Newbie living in Hawaii...

[advana 0]

Hi everyone! My name is Brittany. I'm 22 and happily married to my soldier. I have a beautiful daughter, Ava, who just turned one. We live on Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. For the most part I have a very happy life, I deal with the normal trials of being an Army wife. Long deployments, ect. Everything is pretty good with my life, except I'm huge!!! I'm 5'4 and weigh 286. I weighed 230 when I got pregnant with Ava and I just haven't been able to lose this "baby weight'. But I've always been a big girl, I've never really been ashamed or embarrassed of it either, but now my weight is starting to effect my health. I have really bad back pain, my knees hurt all the time, ect. And running after a toddler all day isn't easy. Which is why I am here in this forum. I have decided to persue Lap Band surgery. I know this surgery wont cure me, but it will help me get healthier for my family. Which is the most important thing in the world to me.

Almost all of my mom's side of the family is overweight and they have all had the Bypass done. I NEVER wanted to have that surgery. It was never an option for me, personally. But last year my cousin Christi said she was going to have Lap Band surgery. Up until that day I had never heard of it before. She started explaining it to me and it sounded very appealing. So I started researching it and discovered how great it would be for myself! But my husband was deployed to Iraq and I had just had Ava, so it wasn't really a good time then. And I was in denial that I had let myself get so big.

So I have been putting this surgery off for quite some time now, and I have finally gotten up the courage to go through with it. I made an appointment with my PCM on the 26th of this month. And if all goes well, we will hopefully get the ball running.

So now that I've introduced myself, I have a few questions; As we are currently stationed in Hawaii, and I have Tri Care Prime insurrance, I was wondering if anyone has had surgery in Hawaii using Tri Care?

How long does it take to get a surgery date using Tri Care?

I was told I would have to have the surgery done at TAMC. Has anyone had theirs done there?

If so how was it?

And in general, how is the surgery?

Whats it like post op?

Will I be able to take care of my lil' girl afterwards or is there a certain amount of recovery time?

Would it be a good idea for my husband to ask for some time off after the surgery?

How is the weight loss process?

Is there certain foods I wont be able to eat anymore, drinks, ect?

I think thats all teh questions I have right now. If I left something out, feel free to fill me in! Thanks!!

Brittany:rolleyes: