wlsnull

Hey guys, I went to the Kaiser Options program workshop and the Weight Management Workshop this week and last week. They were incredibly negative w/ the band - they said that they strongly suggest most people do gastric bypass. (Some of this could be b/c you have to have a fairly high BMI to qualify under Kaiser) For fills you'd have to go back to the surgeons. There are 2 doctors in Orange County who oversee the program, but the surgeons do the fills. I went to the PCP for the official referral into the Options program and then I meet with he coordinator Janet and then the doctor(s) in charge of the program. Usually you have to wait until after meetin w/ the docs to get placed into an Options class so yes it can take a while to get through the process.

that's definitely a good question! It's rough traveling so far from home for surgery, even if it's just an hour. there was one person, I think Kaiser that had flown out to Northern CA to get it done and had complications and was in a strange place without support for a long time. SCARY!

Yeah it's crazy, I'm self paying too. It took 3 weeks to get to someone at Kaiser and in that time I've found an outside provider that I feel really comfortable with, had an info session, had all of my consults, and had most of my labwork done. I get the rest done on Thursday, see the internist for final approval next Monday, and I have surgery May 8th! Crazy, huh? Going through Kaiser is tempting for me and I'm getting a lot of flack on other boards for financing the procedure, but I'm 25 and just really feel I cannot wait another 9 months for the procedure. I can have a drastically different lifestyle by my 26th birthday this way, with Kaiser I would just be going into surgery. Where did you get your band through?

Okay, I didn't ask about lap band because I've switched to Gatric Bypass, but I finally tracked down the Orange County person. Her name is Janet and her phone number is 714.748.2798. She says that it used to be 50, but the program is a lot more flexible now and will do it for 40. Mabe 50 is for the band and 40 is for bypass? Seems like it would be the other way aruond since the band is less invasive... It took me a looong time to find her, nobody knew where to direct me and one person didn't know what bariatrics was. She said that in Orange County the 2 workshops are on May 14th and 18th (or at least that week) and that if you call the appointment center they will tell you the classes are full (which they told me). She can override that. After that you can start the Options Program. The June program is full and bursting, but there are some spots left in July. It sounds like there's one group started each month, meetings are at the Pavillion in Orange (looks more like Anaheim Convention Center) at 6pm every week. (It would mean leaving work about 2 hours early to do the classes) I'm not sure where everyone else is, but at least Janet may be able to get you to the right person in your area. (Hope I'm not making her job any worse by posting her #!!). Good luck!

Hi, I actually found this forum last night by finding this thread in google. Hopefully it helps! http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f8/kaiser-southern-california-pays-lap-band-86793/#post1187840 50 BMI is an awfully high minimum, I hope I don't have to drive all the way up to Orange/Anaheim for 6 months for classes. I'll have to leave work 2 hours early if they're at 6 or 7!

Thanks for the info, I just decided to do lap band last week and have been looking everywhere for the info. I live in south Orange County and have a PCP appt on Thursday. 50 BMI minimum is high, most insurance companies benchmark wtih 50. I'm in the 40s and don't have any comorbidities, hope I can convince the doctor I need the procedure. There's another program I'd rather do, but I'll have to go where it makes financial sense (unfortunately!).