mrsmajpaul

It took me 3 weeks to get my approval just to have a consult with the doctor through tricare prime. Now I am in the process of getting all the tests done. The pcm that I saw today told me not to get my hopes up cause tricare probably wont approve the surgery since I am about 90 lbs overweight. Even though I have sleep apnea, high blood pressure, and a major family history of diabetes and heart problems. Wish me luck. Caroline in VA

HI I too am in Va...NoVa...how did your surgery go? I would love to talk with someone in the area. thanks so much

thanks....I am at a BMI of 36 with 2 co-morbids (sleep apnea and high bp) with a severe family history of heart disease and diabetes....and sometimes I think I might be pre-diabetic. My mom at 66 just had a quad-bypass before christmas and is doing great.

Hello all. New to this whole thing. Hopefully someone out there will be able to shed some light on this process. I went to my PCM at a MTF the beginning of Feb 09 to get a referral for lapband surgery. About 2 1/2 wks later I received approval from Tricare Prime to see a specialist. I attended his seminar. I have an appointment to see him on April 1st. I guess my whole confussion is that when trying to get the approval every time I spoke with tricare they kept referring to my referral as " a request for general surgery". I know the specialist has to make the call if I am cleared for surgery...but do you think it has already been "blessed" by tricare if they are willing to send me to a specialist? I have been on Weight Watchers since Nov...not too much success there...I already had my psych eval at a MTF. What do you all think? Thanks so much Caroline in VA.