I don't know about Walter Reed. Hopefully someone will come along that has been there. My Dr sent me a packet to fill out and have ready. It was a medical history, and a list of my diet attempts. I spoke with the PA and went over some of the things and then I talked with the dr. He asked me lots of questions about my medical history and discussed my weight loss attempts. Then he explained in detail the surgeries and how he goes about everything. He even talked to me about the hospital and where I would be staying. He then got my paperwork ready (his insurance girl puts it all together) and sent it to Tricare. They got in in late Friday evening and I was approved Monday morning. I got my psych eval done very quickly and then they made a preop appointment. At that time I met with the Nutritionist. The dr gave me a preop physical at that time. Next was surgery itself. It all went really fast for me. We have a small population here and it doen't take long to get surgery scheduled. My dr's office took care of most everything for me and the process was easy for me. I hope you have a good experience. I have civilian drs and Hospital. Tricare was very easy to work with. Diana

Hi Julie, my name is Jaye Jaye. Welcome to the board!!! I am currently at Fort Rucker , Alabama. My husband is an SFC air traffic controller here!! I am starting the WLS track for a second time. My husband got orders while we were is SC and I had to start over when we got here. From what most people have said it takes anywhere from two months to four months depending on your surgeon!! If you have any questions feel free to ask!! welcom again, Jaye Jaye

I didnt even know about this page until I sneaked a peak at someone's profile and then she mentioned this page! Cool! I could feel right at home here! My husband is a Sgt in the Marines, and I am a SAHM with a year old son and 4 year old daughter..a long story short, gained wieght from getting married and having 2 babies and cannot go down from exercise and dieting. Sure I go down a bit but I go right back up and maybe plus more. I got approved from Tricare since I am consider obese with pre-diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia..and possible sleep apnea! I think they didnt even think twice about me! LOL Get that fluff off to surgery so no more meds! Save more money in the long run! My first appt was 2 weeks ago, I had my mind set on a Lap Band and Tricare WILL NOT COVER THIS under any cir****tances...oh I am sure others got by but will not budge with me. Then I reconsidered laparoscopic gastric bypass (RNY) .... at first I was FREAKED out about the idea of being cut, rearranged and possible losing hair, etc... So this Thursday I have my first appt with the Weight Loss Institute of AZ (we are here waiting for orders, we re-enlisted after the police academy didnt work out) and I am hoping to have all my appts, surgery and time to recover before I move. HOW FAST DOES THE PROCESS GO WITH TRICARE???? I hope pretty quickly... Plus I just quit smoking..like this morning...I just found out that most surgeons will not operate until you are smoke free for 3 months! 3 MONTHS??? Gawd I hope not! Wish me luck

What happened during your initial consultation? I'll be at Walter Reed. I've been waiting about a month now for this appointment, and they told me to just bring myself (as opposed to paperwork or weight loss diaries, etc...

Glad things are going good for you !! Hope all goes good for me when I finally get mine done... I know you look forward to a fast recovery and a healthy life... Well hope your up in now time.. Tina