clueless newbie here

Hi everyone, I just found this msg board last week and decided to finally post. I've noticed that you are all so helpful on here. Anyway, here is my situation: I have my tricare approval for the consulation, and my first appointment with the surgeon at Walter Reed is on Sept 4th. I am SO CONFUSED though about how this works! Has anyone had any experience with Dr. Carmody at Walter Reed? How fast does this process go? Any help or advice I can get would be super helpful. -Adrie PS Not sure if this happened to anyone else, but tricare (prime) gave me a referal to a civilian doctor, and then I was called by Walter Reed to schedule my appt with the surgeon. It's a big what thaaaaaaaaaaa...?!?!

Welcome.. I'm pretty new to this board too.. I've been on OH for over a year and never knew this board was here... I don't know anything about your doctor or how things work at Walter Reed, but I know that if you go through a base hospital you really don't have to mess with Tricare at all.. The process can go fairly fast if there isn't a waiting list but if there is then that's what you would be waiting for. I'm 25 no health issues at all except my weight and all my Base General Surgeon wanted for me was the Psych & Nutrition eval. Then also attend one pre-op class. I've been going to monthly support group meeting every month for the last year & a half. Then on my pre-op day next week I'll get a chest X-ray and that's it.. but it all depends on how the program works.. Have you tried posting on your state board? They might be more helpful when it comes to Walter Reed. On where or not to go through Tricare or not.. I think it would be a lot easier to go through the base and not have to worry about getting approved and all the stuff that goes along with it. but if the waiting list is super long you might want to look into taking them up on the referal to the civilian surgeon. Good Luck in your journey.. KUP on how things are going for you..

WOW, I have no clue. I see civilian Drs so my experience was a little different. I had no problems getting the approvals I needed and everything went very smooth for me. Every Dr and every program is different. So, it is hard to compare. What matters is that you get a good and experienced surgeon. I put in a request for the Dr I wanted to see. Good luck and keep posting. Diana

thanks for the welcome i found out what happened with the tricare situation. i guess the docs office called me to make an appointment before tricare called them to see if there was any availability. i must have been the only space available at walter reed, because right now there are no appointments available. the lines of communication got tied up, that's all. but, i do have a choice of going to walter reed or a civi doc because of the mixup