Bwa

The Medicaid denial is based on your state Medicaid guidelines, not whether Medicare is primary. Since it is a Medicare covered service, you will be liable for the 20% Medicare coinsurance, and it can be pursued all the way to collections even though you are a Medicaid patient, specifically because it is considered non-covered by your Medicaid plan.

I mean obviously I'm a stranger on the Internet so take this info with a grain of salt. But my career is in Medical Billing, specifically Medicare and Medicaid.

Best of luck to you!

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I started at 629 lbs (per the bed scale at the hospital; I was on a ventilator for 8 days with what, in retrospect, was probably Covid-19) on 12/26/2019.

I weighed 501 lbs at my consultation with the surgeon on August 14th, and 460 lbs on my surgery date of 10/21/2020, and last week when I weighed myself I weighed 428 lbs.

So to date, I have lost around 200 lbs. It's so much, but I still have so much left to go. I feel so much better, and I can do so many more things, but I can't wait to see what the future holds. I know I can do this. I have proven to myself time and again that I can.

Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

I started at 629 lbs (per the bed scale at the hospital; I was on a ventilator for 8 days with what, in retrospect, was probably Covid-19) on 12/26/2019.

I weighed 501 lbs at my consultation with the surgeon on August 14th, and 460 lbs on my surgery date of 10/21/2020, and last week when I weighed myself I weighed 428 lbs.

So to date, I have lost around 200 lbs. It's so much, but I still have so much left to go. I feel so much better, and I can do so many more things, but I can't wait to see what the future holds. I know I can do this. I have proven to myself time and again that I can.

Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

I started at 629 lbs (per the bed scale at the hospital; I was on a ventilator for 8 days with what, in retrospect, was probably Covid-19) on 12/26/2019.

I weighed 501 lbs at my consultation with the surgeon on August 14th, and 460 lbs on my surgery date of 10/21/2020, and last week when I weighed myself I weighed 428 lbs.

So to date, I have lost around 200 lbs. It's so much, but I still have so much left to go. I feel so much better, and I can do so many more things, but I can't wait to see what the future holds. I know I can do this. I have proven to myself time and again that I can.

Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

I started at 629 lbs (per the bed scale at the hospital; I was on a ventilator for 8 days with what, in retrospect, was probably Covid-19) on 12/26/2019.

I weighed 501 lbs at my consultation with the surgeon on August 14th, and 460 lbs on my surgery date of 10/21/2020, and last week when I weighed myself I weighed 428 lbs.

So to date, I have lost around 200 lbs. It's so much, but I still have so much left to go. I feel so much better, and I can do so many more things, but I can't wait to see what the future holds. I know I can do this. I have proven to myself time and again that I can.

Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

I started at 629 lbs (per the bed scale at the hospital; I was on a ventilator for 8 days with what, in retrospect, was probably Covid-19) on 12/26/2019.

I weighed 501 lbs at my consultation with the surgeon on August 14th, and 460 lbs on my surgery date of 10/21/2020, and last week when I weighed myself I weighed 428 lbs.

So to date, I have lost around 200 lbs. It's so much, but I still have so much left to go. I feel so much better, and I can do so many more things, but I can't wait to see what the future holds. I know I can do this. I have proven to myself time and again that I can.

Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

I literally just told my husband this morning that I am completely obsessed with my changing body. I keep trying to imagine what it will be like when I get to goal. I keep touching the emerging muscles and bones. I look in the mirror and move the fatty, loose skin around. I try to see if anything looks different from the week before. I put on clothes, and look and feel for differences in the way they fit. When I am working out I like to feel the different muscles engage and watch them work. I am a creeper on myself😳😳😳

You know how you incidentally touch yourself all the time without really thinking about it? As my body composition changes, I am feeling a bit disoriented because my body is so unfamiliar...for example:

1. When I lean my head on my hand (you know, elbow on the table, chin in hand), the shape of my face feels different - I can actually feel the point of my chin pressing into my hand.

