Re: New guy checking in

[Guest guest]

Hi Pat!

Welcome! I went through Kaiser in So San Francisco. There are a few of us

who are Kaiser patients here. I began the process last October, and had surgery

last month. It takes on average, 7 months to a year for most people. Kaiser

offers the roux-en-y gastric bypass, usually laporoscopic. Richmond is

supposed to start offering the lap band, but I am unsure if they started yet.

Most

Kaisers just offer the roux-en-y because they found that it is the most

successful for long term weight loss. I only stayed overnight in the hospital

for

my surgery. They give you all the info you need regarding what you can eat.

Basically, the first thing I was told was:

no refined sugar, candy sweets, etc.

no carbonated beverages- can cause stretching and ulcers in your pouch

no alcohol -can cause ulcers in your pouch

you will need to chew most foods 30 times a bite

breads and pastas can make you regain weight

you will likely become lactose intolerant

This will be for life

Then I was asked if I was still interested.

Dana

In a message dated 8/15/2006 5:34:19 PM Pacific Standard Time,

pat-oleary@... writes:

Folks:

I'm just starting the process, so O have lots of questions. As this survey

seems like a good place to start, let me use it. You'll also notice that

I've added a bunch of questions at the end. Your experience would be

greatly appreciated.

Pat

1. Name: " Pat " O'Leary I go by the middle name " Pat "

2. City and state: Fremont, CA

3. Are you a Southern California resident? No

4. Would you like to be added to our in person luncheon guest list? No

3. Email address: _pat-oleary@..._ (mailto:pat-oleary@...)

4. Obesity Help Profile name and/or OH URL: Tell me more about this please!

5. Are you: Considering Surgery, Pre Op or Post Op: I am seriously

considering - I haven't met with the surgeon yet, but everyone else.

6. Date of WLS: Unknown

7. Surgeon's Name: Unknown

8. Type of Surgery: Unknown

9. Highest Pre Surgery Weight: 370

10. Insurance or self pay: Insurance

11. What is the name of your insurance company that covered your WLS: Kaiser

12. Birthday: 6 Oct 1948

13. Occupation: Training Manager/Technical Trainer

14. Hobbies: Boating, Woodworking, Stained Glass, . . .

15. Anything you would like the other members to know about you? Retired

Military

16. Questions you may have: (OK, I'm making this part up;-)

A: Has anyone gone through the Kaiser process?

1. How long did it take to get to the surgery date?

2. What procedure(s) did they use/offer?

3. How long did you stay in the hospital?

B: Post op -

1. How long were you out of work?

2. What meal restrictions did you have?

C: Anything else I should know?