Hi everyone,

I will try to make sense, although not sure if I can.

I have diverticular disease, an ileostomy, and a couple of large hernias (belly button and peristomal). I met with my bowel surgeon yesterday, who told me last year he wouldn't touch me until I had lost 100 pounds. Well now that is done and he wants to operate. I went into the appointment thinking about having a bowel resection (take the diseased part of my bowel out) with the thought of a second surgery down the line to reverse my ileostomy and repair the hernias. Plastic surgery was only a very distant thought (dream).

Anyways, he says to me, if all went extremely well with the bowel resction (he needs to take out about a foot of bowel and then reattach the pieces), he would like to try to reverse my ileostomy and repair the hernias at the same time (YEAH!!!!). Then he goes on to say, with my excess skin and fat in my belly, there is a very large risk of infection and other complications because of the bowel surgery (which has to be open surgery, not laproscopic), which he would like a consult with a plastic surgeon to consider doing a panni.....(sp?) or tummy tuck at the same time as well. At this time, I am not likely looking at surgery before August at the very earliest.

OMG - all of a sudden I have gone from one serious surgery to a 3 for 1 :frown:. Of course nothing can really be determined about plastics until I have my consult. Although I am incredibly excited (and petrified), I have some concerns/questions:

1. Won't know if can do 2nd and 3rd procedure until the middle of the actual surgery - will a plastic surgeon agree to be "on hold" for a day for something that may never happen?

2. PS for massive weight loss is a new and relatively untried field in my city and province in Calgary, Canada. WLS surgery (and only lapband - NOT gastric bypass) has only been offered in my community for the last 1 and 1/2 years and to my knowledge only performed on about 100-150 people in total. My bowel surgeon has admitted that the ps he will be referring me to will not have done many (if any) plastics on massive weight loss patients. What can I ask/ say to the ps to make sure he is competent to do my surgery? Obviously I am not going to be able to rely on his vast experience as a recommendation. From what I can tell about politics, and hospital priviledges etc, I also will not have a real choice about my ps. The good news is that I wouldn't have to pay for it either.

Any advice or support you all could give would be greatly appreciated.

J- thank you for sharing your story! You've had such an amazing journey- I'm thrilled for you they were able to do all those surgeries at once and that the outcome looks so good! It has to be liberating being without all that extra skin and ostomy bag!

Best of luck to you as you continue on your journey!

Thanks McGreen and Foofy

The pics went ok (I will have to wait and see what the final result is)- I was so nervous that I was shaking. I haven't had a professional take my picture in years - I was always the one making sure I wasn't anywhere near the camera.

Just for you Foofy - here are my before (about 350 pounds) and during (167 pounds - taken on Oct 22 about 30 minutes before I went for the pro shots) pics. This before shot is also the one I submitted to the gym (it is one of the only decent shots of me in years)- so you all get to see me in advance of being posted at the gym :eek:

Amazing- you are GORGEOUS! Congrats!!!

YOu look AMAZING! I wouldnt even be able to tell from your face that you lost so much weight or were ever heavy. I feel like my face has a lot of saggy skin - what is your secret?

Thanks guys. I don't know that I look that great, but pictures do remind me why I have gone through all of this. Hopefully pics will also remind me not to go back!!!

It's all in the camera angle . I have excess skin everywhere :wink:. My face isn't too bad, although I have a "waddle" under my chin (it has shrunk a little over the last year). I don't think it will go away, but I am not prepared to do a face lift (I would lift everything else though - if I had the money!!!). I think the wrinkles in my face have intensified over the last year (I prefer to call them laugh lines :tongue:) as my face got smaller. I am thinking about talking to my dermatologist about what he can do to 'refresh" my face, but again, I am not sure that I am prepared to spend lots of money on something that may not make any difference to what I can see.

I have no secrets, other than moisturizer (even that is relatively cheap - olay regenerist). I am the least capable person I know when it comes to maintenance and beautification (please note the post where I was panicing about makeup). For years, the only makeup I ever wore was cover-up, a little powder and maybe some blush.

Jacquie

JJ. Just saw your b/4 and after. Amazing. You are so pretty. I LOVE your cheeks. Just a thought for you...permanent makeup is an option if you would just as soon not put it on every day. I had my upper and lower eyeliner done and also had eyelash extensions for under $500. I do wear foundation once in awhile. I have a job where I sometimes need to jump out of bed and be a certain place in a very short period of time. Love just throwing on some clothes, running a brush through my hair and heading out!

