sgc

I find compression shorts help flatten my stomach some. My stomach doesn't seem to overhang as much. Makes it a little more round but I would rather have the beer belly look then carrying around an apron.

9 minutes ago, thisisthenewme said:

That is like exactly what I need done (along with inner thighs, boobs, oh and arms ), I'm trying to see if I can get ohip to cover the panniculextomy, but I've heard it's hard. We'll see. Good luck to you!

I need my inner thighs done and arms. My chest also needs to be done. I can live with the inner thighs and I can probably use a chest binder on my chest. I have a lot of excess on my backside that is pulling on my back and causing back and should pain and insurance still won't cover it.

3 minutes ago, thisisthenewme said:

One difference I've heard of is the cost of insurance for surgeons is crazy in US and Canada and that expense is past on to you. Your quote sounded pretty good compared to what I've been getting (I'm in Canada) at $18000-20000 for a lower body lift! I'm going to investigate a plastic surgery teaching centre I found in Toronto :-) Or Mexico will likely be my only option.

From what I'm reading, sounds like a good price. My insurance is paying part of it so I believe that's why it is coming to $11,500. She said she would be doing a trunk lift, abdominalplasty, and panniculectomy. The ironic thing is this doctor is Hispanic (not sure if she is Mexican or not).

I never had issue contacting my surgeon but I also never had complications from my sub standard surgeon that I needed to contact him. Tijuana had over 800 murders and the US State Department even warns about drug cartels and Americans being kidnapped and held for ransom. I'm from Detroit and even that pales in comparison to the 62/100,000 homicide rate of Tijuana. This leads then to another obstacle. I have no one willing to accompany me to Mexico and it seems like most require a companion. I also didn't factor in that my insurance is paying part of it in the US. I would probably be paying close to the same in Mexico as the US.

I guess for me the cliche of you get what you pay for keeps coming to me. I understand the exchange rate of the Peso plays a role but if Mexico can offer higher quality care at half the price, then the US, Canada, Europe and every other developed country needs to get in on this. I just feel something is inadequate along the line. There are other concerns as well. I hate flying and would only fly as an absolute last resort. Tijuana also has high violent crime rates even for Mexican standards and the US State Department even warns of travel there. That doesn't exactly make me comfortable being in a dangerous city I'm unfamiliar with and don't speak the language. If I do this, it looks like it will be in the US. The main thing I want to get done is a body lift. I feel like I'm wearing an inter tube. I can live with the inner thighs. The arms I would like to do as well. At least both my sleeve surgeon and plastic surgeon said I was skinny. They estimate upwards of 20-30 pounds of excess skin and fat which would put me under 25 BMI. I may try out for that skin tight program. Wouldn't hurt to try.

I question why operating rooms and costs are less in Mexico than they are in the US and Canada? I've also read that a lot of the nurses and staff are nothing more than maids in Mexico. I don't know how accurate that is. Another obstacle to Mexico is I have a fear of flying. I'm probably just going to stay local if I decide to do it. I read someone on here getting a good deal at a university. I'm going to look into that.

I emailed a surgeon in Toronto. Appears my idea is not going to work. Apparently it is exceedingly difficult for surgeons in Canada to get malpractice coverage on elective surgeries for non Canadian citizens. This could have worked out well too. I only live about 20-30 minutes from Windsor. If I could have found a good doctor in Windsor, they would have been local. With the Canadian dollar being so low right now, I could have saved thousands. Still would have been more than Mexico but it would have been local. I'm pretty sure Canada would have the same amount of regulations as the US so it makes me wonder what the standards are in Mexico? How do you become certified in Mexico? It seems like this low cost of surgery in Mexico comes at a price.

I looked at the exchange wrong. Currently one USD is worth $1.32 CAD. That means a $15,000 CAD surgery would cost about $11,300 USD. That's almost a $4,000 savings. Am I crazy to be looking into Canada? I know Mexico would be cheaper. I know lots of people get surgery in Mexico but I feel their standards would be less than the US or Canada.

