Hi I am from Santa Rosa,, my name is Linda and I had the gastric vertical sleeve by one of the greatest surgeon Dr Alami at Kaiser South San Francisco on May 5,2011 and have lost a total of 75 pounds,, have had no complications,, just a little burping,, and I just need to eat a little slower,,, but all is great, It has changed my life so much,, no more knee pain,, back pain.. sleep apnea,,, If I had to do it over I would do it again,, it was the best for me,,, I only wish that I did not wait so long to have this...

So anyone who is getting ready for a life change do not hesitate and go ahead and have the surgery Dr Alami is wonderful,,, My starting weight was 255, and as of today January 8, I am 185.. wearing a size 12 from a size 22.

What insurance do you have that paid for your surgery......Kaiser???

Hi Linda!!

I am from San Francisco and had Dr. Alami as well!! He is fantastic, isn't he? I just had my 2 week follow up and saw Dr. Robert Li, since Dr. Alami was on vacation. I love the Kaiser people, they have been so supportive! I have lost 15 pounds, and am in a stall at the moment, but clothing is loosening up like crazy, so I know I am doing good!

All the best,

Kimmie

Fantastic! Reading posts like yours are really helpful and have really calmed my nerves about the surgery. I'm still nervous and scared but reading all of the uplifting comments and receiving support from complete strangers when I have none from my family has been the best. I'm ready to get past this so that I can begin living again. Have a fantastic week!

Congrats Linda that is awesome. I'm with Kaiser So Cal going for my pre op on Tuesday should be scheduled by the end of Jan I can't wait. Keep up the great work :-)

What insurance do you have that paid for your surgery......Kaiser???

KAISER

KAISER paid the entire procedure,, I am also a Kaiser Employee

My kaiser PCP wont refer me because i have

No comorbidities and my bmi is 38.5

I want to change PCPs now. I go to kaiser vallejo. But doesnt kaiser make u do a 6 mo program or something as well? Honestly im thinking about going to mexico with dr. Ortiz (been on oprah, and the doctors, and facility is a center of excellence)... But everyone (friends and family are still scared bc its mexico. I dont want to have to go alone. I dont want to have to try and gain 10 lbs (im a bridesmaid for my cousins wedding in june) so that i can have a BMI of 40 AND THEN still have to do a 6 mo program. Even my therapist is being unsupportive. I already have a surgery date on 8/1... Ill pay outta pocket but its faster and i dont want to waste another minute being this size. *sigh*

My kaiser PCP wont refer me because i have

No comorbidities and my bmi is 38.5

I want to change PCPs now. I go to kaiser vallejo. But doesnt kaiser make u do a 6 mo program or something as well? Honestly im thinking about going to Mexico with Dr. Ortiz (been on oprah' date=' and the doctors, and facility is a center of excellence)... But everyone (friends and family are still scared bc its mexico. I dont want to have to go alone. I dont want to have to try and gain 10 lbs (im a bridesmaid for my cousins wedding in june) so that i can have a BMI of 40 AND THEN still have to do a 6 mo program. Even my therapist is being unsupportive. I already have a surgery date on 8/1... Ill pay outta pocket but its faster and i dont want to waste another minute being this size. *sigh*[/quote']

@Nalasmom-try Dr Cirangle at Lapsf. He has offices up there and works with patients with low BMI.

Also, if you are self-pay you can probably get on his schedule within the month!

I did actually and jennifer his patient coordinator said that because i have no comorbidites that they wont be able to help me get covered and I dont have that kind of money to pay out of pocket even though I am covered by both mine and my moms insurace policies. Super weak:(

I did actually and jennifer his patient coordinator said that because i have no comorbidites that they wont be able to help me get covered and I dont have that kind of money to pay out of pocket even though I am covered by both mine and my moms insurace policies. Super weak:(

Hi there,

I'm a patient of Dr Cirangle's... my BMI was under 40 and although I had co-morbidities "on paper" (had a sleep test done > 10 years ago, but it was mild sleep apnea... no blood glucose issues although diabetes runs in my family... etc), they still were willing to help. Of course, they submitted to insurance thinking the claim for sleep apnea would be sufficient; when in fact my insurance wanted to documented evidence of the test ... can't say I blame insurance.

Well, I gained the weight to get my BMI to 40. Sounds a bit twisted, no? Well, it was SO worth it. I think my BMI was 39, so I was really close, but it was a real bummer to purposefully gain weight, not knowing if it would be enough for insurance to approve me. They did and now I'm down nearly 40 lbs since surgery 10 weeks ago and just over 50 lbs since my highest recorded weight.

My advice.... if you really want the surgery, keep pursuing it!

Also - Dr Cirangle is phenomenal, and so is his staff. I wouldn't hesitate to have my surgery with him again!!