I had my 4-hour orientation at Kaiser Richmond today. The classroom was full and I was unfortunately sitting next to a HIGHLY obnoxious woman in the class. About an hour into the class she raises her hand and says "Ma'am? I am falling asleep over here." The nutritionist said "Okay, well we are about to take a break so you can take a short walk and maybe get a drink of water." The lady gets all angry and says "HOW SOME WATER SUPPOSED TO MAKE ME STAY AWAKE? HMM???" What I really wanted to do was turn around and say "Well, why don't you just go home then and come back when you are prepared to stay awake!!" So we took a break and the woman leaves and comes back with a doughnut in a very loud paper wrapper and a frappuccino. SERIOUSLY!?

She kept asking irrelevant questions, too. At one point the nutritionist says "Before surgery, you will need to be sure you are up to date on all your routine screenings such as your PAP Smear, mammograms, that sort of thing." The lady raises her hand (I saw quite a few eyes roll) and says "Ma'am? How we supposed to get a pap smear if we don't have anything for them to be checking?"

Okay, first off... that's too much information. Second off, this is for general information and GENERAL questions. Just shut your mouth, write down your question and ask your doctor later.

Throughout the entire orientation, she was talking very loudly with the woman next to her about how it's ridiculous that you can't eat bread or rice and how she doesn't think it's right that she should have to go without sugar.

It is just terribly frustrating to want something so bad and see people around me who have the opportunity but do not seem to grasp the concept that this is a gift. A TOOL to be utilized. Not some magic fat-be-gone surgery. This obnoxious lady said to the nutritionist (after reviewing the pre and post-op diet) "If I was able to just eat teensy tiny portions like this, I would do it on my own. 1/4 cup is just plain ridiculous. I can't survive off that. I'd be so hungry I'd eat my own arm."

So I guess it just goes to show that there really ARE people out there that stupid. This lady obviously missed the whole point of the surgery and I am MORE than happy to assist her out of the line and take her surgeon appointment.

Today was very informative and made me realize why we have to jump through all the hoops. Otherwise people like that crazy lady would be getting the surgery and giving the rest of us a bad name. I'm still convinced that quite a few crazies slip through the cracks and they are the reason the rest of us have to hear about "taking the easy way out" and "You'll gain it all right back". Because people like that lady who are looking for a magic solution have the surgery and *DO* gain it right back.

I have an appointment with Dr. Im in Richmond on June 30 and I could not be more excited! =) I am excited to get healthy and get on the right track!

Congrats on your orientation. I too, used Kaiser Richmond.

I am surprised that Robin (the nutritonist) did not throw that lady out!! They are all a no-nonsense type of group!!

Kaiser is super good about teaching you everything that you need to know. You will be well informed by the time you have your surgery. I had my surgery 15 days ago with Dr. Fisher, he is THA BOMB!!

Good luck to you in your journey!!

Kelly

Congrats on your orientation. I too, used Kaiser Richmond.

I am surprised that Robin (the nutritonist) did not throw that lady out!! They are all a no-nonsense type of group!!

Kaiser is super good about teaching you everything that you need to know. You will be well informed by the time you have your surgery. I had my surgery 15 days ago with Dr. Fisher, he is THA BOMB!!

Good luck to you in your journey!!

Kelly

I WISH she would have thrown her out. She was very disruptive and quite rude.

So far, I am thrilled with the staff in that department. Dr. Im came and spoke to our group and I am so glad he is my surgeon. Although I haven't met the others so I am sure I would be happy with whomever I got. I feel like I have all the information I need to succeed. They are definitely all about making sure you are educated. I have to admit, I did not learn anything new until the very end when they were reviewing the pre-op diet. I have done so much research on this forum and I love that the class was just a review for me. It made me appreciate this site even more and let me know that the information I've been gathering is correct and I am on the right track.

The only thing I thought was a little strange was the whole no Protein shake thing. That seemed a bit odd to me. The examples she gave were Slim Fast and Carnation Instant Breakfast which I wouldn't consider Protein shakes... Are you drinking any protein shakes?

Congrats on your new sleeve!! How exciting! You must be thrilled to be over the worst! =)

No, they totally discourage the Protein shakes. They don't want you to worry about protein in the liquid stages. Just to stay hydrated. You are only on liquids after surgery for 2 weeks and then you can eat protein. They want you to eat it and not drink it.

I did do Isopure Water, but just a few days, that stuff is nasty. The Atkins drinks give me the runs and protein mixes are just nasty in general! I was glad they didn't want us to drink them, I couldn't!!

That pre-op diet that is in your binder REALLY WORKS!! Do it!! I lost 55lbs in 5 months doing it. They will require you to lose some weight anyway, so start now. They weighed you today and will go off that weight, so anything you lose from now until your surgeon visit will be counted.

Best of luck to you!!

Kelly

I WISH she would have thrown her out. She was very disruptive and quite rude.

So far, I am thrilled with the staff in that department. Dr. Im came and spoke to our group and I am so glad he is my surgeon. Although I haven't met the others so I am sure I would be happy with whomever I got. I feel like I have all the information I need to succeed. They are definitely all about making sure you are educated. I have to admit, I did not learn anything new until the very end when they were reviewing the pre-op diet. I have done so much research on this forum and I love that the class was just a review for me. It made me appreciate this site even more and let me know that the information I've been gathering is correct and I am on the right track.

The only thing I thought was a little strange was the whole no Protein shake thing. That seemed a bit odd to me. The examples she gave were Slim Fast and Carnation Instant Breakfast which I wouldn't consider protein shakes... Are you drinking any protein shakes?

Congrats on your new sleeve!! How exciting! You must be thrilled to be over the worst! =)

No, they totally discourage the Protein shakes. They don't want you to worry about protein in the liquid stages. Just to stay hydrated. You are only on liquids after surgery for 2 weeks and then you can eat protein. They want you to eat it and not drink it.

I did do Isopure Water, but just a few days, that stuff is nasty. The Atkins drinks give me the runs and protein mixes are just nasty in general! I was glad they didn't want us to drink them, I couldn't!!

That pre-op diet that is in your binder REALLY WORKS!! Do it!! I lost 55lbs in 5 months doing it. They will require you to lose some weight anyway, so start now. They weighed you today and will go off that weight, so anything you lose from now until your surgeon visit will be counted.

Best of luck to you!!

Kelly

That is good to know! I plan on sticking to that diet to the T! My plan is to lose 15 pounds before my surgeon appointment. Ideally he will tell me he only wants me to lose 20 and will go ahead and book my psych consult but we'll see how that goes

I will definitely be drinking the Isopure like crazy post-op. (I actually love it. I know, I'm strange! lol. I think the alpine punch is quite tasty) I am so scared of not getting enough protein and losing my hair

Thanks for your tips! =) I would have never imagined they don't encourage protein shakes pre AND post-op!