MizzRob

Thanks everyone. My first appointment is with my PCM in the morning and I am super nervous and excited. I really hope eveything works out. I am ready to do this. I'll follow up once I get some answers.

Hi!
I am new to this forum and I want to introduce myself first.
My name is CeCe. My current BMI is 41, I am 28, 5'3'' with a child and a husband. I am former military and have done every diet, excercise plan, diet pill, diet program that one person can do. At my best I can lose about 20-30lbs only to gain 40-60lbs back. I have been overweight all of my life, but have been obese for the past three. Since I had my daughter, I have had the hardest time even maintaing my current weight. I have done all kinds of nutrition classes and read a lot books, I hired a personal trainier (nearly $500 a month) and only managed to shave off a few measley pounds. Not enough to even make a dent in my BMI. Im at my witts end. I have talked to my PCM's in the past, but becasue I was on active duty at the time thier hands were tied. Now that I am out, I am ready to ask for a refferal because I can't live like this anymore. I am willing to put in the work but I need some serious help. I am tired of feeling like a prisoner in this "fat suit" I'm tired of trying to lose weight the right way only to be slapped in the face by the scale. And I am sick and tired of wasting my hard earned money on empty promises of weight loss products, books, and eqipment.
Now that I got that out of the way
I would like to know if anyone has had any expierence with getting a refferal from thier PCM for Tricare? Was it a long process? Was it difficult? Where you in FT Hood? Any hidden fees associated? Did the procedure happen on post? Was thier a long waitlist if any? Anything a potential bander should know?
I am just trying to get a better understanding of the process in order to know what to expect.
Thanks in advance!
CeCe

I am new to this website and from what I've been reading, am glad I found it. I am a 33 yr old single female with no children. About a year and a half ago, I decided that I wanted to make some drastic changes to my life because I was tired of being overweight which added to the pain I have with rheumatoid arthritis and the weight also caused sleep apnea as well as other health issues. I had my psych eval, had my first consult with my surgeon and was approved for lapband surgery through my insurance company in 2009. I planned on having the surgery over the summer in 2010, but began having other health issues that became more important than the lapband. In October of last year, I found out that I had a grapefruit sized mass on my left ovary. I was in a great deal of pain and it was removed along with my ovary and fallopian tube in December of last year. I found out at that time, I have endometriosis. Not even 6 months later, I started having familiar pains on my right side and it was confirmed that I had another mass on my right ovary. So in August of this year, I had that mass removed and thankfully the doctor was able to save my ovary. Unfortunately, all of my evaluations and referrals were no longer valid for the lapband procedure, so I had to start from scratch. Luckily it didn't take very long this time and I scheduled surgery ASAP. I had my lapband surgery on December 22 exactly 1 year and 1 day from my major surgery last year. I am at a point in my life that I don't have a lot of time left before I am unable to have children, especially knowing I have endometriosis. I have always wanted a baby and getting this surgery was very important to me so maybe I will have better luck finding my future husband. I know everyone says it doesn't matter what you look like, it's inside that matters. Then again it always seems to be the skinny people that say that. lol It's difficult to find someone, when you aren't happy with what you look like. I love who I am as a person, and now it's time for my appearance to match my personality!
I am looking forward to what the future holds for me. So far, I have lost 22 lbs which I am very excited about. I'm still sore from surgery because it's only been 4 days. I've noticed that I have a hard time sleeping at night because I toss and turn a lot so I've needed some pain meds at night but that's it. I will have 5 scars under my chest when they are healed. They are just another story to add to my other scars I've accumulated over the past year. But these ones, will have so much more meaning to me because they will help me to become the person I know I am supposed to be. Not an obese woman hoping to find her prince charming and hoping she looked like someone else.
Ok, so I am hoping that maybe some of my questions you can all help me with...
How long before the feeling of an air bubble in your chest goes away? It's getting better, but still feels like horrible heart burn/gas...Is it normal to be REALLY hungry right after surgery? I eat something, feel a little better and have horrible hunger pains an hour later...How much should I lose within the first couple of months after? I appreciate you taking the time to read my forum and look forward to any responses you might have :-)