Vicki J

Welcome fellow Kaiser member. I have just started my journey but I can tell you what it's been like so far. The first thing I had to do is get my PCP to refer me to Kaiser's Bariactric Surgery Center. My daughter is also doing this and her doctor needed a little convencing but finally referred her. We then received an appointment for an orientation. My daughter and I will be attending our orientation on June 5th. From the time we were referred to the time we saw our appointment on the KP website was about 3 weeks to a month. We received a letter saying that we needed to have a chest x-ray, EKG and labs done before we came to orientation. If you have had a chest x-ray or an EKG within the last 6 months, you don't need to redo them. If you have had a stress test, you will need to get an EKG because they cannot access the scans at the Bariactric Surgery Unit. A fellow Kaiser member just did her orientation last night and reports that we will need to loose some weight. It is based on where your weight is on your body (i.e. carried more in your legs or belly, etc.) as to how much you will need to loose. You will need to show that you are attempting to loose weight and follow their instructions. It was also stressed that you will need to be sure to attend ALL of your appointments and their lifestyle classes until your surgery. She felt that surgery should be within 3 months for her (guessing) and that falls in with what the coordinator down there told me. The coordinator said it's usually between 3 to 6 months from beginning to surgery. I have heard that some of the people had started receiving appointment cards for their next appointments even before they actually got to orientation. Some hadn't. But it sounds like things clip along. I have heard that Southern California people go to Long Beach and being in Northern California I will be going to San Francisco. So, I hope this helps. Feel free to contact me if you want to. I will be more than willing to share my information. Once again welcome aboard.

Hey everyone - I'm trying to help a friend whose DH has Operating Engineers Health and Welfare for insurance. Has anybody had any success with this? Thanks!

Hi Penni! I know that Kaiser out in California does the lap band. From what I understand from some of the posts, it is not available in all of the states. I presume this is because Kaiser has just recently started doing this surgery. Call patient services and ask. Also, check your coverage because some of the plans do not cover it. Again, this is just what I've heard on the message boards. I'm in California and I'm currently getting started in the process. Good Luck!

Pookie - Welcome! I am a fellow Kaiser member from CA. From what I was told, we Californians can get the band and it takes 3 to 6 months. I too have just started this but that is what the Bariactric Surgery Department told me. I have my orientation date on June 5th. I wanted to let you know that shermy58 is from Colorado Springs. I don't know how far she is from you but perhaps she can give you some insights as to how it works out there. Keep us posted on how your journey goes. I hope this helps.

mammatee - Thanks for the update. I plan on going to the doctor for another reason on Friday so it will be a fasting day in order to get my blood/urine work done at the same time. The refrigerator will probably get mangled when I get home but I figure it will be great practice for loosing the 10%. I don't know if this is mandatory for everyone. It stated it in some papers that my daughter was able to get ahold of from someone who had been through orientation. That woman is thinking about not getting the band because of this. I think she's just not completely confident that she wants to make the commitment yet. I'm sure glad they'll try to make all the appointments in one day and that we're looking at getting them in late June/early July. Woohoo. I have a period where I absolutely cannot get the surgery because a co-worker of mine has scheduled her WLS and will be out of the office from July 18 thru Aug. 6. So if they can schedule it before that it will be cool. If not then I wait. I'm ok with that because when I started this I was looking at MAYBE March of next year. As far as your other question about foods we can eat, from what I have read you can probably eat most anything you want. Different people have problems with different foods. Of course, if you eat the junky empty calories you will be shooting yourself in the foot because it will cause either less or no weight loss. Some people have even gained weight because they don't follow the instructions. I have to say once again that this sounds like someone who might not be ready yet. No matter which WLS you get there are ways around them. You do have to change your eating habits to eat healthy and the band will help with the proportions. Keep me posted if you hear anymore on the proceedures. We'll see you on the 5th.

Hi there! I have Kaiser out here in California and they do cover the lap band. I have also heard from one person in Colorado that said they cover it there also. Kaiser in California just started covering the lap band recently from what I am told. I had to have my doctor refer me to the Bariactric Surgery Department and they have given me an appointment for an orientation to go to on June 5th. I have to have an EKG, chest x-ray and lab workup done before that date. I'm not quite sure what is done after that except that we do need to have a pysch appointment and a nutritionalist appointment. I have also heard that we have to loose 10% of our body weight before surgery. I do hope that you pursue this. I was told last year that Kaiser didn't cover it and that WLS was only offered to people MUCH larger than I am. My BMI is 43. I unfortunately didn't pursue it until this year and have wasted a lot of time. See if they have a Bariactric Surgery Department and call them. That's what I did to make sure. Good luck and keep me posted.

mammatee - Yes my orientation is at 8:30 a.m. on the 5th of June. My husband and I are discussing going down the night before. Traffic will make for a LONG morning commute. But either way I'll be there. I see you have a friend going with you. Are they from around our area? It's really great having someone like my daughter and your friend to go through it with us. I am like you in the fact that I'm so excited I want answers right now. Oh, maybe you can answer me one...did you just go in for your blood work and did you just drop off your paperwork to your PCP or did you need an appointment? I've had a chest x-ray and a full on stress test in March. I have emailed my doctor and asked if the stress test would do in place of the EKG. I would think it would. I'm going this weekend to get my blood work done. I hear we have to loose 10% of our body weight between orientation and surgery. I'm making plans for doing that too. I would love to get this scheduled for this summer. I have a friend getting a VGS done on the 18th of July and will be out for 2 weeks. We work together and unfortunately they won't let both of us off at the same time. So, I will have to have it done either before or after her. Hopefully they will give us an idea of how long it takes to until we have surgery. I wonder if we have to go to the bay area for fills and if they do them on Saturday. Also, I wonder if we can do our psych/nutritionalist appointments up here. I wanna be a loser!

