Is Kaiser horrible?

I just sent off my questionaire for Kaiser's bariatric program today and I was curious if anyone else had any words of wisdom about them?  I need all the help I can get!! Thanks Angela

Angela: Kaiser isn't  that bad, It took me 18 months to get thru all their hoops, are you plaaning on having your surgery at Kaiser Sunnyside?  I had my surgery thru them 13 months ago, I have lost 265 lbs, the majority of it pre-op.   Brenda ( the dietician) and Julie the social worker want you to keep a food and exercise journal, they will ask to see it when you meet with them.  It does take awhile from the time you start the process, (orientation) till you get to meet with the surgeon. A good place to start, is to attend one of their monthly support group meetings, you will get lots of good information there.  This month it is I believe the last Saturday of the month at the new Sunnybrooke bldg right next to the hospital.  It starts at 10am and usually lasts 2 hrs.  There might be otherv support meetings thru kaiser, but I am not sure about them. Hope I was of some help to you, Hugs Peggy

Hi Peggy I am definitely not thrilled with what I have been reading about it taking almost 2 years, that is crazy.  If I could lose this weight on my own, I wouldn't be having the surgery. VERY frustrating!  Also I read somewhere that they only do open RNY.  I had a c-section and I know what that feels like. My work is having open enrollment next month so I think I may switch from Kaiser to something else.  If I have to wait 2 years, I will probably give up.   Thanks for your help. Hugs to you too and congrats on the new you! Angela

Peggy, The support group meeting at Sunnybrook is tomorrow at 10am. Kaiser can be slow, but so can a lot of other programs. Once I got through the Freedom from Diets class I had a surgery date in 4 months of Oct 12. You can enroll in a Freedom from Diets class anytime. I would advise that you do that immediatly. Getting into the class is what took me the longest. The other thing I advise is make sure yourself by calling membership services that you are covered. Get the persons name and document it. When your company renews call after that again and make sure there weren't any exclusion changes. I have been in the program for 14 months and now three weeks before surgery they are trying to deny because of insurance changes (but it never changed). I am filiing an appeal but dont know yet.  Kaiser does only do it through open incision, but it doesn't seem to be to bad. Most people are out of the hospital in 2 to 3 days.  I really encourage you to come to the support group meeting and then you can also get signed up for the support group we have online where everyone from Kaiser in the group posts. I get more info out of that then sometimes at the meetings. Please let me know if I can answer any more questions. Brenda

Brenda,  Thanks for the information.  I just sent off my questionaire on Thursday I believe so I am in the very early stages.  I did email member services and they told me that my deductible is 500 and then 20% but never actually said I was covered.  They did say that they would research it further and I do have that email saved.  I really hope I don't have to wait 18 months to get a surgery date. That would be horrible to me and I know in my heart I would probably give up.  Also so I am clear, you said you had a surgery date after the freedom from diets class?  How long is the class? I heard it was 12 weeks or something like that? Is that all you had to do to get a date??  Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!! Angela

Angela: After you send in your questionaire packet, Ella or Mary Lou Greenwood will contact you for the orientation.  The Freedom from diets class is 12 weeks long, it is once a week for usually 2 hrs at the most.  After that, you will have several appts with Julie the medical social worker and Brenda the dietician.  They will then send your medical records to their review board, which is held once a month.  After that, they will determine wheather you are ready for an appt with one of the surgeons. After you meet with the surgeon, it should'nt take long at all. They will give you info on having all your labs done. Hope this helps... Peggy

 

I also have Kaiser, although I have not yet had the surgery.  There is also another class, I believe called "weight management" that is acceptable and only five weeks long.  The class I took was ten weeks and it was called "changing from the inside out" (So they have a few choices).  My best recommendation is to call and get the orientation scheduled.  It is only offered once a month, so don't miss it.  The next step is the class.  Once you complete that, you must attend a second meeting before you can do anything else.  This meeting is also offered only once a month.  In other words, they do things in a very stage-like progression.  You can't do step A, until you have done Step B and they only offer most things once a month.  - The class you can sign up for anytime.  I don't think the process actually takes that long from start to finish if you are organized and keep on top of things.  You just have to be willing to work around their schedule and give up some of the control (a hard one for me). Good Luck!  

I have taken the FFD class, gone to two orientations and am still in the process.  I have not lost the required wt of 10%.. and really I need to lose another 75lbs to have a BMI under 60 where they want me to be.  I didnt get serious until July about losing the weight.  I started Last December with asking my Dr for a referral.  March took the class through May.  I have lost 25 pds but actually that doesnt even count because its not on kaisers record because I gained that after my dec appt.  I still need to lose about 15pds to be at that point and then 10%.  I am going to WW and I just started taking Alli... and am going to double the dose to 120mg which is actually the previous prescription strength.  OTC recommends 60mg 3x a day.  I am starting to excercise too.  I have contemplated switching insurances too for quicker faster service but feel in the end I would not be successful with the surgery.  You have the honeymoon stage of 18 months to lose the weight without doing anything with an RYN but after that if you arent exercising and have changed your eating you wont lose anymore weight but actually gain weight.  I really wish for the lap band too sometimes but in the end I stick with kaiser.