Damander

Ok, so everything worked in my favor because I was approved today!! I am 5'0, 214 lbs NO comorbidity, BMI was a little over 40 and that's that! Approval was simple!! Good luck!!

My surgeons office called me this morning to tell me that I have been medically cleared for surgery and they are submitting to Tricare for approval.. I got online to the humana military site and saw that they already got it and it's pending..I am almost there but so nervous at the same time! I am scared they won't approve me because of the new requirements from Tricare but I will be optimistic!! They said it will take about a week but hopefully its only a few days..

I haven't done anything other than regular diet and exercise and HCG, but like I said-they won't accept hcg since it isn't fda approved for weight loss. My PCM documented conventional dieting and exercise as well as my hcg, but that was it. I won't go back to my PCM because he laughed at me for my weight gain (Talked about it in another post). He was a new PCM and I just got him to send the referral to the bariatric center and I will switch pcms when this process is over.

I never saw a duration, but I haven't done any of those programs..they were too damn expensive. All I know is this is really getting me down. I finally finished all my requirements, only to be told no? I'm pissed.

I did go and review the manual and you are absolutely right about this. No one has mentioned this to me and my surgeon said that I shouldn't have any problems getting approved, so we shall see. I have not done any commercial weight loss programs except for Hcg and that doesn't count. It's so frustrating and I am so nervous that I will not be approved for this. Sigh.. They have sent me for so much testing, I have racked up about 7k in tests for the bariatric center so to me, it seems silly that they would deny me after they paid for all of that you know? The way I see it, they should approve all overweight people because they would be paying less for dr visits and CPAPS etc in the long run, you know? Ahh.. oh well.. I guess I'll stress about it for another couple weeks. Thanks for bringing this to my attention!!

It appears that the requirements for different Tricare regions are different. I am Tricare Prime (south) and there is no supervised diet. I just finished my last test today and when the results come in they will be submitting to Tricare for approval. Obviously seeing as we are all different regions here, I would call Tricare yourself. They will be able to tell you exactly what is going on because none of what you are going through applies to us, so we have no idea how to help you Good luck!

I think you need to do a little more research before you get the surgery so that you feel your decision is the best one. The lap band is a tool-exactly what you said. It doesn't make you lose weight, you still have to work for it. Most of us (if not all) are at a point and have been at that point for a long time now where we just simply cannot lose weight on our own. Surgery is such a drastic measure; if we could lose the weight on our own we certainly would. The band creates a pouch with your stomach for your food to sit in to make you feel full faster. Most of us do not have that sensor that tells our brain we are full. This will do that. Eating smaller portions of whatever you want are not going to help you lose weight. This is a lifestyle change; there will be exercise and dieting for the rest of our lives. If we let ourself just eat what we want, we will end up to right back where we started. If you don't think the band is for you, please do not make the mistake of getting it..but the band is right for us. We need this in order to achieve success in a healthy life. Good luck to you!

Well, I finally told the 4 ladies in my office that I was planning on doing the surgery since only one of us can take off at a time and I work so closely with them, I knew they would notice.. 3 of the ladies were very supportive and the other one said her mother in law had it and she was very disheartened because she feels she took the easy way out. I knew I would have some negative responses, but the easy way out? Really?? Obviously she is very uneducated about it and what really shocked me is that she said "I think my mother in law could have done it the right way and worked out and ate less and blah blah"..What is so shocking is that this girl is my age and is overweight as well. Obviously she isn't doing it the "right way" either since she isn't losing any weight. Ugh. The lack of education around here is overwhelming sometimes. Oh well, we'll see who gets skinnier faster!!

I had my nips pierced for 4 years..and those were the best four years of my life! I LOVED THEM!! The only thing that I didn't like was that I had to wear a bra for 3 days/nights straight because my boobs are so big that the weight of them put too much pressure on my newly pierced nips. And yes, mine always looked hard.

If by getting the lap band, we were also provided with a personal trainer...just a thought.. we are paying all that money (or insurance is, whatever) for the surgery, it would be amazing if we had someone to work directly with us, one on one to shed those pounds... Ah well..I can dream can't I?

