KelseyBennett_vsg

I drink 2 Tbsp pbfit with 2 Scoops of my chocolate Protein powder and it's amazing! My old Ninja whips it up so quickly! Ready for a chance at really living! ❤️

You look fantastic! Much younger and even happier! 12 weeks is no time at all and the weight is flying off! Congrats and keep up the excellent work madam! Ready for a chance at really living! ❤️

Just wanted to throw my 2c in on the heated mattress pad topic. I have one (got it as a gift) that automatically shuts off after a few hours. You can set the temp to one of 5 settings with a remote in each side, and each side heats individually. I'm in love with it for this winter! Ready for a chance at really living! ❤️

Yes, that's all my surgeon requires Ready for a chance at really living! ❤️

My sleeve is Nov. 8th! 19 days away!!! <3 I absolutely can't wait. I found the FB group and sent a request. I waited so long to get my date, over a year for me, and now its really coming up fast and it can't get here soon enough. I have my pre-op appt Nov. 2nd and start my liquid diet Nov. 1st! Good luck all you November sleevers!!!! <3

Thank you all so much! The only day that I was more excited was on my wedding day! This is the final step toward the first day of the rest of my life ❤️ I'm just counting down every minute! Ready for a chance at really living! ❤️

Just want to let everyone know that I FINALLY got my surgery approval! It's been a rough road to get here, but it happens November 8th! I could not be more excited! Got everything sent off to the right people Thursday and they got back with me about 3:30 yesterday afternoon while I was in Walmart of all places! I've never had such a wonderful trip to Walmart, lemme tell you. After all of the things that have gone wrong, papers that couldn't be read, requirements I had to repeat and my denial in November, I never thought this day would come! Thank you all so much for all of your support! Yesterday everything finally seemed real. It's the craziest feeling knowing that in 50 some odd days, 7 weeks, I will be joining the Loser's Bench! Scootch your skinny booties over for me!! ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ Ready for a chance at really living! ❤️

It's been a couple of weeks since I posted, so here's my update. I finally got all of my weight loss study paperwork sent to my surgeon and they told me to go have my blood work re-done before they would submit to insurance, just to be safe. I went and had that done yesterday (they got it on the first stick!), they said it would just be a couple of days then they will fax to surgeon! I'm so nervous about insurance approval now it's ridiculous. I'm terrified they will deny me again bc I only maintained on the study, the weight just wouldn't come off. I would weigh in the morning and have lost 7 lbs, then by my afternoon appt it would all be back even if I didn't eat ???????? I'm so close now, I just can't give up! Anyone else have crazy nerves about insurance approval? I think this is the worst part for me. Sent from my SM-T530NU using the BariatricPal App

I've done the psych evaluation, the support group, the sleep study, the 6 months were all documented properly. The blood work I already had done, but it had been a year, so they wanted that done again before they would send off again. I completed everything in November of last year and got denied due to needing the weight loss study. My surgeons office assumed I didn't need it instead of actually verifying. My insurance company will not send requirements and guidelines to patients, I tried to get them last year when I first started my journey. They said that they only send them to doctors "because they are very technical and most people wouldn't understand them anyway". So I'm just kind of in limbo on that. I don't know what my insurance exactly requires and have just had to take my Pcp's advice on what he has had other patients do to get approved. My surgeons office is actually less than helpful, but they are the best in my state, so I'm trusting them to get me through this. Ready for a chance at really living! ❤️

Yes, I was denied in November bc my surgeons office didnt know I needed the 6 month Dr guided weight loss study. They assumed I didn't bc generic BCBSIL doesn't need one, but my Dad's employers specific plan does. It was kind of a nightmare to get everything done in a month, just to be denied bc of no fault of my own. But, I've got everything done now, and am quickly moving forward. I'm hoping it's a quick approval bc I'm 25 with a 63 BMI. It's been a rough road but I can see the end! Ready to really start living! ????