I got a wacky idea. What about Canada? It seems prices are the same but the exchange rate is 76 cents. That would be a discount of 25%. I live on the Canadian border so I would save in travel as well. Do Canadian surgeons work with foreigners like in Mexico?

Went to my consultation today. To do the adominalplasty and trunk lift, would be about $11,500. It seems like that would take care of my stomach, love handles, and ass. I can live with the inner thighs. I'm kind of concerned about the chest. With a flat stomach I would look more female I would think. I suppose I could wear a chest binder. I do want my arms done but that would be another surgery. That's a lot of money to come up with. I see a lot of people go to Mexico but I have concerns. Why don't these doctors set up shop in the US and charge the same rates? Why is Mexico cheaper? What is the difference?

I used Premier Protein. Just looking up Unjury, the powder has more sugar and less Protein. 1.5 scoops of Unjury would equal the same protein as Premier Protein with more sugar and only 10 fewer calories. You could do like I do and get both (or a similar Protein Powder to Unjury) and mix them. Over 50 gams of protein for about 300 calories. I like the banana creme shakes and vanilla whey protein powder. Makes the shake nice and thick too.

I probably drink more Coke Zero after surgery than I did before surgery.

I currently have a membership at Planet Fitness. I haven't found the staff helpful in terms of training. The other gym near me is an LA Fitness but that is much more than the Planet Fitness. They have the same machines and the weight weighs the same so no sense paying more. Haven't found many local gyms that offer personal training. I'll try doing it myself for a few weeks and see if I get results. I'm thinking twice a week. My shoulders and arms are really scrawny. The exercises I'm thinking of are chest press, shoulder press, seated cable row, leg press, leg curl, and calf extensions.

I had my gallbladder out in 2007. I had lost 100 pounds and weighed 250 pounds. After the surgery, I had started to gain and got up to 470. Looking back, my activity and eventually my eating habits changed after the gallbladder surgery. I had sleeve surgery a year ago and am down to 201 pounds, 50 pounds less than when I had the gallbladder surgery. My conclusion is that the gallbladder had no impact on my weight gain or loss.

my issue was an intense pain above the belly button and bellow the breast bone. I don't think gallstones are something that you can actually feel on the skin. I had a gallstone stuck in my bile duct and I turned yellow from head to toe.

29 minutes ago, FatDad said:

John925 I see you had plastics within less than a year from your WLS. Did the surgeon try to convince you to wait to see if your weight stabilizes? I keep reading that you should wait at least a year or preferably up to two years to get plastics done. Also, if you don't mind my asking, but how much did it cost? And what part of the country are you from?

I'm also interested in the answer to this but I am one year out and my surgeon brought up skin removal and referred me to a plastic surgeon.

NVM

I visited my surgeon today. He told me to stop losing weight and time to maintain. He brought up plastic surgery and referred me to a plastic surgeon. Going to do a consultation with the plastic surgeon. What should I expect at the consultation? Is this where I get naked and the doctor draws on me? If that is the case, I have a question for the men. This doctor is a female doctor. She's also very attractive. Certain things may spring into action. How do you guys handle this?

How bad is the recovery? It seems like it's worse than the sleeve surgery but my sleeve surgery recovery wasn't bad at all. What are my chances insurance will cover it?

If you are using a smartphone to take the selfie, there is an app called LightX. It has some pretty impressive editing tools for a phone app. Can whiten your teeth and smooth out blemishes. It costs $1.99. There also a free app called Slim and Skinny which you can use to thin your face a little.

When I was 20 I weighed 350 pounds. I lost 100 pounds and by 21 I was 250 pounds. At 22 my gallbladder went out. Things started to change as I got a more sedentary job and before I knew it, I got up to 470 pounds. I feel like I was my 20's being overweight. I wish I would have done the surgery at 20. At least I decided to do it in my early 30's instead of trying to lose on my own again and be in this situation in my 40's.

