riley4183

Nicole so glad you liked Dr. Baggs! I hear good things about him. I hope to have surgery in early March, I don't see Dr. Baggs until 1/23 so do you think that's a resasonable expectation? Riley

I'm on the 3rd step - surgeon on the 23rd of this month, and will be at my 10% by then . . . . I hope that I can get the case manager appt. and the nutrition class the same day. Has anyone had that at Richmond, or does only SSF do that?:confused: Riley PS Happy New Year all! This is our year, claim it!!!

Vikkie, thanks for posting! We are all a little tired with the waiting game, it is so great and heartening to see that you were once waiting like us and, a year or so from now, hopefully we will be at or below goal and maintaing, too! Congratulations! :confused: Riley

Wow Minxz! Good for you!

Vikki, Kim, Warrior - where are you guys? Are you still on this forum? We have a new bunch of Kaiser Richmond folks, I'm at Kaiser Santa Rosa with Dr. Baggs in Richmond for my surgery - I would love to hear you you are all doing!! Riley

Ugh! I think it's the big needle-with-the-hole-in-the-side-stuck-in-the-belly part for me. I am OK with little needles - my sons got diabetes at age 7 so I have given hundreds of injections - but this puppy was BIG!! The video that really got me is the one where they kept pulling it out and going back in again . . . ralph :frown: I get sick when they put in my IV too, I'm just a big woosy (sp?) but hey, it's not gonna stop me! I would do it a hundred times to be healthy and trim!

Yucko! Yucko yucko! :tongue2: Those videos are GROSS I don't want a fill. But I will when I'm starving because of no restriction Oh man . . . .

Fill videos on you tube! I'm gonna check that out! I have a friend here @ work who had RNY and got pregant only 1 year out. They have a beautiful baby girl now, but she had SO many problems and complications because the pregnancy happened so soon after surgery. She was on disability for over a year. And all of the weight that she gained from the pregnancy, she did not lose back. She lost almost 200 lbs, so she is much healthier now, but gained 80 back. Weight is stable now and her health is back (still has dizzy spells but that's it) but she was really, really sick when her body needed all of the little nutrition it was absorbing for the baby. Just a thought - Going to you tube to see a fill before my lunch is over :tongue2: Riley

True, true! Do check and see! While Kaiser IS very different (it's an HMO, so you can only go to their facilities but as long as you do you're covered), Monkey is very right about what it might cost you, co-pays, deductables and so on. All the plans are different, and the individual plans are different-er yet. I have the highest level of Kaiser coverage, and I still have a co-pay as of the beginning of the year - and I never did before. So do check! In my class the out-of-pocket costs for bariatric surgery - all at Kaiser Richmond of South San Francisco - range from $10 to a couple of thousand. Check it out!:tongue2: Riley

Hi Pammy! Kaiser does indeed cover the Lapband if you meet the criteria (BMI 40 or over, and pattern of unsuccesful attempts to lose weight and keep it off) (or BMI over 35 and 2 co-morbidities). They have their own surgeons and each center that does the surgery has their own rules. I started the process by emailing my PCP and telling him that I had been doing a lot of research and this is what I wanted, he emailed me back to make an appointment and come see him, meantwhile I signed up for the Healthy Lifestyle classes, when I went in a couple of days later my BMI was well over 40, my blood pressure was uncontrolled enough for him to put me on a second medication, he saw that I was in the class and he sent a referral over for me. BUT. I understand from my Kaiser support group that each bariatric center is different, and that some may still want you to complete classes before they will accept you into the program. In Reseda for example you need a 6-month class to be referred for orientation. There is a program in Harbor City and they are just starting one in West LA, I don't know where the other SoCal ones are. Most Kaiser paitents have to drive an hour or more to the surgery centers I think. I know I do! Go to kp.org and search by the facility . . . . for my program (Richmond), the is a whole information binder available online that tells EVERYthing about the steps in the process. Good luck! :tongue2: Riley

Good afternoon everyone! Whatever you all decide - Lapband or RNY - let's do keep our little online Kaiser Richmond support group going! I'm finding it very helpful Riley:smile:

Debbie! Look at you GO!! Congratulations!! Did you have saline in your band at the time of surgery? How long were you on liquids after surgery? How did you lose the weight before surgery?? WOW! Riley

Wow - such differences in docs and recommendations! Again I say, wow . . . . . The following are the food lists that Kaiser Richmond's bariatric program uses. Note that Kaiser does not believe in protein shakes so you won't find them on the lists. Look at how l-o-n-g the phases are!! I won't get a salad for 3 months!!! Sorry this is so long; with Kaiser you get a whole binder of info:ohmy: Riley Stage I Clear Liquids Your stomach capacity is now severely restricted, so you must sip fluids slowly. Drinking fluids too quickly or drinking too much at one time can cause nausea and vomiting. This can cause your band to slip and you may need a second operation to repair it. During your hospital stay, you will be delivered small meal trays of clear liquids. Your clear liquids should not have caffeine or carbonation and should have less than 20 calories per 8-ounce serving. START: The day of surgery. END: About 1-2 days later – you will get instructions before you leave the hospital. DESCRIPTION: 1. Clear, caffeine-free, non-carbonated fluids (see list below). 2. Sip fluids s-l-o-w-l-y (do not gulp or take large mouthfuls). 3. Consume 4 ounces every hour (1 ounce every 15 minutes) while awake. 4. Sugar substitutes are safe to use (Equal, Splenda, etc.). 5. Read Nutrition Facts labels to ensure that liquid is caffeine-free, sugar-free. • Water • Broth or Bouillon • Sugar-Free Kool-Aid • Crystal Light • Diet Snapple • Sugar-Free Popsicles • Herbal tea • Propel • Sugar-Free Jell-O Stage II Full Liquids While your stomach is healing and adjusting to the LAP-BAND, you will slowly transition from a liquid to a solid diet. During this stage, solid foods may get stuck in the outlet from the pouch and need to be avoided. The Full Liquid Diet consists of semi-solid foods that do not need to be chewed before swallowing. You will still need to drink water and other clear liquids to stay hydrated, but only between meals. START: Within a few days after surgery. END: About 2-3 weeks after surgery – you will be notified when to advance. DESCRIPTION: 1. Semi-solid foods, sugar free or low-sugar in a smooth consistency. 2. Continue sipping water and other clear liquids between meals with a goal of 64 ounces per day. 3. Avoid eating solid pieces of food like those found in some yogurts and soups. 4. Try using children’s plates and silverware to ensure taking small bites. 5. Sugar substitutes are safe to use (Splenda, Equal, etc). • Thin consistency cereals: Cream of Rice, Cream of Wheat, Grits (thin) • Cream Soups (strained) – Cream of Mushroom, Cream of Chicken, etc. • Sugar free Pudding or Custard • Applesauce • Yogurt Stage III Pureed Foods This stage continues to allow a slow progression to solid foods. Pureeing foodswill allow you to begin eating foods high in protein without the risk of these foods blocking the outlet from your pouch. You will need to purchase a food processor for this diet stage. START: About 2-3 weeks after surgery – you will be notified when to advance. END: About 4-5 weeks after surgery – you will be notified when to advance. DESCRIPTION: 1. Pureed food and/or baby food. Refer to the list below and the following page for instructions on pureeing food. 2. Your meal needs to be most (if not all) protein. Eat the protein food first. Foods to Puree & Liquids to Puree With Chicken, Turkey with Broth, Gravy, Mayonnaise Fish, Seafood with Lemon juice, Mayonnaise, Tartar sauce Beef, Tofu with Broth, Gravy Egg, Ham with Mayonnaise Cottage Cheese You may be able to puree it alone or just mash it with a fork Fruits that have been peeled, with no seeds or seeds removed with Yogurt, Fruit juice, Milk You may be able to just mash bananas with a fork Vegetables that have been peeled and cooked with Broth, Melted butter or margarine Potato that has been peeled and cooked You may just mash potatoes with a fork How to Puree Foods Pureed food should be the consistency of mashed potatoes. You will need to use a Food Processor to puree your meals. Using a blender is difficult and often liquefies foods instead of pureeing them. You should buy a smaller size Food Processor given the small amount of food you will need it for. In general, you can puree any food with any liquid. The chart on the previous page lists suggestions on which liquids to puree with which solid foods. You may choose different combinations of the foods and liquids listed to puree your foods. Avoid using water to puree as it dulls the taste. Use only a small amount of liquid to start. If you use too much liquid, your puree will turn out runny. You can always add more liquid if needed, but once it’s there, you can’t take it out. Helpful tips:  Pureeing food can still leave some whole pieces of food. Not everything purees perfectly. Do not eat the parts that don’t puree.  Most foods puree better while hot.  Some foods puree fine alone, with no added liquid needed.  Meats puree differently depending on the cut.  When pureeing meats, cook and cut into small pieces first.  Fruits tend to liquefy when pureed. You can thicken them by adding unflavored gelatin.  Chunky soups can be pureed Stage IV Soft Foods The Soft Diet Stage introduces solid foods for the first time. These foods should be soft and easy to chew for digestion. Raw fruits and vegetables, foods that are hard/crunchy and fibrous foods are not part of this stage. START: About 4-5 weeks after surgery – you will be notified when to advance. END: About 12 weeks after surgery – you will be notified when to advance. Each Meal: Choose your protein food first (1/4 cup – 1/3 cup) THEN add 1 fruit or vegetable (see portion sizes below) THEN add 1 starch serving (see portion sizes below) DESCRIPTION: 1. Soft, solid foods. 2. Always choose your protein food first. Chew slowly. 3. If it is comfortable to eat more, choose 1 (one) serving of fruit or vegetable. 4. If it is comfortable to eat more, choose 1 (one) serving of starch. Do not eat all of the meal unless it is comfortable to do so. 5. Continue to drink fluids throughout the day: 64 oz per day is your goal. Protein ¼ cup – 1/3 cup Fish, Cheeses, Tofu, Thinly-Sliced Deli Meats, Cottage Cheese, Tuna Fish, Eggs, Egg Substitutes, Egg Whites, Chicken, Turkey, Veal/Lamb, Shellfish, Lean Ham, Lean Ground Beef Fruit 1/4 - 1/3 Baseball sized: Peach, Pear, Plum, Nectarine, or Orange Banana, Grapefruit Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Honeydew Canned – any fruit DRAINED Vegetables 2 Tablespoons Any well-cooked vegetable. NO celery, corn or beans Starch Potato (without skin) Whole Wheat Crackers Well-Toasted Bread Fat Use sparingly Cooking Spray, Olive or Canola Oil, Butter, Margarine, Mayonnaise, Avocado, Olives Remember to eat your protein food first and do not consume the next food group unless you are comfortable to do so. Modified Regular Diet The foods introduced here are of regular-consistency. You no longer need to avoid foods that are hard and crunchy or fibrous. Raw fruits and vegetables, beans and seeds should be well-tolerated now. The “Foods to Avoid” list on the following page will help guide you. For the rest of your life, remember to take smaller bites and chew your food very well. START: About 12 weeks after surgery – you will be notified when to advance. Each Meal: Choose your protein food first (1/4 cup – 1/3 cup) THEN add 1 fruit or vegetable (see portion sizes below) THEN add 1 starch serving (see portion sizes below) DESCRIPTION: 1. Regular-consistency foods. 2. Pay attention to the list of “Foods to Avoid” on the following page. 3. Continue eating high-protein meals (see below). Having a LAP-BAND makes it essential for you to eats lots of protein-rich foods. 4. Continue to maintain your goal of drinking 64 ounces of fluid per day. Protein ¼ cup – 1/3 cup Fish, Cheeses, Tofu, Thinly-Sliced Deli Meats, Cottage Cheese, Tuna Fish, Eggs, Egg Substitutes, Egg Whites, Chicken, Turkey, Veal/Lamb, Shellfish, Lean Ham, Lean Ground Beef, Steak, Pork Chops Fruit ½ cup ¼ cup Baseball sized: Peach, Pear, Plum, Nectarine, Apple. Banana, Mango, Papaya, Grapefruit, Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Honeydew, Strawberries Canned – any fruit DRAINED Vegetable ¼ cup -½ cup Cooked vegetable Raw vegetable NO celery or corn Starch ¼-½ slice Potato Whole Wheat Crackers Well-Toasted Bread Fat Use sparingly Cooking Spray, Olive or Canola Oil, Butter, Margarine, Mayonnaise, Avocado, Olives

