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Ok I've talked with my surgeon's nurse and she told me that I have to do the following in this order: Get approval from TriCare (done) Attend 2 seminars & fill out necessary paperwork (1st on 5/22) Make appointments to see nutritionist & fitness guru Make appointment for psych eval See surgeon for possible surgery date I'm hoping all this goes smoothly. I'm psyched and completely motivated. Also during this whole process I have to get my BMI down to 50 which is doable for me since I'm only at 51. I only have to lose 3-5 lbs to get there. Actually if you use my correct height I'm already at 50. I'm about 5'6.5" but I go by 5'6". :thumbdown:

I hope everything works out for you. I'm also a military wife so I know what it is like waiting for TriCare approval.

I haven't told any family members besides my hubby. I have told a couple of my REALLY close friends. They have seen me struggle with my weight and have been really supportive. I'll probably tell my family after I have it done. I haven't decided yet.

I haven't gone through the lap band yet but I don't think my relationship will change. I've actually gotten more attention being a big woman than when I was smaller. Hubby knows I'm doing this for my health and I he knows that I'm going to wear things I would've never dared to wear at my current weight. At least he better know. LOL I just feel that my personality hasn't changed just my body and if you fell in love with my personality then nothing should change. We'll see if my theory is correct when I pull out a bikini and go to the beach. :wink2:

Ok if that doesn't get the song going through your head I don't know what will. :biggrin: I just found out that my approval went through Tri-Care and it's a go. I'm so happy to have such a good ending to a stressful day. Let me tell you what happened... Well this morning I called Tricare yet again to see if my referral has been approved. Of course it wasn't in the system. I then called my doctor's nurse to make sure it was put through and she told me that it was probably for a consult to general surgery there at the naval hospital. So I call general surgery and the nurse there told me that they made a mistake and people do not have to go through them to get referred out for WLS. I took a deep breath and then called my doc's nurse again and she said she would speak with the doc and let me know what he said by the end of business. Of course I didn't hear from her. For some reason I decided to call Tricare again to see if something was there. I was hoping it was atleast pending but the lady on the phone told me the best news...I was approved and a copy of the referral has been sent out to the appropriate people. :wink2: I hope everything after this is a cake walk because just getting getting this referral was stress enough. :hand: It's ok I know in the end it will all be worth it. I can't wait until my hubby comes home so I can tell him the good news. I'M SO EXCITED I CAN'T STOP SMILING! :ohmy:

I'm going to the seminar on Thursday and from there I'll get all the numbers for the people I have to contact for the appointments prior to getting my surgery date. I know I have to go through all this but man. I just hate waiting and I always get nervous when I go to the doctor.

I called my insurance provider and found out that I was approved today. I'm so happy. Tomorrow I'm going to contact the surgeon's nurse to get contact info for all the people I have to see before I get a surgery date. I'm hoping to get appointments soon so I can get the ball rolling. I really hate waiting to do stuff. I know I know I'm impatient. :thumbdown:

I called my insurance provider and found out that I was approved today. I'm so happy. Tomorrow I'm going to contact the surgeon's nurse to get contact info for all the people I have to see before I get a surgery date. I'm hoping to get appointments soon so I can get the ball rolling. I really hate waiting to do stuff. I know I know I'm impatient. :thumbs_up:

Wow you are the first person to realize he's a pom. Most people think he's a chiququa (sp?). He does fine. He's had his fur shaved before and it grew back great. He had that done about a month ago and he's starting to have it grow back slowly. I don't think we'll do that cut again though. He looks like he has a huge head. LOL

I think that I'm getting frustrated because I'm so excited to embark on this journey. I called insurance provider and they told me that there still was no referral in the system for me. I told them that my PCM's nurse verified that it was put in on Wednesday. I called my doc's nurse and she told me that my doctor actually put in a referral for me to see the General Surgery department at the naval hospital here. I was so upset when I heard this. Here I was freaking out wondering why my referral was not at least popping up as pending when it's because I was calling the wrong department. Turns out I'll have to see the General Surgeon on base and then he will decide to put in the referral for the lap band through TriCare. I called GS to see if they had my information so I can make an appointment as soon as possible but the lady who does that was out of the office for the moment. I'm getting very impatient already and I know it's not going to be accomplished all in one day but I can't help myself. I'm just letting things get to me that shouldn't. I just need to take a deep breath and relax. WHOO-SA!

Try GNC. My hubby has a whole cabinet full of those shaker bottles. They even have a mini whisk that helps with mixing powder with fluids.

Congrats!!!

