kitkatnomore

Its really interesting to me that Kaiser has such different requirements within and without the same states. I'm with Kaiser in Northern CA and I had my Orientation/Nutrition Class on 03/26/15, my consult with the Surgeon on 04/02/15 and my Psych Assessment today (04/21/15).
My surgeon gave me a goal of only 9.5 pounds from the day we met and the psychologist is having me attend 3 classes and support group at least once before I can meet with the Case Manager to schedule (also have to reach the Weight Goal set by my surgeon but I'm only 1.5 lbs away! ). He told me today that I'm looking at about 6 weeks before my surgery date. Yikes!
In the orientation class they said that if you follow the program (meal plan and exercise and all that jazz) that usually it's about 2 to 4 months from that day. I'd estimated that I'd be having my surgery in July but now it looks like it could be as soon as the first week of June. Very nervous and excited!

Very Excited! Just got my date, it's going to be June 3rd! Now it's just getting through the next 11 days. They scheduled my pre-op classes and physical for the Day before my surgery and my labs for 05/27/15. I just hope nothing weird happens to derail it. I'm ready to get this party started!

Very Excited! Just got my date, it's going to be June 3rd! Now it's just getting through the next 11 days. They scheduled my pre-op classes and physical for the Day before my surgery and my labs for 05/27/15. I just hope nothing weird happens to derail it. I'm ready to get this party started!

Very Excited! Just got my date, it's going to be June 3rd! Now it's just getting through the next 11 days. They scheduled my pre-op classes and physical for the Day before my surgery and my labs for 05/27/15. I just hope nothing weird happens to derail it. I'm ready to get this party started!

Hi everyone!
Thought I should log in an update. I am now 11 months post-op. I've gotten through all the challenging transitioning and healing which takes place for a good nine months or so after surgery.
Before/After Stats: (Surgery was performed on June 9th, 2014)
Height: 5'6
Before Weight: 210 lbs (highest weight was 240)
Current Weight: 127
Before BMI: 34
Current BMI: 20
Surgery Day Pant Size: 16
Current Pant Size: 2 or 0
Things went like this:
I had my surgery. I followed my doctors orders. I didn't pay attention to stalls. I focused on Protein and hydration. I weighted myself daily but honestly didn't pay too much attention to the number, just checked to see that the pounds were still dropping. I never obsessed over anything, just enjoyed my journey into this new lifestyle, even the tough days.
My biggest challenges:
Definitely drinking enough fluids. I still struggle with getting 64 oz in!! Also I should do better about tracking my food consumption every day. (If I don't track, I don't eat enough)
The hardest time for me:
Even months after I added solid food it seemed like eating would never "feel" normal again. Always too full, always slightly queasy after eating, always getting things stuck in my esophagus, always dealing with heartburn. There were nights when I would just be so tired of feeling sick from eating food....but I always kept in mind that this was a temporary stage and that it would pass. It did. Now I can eat anything including Pasta, bread, red meat, chicken, and lettuce. Just very little amounts.
What I wished I had done differently:
Added strength training as soon as I was cleared for exercise. After loosing all of this fat I also lost a lot of muscle mass which led to that gaunt post-wls sickly look for a few weeks. Now I do yoga nearly 7 days per week. It would have been waaaaay better to have started earlier when I still had muscles to work with.
Here is the most important thing I did:
I worked very hard in the beginning to reset my entire relationship with food. I had to find new ways of coping with stress and new ways of rewarding myself. I did a lot of personal detective work to understand the why's and how's of my food addiction. Food to me now is just a tasty fuel for my body. Do I add good or bad fuel to my machine? Without having so many emotions interwoven with the act of chewing, swallowing, and stuffing food inside my stomach, it is now easy to choose the healthy fuel.
The coolest thing so far:
Honestly, it's the knowledge that I have just increased my life expectancy and long-term quality of life. That's a huge deal. I can see myself as an active, engaged, healthy, and youthful senior citizen. I'm only 37 but I feel like I've given myself the most loving gift possible...a healthy future.
Other totally awesome things:
I take up sooo much less space in the bathtub. I spend much less money when eating out. I am oftentimes the thinnest person in the room, which is so so weird. I no longer want to hide myself inside baggy sweaters. I am wearing tank tops without an added cover-up. I look 10 years younger!! I have beautiful cheekbones which were formerly hidden underneath a plump and chubby face. There is such a thing as a clavicle bone and I LOVE running my fingers along the ridge! Getting up off the floor is so much easier. Walking though a parking lot or up the steps is much easier. I CAN LEAVE FOOD ON MY PLATE which is something I could never do before and is now one of the most empowering choices I make on a daily basis.
The downside:
This cost a lot of money, $14,000 out-of-pocket. I went from a C breast cup to an A. I lost all my butt. Seriously, it's a sad situation about my ass...there is none. I lost all the excess fat, but also my womanly curves. I have a very loose wrinkly stomach and a saggy place where my butt used to be. I've spent a fortune in clothes and Protein drinks. It's been tough having to explain myself to family members. The downside in no way compares to the positive things that happened as a result of my wls.
My current goal:
Is to consume between 1500-1800 calories per day. My nut said to change gears and fatten up my diet. I am supposed to add carbs, calories, and fat. If I don't track I am only hitting about 900-1200 calories per day. I can only eat about 1 cup of food at the most. Now when I'm stressed I find it difficult to eat as opposed to binge eating my stress away like I used to. So believe it or not, my biggest goal at the moment is to stop the weight loss and maintain my current weight.
I hope this can be helpful to those out there who are considering getting a wls, are struggling thorough those early days when all you can focus on is sipping broth and forcing down Protein shakes, and those who are scared to take the plunge. I feel this is the best decision I could have made for my current happiness, future health and quality of life, and to model healthy eating habits/behaviors/relationship with food for my two daughters.
Good Luck to all of you beautiful and brave people!

