I did a lot of searching for info regarding the Kaiser process and it was hard to find. I'm putting this out there for anyone else with Kaiser that is interested

4/29/11 - I had an appointment with my PCP at Kaiser in Brea (So. Cal). I am 5'7 and my weight was 298. I asked for a referral for the Options program. She told me I would have to do a supervised three month diet with a program like Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig or Lindora before she can refer me. She said to email her when I finished the three months.

9/29/11 - I emailed my PCP on and asked for the referral. Her LVN replied that she was out of the office and would get back to me in a couple of days. I never heard back so I emailed again on 11/8/11.

11/10/11 - The nurse called to say the referral was processed and I had a lot of lab work to complete. I did all of the labs on 11/11/11. I also had to do an EKG and a sleep study.

12/2/11 - I had my mandatory Options orientation at the Orange Pavilion.

1/18/12 - I started the 12 week Options class at the Orange Pavilion. My weight was 307. They want you to lose 10% of your weight during the 12 week program.

1/20/12 - I met with the program's NP. She went over all of my medical history with me. She said I would also need to get a chest xray. She gave me a list of Vitamins to start taking.

2/21/12 - I'm still in the Options program. My weight last week was 297. A 10 pound weight loss since I started Options. We meet once a week for 1.5 hours. The instructors are either RNs, RDs, or MSWs. I'm using myfitnesspal.com on my pc and iphone to track calories and exercise.

Kaiser offers the lap band, Roux-en-Y and sleeve gastrectomy. I plan on going forward with the sleeve.

That's my story

Yes, that is exactly what I had to do. I had my surgery on 10/4/11. They never told me to do the 3 month diet though. Maybe it's because my PCP in the past has prescribed a diet pill. Anywho, I'm 4 months out and loving my body now (with cloths on). I am almost at my goal weight. Around 20 lbs if I go for 140 lbs because I'm big boned. LOL

I also went Kaiser, pretty quick process, my delay was my schedule not theirs. No special preop diet just had to show weight loss which really isn't all that bad and helps with post surgery to maintain.

Think best way to go than those who think flying to Mexico for a quicky works, Kaiser teaches you how to do it right and the cost was $0.

Good luck on you surgery.

I'm another Kaiser patient had my surgery last week 2/13. Went thru the same thing except the 3mth supervised diet. Only money spent was the vitamins and my $100 copay, their program is great!!! Good luck with your journey...wishing you the best.

I'm with Kaiser in SoCal and I've just recently received my surgeon's referral after completing the Options program and all of the testing. I consult with the surgeon on Mar. 09 and hope to have the procedure soon thereafter.

I started the Options program with an attitude that it was a waste of time but ultimately found it to be very informative. I feel much more prepared for the lifestyle changes ahead.

Everything has gone smoothly so far with Kaiser so I hope it will continue. The surgeons they are using have good credentials and I've not heard anything negative about them.

I am dreading the pre-op "2 week liquids" diet and I hope it will not apply since I have already lost almost 15% of my body weight since starting the program. My SW was 337 and I'm at 287 now.

Thanks, MonkeyNurse and the responders to this post. I look forward to anyone else's comments about Kaiser (especially SoCal, because there are major differences in the 2) because info is hard to come by.

Ted

My kaiser experience was great

I was referred by my Dr on 1-3-12 to the bariatrics program and met all requirements to be operated on 2-14-12. Only 6 weeks in which I also dropped 28 lbs during that time.

No Options, EKG, sleep study, chest X-ray, or classes. From PCP referral to surgery, two weeks. All it took was a Lap-band that tried to kill me. Hmmm....NOT the way to go.

Top gun: If you are using Dr. LePort's office for your surgery, there is no liquid diet, it's just the day before and it actually was not that bad. Good luck. I had Dr. Kelly and she was great!

Thanks for all the responses. I'm so glad I found this board

I've talked to other people at work that went through Options and their PCP didn't make them do the 3 month diet either. I've had my PCP for over 5 years and she's never brought up my weight even though I'm morbid obese. I had to bring it up to her. I always thought that was strange since Kaiser is big on preventative health.

