Vicki J

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.

Thanks. I'm praying this woman is right too. I'll know for sure on Wednesday. If I find out that it's not covered, I'll be pushing that group in SSF to get it done before the end of the year! LOL I kind of doubt that they changed the policy so much that I wouldn't be able to get it. The worse case senario that I can think is that it will cost me a little more. Right now if they admit me it will be free (except for doctor's visits) and if they don't admit me it will cost $10 - 15. Not bad. That's one of the reasons I can't see going to another insurance. Besides that I've had so much luck on their pre-op meal plan (diet) my BMI is too low to go any place else. I sent an email to Dr. Stiles asking if there was some magic number in the weight loss where they would tell me that I've lost too much and they won't give me the band. She hasn't answered yet.

I have heard of insurances accepting documentation that your PCP reviews and approves (i.e. Weight Watchers). You might contact your PCP and ask them if they will add the information to your records regarding your diet program and then submit it to your insurance company.

April - have you jumped everytime the phone has rung? You'll probably hear by mid-October. I know that sounds like a long ways away but it'll go fast. Then you'll be setting up for your surgery and one day you'll wake up and say OMG it's surgery day! I can't wait. I have become more at ease knowing that I at least have the surgeon's appt. set up. It's over a month away but I guess if I don't want to pay out of pocket than I had better be happy with that. I went up and checked with my HR because they are making some changes in our policies. I guess the only one they are making with Kaiser is that we'll be paying $15 instead of $10 for co-pays. I was a little worried about that one. Wouldn't it be a major bummer if I went this far to have them say "Oh we don't cover WLS anymore." I may still go to the benefits fair to see if she's right. It's good to see you both are doing so well. Keep me posted on what's happening.

Hey, April, I'm doing a happy dance for you!:bounce:

Well, I don't know how quick they can get you in for your psych evaluation but it took me about 2 months to get my first appointment with Dr. Stiles and the dietitian. I didn't hear anything for a month or so and then one day I checked on the Kaiser web page and it was there. I had my orientation on June 6th, first two appointments on August 3rd and was originally scheduled for my psych evaluation on August 24th which got changed to the 31st. They are scheduling for psych evaluations in October now and for the appointment with the surgeon (last appt.) at the end of October. Some people had Dr. Stiles schedule them for the surgeon when they went in but she told me I had to wait until my psych evaluation. I don't know. I did find out that they are currently scheduling the surgeries for about 2.5 to 3 months after the appt. with the surgeon. Right now I have my appt with the surgeon on October 23rd. I will be calling in for cancellations and try to get that moved up. I'm preparing myself for surgery sometime in late January or early February :think. Hopefully it will be sooner. The psych evaluation isn't hard. They are looking for people with adictive personalities and people who don't have a realistic view of what they are getting into. It takes about an hour or so. With traffic it took all day to do a 2:30 appointment. As far as your husband going, call down there and ask them. I don't think they would have a problem if there was enough room but I would definitely check before going down. Also, some of the girls down there can make things confusing. I called right after I left my psych evaluation and asked if I needed to schedule an appointment for the surgeon or if they would automatically do that. One girl told me that she couldn't because of an appointment that Dr. Stiles had set to hold my place in case it took me some time to get the results of my liver stuff. I tried to cancel this numerous times because she had the results. Finally I got Susan on the phone and got my surgeon appt and she will make sure with Dr. Stiles on the other appt even though she could see what was going on. So, keep after them if something doesn't sound right. Cheryl does the appts and Susan is pretty helpful. Sorry I don't have better news but if you are going to your orientation this week plan on late October or sometime in November for your first 3 appts and probably December or so for your surgeon's appt. and probably February or March for your surgery. I really wish I could tell you some better news but that sounds like what's happening right now. Maybe we'll both be pleasantly surprised. Oh yeah, call daily if you want to try to catch a cancellation. They won't call anyone to fill them. Only the surgeon does that for surgery.

I don't doubt that they have 200 per month. That's why I was so upset about having my psych appointment put off for 6 weeks. Can you imagine how far out my surgery would be then? Fortunately I go in tomorrow for the psych appointment. Hopefully she won't say I need anger management and put me off. All I did was cry and argue with them. I didn't threaten anyone. Just melted down. They are so screwed up down there. Susan called me and told me she was happy that I got the Friday psych appointment and that she also saw another appointment that was supposed to be booked with Dr. Stiles in October. That appointment was one that Dr. Stiles set when they found the abnormal ferritin readings that she wanted checked out. She did it so I wouldn't be "lost in the system". She told me they would cancel it when they got the results of the liver stuff back. So when I called them with the liver stuff I told them to be sure to cancel that. Guess what! They didn't. So I told Susan that she should make sure they cancelled that so some other poor person could get her required appointment w/Dr. Stiles. I mean my daughter cancelled the appointment I got for tomorrow back in July. What are the odds that my daughter's cancelled appointment would be the one they gave me. LOL They don't even know.

Dana - What a cutie you have there. I hope everything went well in Mexico!

Hey guys. How are things going? April - I notice that you only had 7 pounds to go before you were at your required weight. That was on the 25th. How are things going? I would like to tell you that if you're close it will be ok but after the Friday I had with Kaiser I don't know. I was supposed to go into my psych appointment on Friday. I had scheduled my Lifestyles class on the same day so I could kill 2 birds with one stone. Lo and behold they cancelled my psych appointmen at the last minute. They were going to put me 6 weeks out for the replacement appointment. I had a pretty good meltdown on that one. I really found out how much this is a "job" to them and how they don't understand how important it is to us. Do you know that they consider this an elective surgery and not a preventative surgery? Yep. So they aren't really pressed to make this thing work. Fortunately, I called yesterday morning to find out if I had the appointment that Susan said I had but Daniel said I didn't have because Cheryl was able to get me in on Friday instead of the October 1st appointment they had me scheduled for. The funny thing is is this was an appointment my daughter had rescheduled back in July and they still hadn't filled it. When the psych cancelled the appointments on Friday, why didn't they call us and tell us that there were someother appointments available instead of letting us think the only option was to put off our surgery for 6 more weeks. Geez! So, now I have to go into see the psych and explain my meltdown that I'm sure they have heard about. It seems everyone in the place has heard about it. Hopefully it won't mess things up. I didn't dive into food or anything like that so that should be their main concern. Also, I hope that at least this person will realize how important this is to us. One of the reasons that I got so upset is because since my orientation when they were only 2 months out to my visit with Dr. Stiles, they have gotten 3 months out for surgery after we see the surgeon. Can you imagine where they will be by October?

By the way, the crackers are Saltines not the cheese covered, high calorie type. Ahem.....

Glad to hear you're sticking to it! You go girl. What kind of shakes are you using. Make sure the carb count isn't too high. That can slow you down. I know that it's hard to exercise but that really helps me. Even just doing a 15 minute walk everyday. I haven't done too many days where I do more then that. You might take some crackers with you to the movie. Only 6. That's the magic number they use for us for our bread supplement. It gives me the crunch and salt when I want to have chips or popcorn. Tiny bites so they last. You're doing an extremely good job and it's only 7 days to the 31st. You'll do it.