livvsmum

Good luck on the insurance. Waiting is the hardest part!!! I'm waiting on approval for my brachioplasty & they said I would hear no later than 30 days. Tomorrow will be 30 days. They are really pushing it! Lol

Thank you! I feel like a new person having all of that off of me!

I had recurring infections and skin breakdown on my stomach. I documented it WELL with my PCP for 4 months before even sending it to insurance. We sent it with a history of medications tried and failed, etc. and photos from the surgeon. It was approved in a matter of days and my surgery was maybe 1.5 weeks later. Quick and easy approval just like my sleeve surgery. They did deny the brachioplasty, but what I've come to learn is that they didn't include any of the medical records when they sent it in for whatever reason. I am an avid runner and I am getting a lot of infections and skin breakdown from the excess arm skin. I have several months of PCP documentation , prescriptions tried and failed, etc, pictures, plus a very compelling letter from my PCP and a personal letter from me. That's why all of that combined ended up being 80 pages for them to review. That's why I say if they deny it again, I just don't know what else there is for me to say to base it on, you know? I've thrown in the who shebang this time.......

I know what you mean though. I've lost 155 pounds and still feel ike I look like crap in a pair of shorts because of what I see as "saggy" inner thigh skin. It's frustrating when you lose weight and still don't feel comfortable in things you thought you would.

I'm sorry to hear that you have gained your weight back. That has definitely got to be a really discouraging feeling. I didn't read through all the posts, but have you worked at all with a therapist to get to the bottom of the "food issues" that most of the time aren't reallly "food issues"? Around 8 months post op the "honeymoon" was over for me, and I know for a fact that I would have gained weight back instead of going on to reach my goal weight without the help of my therapist. I still go weekly. I highly recommend it. Or at the very least I recommend the books "When Food is Love" and "Women, Food, and Love"........

Thank you! I feel awesome, which is even better! :-)

The way that I went about it was I contacted my insurance company to find out exactly what requirements I needed, I worked with my PCP to meet all of the requirements, all the while researching what surgeon I wanted to do the procedure. Then when I met the requirements and was eligible I met with the surgeon and we submitted to insurance. I got the approval within a couple days and surgery was scheduled about a week and a half later. In my mind, there was really no point in meeting with a surgeon until I knew I had all the requirements met and was good to go.

This is me about 4 weeks post op from my TT and panniculectomy. I still have the scar sheets on my scar, but it's healing quite nicely. I could not be more pleased with the results.

I was approved for both the tummy tuck and panniculectomy. Honestly I don't know that I would have considered one without the other. I could NOT be more pleased with the results. I'm about 8 weeks out and still quite sore in my core from the abdominoplasty, but I had a lot of muscle repair that was done. I personally wouldn't consider one without the other. I'll attach my before after pics so far. The scar is covered with scar sheets still, but it is healing up very nicely.

Thanks!

So I was approved for my tummy tuck and panniculectomy in April of this year and had the surgery quickly after approval. At the same time they submitted for my brachioplasty, which was denied. I didn't stress too much because the TT was really my first priority, but while I was recovering from the TT I put together my appeal to send in to the insurance company, which ended up being 80 pages (lol....ooops). They received it on June 1 and told me I would have a decision via mail no later than 30 days later (which would be June 30). I am dying here. They are taking their good old time!!! I guess that is what I get for submitting an 80-page appeal. Waiting is the worst! Now that I'm mostly healed from the TT I'm ready to get on with this and complete my plastics! I don't know what I will do if they deny it again! I guess there is a 3rd level appeal you can do, but I don't what else I can provide them with. We shall see I guess.,

Good luck to you on starting your journey. You and I had similar starting points. I am 5'7" as well and my starting BMI was 43.6. Now it is 19.6. It is such an amazing experience. WElcome and good luck!

Congrats on taking the first step to the new you and your journey! It's such an amaznig life-changing experience if you utilize the surgery to its full potential. Welcome and good luck!

For me the pain really was minimal. My procedure was laproscopic. I had some pain/discomfort the first few days drinking. I was shocked that it hurt to drink tiny teaspoon fulls of Water at a time, but that quickly got much better. I was back to work in 2 weeks. I could have used another week off just because of energy level, but pain was fine. The pain after my tummy tuck was WAY worse. Like 100 times worse....lol

I didn't weigh myself for the first week or 10 days or so after surgery, just because I was pumped full of IV fluids in the hospital. I didn't lose as much as I thought when I did finally weigh myself just because of that. Once I got through that first week or so though, now 22 months post op I can tell you that i've never really "gained". I mean, I may fluctuate a pound or 2 during that time of the month, but I definitely would not expect to gain at any point really if you are sticking to the plan as far as the right amounts of Protein, carbs, Water, not loading up on sodium, etc. The first 8 months or so you will see the weight fly off if you stick to the new way of eating. You may stall here or there, but I don't see any reason that you would gain. That's been my experience anyway.....

You are welcome to check out mine, I kinda like it. I started it 9 months pre-op and continue it even today, now 22 months post op, at my dream goal, and 155 pounds lost. Happy reading (it's linked in my siggy).

It took me 10 months to reach my "first goal" of 150 pounds which was about 120 pounds. Since that time, I've lost an additional 25 pounds to my dream goal weight of 125. That took about 18 months.

Here are my most recent before/after pics taken at 22 months post op.

So after 22 months, losing 155 pounds, reaching my "dream goal" weight of 125 pounds and healing from my tummy tuck and panniculectomy, I took some before/after pics that I feel really embody the new me. It's been such an amazing journey, and I can honestly say that the change has been from the inside out, thanks to some hard emotional work with my therapist, dealing with the "eating issues" that really were not about food at all. This journey has been absolutely amazing, and while the recovery from the TT was WAY harder than I expected, I wouldn't change any of it for the world. I Think my journey is complete now for the most part. I am waiting on insurance approval for an arm lift, and I was told I would hear by the end of June, so that is the only other thing that could possible make me feel any better physically. And now that my TT is mostly healed (though i'll be sore for several more months) I'm back to running now, which emotionally makes me feel so much more grounded. It is my meditation. Anyway....I just thought I would post this here for anyone coming on the "success stories" board to see if the surgery is right for them or could help them. I can tell you that for me, it has provided me the opportunity to make some changes I wasn't able to make before and I'm way happy with the results! So here are my almost 2-year post op (post TT) before and after pics.

Thank you!!! Hang in there!! You will get the great amazing results too! Just hang there!!

Bravo! Gorgeous!!!! Thank you! I had a good surgeon!

where does one find it at? It's linked in my signature, but the website is themeiamnow.blogspot.com. I started it in Jan 2013 right before/after my first pre-op appointment (which ended up being 9 months before surgery). I've tried to update it at least 1 time a week since then and I'm now 22 months post op. I've also tried to be as honest as possible...the good and the bad. I'm glad others are finding it helpful, because that is why I did it.

Awww thanks! [blushing]. I'm actually thinking of turning it into a book at some point down the road when I feel "stable". My degrees are in English, I write, I teach English, so it kinda makes sense. And I feel like there is a lack in this kind of info for WLS patients. My surgeon's office gave me a book to read and it's all about what to expect physically and what to do physically to succeed, and don't get me wrong that is ALL so important, but I feel like there's the whole emotional, psychological side of it that we've barely scratched the surface of....

YES! I was telling my friend about this and I said it was basically like when I was pregnant and complete strangers feel the freedom to comment on my body at will "oh you look huge" "you look so tired, etc"

Thank you for the compliment :-)