Frangipani

Hi Julie, Thank you so much ! How are you doing and feeling? Thanks Lulu -- and congrats on your killer workout today. Running plus a lower body weight workout is really tough! It is a relief Becky, and I was pretty impressed with the lab and the radiology clinic here, both are modern and very efficient. I did a walk-in at the radiology clinic and within 20 minutes I had not only been seen, but also had my chest x-ray report and a Cd of the images to take with. My bloodwork was done in the AM and I had the results and a copy of the report by the afternoon. Not too shabby for an island, huh?

Well, I had to run all over the place today to have everything done, but I finally completed all of the pre-op tests that that the two Dr.'s wanted, and everything is a-okay! I have a question for any of you who have had a breast lift with an "anchor" incision. How do you feel about the scarring? Is it an acceptable trade-off for the improvement you see in your breasts? I definitely want to have the breasts done, no question about that, but I'm wondering how I am going to feel about the scar.............

Thank you so much Daddy -- your encouragement means a lot :thumbup::smile::frown:! LOL about the Nair :wink2:. Now you're getting a taste of what we girls have to do all the time plus a lot more!!! (Well, except we don't have to remove hair from our shoulders and back, thank goodness......). Good luck with your Tri on Saturday!!!! We'll be rooting for you!!!! Oh, and take lots of pics -- we want to see them!!!

More great suggestions -- thank you ! I didn't even think of the disposable pads, but that's a great thing to have on hand.

Hi -- thanks for starting the new thread Luluc! Karey, I have read that walking sticks can help take significant amount pressure off of the joints. The other great things about walking sticks is that they improve your stability and therefore help to prevent injuries. Walking sticks are pretty popular in Europe, and I am hoping that some day they catch on here. I really like to hike and I am thinking of buying one myself. I got a session of Couch to 5K in at the local high school track this evening. Have a great night !

Oh Boy Kat, I can see myself now strolling down South Beach with sanitary napkins stuck to my belly -- I am going to have to beat the men off with a stick !!!!

Hi Guys, Everyone is doing great!!! Wnt2lose, thanks for the inspiring post -- I look forward to getting to that point soon! Well I talked it over with one of my coaches (Coach Daddy ), and he suggested that since I'm having surgery done next, I should just repeat week four, and not push it to the next level until I'm recovered. That sounded like great advice to me, so that's what I plan to do. I did finish week four this evening, but I will start it over again on Wednesday. If that turns out to be too easy, then I might do the first session of week 5 on Friday, but I think I will hold off on that 20 minute run until after my surgery. Have a great night :smile2::smile:!

Hi Everyone! I wanted to say hi and was wondering if I could join you in June! Will you be starting a new thread this month? Several of you I know or have exchanged posts with already, Ceradad, Whosyaddady (Hi Daddy !), Kareyquilts, Luluc, but I'm not sure how you do things around here, so please fill me in if there is anything I need to know. I will not be working out the entire month as I am having some surgery done next Friday, but I am going to try to get 8 workout sessions in between now and then, and I am currently working my way through the Couch to 5K running program. Have a great night everyone :smile2:!

Wow, lots of great ideas ladies -- thanks a lot!!! I will see if I can rent something to elevate the toilet seat, because I hate throw things out after using them for only a few days, if I can avoid it (just doesn't seem like a very "green" thing to do). I will also check with the hotel once I get there and see if they have something like this already. The wedge pillows on makemeheal.com look really great, Karey -- thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately since I'm leaving for Miami next Tuesday, I doubt there will be enough time for me to order one. I did look on the Bed Bath and Beyond website and they do seem to have a few different types, so I'll try that once I get into town and if not, I will also try a medical supply store. Thanks again everyone !

Thank you so much Kat! :smile::thumbup: And thanks for the suggestions too! I'm really hoping that I will be able to get out and walk and do things ASAP, because I know me, I will go absolutely stir crazy. I am SO hoping and keeping my fingers crossed that I bounce back as quickly as you did. I plan to purchase most of the things I need in Miami once I get there, so that I won't be loaded down with luggage. Do you think I can get a toilet seat riser and a wedge pillow at Bed Bath and Beyond or someplace like that? I definitely want to purchase both of these things, but I'm just not sure where to find them.........

Hi Teresa, Thank you so much :smile:! It's funny you mention your Grandmother, I have always thought that I had my Grandmother's basic shape to a T! (She's only a few pounds overweight, but we both have that bottom-heavy shape -- and yes, I have "thunder thighs" too). On the other hand, she had her last child at age 46 and is now 85 years old and teaches an exercise class that she's been teaching for decades, so I hope I inherited the rest of her genes as well!

Hi Gojaguars, It's not a dumb question. Fluoro (or Fluoroscopy) is a type of X-ray imaging that allows the Dr. to see your stomach and your band in action. You take a barium swallow and the image of the Fluid traveling through your "pouch" to your stomach can be seen in real time on a screen that both you and your Dr. can see. Usually what will happen is the Dr. will have you take a sip of the barium and observe how it travels through your pouch to the stomach, then he/she will inject some saline into the band and have you take another sip of the barium. If they like the restriction they see, then you're done for the day, but if not, they will have you repeat this process until they are satisfied with the restriction. Your stomach will immediately begin to swell as soon as the saline is injected, so even though a fill is being done under fluoro, it might still take a few more minor adjustments in subsequent days or months to get your fill just perfect. Not all Dr.'s use fluoro for fills, and yours might not -- which is why you might not have heard of it. I personally would not even consider having a fill without it, as it takes all of the guesswork out of the whole process. I also like the fact that every time I have a fill, the Dr. can see my band, my stomach, and my pouch, and confirm that everything is okay and working as it should.

