riley4183

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

For the Kaiser Richmond program, they start your weight at the weigh-in orientation. Some Kaiser programs will take it from a doctor's office weigh-in, but mine didn't (my highest weight was at orientation weigh-in, so that was OK with me!) With the weekly class I am in, the weigh me there too and put it in the file. Also they take my blood pressure all of the flippin' time! Once I started it seems like it is going fast, and the sooner I lose my weight (I assume it is 10%, but my surgeon will decide and I have not met with him yet) the sooner they will schedule my surgery. My goal is to have lost 10% by the time I see my surgeon. Good luck and keep in touch! PS, Kaiser Richmond has their bariatric surgery binder online at their website if you want a preview. Good luck! Riley

Kaiser's program is great, they want you to be fully prepared and it really weeds out folks who just "want" the surgery so it will be easier to lose weight. It is a change for the rest of your life and Kaiser wants to make sure you are ready. I am at Kaiser Richmond, plus I am in classes for 4 months at Kaiser Santa Rosa. I have done the orientation (with the "beginning" weight recorded), blood tests, apnea screening, 3rd class is tonight and I have another appt in Richmond in 2 weeks for the Psych evaluation. Every step so far has been helpful, and I have already lost 11 lbs!

I am looking at a surgery date around April 2009, Richmond Kaiser. Count me in!

So not too long ago, I had posted that I had gotten a call back from Kaiser saying, patients don't call us, we call patients. Many of you counseled me to not be discouraged, to keep calling but to BE NICE. I did that. I left messages for a week, then I gave up. Well late yesterday, lo and behold, a very nice woman called me from Richmond bariatrics and said, I'm returning your call, how can I help you? :teeth_smile: I was thrown for a loop, I said well uhm, I'm waiting to be called for an appointment for orientation, my doc sent my referral electronically 3 weeks ago, and she put me on hold and came back and said, why yes you do have a referral! Can you come to 5-hour orientation this coming Tuesday?! And she said good thing I had called back, they had somehow missed me! So to orientation I go next Tuesday - election day. And to all of you who told me to just keep calling and be really nice, thanks! It worked!! Riley:thumbup:

Hey Narco! I'm Richmond Kaiser too, my doc sent in my referral almost 3 weeks ago and all I've gotten is a call back from Kaiser Richmond saying it takes 2-3 weeks, we call you so stop calling us . . . . .I start 14 weeks of weight-loss-for-surgery classes in santa rosa in a couple of weeks, so i really wanted to have my orientation weigh-in done before that, but i's taking so long! Riley

Greetings all; I'm replying to this older post because, as an avid reader, I want to see it continue! I wholeheartedly second the vote for the Mitford series by Jan Karon. I read me whole collection at least twice a year. The perfect thing for recovery. I want to live in Mitford!! Riley

Hi Queen, I'm a vege too. Jarrow makes a brown rice vegan Protein shake mix, I mix it with sugar free soymilk (Soy Slender, YUM) and if I'm living on the edge that day I might just go for it and add some sugar-free torani syrup! I get the rice protein mix at iherb.com, they also have a great drink shaker with a little coiled ball in it, add a little ice chips and shake away!:wink_smile: Hope this helps! It'd tough to be veggie and go high protein/low carb:bored: but you can do it! Here's to your health! Riley

Wow Cindy good for you! You GO girl!!!

Huntersmom, you didn't have to have the Mirena removed for your band surgery? I have a handout thingy that says you have to cease all hormonal forms of B/C 3 weeks before and 3 weeks after to help prevent clots. Does that not apply to Mirena? I LOVE mine and don't want to give it up then have to deal with huge constant clots while healing from surgery . . . .

"Do you know what they call the last person to cross the finish line in a triathlon? The same thing they call the first person, a Triathlete." God bless you Chris! This is totally motivational to me! GOOD FOR YOU!!! And thanks :w00t: Riley

momcof3, your stats are fantastic! And the time frame from orientation to surgery seems pretty quick! How long after your referral before you get your orientation appt. with Richmond? What appointments did you have to have in Richmond, and what could you do locally? What kind of test did they want? Upper GI? Apnea? Did you have a liver-shrinking diet right before? Did you have to take a series of classes at home or in Richmond? Thanks for your help! Riley

I see you were! Thanks! Gong out for my walk now, will think about questions to ask you! Thanks so much!

Momof3, were you banded in Richmond?