Those are all good reasons for RNY, especially the sweets thing. I've chosen the band but I'm a volume eater. not into sweets at all. I also like the slower weight loss, more time to develop new eating/lifestyle habits, no hospital stay, lower complication rate and (bottom line) I am just not comfortable with the bypass idea. For me. There are only a couple of people in my support group getting the band, everyone else is RNY and for each one it is different. There is a reason that the Kaiser surgeons call RNY the "gold standard" but it is just not for me! Nicole, I got Dr. Baggs because I asked for him - Dr. Zimmerman said he was a good "match" for my goals, etc. and was passionate about his work. :tongue_smilie: I like that! Riley

Hey Reggie, welcome! Hey to all, hope your holidays were happy and not too brutal with temptations! I had a hard time, was traveling, staying in motels and eating mostly in restaurants . . . . .I took my ice chest everywhere, with lean ham and turkey, reduced fat string cheeses etc., but still . . . my goal was not gain no more than 2 lbs back, and when I weighed in this morning I was only up 1, hooray for me!!!! I want to be below my 10% when I meet Dr. Baggs on January 23rd, that's almost 10 lbs, do you think I can do it?? Has everyone seen the new Richmond binder?? I had orientation Nov. 4th, it must have been just before this one came out. The Lapband sections are in here and available online, hooray! http://www.permanente.net/homepage/kaiser/pdf/39806.pdf Finally making some progress on the caffeine thing, I took Doc Zimmerman's advice and got some really good half-caf ground up, I don't miss the caffeine and still have all the taste. This is a big step for me, I was doing a quad-shot plus 2 or 3 more cups every day. Going to go get a nice fresh cup of half-caf now. Cheers! Happy Saturday! :thumbup:Riley

Nicole thanks for the spinach cassarole recipe! It sure must work to lose weight, you are doing great. So you had the psych appt., and you have a surgeon appt. already? Do you have Dr. Baggs too? Happy Holidays everyone!! Riley

Audsmom, what is the spinach thing??? Riley

Yes! Yes yes yes! We were in the same class!

And we got our next appointments at the end of the class.

I was just looking for my calendar, but i think i left it at work! It was either the 4th or the 11th . . . . Liz led it, and I think it was Dr. Fischer who came in?

Hello ladies! I had orientation in November, appt. with Dr. Zimmerman (psych) December 12, and have an appt. with Dr. Baggs 1/23. They tried to get me to take the surgeon appt. the day after the psych, but I said no! I'm with Momcof3, it's not a good thing to hurry this process. I am all about the end result, not about how fast I can get the band. I am losing fast on the 1200 cals, but I have other important things I have to lose too - like my head hunger! I am also in 14 weeks of nutrition/lifestyle/stress reduction classes @ my local Kaiser. My goal is to be down 40 by my surgery date. For me, it is easier this time because it is the LAST TIME I will have to do this dieting without the aid of a band! Loving the Kaiser program so far. I like Liz's straightforward approach too, and so far everyone has been just great! Take care everybody! Riley:thumbup:

Any Richmond Kaiser patients out there who have used Dr. Baggs? What did you think? Riley

Dr. Baggs anyone? Richmond Kaiser? They gave me a choice and I asked for the one who does the most Lap-Bands, so they signed me up with Dr. Baggs. Would love to hear feedback if anyone has had him! Riley

Christine how did the surgeon appt. go today?? Riley

Hi Christine, I am at Kaiser Richmond too . . . same stage you are, I had orientation 3 weeks ago and I have my psych appt. on the 11th. The first 10 lbs. came off quickly, but it's really hard now! I pretty much blew it over turkey day but my goal for myself was to not gain so I guess I should just be happy that (so far) i have achieved that. Oh yes and Momcof3 is my Kaiser idol, I weighed in @ the same weight as her and look at her now! Go girl! I am in a 14-week weight loss surgery class @ Kaiser Santa Rosa, the patients are all either Richmond or South San Francisco so I get to compare . . . Richmond seems to be months faster that South SF, but south SF at least books 2 appointments in 1 day for folks. It is a great program, I am learning SO much about myself and why I overeat. I plan to be very well prepared for surgery! Take care, Riley