So, I got married back in April and never got my name changed with insurance, or most of my drs as I had already completed my appointments for surgery. Do I need to call those Drs and get my name changed on records before everything gets sent to insurance? I already submitted an update to insurance through my dad's employer, but just need a little advice on what to do with all of my Drs offices! Ready for a chance at really living! ❤️

Thanks I've already completed the legal name change, did that a few days after the wedding. I'm just hoping that u can get my surgery before I have to pay my 3rd deductible some starting this journey. It's so annoying that I'm a whole month behind on getting things going to insurance bc of my pcp's office. I just don't want to have to shell out more money again bc of something I had no control over Ready for a chance at really living! ❤️

I called my pcp to get my name changed and be sure the Doc that comes in signed my weight loss study records so I could send off to insurance, turns out their internet was down the only day he came in the past two weeks, so I have to wait 2 more weeks for him to sign anything! I'm starting to get really ancy bc I need to be approved before the end of September, otherwise I'll have to start doing appointments over again. ???????? Working with all of these doctors has been a nightmare. Not to mention my surgeons office didn't answer the phone today, they never answer the damn phone.... I'm starting to get really discouraged.... I've been working for a year to have surgery and it just keeps getting pushed back further and further away. Ready for a chance at really living! ❤️

Sorry, seems you answered some of my questions while I was typing! Glad to hear you got in touch with your Dr! Definitely resuming your meds should help. My therapist advised me that I can open the capsules and crush the pills to take them immediately post-op. Maybe you can do the same? I hope that you get to feeling better soon, hun! I am here for you, any time! Feel free to send me a message if you ever need anything at all!! ❤️❤️❤️ Ready for a chance at really living! ❤️

I also have BPD, and can honestly say that if you are feeling suicidal, please go to the ER and tell them your situation. They can monitor you and get you in with someone to talk to ASAP. I know exactly how you feel even though I haven't had surgery yet and I know how scary it can be. How alone you can feel. Please know that you are never alone and all of us care deeply for you and your well-being. You are facing a whole different set of challenges as someone with BPD than those without this face. Please go to the ER and have them put you in a room. Generally all I have to tell them is "My therapist told me to come here in case of an emergency, this is an emergency. I feel like I want to kill myself" it may seem extreme , but it will get results. If you are in pain tell them that, they can get the Dr to give you something for the pain and probably some light sedation to help you sleep. Please don't let it escalate any more than it has. That you had the presence of mind to come here and tell us shows great strength and resilience. Also, are you medicated for BPD? Have you missed any of them or run out? I know that can send me into a very rapid downward spiral. I can only imagine how you must be feeling being in so much pain after a revision. I don't think it's normal to be in extreme pain. I would absolutely go get it checked. Please go to the ER and have them admit you for a long as you need. We love you and want you here to share your journey! Ready for a chance at really living! ❤️

Good luck to everyone who is joining the losers bench tomorrow! I can't wait to get my date and I wish you all a very speedy recovery! Keep us posted!! Ready for a chance at really living! ❤️

I can honestly say (and apparently I'm in the minority) that I love my SILICONE wedding band. I had outgrown my engagement ring and knew I was going to have surgery so I went with the cheapest option I could find until I lose weight again. It could be something to look into. Mine is a Qalo and it's Teal (one of my wedding colors). I love it just as much as my diamond bc of what it represents. Just a suggestion and maybe something to look into. You can even order them a size smaller and they will stretch a bit to fit your finger. Ready for a chance at really living! ❤️

Oh jeez, I've never in my entire life been a medium!! XL is the smallest I've ever been, and that was like 8th or 9th grade XD I'm sure I was some smaller when I was younger but I can't remember lol! I am hoping to get down to a medium someday, but I'd be happy with a large. I just want to be able to buy clothes ANYWHERE I DAMN WELL WANT! Not just Cato or Lane Bryant (which I'm currently too big for). If I don't lose weight and ate to continue to gain I would very quickly no longer be able to buy clothes in any store! I'm the biggest size in Cato right now, 4x or a 28/30. It's kind of terrible, but I'm working hard to change that and see those inches GO! Sent from my LG-H901 using the BariatricPal App

