A few questions . . . .

Does anybody know how often Kaiser Richmond holds orientations ???

Is there a "waiting list" for the suregons???

What's the quickest timeframe someone has had surgery through Kaiser??

What about loose skin ??

Do you tell people you are having the surgery ??

Anything else you think might help me ??

I know that Fresno does theirs once a month. So I would think Richmond is the same. I'm not sure though. Best bet would be to call Richmond's bariatric dept and find out for sure. Best wishes!

I am not sure exactly how often they are held, but I can say that I had my first Orientation Class at the end of January and had my surgery a week ago today on July 8th. Going thru everything, it did seem like it took a while as there are lots of steps, but honestly, in retrospect, I sailed thru the program and really feel like I got the best possible "training" for this huge life change. I live in Martinez and had the whole process thru Richmond.

I was at a Kaiser Richmond support group meeting 2 weeks ago and the surgery appointments are running 6 to 8 weeks from when you reach your pre-surgery goal weight and have your case manager appointment.

I had to wait about a month to be scheduled for my orientation from when my Primary Care doc (PCP) sent my referral.

Your first step is to be referred to an overview class from your PCP - it about 1.5 - 2 hrs and they are given at alot of the Kaisers. I took mine in San Rafael. After that, if you still want to pursue Bariatrics you need to contact your PCP for the referral. I asked to be referred to Kaiser Richmond but because I'm in Petaluma they wanted to refer me to South San Francisco. I asked my PCP to do Richmond and she did. So that was some of my delay. I attended the overview class on 7/17/09 and attended orientation on 9/8/09.

If you end up at Kaiser Richmond, there is a Pre-Op Kaiser Richmond Lap Band thread on here that has people who are both pre-op and post op - some of the post ops are long time It is a great group. Some are from Sacramento area and others in the East Bay and a few in the North Bay.

Is anyone going to the Kaiser Richmond Orientation meeting on November 10th at 7:30 AM?