Hello to everyone. I am 29 years old and I have an awesome supportive husband and 3 beautiful children, two boys and 1 girl. They keep me pretty busy. I currently (about a week and a half ago) went to the doctor to inquire about the lap band. At first I was skeptical and basically kind of scared, but I have been overweight all my life, I have high cholesterol and very high triglycerides and I realize I need to do something, for me and my family. I want to live to see them grow and get married. I have Kaiser Insurance, and I have been approved for an orientation next week, and from there they will let me know if I am a good candidate. I am praying I get approved. My BMI is 37.5, so I'm not sure, all I can do is try. My biggest fear is getting Diabetes. My grandmother had type 1 and my mother, uncles and aunts have type 2, I will do everything with Gods strength to help prevent myself from getting it too. I was just curious what the steps are and how long it will take after approval from Kaiser to have the actual surgery?:thumbup:

It depends on the Kaiser you go to. Some have six months of classes and at some the classes are optional.

It depends on where you live. I'm in Northern CA and the classes aren't required here. There are about 6 appts/classes and once you lose the required weight you are scheduled for surgery. At orientation they said the process is 4-6 months, possibly sooner if you lose weight fast and get appts pretty close together.

Where are you located?

Congrats on your choice that you have made. I am 29 and had my surgery 4/5/07. At the time my daughter was 2 and I wanted to be around long enough to see every milestone in her life.

Best wishes!!

I am located in Modesto california

Where are you going for your orientation?

I am going to Fremont, do you have Kaiser?

Yes I have Kaiser. I'm with the Richmond location though. From what I hear, they have a pretty similar way of running things.

What was the process after approval from the surgoens, and how much weight do you have to lose, before surgery.

I had my orientation on 11/25 and I meet with the surgeon this Wednesday. He'll examine me and talk to me about the surgery and risks, etc and then let me know how much weight I need to lose before surgery.

Then I'll meet with a psychologist and do a nutrition/lifestyle 5 hour class and have a few tests done before my surgery date. I'm hoping to have surgery sometime in Feb or March!

So at the orientation, do they let you know whether or not you can have the surgery, or do they make another appointment for that? And also what does the orientation consist of, and is it ok for my husband to come with me, they said you can bring someone with you to appointments except the pshycological evaluation, was it the same for you.

I think that you're pretty much approved if you've been scheduled for orientation. The only way that would change (what the told me) is if you didn't pass the psycologists evaluation or if you had some medical reason as to why you could not be under anesthesia or endure a surgery.

You can bring someone to the orientation. I didn't because my hubby is a worry wart and I didn't want to freak him out. Plus, I kinda feel like this is my journey and I wanted to go on my own and feel independent.

At the orientation the go over lots of info about gastric bypass AND the lapband. The go over the things you'll need to do Pre-op AND post-op, nutritionally and physically. It's really informative and I learned a lot there.

thank you so much for all your help and info, I really appreciate it. Yeah I wish I was already approved but the letter I received specifically said "This is not approval for surgery, it is just an approval for further consultation and evaluation. I am really hoping I get approved, even though my BMI is not 40, it is like 37.5 or something like that, but I will find out for sure on 12/14, thanks again.

I had a hard time getting referred but finally did last week. My BMI is 41 but I still have not heard anything from Richmond. It has been over a week now. I called to today and they told me that it takes up to three weeks to get scheduled for orientation and just to wait a bit more to hear from them.

Seems like it is taking me longer than most. I wanted to have this orientation done before January so I can start to lose weight.

Keep checking my Kaiser everyday to see if something shows up there. I hope I get a bit of a warning so I can get the time off.

Just anxiously waiting..........................I will be so happy when it all gets started. I am more and more sure everyday about this whole lap band thing. I am tired of the status quo and really am looking forward to a change.

I am in Roseville

Hi I'm going to orientation on Sunday 12/14/08 as well. Was your BMI ever 40 because I heard that Kaiser will not even consider the surgery if it's not. Maybe 35 BMI or higher with co-morb I believe, it's all so confusing to me. Does anyone know what weight they start at for you to start losing weight?

My BMI is between 40 and 41 depending on the day. I have been at this weight for 2 years don't move up or down much. So frustrating.

My PCP didn't want to refer me but she did. She knew I had done my research and that I was eligible. She kept asking me are you really sure this is the best way. She wrote on my referral patient has done alot of research and wants lap band surgery.

I am going to orientation on December 16, 2008. I wish it was on December 14, 2008 so I didn't have to miss work but I am going to Richmond not Fremont. Fremont was to far for me.

I only have high cholesteral and high blood pressure.