Short update

Since some of you are following in my Tricare/Weber footsteps, I thought I would give an update. I had my one-on-one with Dr. Weber on Friday. I still need my records. I have two more required appointments (nutrition Tuesday and Sleep study the following Monday night). And, my psych eval needs to be typed up. Oh, an I still need to fill out my weight history page. But, I have to have my records to be able to do that. The appointmet went well. We were minutes late only to find that he was running 30 minutes late because of surgery. So, that gave us time to potty and relax a bit. We went over the paperwork I took in and there were a few changes to my master plan. First, he only needs a copy of one page from my medical records...my physical. He said I didn't need the sleep study. Very cool. That would move my master plan up a week. Then there was the set back. I need clearance from a cardiologist. My EKG showed a blockage. The cardiologist said that everything was ok. But, Dr. Weber wants me to either have an echo or a not from a cardiologist that states that he reveiwed both and I am good to go for the surgery. If I have to get a referral and then wait for an appointment, then that is really going to set me back. But, if I can get ahold of a friendly in the cardio that would be happy to used my other echo and type up a report without an appointment, then I should be sliding right along. I am debating if I should just call the cardio dept and ask if I could leave a message for a call back or drive over and talk to the front desk one on one. So far, I have found that people will be more helpful if they have to look into my sad eyes. Oh, I forgot one other thing I have to do. I forget right now what it is called, but it is that pill in the evening and blood work in the morning thing. Not a big deal. The final word is that I could be having this surgery in a month. He saw no problem getting Tricare to approve me. If I can get it next month, that will mean that it was 3 months from first medical appointmet to surgery. For dates, check out my profile.

*pounding head on desk* Okay, now I am confused. Madigan said that Dr Weber's waiting list was over the 2 year wait at Madigan and that for TriCare to approve the referral was like pulling God's teeth. Now I do not know which to do, because if I can get in done in 3 months instead of 2 years, I am going to lunge all over it. Was this just the surgeons way of buffing himself up? Is there something giving you priority to Dr Weber? I already have had a referral to Dr. Weber through TriCare, but it had expired. How do I go about getting another one? Do I have to have it in order to have my initial consult with Dr. Weber?

Dr. Weber doesn't have a waiting list. He only does orientation once a month. So, the number of new clients is limited. I didn't have any trouble getting a referral from Tricare. They said some things might be changing to try and keep people from going civilian. But, so far I don't think they have. But, it is a lot harder to get the surgery approved through Tricare. I think you know the requirements. I don't have any priority. When I decided to do this, I jumped on it. A very kind OH member told me what tests I would need. So, I took a print out (to look official) to my doc and told them Dr. Weber required these tests. I had most of my appointments scheduled before I went to the orientation. Word to the wise, order a copy of your records now. That is what is taking the longest. It's good that you already had a referral. When did it expire? If it wasn't too long ago, just call up Tricare and tell them you need it extended. Usually they are happy to do it and help out. But, do it before the Tricare changes. Who knows what will be going on with this new contractor. But, they are required to provide outside care if our medical needs can't be taken care of within a month. So, I can't really see how they could deny a referral to see Dr. Weber. You don't need a referral for Dr. Weber's orientation. But, you must have the referral for your appointments with him. If not, then you have to pay him $250 up front. Tricare sucks in some ways. (Don't all insurance companies?) But, when it comes to WLS, they are kinder than many other insurance companies. So far they have been really friendly to me. And, when my first consult was written wrong, I could tell the woman I was speaking to felt bad for me. She walked me through what I would need to do. Madigan still hasn't sent me any letter telling me that I am on the list even though others that when to their orientation with me have received theirs. They are my back up plan just in case something goes wrong with Tricare. Even though it looks like I won't have to use my back up plan, I am glad I went to the Madigan orientation. I think everyone should hear from more than one doctor. Good luck. I think this has gone well so far because I know how to work with the system and I made up my mind to not let "No" stand in my way. If I did, then I wouldn't have gotten by my PCP. I hope this helps.

Yeah, if I would have taken no for an answer then I would have had to give up when I met with my PCP as well. I called up the tri care appointment center right when I left that appointment and asked to be seen my another PCP. The 1st PCP said he wanted to run a few blood tests (good for me because now they're all done) and if they came out ok then he would have no problem referring me. So, after the tests came back I went back in and met with him- I had lost 4 pounds so he said- no let's see how you're doing in 6 months. I was like F@#$ that! I met with the other PCP and he looked at my record and said, yeah right what would 6 months do? I have been overweight my whole life, like 6 months would help me. The 2nd guy was so very helpful - I am so glad I didn't accept the first response. There are ways to go around anything- I have seen it and been told by a medical professional. If you have questions ask ask ask, get feed back from all ends it really helps- and remember don't take no for an answer.

~I don't know if you know this but I thought I would add this info just in case you didn't but once you go out..of Madigan you can no longer be on their list reguardless. Sometimes people have been hurt that way because the list is longer on the other end. Be careful when going out is what I was told because you not only lose your spot in Madigan's line, but you may have issues getting referred out.

No, I didn't know that. One might think that in the 10 minutes I talked with the woman at the orientation, she would have mentioned it to me. I did tell her that I wanted to be on the list just in case. All she said was OK. Thanks for the info.

I spoke with the gal at the orientation (for MAMC) and she said it wasn't a problem, a lot of people do the two timing thing. Once you get your surgery they like you to be seen by that surgeon, but why would you want to be seen by anyone else? The person who performs the surgery knows exactly what he's done and what to do if you have any problems. It's not a must either, they just reccomend it. You won't be turned down for health issues. I'm not meaning to sound rude or anything, but I'm not sure what was mentioned is fact. I have learned with Tricare every situation depends on each individual person and how much they know about what's available to them and what can be done. The more you know with Tricare the more you get done and the more persistant you are the more quickly you get it done. You have to be on top of things with them, it's allmost like you have to take charge and do everything for them.