My doctor mentioned the idea of bariatric surgery about two years ago. At the time, I felt that I wasn’t interested in such a radical solution, hoping to eventually manage to lose weight by willpower. However, shortly thereafter I got my diabetes diagnosis, which made me decide that I needed to consider all possibilities. I did some reading about the risks and benefits of bariatric surgery. In May, I began Kaiser Permanente’s OPTIONS program, which is a six-month educational program to prepare for bariatric surgery. It provided an excellent and thorough set of information, and I decided that the surgery was probably the best option for me.
The educational program completed on October 11. On October 24, Kaiser had me give blood for a wide variety of labs (all came out OK). In my area, Kaiser works through Pacific Bariatric, a group of highly experienced surgeons who specialize in bariatric surgery, and who are based at Scripps Mercy hospital. Kaiser patients can either be referred to a Kaiser surgeon working with them, or to one of their own surgeon, and this has a small effect on the next step. Kaiser’s surgeons only require a visit with the surgeon, who determines whether the patient is a good candidate for surgery, which surgery would be best, and any preconditions for approval. Pacific Bariatric requires visits with a psychiatrist (to ensure the patient is capable of understanding the surgery and following the post-surgery requirements), an internal medicine doctor (to provide a thorough checkup and review labs), and the surgeon (to assess for suitability for surgery, provide info, and approve surgery or not).
I was referred to Dr. Rumsey, who is one of the Pacific Bariatric surgeons, and so on November 20 I saw all three of these doctors. All the appointments went well–in fact, all three agreed that I was an ideal candidate for the surgery. Dr. Rumsey strongly recommended the Roux-en-Y bypass, as opposed to the sleeve gastrectomy, due to its better rate of putting diabetes into remission. I’m now waiting on Pacific Bariatric to put together the reports from the three doctors (no, not THOSE three Doctors, Whovians), at which point they should schedule the preoperative appointment and date for surgery. I’m hoping for December 21, as that will be optimal with my work schedule.