Frangipani

This thread caught my eye because I'm going through just the opposite right now, 4 have doctors have recommended that I have a hysterectomy for my large fibroid tumor and I finally found a wonderful and skilled Dr. (#5) who will be performing a myomectomy on me, which is what I wanted all along. This is however, a very personal choice and the important thing is that you are comfortable with your own decision and that you are not pushed into it by anyone else (the way I felt I was being). Bandster1007, your comment about what your Dr. told you concerns me a bit, though. Do you have a medical condition that has prompted your Dr. to advise having a hysterectomy ASAP after having children? Without knowing the full details, this seems really strange to me..........

Becky, you go girl! You always do really great with these challenges. In fact you are my original exercise role model. I got my hour of cardio in today. I did not do my second session of Couch to 5K, because I'm plateauing again and I wanted to do longer cardio to (hopefully) break through it. Have a great night everyone!

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:).

Plastic surgery is dirt cheap in Mexico and I'm sure that there are some excellent surgeons who do excellent work. I had my LapBand done in Mexico and had an excellent experience. I was therefore mightily tempted to have my PS done there (or elsewhere) as well. I dug in and researched this about as much as I could, but decided in the end that having a major surgery (such as an LBL) abroad just wasn't for me. One of the things that was most disconcerting to me was that fact that most of these Dr.'s do not do the surgery in a hospital -- they use their own clinics. While I'm sure that many of these clinics are very high-quality and safe, I simply did not feel comfortable having this amount of surgery done in a small, private clinic. Many Dr.s will offer you the option to have the surgery done in a hospital, but when you factor in the additional cost for doing so, you will probably find that the price difference between Mexico and the US becomes negligible (at least this is what I found). The language barrier is also an issue for me. Again, with this type of major surgery, I just feel more comfortable working within the familiar parameters of my own culture and my own language. I was also concerned about how well post-operative issues could be dealt with -- especially after I left Mexico. I would not hesitate to recommend Lap Band surgery in Mexico using a high quality surgeon (such as Rumbaut, Zapata or Aceves), but with major surgery like an LBL, I found that I have much more peace of mind staying in the US. JMHO -- your mileage may vary.

Hey Candle, Your old buddy here ! I think you're going to find when you start digging into this, that no two surgeons are exactly alike in their approach to fixing multiple areas of the body, (which is usually what we bariatric patients need). I think you might also find that your priorities will change a bit as you start looking at photos, researching, and talking to doctors. For example, I started out thinking that breasts were not a priority for me, but after looking at photos and being reminded of what "younger, perkier" breasts looks like, I have now placed a very high priority on breasts. As far as the inner thighs, I have the same issue, but my Dr. wants me to wait a bit on those. He explained why by showing me photos of several of his patients where he got some inner thigh lift with the TT (or LBL) and in many of those cases the amount of lift he got satisfied the patient. That said, he cannot tell me with any real degree of certainty how much lift he will get with me because it varies from patient to patient, which is why he wants to wait until we are finished with the LBL. This PS journey is very interesting and I think you will be learning a lot through your research and talking to doctors in person. But do keep in mind that if you do everything you are wanting to do, you will likely be having more than one surgery, so the "wait and see" approach will probably be part of this whole planning/staging process. A final thought regarding this issue is that it really does help to learn as much as you can about the various techniques for addressing the body areas you are concerned about. There are so many different things that can be done and ways to do it that it is a bit mind boggling, but having this information (and developing some idea of your own preferences) will help both you and your surgeon to figure out the best way to approach your concerns.

Hi Sweety, I think there is just so much activity on this part of the board with so many people having or planning PS that it just takes a while to get responses at times. Congratulations on setting a date!!! I am trying to get my date worked out and I know that feeling of anxiety and excitement very well. July 22 will be here before you know it!!! Definitely do keep us posted.

Thank you so much for sharing this information with me, Dr. JLo. It's very helpful to have feedback on this issue from a plastic surgeon. I have visited your website and looked at your before and after photos and your work is excellent! I had actually considered traveling out your way and consulting with you, but for logistical reasons I decided that it was easier for me to have my LBL and BL procedures done in the Miami area, which is much easier to travel back and forth from where I live (USVI). Salsa, thanks for letting me know that even if I'm unfilled, I might not have anything to worry about as long as I keep up with my exercise !

