enterprise01

Here are the arms from the back and the sides. And I'm wearing a sports bra that is now too big. You can see it's riding up in the back.

Here are the most recent pics of me. Weight is 136 lbs.

Getting a breast augmentation can be about different things. 1) Some women get large breasts because they think that's what men like. Most men love boobs, any size or shape, but given their choice, most will take big ones over small ones. Big boobs make us more attractive to men. 2) Round, firm, perky breasts are associated with youth, and as a woman ages, she may long for the youthful breasts she had before breast-feeding a couple of kids. Only implants can give you that firmness back. 3) Some women may actually look better with implants. I myself have wide hips and if I didn't have large breasts, too, I would look unbalanced. I can see where pear-shaped women would want implants to give their bodies a more balanced look. Now, keep in mind, I'm not talking about Pam Anderson boobs. I'm talking about women who want to go from an A or B cup to a D. Pam Anderson is way, way past a D. And if you want specifically to understand why big boobs are an American obsession, well that's a more complicated subject because it's related to many aspects of our culture. Keep in mind that some groups, like blacks and Latinos, are even more desirous of large breasts than Anglos in America. In the most basic terms, large breasts = femininity. And you know how we love to do things to the extreme here in the U.S.

Audree - Congratulations! You look fantastic. I had a similar goal. I turned 40 a couple of weeks ago and was determined to be out of the "obese" range on the BMI chart by that time, and I was. Sometimes this lapband seems to good to be true. I still have a hard time believing that I can lose the weight and maintain that loss. Tulip - My appointment with Dr. Heller was rescheduled for next Friday, Nov. 16th. I'm going to take some pics of my arms tonight and will post them soon.

You got that right. Face work is so much more delicate. If a plastic surgeon ever says "so who's nose do you want?" then you better run in the opposite direction. A good surgeon takes what you have and improves it. Your nose should always look like it belongs with your face, not Angelina Jolie's face. I had rhinoplasty when I was 17. It was my high school graduation present from my mom. My nose always bothered me. Every time I met someone new, I thought they were staring at my nose. My grandmother kept telling me that my face would grow into it. Yeah, right. She did not want me to have surgery because she had a nose job in the early 1950s and it went horribly wrong. They actually operated on her nose from the outside! It left bad scars and caused the skin and nasal valve on one side to collapse, which they could never repair successfully. She hated her appearance so much (both before and after the nose job) that she cut her face out of all the family photos. After she died, I found some photos that she missed. They were pictures of her with her original nose. The funny thing is that I had her exact same nose - the one she kept telling me was just fine and that I would grow into! Anyway, I've never once regretted the nose job. I look so much better now. My right nasal valve did collapse 17 years after the surgery, which is not uncommon, but it was fixed with a quick reconstruction surgery.

Long ago, a plastic surgeon told me that if you stick a pencil in the crease under your breast and it stays there, then your boobs are sagging too much. According to that standard, I've been sagging since the age of 12. About the band width, I never wear a bra with less than 4 hooks. If you have large breasts, you need a wider band to support the weight.

Yes, I am attending the ball. I'd love to meet you. To be eligible for the grand prize, you have to submit an application by Nov. 15th. Go to Dr. Spivak's website HS Laparoscopy-Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery to find the application and the address to send it to. Also 2 other prizes are being donated by Dr. Heller. I think he's giving away a free breast lift and a free tummy tuck. Even if you don't want to do the application, please go ahead and email Wanda Chase and tell her you plan to attend. You can email her at spivakbandmd@yahoo.com. We need 70 Spivak patients to attend the ball, so please, please, please come. You'd be crazy to pass up an opportunity to win some free plastic surgery. Back to the brachioplasty, at least I can lose more weight by next Friday and impress Dr. Heller even more with my dedication. Let's hope that counts for something. It would be so cruel if he turned me down.

As Chickie said, if you're wearing a larger band size, then perhaps you weren't wearing the right size to start with. It would make sense that the cup size increases as the band size decreases, though. As you lose weight, you should lose the fat around your rib cage, thus the band size goes down. If you don't lose fat in your breasts (and many of us don't), then the cup size will increase because, just as an example, a D cup in a 34" band is actually much smaller than a D cup in 40" band. To have the same size cup in a 34" inch band as in a 40" band, you might have to go up to a DDD. I have gone from a 38DDD to a 34DDD, so my breasts are slightly smaller than they were at my fattest. But they are still too big and too heavy to be comfortable. If they don't shrink some with my last 25 pounds, I'll definitely have a reduction.

