My Journey So Far With Kaiser

[Inkdoll 22]

Welcome congrats on starting this journey, but it is a long one. I am also out of the fontana office.

I had my referral send in December and started options the week of January I completed the program on March 27 and still haven't seen, nor do I have an appointment to see a surgeon.

Thats no good :/ Have you completed all the other requirements? What all have the required of you?

[Nina88 73]

Thats no good :/ Have you completed all the other requirements? What all have the required of you?

Everything has been done. All my labs were great my Vitamin D was great. My last appointment was with mental health on 5/30. I'm still waiting to be called to schedule my appointment with a Dr. In west Los Angeles because saint b's is so behind.

[Inkdoll 22]

Everything has been done. All my labs were great my Vitamin D was great. My last appointment was with mental health on 5/30. I'm still waiting to be called to schedule my appointment with a Dr. In west Los Angeles because saint b's is so behind.

Can you choose different locations? I was reading some people going to San Diego. Do they let you know what locations are not so far behind?? Hopefully they will call you soon..... the waiting is a killer lol Have you been to the Los Angeles Site to see how it is?

[Nina88 73]

Can you choose different locations? I was reading some people going to San Diego. Do they let you know what locations are not so far behind?? Hopefully they will call you soon..... the waiting is a killer lol Have you been to the Los Angeles Site to see how it is?

I yes you can choose a different location San Diego was not an option given to me. It was south bay or wla. If you wait for the hub to call you I'm sure they will let you know. I have researched the doctors at wla, I'm hoping for doctor zelada but at the point he is scheduling surgery for august. So at this point I'll take the soonest appointment.

I have not been to the hospital yet. Let me know if you have any questions.

[Chrysallis 2]

I met with Dr. Khayat on June 6. He is leaving Kaiser, which is too bad because I really liked him, so my remaining appointments will be with Dr. Kim. I have pre-op on June 28 and surgery on July 11.

One thing Dr. Khayat said that has discouraged me a bit is that he thinks lower BMI patients have greater success with bypass than sleeve. After my options class my BMI is down to 35 and he thinks people with under 40 tend to struggle more with regain from sleeve. I can't find anything to back this up. I'm going to talk to Dr. Kim about it more at pre-op. They said I could change my mind about what precedure to get up until the morning of surgery. I really don't feel good about getting bypass but I want to have the biggest chance of keeping the weight off that I can. He said he thinks the reason this counterintuitive situation occurs is that lower BMI patients tend to be more sweet eaters than quantity eaters. I don't know that this is true for me so for now I am sticking with the plan of sleeve surgery.

They did say that if you have any regain at your pre-op appt they will cancel surgery. That is my biggest goal right now. I'd like to go in a couple pounds under my surgical consultation weight to give myself some wiggle room.

I am focused on not gaining weight, getting all my Protein supplements, Vitamins, liquid tylenol and everything set up so I am ready to go. I requested to be on cancellation list since I could go in tomorrow if they called me. I also am working on getting the house organized, drivers for my kids activities for the two weeks I can't drive, a place for them to stay while my hubby and I are at West LA (we are far enough away that they will pay for a hotel for hubby and mileage to the surgery), the foods for me and some pre-prepped items for the family for post surgery.

I am also working on setting up a West Ventura County support group to meet at the Oxnard offices on Gonzales. If anyone here is interested in participating in that let me know!

[Ms skinniness 3,003]

Chrysallis: I started with a low BMI and I have done really well losing my weight. I had my surgery through Kaiser in OC and the surgeon wasn't concerned whether I had a weight gain or not. In fact they were more concerned I didn't meet the criteria for surgery with a lower BMI. It worked out for me, I had diabetes and high chloresterol. So I really know that you are in good hands. CONGRATS!

[Vsg021412 7]

I was a 36 BMI on the day of surgery and I feel I am doing well with my weight loss. Just remember its a tool to help you so don't abuse it and with a lifestyle change you should do very well :-)

[sarenawatts 0]

Hello all. I am new to this site. I am in Palmdale and just started the process. I have been referred for WLS. VSG how did you get in so quickly. Why did you not have to do the options program?

[sarenawatts 0]

_{Hi there! I am so happy to hear from people that live close to me also and that are going through Kaiser! I also finished my 12 week option program and learned alot from it as well. I have my consulation with Dr Suh in Murrieta on March 7th. And yes there were a ton of tests that i had to take during that options program LOL. but I also was not required to have a 3 month track history before they referred me. I got lucky becuase i called the Weight program directly and they just booked the orientation for me without getting the referral from my Primary doctor.. Keep us posted!}

I didn't have to have proof, they never even asked if I tried to lose weight. I e-mailed my doctor about it and they said my BMI was over 40 so I qualified and they referred me. I did hear that during the 3 months of options you are supposed to lose weight.

[sarenawatts 0]

I never heard a thing about the options class. I had to do a mental health evaluation ( 2 different appt. ) and meet with the nutrionist. After I completed that I got to schedule with the surgeon on which was when he was to tell me what weight I needed to lose but lucky for me when I met with him he said I was ready for surgery.

Oh I just realized...you are NoCal kasier...I heard they don't have the options. Lucky!

[shrinkydinkme 221]

Everything has been done. All my labs were great my Vitamin D was great. My last appointment was with mental health on 5/30. I'm still waiting to be called to schedule my appointment with a Dr. In west Los Angeles because saint b's is so behind.

You should have got a call by now contact the Dr. who did your mental health exam 5/30 by e-mail.

I finished all requirements with Fontana yesterday, and because of your post asked at my mental health exam about your month long wait. She told me that if I had not been contacted by the Kaiser Hub with a date in 2 1/2 weeks to contact her by e-mail, so she could see what was wrong.

[newgrandmother 725]

i started with kaiser in dec and i am now waiting for my surgery date. one correcrtion kaiser will not do lap band because that one is a problem. 12 weeks was so fun and long at the same time.

i like kaiser because they dont just give the surgery you go through a lot of hoops. i met my surgeion dr zelada he is at west la. nice guy and a lot of ppl say good things about him. now if they can just call me with my dang surgery date

[sarenawatts 0]

Does anyone have any experience with the procress in Palmdale or the Antelope Valley?

[Katie713 423]

I had my surgery with Dr. Zelada at West L.A. on 4/6/12...Options program completed 12/6/11 - I had my surgery consult on Jan 20th, but delayed surgery until April due to work commitments and I was moving on 3/1/12. They worked with me on the date, but I could have had the surgery within two weeks of my January appoinment. I'm glad I waited, and the surgery went well, no real pain, just a little discomfort. West L.A. Kaiser was beautiful, modern, clean and I had a private room. Excellent care! And Dr. Zelada...well he was wonderful!!

[Nina88 73]

You should have got a call by now contact the Dr. who did your mental health exam 5/30 by e-mail.

I finished all requirements with Fontana yesterday' date=' and because of your post asked at my mental health exam about your month long wait. She told me that if I had not been contacted by the Kaiser Hub with a date in 2 1/2 weeks to contact her by e-mail, so she could see what was wrong.[/quote']

I have a consult date 7/13 with the dr. Casillas but they never called me. I called the west LA location too see if they had my referral. Thanks for asking for me. I hope your experience is better than mine.