meriteri

I had a consult with Dr. Veninga yesterday and was pleased with the info & him. So I scheduled surgery for Sept.8th. I will be starting my pre-op diet on the 25th! That should be interesting. The nurse did say that if I really needed food to have 1 sm salad and chicken or steak. I'm excited to see how much weight I can loose in that 2wk period. They showed me a video of the surgery which I had been trying to avoid, and now after seeing it, it still kinda freaks me out that I'm going to be going through that?! I'm also wondering about follow up care in the future with my PCM. I'm self pay for this surgery & not going through Tricare. Will he be able to order all my labwork & stuff? Oh and also the Dr. gave me Rx to fill wondering if I take it into the pharmacy at the MTF if they will fill it? I'm so excited/nervous to begin this new journey!

Catyroses, I haven't tried the shakeweights, but I did read an article that basically said don't waste your money. Wish I had the link for you to read but don't sorry! Before I read that article, I wanted to try them too.

I was working out at a gym and would occasionally talk to another woman there. One day she just came up to me and said that she was having wls! She was really excited & happy about her decsion. She told me all about the lapband. And when I got home I started researching. It was because of her that I started thinking about having wls & learning about my options. I am scheduled for my sleeve on the 8th and I think this will be one of the best decsions I have ever made! Even though it was because someone was so open that I decided to have the sleeve, I find myself nervous to tell other people. Slowly I am and have been getting mixed reactions. Some people have been encouraging and others have said things like your young, you can do it on your own. Then I have to defend my decsion. Those negative comments do make me question my decsion. I've always been the type of person that needs input from others to decide on things. But now I am learning that everybody will have an opinion and the decsion is MINE. Anyways, I'm just glad that there was someone that was open and shared wls with me because it brought to where I am today!

Wow! Looks like there are alot of Sept. sleevers. As of yesterday my date is Sept. 8th. Looking forward to getting my sleeve! Good luck to everybody!

Congrats on you new job! That will be a perfect way yo get in your exsercise! YAY!

Dynamo, I too am a military wife wanting the sleeve. If your MTF or one close by does the sleeve you can have it done there and don't have to deal with the hassle of tricare. That was my original plan,but the surgeons here are fresh out of school & because of a neuromuscular condition I have do not feel comfortable doing my sleeve. I was going to travel to another MTF but they require a 6month supervised diet before being put on a waiting list that can take 3-6months. I am ready to start living my life now, before my husband's next deployment in 9mths! So I took out a loan and I'm gonna go for it. I'm torn about spending the money when I could get the bypass for free. But I too like you feel like the sleeve would be the best for me. Hopefully tricare will start covering the sleeve soon! I admire your patience and will power to do what you can on your own! Good luck on your "pre-op" diet!

Tiffy, I am a sahm/w too. When my husband was deployed I packed up our house & moved. Then when our house was built I did it all over again & even carried heavy boxes & matresses upstairs. Along with that I've always kept the house clean and done my daily chores. But now that he is home he helps out with my duties.(He is a clean freak!) But when I see him folding the laundry or something like that because I didn't have time to get to, it makes me feel like crap that he's doing the things I should have done. Maybe your husband feels the same way. He feels like that's his job not yours. Even though you are perfectly capable of doing it. I learned that my husband likes a clean house and will do it if he wants to. He doesn't get mad that I didn't get to it, but he is ocd when it comes to cleaning. We've even gone to over to friends houses & he will pick up or take the trash out. That's just the way he is and I love him!

I'm soo glad you finally posted an update! Sounds like you had an good experience with your surgery. You replied to one of my posts & told me about Dr. Veninga and today I scheduled a consultation with him for Aug. 19th! I'm so excited & can't wait to meet him. I also scheduled an appt. with the dietician and mentioned I'm coming from out of town. She said that she just took care of someone that was from Oklahoma...I'm assuming that was you! Anyways, glad to hear everything went smoothly! I'm so happy for you! Let's keep in touch. P.S. Why didn't you have to do a pre-op diet?...Just curious

Thanks for the great posts! I like how u talk about living life. My weight has stopped me from doing so many things. I don't like to travel home & letting my family see that I have gained more weight. They love me & would be nothing but supportive, but it's all my insecurities in my head. I didn't go to my husband's welcome home ball & my high school reunion because of my weight! I'm so tired of this & I'm ready to live life!

Dear worried husband, I'm sorry that your wife is going through this and that you are deployed and can't be there for her! I haven't been sleeved yet, so I don't have any advise to put your mind at ease. I do live in Killeen & my hubby is in the Army too! I am working on getting my sleeve done at Darnall and after hearing about your wife that makes me nervous. Do you know the name of her surgeon? If there is anything I can do to help I would be glad to do it! Please let me know. Hopefully the Dr. is right & in time she will heal. I will pray for her to have a full, and speedy recovery! And I'm serious about helping, even if she just wants someone to come & keep her company I can do it! Keep us updated on how she's doing & take care!