2. I generally fall sleep lying on my left side with my right arm lying along the length of my right leg. Now, my leg feels different - the curve is more pronounced because my leg is smaller overall. Before the surface felt almost flat and now I can feel the curvature very definitely.

3. When I wash my face, my forehead feels very firm now that there is less fat under the skin.

4. As I continue to lose weight, my tummy, which used to be firm and packed with fat, is now soft and squishy as the fat dissolves. It's almost like a pillow that has had some of the stuffing taken out.

5. I have an over-the-shoulder-around-the-body style messenger bag and I can feel the bag pressing on my collar bone when it's heavy. That never happened before.

6. As my arms slim down, they hang closer to my sides. I find myself adopting an "elbows-in" posture more often, because my arms fit into the curve of my waist now.

Then there's the visual disorientation...when I look in the mirror, I have a hard time internalizing that that is me. It's been decades since I was this thin...I don't know this body.

Anyone else feel a little disoriented living in a new body?

I have found that the Jones Dairy Farm chicken Breakfast sausage links are an excellent choice as well. They are frozen, but heat up quickly and are delicious!

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SMOKING:
I started smoking again on vacation last sept after being smoke free for 11 YEARS. I said it would just be on vacation, which led to just finish this pack I brought home with me, to just while its warm outside, to basically smoking as if I never stopped all these years. Slippery slope indeed. I made 2-3 attempts to quit during the past year+ but if I'm honest, I haven't tried so very hard. Am still smoking.
DRINKING:
On paper, apparently I am an "excessive drinker" now. I was a "social drinker" pre-wls, maybe 3-4 drinks a MONTH, max. This slowing started increasing since last summer, to where I was drinking maybe 2-3 drinks a WEEK by Christmas. Always when I was out, or at a party.
Now (especially since pandemic started) I drink pretty much everyday, and at home. According to literature, "excessive drinking" in women is when 7 or more drinks are consumed in a week. Yep, that's me. On paper, based on what I've been reading, I just barely fit the criteria of being a High Functioning Alcoholic. Barely, but I do fit. Am still drinking.
OBSESSION PREOCCUPATION with food:
This one I don't consider to be too damaging, but it is a little eyebrow-raising. I think about food probably 1/2 of my waking hours. The things I find I spend ALOT of time on and/or get actual pleasure from: spending time looking at food pics, organizing the pics and Urls based on interest, planning and shopping for meals, cooking/baking, plating food, taking pics of the finished product, watching people eat it, smelling it, reading an ENTIRE menu to the last detail often multiple times, ordering off said menu, having Food Network on TV as my background noise. Actually EATING the food is very low on the enjoyment priority scale. Sure I'll eat/taste something if I deem it "worthy", but more often than not, I'd rather do any number of the former things instead. Am still preoccupied with food.

I have a reverse type body dysmorphia. When I look in the mirror, I still see my 30 year old self. When I see myself in photos, I barely recognize myself. I'm a size 18 right now, my surgery is in the morning. I have wondered how I will "see" myself.

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I am almost 3 years out. I am feeling the best I have felt in many years. My only problem in life is my dear hubby of 49 years passed a year ago. My doc said to be careful, after a loss people tend to stress eat. Not me.
Hang in there , life is what you make it.
I will admit to buying cute clothes , I justify it with he would have wanted me to look nice. His motto was if you look good, you feel good! So true!

Hi please bare with me I’ll try to explain my best! so I have Medicare as my primary insurance and state medicaid as my secondary insurance. Typically I don’t get a bill bc the state insurance picks up what Medicare doesn’t pay.
Well my surgery is approved by Medicare but the Medicaid is saying they won’t approve it bc they require 1 year free from alcohol/ drugs as I use marijuana for pain management that violates there rules.
Typically I follow Medicares rules as they are the primary n the medicaid They would cover the part A Deductible and the leftover copayment 20% etc. I feel like the medicaid denial is based on if they were they primary which they are not. So I basically have no idea of I’ll have a huge bill or not. has anyone been through something similar?

