weight related issues that you have? Do you see a specialist for any other conditions that weight loss would help improve? Don't give up hope!

Hey, I've been thinking about you. I was wondering if you got a date yet or not! How awesome is that?! I was able to get in on a cancellation to the Options class and started session 1 and 2 last week. Only 10 weeks to go and then it's the referral waiting game! :scared0: I just realized you're now down to 2 1/2 weeks. It'll be here before you know it! I can't wait to here about your experience. I haven't seen anything on this board with patients from Pacific Bariatric. If you want my e-mail - I don't have any of the IM programs - let me know. I'll totally be your cheerleader! Allison

I'm lucky in the fact that my PCP is the MD in charge of the weight loss program for my area (Kaiser) and all of the WLS patients need to see him as part of the process. He just happens to be the PCP I picked and I've always liked him and his honesty. When I finally went to him to talk about the VSG, it was really easy. He was also very upfront with the hard reality of keeping the weight off long term. At the end of my appointment, I asked him if he liked being the MD for WLS, and he said it has been very gratifying. It really makes him happy to have patients come back to him and tell him how much their lives have changed. The other reality is that not all MD's know everything about these procedures. My sister is an oncologist and had suggested that my mom get the lap band. She wasn't aware of complications, the normal life of productive burping, vomiting, finding the right fill amount, etc. But, she was coming from the same place I did when I first started thinking about the band, it would just help cut down on the amount of food we eat, simple as that. Unfortunately, my mom is the WRONG person for really any of these surgeries, she would never be compliant. My PCP is her PCP and he said the same things. Her head issues are too big for these tools to be a success.

Hey there Mr. Mason! Another KP So. Cal patient here. Although, it seems I'm the only Orange County patient. You'll see that there are some more Kaiser patients here, both from northern and southern California. It looks like just So. Cal has to do the Options class. I'm actually quite happy to go through the classes myself, although I don't start until August 23rd - oh poop! I think it will help me get my head in the right place so that when surgery time comes, I'll hopefully be more able to cope with many of the changes. Just reading everyone's posts here about post-op life has already made me start to look at what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. This is a great place to come and learn and vent and Celebrate. Glad you made it!

Wow! You Northern Cal Kaiser members are LUCKY! I had my orientation 2 weeks ago and will have to go to a 12 week class which starts in 2 - yes TWO - months. Boohoo! After that, it will still be a minimum of 4-6 weeks for an outside bariatric center or 4-6 months for one of 2 Kaiser hospitals. I think it's because they have all So Cal members go to 3 surgery sites which includes members from LA, Orange County and San Diego. I'm just raring to go and get started and 2 months seems so far away, but I know August will be here before I know it. I'm happy for all of you getting started and on your way so quickly! As a Kaiser employee, I know all about our reputation for things taking too long (and there really are legitimate reasons). So, it's great to hear about things like this where it's not too bad at all! It's awesome for you all!!!

So, based on what I can tell, best case scenario for me is getting surgery in November or early December. We've just booked a Disney Cruise for February 13th (with friends plus a good discount, so date non-negotiable). In my head, I'm at that point where the food part of the cruise isn't one of the big draws for me anymore - at least that's what I tell myself since I haven't been faced with the sleeve reality yet. Anyhoo, for those of you who've already been sleeved, would you have gone on a cruise 2-3 months post op? I'm not so worried about what to eat, I know that there are always options available, but I'm nervous about eating in front of friends every night! Ack! Of course, I do know that there are always possibilities of complications post surgery, but that's not part of this post/equation... I'm happy to hear what you would have done...

Wow, thanks Angie and Stephi for some reassuring advice! I'm just really hoping I can get my best case scenario, I'm just waiting to get into the 12-week Options class as Kaiser. One thing I remember from the last time I cruised is that I was just always full, taking advantage of full meals for Breakfast, lunch and dinner. On my last vacation, we skipped that kind of eating and we felt sooo much better. I'm hoping sleeve-wise, I'll be able to avoid that constant overfull feeling I got last time. Seriously, Angie, I can totally relate to the following "because your not looking at all the left overs and wising you could just eat it for them" I'll be so happy when those days are over...

