Kaiser Options Program - Worth The Wait? What Can I do?

I guess you'd need to ask them how to speed things up.  I didn't have to take a bunch of classes, just one pre-op class at my surgeon's office and he held those a couple times a month so I was able to get in for that right away.  It took me about four months from my first appointment until surgery day.

You are very lucky! Since I started this, I have become more noticeably uncomfortable with myself. I feel like at least if I can get the ball rolling faster, I wont think about it so much. 

I have Kaiser and I went through the options classes, I started looking into it in end of Aug 2013 and had my surgery end of April this year. Yes it was a long process, but worth every minute of the wait, plus I had to drive an hr to and from classes each week. Time flew by. I also had the issue with when classes would start and so on. Go for it! And what Kaiser told me was "be patient" you really have no choice!

I recommend that you seek counseling. Surgery will certainly help you lose weight but you also need to change your mindset as well.  This is a huge lifestyle change. There will be ups and downs and you'll have to be able to handle them without smoking and without turning to old eating habits. Going to counseling definitely helped me.  Good luck to you.

Well, you probably won't like my advice either but here it is ...

See a haemotologist about your iron issues

Buy some vitamin D and start taking it to get your levels to normal (it is going to be easier to do this pre-op than post op, when many of us struggle)

Stop smoking (it's more dangerous than being morbidly obese, it makes you smell, and will make you susceptible to poor healing and ulcers - not good)

Try and eat as healthily as possible.

If you fail to do these things, you will keep being pushed back - do what you know you are supposed to do and you'll sail through your pre-op classes.  Rail against the system and you'll just keep being put to the back of the queue!

The days of having this surgery within weeks (as I did 10 years ago) are long gone.   6 months of diet and classes is about the minimum you can expect - could be up to a year if you don't get your blood results where they should be and continue to smoke - even if it's only one a day!

You go Kim!  You are so right!  Start now getting ready. It is never too early.  I had 3 months of pre op classes and weight management requirements with Medicare.  I almost wish I had had to do more.  Pre op is so very important for post op performance.  

Frankly, I think you may have unreasonable expectations.  For me, it took 11 months to get to surgery -- and there were a lot of steps in between.  Sure, I felt impatient sometimes, but this is a huge change and really does take a good mindset to be successful.  Use the time to make positive changes in your relationship with food, to quit smoking completely and to change how you justify those relationships.  I am sure you will have surgery sooner than you realize!

Thank you all. I really do apriciate the feed back and the actual accounts of time. I donot have uunrealistic expectations.  I am going to eat right and stop smoking. I am one of the few in orientation that am looking forward to the classes. I just wasn't sure if there was a way to expidite me getting into the classes. It is what it is.IlI'll have to wait. Better now than never! 

I know exactly how you feel, I went into my surgeons office on Jan 22nd for orientation.  Surgery was 7/15 so 6 months wait on my end.  I did all I needed to do and jumped through all the hoops. Unfortunetly, there were delays because of mis communication on the nurses,docs etc end - I HAD to advocate for myself and keep on top of them, I was a total wreck when there were delays that could have been prevented. I had been researching gastric bypass for a year and when I made my decission I wanted it NOW.  Once I had my surgery I was so relieved,excited,happy and I still am.  Stay strong and try to remember how long it took to get here and know it can't happen overnight (easier said then done, I know) -- Tomorrow will be 3 weeks out of surgery for me and as of today I'm down to 375 -- 23 pounds down since surgery, I have so much energy and am so excited about my future.  SUCKS to wait -- YOU can do this !

I understand wanting it now.  Since it seems you will need to wait, use the time wisely.

Maybe you can make a list of things to start putting into practice and then add one new thing each week or so.  Like, one week start taking a multivitamin and calcium every day.  The next week, start making sure you drink at least 64 oz of liquid a day.  The next week, practice not drinking with meals (it can take a while to get used to that one).  The next week, start some sort of exercise, even if it's just a 10 minute walk each day.  The next week, start tracking how many grams of protein you get each day.  You get the idea.

I think if you make a list of all the stuff you can start practicing pre-op, you'll see you have a LOT to do and then you'll feel like you're putting the waiting time to good use.

I'm also gonna suggest you read the following about the ASMBS nutritional guidelines.  It should keep you busy for a while!

The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery nutritional guidelines

2013 update to the ASMBS guidelines