Hello! I'm Katie, 28 years old, wife and mom of two. I have never been at an ideal weight, even as a child. My mother and father both had gastric bypasses, and my brother is trying to get approved for a band. At 252lbs, I'm the smallest of all four of us. I was half way managing my weight, hovering between 190 and 220 all the time, until I quit smoking last year. Then I shot up to 250lb and it's taking everything I have to not gain more. I have poly-cystic ovarian syndrome, hypothyroidism, and crazy joint pain. I spoke with my doctor at my last visit about the lap band procedure; he highly recommended it, but did say that sometimes it was very hard to get insurance to pay for it. I have Tricare Prime, so I'm sure I'm up for a fight. I'm calling my doctor in the morning to set up an appointment to talk about a referral. I'm very nervous about this. But I'm to a point in my life that I know I need to make a major change, for myself and my family.

Katie, all I can say is look into it, get yourself as informed as you can both pros and cons, and then make your choice. Me, I wish I had known about the lap-band years ago!

This site is a great place to begin. Welcome!

I am just starting the process also. I went and saw my PCM on Friday, they put the referral in on Monday and was approved for that on Tuesday. Have appointment on May 4th with lapband doctor. Hopefully the rest will move just as smoothly with Tricare Prime.