I will absolutely keep you updated! Hopefully everything will be sent off this week and insurance will approve me quickly! I understand about not being as happy as you want to be. 110%. When I lost all of that weight with Adipex I was extremely happy. So happy to be thinner, happy to be able to buy new clothes that weren't 3 and 4x. I'm searching for that feeling again I think. I know that I can do it if I have the right tools and if I'm not ravenous all the time! It's going to be hard at times, but I'm so ready for that. I'm ready for the chance to be healthy and happy and make the changes for life Sent from my LG-H901 using the BariatricPal App

Yeah, Adipex is nasty stuff. It's just legal speed. When I found out now bad it was for my heart I almost immediately stopped taking it. I was taking a double dose every day, by drs orders, and with my dad having congenital heart failure, it wasn't something I felt that I could risk. I am really hoping that I get approved. They initial denial in November almost made me give up, but in the end I just doubled down and decided that I had to get healthy. Also that sooner was better than later, seeing as at 26 we lose our parents insurance and being a student I didn't know if I was going to be able to have surgery any time soon if I put it off lol. I wouldn't say that I'm inherently unhappy, I'm too medicated for that XD I take a few different meds for a pre-existing mood disorder, but I am hoping that will improve as some of the weight comes off. I know my self esteem will go up, so that should help ???? Sent from my LG-H901 using the BariatricPal App

Oh yes, my Dr is phenomenal. Ferrin Bayles is his name. I actually had to switch pcp's when I started this journey bc mine that I had been seeing for years just kept pushing Adipex at me. I lost 100lbs on that stuff, and gained back 120lbs when I stopped taking it. Terrible stuff. But yes, my Dr wrote a note in my study paperwork that he thought that I was an excellent candidate for surgery and that it would likely save my life. I'm certainly not giving up, I'm only 25, but I know that if I don't get this now that I won't be around at 40 to enjoy kids and grandkids one day. I want to be healthy more than I want any food ever. If they could remove all of my stomach, I'd tell them to! Lol! Sent from my LG-H901 using the BariatricPal App

I'm in the same boat! I yo-yo'd 3 lbs back and forth and am just playing the waiting game. My Dr kept telling me that insurance just does it as a formality to see if you really want surgery or if you will give up. Every insurance policy is different though, so I can't be of much more help, just my 2 cents. Some people have been denied for not losing enough per their policy, but it just really depends. Hopefully all of my stuff will be sent off to insurance this coming week, so I'll be sure to let you know how mine turns out! Sent from my LG-H901 using the BariatricPal App

Some people say that (depending on insurance) if you don't lose, they will deny you. Generally my insurance BCBSIL doesn't require a weight loss study at all, but my specific plan, through my dad's employer, does. I haven't been able to get any hard info on what they're requirements are. My doc said that they just want to see you try and see if you will drop out of wanting surgery. I'm just afraid that they will say that I DIDN'T try and deny me. It's been giving me a lot of stress since I'm already done with it and there's nothing I can do about it now. I just don't want to have to do all of my appointments again and another study. I think I would seriously cry for days. Sent from my LG-H901 using the BariatricPal App

Speaking of pickles, any ideas on how soon post-op we can eat them? Pickles have been my favorite food all my life and I am pretty sure I would die without them. I've never really binged on them, but I would like to try them post-op just to see if I still have the taste for them. Sent from my LG-H901 using the BariatricPal App

Kind of the same. I just finished my weight loss study and decided to do some more serious research on insurance approval stories. Mostly it gives me stress. I have a great support system in my family and husband, but it's so nice to read things from people who have already had surgery, and provide support to folks who are just starting. I honestly wish that I had found this forum 6 months ago so maybe I would have done better in my study. I kind of botched it, went up and down 3 lbs over and over again, followed my docs instructions but the weight just wouldn't come off. I'm super nervous my insurance is going to deny me again. Anyway, I'm very glad that I DID find this site, it's been very therapeutic knowing I'm not the only person who has gone through this, and that some people actually have more trouble than I have ???? Sent from my LG-H901 using the BariatricPal App