So if you have read any of my other posts, I apologize but I am going to reiterate a little so new readers/responders know what's going on. I was diagnosed with mod/severe dysplasia when I was pregnant last year. I had the LEEP done in April and I go for regular PAPs every few months. My surgeon said he needed documentation stating that I received treatment for this and am under the care of a physician. Done. So they called me back a few weeks ago and said that I needed to have another PAP (per my GYN) since I was due so I am waiting on that next week but got an email from the surgeons office stating that my PAP had to be normal before I could be "cleared" for surgery. Normal? My PAPs aren't normal and my GYN informed me that they wouldn't be normal for a while. So I sent a nasty-ish email back stating that is not what they originally told me. She said that they will submit all my information to the board after I get my PAP and they will see that I have a history of abn PAPs and may say they need a letter from my GYN stating that I am good to have surgery. My question is should I go ahead and have my GYN submit that just so that they will have it and it won't make me wait another couple weeks before I can get approved?

Do not let the negatives run your life! I will be banded sometime next month and I have been reading all of these posts and have determined that EVERYONE gets frustrated at times. And more importantly, everyone is different! Reading the negatives doesn't stop me from wanting the band, in fact, I appreciate it because I know it's not going to be an easy journey and if I only saw positive posts/comments then I would feel like something was wrong with me if I wasn't feeling like rainbows and ponies when I woke up..you know? You are right, the band is a tool so make it work for you! You control the band!

You couldn't have said it any better pugs, I completely agree with you.

Yea, I wanted to tell her to read my information that I got from the surgeons office. This isn't just some fad diet, this is for the rest of my life. Nothing about this surgery even SOUNDS like the easy way out! She is ridiculous!

I don't know why I thought this was going to be a quick processed (getting approved) but I did. I have my lifestyle class today and technically I should be done after that, but of course the dr found an issue with my heart so now I have to be cleared by a cardiologist before I can have surgery and I have to have a current PAP done since I have dysplasia. It's like everytime I get close, something keeps popping up. I have a feeling that when my PAP comes back abnormal (and it will-for sure) they will tell me I have to take care of that, even though I had the LEEP procedure and it is going to take a series of tests over months to determine whether or not it eventually turns normal or I have to have another LEEP. Ahh, its just so frustrating. And the frustration is rubbing off at home, partially because I am frustrated and partially because I am so self conscience about my weight that I am feeling down and feeling like my husband doesn't love me anymore Of course, he hasn't said or done anything to make me think that, it's just my fat brain telling me so. Ugh. And of course he has to be the cute Army recruiter that all the girls love..sigh.. I can't believe I gained this weight after my son was born in December. I was 160 before (of course still needed to lose weight but thought I looked great) and am now up to 214 just in that mere few months and I can't lose it to save my life. It's just frustrating.. Sorry, today is my off day and I'm allowed

You guys are absolutely right! I just needed someone else to tell me to suck it up! (in not so many words!) I am my worst critic, even though I try not to be, and of course my family would rather me be here than thinner, my initial reaction was just "great, what next!" but I will definitely take things one day at a time and know that each day I am a step closer to my "b-day" Thanks so much for the support!!

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Hey, I am just saying what I heard my surgeon say in the seminar. In no way am I a Dr-just relaying information.

I had an ECHO done on Sept 21, and my surgeon called me to tell me that one of the valves in my heart isn't closing all the way so I need to get cleared from a Cardiologist before I can have the surgery (I've met all other requirements) My appointment with the cardio is on Monday at 11am and they told me I had to get a referral from my PCM (Tricare Prime) for the cardiologist. I called my PCM for the referral and after the nurse talked with him, she called me back and said that he had to see me before he would write the referral. WTF! The surgeon and cardiologist and PCM are all Scott & White so he can see the results of that. I hung up with her and called the surgeon to see if they could write it and due to them being "specialty physicians" they are unable to do so. So I called my PCM back and after pleading with the receptionist who agreed with me, they talked to him and he finally agreed to write it without seeing me. I will be switching PCMs after the surgery. He doesn't agree with the LAP band so he doesn't want to make anything easy for anyone, and although they aren't allowed, the nurse/receptionist agreed with me and told me they have had several problems with that from him. Ugh! Even though I am happy he agreed to write it, I am appalled that he would put me through hell because of a well educated decision that I have made to have this surgery. I hate him.

The bariatric seminar I attended said people with BMI over 50 cannot get the band, and the gastric or sleeve is recommended. I would tell your DR to still refer you to a surgeon because they will be able to tell you yes or no and if your dr refuses, then seek another dr

This is what I have been calling "phantom fat"..we can definitely tell, keep up the good work!!