I'm getting so stressed about waiting on approval. So I wanted to get the facts about surgeons and costs. I have heard some Dr.'s in TX offering comparable prices to those in Mexico? Anyone else know about this? I'm looking for surgeons,(preferably in TX) prices, credintals everything I might need to make an informed decision. If my surgery isn't approved, then I want to know my other options.

Thank you everyone for your helpful responses. Now I know that there are other options for me out there, if I need them! I have an appt. with a Dr. on the 17th. So I will wait & see what he says... A little bit of background, trying to have my surgery at an MTF because Tricare does not cove the sleeve. But I have a nueromuscular disease that is rare and they just want to get all the info about it before they decide if they r comfortable doing my surgery. I've been ok'd my the neurologists so we'll see. Thanks again!

Well I'm still waiting to hear from the MTF on Ft. Hood to see if they will do my sleeve, but in the meantime I called Willford Hall Clinic in SA (another MTF) and have already heard back from them. The surgeon said he would be willing to do my surgery!!! I'm so happy and excited that I have another option! She did say I pretty much have to start all over and go to 2 seminars there. Also they require a 6 month supervised diet. That is going to kill me but I will do what I have to do. Then after all that is done I will be put on the wait list and there is no time frame as to when my date will come. So I'm excited and happy that I have another option but on the other hand the time it will take is a bummer! I'm still hoping that things will work out and I can have surgery here. I was #3 on the list. Hopefully when I call Mon. they will have an answer and it will be yes!

I'm not sure what size you would need, but I just wanted to say How Sweet!

That is wonderful news! I'm so happy for you! Good luck with getting the ball rolling & I hope everything works out smoothly.

I'm so sorry this happened to you! How awful! I pleaded my case to have the sleeve done here in Ft. Hood and explained my condition is very mild. The surgeon is going to do research & decide soon I hope. But in the meantime I did call a nearby MTF to see if it would be possible for me to go there, if here is not an option. The head nurse was going to talk to the surgeon to see if it was possible. If I were you my next step would be to contact that nearby VA facility and see if they do the sleeve. Even if you have to travel 6hrs away I think it would be worth it. My thoughts and prayers are with you as you go through this. Hopefully everything works out for both of us! They just need to approve the sleeve already! It's SOO frustrating!!! Oh just noticed that you have called. Good Luck!

I got a call last wk from a hospital, that I was referred out to for bariatric surgery. I was confused because I thought I was going to have my surgery at an MTF. So I called the MTF and they said that because I have a nueromuscular disease they felt it would be best to refer me to somewhere else. The problem with this is that Tricare doesn't cover the sleeve off-post. She said my options are the lapband or bypass! I called the new hospital and they said I have to go to the seminar, fax over my pysch. eval and maybe have more tests like sleep test etc. I asked if they have heard of Tricare maybe covering the sleeve soon and they have not. So now I have no idea what to do? Self pay is not an option. Being a military wife & stay at home Mom we can't afford any payment plans. So now I have to decide should I try to do this on my own once again or wait and hope that one day it will be approved? Or should I go forward and choose the band or bypass. If I do go forward I think I would rather have the bypass than the lapband. Another thing I'm worried about is what if tricare doesn't approve me for any wls because of my condition. But I just can't decide what to do, and what would be best. Any advice would be appreciated thanx!

What a great idea Tiffykins! We are stationed at Ft. Hood, Ft. Sam Houston is in San Antonio and only about 160miles away. That is also a big medical post where alot medical people go. Do you think that would be an option or does it have to be within 100miles?

Ok I called the MTF today and was told to call back this afternoon. So when I did the head nurse said the Dr. wants to do some more research on it. So I have to call back next wk. More waiting but that's ok. But now I'm having second thoughts because this is a learning hospital & the surgeon might not have much experience. But if he says he will do it, I think I might be brave & go for it! I don't know still frustrated & confused.

Thanks everyone! And Tiffykins you are right I don't want to settle! I did call Humana Military and talked to someone about the possibility of the sleeve being covered in the future and she had no clue and didn't even know what the surgery was. I have decided to call the MTF tomorrow and plead my case. While in the process of getting everything needed for surgery I did have an appt. with my neurologist(something I did on my own, not required). He was very supportive about having wls, said that my condition shouldn't be a problem and that in fact losing weight could help my condition. So anyways, I'm just going to call & see if somehow I can meet with the anesthesiologist and surgeon to change their minds. Wish me luck!