New with questions about wls & kaiser, northern cali

Hello everyone! 

   I would love to talk to anyone who has gone through/is going through their wls with kaiser. Probaly fremont or richmond, i dont know which they would send me to.
I want to find out about the requirements they have & the costs involved.
This is my very first inquiry on this, I'm jsut trying to get a baseline of whats involved, and i dont know where to start...

Hi Mary, I am with Kaiser. I jumped through all of their loops but I just couldn't lose their required 10% to qualify for surgery. At the time I was researching, they only offered the RNY and I thought that was my only choice. I wrote here about being frustrated with their 10% requirement and got some good advice to appeal to the DMHC (state insurance board) to overturn that decision. I was also advised that while I was at it I should look into the DS, which Kaiser does not offer, and if interested to ask for that as well. I discovered that the DS was a better choice for me with my needs for NSAIDS to relieve my arthritis pain and because the DS offers a better diabetes cure. I sailed through my appeals and had my surgery with the best DS surgeon around 5 months ago. I have lost nearly 70 pounds so far. I also have to mention that compared to my friends with the RNY, the DS is much easier to live with--for me. If you have any questions feel free to PM me.

I had my surgery Kaiser in Richmond in Sept of 08. The program is very similar to Fremont, (my sis had RN-Y at Kaiser Fremont) They both have you get a referral from your PCP and then send you to an orientation (all day) they give you a ton of info and schedule your first visit for psych eval. after that  a nut apt. and after that an apt with your surgeon to decide what surgery you will have and your required weight loss. They tell you 10% but your surgeon may say a bit less is okay. They now offer the sleeve, band and rn-y. Richmond requires you go in to be weighed before each apt. they do not do the monthly weight checks. When you get to your surgeons goal you go in for another nut apt and an apt with your case manager then they set your date, As for cost call the medical plan office and they will tell you what your cost is every plan is different. I had to pay $20 per visit and $100 for my surgery. My sis payed a lot more. Good Luck and Keep us posted. Kristi

Thanks everyone for the replies! As soon as I get up the nerve to start this conversation with my husband (I'm a stay home mom, so anything financial has to be discussed) I will be asking my PCP for a referral, & checking into the cost involved on our plan, to see if this is do-able.

One more general question about the recovery time. I keep seeing weeks till you can return to "normal" activities, but i'm sure not EVERYONE takes weeks off of life, right?  I have a two year old and a one year old to take care of every day. How long is the hospital stay (with RN-Y, since it seems to be most common with kaiser) and about  how long after that would it probaly take for me to be able to move around enough to care for kids? 

I am a little late getting to this question - sorry if you have already heard all of this. I went through Kaiser Richmond - had a great experience. Like every one else said your plan dictates how much you pay for the surgery - mine was my co-pay for the visits to see the Doc and such and then one day's hospitalization which for me was $400.00. Again that depends on your plan. As for how long it took to get back to normal that is individual too! One of my friends had it done one month before I did and she didn't return to work or doing anything semi-normal for over 6 weeks. As for me I was back at work after 5 days at home - I had the surgery on a Monday - went home on Tuesday and was back at work full time the next Monday. Recovery for me was the easy part! =)

Good luck in your journey I would tell you for me it was the best gift I gave myself!!! =) If you need any support through the process or advice/shoulder to lean on give me a holler.

Juli

I went through Kaiser south san francisco, and it is like the kaiser fremont posts. My kaiser plan had me pay 250.00 for the surgery and my regular 10.00 per visit! The staff and my Dr were and all are so terrific!

I had my surgery on Monday afternoon and was home Tues afternoon.  I got the cost info before I spoke to my hubby, he likes all the fact before he has an opinion, his whole thing was fear of surgery. I am a stay at home mom also, I was doing most of my regular life stuff with in 3-4days. The only physical restriction was lifting so I folded laundry but did not load/unload the washer/dryer that kind of stuff we modified for about a week or two. Your Dr. will go over all that with you way ahead of time so you know. The wait time from referral to orientation can be a few months, you will have lots of time to plan how you will handle post op life, don't let that be a deterrent. You will make it work if its whats right for you.

I live in Campbell and was sent to So SF for the program.
I am very impressed with the level of info they put out, classes, videos etc.
and the staff has been great to work with.
my surgery is next week !!