Thank you all for such kind words, I owe my great surgery and healing on GOD and also my surgeon. Of course you know the man up stairs was guiding my surgeon and I am so thankful for this. I am so blessed to have such a great outcome and a blessing to have you guys by my side for support. I wish all of you well and I will pray that your surgery and recovery is as good if not better than mine has been, so far so good dont want to jinx myself. I have lost 16lbs so far and I find that so amazing. Hugs Donna S Ft. Stewart Ga

Tricare will cover them because they are a medical necessity. I double checked this with my PCM.

Well we are not stationed anywhere right now. My husband is in fact trying to get a hold of his monitor at this moment but he is on leave. His monitor wants to talk to him about where he wants to be stationed at and when he tells him Camp Pendleton, then I assume he will look for openings for him there. Then it probably take a month or so to get his orders then he will leave to check in. Then he will apply for base housing and it depends on the availability on the housing there. That can take months..but I am going to try to stay here in AZ as long as I can to get the surgery done and get through the recovery stage. If I can get a referral from my surgeon to the new one in Camp Pendleton, then I will be free to go. I assume this can be done!! I mean...why not?? I called the Institute about the smoking..and the doctor's policy on smoking is to cut down significantly from 20 cigs to 4 cigs a day or quit completely. Right now I am chewing the gum like crazy..and trying to stay strong. My husband is sitting there like its not a big deal. YOu see, I crave cigs in the morning and he craves at night. Weird huh? Thankyou all for replying to me..and its nice to know there are "family" on this board! (((hugs)))

Hi and Welcome to the Miltary Board!! How long does it usually take the MC to give orders and how long do they usually give inbetween the order date and PCS date? I ask because most surgeons would like you to be around for at least 6-12 months after surgery before you move out of the area. Just incase there are post-op complications. I know it would suck to have to wait even longer, (believe me I know, once I decided on WLS I knew I wanted it and I wanted it now.) but you will be thankful in the long run to have the peace of mind of having your surgeon there for you for those first 6 months or so, if needed. About Tricare; they are quick. It took them less than 48hrs to approve me once my surgeon submitted the paperwork. The longest wait is your surgeon and how long until they'll submit to Tricare. Each surgeon is different in their requirements before surgery. Mine required I lose 5% of my weight before he'd submit to Tricare. Of course he also required all the other testing, psych eval, sleep study, NUT consult, consult with him, etc. It took just over 2 months from asking my PCM for a referal to see the surgeon until my paperwork was submitted to Tricare and then another month until I had my surgery. I completely understand your concerns about cutting the stomach and rearranging the plumbing. All I can say is research, research, research. This really helped me be less stressed about it. And now that I'm almost two months out. I am absolutely in LOVE with my RNY!! Oh, and just an FYI about hair loss. Not everyone has it and if you do experience it, it isn't specifically because of the RNY. Hair can temporarily fall out in any kind of surgery (Lap-Band too), after child birth, rapid weight loss, etc. So it is having surgery (or the rapid weight loss) that will cause the hair loss not the RYN. Remember, this hair loss is temporary too. Usually starts about 3 months post-op up until 9 months. (I had this pattern after each of my pregnanies as well). And when it grows back it is often healthier than before. (((HUGS))) for quitting smoking. I know it will be hard, but it will be so worth it! Because you are WORTH it!!

Welcome to the board. I had a RNY 4 weeks ago and am very happy with it. I would sabatoge a lab band so fast it wouldn't be funny. I ruled it out right in the beginning. My SIL had one put in and has gained weight. The success rate with lapband is too low. I think that is why Tricare won't pay for it. Tricare was really fast for me. It is true that most Drs won't operate on you unless you are not smoking. It really delays the healing process. Good luck with your process and come back to this board often. It is a great resource. We can make it better if we will all participate. Diana