More on my PS story

I am so annoyed with the PS I have been seeing. Let's see. At last report, TriWest needed more information (pictures). I found this out last Thurs. I called the Doc's office and learned that the insurance gal was off until Monday. So, Monday I give her a call. They kept trying to send me to her answering machine, but I insisted on waiting for her on the phone. When she finally got on, she told me that she knew all about what they needed and had sent it off on Friday. Friday? They told me she didn't work Friday. Obviously someone isn't telling the truth. But, I was hoping that either way, the pictures had been sent off. Everyday, I called and checked in with Tricare. On this last Thurs. I got the guy that had originally told me I was approved and then put the breaks on because I just have a tracking number, not an approval number. Even though he made a mistake, I really like this guy. When I spoke to him two days ago, he said that the doc's office still has not contacted TriWest or they would have made a note of it. And, of course, nothing has arrived. Frustrated to the end of my rope with this doc's office, I asked the Tricare rep how hard it would be to change doctors if the first doc gets me approved. He said no trouble at all. So, armed with this new information, I went to see a second PS on Friday. I was slotted for a 30 minute appointment. She spent over an hour with me. She answered all of my questions. I liked her so much. I learned a lot and got her opinion on even more. I told her about the other PS and that I would want her to do the TT if I am approved. She said they would go ahead and try and get approval for the breast lift and do both at the same time. Unlike the other guy, she doesn't want to do an anchor cut. She thinks that a hip to hip cut would be enough. She also talked me down in breast size. I had wanted to go up to a large D to DD. She said that going that big would mean that the implant couldn't be placed behind my muscle and my skin was too damaged to support an implant. I was a little upset. But, she pointed out that I was using my heavy weight as a basis for what size I wanted to be. She went and got a bra with an implant and showed me what a solid D would look like. It was perfect. We also spent a bit of time talking about saline verses silicone. She said she had never cut open a silicone implant because they are too expensive. But, she was telling us about the new silicone. I squeezed the implant a little to feel it and then handed it over to DH and told him to squeeze it. He gave it a little squeeze and then it popped open. The look on his face was priceless. I know a ton of thoughts went through his mind, but the first one being, OMG that was $1000 I owe her now. The surgeon assured us that it already had a pin hole in it and that it was ok. Things happen. And, most important, he won't be able to squeeze my boob and pop it. LOL My timeline was the last thing we talked about. She said she understands about getting Tricare to pay for at least part of it. She said that since my time is short and her schedual will fill up quick, she wanted to go ahead and pencil me in. So, I have a rough date the middle of August. I also spent a lot of time talking to the insurance woman about my time issues. She said she would do everything she could to get it sent off to Tricare. The shortest it could be would be a week. But, if something goes wrong, then it could be two weeks. She said I could call her anytime to check on it. She was so nice. And, not that fake tell you what you want to hear nice. She also said that there was only a 25% chance that Triwest would agree to pay for a breast lift. I told her I know that it is hard to get approved, but it was worth trying. She agreed. And, she said that Tricare was one of the easier ones to get approval through. So, that is what is new. No matter how it turns out, I can say I tried. Hat

"No matter how it turns out, I can say I tried" I'm so glad you've kept at it, I know how badly you want plastic surgery. I'll keep my fingers crossed that you get approved for all you want with this new better sounding surgeon. ~Tanja

I called Tricare today. Since the doc's office hasn't contacted them, my request is no longer under consideration. When I got home, there was a letter from Tricare informing me that my doc's office had requested approval to do a TT and a NECK LIFT. Geez, I thought that it was just the insurance gal that couldn't get her act together. But, apparently the surgeon didn't even write down anything we talked about and they don't even know what to cut on. Now that makes me feel comfortable with handing them a knife. I hope the other PS's office knows what they are doing. I am about to throw in the towel and wash my hands of the whole thing. Grrr. Hat