need advice on how to deal with drs. at keesler

Hi, there i'm new to this message board -any message board for that matter, hope i'm doing this right!! I need some help-advice on how to deal with drs-tricare(prime) @ keesler. I need wls can't do this on my on anymore sick of dieting with little or no results. drs keep sending me to the nutricionest(sorry my spelling is bad) !! I know all i will ever need to know about what foods to eat and what not to! Is it worth my effort to keep going back to keesler . oh i have high bp, short of breath, Back pain,joint pain, headachs ect.... do i just need to come out and ask for wls? how long is the process?

Hi Dawn... and welcome to your 1st and best message board! Arlies will be the one to help you out with the Tricare and Keesler answer. She used them. I am not sure what the insurance requirements are for Tricare but that is going to be determines the length of the process. I first started my process in early April 2004 and had my surgery October 2004. So it took me 6 mos... I had to fight with insurance though. I used to get headaches almost daily. I have had 1 headache since surgery (no joke, just 1)..I never would have thought this surgery would help the headaches. I guess it was caused by the stress on my back, shoulders, my boob weight (and no, i am not talking about my husband)...... etc... I went to my Gyno and had him refer me to my surgeon. I had to attend a WLS seminar and fill out paper work. If you qualified drs office would call you back for an initial consultation and then it was on from there. Keep posting and we are glad to have you with us.

thanks christine on the fast reply . i can hardly wait to start the process i know i will qualify i'm 5-8 and around 250. just glad to know that they do wls @ keesler. hope tricare will ok me . i hope to know something soon i have an appt on may18 with a surgon for another lovely problem i have i will just get up the nerve and ask - yes i'm very shy about asking for anything!! i'll try and get over that before my appt.

Dawn, not knowing much about your history here, I'm not all sure what you've already tried and not, or who you talked to. Bottom line, you have to meet the criteria to get surgery. And with the military, you'll have to ASK for the referral to the bariatric surgeon, I had to bug mine two or three times till I finally got a referral. Most of them just tell you " go diet " and not even bring up surgery. A few of the people here have had surgery at Keesler, I had to contract out since I asked for referral before Keesler started their program up again last year. Oh well, all in all, it's a good outcome though, and I can highly recommend Keesler's team. Stick around and you will get more answers to this as the day progresses, I am sure Arlies THE QUEEN will contact you and get you all ready to talk to them doctors ( she's on a personal level with them LOL, she's already got them lined up as her future husbands-- just kidding!! ) PLEASE dont get discouraged. Timeline depends on urgency. Hang in there, and we're gonna get you through this Take Care, ~Andie~

cant wait to here from this arlis you both are talking about. here's a little of my history about a month ago i went to my gyn check up i had twins 23 mos ago and just know went in for my post natel exam (i've been busy, i know i should have went sooner!!) my bp was extreamly high 190/114 to be exact so she sent me to see my pcm dr sciorinto i had never seen him before he put me on meds and informed me that i was morbidly obese (like i didn't all ready know) He sent me to nutricionist to go on low cal diet for 6mos (not going so good ) and told me if this didn't work we would look into more aggresive approches (i don't know what he ment by that).thanks -dawn-

Hey Dawn. There are lots of doctors and insurance companies out there who want to see a documented 6 month diet attempt first before they will do surgery. I have a feeling that's what your doctor is doing, and the " more aggressive approach" is the weight loss surgery. There are other prerequisites to surgery, usually co-morbidities, BMI of 40+, 100lbs+ over your ideal weight, if your bloodpressure was that high, it is DEFINITELY a co-morb that will get you approved. Mine was. Diabetes would be too. Neither one, by the way , are present any more. No more meds, no more high BP or diabetes WOHOO As mentioned, it's a lengthy deal sometimes, don't expect it to happen overnight, but DO hang in there and do what they ask of you to do, and you get to the surgery. Tricare paid 100% of the expenses for surgery although I was out on the private sector, if you need help finding a psychologist in the area or how to deal with tricare on THAT, let me know. Arlies has the KEESLER folks covered, she can give you info on what to expect there. By the way, congrats on the twins how wonderful !! Maybe you can let us know a little more about you on your profile, we're all very tight here on the board, lots of support!! Someone's usually hanging around at any given time . We all juggle our lives and trying to help others, so if you can't get an answer sometimes, don't worry, by evening we usually catch up . If you look through the posts for the last few days, you oughta find Arlies posting somewhere, you can click on her post's "email me" link, that might be the quickest way to contact her? We sometimes chat on Yahoo, also. If you have it, you can of course join us. Normally someone posts on the MS board if we're getting together for a chat. It's nice to have you here with us. Rest assured, you're in good hands with us LOL ~Andie~

Hi Dawn, I had my WLS at Keesler on March 1. I made an appt with the family medicine and I seen Dr. Sciortino and told him that I had tried to lose weight many times and failed and asked him if he could refer me for WLS, and he said yes. I never had to see him again about it, he referred me and I went for a consultaion with the surgery clinic and they had me do a few appts. I had to see the nutritionist of course, and then I went through a sleep study, at my request, because I thought I had sleep apnea. At the time I was very emotional when I met with Dr. Mann in the surgery clinic so he referred me to see a psychiatrist, so I did that and she sent him a message telling him that I would be a great candidate for the surgery. They then required me to go to the "Information Seminar" that they hold once a month at Keesler to inform the patients and their familys about the risks and and everything about the surgery. After that I was placed on the waiting list and started attending the monthly support group meeting that is held the last Tuesday of every month in the auditorium of the hospital at Keesler. We have a great support group, you should join us this month if you have the time. I am 9 weeks out and have lost 52 lbs. I did have some difficulty but really have been feeling great for the past couple of weeks. If I can help you in any way, let me know. Keesler expects WLS patients to be overweight 100 pounds and have a BMI of 40 or higher before they will do the surgery. When you go for your consultation they will give you a packet to fill out and be sure you put every ache and pain you have on it, that will put you further up on the list! The more that you have to gain from having the surgery, the better it will help your life, the faster they will do the surgery on you. They now do about 3-4 patients a week. There are 3-4 doctors that do the surgeries at KAFB. Email me anytime you need anything. Rhonda Glantz Biloxi, MS 240/188 -52 pounds

HI Dawn!!!! Welcome to your new home away from home!!!! Ask the QUEEN!!! LOL She just had surgery with Kesler AFB in Jan!. Along with several others here in our family.. I know Andie and Rhonda and the Queen have used Kesler and that they were wonderful...I wish you the best of luck in your journey and I will keep you in my prayers! I just had surgery on Monday May 2nd and doing great, hoping to get my drain out on Tuesday. The people here are absolutely amazing!!! and that word does them absolutely no justice. Please post often. Welcome Again! Angie Bea

thanks Angie, I can already tell how great this group is. I look forward to getting to know all of you as i go through this. Looks like i'm in good company!!! glad to hear you are doing well hope your recovery and wt loss is a breese. thanks again! dawn fisher

Yes!!! Call the general surgery clinic and ask for Lisa. Tell her you are interested in weight loss surgery. She'll get you all fixed up. You will have the best of the best for your docs. Keep us posted!!!! Smoochies Arlies PS email me your number and I will call you ....