TBodmer71

I am located in Southern New Hampshire about 40 minutes north of Boston. We have some really great medical schools and hospitals in the area. I am trying to find out if anybody knows if the teaching hospitals perform plastic surgeries and if they do, is it at a discounted rate? Who would I contact at the schools and/or hospitals to inquire?

I had surgery on Aug 26th of 2013. I went from 289 down to 173 by the end of Aug 2014. I have since been sabotaging myself, finding excuses and not doing what I am supposed to be doing. Since August I have put back on 18lbs. I weighed myself this morning and the # is now 190.8lbs. I am so mad at myself. I've been telling myself for a few weeks now that "today is the day I start back on track" and then I go back to my grazing ways and not utilizing my gym downstairs. As of this morning I am holding myself accountable!.. I am going back to my Protein shakes, logging in my food and exercise journals everyday on my fitness pall, I'll be picking up a new pedometer today (I can't find mine) and I will not be the statistic and regain after all of the work, heartache, and struggles that I had to overcome. I will not allow myself to go back to the person I was that had major weight related medical issues, no energy, low self esteem etc. TODAY IS MY NEW DAY!

I find that quite often I will walk around things instead of squeezing through without realizing that I am not as big as I once was and could easily fit through most of the things I walk around. For instance.....As I left work today I parked my truck in front of a bush. Their was about a 2 foot space between the bush and my bumper. I walked around and then realized that I didn't need to because I can now easily fit in a 2 foot space. ( I've gone from a women's size 24 down to a size 6). But when walking in crowds, hallways, doorways, bathroom stalls, etc I find I think I need a lot more space than I really do. As for the Harley ride.......Good for you! I have my own fatboy and have enjoyed many charity runs.

I gave away thousands of dollars worth of clothes to people I know that could use them. What they didn't want they gave to others that could use them. We all know that good quality plus sized clothing is very expensive. There are also a lot of people out there that can't afford them. So, it made me feel good about giving them away. Although, my plus sized Harley Davidson clothes I sold on ebay.

Hello Everybody, I am hoping to find some answers. I live about 40 minutes north of Boston in Southern New Hampshire. Their are a few really great medical schools and teaching hospitals in the area. I am 11 months post-op and am starting to plan on having a lower body lift (or TT ), neck lift, breast lift and possibly augmentation. within the next year. Does anyone know if the medical schools offer plastics at a discounted rate? I know that Tufts Dental School offers a sliding fee scale. I have no idea who to call and ask. Leaving the US is not an option for me, so I am trying to find a less expensive option without compromising quality. Any suggestions? Here is a little history. HW 289, CW 176, Goal 164. I am hoping to be at goal for my 1 year surgery anniversary on Aug. 26th. I currently have a turkey gobbler neck, my panni is hanging pretty low, my entire lower half is "droopy", and my breasts are completely deflated. Don't get me wrong I love the way I look in clothes. I am much healthier than I was 1 year ago. I can strategically "place" body parts into my spanx but it is not a pretty sight when the spanx come off. I cannot imagine spending $50,000 or more for vanity but I am willing to invest in me.

Thank you for the info.....I will keep ya'll posted as to what I find out.

Yes I hit lots of stalls some lasting three weeks. My calories after about the six month mark hovered around 900-1000 I guess that's pretty high by sleeve standards. I exercises every day and sometimes I don't eat as clean as I should but for the most part I've been really diligent especially with protein. My advice get a calorie tracking app like my fitness pal and track everything! It has helped so much. Also, if you feel too much hunger and some pain the tendency is to blame acid and treat it accordingly. I did this for six months then the pain became unbearable last week so I went to the ER. I found out I had multiple gallstones and they removed my gallbladder. Common after this surgery. Since having it removed I haven't had that gnawing hunger feeling. So always be aware of that, it causes back pain too. Anyways good luck and I'm sure you'll rock it! I have to agree fully. I am 10 months post-op and have gone from 289lbs down to 179 so far. My clothes went from a 24W and 3X down to size 8 bottoms and large tops. My caloric intake also hovers around 1000 calories a day. But also keep in mind I am exercising (walking 5 miles and weight training) most days for 90 minutes or more. My food still is Proteins first but carbs are slowly creeping back into my life and I am gonna have to put an end to that because my weight loss has slowed because of it. Right now I am just 18lbs away from a "healthy" BMI of 25. I am really pushing to get to that goal for my surgiversary.

