Question:
Has anyone in the Bay Area been approved for WLS through Kaiser?

Most of the info I saw in the message archives here was over a year old. I just wanted to know if things have gotten easier or harder. My primary Dr. recommended me, but I want to know what else I will need to endure. Thanks!    — Pascha S. (posted on May 1, 2002)

July 20, 2002
I'm currently waiting for approval from Kaiser. I live in the North Bay. My Doctor is very unclear as to the procedures so I find myself calling her every week or so to find out my status. The best thing I've done so far is to attend the orientaton at the hospital that the Bariatric Dept puts on. I learned tons of info and even some stuff I told my doctors that they didn't know. One big thing is that you have to lose 10% of your weight prior to surgery. They said they won't even give you a surgery date until you've lost the weight. This means I have to lose 35 lbs! Also, one man who attended the meeting who is post-op said that his regular doctor was prescribing him medication that almost killed him after the surgery because he didn't know how to treat a post-op patient. Once you're approved, everything you do at Kaiser should go through the Bariatric Dept as they are the only ones who know what is going on. My doc says when (if) I get approved it could be 6-12 months before I actually have the surgery. Be warned...Kaiser is VERY slow moving and you need to pester them to get ANY info. Go to www.wildrice.com to see a calendar of meetings in S. San Francisco, it really helped me understand everything. Good luck!
   — Laura C.