Hi everyone! I'm Tabitha, a 26 year old stay at home mom and student. I have been overweight or obese from early childhood. I am currently in the beginning process of getting a sleeve. So far I have talked to my provider about it and she agrees that I would be a candidate. I have a bmi of about 36 and lots of joint pain. I just had labs done and x-rays. I am a military wife and will be going through the process with a Military treatment facility. I'd be very grateful for any advice that anyone can give as far as the MTF goes, the entire process, pretty much anything as I am still between the bypass and the sleeve. Thanks in advance!

Hey I am a newbie also. I have an appt. friday with my pcm to get a referral. I am going with the sleeve. I am also a military spouse stationed at Ft. Benning, Georgia. I am currently trying to find out what the process is like through tricare and if there are any doctors in the area or if I will have to go to Atlanta to do the surgery. I am pretty excited to get started though. Super excited for you.....good luck! If you find out anything please let me know also would really appreciate it!

Good luck to both of you! I know nothing about VSG through the military, but thought I'd welcome you to the forums!

Heather, good luck to you as you start your process. I believe that as long as you meet the requirements on the Tricare page, then you should have no problem as long as you can find a participating provider. I'm hoping to have mine done at the hospital on post so i have heard that I won't have to deal with Tricare.

Lissa, Thanks for the welcome!

Hi Tabitha!

I was sleeved on 8/23/11 through Tricare at Ft Carson, CO. I thought the process was pretty smooth. My referral was put in in April, so all the pre-op classes and tests took about 4 months for me. I felt very well prepared for my surgery! I know that there are only a few military hospitals doing the VSG right now, so you may have to travel. I was lucky that Ft. Carson is only about 40 minutes from where we are stationed.

Good luck!! And feel free to ask me any other questions you think of!

Jen

Hi Tabitha!

I was sleeved on 8/23/11 through Tricare at Ft Carson, CO. I thought the process was pretty smooth. My referral was put in in April, so all the pre-op classes and tests took about 4 months for me. I felt very well prepared for my surgery! I know that there are only a few military hospitals doing the VSG right now, so you may have to travel. I was lucky that Ft. Carson is only about 40 minutes from where we are stationed.

Good luck!! And feel free to ask me any other questions you think of!

Jen

Hi Jen!

I really appreciate your input! As long as I am approved, I will definitely have mine done at Fort Carson considering I live here LOL. If you don't mind, I have a few questions about the process. Such as the number and types of pre-op appointments and since my bmi isn't 40, I will require comorbididties. Are you familiar with what they accept as comorbs? As far as I know right now all I have is joint pain, I'm hoping this will be considered one.

Thanks everyone for the welcome. I am so excited to start the process. I have talked to a friend who had it done and said I would probably qualify as I have high cholesterol and PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrom) which makes me insulin intolerant. My family history is pretty yuck in terms of stroke, heart disease and diabetes. Trying to nip this in the butt now before I end up with major issues. My bmi is around 38 so she said having high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and such will qualify people who dont have a bmi of 40 or over. She is also military. I guess that I will see if I qualify with the cholesterol and pcos.