Thank you Salsa -- congratulations to you too

Hi Karey! Wonderful photos, everything looks like it was just perfect. Love your daughter's dress and the flowers!!! Wow! What an attractive couple your daughter and son-in-law are!!! You're going to have beautiful grandchildren.

Becky LOL :lol::smile:! Go big or go home -- Love it!!! Sounds like I might need to move to Texas after my surgery, if I decide to go any larger! Thanks for the additional items to add to my shopping list too! Gojaguars, thank you so much for the well wishes and the "quick healing vibes," with as much surgery the two of us are having done we will definitely need those vibes, for sure! Becky is having her surgery close home and will be away from home for only two nights (right Becky?), but I'm having my surgery done in Miami. I will be in the hospital for three days, and then my husband will be with me for another four days after I'm released from the hospital. If I need help after that (which I hope I don't because I want to be up and about and active ASAP) I have a service lined up Plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery recovery care services in South Florida, and they will send someone out to my hotel to help me out. Congratulations on being newly banded! The Band is a wonderful thing, and I wish you the best of luck on this exciting new journey.

Thank you very much cori in wa :smile::smile:! Yes, I am nervous and excited. I am nervous about the pain and discomfort and hope it passes quickly, but am very excited to have a flat tummy (which I have never had), and I am actually surprising myself about how excited I am about the new breasts. I have never had much of a bustline ("B" cup my entire life) and I have always been perfectly fine with that, but suddenly I find myself wondering and getting excited about having a real bustline! I started out thinking I wanted to be a "small" C, but the other day I told my Dr. that I think I want to go a "full" C. Who knows, by the day of surgery I might have moved up to wanting double D's !

Hey BBK, Looking good :thumbup: Your incisions seem to be healing beautifully too! As I told you before, the bustline looks awesome in the photo you put up the other day. After all, for us girls, isn't looking good in clothes what it's all about :smile:? Mylapspirit, I hated my first few consults, but I agree with all the other ladies, it gets better, and most of these Dr.'s have a terrific way of putting you at ease with the whole process. I am very comfortable now with the Dr. that I'm working with. In fact last time I had a visit with him, we were in his office having a discussion about how to stage my procedures and without even thinking about it, I suddenly dropped my trousers and grabbed a hunk of fat and said, "Well, what about this? Is this going to drive me crazy until I can have the second surgery?" Without even blinking an eye he came over next to me, grabbed the hunk out of my hands, grabbed onto it himself, and said "Yeah, it will," but then started explaining to me what would be staying and what would be going during the first surgery, how far back the incision would be etc. It was just no big deal. I realized then that I had gotten to the point to where I really felt no differently talking to him about my body parts than I did the contractor who re-did my kitchen a few years ago. It's all just stuff that needs to be re-done........

Hi Nip50, Thanks :laugh:! Congratulations on losing 114 pounds in seven months. That's amazing!!! Insurance is not covering my plastic surgery -- I wish!!!! I didn't even try because I really don't have any medical issues related to my excess skin. However I am saving about 2K on hospital fees because health insurance is covering my gyn surgery, and the hospital has a policy where they discount their fees when a second procedure is done -- so that helps. Also, my three night hospital stay, medication, etc., will all be covered by health insurance. I don't think health insurance is covering Becky's either, but correct me if I'm wrong about this Becky.

More great ideas Becky, thanks! Ice packs, hadn't thought of those either Karey, thanks!

Kat, I am amazed at how quickly you rebounded from this surgery and you sound so happy and excited -- Congratulations!!! Don't go too crazy on clothes right now because if you can fit into a 10 snugly now even with the swelling and compression garments, you might actually drop down to an 8 by the time you are completely healed.

Wow Kareyquilts, what great suggestions, thanks a lot! I can tell that you are a very organized woman who thinks of everything! Lots of great suggestions that I wouldn't have thought of, especially the toilet seat riser -- that one would have never occurred to me, but I'm sure I will really be glad that I have it. Thank you :smile::thumbup:!

Hey Wonderful Workout Buddies! We made it through May -- Woo Hoo! Great job everyone!!! :thumbup::thumbup: Jody and Becky I agree, strength training is a very important thing! Unfortunately I sort of petered out on it this month because I was focusing more on the running plan, but watch out when I return from my plastic surgery! I plan to hit the strength training very hard and regularly. I just got back from doing another session of my Couch to 5K running plan. Have a great night everyone!!!

I have a question for the plastic surgery veterans.............. I will be in the hospital for three nights because of the open gyn surgery, and then will be in a hotel for approximately 11 days after I'm released, and I was wondering what types of things I should stock my hotel room with. Any suggestions? I have stayed at the hotel, and know that they have extremely comfy beds, but they don't have recliners. I do plan to request extra pillows and hopefully that will make the sleeping arrangement comfortable enough, but I'm just wondering what other supplies I should have on hand.

Hi Sue, Thank you so much for the nice message and the well wishes! And with all that Trikking you're doing, the plastic surgery might be happening sooner than you think :thumbup:! Have a great and fun weekend!!!

Becky, LOL at your title for the thread :cool2::wink2:! So true what you said about all that have gone before us. This area of the forum is just about 100% responsible for giving me the confidence to go through with all of this. Thank you so much to all that have so generously shared your journeys. I've mentioned this in the forum before, but I'll be having a full tummy tuck, breast lift with implants and some GYN surgery. The GYN surgery is something that I have been needing for some time, but the plastic surgery is the thing that gave me enough motivation finally go ahead and get this taken care of. Becky, I have to say once again that I am so happy and excited for you!!! :thumbup::thumbup: