Any current No. Cal Kaiser patients?

swishbc · 11-24-2008, 11:42 PM

Hi, I'm Christine and I'm just starting the LAP-BAND® process with Kaiser, Richmond. My 5 hour orientation is tomorrow (11/25) and I'm so excited to get the ball rolling and be on my way!

Just wondering if anyone else is currently going through Kaiser and how your experiences are so far. They have told me that it's about 6-12 months from orientation to surgery, but if I'm able to call and take cancellation appts and lose the required wait that I could be as soon as 4-6 months...I'm hoping for 4! :)

Anyway, I look forward to meeting you all!

momcof3 · 11-25-2008, 11:08 AM

I got banded at Richmond Kaiser on Aug 26 - I went to orientation on May 9 - so the process took a little less than 4 mths for me. The quicker you get to your goal weight they set for you, the quicker you get surgery. Feel free to e-mail me directly if you want.

swishbc · 11-30-2008, 05:19 PM

How did your Thanksgiving go? Were you able to eat a little bit of the yummy stuff? I did really well and only had a small plate full of food. I ate one piece of pumpkin pie and my only was the homemade rolls...I ate 3. BUT--I started my 1200 cal diet on Friday and I'm not looking back!

Hope you had a good one!

momcof3 · 11-30-2008, 11:00 PM

It didn't go too well. I ate 3 black olives while waiting for the turkey to get done. Then I ate about 1/3 c dark turkey with gravy, one bite of stuffing and one bite of yams. Then the stuffing and yams came back up and it took about an hour for the pain to go away. On Friday for leftovers I had 1/3 c chopped up dark turkey with gravy and one bite of yams and was okay.
Here's hoping your week goes well. I need to get in more exercise this week.

riley4183 · 12-01-2008, 11:02 AM

Hi Christine, I am at Kaiser Richmond too . . . same stage you are, I had orientation 3 weeks ago and I have my psych appt. on the 11th. The first 10 lbs. came off quickly, but it's really hard now! I pretty much blew it over turkey day but my goal for myself was to not gain so I guess I should just be happy that (so far) i have achieved that. Oh yes and Momcof3 is my Kaiser idol, I weighed in @ the same weight as her and look at her now! Go girl!

I am in a 14-week weight loss surgery class @ Kaiser Santa Rosa, the patients are all either Richmond or South San Francisco so I get to compare . . . Richmond seems to be months faster that South SF, but south SF at least books 2 appointments in 1 day for folks. It is a great program, I am learning SO much about myself and why I overeat. I plan to be very well prepared for surgery!

Take care,

Riley

swishbc · 12-01-2008, 01:46 PM

Is your 14 week class mandatory or are you doing it for yourself? I wish Richmond would schedule 2 appts in a day since I have to drive an hour (or a little more) for each appt. It would make it so much easier!

momcof3 · 12-01-2008, 03:31 PM

Richmond did schedule some of the appointment two in one day - they do the pre-op nutritionist and surgeon appointments the same day and the 2 pre-op classes the same day. I made a total of 5 trips to Richmond from Sacramento, but it was worth it to me to have them pay for the surgery.

swrktp · 12-07-2008, 08:36 PM

I am just starting the Kaiser process as of last week and anxiously waiting for my orientation appointment. I called last week and they said to wait a couple of weeks and they will call me to schedule me in.

Just would love any information about the process. I am going through Richmond and work full time so trying to figure out how much time off I will need to take in the next few months.

I hope to be banded before summer if all goes well. Would love to hear your advice and info from people who are dealing with the same stuff.

My family is not really supportive of all this so also looking for a support system as well. I don't think people get what banding really is. I also heard that Kaiser pushes for gastric as well but I am not ready for that.

Any information or advised.............

swrktp · 12-07-2008, 08:38 PM

Did you have to spend the night in the hospital with the LAP-BAND® procedure? I would rather go home if possible.

swishbc · 12-08-2008, 12:36 AM

Hi there and welcome! This is such an exciting journey, isn't it? I had orientation in Richmond on 11/25 and I have my appt with the surgeon this wednesday 12/10. At orientation the said it's about a 4-6 month process from orientation to surgery so I'm thinking positive and hoping to be banded by March.

They told us that it's an out-patient surgery and most people (assuming there are no complications) go home within 6 hours after surgery. They said the some people go back to work within a week while others take a month off, it all depends on how your body heals.

That's a bummer that your family isn't supportive. Maybe you can find some informative websites where you can print out some info for them to help them understand what it's all about. Some of my friends and family were nervous when I told them about getting the LAP-BAND®, but when I told them more about it they were much more supportive. A lot of them were thinking that I was doing gastric bypass and were worried about major surgery and healing...but that's now what I'm doing. :)

Good to meet you! Hopefully I'll have lots more info for you after meeting the surgeon on Wednesday!

InsideOut · 12-09-2008, 11:12 PM

I am going to Kaiser Richmond as well, I have attended my orientation, nutrition and psych appointments. I meet with the Surgeon on Thursday. Hoping he'll give me my goal weight and the go ahead, because I just need a specific number and a date to lose it by and I'll lose it. I just need goals. I'm on messanger if anyone wants to chat! sheenalane2004@yahoo.com

riley4183 · 12-10-2008, 11:02 PM

Christine how did the surgeon appt. go today??

Riley

swrktp · 12-10-2008, 11:14 PM

I would love to here how it went today as well.

I am still waiting for a phone call or letter to let me know when my orientation is.

swishbc · 12-11-2008, 12:36 AM

It was AWESOME!!! I LOVE LOVE Dr. Fisher. I'm so glad he's going to be my surgeon. According to their scale, I have lost 9 lbs in 2 weeks. (since my orientation weigh-in). He was very proud of me and told me I'm doing great. He wants me to lose 15 more lbs before surgery and I'm totally cool with that. He told me I don't have to attend the lifestyles/nutrition 5 hour course because I'm doing so well and he knows I'm on a great course to surgery. YAY!

I was going to get an appt for the psych for 1/5/09 and before they scheduled it I asked if there were any earlier cancellations and she said there was one for 9am TOMORROW MORNING!! So, I'm headed back to Richmond tomorrow morning for that. Then I'll be done pretty much!

He's not assigning me a case manager, he just set it up so we can email eachother and he told me to see psych tomorrow, then lose the rest of the 15 lbs. When I've done that I'll go to my local Kaiser center and have them weight me so it'll be on my record, then email him and let me know. He'll send my labs over to my Kaiser office that day and I'll go get my EKG, chest xray and bloodwork done. When that's done he'll schedule my surgery and that'll be about 4-6 weeks out from then.

SO!! If I can kick butt and lose this 15 lbs fast then I could be in surgery by Feb! That's my goal. It really couldn't have gone any better. He was totally in agreement that LAP-BAND® was ideal for me and not gastric bypass.

A cool compliment I got was that he said within a few minutes of talking to a new patient he gets a really good idea if the patient will be successful or unsuccessful with the LAP-BAND®. He said with my motivation and determination he knows I'll be a success with the LAP-BAND®. That made me feel really good. :)

riley4183 · 12-12-2008, 12:59 AM

Dr. Baggs anyone? Richmond Kaiser? They gave me a choice and I asked for the one who does the most Lap-Bands, so they signed me up with Dr. Baggs. Would love to hear feedback if anyone has had him!

Riley