So I will start the plastic surgery thread.

There was a comment/question about waiting a year after to get plastic surgery. My doc said that used to be his recommendation but he feels now after seeing both results that there is no difference. If you have a lot of skin it is not going to go away. If you have minimal amounts of skin, it might. He feels that sometimes it is better to have it sooner because people can get so discouraged with their extra skin that they start gaining weight. I am going to post my belly pictures so that you can see what I am dealing with. I look at myself in the mirror and think DAMN you look good. Then I take my clothes off and feel like a total failure. I know MESSED UP, but just wait until you see the pictures.

Frangi, please keep us posted as you learn more. I do hope that it all comes together perfectly for you.

I had my CT Scan this morning, so I hope to hear something tomorrow or Wednesday. I want to get past all this so that I can really start to get excited about my upcoming ps. I know you must feel the same way Frangi.

Hi Becky,

Oh how I envy you getting test results back so quickly! I am certain that everything is absolutely a-okay with your chest issue, but once the question is raised it's always nice to see the definitive result in black and white. Let us know the minute you find something out.

My process is a little bit longer and more drawn out. The Gyn I'm working with is a specialist (gynecologic oncologist). I chose him because A) He is trained to do the procedure I'm interested in -- which is a fairly new procedure. I assumed (correctly) that his skill level was such that he wouldn't just naturally want to take the "easy route," which seems to be what all of these other Dr.'s wanted to do and C) He has the same hospital affiliations as my plastic surgeon.

(Having all these things come together by the way involved a fair amount of research and a whole lot of luck!)

That said, doing what he does, he is dealing with women who have much more serious health problems than I (presumably) do, so I need to be very patient and let things unfold on his schedule.

I'm lucky that he is even seeing me at all because it has been my experience that most of these guys will not even talk to you unless you've been referred by another physician. Therefore in the scheme of things, he and his office have been absolutely terrific in accommodating me and moving things along as quickly as they can.

Long story short though, I'm a very impatient person and very used to doing things quickly and on my schedule, so this waiting game is driving me absolutely crazy!!!!

I can't believe it!!!! My Dr. called while I was working out and I didn't have my phone with me!!!!

The good news is that he was kind enough to leave me a brief message telling me that he wanted to talk to me, but there was "in general, nothing to worry about." (i.e., meaning the biopsy is negative). I knew in my heart that it would be, but still, when the "C word" is mentioned, it always puts you a little on edge.

Doctor #5 rocks!!!! I knew he would be good, but he is even better than I expected. He is absolutely first rate -- serious, skilled and very thorough and yet quite personable and warm at the same time. I am SO glad I found this guy!!!!

I also feel really good about my decision to keep my uterus. I have been reading up a bit more on this, and it is reinforcing my intuitive feeling that I should to hang on to it for as long as I possibly can (even IF it has never worked quite right :cursing:).

:Banane44:Yeah Frangi. Its another dancing banana event! I'm so glad that you got good news. Keep us posted when you know more.

:frown::Banane44::tt2::Banane44::Banane44::Banane44::Banane44:

I haven't heard a word on my CT scan. I take it to mean that there is no urgent reason to call me. I'll be calling them tomorrow.

Yeah Frangi! That is great news. Becky, I am still positive that you will be just great too. Love your positive attitude.

I am very happy for you Frangi!!!

I have wanted to post on this thread for a couple of days now but work is getting so busy. Frangi, Becky and Salsa, you should really think about writing a book with all the open, honest and heart felt personal information you have shared with us here. Not only would Fellow Bandsters flock to buy the book, but also those who are comtemplating plastic surgery. As I read your posts its amazing how close I feel to all of you. Just remember to thank me when you are rich from the royalties of the book!! Also you must include JudiM. She just rocks my socks with her wit and creative ability!!

I will always wish you the best!!

:Banane44:Yeah Frangi. Its another dancing banana event! I'm so glad that you got good news. Keep us posted when you know more.

:thumbup::Banane44::biggrin::Banane44::cool2::Banane44:

I haven't heard a word on my CT scan. I take it to mean that there is no urgent reason to call me. I'll be calling them tomorrow.

Thanks Becky! Have you heard anything yet?????

Yeah Frangi! That is great news. Becky, I am still positive that you will be just great too. Love your positive attitude.

Thanks for the support Salsa :smile::ohmy:!

I am very happy for you Frangi!!!

I have wanted to post on this thread for a couple of days now but work is getting so busy. Frangi, Becky and Salsa, you should really think about writing a book with all the open, honest and heart felt personal information you have shared with us here. Not only would Fellow Bandsters flock to buy the book, but also those who are comtemplating plastic surgery. As I read your posts its amazing how close I feel to all of you. Just remember to thank me when you are rich from the royalties of the book!! Also you must include JudiM. She just rocks my socks with her wit and creative ability!!

I will always wish you the best!!

Jody, awwwww, thank you so much for those incredibly kind thoughts and compliments!!! I think I will let Judi ghost write any books for me, as she truly is a very gifted writer!

I am SO sorry that I missed my Dr.'s phone call last night because now I am unable to get a hold of him to anchor down the details of the myomectomy. I know that he is a really busy guy and I did leave a message for him first thing this morning, but no call back as of yet. At this point it's doubtful that I will hear from him today since it's already 7:00 P.M in our time zones.