Good for her! That sounds like the life to have. I drove past a Long John Silver's yesterday and had the worst craving. I haven't eaten there in over 10 years. Now, I have some bad news. The doctor's office called me about 10 minutes ago and had to reschedule my appointment for next Friday. AAARRGGHHH!!!! If I had known that I had 3 weeks instead of 2 to get 10 pounds off, I would not have had to kill myself doing this. On the positive side, now I can get a few more off and be even closer to my goal weight. On the negative side, I'm really not sure I can keep this pace up for another week. All this exercise is absolute torture. I hurt all over and my feet are covered in blisters.

I know exactly what thread you're talking about! I read it, too. I even went back and read the thread that prompted that comment about looking good on the outside. People get so vicious in Rants & Raves. It really is sad because I've lost respect for a couple of very successful bandsters who have been incredibly cruel in the R&R section. I try to avoid that section most of the time. Yes, we do have a good group here, and I'm always thankful for the support and the kindness. It's nice to have a safe place where you know you won't be attacked.

Well, according to the scale this morning, I've lost 13.5 pounds in 13 days. Yay! I think I'm somewhat dehydrated, so I'm going to call it 12 pounds. I'm also terribly weak today (probably low potassium), so I'm eating a banana right now. My appointment with Dr. Heller is at 1 p.m. tomorrow, so please keep your fingers crossed for me. By the way, we're all still waiting on those pics to see your progress! You're going to have them up tonight, right?

Brandy, Donna, and Tulip, thanks for the reassurance. I think I can live with the scars better than I'm living with the flab. When I look at myself in the mirror without clothes, I just think "gross"! I doubt I'll have the same response to the scars. Historically, I've been a pretty good healer. The only scar I have that still looks bad is my port scar. And I really think that's because I was so fat when it was done. Having to stitch up several layers of fat has got to produce a worse scar than just stitching up skin.

Did you gain weight after you had the brachioplasty? If so, do you think that may be why the scars widened like they did? I have a scar under my chin that has shrunk considerably since I lost weight.

Thanks for the info, Audree. And you are looking fantastic! Your stomach is in great shape.

Thank, Sunshine. That does help. I figure that even if the scars are bad, who's going to see the inside of your upper arms unless you raise your hands? Since I'm long out of school, I don't anticipate needing to raise my hand on a regular basis.

I've started listening to the Carpenters in the car for the same reason! I drive much less aggressively when Karen is singing. Too bad we had to lose her at such an early age, and it was all from some stupid critic who wrote that she was "chubby." I hope that bastard feel guilty.

Audree - Another question about your brachioplasty. A woman on my thread about the brachioplasty told me that she really regretted having it done. She had it done in 2004 and her scars are so bad she feels like Frankenstein's monster. She even had a scar revision. Are you unhappy with your scars? Do you think the scars are worth it? Do you have any photos you can share with us?

I'm so sorry you're not happy with it. I've heard that the scars are bad, but after 2-3 years they should be white. Do you have photos you can share?

I go back to Dr. Heller this Friday, the 9th, so I'll know then whether he's going to use me for the TV show. I think Inga is pronounced with a silent "g" so it sounds more like Ina. When Inga went over the fees with you, did she print it out for you? That's where I saw the discount.

Julie - How did you do in the marathon?

I think that's an issue with the guy's size. I mean, it's not like we can unhinge our lower jaw. Anyone's jaw will cramp if it has to be wide open for a long time. I've often wondered if my technique is ok. I've never had any complaints and my boyfriend always reaches completion that way, so I guess that means I'm doing a good job. I have dated some guys that I just couldn't do it to because they were too large. Sex was uncomfortable with them, too. I'll take average over large any day of the week. Sorry, didn't mean to hijack the thread.

My sister and I used to get car sick a lot when we when kids. To this day, my mom still carries a small bucket in the car and ziplock bag in her purse.

So I guess their restaurants don't have electricity either. They must have to close at 7 p.m. The food sounds really good. Sometimes I miss gorging on good food like that.

That's great news. Congrats! This thread has been abandoned because it's too long to navigate now. Come join us here: Anyone here? <!-- google_ad_section_end --><!-- / message --><!-- sig --> <!-- google_ad_section_start(weight=ignore) -->

Yes, that's my life, too. Complete with the scratches on the furniture and the strewn carnage of cat toys. I had one cat that would hook her claw in my nostril and pull my head, by the nostril, towards her if I didn't wake up as quickly as she liked.