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

I totally know how you feel, once you've made "the" decision, it has to happen now! That's how I felt anyways. Well I had to wait and wait, during this time I decided to quit eating all pastas, breads, potatoes, sugars, basically everything I was addicted to. I found it fairly easy, I knew what my goal was! I learned so much in my classes, # 1 was serving size! I thought at first, are you kidding me? Well you can do it my friend. Like each and everyone of us say "if I can do it, so can you" but please remember it's not easy! It's hard takes work, not an easy fix. Get everything right in your head before you move on! I believe you can do it! Classes are such a blessing. Good luck! KO

I have Kaiser and it will be about 10 months from the time I was first approved for the bariatric program and when I will have surgery (probably in late October or November).  Yes it has taken a long time, but I also think it has been really beneficial for me.  I have lost over 30 pounds, started a regular exercise program of walking and Pilates, started eating 6 small meals a day and in general trying to make the changes now so that I will be more successful post-surgery.  There is a reason the program takes awhile at Kaiser.  They've designed it that way to help you.  The only way to shave off time is to start the food behaviors now (track what you eat, lose weight, start taking vitamins, start an exercise program).  If you start that now, you should be able to shave  couple of months off.  Also, you cannot have surgery until you stop smoking.  

I look at this time as a gift.  Good luck.  It will be over before you know it.

Kaiser is horrible.  I have it and have been told for years that they would not refer me to the department that does WLS because I do not look fat enough.  They have watched me go from a fat healthy person, to a fat unhealthy person over the last 5-7 years.  I recently gave up on them and decided to self pay because I am worth it.  it took a long time to come to that realization, but I am very happy that is has finally come.

i wish you good luck, and agree with the other posters who advise you to seek counseling.

Applied for surgery November 2009, and surgery was March 2011. I know about waiting. I did a lot of research and learned how to make changes to my lifestyle BEFORE surgery. Stop smoking now. That's a change you need to make. I know people who have said that they had to be six months smoke-free before surgery. Not sure if they do testing or not in your area, but if you don't comply, you could be delayed even more. 

There are a lot of people waiting, just make the most of it, and take the advice of the vets who have been there, done that. Good luck!

Patience is the key to the whole process, both pre-op and post op.  I don't have Kaiser but it took me about 2 years before I got the surgery including denial, appeal and finally changing insurance.  It was worth it.  I used that time  to practice what I would need to do after surgery.

After surgery patience is needed also.  Sometimes the scale just doesn't seem to move enough at all! And there are ways to mess this up!  We have seen some people that have pasta or potato chips at 3 weeks out.  We don't want to see someone do this if they are not ready. 

You may be able to ask to be put on a call list in case anyone cancels before Oct.  In the meantime; practice, research, and keep coming to this site.  There is a lot of information on here.

Waiting is part of the plan; many people here wait 9 months to a year or even longer. Waiting for classes, for insurance approval, for surgery to be scheduled. Get used to it!

"Sparking a fire" and calling your surgeon and/or insurance office frequently may backfire on you. Some say that the "squeaky wheel gets the grease;" I'm inclined to think that coming across to office staff as whiny/obnoxious/overly-persistent/etc. makes them less likely to go out of their way to help you and do anything extra to get you in for surgery more quickly.

You are not the only person trying to get in for surgery. We've all been impatient-- when you've made your decision, you want to get in NOW, it's exciting and you want to get it done! But everybody else in the queue feels the same way, and if they're all trying to push their way to the front of the line, then nobody is going to move any faster.

To some I say thanks, very insightful. I like the idea of practicing one thing per week to get my ducks in a row. This journey is mine to take. I have been reading a ton. I was a lot heavier. I lost 82lbs and gained 47 back on my last bout. I know nothing is easy or a quick fix when it comes to the surgery. I have seen success stories and more scary, my own sister failed her surgery. I am afraid in a lot of way and excited in a lot of ways. I will do everything I have to, so that I can be a successful and healthy me. My main motivation is my daughter. Teaching her to be healthy, Cant really do that without me being actively healthy. When I said I was not ready to start try to lose the weight and stop the smoking, it was because I was going to start/stop when I started my first class. ie the eagerness to start the classes. Smoking eh... No big deal. I haven't had one yet today. The weight thing is a little harder because what I am working on is finding what I CAN eat. There is so much you can't this, you can't that. I was thinking the classes would help. And was going to make a committed start to offing the pre-weight in unison with the classes.  Otherwise I will be yo yo-ing, Starving then over eating as usual on my own.

Now, for the most part, I really wish I had never posted this thread. But I do hope other kaiser people will read this  when they are in those beginning stages and would like info from the kaiser related experiences. It is very hard to be told something and given unrealistic hope by the very people you are going to be working with to make a better and healthier you. It looks like a lot of people just forgot how they felt at the beginning and have taken up the the attitude that so many people have toward people whom are struggling with weight. When talking to people waiting to get this kicked off, please take yourself back and remember that it is easier said than done. I wish luck to all in my position and a healthy future to all and all.

Thanks Again

Check out bariatricfoodie.com for some wonderful recipes that are delicious (even kids will like them) and healthy, like low in carbs, high in protein, etc.  You will find all kinds of delicious foods you can eat.  That has helped me a whole lot, to have really tasty food that is good for me.  If I'm eating something really yummy, I don't feel deprived and I'm much less likely to crave the food that isn't good for me.

For example, I make the cheesecake Greek yogurt stuff.  I take plain Greek yogurt and mix in sugar free cheesecake pudding mix and a little splenda.  Tastes just like cheesecake.  then I might top it with no sugar added cherry pie filling and crumble up a graham cracker on top.  Cherry cheesecake, but high in protein (you can also add protein powder to the yogurt if you want) and low in sugar.  Sometimes I take that to parties and stuff so I can eat that while everyone else is eating cake or whatever.  I don't miss the cake if I am eating cherry cheesecake!   Plus I can eat it for dinner if I want, too.

Thank you I will definitely take a look at that! 

>> It looks like a lot of people just forgot how they felt at the beginning and have taken up the the attitude that so many people have toward people whom are struggling with weight.

How about "a lot of people have seen many post-op struggles and failures on the board and have learned the warning signs of trouble ahead?"

I, for one, DO remember how impatient I was. And if somebody with a "been there, done that" t-shirt spotted something seriously wrong with my attitude that might have flagged a problem, it would have been good to hear. That's just me, though, YMMV.