Jody, don't worry about that -- sometimes my scale moves up three pounds in a day and then back down again! It takes about 3500 excess calories to gain one pound, and that is over and above the number calories your body needs to maintain your present weight. Now could you possibly have consumed that many calories? I think not!!! Thanks MollyMolly. Look at that ticker running along side of you. You should be arriving in Onderland any minute now -- Woo Hoo! I got one hour of cardio in tonight. I will do another session of the Couch to 5K plan tomorrow. Have a great night everyone!

Hi BandedBabs and Welcome! Thanks for the compliment -- you seem like a pretty cool chick yourself and congrats on losing 50 pounds !!!! Isn't the band wonderful???? A true Godsend for sure!!! You are welcome anytime here -- we always love to have people join us. If you are exercising, feel free to join our exercise thread as well. We keep each other pretty motivated! Looking forward to hearing from you again soon! :smile:

Hi Judi, Good to hear from you and you were definitely missed, you witty and interesting lady! Sorry to hear that work is so crazy for you right now, but fortunately this should help make your wonderful cruise only that much more enjoyable when the day finally arrives. Good point about all the good habits we are developing!

Great post Candle (and Salsa again too)! Once again you have reinforced that PS is pretty much the answer here. Our bodies while at (or approaching) a normal BMI are not the same as a "normal," never morbidly obese, body, and that is the problem. I honestly do think that PS will cure most of my woes because I feel pretty good about myself right now. My only real issue at this point in time is that I am dissatisfied (from a purely aesthetic standpoint) about how my body looks and that I don't have the full range of options as to the type of clothing I can wear. Becky said in another thread that we shouldn't have to carry around a constant reminder of being fat, and I wholeheartedly agree. Once I get my PS (and hence remove this constant reminder), my goal is to let the painful "fat years" fade into a distant memory (while remembering the good times of course). I don't want my life ever again to be about "being fat," -- and to dwell on the fact that I was "formerly fat," would be doing so. Once I get my body into the range of normality, I am fully prepared (I believe) to be very "normal", happy and healthy!

Thanks for the feedback Steph! These responses are very helpful guidance for me. :smile::tt1:

Steph, Looking good :tt1:! It looks to me like your Dr. made a very excellent and meticulous incision, I bet it will heal just beautifully!!!! I'm glad to hear that you are feeling more energetic and were able to get out!!!! I'm guessing I will need to be going to the bank a lot too after my PS, probably for emergency cash infusions ().

Add me to the very long list of those thinking about you and sending the very best wishes your way today. :smile::tt1:

Hi Slimmy120, You do not have to have an implant with a breast lift and there are some surgeons out there who don't even like to do both at the same time. However, if you haven't already, you should look at photos of breast lifts with and without implants, and see what you like best. Also, you should get your Dr.'s recommendation about what would work best for you. Once I started looking at photos and focusing in on this issue, I immediately decided that I prefer the "look" of a breast lift with implants. My husband on the other hand seems to like the look of breasts without implants. (Even though I love my husband dearly, these are my breasts, and I'm going with the implants .) As you can see, there are different ways you can go about this and the decision is pretty much up to you.

I will be having a 360 or LBL. There are many names for this procedure, my Dr. refers it as "circumferential abdominoplasty," I call it a "circumferential tuck." I was really hoping that I wouldn't need to go all the way around because of the scarring, but after consulting with 4 different plastic surgeons, the recommendation for this procedure was unanimous. (I carried 75% of my excess weight in my hips, lower abdomen, and thighs, so I guess it was pretty much inevitable) I will be having my circumferential tuck done in two separate surgeries because I will also be having a robotic myomectomy during the first surgery to remove a large fibroid tumor that I have. The first surgery will be the myomectomy, tummy tuck and breast lift with implants. The second surgery (done at a later time TBD) will be finishing out the circumferential tuck and major liposuction of the thighs. I was hoping to have the entire tuck done at once and have the breasts done later, but my surgeon felt that having this procedure done along with the myomectomy introduced a level of risk that he was not comfortable with. The advantage, as I see it, to doing this in two separate surgeries is that the tummy tuck can be "tweaked," if need be during the second surgery. I also like the idea of the surgeon being able to concentrate on one area of my lower body at a time because goodness knows, my lower body needs a very highly concentrated effort. Good luck with your upcoming surgery Nancy!

