welcome home ....glad everything went wel land that you are feeling good.let me know if you need anything debbie

Hello, You have to go to your PCM to see what your base requirments are for surgery. Each base has different standards. Some people just need to submit the paperwork to Tricare, others, like me, had to take a 3 month health class. Your PCP will have the info for you. Also some Dr.'s are against any type of weight loss surgery so if yours is, you may want to think about switching Dr.'s. They are ultimatly the ones who fill out the paperwork for Tricare approval. As far as great surgerons, the PP is right, Prof. Weiner in Frankfurt is second to none. He teaches all over the world, has televised surgeries for other Dr.'s to see and his team of Dr.'s is are top notch. He is a world known bariatric surgeon and even answers patient e-mails himself. He also performs all of the 5 or 6 weight loss surgeries. He is one of only a few surgeons in the world who does. I had gastric bypass and know of over the 3000 gastric bypass surgeries, he has never lost a patient. I also have heard that his lap-band patients are happy and he does wonderfully with those surgeries as well. Good luck and let me know if you have anymore questions! ~Sheryl

Hi! I just got home from surgery on Saturday night. I did do the liquid diet for 2 weeks with lots of protein shakes. I was told by the NUT at Ramstein that they are good to have pre-op to help healing after surgery. I did cheat on the liquid diet here and there but no big meals the night before surgery, food was killing me and I had to look at big quanities of food and bad food as the enemy, not my friend. That was just me and everyone does something different. He asks for you to do the liquid diet to shrink your liver so there is less of a chance that it gets knicked during surgery. However after I got my medical report, it said I still had a fatty liver even after my liquid diet. I know people who have stuck to the diet and did great and people who never did it and were great too. I just wanted to get started on my new life. Good luck to you! I know how nervewracking the waiting game is but it was easier then I though post-op. I was off pain meds by the 2nd day post-op and took a few steps the night of surgery. Please let me know if you have anymore questions. I know I had a million about hte hospital and what to bring and ect. ~Sheryl

Hello, I am new here......my name is Tammy and I live in Bamberg. I am scheduled to get my surgery on the 15th this month by Dr. Weiner. I see some of you have gotten your surgery done by him also. He told me to go on a liquid diet (if I could) a week before the surgery. I have sooooooooo tried to stick to this liquid diet. I am really having a hard time. I am so friggin hungry all the time. For the most part I have stuck to it but the 2nd day I ate some popcorn at the movies, the 3rd day I ate a couple of scrambled eggs for dinner and tonight I had a big pancake. The rest of the time I have stuck to the diet. Dinner time is what is so hard for me. Did you all stick to the liquid diet? I saw where someone recommended eating a big meal the night before pre-op. So I am wondering if my suffering is really necessary....LOL.

Hello, my name is Bobby Hunt and I had Gastric Bypass surgery 8/28/07. I am looking for a support group in Germany, preferably in Bavaria but anywhere would be fine. If there isn't one I would like to try to start a virtual support group. Does anyone have any suggestions? I get a lot out of going to supportgroup meetings and Im afraid I'll get off the straight and narrow without it. Thanks, and good losing!!! BJ Hunt