Kaiser Richmond Pre-op

[swrktp 1]

Oh I found out today that my job is being cut again and I am getting another transfer. I still have a job but my unit is closing down. I think I find out Thursday where I getting transferred to this time. Management lied again I shouldn't be surprized but seriously just tell people what you know and don't want until it is time to actually move to mention they are going.........I hope I move to the office closer to my house but we will see.

In June I am gone. The union basically said 10 years and under will all be laid off in June. I am going on 8 years plus so I will be gone in June.

Gonna do the unemployment thing until I figure out what to do. Put some money aside the next few months.......hopefully get all my fills :-) What else can ya do. Maybe I will find another job between now and than but I want my unemployement so the job search is paid for in a way.............................

Not surprized really. We are hearing probation, the DA's office and sheriffs office is also taking HUGE cuts too. I don't get why we still have homeless programs and all these free services still...............I thought those would be first to go. I am sure they will all get the boot this time around with the rest of us.

I sorta don't care I just want them to be done with it so we don't play this game every three months.

I know they are trying to "push" people to retire right now. We are told lots of getting written up if you can't get the "new pace" They start a new program of accountability were if you can't keep up with 4X the normal caseload they will write you up and eventually get rid of you. We were told they pay us, they own us and our time during work hours. IF we don't want to go with the new program we can "vacate our office." They know kids will die and they want to make sure they aren't blame and they can stay in management...........so obvious. So whatever I will be sorta relieved to be out of this mess.

[singand_dance 8]

Oh Tina! I'm so sorry. I've been thinking about you all morning and then I read about work. That's just crazy.

I've determined that I must be naive, because I expect people to be honest with me (ie-Kaiser) and tell me (you) why they're withholding. Are they trying to teach you a lesson? Is it about exercise? Do they expect you to go on liquids for 3 weeks before a fill to "earn" it? So I just don't get it. It just seems so unfair.

And we do deserve a Kaiser fill center in Sac. Aren't over half Richmond patients from Sac? They need a fill center here and a support group.

Tina, I'm beyond frustrated on your behalf with both Kaiser and work. Can't wait to hear what good news is waiting for me in 45 minutes...

[Ali2010 1]

Tina,

I too am so sorry for all that your going through; it doesn't make sense to me either. I hope that this tough time for you ends soon--band wise and work wise. All this budget stuff is just crazy and the turmoil that it puts empolyees and their families in is just nuts--and in your case these children that are already in unfornatue situations are going to suffer more.

I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers for all to work out!

[swrktp 1]

Hey Heather up and ready for work. I hate on call nights. I will get some sleep this weekend.

Work is work. This is normal stuff all over the state. I like knowing ahead of time so I can prepare. I just wish I heard it from management and not my union. So tomorrow I find out where I go. Actually this might get me moved closer to my house and that is what I am hoping :-) This could be a good change since there has been alot of chaos in my unit the last month.

Heather will they tell you what is coming at work? We only know because the final decisions were made last month. The pink slips will go out tomorrow and the transfers on Friday. I am not even suppose to know anything until tomorrow when they tell us, but I know people who know...............i have to be quiet until tomorrow :-)

As to the fill situation. I am not mad just moving on. I sorta get it, I don't think it is working in my best interest but I do get it. And I respect the decision. I know they think they are doing what is best. Just it doesn' work for me so I am doing what I have to do. My choice no one is forcing me.

Kaiser does have a earn your fill philosophy. NOt everyone does. Just one approach. I have done alot of research and read tons of books. I know I need a fill I am not in the green zone. But I really think the small fills ever two weeks is the preferred method. But imagine how much work that would be!! Kaiser is just to big for that. And the bigger the program gets the more impersonal they have to be. After time you are just a number. It is a cookie cutter approach by neccessity but if that doesn't work for you you fall through the cracks. I fell throught the cracks. Either that or my body won't tolerate the band...................which I hope is not true. Being to tight or to loose is a reason that some people convert to the sleeve. There body just can't work with the band..........so I am considering that too. But I am not ready to give up I still want to play around with finding the perfect fill. I want to have the freedom to take out .25 and put in .25 until I find the perfect fill.........I think I just need some personal individual care with someone willing to put in and time out in small amount until I get to the perfect spot. You can't do that every 6 weeks. I need to be able to go in every two weeks if I need to until I get to the perfect spot.

I need a smaller office and more individual attention. I mean one I get a fill and lose as much as Kaiser wants I could go back:-) But if I am losing and doing well with the band I won't need to go back.

Anyway thanks for the support everyone. I really think I am making my best choice. Just heads up that things get complicated if you need an unfill. But I don't think people should feel bad. Needing an unfill shouldn't be a bad thing from what I read it is normal to get to your perfect spot to play around with fills...............that is why lots of doctors see you every two weeks for the first few months.

FORGET A FILL CENTER WE NEED A BARIATRIC PRACTICE HERE!! :-)

[swrktp 1]

I know the ER at Kaiser told me lots of people were coming in for unfills and they did not understand why it was an ER issue since an unfill took five minutes upstairs. An unfill cost 15 but and ER visit cost 50 and a two to three hour wait. So maybe the ER complianed to bariatrics?? This could be solved by small fills more frequently..........I think lots of us have no restriction for months in the beginning having to wait a month to six weeks between fills. But if you get to full you right back to no fill and to loose and it can take months to get back. I met several Kaiser patients that told me it took them over a year to get to their sweet spot. One guy had been working on the sweet spot for two years. He did finally hit it on the 19 fill/unfill. He was pretty fed up too but once he hit the sweet spot he was loosing like crazy. He said it was worth the wait. But two years. I don't have enough job security to keep holding out that long for a good fill.