Ditto to everything Kareyquilts said -- except that I don't have my implants yet, and I am so glad to hear how happy everyone is with theirs so far. I will be getting my implants sometime soon and once I started looking into this issue, I decided very quickly that (for me) silicone is the only way to go. My friends who have silicone are very happy with them as well. However I agree with you Mindy, that it's is a very personal decision and you have to go with the product that you feel most comfortable having in your body. Misty, thanks for the info on the Mentor implant!

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!!!!

Okay, I did it!!! I got started with the running today. I cannot say it was the most fun I have ever had (or even very enjoyable) and you certainly won't see me running the Boston Marathon anytime soon, but I did at least get started. Hopefully I will continue to get better and faster, and even (maybe) enjoy it a little as time goes on. Good job Miss MollyMolly, and thanks for the motivation ! Jody, I like your idea about having a monthly weight loss goal, and I've set one for myself this month. It's fairly a ambitious goal given that my weight loss has slowed way down lately, but we'll see what happens -- maybe this goal setting will be just what I need to get things going again. Have a great night everyone! :thumbup::smile::smile:

Julie, Thank you so much for the feedback -- you are always so helpful!!!! I've been following your PS thread and I'm so glad to hear that things are progressing so well with your recovery. I'm looking forward to seeing the pics if/when you decide to put them up. Thanks again! :thumbup::smile::thumbup:

Great posts Becky and Salsa -- you both have a lot of wisdom to share!!!! I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one going through this warped sense of reality right now. I think you have definitely helped me to clarify this issue -- it is the sagging and bagging skin that this causing me to feel "not normal." Well, at least we don't have an overblown sense of ourselves, which I have also seen happen with women who lose a lot of weight. I much prefer humility over excessive ego -- don't you?

Hi Jody and Becky, Thank you for the kind comments. I was concerned that I was blithering on a bit too much about this whole thing, so it's good to know that others are interested in this. I will probably take your suggestion Becky, and post it in the PS forum. However, I was thinking I should probably wait until I have everything in place and my dates set up, as this gynecological issue could possibly take a few other twists and turns before the whole thing is finalized. Right now it does look like the robotic myomectomy will be the treatment of choice for me, but a few other details still need to fall into place. The one thing I'm learning from this whole thing though is how pro-active you need to be as a patient because it seems as if no one is really going to offer you the full range of treatment options -- especially when there are several, as is the case with fibroids. Thank goodness for the Internet!!!! It helps us so much nowadays, doesn't it?????

Wow Salsa! That's excellent, Congratulations!!!! I can't believe how quickly you're progressing with the running. I did my 2.5 hour hike on Water Island today. The sun is starting to getting very intense here (as if it's not intense enough all year round, living so close to the equator), and with that sun beating down on me it was HOT!!! It started raining during the the last 45 minutes of my trek and it felt wonderful -- thank goodness for that rain!!!!!

Hi Steph, If you live in Atlanta and are considering Mexico, you should also consider Monterrey Mexico, which is much closer to you than Tijuana (Delta airlines has a 2.5 hour, non-stop flight from Atlanta to Monterrey.). Dr. Roberto Rumbaut and Dr. Miguel Zapata are two excellent bariatric surgeons in Monterrey. I used Dr. Zapata and had a great experience. LapBand surgery in Mexico is indeed safe if you do your research and make sure you are using an excellent Dr.. Good luck with your decision! I am thrilled with the Lap Band -- it has exceeded all of my expectations by far.

Good luck with your training Salsa, and I hope your tendinitis clears up soon! Hi Molly, Have you started yet? I have not -- I will probably start tomorrow because I am going out for a long hike today. Good luck!!!! Dave you inspire us too!!! And look at that ticker!!!! 134 pounds????? That is ASTOUNDING!!!!! I got a one hour hike in yesterday. Today I'm taking the ferry over to Water Island for long hike. Have a great Sunday everyone!!!