Hi everybody. I wanted to start this thread to document the plastic surgery journey that we are about to start on. Frangipani & I both were banded last August and have each lost over 100 pounds. Since we have been traveling the lapband road together and now are about to have PS at the same time (me on June 12 & Frangi on June 13) we thought it would be appropriate to share a thread.

We have both learned so much from those who have gone before us and our hope is that our stories can be of some value to others.

I am having a lower body lift and medial thigh lift. All of my pre-op testing is done and now I'm just nervously waiting for my big day, which is less than two weeks away! I will post clothed before and after pictures for sure and I'll have to think about more revealing pictures later.

Hey Becky

So excited to see your pictures because I am having the same procedure in September. I am about a 8 dress, or 10 pants right now. I keep thinking about how many inches may be removed and doing calculations in my head about what size I might be! so silly right?! Anyway if i look 1/2 as good as you do after my LBL I will be thrilled.

Happy Birthday Becky!!

:huh2::eek::Banane24::party::Banane48::Banane25::Banane33::woot::thumbdown:

I wish you the best always and forever my good friend. I think I am closer to you and Frangi than some of my friends lately!! Celebrate yourself....you deserve it!!

On another note: thanks so much for making a positive difference in my life!!

Hi All,

Becky I hope you're out celebrating as I write this and having a wonderful time!!!!

Well, the drain is out. The Dr. gave me the heads up to have it pulled because I'm going back up to Miami next week and he can follow up with me if I develop any problems, such as excessive swelling.

The good news is that there is almost no swelling, despite the fact that I ran around most of the day and was on my feet for hours -- so thus far (fingers crossed), it's looking like my patience with keeping it in so long is paying off.

To celebrate I went out shopping. (I don't know if I've ever told you ladies this about myself, but I love shopping :thumbup::tongue:). My figure is completely different from what it has ever been (especially with the new breasts), so it was really fun trying things on and experimenting with new looks.

So that's my big news for the day. I hope everyone is enjoying their evening and working up to a wonderful weekend!

BTW Jody, thanks for the nice words. You're a terrific lady, and I'm honored that you consider me a friend.

Edited July 19, 200818 yr by Frangipani

Happy Birthday Becky!

Frangi - Great to hear the drain is out. We apparently took mine out a little too soon. I am leaking out of the incision. So like Kat I have a feminine pad across my belly. Hope your swelling stays down. I look like I have swallowed a watermelon today.

:blushing::drool::blushing::drool::blushing::blushing::blushing::blushing: if I'd only clicked "go advanced" before now.

I am sooooo not as bright as I should be :myscared:

Becky, if I'd only known how to do dancing bananas before now.... (and wow, some of those bananas.... yikes!)

But, in honor of your birthday and a new life from 50 on.... :thumbup:

I hope your day is truly fantastic!

Edited July 19, 200818 yr by cori in wa

darn it. I've got to try that again because she cracked me up.

:thumbup::Banane20:

Thank you all for the birthday wishes. I did have a wonderful day and plan to continue celebrating through the entire weekend!

Jody, you're a doll. I'm lucky to have found you on LBT.

Love all the dancing bananas too. Cori, I'm so glad you figured them out. You seem to be enjoying them. I don't think I've seen the cutie you came up with. Hilarious!

Frangi, Yeah on the drain!!! I've got fingers and toes crossed that you will do well without it. If I could have avoided all this swelling I would have kept mine in for a month or longer. I'm glad you got a little shopping in today. Nothing like a good workout trying on clothes!

Salsa, apparently there is a whole new market for feminine pads. You are one of many ps patients who have posted about how handy they are during various stages of recovery. Maybe Kotex should revise their marketing campaign, LOL. Hope things get better soon.

Becky and Frangi, what's your thigh measurement these days? I have no idea what a "normal" thigh is. Clothing charts give you sizes for hips, waist, bust, but not thighs and arms. I am wondering what I have to look forward to when my thunder thighs finally disappear.

Frangi, congratulations!!!!!! That is wonderful news... so glad the drain is out and that you celebrated by doing what you love :thumbup: Here's hoping the swell hell stays away!!!!!

Becky, just because I think you are so wonderful and I'd hate to see you celebrate alone, I'm tipping a Smirnoff Raspberry ice in your honor. Here's to a truly fabulous 51!!!!!!

As far as Brian and PS.... he already loves the results and I should lose another 40 or so pounds. I don't think it's the $$ (though I know he wouldn't mind using that on a killer vacation instead of PS) or even being sweet (though is is). I think mostly it's because he worries and he doesn't want me going through more surgery. He lost his mom during surgery when he was 18 and though he doesn;t verbalize it, I know that has stuck with him through the years. He stressed majorly about my c-sections, my carpal tunnel surgery and the band placement. I honestly think he just doesn't like the surgical risks, regardless of the fact that I do really well both during surgery and post op.

Frangi, how much longer will you be in the VI? My husband used to be a hard core cyclist, but I've softened him up a bit over the years. I can picture exactly what you are talking about though with those tough rider dudes.... they can move!!! When you can get your bike back I've no doubt you will enjoy it.... I am completely in love with my new beach cruiser. It is sooooo comfortable!

Hope you are all have a fantastic day!!!

Hi Cori,

Gosh, I can totally understand now why Brian is concerned about you having PS. I'm so sorry to hear that he lost his Mom that way.

As far as how long I will be in the VI, we are here indefinitely. At some point, I will probably live here part-time and in Santa Fe, New Mexico part-time, which is why I didn't ship everything down here.