Hi 👋🏽
Try as hard as you can to stick with the measured amounts and timed eating. (e.g. 1/4 cup of soft foods eaten over 15-30 mins)
I know it's easier said than done when you're not used to it or even hungry, but it's really important so than you don't max out the capacity of your new stomach while it's healing or push foods through by overloading.
Perhaps try to take slower bites or longer breaks between each bite. But also 4 ozs of softer foods tend to s l i d e down easier than 4ozs of solid Proteins.
Good Luck ♥️

cheese Stuffed, Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf with homemade Keto ketchup (BFF made the ketchup for me and it tastes just like ketchup - actually better!)
One slice (as shown) is 301 calories. I had a whole slice, with about 1 tsp of the keto ketchup (I have no idea what the caloric count of this is, so I'm just going to guess maybe 15 cals per tsp).
This meatloaf was crazy filling and I probably ate too much as I am uncomfortably full. Was very yum though!
 

The first pic is from before surgery: a turkey burger on a bun, with fettucine noodles in cheesy cream sauce. The second pic is from after surgery: ground pork taco meat with a little shredded cotija cheese and sour cream. It was probably about 1/4 cup of meat; the perspective is a little and it looks like more than there actually was. I find that ground meats sit better in my stomach than whole cuts.  

Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

The first pic is from before surgery: a turkey burger on a bun, with fettucine noodles in cheesy cream sauce. The second pic is from after surgery: ground pork taco meat with a little shredded cotija cheese and sour cream. It was probably about 1/4 cup of meat; the perspective is a little and it looks like more than there actually was. I find that ground meats sit better in my stomach than whole cuts.  

Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

The first pic is from before surgery: a turkey burger on a bun, with fettucine noodles in cheesy cream sauce. The second pic is from after surgery: ground pork taco meat with a little shredded cotija cheese and sour cream. It was probably about 1/4 cup of meat; the perspective is a little and it looks like more than there actually was. I find that ground meats sit better in my stomach than whole cuts.  

Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

The first pic is from before surgery: a turkey burger on a bun, with fettucine noodles in cheesy cream sauce. The second pic is from after surgery: ground pork taco meat with a little shredded cotija cheese and sour cream. It was probably about 1/4 cup of meat; the perspective is a little and it looks like more than there actually was. I find that ground meats sit better in my stomach than whole cuts.  

Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

The first pic is from before surgery: a turkey burger on a bun, with fettucine noodles in cheesy cream sauce. The second pic is from after surgery: ground pork taco meat with a little shredded cotija cheese and sour cream. It was probably about 1/4 cup of meat; the perspective is a little and it looks like more than there actually was. I find that ground meats sit better in my stomach than whole cuts.  

Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

The first pic is from before surgery: a turkey burger on a bun, with fettucine noodles in cheesy cream sauce. The second pic is from after surgery: ground pork taco meat with a little shredded cotija cheese and sour cream. It was probably about 1/4 cup of meat; the perspective is a little and it looks like more than there actually was. I find that ground meats sit better in my stomach than whole cuts.  

Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

The first pic is from before surgery: a turkey burger on a bun, with fettucine noodles in cheesy cream sauce. The second pic is from after surgery: ground pork taco meat with a little shredded cotija cheese and sour cream. It was probably about 1/4 cup of meat; the perspective is a little and it looks like more than there actually was. I find that ground meats sit better in my stomach than whole cuts.  

Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

My dietitian said 850 to 1000. I'm am 3 months post op. I usually get between 700 to 800.

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I have found that the Jones Dairy Farm chicken Breakfast sausage links are an excellent choice as well. They are frozen, but heat up quickly and are delicious!

Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

Turkey sausage to serve with scrambled eggs.