That is not my fault or Kaisers it is just the economy.

I will let people know what I think about the fill center. It could be a back up option for people.

Kaiser didn't give me my paperwork yesterday so going back at lunch today. I hope it will explain things better.

[marquint 2]

Good Morning everyone! Today I go and get my 2nd fill. Can I get your opinion on this? I had .5 the last time and now I want to ask baggs to give me 1cc. I dont know if I should I am so afraid of being too tight and being ill by my interview appt tmoroow morning. What do you guys think? I was even thinking of asking him to give me .75 than making an appt a few weeks later just in case. I dunno if they will even do that cause Iknow appts are hard to come by. What are opinions of this. How many cc's do you all get at your fill appts typically?

[swrktp 1]

Oh as I remember someone with Kaiser was told that Kaiser can take the band back if you don't cooperate with the program. As in they can decide it is not safe for you to have the band and do surgery to remove it. So maybe we are borrowing the band........this was not the Richmond office however it was another Bay area Bariatrics program but Kaiser non the less. So maybe that really is how it is viewed.

But........one thing is certain we are NOT part of our treatment team. We are the patient not an active member of the decision making. But that is medical for ya and in CPS..........well I hate to say it but the same thing applies so I get the theory and idea behind your the patient/client you do what we say is best for you.

[swrktp 1]

Maria he will decide on the fill and than also decide when you come back. I think last time the only reason he didn't say anything is because you asked for LESS than what he was going to give you. But he usually tells you I am going to give you this much and I need to see you in a month. He usually gives 1cc at a time and a month between visits. Lately it is more like six weeks between visit. I think you will be fine the next day. You won't be sick. When I was to tight it took two weeks or so to set in and it was TOM when I got to tight...........Kaiser said I was the first person to get tighter during TOM. The second time I had a nasty flu and threw up for four days before I got to tight. No worries none of that is happening with you you'll be fine.

You will be fine. I think he decides your fill based on if you lost weight since the last visit. ALot of weight 1cc fill. None or a little is .5.

Dr. Baggs is a good doctor you'll be fine.

Edited March 3, 2010 by swrktp

[marquint 2]

Thanks Tina. I needed those words I was getting worried about todays fill. Becuase I want this job at VSP so so bad!! I sure wish and pray for the best for you. I like your ay of thinking you are a person who speaks her mind. I need to learn to be that way at times.

[marquint 2]

by the way I am so hungry right now..I know I have to be on liquids only today. BuT I'm thinking of having some chix broth right now.

[LaChica707 0]

Hi Ladies-

I know I was M.I.A for a lil again.. Long story short my soon to be EX-husband got a little psycho, I'm in process of moving, and was on Stress leave for a little too.

but ANYWAYS... besides all the drama..

I started in a Tae-bo class- its SUPER INTENSE! and.... here's the kicker!! I'm at goal weight 190 BUT its at exactly 190 sooo I don't want to call Dr. Park yet till I hit at least 185 so I can make sure no weight fluctuates and messes my whole thing up.. BUT yay I'M HAPPY on that part. Alot of the reason why I wasn't able to lose weight before-although I worked out.. was.. due to Stress. But ever since I started this Tae-bo class.. I don't know what it is.. but it just gave me a SUPERCHARGE that I needed sooo badly~

anyways, i'm sorry for not being on here more than I would like... but I wanted to let you guys know what my status is.. Hope everyone is doing good!!

[skiingj 0]

Morning everyone!

Swrktp – So sorry about your job!

So much to catch up with this past day! I hope everyone is having a great day!

Lee – Weighed myself today two weeks post-op! Yippee! Down 15 pounds. How are you? We should get called today to move forward in the next day or two to purees. I'm still not very hungry, you?

[Lee 19]

Good Morning everyone!

Good luck with the fills.

Analynn, Congratulations!!! Pre-op Goal!! How cool is that!

John, I've been hungry the last few days. How many calories have you been eating? I average around 400 but seem to be hungry a lot. You made your 15 goal... so proud of you!!! I'm at 13.2 so I'm quite proud of that. Yup, I hope we get advanced. A little pureed food sounds pretty good to me right about now.

[riley4183 0]

Good Morning everyone! Today I go and get my 2nd fill. Can I get your opinion on this? I had .5 the last time and now I want to ask baggs to give me 1cc. I dont know if I should I am so afraid of being too tight and being ill by my interview appt tmoroow morning. What do you guys think? I was even thinking of asking him to give me .75 than making an appt a few weeks later just in case. I dunno if they will even do that cause Iknow appts are hard to come by. What are opinions of this. How many cc's do you all get at your fill appts typically?

Maria, my fill amounts are in my siggy. At first he just gave me whatever her felt like giving me, not more than 1cc at a time tho - but pretty much he did it by feel - he could tell when the resistance was enough while he did the fill - the band didn't "want" anymore. The last few times he has asked me how much of a fill I wanted (i'm a chicken - I always want little ones), agreed with what I asked for, and given me that amount. I have always lost at least 9 lbs. between fills - if I dont lose, I don't NEED a fill - my band is too tight until I lose some more.

Good luck today!!

[riley4183 0]

But........one thing is certain we are NOT part of our treatment team. We are the patient not an active member of the decision making. But that is medical for ya and in CPS..........well I hate to say it but the same thing applies so I get the theory and idea behind your the patient/client you do what we say is best for you.

Sorry Tina but I have to disagree! I have always felt like I was a part of my treatment team - always. I am SO sorry that this is happening to you! I think you have a personality conflict with Robin and they shoulod remove her from your team then you would be fine.