Frangi, congratulations!!!!!! That is wonderful news... so glad the drain is out and that you celebrated by doing what you love Here's hoping the swell hell stays away!!!!!

Thanks Cori! :wink2::smile::smile:

Good news so far -- no swell hell!

Because the drain is now out, I was able to wear my wonderful compression garment that I purchased from Nouvelle, and in fact when I woke up this morning, there appeared to be no swelling whatsoever.

I plan to ask my Dr. about this when I see him next, but I'm starting to wonder if toward the end, my body was actually starting to react to the drain itself and that's why my drain output never did drop down the way it should have.

The one good thing that did come out of this, is that I made a connection with a delightful lady in Orange County, CA, who I found on MakeMeHeal.com. She had her TT one week before me and had her drain in for five weeks too! She and I are laughing about this because we believe we set a record. Her Dr. told her that she had her drain far longer than any patient he'd ever had.

Anyhow, she's great, and we've been emailing back and forth quite a bit and supporting each other through the experience. Gotta love the Internet -- you meet all kinds of terrific people who you would never meet otherwise.

Becky and Frangi, what's your thigh measurement these days? I have no idea what a "normal" thigh is. Clothing charts give you sizes for hips, waist, bust, but not thighs and arms. I am wondering what I have to look forward to when my thunder thighs finally disappear.

Foofy, if you want encouragement we should probably let Becky handle that question alone. I'm a "pear" shape and carried almost all of my excess weight in my hip and thigh area and I still need to have one more surgery to fully address my lower body issues. As it stands now, my thighs and the Giant Redwoods rival each other in diameter.........

Happy Birthday Becky!

Frangi - Great to hear the drain is out. We apparently took mine out a little too soon. I am leaking out of the incision. So like Kat I have a feminine pad across my belly. Hope your swelling stays down. I look like I have swallowed a watermelon today.

Thanks Salsa :smile:. My incisions leaked for a time too in a certain spot -- don't worry it's annoying, but it will go away. And yes, the sanitary pads help immensely -- that was truly invaluable advice from Kat :scared2:!!!!

Edited July 19, 200818 yr by Frangipani

Frangi, glad to hear the drain removal hasn't resulted in any swelling. I hope it stays that way. How was the actual removal? Any pain with that?

Foofy, I don't have a tape measure, so I have no idea what size my thighs are. I think it is a very individual thing anyway. So much depends on how long your legs are, how your body is proportioned, etc. I do have fairly long, slender legs because I'm tall and shaped just the opposite of Frangi. She on the other hand has nice, slender arms, and mine have always been big and not so nice. Now they aren't so big but I have lots of ugly loose skin.

Becky, just because I think you are so wonderful and I'd hate to see you celebrate alone, I'm tipping a Smirnoff Raspberry ice in your honor. Here's to a truly fabulous 51!!!!!!

Cori, Cheers!

Do you work nights or what? Why are you posting at 4 in the morning?

Hi Ladies, hope everyone is having a lovely summer weekend!

Becky, I hope you're continuing to enjoy your Birthday. How's it going -- still partying? :smile::tt2:

Well, I'm happy to report that there is still no noticeable swelling. If anything, the little bit of swelling I had has gone away.

Still keeping my fingers crossed, but it looks like keeping the drain in for 5 long weeks might all be worth it in the end :thumbup::drool:

Have a great Sunday everyone!

WOW - 2 days away and I had a lot to catch up on!

Becky - I hope you had a great birthday!!

Frangi - I am sooooo glad that drain is out. You probably are not having the swelling issues because they left it in. So, with that said, where is the damn picture of the top and capris????:drool::tongue: Come on sister, Becky posted hers!! Ante up!!

Have a wonderful Sunday everyone! We are down at the beach having a fabulous time. I am walking the boardwalk in the morning and the beach all day. This has to be the first time I am not self concious (sp) about wearing a bathing suit and walking down the beach during the day. It feels great. I can't wait to get to goal now!:biggrin:

WOW - 2 days away and I had a lot to catch up on!

Becky - I hope you had a great birthday!!

Frangi - I am sooooo glad that drain is out. You probably are not having the swelling issues because they left it in. So, with that said, where is the damn picture of the top and capris????:tongue: Come on sister, Becky posted hers!! Ante up!!

Have a wonderful Sunday everyone! We are down at the beach having a fabulous time. I am walking the boardwalk in the morning and the beach all day. This has to be the first time I am not self concious (sp) about wearing a bathing suit and walking down the beach during the day. It feels great. I can't wait to get to goal now!:biggrin:

Hey Jody,

Great to hear that you're having such a wonderful time!!!

Well I've got problems with taking photos right now. First of all my "photographer" (DH) has been off island since last weekend and he won't be back for a few days yet.

Then, we'll be ships passing in the night because right around the time he's due to return, I'm headed back up to Miami (DH and I are both very independent people if you haven't already noticed, it's actually a wonder that two "lone rangers" like us were even motivated to get married :drool:).

The other problem I have is that I don't have a single bottom that fits me anymore. I thought I had planned ahead when I went out shopping after surgery, but I'm now swimming in the bottoms that I bought.

I think I'm going to have to ask my Dr. for a "Brazilian Butt" just to keep my pants up :tt2::tongue:!

Will post pics when I have some clothes that fit, which hopefully will be late next week once I get to Miami.

Here's a money-making tip for you girls -- buy some Stein Mart stock -- FAST!!!!

Cheerio! :smile: