KAISER CALIFORNIA APPROVAL QUESTIONS

If all else fails I'm pretty sure she can appeal the weight loss requirement. This might help.

Hi Megan,

Iam in the Fremont program and there are NO classes of any kind required.  I live in Sacto, and we are all sent to Fremont.

I just had my psych eval last friday, and now wait for a date for a VSG, which Fremont just started offering.

Yes, one does attend an orientation meeting, then a surgical consult where you are told to lose the 10%.  However fast one can lose it, then you will be closer to getting a date...

I hope this helps...

This does help! This is exactly what she went through. Do you know if there is any help offered to get that 10% off? She is really having a hard time. She is also afraid that if she hits it she may be weighed before surgery and if she gains 5lbs they may reschedule.  Her sister and mom had VSG (self pay) but she was going RNY (before Kaiser offered VSG). We are under the impression that the BMI requirements for VSG through Kaiser are a bit higher. Do you know if this is true?

Thanks again for your help!

I dunno about the BMI requirements being higher for a VSG.  I doubt its true cause since my chart has been updated to reflect my wanting the VSG not RNY, no one has said anything.

Your friend just needs to go through the program, and deal with it all, one step at a time.  At 1st we all wanna scream.."OMGo**** could take a WHOLE year?"  But ya know, its not time wasted, and what are we doing for the next year anyway, staying obese?

I lost the wt. by cutting out almost ALL fats & fast foods. I make sure Iam home to make/cook meals...I'm below the 10%, took me about 9-10 months.  Its averaged out to 5lbs. a month, which really is do-able. 

I think losing slowly has helped to keep the wt. from coming back....If she crash diets the wt. could come back right before her surgery date unless she watches it...

 

Hi there,
  I went through Kaiser Fremont.. and it was soooo easy.. I guess I'm lucky in that respect.  I know my surgeon was pretty strict about the being at their set goal weight on the day of surgery.. they weigh you right before they do all the IV's etc.  I didn't have to do any of those classes or anything, but I followed the 1200 calorie eating guide they gave us and dropped more than my ten percent.  I wish your friend the best in dropping the weight and a successful surgery

Thank you! Yes it sounds like they don't have to do any classes for the Fremont location. I guess she just needs to follow that 1200 calorie diet very strictly. As we know, thats the hardest part! I have to encourage her.

I have Kaiser I am three classes away from being done with my set of classes. We had a recommendation to lose the 10% it shows your commitment level.

The biggest thing for me was to ONLY drink water ( and some milk) I dropped all juice, all soda, all coffee EVERYTHING!!!!

I reached my 10 as of half way through classes. And have your friend start exercising... Even if its just walking around the block.

First, I am pre-op with surgery scheduled on 12/19.  As I'm sure you can tell, each Kaiser Bariatrics program is different.  I am going through the So. San Francisco Kaiser and have been following the pre-op diet religiously since day one.  I've dropped from 210 day of orientation to 191.  The 10% is a general rule and we were given our goal weight when we had our first consultation with the surgeon; I was at 199 when I met with the surgeon and my goal weight ended up being 194.

With Kaiser SF there were classes you had to attend, appts with nutritionists, psych eval, 1st consult with surgeon, reach goal weight, get weight charted, wait for appt with your actual surgeon, get surgery date, meet with surgeon and anesthesiologist, then surgery. BUT, we did not have a 20 week program or anything like that.  It was basically you got through the classes, lost the required weight and then progressed like that.  I could have done a crash diet, lost the weight in 2 months and probably had surgery in July, but that wouldn't have taught me anything.

From what I understand though, we were the last group to get through that way.  I believe there is now a 6 month program in place.

There are two main reasons to lose the weight: get your liver smaller so they have more room to work since it is very close to where they will be working, and to show you are commited to changing your lifestyle.  I was happy to lose whatever weight they asked because it also showed me that I was ready to make the change.

We were told in orientation and through out the process to make sure we did not gain weight back otherwise surgery would be canceled.  Like another poster said, they will weigh you before surgery and my doc said they will cancel surgery right there and then if you are over.

You can read the post on my page if you'd like to get a better feel of how things have gone for me.  I hope all of my rambling will help in one way or another.

Let me know if you have any questions.

I don't know about other regions, but the South San Francisco program gives pre-op patients an excellent binder with a ton of info on post-op life, but also pre-op preparations. If you friend has this and follows the pre-op diet, there are two huge advantages. One, she will lose weight, and two, she will prepare herself for life after surgery. I can't tell you how many wls newbies I know of *****ally struggle because of the abrupt lifestyle shift. 

All of the Kaiser hoops can seem like a hassle, but if you take the required and recommended classes, and use the time to prep yourself for the lifestyle, it's SO worth it. When I started the process (14 months before surgery), I thought I'd never get there. I was discouraged by the weight loss requirements, too. Let's see, some of the desperate things I tried ... I looked up how much weight you could lose by cutting your hair (mine was long). On the day I reached goal weight at my surgeon's office, I wore an outfit I had carefully weighed -- a skirt and top weighing about 1/2 pound! lol. I took off my shoes and coat at the dr's office.

Let your friend know that the process is long and the pre-op weight loss is hard (heck, isn't that the point of getting wls??) ... just celebrate the process, stay motivated, and take the time to learn as much as you can. I was so glad I'd spent six months kicking my carb addiction before surgery. I don't have to struggle with it now that I'm newly sleeved.

If your friend is interested in the vsg, tell her to check it out. It's not too late. I thought I was going to get the RNY until my first meeting with my surgeon. He's the one *****commended the sleeve for me, based on my past medical history.

Good luck!
Laura

Thanks Laura, I think it is so awesome that Kaiser paid for the VSG for you! I would have had that surgery if my insurance would have paid. They just wouldn't. Actually my friends sister and mother both had the VSG last year. She only was doing RNY because when she started the program Kaiser wasn't paying for them yet. I have heard from some people at our support group that the SSF location (your doc I think) is doing more than they are in Fremont location. I will send her your post though. Thanks for the info!