Boy, wish I had the BC/BS answer for you. At Kaiser, the doctor brought it up at the orientation and said that they only had one person where the surgeon wouldn't do the surgery, because she ended up at a BMI of 23! He said that was the only case he knew of.

While I know that there are many brave souls who are comfortable telling the whole truth - and I admire you fully - I think it totally sucks that we have to even think about it. I talked with my sister about it - a doctor btw - and she agrees that people just don't get it. She seconded my decision to not tell people about "taking the easy way out" and getting surgery. (No need to tell everyone here it's not the easy way out!) Although, one thing I realized, I do have a few blunt friends who would probably ask if I had surgery for weight loss, but they would probably say "Did you have bypass or the lap band?" Well, I wouldn't be lying if I said no, so there! And fortunately, I don't see them as often, so they wouldn't necessarily see the faster weight loss that is likely to come. I'm not really going to tell friends/family about having surgery at all, I'm more concerned about work and when I submit my medical leave paperwork. Fortunately, I have a few months to come up with something!

How exciting! I'm just getting started in the Kaiser process and am waiting for start date of my options class. When did you finish your options class? Has it truly been a 4-5 month wait? I'm not sure which area I'll go to for surgery. The shorter wait time at Pacific Bariatric is appealing, but having all of my care at a KP hospital is good too! But, I've got a while to decide, so I'm not worrying too much about that decision yet.

Hey Jenn, I saw my PCP yesterday, and he was able to get me into the orientation this Thursday. Yay! He's the director of the weight loss program for OC (all weight loss, not just the surgery portion), but he's been my PCP for almost 4 years. I love him, as he's always been very upfront and honest. For me personally, it was nice to be able to talk with him since he knows more than most PCPs of what will be involved with the surgery and the post-op life. Plus, he understands that we obese people have issues that are the underlying cause of our obesity. Anyway, I digress. I wanted to let you know that he told me that Pacific Bariatric does bypass almost exclusively, but if you tell them you want a sleeve, they will do it, but you will need to let them know your reasons behind it. (Mine - the inability to take NSAIDS, they're the only thing that help my headaches and arthritis is in my future, I know it!) South Bay and Harbor City are more likely to do the sleeve. Come back and let us know what Pacific Bariatric said about the sleeve. For me, I would much rather go to San Diego since I'm in south orange county, it would be close to the ocean, and I really, really hate driving anywhere near LA, kwim? Oh, the one thing I could tell he doesn't like - the LAP Band! He said most (Kaiser) patients end up having to have it removed due to complications. He said he's going to show pictures in the orientation of it eroded into the stomach, etc. He said the same thing, that it's only recommended for those patients you talked about (lower BMI). P.S. I lived kinda near Turnbull, once you got over the hill and took tetley instead of continuing on Turnbull, we lived just off Tetley between St. Marks Church and Hacienda Blvd. I always loved the Turnbull drive over to Whittier library!

I'm very happy to learn of all of this. I'm a KP Orange County patient (and employee) and I'm seeing my PCP tomorrow. Coincidentally, my PCP is one of the dr's in charge of the weight loss program for OC, I think you need to see him to be referred to the WLS class (not 100% sure if I understood them correctly at member health). Anyway, I'm going to see him tomorrow for referral. Up until this weekend, I assumed that KP didn't cover VSG, so I was going for the lap-band although the VSG was more attractive to me. Now that I know, I can talk to him about the Pacific Bariatric option. I understand that the wait to get into the WLS surgery class can be 3-4 months, I might talk to him about the other service areas. Jenn, are you in the Bellflower or Baldwin Park hospital area? Depending on where you live in Whittier, you can be close to either one of them! I grew up in Hacienda Heights, so that is an area I know and love/miss!