Orinskye

Yay! So glad it went well. I was thinking about you yesterday. Congrats!

They aren’t saying that you have to do it now are they? I wish they could just call and say “we have an opening in three days” 😂. I would do it in a heart beat. My weight has been hovering at 290 for a week. I was hoping it would drop a bit more before they call. I ended up taking my kid to the beach (anyone who has kids knows this is totally considered exercise). mil until now I’ve not really exercised much, I’ve gotten my eating under control (this is where all the weight loss thus far comes from) and I am now at a point where my knees and ankles aren’t in as much pain. Since I can do more... I’m now trying to improve by fitting in exercise where I can.

When they scheduled with you do you have to go in a week pre op to meet the surgeon and do more blood work etc? Or will you do that appointment by phone?

I had my appointment with Dr Kim at Kaiser South Bay so I’m pretty sure that’s who my surgeon will be 🤷🏼‍♀️

What in the world is the white drink? It looks yummy

Yay! Congrats!!!!!! It makes me more excited too. You and I were on a similar schedule for finishing classes and labs so hopefully I’ll be getting a call soon as well 🥰

I am totally dreaming of the day I get there. I haven’t been a size ten since I was in the sixth grade. I remember going to camp as a size 12 and coming back from camp at a size 10.

Liquid diets may depend on each individual case (how overweight they are etc.) in addition to the program/surgeons preferences. The not going in order thing does make sense. My weight is also a huge roller coaster, but since I cut out sugar and carbs I am consistently losing. I haven’t weighed myself in a few weeks .....my last was 294. I may be in the 280’s now which hasn’t happened in two decades. I would be furious going through all that and losing the weight only to gain it back during the pause. Ugh. Worst nightmare

That’s good to hear, I think I am one of the january folks since that’s when I was put on the waitlist (???) hopefully that’s the case

Did they give any indication in when that might be? Hospitalizations in Orange County have dropped in half at this point (from the highest surge point) and I was expecting them to start making calls but haven’t heard anything and after poking around I am still hearing things are not back yet

Maybe your surgeons pre qualifications are different? I would think it would have been flagged if you NOT having one was an issue. If you are uncomfortable just letting it be and possibly getting held up at the last minute you could always call and ask? the psych eval thing was the one thing they lagged on and didn’t follow up on. I had to tell them I hadn’t done it. (They had called to tell me I needed to do labs..... which I had already done. So when they were on the phone I asked about a psych eval and they said “oh yeah.... you do need that” and scheduled me for that instead). So they didn’t really seek me out to schedule that one and in our classes they came up with a few verbal reminders of “you need to call and get this scheduled if you haven’t done it” which could easily be missed if you weren’t hanging on every word 😅 (totally guilty of doing other things when we had class and just had my headphones on while I multitasked)

Me too. I guess from what I’ve been told they add you to a long list. the scheduler goes down the list and then schedules you as their times open up. The first ones are obviously the people who got bumped.... then the people that finished the classes but never got scheduled (I was in one of three different groups that had about 20-30 people in them in this category). My surgeon wanted to do a meet a week before surgery (whenever that is) to go over everything and get extra labs and stuff done. I’m getting more excited. I’m going to spend the next week or so looking over the post op info to refresh my memory. My eating has still been good and I’m still losing weight but the classes happened over a month ago and I just need a refresher.

They just announced that the statewide hospital surge order is rescinded. That means they should be opening up again! They had about two weeks worth of surgeries bumped in December and halted scheduling for any cases/classes after that. I’m hoping that we get the first groups in scheduling the coming weeks.

You are in good company. Mine is delayed as well. I jumped every hurdle they gave me and I was good to go..... I finished everything December 23rd....then they shut down due to covid. 😑 I have yet to get a call saying they are scheduling. I took it much like you did though..... more time to lose weight. When I finished everything I was at 304pounds. When my surgeon and I chatted in mid January I was 297pounds. And now in the beginning of February I am probably around 290 pounds (I haven’t weighed myself because I like to wear a particular outfit that is the same every time and it happens to be dirty and I haven’t had a chance to do laundry in almost two weeks 😬😅) I have noticed a significant decrease in joint pain for the weight I’ve lost thus far I can only imagine what it will be like when I get rid of the rest. I imagine what it will be like to walk in the sand with my kids and not fall over or be in excruciating pain lol. I can’t wait

Nope not yet. Ive been watching the news closely because the covid numbers are falling as are hospitalizations. They were blocked for sure through January.... I was hoping they would have some news about reopening surgeries but I haven’t heard anything. When I talked to my nephrologist he mentioned possibly mid February/March. they actually found another “problem” in my continued labs. My PTH hormone level went nuts within the last three months. I had normal levels up until three months ago and then it went astronomically high. They have me on a medication for 6 weeks and then if it doesn’t help I will likely have to have surgery for that in the coming months as well (hypoparathyroidism) . I wish they could just do it all at once 😅. it’s made me more determined than ever though. My health is going downhill. I need a reset