Hi Kat. I am a kaiser member in Northern California and that is exactly what I am going through.

I went to my orientation in January 2014 and could have had surgery in March less than two months later. I waited until April to schedule it during a time I could easily take time off of work. I wasn't required to lose weight prior to surgery as my BMi was "only" 38. Others in the program seem to have had a 10-20 pound pre-surgery weight loss required. Only a few classes were required and a psyc. eval. It's been a little over a year now and I'm below goal weight. Easiest weight I've ever lost!

Yay for the June 10th Surgery date Mrs.Hansen88! That is so exciting!
Always looking for a good support group which is why I love this site! I'm also going through Kaiser Richmond. I'm hoping tomorrow that when I weigh in I'll be at Goal and then can schedule with the Case Manager to get my Date. Not knowing when has made me more anxious. I think that if I knew when it would settle me a little more.

Yay for the June 10th Surgery date Mrs.Hansen88! That is so exciting!
Always looking for a good support group which is why I love this site! I'm also going through Kaiser Richmond. I'm hoping tomorrow that when I weigh in I'll be at Goal and then can schedule with the Case Manager to get my Date. Not knowing when has made me more anxious. I think that if I knew when it would settle me a little more.

Congrats Kat! Which Kaiser are you at in Northern Cali? I'm at the Richmond Kaiser and would love to find friends locally. I am scheduled for surgery June 10th! Nervous and excited of course!