I think that I'm getting frustrated because I'm so excited to embark on this journey. I called insurance provider and they told me that there still was no referral in the system for me. I told them that my PCM's nurse verified that it was put in on Wednesday. I called my doc's nurse and she told me that my doctor actually put in a referral for me to see the General Surgery department at the naval hospital here. I was so upset when I heard this. Here I was freaking out wondering why my referral was not at least popping up as pending when it's because I was calling the wrong department. Turns out I'll have to see the General Surgeon on base and then he will decide to put in the referral for the lap band through TriCare. I called GS to see if they had my information so I can make an appointment as soon as possible but the lady who does that was out of the office for the moment. I'm getting very impatient already and I know it's not going to be accomplished all in one day but I can't help myself. I'm just letting things get to me that shouldn't. I just need to take a deep breath and relax. WHOO-SA!

I just told my hubby that I'm going through the steps to have the lap band done. He was surprisingly receptive to the idea. He just said that I thought that is what I needed to do then he was all for it. For some reason I thought he would try to talk me out of it by saying all I needed was a good diet and exercise but he already knew about the lap band and what I had to do once I had it done. Apparently he did his own research, I can only assume because he was thinking of bringing it up to me attention. Who knows? The only thing I'm happy about is how he reacted and he even said to let him know how everything goes with my appointments. I was stressing for nothing.

I just told my hubby that I'm going through the steps to have the lap band done. He was surprisingly receptive to the idea. He just said that I thought that is what I needed to do then he was all for it. For some reason I thought he would try to talk me out of it by saying all I needed was a good diet and exercise but he already knew about the lap band and what I had to do once I had it done. Apparently he did his own research, I can only assume because he was thinking of bringing it up to me attention. Who knows? The only thing I'm happy about is how he reacted and he even said to let him know how everything goes with my appointments. I was stressing for nothing.

I'm still waiting on my approval but since I told the surgeon's nurse that my PCM submitted my referral she went ahead a processed my information. I get my Pre-Surgery packet from her on Thursday. Hopefully I'll have the green light from TriCare by then.

Well today my referral still hasn't come back as approved but I'm looking toward the bright side. I called the surgeon's nurse and told her who my insurance provider was and she just took my information. As she put it, "Tri-Care is easy". She told me everything I would have to do and that I could pick up my packet at the seminar on Thursday. In this packet will be numbers that I would have to call to make the various appointments before I would meet with the doctor. I can't wait until Thursday. I was excited before but now I'm completely over the top. Now all that's left before I start all this is to tell my hubby what I am planning on doing :smile2: and getting the approval letter from my insurance company. Why haven't I told my hubby you may ask? Well I wanted to gather as much information as possible so I could answer any question he may have as to why I am doing this. Wish me luck! :thumbs_up:

Well today my referral still hasn't come back as approved but I'm looking toward the bright side. I called the surgeon's nurse and told her who my insurance provider was and she just took my information. As she put it, "Tri-Care is easy". She told me everything I would have to do and that I could pick up my packet at the seminar on Thursday. In this packet will be numbers that I would have to call to make the various appointments before I would meet with the doctor. I can't wait until Thursday. I was excited before but now I'm completely over the top. Now all that's left before I start all this is to tell my hubby what I am planning on doing :smile2: and getting the approval letter from my insurance company. Why haven't I told my hubby you may ask? :thumbup: Well I wanted to gather as much information as possible so I could answer any question he may have as to why I am doing this. Wish me luck! :thumbup:

Congrats...my PCM just put in my referral on Wednesday to see the surgeon. I hope everything goes as quickly as it did for you.

I LOVE SUSHI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so happy that I can continue to eat it after I get banded.

My doctor put in my referral and called Tricare to see if it's approved or not but I guess it takes longer now. I know when I had my breast reduction it took 2-3 days to be approved. May be it just depends on what the referral is for. I must say I'm very excited and can't wait until I can call the doctor and make my first appointment.

Oh man you are a person after my own heart. I LOVE SUSHI!!! I lived in Okinawa, Japan for 3 years and I was addicted. I love their sushi-go-round restaurants. My co-workers and I would go as much as possible. Oh how I miss it.

REFERRAL IS IN!!! My PCM's nurse called me to tell me that my referral was submitted yesterday and I should receive a letter within a week. I'm going to call the insurance company tonight to see what the status is. Even though it takes a week for the letter you can be approved within 1-2 days. I'm so excited right now. I can't wait until I get the letter.

I called the nurse of the doctor that is approved by my insurance provider. Well she told me all the steps I would have to go through it get the surgery. There is a class I can take before my referral is put through around the end of this month. I would have to take the class anyway but she said that it's free to all and it would count towards my requirements. I would have my consultation with the doctor, meeting with the nutritionist, fitness physiologist, psychologist, also another informational meeting that would just be one on one. I'm excited about it. I wish I could get an earlier appointment with my doctor but there are non available. Can you tell I'm anxious? I told one of my friends about my decision and she even said she's going to look into it for herself.

My PCM's nurse called me to tell me that my referral was submitted yesterday and I should receive a letter within a week. I'm going to call the insurance company tonight to see what the status is. Even though it takes a week for the letter you can be approved within 1-2 days. I'm so excited right now. I can't wait until I get the letter.