My appointment for the surgeon is Monday... and some questions????

OOOOHHH BOYYYY!!!!  This is really moving along.  I am having my surgery through Pacific Bariatric Group.   I haven't been so happy yet scared since I found out I was going to be induced with my first child.   Okay... drama over I go to see the surgeon, internist, and psych on monday.... Anyone had surgery by this group?   How long will the appointments take?   Better yet... How long before I find out if they will do the surgery and then how long before it can be scheduled?     Thanks for any answers... I really appreciate it. 

Hi and congratulations!! I had my surgery with Dr. Zorn at Pac Bar. The group is fantastic! I had Dr. Kehar as my internist. He did an EKG and went over the meds I was taking and went over some of the procedures. I think that appointment took less than a 1/2 hour. My psych appointment was about 20 minutes and the woman I spoke to was great. And she has the cutest little dog. My appointment with the surgeon was about 30-45 minutes, and we went over my meds and the surgical procedures. I had surgery about 6 weeks after all my evaluations and lab tests came back. Good luck! =)

Here's an excerp from my profile.  I also had Dr. Tanaka.  He is the bomb!!  JudyAnne 3/30/05

Today was the marathon day in San Diego. I made my stop at Ever After yesterday afternoon and then checked into the Handlery Resort on Hotel Circle. What a disappointment that hotel was. They gave my room to someone else early in the day and so I had to have a smoking room. I can't stand the smell of stale cigarette smoke especially in a closed in room that I have to sleep in! I opened up the slider on the balcony and the room aired out. When I checked out this morning, $40 was taken off my bill because of the inconvenience. Not too shabby, but still didn't make up for the nasty smell.

All the consults went well. Dr. Tanaka is a dear and not as harsh as I thought he would be. He asked me for my medications and of course they were in my envelope on the floor. I climbed down off the exam table, showed a lot of skin as that HUGE gown fell off my shoulder, and grabbed the envelope. I tried to hand him the paper I had typed out but he said to give them to him verbally. Hmmmmm . . . He told me I HAVE to have the surgery open because of my previous hysterectomy. That's okay with me. Then he asked if I had any questions and of course I had to climb down again, show some more skin (those gowns are really something!!!) and get my question paper. He was very patient. Answered everything and said the decision would rest with "the other two."

The psych was delightful. Her name is Judy Olmstead. Don't know why I was sooooo nervous!! She and I discovered that we had a lot in common. Everything from losing a family cat who had been with us over 15 years, to losing our moms in the past couple of months from the exact same thing, to our names being the same. We had very similar childhoods, too. I felt like I was talking with a friend instead of a psych. She asked me to come back to visit her after the surgery.

Then it was off to wait for the internist, Dr. Khehar I was there almost 2 hours early (12:10 for a 2:00 appt), so I decided to sit and read. During the day I finished almost all of Carnie WIlson's Gut Feelings. The doc was at lunch at the time. He took a very long lunch and finally saw me at 1:45. He asked me, "When did you first realize that you were overweight?" I said at about 10. He looked at me with big eyes and said, "So, you have been overweight for over 40 years?" Don't know why he seemed so shocked. Maybe it was because he was tall and lanky. He thought I would be an excellent wls candidate and wished me well.

So here I sit. The waiting begins again. Pacific Bariatric's paperwork says I will be contacted in 21 days. However, Myla, my caseworker, said it will be closer to 10 days. Then the surgery date could be another 2 months! Oh, I hope and pray that it is much, much sooner.

By the way, I asked Dr. Tanaka how long I would be in the hospital. He said 3 to 4 days. Then I asked if I had to stay in San Diego and he said yes, for a few more days after leaving the hospital. I know my kids will both have to work, so I am going to reserve the Summerset Suites since it is so close and I can walk to any appt I might have. I just have to hope for a Monday date so they can take me down on Sunday and stay Monday. Then, when I am ready to be completely able to return home, I will call one of the kids for a ride!!! My daughter is in the middle of student teaching and can not take off more than a day. My son is an automotive tech apprentice and I'd hate for him to miss work, too. I really don't mind being alone in a hotel. Figure I can get lots of reading and scrapbooking done!!


Oh - forgot to mention one important detail. I almost didn't qualify today because I lost about 12 pounds and my BMI is now under 40. Go figure!!

Hi, I had mine done by Dr Zorn and he was real nice..Dr Kehar for me was ok I felt really rushed by him..The shrink was great... I to was so scared... but i just took it one app at a time... plus i was fifty and i was sure i would die on the table... but here i am around for another day Cate 48

Hi,  Im having my surgery done through Pacific Bariatrics as well.  Im waiting on my approval from Kaiser before I continue to the next step.  I have a friend that went to see the surgeon, psych and internist about 2 weeks ago and she got her surgery date on friday.  she that is was easy and the longest appaintment you have is with the surgeon because he goes over the procedure and all that jazz.   His name is Dr. Tanaka.  email me if you have any questions i mean for support or something [email protected] Lots of luck