Woohoo! I was sleeved on August 26, 2013. As of this morning I am down to 182 from 289. I only have 22 more lbs to lose until I hit my personal goal of 160 which will put me in a "HEALTHY" bmi. I am 5'8". I was in a tight womens size 24 or 3X. I am now a size 8 or 10 and a size large or XL top. I am so glad I've documented everything along this journey. Here are a few pics that I'd like to share.

I am only 9 months post-op so it is still way too soon to have plastics done. Right now my abs look like a deflated balloon. My back is loose, my neck has a turkey gobbler, and my inner thighs, arms and buttocks are droopy. I am hoping that as time goes by some of it will firm up but I highly doubt it. For now I keep it all under control with body briefers. I will definitely consider plastics after the 18th month. Cost will be a huge consideration with what I opt to have done. If I could do it tomorrow I would have the excess skin on my neck removed. Everything else I can strategically place within my spanx.

I've tried to remember to take a photo every month but have missed a few. The 1st photo is 4 months pre-op. 2nd is 3 months pre-op. 3rd is 2 weeks pre-op. 4th is 2 weeks post-op. 5th is 2 months post-op. 6th is 4 months post-op. 7th is 3 months post-op. 8th is 7.5 months post-op. 9th is just shy of 9 months post-op.

My highest weight was 9 months prior to surgery. I started dieting and exercising soon after making the decision to have WLS. I was down to 266 when I started my 2 week liquid pre-op diet. The day of surgery I weighed 251.

i am surprised you stuck with him, those kinds of threats would have been a deal breaker for me. My husband is a very gruff man that I love very much. His anger about the whole procedure was more about his worries of me taking what he thought was an unnecessary risk of my life and he just didn't articulate it in a more politically correct fashion. He was this way when I met him, fell in love with him and married him. I did finally confront him about it and it did take a little bit of time and patience but he has been very supportive and proud of me since. His biggest relief was when the surgery was done and I made it though without any complications. It took a huge weight off his shoulders. I went into this marriage for better or worse. He has been worse and now he's behaving better. He could say the same about me.

I am 9 months post-op. I started this journey in November of 2012 with an appointment with my PCP who gave me the referral for WLS. Soon after that my Husband saw me reading "Weight loss surgery for dummies". He went ballistic. For months I listened to him Bit@h. He yelled at me, threatened me with divorce and wouldn't listen to me when I tried to explain anything about it. Things finally came to a head and I (verbally) fought back. I told him (screaming of course) that as his wife I have always "had his back" regardless of whether or not I agreed with him. I told him straight out that as my husband it was his responsibility to do the same and "have my back". I was going to have the surgery with or without his support. After that I tried not to mention anything about it. As the months went by and my surgery date got closer he did try one last time to convince me not to go through with it. His theory was that that if I was able to lose the weight that I did pre-op, I didn't "need" the surgery. Now here I am 9 months post-op. I am down a total of 106lbs. I am now 30lbs thinner than I was when I met him years ago. He is now super proud of me and my accomplishments and has conceded to the fact that I was right and he was wrong. The whole point to all of this was my goal to be healthier than I was. I have achieved that. And now he reaps the benefits of an active wife.

I relied on Scrambled eggs when I first started my "pureed" stage. I would mix in american cheese. At the beginning I would only be able to eat half and egg but it was pure heaven. My dog would enjoy the rest

Yes, it is normal. Just try to keep up with your liquid and Protein intake. If you become dehydrated it will definately make you feel tired.