My concern is that we won't be able to get the two Dr.'s schedules together when it is convenient for me to have the surgery done, which will then push this whole process back several weeks (or possibly even months).

I have been working on this whole thing for some time now and I am quite anxious to get this show on the road!!!!

Awhhhhhhhhh Jody. That is the sweetest post. You always make me smile with your kind and generous comments. You've made my day more than once. I agree, this is just such a smart, funny, hard working group. You've all helped me find my way.

Ok, on to my pre-ps testing. When I did not get a return call from my doctor by 4:00 this afternoon, (after calling his office twice today) I just called the facility where I had the CT scan done and said I'd like to come pick up a copy of the report. The place is only about 10 minutes from my house so it was no big deal.

The good news is that the lungs look good - nothing to worry about. The bad news is the report says that a "hiatus hernia is present". It goes on to say, "the proximal stomach is cephalad to the lapband appliance at the gastroesophageal junction. This is an unusual appearance for patient after lapband surgery.....Endoscopy or barium swallow is indicated."

Of course, I've still not spoken to my doctor so I'm not sure what to make of this. I have absolutely no symptoms of any problem and I just had a fill with fluoroscopy in February with no signs of any problem. I am thinking that this radiologist does not know what a lapbanded stomach looks like and he only saw a limited image of my upper abdomen anyway because the scan was really of my lungs. None the less, this now is going to require that I follow up with my band doctor, blah, blah, blah. Frangi, I feel your pain. I just want to get this all resolved and move on. My surgery is just a little over a month away!

Thanks for letting me ramble. I'll keep you posted.

Frangi, I was posting at the same time as you I guess. It sounds like we are both having a frustrating time of it right now. I'm not good at waiting either and I have the same fear about my timing getting screwed up. I hope you are able to get it sorted out tomorrow. I hate to go through another weekend with so many things up in the air.

Becky,

I hope you get your situation sorted out too! If your Dr. looked at this just a few months ago and everything was okay, it sounds like this very well might turn out to be a non-issue.

Also (and this is obviously just my own opinion based on my extremely limited knowledge of these things), even if it turns out that there is an issue with your band, I wonder how important it is in terms of your PS. I mean you are at goal now, so perhaps this won't hold up anything, and the band issue (assuming it even exists) can be addressed later.

I called my Dr.'s office this morning and, as I suspected, he had (and continues to have) an emergency situation he is dealing with. I would guess that an oncologist often has unexpected things that come up, and when I think about my small problem in relation to the true health crises that many of these women are facing, I know that I must be as patient as possible, even though it is SO hard for me to do so!!!!

I actually feel a little badly about putting in a follow-up call this morning, given what I know now about the emergency situation. If my surgery gets pushed back because someone else has a much more pressing need, than I just have to go with that (strong reminder to my extremely impatient self)..............

Well, as I've been making phone calls and faxing copies of reports I am trying to tell myself the same thing. This is just a minor inconvenience for me. Others do have much more serious and pressing issues. If this doesn't work out on my time frame then so be it. It will eventually work out. My lap band doctor wants me to come in, but not until May 21st. The plastic surgeon wants me to be seen sooner so that any other necessary testing can be done well in advance of June 12. He actually said he'd call my lapband doctor and see if he can't see me sooner. So again today, I'm waiting on a doctor to call me back.

As I type all of this I really do feel like I need to just calm down and see what happens. In the scheme of things, this really is no big deal. Thank God I'm not waiting on a call from an oncologist about some life threatening situation. Frangi, thanks for helping me to put things in perspective.

You're welcome Becky!

Well, still haven't heard anything from the Dr. but I did talk to both Dr.'s surgical coordinators and June 11 is a possibility for both, maybe.

Will update once I have a definite, confirmed, date.

Whoa - amazing how much can happen when you're away for a couple weeks. Goodness, gracious, you two! Hang in there and keep us posted!

Becky and Frangi,

Anything new yet? If not, hang in there. This is just a mild bump along the road. Keep us posted!

Hi Jody,

Thank you so much for caring and asking :thumbup:!

I'm still waiting for a return call from my GYN, and at this point I'm getting pretty frustrated. I know he's busy, but gee whiz, at this point it is pretty inexcusable that he has not taken five short minutes to return a phone call. The surgical coordinators cannot do her job (per the Dr.'s instructions) until he has spoken to me, so I am really getting pretty ticked off at this point. They know that I live 1,100 miles away and that I cannot simply drop in at their convenience. :eek::mad::tongue:

Thanks for letting me vent about this........

Apparently the Dr. also told his surgical coordinator that I should go with the "open" surgery, which is contrary to what he told me (i.e., that laparoscopic might work well because the PS does not need to cut through the abdominal fascia).

Because I know almost nothing about any of this, I'm really confused and not quite sure who to turn to for a definitive answer. All I know is that I want to minimize all pain and all risks. I probably could talk to my plastic surgeon about this, but he's a busy guy too and I don't want to waste his time before I have talked to the GYN to see what his thoughts are exactly.

How's everything with you Becky? Hopefully much better!!!!