JJ,

SEE what a stunner you are? Don't be so shy. You should post those before and after pictures wherever and whenever you can. They are very inspriring!

Thanks so much Apple and Foofy. Your compliments made my last couple of days, which have been kind of discouraging for me.

When I decided I was going to revisit this thread after I had my surgery and decided to post my ps, pre and post pictures, I was really scared of posting my face as well. For whatever weird reason, it felt less intimate to let strangers view my not so great body, but not see my face (unless they really looked). After you posted Foofy - I kind of said -What the hay - I am not ashamed and with clothes on I look ok. Thanks for the kick in the butt!!!

Apple -Thanks for the thoughts. I was following the recent thread about permanent make-up and even looked it up in my area - it doesn't seem very common here (I could only find one service provider). I remember when I was younger going to make-up parties and looking like a racoon (and not in the attractive Keira Knightley smoky eyes way) when eyeliner was applied. I am terrified I would get that look with great cost and no options to get rid of :thumbup:.

The nerviest I have ever gotten is getting my eyelashes dyed - which I enjoyed although it only last about a month. Being so new to make-up - it seems I need to work my way up to a "looking good natural look" from a "pale, no lashes, couldn't give at rat's a$$ look". Wish me luck!!!!

Jacquie

I'm close to 53yrs old so I went with a charcoal liner and a thin line. Most give you a free touch up if you are not satisfied with the outcome. I did my touch up but did not go darker, just a touch thicker on the top. After I posted I was hoping you didn't think that I felt you NEEDED it. Just suggested as a convenience.

Ha Ha Apple - don't think I wouldn't do anything to make my "beautification" easier if I were sure it wouldn't make me look worse.

Went to see the ps today. Another 60 cc's pulled out with the very big needle. Sigh........

Jacquie

Ha Ha Apple - don't think I wouldn't do anything to make my "beautification" easier if I were sure it wouldn't make me look worse.

Went to see the ps today. Another 60 cc's pulled out with the very big needle. Sigh........

Jacquie

JJ...hopefully it well be the last time they have to go in and drain. In the long run it will all be worth it. It's a loooong process from what I hear. Any surgery takes a lot out of a person for awhile. What you have done is MAJOR and takes a lot of patience. Here's to fast healing!!!!!!!

I went to the ps on Monday and was relieved (ok drained with the really big needle) of 25 more cc's of Fluid - seems to be finally slowing down :tongue2:. According to him, when people have issues with "seromas", they can be pretty long lasting, so I am not the most unusual person in the world. I am pretty numb along the scar line and he says that may actually last a few months or forever. He wants me to get over the "acute" stage of recovery before we talk about the future.

I just updated my ticker and realized that according to it I have lost 161 pounds and I weigh 161 pounds - I am officially half the person I was :smile2: (I have lost more than that, but since June of 2007 I have lost 161 pounds - woo hoo!).

For those of you who like to see the numbers - I have now lost 248 pounds since my "thought to be heaviest" and 189 pounds since the 350 that I was at for many years. I set my first goal as 180, then my next goal as 160.

I am wondering what and if I should be aiming for next. In some ways I want to get over the obsession of losing weight and trying to find a life, but on the other hand I am pretty scared of not having the focus of weight loss driving me. Any thoughts or ideas out there?

I went to my gym today and they are having the official party to "unveil" the new success stories on November 15, so I am thinking I don't get to see my official picture until then, since I haven't heard anything else. I am actually kind of nervous about it - hopefully the picture is ok since I will have to pass it every time I go into the gym :wink5:.

My pet peeve of the day: Why is it that depending on the pant, I wear a size 10, 12 or even 14 (I even got into a small the other day), but I am a consistent large on top?

Jacquie

I am wondering what and if I should be aiming for next. In some ways I want to get over the obsession of losing weight and trying to find a life, but on the other hand I am pretty scared of not having the focus of weight loss driving me. Any thoughts or ideas out there?

I think for me this has been the hardest part of the entire journey. I am a normal weight, I am even THIN but I still want to lose more. I lost all my weight so easily, it baffles me why I cant lose 6 kgs more. But you know, I think I sabotage it on purpose so that I never actaully "arrive" at that destination because I wont know what to do when I get there!

Weight has been my focus for me entire life, I dont know how to not be dieting. Or at least trying to improve my body - I think that's why I enjoy running so much, it gives me the same focus, there's always things to achieve.