New to site! Just refered to Kaiser Fremont. . .

Hi everyone!

I just signed up for the site and am looking forward to talking to everyone and getting to know everyone's stories!

I have a couple of questions regarding the process of NorCal Kaiser's WLS. . .I just got word from my PCP that he referred me to Fremont -- now I am assuming I will start the orientation process there? How long does that typically take?

From what I have read, I have gotten mixed feelings on the speediness of Fremont. I hope it's not an overly lengthy process.

Thanks for listening :)

Welcome Sweetninnie to the Cali Board.  Better people you will not find ;-)  I am a Kaiser Richmond patient (although live in Sacramento).  My support group has several people who went thru Fremont; however, Sacramento seems to now be referring more and more to Richmond.

First off...if you don't hear from Fremont within 2 weeks max...call your PCP and get the number for Fremont...and CALL THEM!  With Kaiser, you MUST be Pro-Active with your surgery.  Fremont is use to getting phone calls...and I understand that Nancy (no, not me LOL)in the office is extremely helpful ^_^

Once you start with Fremont, your journey will remain there.  I would imagine you should hear from them within 2 weeks, to set up your first orientation meeting, which is a group meeting.  From what I'm hearing from my group, it could be up to 2 months before this first meeting takes place.  Both Fremont and Richmond are quite different from So Cali facilities...protocols (requirements) are vastly different and even between Fremont and Richmond, the program has differences.  But with that said, once you have orientation, and you are given a surgery goal weight, the ball is squarely in your court.  It will be up to you to keep in contact with Fremont (at least once a month with a report of weight progress) and how fast or slow you reach the surgery goal weight. 

At one time, Fremont was a little slow compared to Richmond on getting people to surgery...but that was because they were being inundated with referrals.  That I understand has been improved since Sacramento and surrounding areas are now sending people to Richmond.

The most important thing to remember once you get to surgery goal wt...tell Fremont you will take a cancellation!! Assuming you can go on the drop of a hat....I have a friend who was told surgery was 2 months away...then got called the very next week, with 3 days notice, that there was a cancellation..would he like to fill the opening LOL

Everyone I've talked to that has gone to Fremont are extremely happy with them as far as WLS goes. (haven't heard about any other surgery types).  I wish you the best...keep posting...ask all your questions...and be sure to keep us informed of your progress!!    And, if you're close enough..check out 2Barb's post regarding the No Cali Luncheon (this weekend!) that we have in Concord once a month.  It's open to all interested parties in WLS, no matter what stage you are in or just gathering info...please join us..we promise you'll have a GREAT time! ^_^
Nancy aka Sunray
PS  I'm not usually soooo long-winded!! Egads..what got into me?  LOL

Welcome to the boards and to Kaisers WLS program. =) I went through Richmond's program but like Nancy (we go to the same support group) we know a little bit about the Fremont program too. If you would like to join a support group we have in South Sacramento every Monday night. Many people come who have gone through Fremont's program so a lot of your questions can be answered and/or they can refer you to whomever you need to harass down in Fremont to get the answers. Its a great bunch of people!

Like I said our meetings are Monday nights from 7:00 to 8:30PM. We meet at the South Sacramento Kaiser Medical Office Building - not the hospital building the other building across the street. The address is 7300 Whndham Drive, Sacramento, CA 95823. Second floor room #3.  

Everyone seems to have a different experience with the Kaiser programs - some take a while to get through and others, like me, zip right on through quickly and come out the otherside.

I had Dr. Chu in fremont.  My whole process from referral to sugery was 4 mos.
Here is some stuff that fremont has online and their contact info.  squeeky wheel gets the grease.  call them and ask when their next orientation is scheduled and inform them that you have recieved a referral and want to schedule your orientation.  They only do sporadically.
feel free to shoot me questions :-)  good luck and  welcome!  -Deb

http://www.permanente.net/homepage/kaiser/pdf/50137.pdf
http://www.permanente.net/homepage/kaiser/pdf/43870.pdf

Niles West Building, 1st floor

Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m;. to 5 p.m.

