YAY!!

Im so glad i found this board. Let me introduce myself. My name is Cristy and i am married to a Sgt/NCO in the Army. He's in Korea right now so i miss him very much! But he should be home to visit sometime in late August. Im in Texas and my Hospital is BAMC. I thought about this surgery for about 5 years before i decided it was right for me. I tried to get approved by tricare for a little over a year until i found out that going to an MTF might be a better option for me. I have an appointment with my PCM on monday and i will ask for a referal for a military surgeon. If any of you have had any experiance at BAMC or with an MTF in any other location i'd appreciate if you would share your process with me. I know tricare doesn't use BMI but mine is around 42.. just so get an idea of how overweight i am. (obese is such a horrible word)

I would just like to say welcome.

Welcome Christy!!!! I used to be at Fort Hood TX and loved it but now Im at Fort Stewart Ga. Where you at in Tx? you at Bliss? Just wondering. I am pre-op should have my surgery date soon, my bmi is 42.5 so I know the feeling. I wish you lots of luck Hugs Donna Ft. Stewart

Thanks for your good luck wishes Im liveing off post in San Antonio and my husband was in fort hood before he was sent to korea. He was never stationed in San Antonio .. so i really don't know, I would guess Fort Sam Houston? Im mortified that he's comeing home! I've gained like 30lbs since he's been gone. and of course he has been working out everyday ..lol. How long did it take you all to get a surgery date? Did you all do it with a military doctor or with a non military?

Well I started back in October on post. I did all the things I was suppose to do. Both the doctors that did the surgery where out of country. When they came back in April I found out that they weren't doing them on post no more so I got reffered off post. It didn't take very long at all off post. I want to say a couple of weeks. I'm glad I had it done off post. I had my surgery on May 7th. I have lost 31pounds so far ( 24 since surgery). I wish you luck.

I totally relate with what you said about gaininig 30 pounds... That is what I have gined since my husband left in April..... It sucks! But...I will have surgery about 3 months before he gets here, so I can lose a little. Stupid deployment and stupid weight gain! Lol Good luck to you. PS - My surgery will be non-military but it has taken about 5 months for everything to go through.....and i still dont have a surgery date yet. lol. They did tell me it would be late july or early august though. I posted on the main forum a few weeks ago about the MTF and got some good responses, try doing that and list your headline as "Military Hospitals" or something like that and list close to what you listed here and you should get a good response too. *Nicole*

Thanks Nicole!

Welcome to the board. You will find good support here. Being military makes us unique. Most people don't understand the military or military life, so this is a good resource for us as well as the other boards. I think I am the old one here, as My DH is retired now (after 40 years total). I am on Tricare prime and they have been very good so far. I can say that I have worked with and seen several Drs that came out of the military, and I haven't seen a bad one yet. I know there out there, But for the most they are excellent Drs. I can't give you any advice on your choices of facilities or Dr. If I had been on those bases it would have been so long ago that it wouldn't apply today. Ya, I'm old. but welcome to the board, we are here to support each other. Diana

Hi Cristy! Glad you found us! If you go through an MTF then there will be no dealing with Tricare. Our MTF doesn't do WLS. I did all my stuff off post. It took about 4 months. Would have been sooner but some labs were lost. It took less than 24hrs for Tricare to approve me. I had heard that there is a wait when doing WLS at an MTF. I don't know the truth of that though. And when dealing with tricare, (if not using a MTF) with a BMI of 42, they might require you to have a co morbidity. I believe their website sates something about being 100 lbs overweight WITH COMORBIDITIES or 200% of ideal body weight. Good luck to you and keep us updated!!! Erica

Hi Cristy! WELCOME Nice to meet you