Wow! Have I been out of the loop! I see that we've gotten a few new people with Kaiser. I'm so glad to see that since I couldn't find anybody to even talk about Kaiser when I started this. Kathy - I don't know which plan we have. I'll have to look that up when I get home. It's through the City of Rocklin. I'll try to get some of that info for you. I know my daugter's program does not have RX. She'll be paying $250 for her band. Mine will either be free or $10. Does that help? Mammatee - You're from Auburn?! I'm from Penryn. (Some of you guys will go...huh?..to Penryn) Kim brought it to my attention that you'll be at the orientation on the same day as my daughter and I. How crazy is that!? Shermy58 - Glad to have you aboard. Thanks for the information about the diet program. I wasn't really worried. I'm curious about the having to loose 10% of your body weight between orientation and surgery. Any words about that? I didn't want to go GB either. I have a friend here at work getting the VGS which is the only other thing I MIGHT consider. She went for her psych appointment yesterday and said it was a breeze. Kim - Thanks for rattling my cage and getting me to check in. I'll try to do it more often. Ok everyone....we're on our way!

Socalgal3 - Sorry you didn't get through at Kaiser but I'm glad that you got your band! 64 LBS! Jeez I can't wait until I can post that! Since you're the most experienced I've talked to, give me any tips you have on weight loss. My daughter talked to a friend at work that is getting her band through Kaiser and she said that all we have to do is go through nutrition classes once a week until your surgery. I asked if there was a certain number you had to attend and she said no. She's (the friend)already been through her orientation class, psych evaluation and tests. She has to loose a little weight for her surgery (I guess she's too tight in the belly) and then she can go in. I'm not quite sure what's going on there but I guess she'll be going in soon. I'm still waiting for my letter with my orientation date. I received the letter of referral so that will be the next step. I promised myself I would be patient. I'm not doing a real good job at it though.

My doctor at Kaiser was REALLY great about it. I had gathered any information I thought I might need to convince him but I didn't need it. My daughter's doctor was hesitant until she sent him a pretty detailed email about what it's like living morbidly obese. He then referred her. I have to say one thing though...you deserve this and shouldn't be shy about asking for it. I mean do you want to live like this for the rest of your life? Not this kid. If they're going to offer it, I'm going to get it. I would suggest going in for your check up and approaching your doctor. The first time I brought it up (another doctor) I was told I wasn't obese enough. Then I did my homework. With a BMI of over 40 you should be referred. I was ready to go from doctor to doctor until I found it. I did find out on the boards that Kaiser usually caved if you didn't have any exclusions in your policy and fit the profile. Some had to appeal but they got it. It's relatively new to Kaiser and they do it in the bay area. Keep in touch and let me know if I can be of any help. NOW GO ASK!

I'm up near Sacramento. I'd say that your lucky because you're nearer to the facility but that doesn't always mean a shorter time in the commute. LOL. I don't have my appointment yet, I just got the letter saying I had been referred. I hope it doesn't take too long to get the first appointment and get going. How long was your wait? Yeah, I know all about that low self-esteem thing. I have wondered the same thing about the psych evaluation myself. I would think that they want to make sure you're doing it for health reasons and not because you're some kind of weirdo. They probably also want to make sure you know what you're getting into. It's a big lifestyle change. Anyway, it looks like you're going to be headed down the path before me. I would really appreciate it if you would keep me posted on what the procedure is. My daughter is also going for the band. Good luck!

I am just so excited because I see all of you that have already gotten your bands doing so well. It sounds stupid but sometimes I almost cry knowing that there is an end to this hell.

Hey thanks for the reply. I talked to another woman last night that said they're doing it now but are just in the starting stages. Ok with me. They will put me through nutrition classes and a battery of tests first so I have time. I just got told last night that my PCP referred me to bariatric surgery. Woohoo. I'm on the road now!

Hey - Anyone out there ever gotten approved by Kaiser? I found out yesterday that Kaiser has a weight loss department in Richmond but I don't know if they do LB. I want to follow this through because if I have to I can change to BC in the fall. Can anyone advise?

According to what I was told at a seminar BCBS will cover the lap band. Of course it depends on your coverage. CalPERS BC PPO words it really confusing but if it's medically necessary they will cover. BCBS HMO requires that you go through one of their doctors. Once again, this is what I heard at a seminar. Check with your carrier.