Kat that's fantastic!! If you need any support just let me know

Its really interesting to me that Kaiser has such different requirements within and without the same states. I'm with Kaiser in Northern CA and I had my Orientation/Nutrition Class on 03/26/15, my consult with the Surgeon on 04/02/15 and my Psych Assessment today (04/21/15).
My surgeon gave me a goal of only 9.5 pounds from the day we met and the psychologist is having me attend 3 classes and support group at least once before I can meet with the Case Manager to schedule (also have to reach the Weight Goal set by my surgeon but I'm only 1.5 lbs away! ). He told me today that I'm looking at about 6 weeks before my surgery date. Yikes!
In the orientation class they said that if you follow the program (meal plan and exercise and all that jazz) that usually it's about 2 to 4 months from that day. I'd estimated that I'd be having my surgery in July but now it looks like it could be as soon as the first week of June. Very nervous and excited!

that's very interesting Kiaser is so different within California in in southern California and have to take a 12 week options program before even getting an appointment with the surgeon. I just went to my informational meeting today and go for the body analysis tomorrow. I'm counting down the days

Hi all! I'm new to all this but I have a concern and was wondering if anyone else had experienced something similar or had the same concerns.
A little background.....went to my first WLS orientation on 03/26/15, met with the Surgeon on 04/02/15, had my psych assessment on 04/21/15 and now have to attend 2 classes before being able to meet with the Case Manager to schedule my surgery (1st class tomorrow). Surgeon set a Goal weight for me of 320 in order to schedule surgery which I am 1 lb away from so it looks like my surgery could be scheduled as soon as 6 weeks from now. I am very excited and ready for this. I have done all my research and changed a lot of habits, started eating right and exercising. I know I can do this and I know I can succeed but my one fear has to do with my best friend.
We have been friends for 17 years. In high school I was always skinnier then her and then over the years those roles were reversed. We both have always been big but now I am a good 100 lbs bigger than her. I told her I was going to consider the surgery and she was very supportive. Then she told me that she had a consult to see about the surgery for herself. At first I was a little shocked but then realized that it would be nice to go through it together and have each other to support. However after her consult she was told that she does not qualify, she is overweight but "too healthy" for the surgery. She says that she is fine with it, but i don't really believe her.
I am concerned that she may have issues with me when I start to lose weight. I have read about friends who "sabatoge" their freinds whether intentionally or unintentionally. I am also very concerned about her telling people that I don't want to tell about my surgery. I already told her that I prefer to keep it to myself and only include a select few people, and she said that she understood, but I wonder if that will change? i wonder if she will resent me for flipping those roles of the "fat friend"?
I am not the best at confronting her about issues because she is a very defensive person. I wonder if anyone has had a similar issue and what they have done to handle it. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Hi all! I'm new to all this but I have a concern and was wondering if anyone else had experienced something similar or had the same concerns.
A little background.....went to my first WLS orientation on 03/26/15, met with the Surgeon on 04/02/15, had my psych assessment on 04/21/15 and now have to attend 2 classes before being able to meet with the Case Manager to schedule my surgery (1st class tomorrow). Surgeon set a Goal weight for me of 320 in order to schedule surgery which I am 1 lb away from so it looks like my surgery could be scheduled as soon as 6 weeks from now. I am very excited and ready for this. I have done all my research and changed a lot of habits, started eating right and exercising. I know I can do this and I know I can succeed but my one fear has to do with my best friend.
We have been friends for 17 years. In high school I was always skinnier then her and then over the years those roles were reversed. We both have always been big but now I am a good 100 lbs bigger than her. I told her I was going to consider the surgery and she was very supportive. Then she told me that she had a consult to see about the surgery for herself. At first I was a little shocked but then realized that it would be nice to go through it together and have each other to support. However after her consult she was told that she does not qualify, she is overweight but "too healthy" for the surgery. She says that she is fine with it, but i don't really believe her.
I am concerned that she may have issues with me when I start to lose weight. I have read about friends who "sabatoge" their freinds whether intentionally or unintentionally. I am also very concerned about her telling people that I don't want to tell about my surgery. I already told her that I prefer to keep it to myself and only include a select few people, and she said that she understood, but I wonder if that will change? i wonder if she will resent me for flipping those roles of the "fat friend"?
I am not the best at confronting her about issues because she is a very defensive person. I wonder if anyone has had a similar issue and what they have done to handle it. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Celebrating 18 months post and 173lbs gone!! Hope all of you are doing well with Preop prep/jitters, postop recovery and veteran maintenance!