swishbc

Wow MsJennie! You've lost 30 lbs in 2 months?!?! That's crazy great. I just had my first weigh in today after one week of the 1200 calorie diet and working out 3 times this week and I lost 5.6 lbs. If I keep pretty consistent with 2-3 lbs a week I should be at my 10% pretty quick. Did you work out? What has your weekly weight loss been like? I got my surgeon appt for 1/8 and they told me to call 2-3 times a week to get an early appt due to a cancellation. I called today and got an appt for NEXT Wednesday! A whole month early...I'm SO happy. She said that they usually have you do the psych appt first, 90% of the time but that they only have 2 psychs right now and one is our sick so their appts are getting cancelled and re-scheduled so she felt okay putting me straight to the surgeon and doing the psych appt later. I'm happy about that because I'll have an actual number that I need to lose from the surgeon instead of just losing weight wondering where I'll need to be. BTW, my surgeon is going to be Dr. Fisher. That's great that you were already at goal when you had your surgeon appt, I bet that was a relief! :cursing:

My surgeon appt at Kaiser is next Wednesday 12/10! It was scheduled for 1/8 but I called to see if they had any cancellation appts and they did. YAY! Does anyone have any good tips or expectations for me? I'm very excited, but nervous! Thanks!

Dr. Baggs was the surgeon at our orientation. Lots of good info from him. Have you been doing the 1200 cal diet too? How much have you lost and how much did he tell you to lose before surgery? Do you mind sharing your start/current weight? Mine is in my sig. :cursing: I hope your surgery is scheduled SOON and you don't have to wait too long! Have you had to attend any other classes or do any more weigh-ins (aside from your appts you've been to?)

Hi MsJennie! I'm in the early stages. I had orientation last Tuesday (11/25) and I now have a surgeon appt for 1/8. They told me to call 2-3 times a week and see if they have any cancellation appts available since I'm really flexible with appt days and times. My surgeon is going to be Dr. Judith Park. I started the 1200 calorie diet on Friday after Thanksgiving and I've lost 4 lbs this week! I'm not sure how much my surgeon will tell me to lose but I figure if I start now I'm that much ahead of the game. Hopefully I can lose at least 10-15 lbs before my surgeon appt. How are things going for you? Nice to meet you!

Is your 14 week class mandatory or are you doing it for yourself? I wish Richmond would schedule 2 appts in a day since I have to drive an hour (or a little more) for each appt. It would make it so much easier!

Yes, they did take my weight. They said that this will be my starting weight and what all my appts will be referred back to. At orientation I was told that everyone is asked to lose a certain amount, but that it differs between every patient and is up to the surgeon. I started my 1200 calorie diet on Friday and am hoping that I'll have a good head start on my weight loss before talking to the surgeon.

It sounds like the problem is your primary care doc. Some are for it and some are against it, you just have to find one that you see eye to eye with. I hope your appt goes well and you can convince her to refer you. Keep us posted!

Hi, I had my orientation in Richmond and was told that you only get an orientation appt after the bariatric dept has gone over your medical record and you are qualified to have surgery. They told me that the only thing that would stop the surgery process is if you didn't pass the psychologists appt. They want to make sure we are all mentally healthy enough to undergo surgery and all the major life changes we will have to make. The BMI requirements for Nor Cal Kaiser are 35 with co-morbidities or 40+ with no co-morbidities. I have heard that it's different in SoCal with 55 being a minimum, but I don't know anything about the SoCal rules. I hope it all works out for you! Good luck. :cursing:

Hi everyone! My name is Christine, 32 years old and from the Sacramento area and I'm also going through Kaiser Richmond. I had orientation on 11/25, last Tuesday. It was very informative and made me even more excited and motivated to get going with this major life change! I should be getting my next appt within a day or so for either the psychologist or surgeon, then will have the other (psych or surgeon), then attend another 5 hour nutrition class. Liz, the case manager said that after that, once you lose the weight that your surgeon requires that they will schedule your surgery. She said it's about 4-6 months from orientation date but that if you lose the required weight faster it could be even sooner. I started the 1200 calorie diet on Friday and am hoping to be on the fast track! I don't know how much the surgeon will want me to lose, so I'm just losing as much as I can. I figure if I lose more than he requires it's just weight that I don't have to lose later. Good to meet you all! I'm glad to see some local Kaiser people here. It seems that the Kaiser experience is much different than other insurances.

I have Kaiser and am in the process for getting the Lapband. My primary care doc was all for it when I have my physical a few weeks ago and she sent the referral to the Bariatric dept in Richmond, CA. I had my orientation last Tuesday. My next steps are appts with the surgeon, psychologist, and to attend the 5 hour nutrition class. As soon as I lose the required weight my case manager will schedule my surgery. I've been told it's about 4-6 months, but could be less if I lose my weight faster. My copay for the surgery will be $15 and will also be the same for every fill appt. Where are you in the process? Good luck!

How did your Thanksgiving go? Were you able to eat a little bit of the yummy stuff? I did really well and only had a small plate full of food. I ate one piece of pumpkin pie and my only was the homemade rolls...I ate 3. BUT--I started my 1200 cal diet on Friday and I'm not looking back! Hope you had a good one!

Hi, I'm Christine and I'm just starting the Lapband process with Kaiser, Richmond. My 5 hour orientation is tomorrow (11/25) and I'm so excited to get the ball rolling and be on my way! Just wondering if anyone else is currently going through Kaiser and how your experiences are so far. They have told me that it's about 6-12 months from orientation to surgery, but if I'm able to call and take cancellation appts and lose the required wait that I could be as soon as 4-6 months...I'm hoping for 4! Anyway, I look forward to meeting you all!

This is my first post here! I've been a lurker for a month or a little longer and I'm so excited to begin this life-changing journey. My name is Christine and I'm married to a wonderful guy (for 13 years) and we have a daughter that is 4 1/2. I've been overweight since shortly after getting married...what's that about being fat and happy? It's totally true! I was just diagnosed with Hypothyroidism and my doc agreed and is totally on board with me getting the Lapband. I'm so excited, I have my orientation tomorrow morning, I'm with Kaiser (Richmond location) and I'm hoping it will be a smooth process that will have me on in operating table SOON! They said about 6 months is what we're looking at right now. I'm looking forward to meeting you all and getting great advice and words of wisdom.