anonemouse

I've been experiencing pain off and on, and it seems to be primarily located right around my rib cage, under my right breast. Anyone know what that might be?

Unless my breasts lose major volume between now and a couple of weeks before surgery (I'm probably going to schedule it for mid-May), I doubt I'll get implants. Right now, I've got 40D's, so I don't need to go any larger, and they should still pretty big when I get them lifted (again, unless they lose a lot of volume). If I do wind up with implants, though, it'll just depend on whether or not I've got plenty of breast tissue. If I still have quite a bit, I'll probably go with saline. If I don't, I'll go with silicone (more natural looking when you don't have a lot of breast tissue).

Honestly, I've not really been sure of what to expect, price-wise. I'm going to at least have a TT and BL, and possibly a BA if I lose a lot of volume in the next few months. I'd LOVE to have the rest of it and get it over with in one whack, but price is a major consideration since I'll be financing the surgery. If I absolutely love one of the other surgeons, though, I'll add lipo and/or a BA, if the price is right. But if I do go with this surgeon, I'm pretty sure I'll be just doing the TT and BL.

I really like this doctor. She's had quite a few WLS patients, so I feel very comfortable with her. She's pretty pricey, though. Of course, I may just think that because I don't have any real reference point, lol. :thumbup: Anyway, I got several different quotes, depending on what I decide to do. They range from $12,710 for just a tummy tuck and breast lift to $21,160 :smile2: for a tummy tuck, breast lift, BA w/ silicone implants, and lipo to back, hips, and flanks. It's about in the middle of that range for just the TT, BL, and lipo. *sigh* I dunno. I need to go on at least one more consult (have three others scheduled) before I make up my mind. I do like this one, though. She's very direct, but she seems very easy to talk to. Her staff is very nice, too.

I frequently joke that my parents' mailman must have been Greek or Italian! Seriously, my forearms are HORRIBLE. I HAVE to wax them, especially if I'm going to be wearing anything without sleeves.

Wow, this thread exploded while I was gone! I'll put 'em up as soon as I get them! My most recent ones were taken over Christmas, so I need to have some more taken. I just never remember to take my own camera when I go home for a visit, and I can't get any of my family members to email me the ones from their cameras (my parents are technophobes and my brother never remembers). Hey, hijack away, you look GREAT! Yeah, I just never got up the nerve to go looking in the regular departments, for fear that I wouldn't fit. No fear of that now! :biggrin2:

I've always wondered if she realized how moronic she sounded right after she said that to me. I mean, she's an intelligent woman, and that statement was just, well, NOT. :eek:

First of all, let me wish everyone who's having PS this month good luck! You'll definitely need to post before/afters. I have to say that the nosiness/ass-ishness is what I'm really dreading. It was painful enough while I was getting ready to be banded, so I can just imagine what's going to happen when I let it slip that I'm wanting PS. And I'll HAVE to let it slip eventually, since I'm going to be forced to either stay with my parents or with my brother/SIL after surgery. I kinda-sorta introduced the topic to my mom this last week when my weightloss managed to come up in the conversation, telling her that I wanted to get all the skin removed when I hit goal. She was not very receptive. But she's the "SURGERY?! NO!" type, too. Before I got banded, she even tried to tell me that I should just pretend I had surgery and lose the weight that way. I have a feeling that I'm just going to have to bulldoze my way through it, just like I did with banding, and tell them all that while I do care about what they think, I AM doing this regardless of their objections. Of course, that would probably have a bit more impact if I wasn't having to finance my ass off to have surgery in the first place. :eek: Stupid grad school salary. :glare:

Here's a thread I made on makemeheal.com, asking about dog ears. It should explain. Tummy Tuck, Abdominoplasty Message Boards - Dog ears? - Plastic Surgery, Cosmetic, Forums, Chats

Wow. I can't believe people act like that. I can't comprehend it. How do they even rationalize their behavior?

The Molina band is the one you're looking for. Here's a little about it (not much): ASBS - American Society for Bariatric Surgery

I've managed to track down the 2006 national average, but I haven't found anything more recent.

I do it when I'm dehydrated, for some reason. That's one reason I try to drink plenty of water. If I don't, I get tons of cravings.

I try to avoid Walmart unless I can go early in the morning or late at night, when there are no crowds. And I absolutely refuse to go at any time between Thanksgiving and New Years. It wouldn't be nearly so bad if they opened all the check-out lanes or if people weren't IDIOTS and learned how to move out of the center of the aisle. I got dragged there against my will on Tuesday to help my mom do the shopping for my dad's veterinary clinic (cat litter, cleaning supplies, etc.). Took us more than half an hour to get through the check-out lane, and we were second in line! The moron in front of us apparently had a bad debit card and didn't have a second form of payment on her, so we waited while she went to the ATM, waited while she was on the phone, and finally waited while a manager came to void her entire massive order after she just walked off and left. And of course, they were remodelling one of the shops immediately in front of us, so there was a jackhammer going the ENTIRE TIME. A jackhammer, for Pete's sake!

