Get real about the real reasons!

[Guest guest]

Pre-op patients should realize: if you do not currently have the

most common comorbidities now, if you remain obese, over 85% of you

WILL develop one or more of them, and they will contribute to both

loss of quality of life and an earlier death. One person mentioned

joint pain, with an air of doubt as to whether that would qualify

her. Well, why not try to do some modest exercise for two to three

weeks, keep an exercise journal and document what you now suspect

but do not yet know to be true, which is that you CANNOT exerise

sufficiently absent joint pain to lose enough weight without the

bariatric surgery. If you think the decision will be problematic,

then show them the proof. Why would a national health organization

do the surgery with no comorbidities? BECAUSE IT SAVES MONEY AND

SAVES LIVES. The annual cost range to treat my heart disease was

around $20,000-30,000. How much math do you need to see that if you

spend $50,000 on bariatric education and surgery for me that Kaiser

will save a fortune? Testing and monitoring alone for Type II

diabetes patients cost $7,000 per year. You ladies who speak about

PCOS, gestational diabetes, and risky pregnancies...are you willing

to work the program, wait two years to have a baby, and drop your

risk factors by around 75%? That call becomes tougher the older you

get - so Kaiser is not going to give you a hard time about the exact

qualifications if you are 28 and want to have three kids!!!

We're all Kaiser patients. We've all experienced frustration because

of Kaiser policies designed to save money - but I bet fewer of us

recognize when something is happening where Kaiser insists on

spending MORE money than the other guys because they believe in

their own statistics and results. Kaiser committed to creating the

largest bariatrics departments in northern California because it's

cheaper than having more CHF/cardiac clinics and diabetes clinics

and neonatal ICU's. And it's only cheaper if they increase the

percentage of laparascopies and keep the complication rates down.

And they keep proving they know how.

Randy

> >Question? I am 5'6 " and weigh at least 300lbs (maybe even 10 or

15

> >pounds more) and used a calculator to determine my BMI is 49. But

> >I'm afraid I might not be accepted by Kaiser

> >because I don't have any serious co-morbidities(sp?).

> >

> >I have some joint pain when I walk upstairs and I get

winded " very "

> >easily and sweat a lot if I do anything physical but my blood

> >pressure is between 137/89 and 145/83 (which I don't think is

super

> >dangerous - yet). My cholesterol is normal. I have a hard time

> >sleeping but I've never been tested or diagnosed with sleep apnea.

> >Do all of these things above qualify as

> >co-morbidities serious enough to warrant WLS

> >according to Kaiser's guidelines? Does anyone

> >know how bad your general health needs to be to get approved?

> >

> >It's discouraging to think I may to need to push myself along to

get

> >worse and worse just so I'll have more health problems and can get

> >approved.

> >

> >(just worried and frustrated)

> >

> >Thanks,

> >

>

> Eleanor Oster

> eleanor@... (personal address)

> www.smallboxes.com/gastricbypass.htm

> San , CA

> Open RNY (100 cm bypassed) 07/15/2003

> P. Fisher, M.D., Kaiser Richmond (CA)

> ~5'9 " tall

> 05/09/2003 319 Orientation

> 07/15/2003 ~290 Surgery

> Current 157±2 Goal until plastics?

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