_{Hi there! I am so happy to hear from people that live close to me also and that are going through Kaiser! I also finished my 12 week option program and learned alot from it as well. I have my consulation with Dr Suh in Murrieta on March 7th. And yes there were a ton of tests that i had to take during that options program LOL. but I also was not required to have a 3 month track history before they referred me. I got lucky becuase i called the Weight program directly and they just booked the orientation for me without getting the referral from my Primary doctor.. Keep us posted!}

How that's the first I heard of Kasier requiring a three month diet prior to options. We were told to bring in prior proof we had tried, but then they never even ask for them. Hang there the process for So Ca Kasier is long.

Hi there! I am going through the program with KP NorCal, and it is SUPER-FAST. My surgeon, Dr. Baggs, is really caring and the staff is great. I was only told to lose 15 lbs before they would schedule me for surgery.

The only hold-up is my slow-@$$ weight loss...which I struggle with, but the lbs. are coming off, one ounce at a time!!

hi im going to have my surgery march 7, im about 280 and have been referred by 3 different doctors but the first 2 times i didn't consider it i thought it was too extreme, too hard and a waste of time what were they going to teach me. I am 38 now and suffer with osteo arthritis along with other illness and due to my weight it is very hard for me to walk some days or even get out of bed so when i was refered in august 2011, i decided to give the options program a try. I took the program it was 12 weeks and it was great i learned how to exercise how to eat better i can't say that i change my whole lifestyle because i was not ready i went to the support groups and saw that most of the people there were sick and one of the ladies made a great impact on me she had the sleeve but had only lost 20 lbs because she continued her bad habits after her surgery so it got me thinking of why im doing this and my habits were still there my class ended in november 2011 but when i was called to see the surgeon i didn't call back i decided i would give it one last try and loose the weight on my own. well 2 months passed and nothing i was still feeling fat, sick and horrible so i called my nurse and asked her for a reschedule so i started what i thought was a diet so when i saw my surgeon he chewed me out i thought oh he's going to send me home and tell me to loose more weight but after the chew out he scheduled me for surgery 03/7/12 12 days away he put me on a liquid diet with small dinner for 9 days and all liquid for the 2 days before surgery its going to be hard but would do it all over again kaiser is the best their not only giving me my health they also educated so that i can take care of myself you so i feel prepared now just one more suggestion try the support groups when i went they didn't know me but i felt very welcome kaiser has the best program i believe. thats my very long story hope it helps

I just went to the Orientation class at Woodland Hills and I am waiting (impatiently) for them to call to schedule my Options class. I am barely at the 40 BMI threshold but she told me I can go ahead and start on my 10%...even if that takes me under 40 for the start of Options...she better be right!

The timeline she gave was that we would start Options in 2-5 weeks. Do 12 weeks of classes. Consult with surgeon 1- 2 weeks after classes and surgery date 6-8 weeks after classes. That should be surgery some time this summer. Hopefully sooner rahter than later! I'm anxious to get going!!

I also had a hard time finding information on the timelines. Hopefully this helps someone out there.

I'm 5'10" and would like to lose about 130 pounds. When they calculate "excess weight" what weight do they use for ideal weight? I would love to weigh around 150 but I don't know how realistic that expectation is. I lost a lot of weight about the last 7 years ago and gained it all back so I think the PCP was not going to tell me to go try another diet...that's all I ever do is try diets!

I saw an NP after I started Options and she told me 170 was a good weight for me at 5'7. They said at Options the last week that the case manager will send the authorization for surgery to the surgeon then they will call us to book the appointment. Should be around 2 weeks after Options ended. She said surgery should be 2-4 weeks after that. She said there is no longer the big delay they used to have.

When I went through Options over 2 years ago it was 6 months long and you couldn't miss a single class! Funny that they still require you to lose the 10% of your weight in half the time...good luck to all of you. Kaiser has a great program, it just takes a long time, but in the end, that's good because you will be better prepared for the surgery.