I was wondering are there any military spouse who has gotten the VSG at Bethesda/Walter Reed. I would love to know your experience and the process. Thank you

Thanks Cheri. I was planning to go to a civilian doc. I found out our tricare contract is changing. So it makes it more difficult. And now my husband is saying 'its a cop-out'. I'm all turned around and getting discouraged.

I am not going to be critical of your husband, but I have seen plenty of great soldiers chaptered for weight and PT. They're not given WLS as an option, and are basically beaten down on low calorie diets and tons of PT that doesn't work for many of these poor guys. The military and frankly, every single doctor I've met at a MTF, love to quote from the Bible of weight loss:

"It's calories in vs. calories out"

"Eat less, exercise more"

"If you're not losing weight you must be cheating somewhere or not trying hard enough"

Well, if weight loss were one size fits all (and the military is RUN on that one-size-fits-all basis!) we'd all lose weight the first time we gave Weight Watchers a solid go. Sorry, but it's not that easy for anyone here. Nobody here has just woken up twenty pounds overweight and opted for surgery. I had dieted since age TWELVE and resisted my doctor's urging to get a lapband for more than a year before finally choosing a surgery and going with it. In that time I spent thousands of dollars and a huge amount of time on various diets and exercise plans. I failed every single time.

I had a sleeve and still took 17 months to lose 107 pounds. I could not eat more than 700-900 calories a day in the loss phase, even with surgery. There is no way on this earth that I, personally, could have achieved my goal without my sleeve. The willpower to stay on a highly restricted diet for seventeen months is something that would challenge anyone, I think.

In any case, it's easy for people that don't have a weight problem to dictate how we can be healthier. Every one of us has had a thin doctor, or an overweight family member, even, tell us exactly what we need to do to keep the weight off. I call B.S. Eating right is part of it, but nobody, not even the medical world, really understands obesity. There are other factors at play here that we don't understand, or like I said, simple math in vs. out would yield results for everyone. Even post surgery it's a challenge for some people!

My husband never wanted me to have surgery. He wanted me to be happier and healthier, but he loved my larger body and never had a problem with my size. I did what I did because it's my life, literally. I'm the one that had diabetes and couldn't climb stairs and nearly died on a hike in Heidelberg! I'm the one that had to chase two year old twins around but was too tired to play with them at the park for more than half an hour at a time. I love him and I value what he says but I was the one trapped in a fat body, unhappy and unhealthy.

With time, he has come around. He might have been attracted to "big Cheri" but he loves the girl he calls "skinny Cheri" just as much. He loves how much more open and outgoing I am, he loves how I'm more comfortable in my skin and he loves that I'm happy.

So - all this rambling to say - sorry, it's not about him. It's about you and what you want. Only you know if you've given traditional diets a real solid go, and only you can know if VSG is the right option for you. I promise, your husband, like so many other military men, will understand a bit more about watching what you eat when he's not getting up at five to PT every morning but still eats like he's a busy athlete. My husband has definitely learned a bit more about that as he's hit forty and isn't in a traditional unit.

~Cheri

Tricare DOES cover the sleeve, I am a nurse at Ft. Hood and I have seen multiple people getting this lately, and from what I here fairly easy. Good luck!!!

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No, Tricare doesn't cover it, BUT you can find surgeons and MTFs that will provide the procedure. It's similar to how you can meet that odd person here and there that had plastics done (even though Tricare doesn't cover them) or even folks like my husband, who had a vasectomy reversal done (also not covered).

It's confusing for a lot of people, actually, because Tricare doesn't even get involved for these "optional" procedures - it's a program run by that specific MTF and the surgeons that do the operations there.

That said, it's good to know that Ft. Hood is providing VSG.

~Cheri

Tricare covers ONE bariatric surgery IN A LIFE TIME. So I have to make the best decision for me. Plus I have to convince my husband that its not a cop out.

I am scheduled to have surgery at Walter Reed on Feb. 25th. So, ill let you k ow how it goes.

Congratulations! How long did the process take you?

I went to the information session in August. I had my first appointment with the doctor mid December after losing the required 10 lb and finishing all of the required appointments. After that I had to wait for the surgery schedule to open up. They called me the first week of January with my surgery date and pre op appointment.

I was sleeved in San Diego at Balboa. They have a bariatric team that works there. As far as I know the DR's do have rotations to other locations but always come back to Balboa to continue in Bariatric.

I am on fort Campbell and their treatment facility covers the sleeve, I was put in for a referral on the 16th and accepted by the 22 of this month. Not sure how the process goes though all I know so far is that I have an appointment with the general surgeon on August. 7th. I will keep you updated then .

Hi! I live in Gulfport (near Keesler) and had a Lap Band in 2011. I just found out that the band has slipped and needed to be removed. I want to get the sleeve, and I realize I would have to do that at Keesler. So, what do I do first? I'm Navy so do I need to get a referral from my PCM to Keesler and then go from there?

Cozy- do you know which MTF you researched?

I have chose to have the sleeve at Keesler AFB. They are a great hospital and the surgeon is awesome. He is a general surgeon/ bariatic and performs the sleeve quite a bit. I had a friend sleeved by the same surgeon in December.

In my first few appointments I asked about success rates and their stats. He was very honest that they have no plan to become a center of excellence at this time. They wanted to insure they were performing a good surgery to qualified candidates. The quality vs quantity thought process.

As my date gets closer I am wondering if I made the right choice. I know their can be complications at any center. Everyone I know who has had it at my MTF loved the doctors and have had a great experience. I also live less than a mile from the hospital, and in the same neighborhood as my surgeon. ( incase their is a problem, he assured me he could be there just as fast as I can be).

I guess my concerns at this point is that they don't do a leak test, I'm sure I could ask for one. He said they have a few different ways they check during surgery. They said if they think there is a problem they can have it. My understanding is that they don't want to put their patients through unneeded steps.

They also did a stack of lab work but won't require an EKG. They said I am young and healthy. Nothing in my blood work and other labs suggest an issue.

At this point I don't know if I have valid concerns or if its cold feet. My surgery is Monday.

Hope all goes well for you.

Hi! I live in Gulfport (near Keesler) and had a Lap Band in 2011. I just found out that the band has slipped and needed to be removed. I want to get the sleeve' date=' and I realize I would have to do that at Keesler. So, what do I do first? I'm Navy so do I need to get a referral from my PCM to Keesler and then go from there?

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Hi,

Wow what a flash back reading that post. I was so worried over nothing. I'm glad I didn't let cold feet get the best of me.

The first thing would be to get a referral to the surgery clinic. I'm not sure if your process will be the same since you have a band that needs to be removed but here is what I had to do.

1) referral

2) WLS seminar

3) intro apt with surgeon

4) nutritional apt

5) psych apt

6) surgeons apt

7) surgery

Hi all...Any body have surgery at Walter Reed lately?

How was your experience?

Hi all...Any body have surgery at Walter Reed lately?

How was your experience?

I had my surgery on Sept. 12, 2013 at walter reed and everything went great. I have no complaints about anything there. Dr. REHRIG was my surgeon.

Hi, oh thank you soooooo much for your response, it has been bugging me that I didn't know much about the credentials of the doctors, they're 3 hrs from me. What state are you in if u don't mind. ?