Hi Everyone,

I am going next week to meet with a local plastic surgeon who gets great reviews here in my area. He takes my insurance and from what I understand he is very kind and compassionate about the problems relating to morbid obesity. As a matter of fact, he only takes insurance from WLS patients and the rest of the universe is self pay. I checked out his website and he seems to do a good job. The one hour consult is free so I am definitely going next week. I was gonna wait til I got to goal, but my body really seems to be stuck in the 180's and I dont think a fill is going to help at this stage. I even considered going on a liquid diet for two weeks to see if I can jumpstart this baby, but I dont feel like I want to wait any longer on the tummy tuck and thigh lift. I figure I have about 15 pounds of excess there and if that means I am cheating a little to get to a weight that I can live with , so be it. I had considered Costa Rica, but if something goes wrong, I want to be close to home. Plus, the most I would have to pay out of pocket would be $2000 if my insurance approves it. I talked to them on the phone and it sounds like they will cover it if medically necessary. Having the excess on the upper thighs is causing me problems with skin infections and flare ups and I am sure that I can get this approved based on medical necessity. I have a letter from my OB-Gyn and I am getting a letter from my PCP. That and the photos should do the trick. I am getting a little excited and nervous about the possibility of having a flat stomach and thighs that dont rub together.

Do you think I should wait til I get to goal or should I move forward now?

Babs in TX

334/184/170

-150

Do it girl!! I say if they have the technology DO IT!!! AND be proud of it. It will only get you closer to your goal and show you the body that you have bben working on so hard!!

Absolutely... go for it!

Do it! it will be easier and more comfortable to exercise and lose the annoying last bit. You have come so far!!! Way to go!

I second that ! Babs, you've worked so hard, you deserve it. Besides, maybe once you've had the surgery, you'll revise your goal weight. Let us know how it goes. Good Luck!!!!!!!!!!

Go for it. I just wish I was close enough to my goal weight to have my arms, thighs, tummy and boobs done. I need a complete overhaul. LOL!!

Go For It!!

Go for it!

I figure I have about 15 pounds of excess there and if that means I am cheating a little to get to a weight that I can live with , so be it.

How is that cheating? When you set your goal weight, did you say, "I want to be 170 lbs WITH 15 lbs of excess skin"? =)

If losing 150 lbs doesn't earn you the right, losing 165 won't either

Go for it, with PRIDE! =)

Do It!!!!!

Hi Again:

Jonathan: Actually I did think that when I get to 170 with 15 pounds of excess, I would then weigh 155. If I have the surgery in the 180's, I can only hope to achieve a weight of 170 ish.!

The recommended weight for my height is somewhere between 146-162, so technically I should be able to lose more weight. The Tanita scale estimated based on my body fat that I should be able ot achieve 146 as a rough estimate of where I should be. My PCP thinks that I should aim to be at a weight of 165-175 because he believes that it is unrealistic having been obese my whole life that I can get to a weight lower than this because of bone density, age and excess skin and fat that probably wont go away no matter how much exercising I do. SO it is valid to think that maybe I should wait a little longer til I actually get to 170 so that way the end result puts me at a normal BMI. I am still overweight with a BMI of 29.7, but then again even my banding doc didnt think I would be able to achieve a BMI under 30 since I started at 53.9! So I guess I am just trying to figure out what the best thing is to do. What I dont want is to have the plastic surgery and then go on to lose another 20 pounds, which would make the TT a moot point to some extent cause I would have more excess. I think you understand what I mean....

babs in TX

334/184/170

-150

6/23/03

Well- I think after all the research you've done, that when you set your surgery date it will give you even more incentive to lose what ever you feel you want to before the big day. Maybe if your still concerned about the amount you'd still like to loose, you set your surgery date a few months ahead. That way you have an incredible goal to look forward to & possible incentive to kick that extra 10 pds off. This way you may get the best of both worlds & have no second thoughts on if you should have waited or not. Congrats on your amazing accomplishments thus far & best of luck on your upcoming surgery! I look forward to the after shots! Great Job!

Ok, you out-thought me. =) I still think you should do it =) I guess it all depends on how much excess skin you think you'll really get from going from 170 to 150 over the course of how ever long you expect that to take.

I'll stick to my original statement anyway... you've earned it =)

I Got my breast implants a year after I had my daughter. I had only lost 40 pounds and still have another 40 or 50 to go but I just couldnt wait anymore. I thought it was so easy and recovery was nothin'. I had a lift and 475 ccs implants. I gave the pain scale a 4 because I know having a baby hurt more than twice as much as that. I cant begin to tell you how scared I was, and for what? You should see my perky, beautiful, glorious, full , and did I mention perky, breasts. I LOVE LOVE LOVE them. If I would have known how easy it was I would have frollicked in the doctors office and givin him a big kiss right before laying myself on the surgery table. I am going to wait untill I loose the rest of the weight to do any more surgery. Of course this is just one girls experiance who had no complications. Let me know how the tummy tuck goes. Thats next on my list. ohhh, I just wanted to through in that I had a little lipo on my face and would not suggest doing that. What a waist of $1200. That chocolate hussy was at my house too sabotaging any results the lipo brought.

What's in a number? 170, 155, 160 -- you've come such a long way from where you started. Add my voice to the ranks of Go for it!

My question is why haven't you done it yet? Go go go!