Alex, could you change it to where it only restricts the forums that are shown in the new posts? Right now, if you exclude any of the forums, you can't even go to the actual forum and look through it. I'd like to be able to limit the threads shown in the new posts, but still be able to go and see if there's been anything interesting posted in the forum itself without having to change my settings first.

You were thinking of the gastric balloon, I think, that they insert through the mouth and inflate in the stomach, creating temporary restriction.

Honestly, I've got such bad hand/eye coordination that there's no way I'm willing to shave myself, especially since I'd have to use a mirror. Plus, between my genetics and my PCOS, I'm a hair-monster. Even though I'm sure it'll be painful, I'd rather go somewhere where they'll get all the hair. I'm willing to wax (actually, I use Nads) my forearms myself (again, I'm a hair-monster), but there ain't no way I'm waxing that myself.

I hope so! My mom, who was with me at the time, was irritated because we couldn't find that pair of pants again. But like I told her, I don't plan on being in that size for long, anyway, so there isn't much of a reason to get irritated. I'm just thrilled to be back in regular clothes. :eek:

Is there a website where I can find the average prices for certain procedures? I'm most interested in tummy tucks (either FTT or ETT), lower body lifts, and breast lifts (with and without additional augmentation). I've got my first PS consult on Monday (not planning on surgery for several months - trying to get closer to goal), and I want to be up-to-date on what's considered a "normal" price.

I just got back from taking an employment exam for the state of Tennessee, for a biologist position with Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. It was a SERIOUS exam, too, not one of those "we give you an exam just to say we did" things. There aren't any openings right now, but they keep the scores on file. They only give interviews to the people with the top five scores. Anyway, NOT fun. Almost half of the exam was on aquatic ecology/biology (fisheries management, aquatic invertebrates, stream/lake/reservoir health, etc.). I've had a grand total of TWO courses in the last seven years that have had anything to do with aquatic ecology. There I was, trying to remember shit from the fisheries management class I took three or four years ago and the aquatic ecosystems class that I took last year. I knew some of it from those classes and from stuff I've randomly picked up, made educated guesses on some, and did eeny-meeny-miny-mo on some. The rest of the exam was on terrestrial ecology/biology, statistics, lab/field methods, and report revision. I did much better on those sections, I think. I was SO freakin' stressed going into it, though, simply because I had absolutely no idea of what to expect. Plus, it rained like HELL here. Most of you have probably heard about the storms that hit the South last night and this morning. To get to the testing center, I had to make what would have been an hour's interstate drive under ideal conditions. It POURED the entire time. I hydroplaned several times, and came extremely close to losing control of my car once. Seriously, I've never come closer to wrecking like that. I was literally shaking when I managed to straighten the car out. Even the semi-trailers were going about 30 mph. :biggrin: Needless to say, I was a tad stressed when I got to the testing center.

I know what you mean about the apron. I can't wait until I can get my belly cut off, 'cause it does make clothes shopping hell. :tt1: I blame my mom. It's her wonderful genes that did this to me, damn it! :confused:

I went shopping today for some new pants. My 16Ws were getting big. I'd tried on my mom's 14Ws, and they worked, so that's what I was intending to get. Well, once I got to the Liz Claiborne outlet, and started trying on clothes, I realized that the 14Ws were actually too big. So, I try on the 16 regulars. They WORK! But, they were too long. I asked the sales lady to help me, but apparently the store doesn't carry many short-length regular-size styles. There is a petites section, but the sizes only go up to 14. I was incredibly disappointed and prepared to go home empty-handed. My mom then comes up to me and nags me into trying the 14P. Granted, the one I tried had a little elastic at the sides, but it was a 14. IT FIT! And the regular, no-elastic was only slightly too small. So, then she came back with a pair of 12Ps. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I got them on. THEY FIT, TOO! Better than the 14Ps did! Again, they had a little elastic at the sides, but I don't even remember when I last wore a size 12. Maybe 7th/8th grade? Of course, we then lost that pair and couldn't find it again (I tried on probably 25-30 pairs of pants). Hell, even the sales lady couldn't find it. Apparently, that was the only pair of 12Ps with elastic in the sides that they had in the store. Figures. I wound up buying a couple of pairs of 14Ps that fit pretty well, but I wanted those 12Ps, damn it. :confused: But, hey! I wore a size 12 today! :tt1:

Count me in, too, ladies! I've always wanted to see the southwest. My parents lived in Arizona for a few years while my dad did his veterinary residency, but I've only been there when I was a baby.

Okay, ladies, I went ahead and scheduled my PS consultations. I've got one scheduled for next Monday, one on February 27th, and one on April 21st. I liked the website of the one that's scheduled for April the best, but I really doubt he'll have May surgery dates open if he's got nearly a 3 month wait for consultations. Here goes nothing! Oh, and I've set up a photo gallery of my before pics at www.makemeheal.com, if anyone's brave enough to look at them. Just PM me for the address and password.

You're not the only one. I've got darker inner thighs, too.