Advice/appointments: 510-248-3335

Welcome to the Cali Board. I am not a Kaiser Patient but we have many here who are. Please feel free to post anytime and join in on any post you may have. We are looking forward to getting to know you.

Welcome to the Board!  Like Deb, I am also a Kaiser Fremont Patient & my surgeon is Dr. Chu as well.  My process took almost a year, but that was partly my fault cause I took a little longer to get my 10% weight off.  My experience was wonderful and everyone at the Fremont office is very nice.  You can also shoot me any questions you have. 

 Welcome !

I am going thru fremont kaiser i was referred in late decemeber , I had my oreintation in fremont Jan 9, it was 3 weeks later i had my surgeon  consult which that appointment was made at the time of orientation, at orientatation i was told my official weight and then i started following the preop diet in the book to get off my 10% , i had the surgery consult and my Dr will be Dr Dutta , now it is up to me to lose now then i can do my physic eval and once i get my with in 5lbs of my 10% i get a surgery date .. the time from my referral to orientation was only 3 weeks my husband had his in 2 weeks and has consult is in 2 weeks .. this how it has workd for us. I have not had a bad experiance yet in the process .. You can go to the kaiser Fremont bariatric website and read the patient binder , which they will give you when you go to orientation. Good luck
here is the link ... 

http://www.permanente.net/homepage/kaiser/pages/d18071-top.h tml

I was referred in April by my pcp, received a letter within two weeks with my appointment for orientation. From the referral to orientation was 6 weeks, the surgeon and dietitian appointments were scheduled for 10 days later. I had been losing some weight, before my meeting with surgeon, so when I met with him, I only had 8 more lbs to go. That was in early june, reached my goal weight in July, and had surgery August 30th. So, a total of of 3-4 months. I followed the diet plan in the binder, which was very helpful and started logging my food. Alot of this depends upon you and how quickly you reach goal weight. Once you reach goal weight, surgery will be scheduled within about 4-6 weeks or sooner. Get placed on the cancellation list and it may happen sooner for you. Spend this time reading the binder and doing your research on the different types of surgery.

WOW!

The responses have been overwhelming and SO helpful! Thank you all so much for taking the time to respond to me :) I really appreciate it!

Well, funny story -- I got the email about my orientation appointment TODAY! I was so excited when I opened up my email! It is scheduled for Sunday the 27th! So far everything has been going really smoothly. I took the WLS informative class on 2/15, got the referral on the 16th and now my class will be on the 27th! Three steps down all within two weeks! I'm starting to think that it's fate and I know that I am doing this at the right time!

I am assuming that I will have to lose close to or if not 28lbs. . .I have just started to take up running and have dabbled into eating a more Paleo style diet. . .Hopefully I can shed it pretty quickly. Although, 28lbs is quite a hefty amount.

But, I know I can do it :) If there's a will, there's a way!

Hi and welcome!
     Actually, you don't have to lose the 10% if you can't or don't want to. Here's a link to a recent thread on this forum on this very topic:  http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/CA/4320488/Kaiser-WLS-They -will-cover-the-DS-and-NOBODY-has-to-do/

Of course, if you WANT to lose weight pre-op, that's fine. But no one at Kaiser is going to tell you that you can appeal this, that's for sure!

Also, no one at Kaiser is going to tell you that there is another surgical option that they don't do called the duodenal switch. The DS has the best results of any wls for excess weight loss and for maintaining that weight loss. It also has the best results for resolution of almost every comorbidity. It's approved by the ASMBS (American society for metabolic and bariatric surgery), NIH, Medicare,and every other major organization involved in wls. Just not NorCal Kaiser. But again, if you were to learn more about it and decide that it is right for you, this can also be successfully appealed.
    If you are interested, drop me a pm and I'll tell you more about it. And definitely read on all the different surgery boards to learn more about all your options, keeping in mind that you really do have options. And whatever you decide, I wish you every success.

Larra