On 6/6/2017 at 7:19 AM, KateBruin said:

I got my gallbladder out in 2009, totally unrelated to weight as I was super healthy then. Anyway, the pain is right under your ribs kind of like heartburn. The pain can radiate but I wanted to reach under my ribs and squeeze my organs to make the pain better. Weird, I know but the pain was that bad and my brain just told me that would be the solution. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I'd pace my driveway crying in pain if I wasn't busy puking. Lower right pain could be appendicitis, gas, Constipation, or if you're female, (sorry I didn't notice if you said) ovarian cysts.

This was my experience as well. I had my gallbladder removed in 2007, some 9 years before my sleeve surgery. I lost 100 pounds on my own. I would get severe pain in my stomach area above the belly button and it would last for hours. I went to the hospital on four separate occasions and they told me it was indigestion. Finally on the 5th time, I was yellow from head to toe, lost my appetite, and would vomit anything I would try to eat or drink. It was at this point they finally diagnosed the gallbladder.

What exactly is an endoscopic sleeve? I'm not sure if my surgeon does them, but he's pretty experienced and I liked him. I suppose you can always contact him. Dr. Hawasli at East Side Surgical Associates in St Clair Shores.

Still haven't gotten a personal trainer but I think I'm going to jump back into weight lifting on my own. I'm thinking twice per week. I'm maybe 15 pounds off where I want to be but notice my shoulders and arms are very scrawny looking. (These are words I never thought I would use to describe myself) Looking now to just tone up. I have stupid questions like how do I know I'm doing the exercises right? How do I know when to add more weight? Last time I tried lifting weights I was over 400 pounds and just didn't fit in the machines. Hopefully it will be better this time around.

How many people have been successful post-op (loss and maintenance) in the pro-carb camp? I don't intend this question to start up something or to criticize anyone's belief; I'm just curious. Over the time I have been on this forum (since last summer), there have been some pro-carb people here and there, but I can't ever remember anyone talking about long-term success with that strategy. There very well may be some folks who have had success with this approach, but I don't remember them.
So -- if you are pro-carb and have had long-term and sustained success, speak up. I'd like to hear some anecdotal evidence to support that approach.

I'm over 260 pounds down. I don't know that I would say pro carb, but rather I don't worry about them. I'm one year out from my surgery. My surgeon told me to drink two Protein Shakes a day and small piece of meat a day. Just not going to do that the rest of my life.

Hi sgc,
You began this post nearly 2 years ago. Your requests for advice haven't changed in those 2 years even though you've been given very similar advice many many times. If you keep doing the same thing you are going to continue getting the same results and that is what's happening here. Your stories and answers are repeats of what what said months, and now years, earlier. People who have commented earlier have quit commenting. New people join this forum and they begin offering similar advice that you've already received so this post keeps going. I gave you my suggestions but they were turned down so I quit commenting. At some point you have to step up to the plate and take action. If you have social anxiety then work on that with a therapist before you begin dating. Sometimes I wonder if this is just a game you are playing on all of us who take this forum seriously. SO, if your posts are serious I suggest you go to counseling to work your own issues out. Social Anxiety can't be cured in a forum. I wish you the best.

I started the thread two years ago before I had even decided on surgery. At that time I was trying to lose weight on my own. I wasn't even looking to date at that time, but I took the advice given here and put myself out there anyways. It was more just looking around. I didn't include pictures and didn't email any women but had women email me and went on a date. I decided to have the surgery and took the advice here and wait until after the surgery. I just started in March getting serious and brought this thread back because I was ready to get serious. This time I decided to post pictures and email women. I even said when I brought this thread back I was basically talking aloud and knew the original people posting here were gone. I have seen a counselor and she prescribed me Paxil. I have gone to social events at work that I never would have went to before (which I did mention in this thread). Today we had our annual employee meeting that I never went to in my previous five years but went to today. I'm pretty socially inept but I get the hint. I'll just let the thread die since it's a game to some people apparently. I've got all I'm going to get from here so I'll figure out.