Ha! Same thing happened to me. It was the psychologist who asked and I said 200 pounds (an even 100 pounds lost) and when she said it was well within my reach I was just like “wait what?” 😂 Last time I was 200 pounds was in high school Im on hold due to covid so I haven’t had surgery yet. Hopefully soon 😊

I am confused on what you are asking. Are you trying to ask where to go for classes? If so: all classes are online right now due to covid. Kaiser patients have to go through a “weight loss boot camp” that includes ten weeks of classes on how to eat, what the procedures look like, etc. it also depends on region. Some Kaiser members don’t have to do classes at all, others go for shorter time periods, some longer... it really depends on the region you are in.

Have you guys heard anything? I’ve been watching other threads and people are popping up with surgeries scheduled in February and March in other areas. Our state just lifted stay at home orders and Southern California is projected to reach a 33percent icu capacity as of February 21 so I would assume they would be starting to schedule surgeries given most people will need to do a liquid diet beforehand. fingers crossed that they start scheduling soon!

Full disclosure: I haven’t had surgery yet. I am cleared to go and just waiting for them to open up elective surgeries. I am 38 and my dr first asked me about weight loss surgery YEARS ago. I didn’t have any problems except for one genetic quirk and that had been around since high school. I have stayed relatively the same size since high school. in my opinion: I wish I had done it a long time ago. I started having issues in 2016. my ankles were in pain. They gave me a leg brace. It is a PAIN to wear. It’s very uncomfortable. Then my knees started hurting..... then my back because I couldn’t walk correctly. In the space of only a couple years I went from being okay to not being able to walk at all. X rays indicated massive osteoarthritis which just snuck on me and would not be an issue at a lower weight. I am now finally getting it done (I’m 38 but my dr first mentioned it when I was 28). It seems crazy to me now that I waited so long. The drs were all telling me that my weight would cause problems, but I figured I wasn’t there yet. All those problems really snowballed fast for me and I could have saved myself a lot of pain in the long run if I had just trusted them and done it when I had the insurance before. another issue for me has been insurance: I got laid off as a result of declining health issues and then was stuck without any medical care because we couldn’t afford premiums. I couldn’t get rehired because my health was terrible. It was a vicious cycle. I’ve been trying to get rehired as a teacher since 2016 when my issues first popped up and I was laid off.....and it has been a very hurtful ongoing joke that I get pulled in for interviews and they ALWAYS choose the “skinny girl” with zero experience when I have over 20 years of experience in education. In 2020 my husband got laid off as well due to covid. We were able to get on Medicaid and my dr suggested I get it done ASAP. So now I’m waiting for them to open up surgeries. the benefit far outweighs any discomfort you would feel and please don’t be me and let it go until it’s “too late”. I will have issues with my joints for the rest of my life thanks to waiting until my weight was a problem.

Waiting for anything right now is a pain lol. I am in southern ca with Kaiser so I can’t answer your insurance questions. But I did have a lot of hoops I had to jump through (weight loss, classes, tests, psych eval, ekg, etc) and I finished in December..... yet ......I’m still waiting. Everything was shut down due to covid so you will find LOTS of people who are impatiently waiting and you will be in very good company 😅

Yeah That totally makes sense.

From what I’ve heard all of the hospitals in southern ca are on hold because of the covid numbers. They are insane the closer you get to LA. one thing I’m not sure I mentioned: but when we were going through classes we were told that we would stay overnight in the hospital. I don’t know if you guys were told the same? . In talking with the surgeon I was told that the procedure would be OUTPATIENT and I could go home that same day. 🤷🏼‍♀️

They have no plan for resuming surgeries as of yet. I talked to my nephrologist last week and he told me surgeries are on hold for sure until the end of January. He said if numbers go down and they resume quickly I could have it by mid February, but that would be like “at the earliest scenario”. He said more likely would be March or April. I’m in a good position though, because once they resume surgeries they will start scheduling and they will get caught up with those people who were bumped. I don’t have to do a two week liquid diet like other people would have to do so I could get moved through more quickly (crossing my fingers anyways lol)

That’s great! When is your surgeon consult going to be? psych eval was no big deal. She asked me questions about my history, smoking, drinking habits, eating habits, my support system, why I want the surgery, etc. it lasted MAYBE 20 minutes. basically they want to weed out any issues prior to surgery like eating disorders or potential transfer addiction tendencies.

My surgery consult got moved up. so for anyone that searches in future: classes started in October. Classes finished in late December. had my surgery consult January 12. surgeon said I am good to go. I do NOT need to do a liquid diet prior to surgery (my BMI is currently 38). My weight starting classes was 310 pounds and my current weight at the consult was 297 pounds. he put my name on a list for surgeries to be scheduled as soon as they open up again