mommy3boys

Hi All, I have been following this thread and have to say Kareyquilts you look great. I too have had body issues forever and I'm only 36. I will be having a full tt, breast lift, lipo and butt lift in July and I'm already thinking of other things I would like to have done (thermage, fat injections to cheeks, chemical peels). I think it's only natural to always see our negatives and miss our positives. I have a problem with this myself but am working had to remedy that. I am pursuing other interests that focus on my mind and not just my body (I'm getting my teaching credential) and I have noticed a big chance in my attitude and self-esteem. I would like to thank you for sharing your story and being brave enough to post your pictures. I will do the same when I get closer to my surgery. Thank you. Ana

Hi Kat, I hope you're feeling better. I want wait to see your after pictures. Take care of yourself. Ana

StephC, You look great. Thank you so much for posting your pictures and telling your story. I will be going for another consultation next month and hope to have my surgery in late June or early July. I will be going to Dr. Salas and hopefully will be getting a full tt, breast lift, lipo, and a butt lift. I hope to be up and about quickly. I'm a fast healer. Thank you again. Ana

Congratulations on your success. I've had my band 5 years now and my only advice is to keep on doing what you've been doing so far. If your too tight get a slight unfil because you actually need to be eating good, healthy foods. Exercise and tone up if that is what you need to do. Other than that take it one day at a time and now focus on other things beside your weight. It will take a long time to mentally adjust to what your body had gone through. Congratulations. Ana

Congratulations Boo Boo Kitty, that is awesome!!!!! You have done a fantastic job. I think I'm going to follow your lead since I've had my band for 5 years and only need to lose my last 20 lbs. The only exercise I will do consistently is bike, treadmill, or walking, that is how I went from 199 to 168 in 3 months. Because you have inspired me I will start tomorrow morning. Congratulations. Ana

I am so excited for you Amy and can't wait to see your final results. I too plan to have an extended tummy tuck, breast lift and lipo this summer. I have had a hanging tummy for a long time and just can't wait to have it be gone. I've had my band for 5 years and weigh 165 and I am hoping to be at 155-145 when I get surgery this summer. Good luck and congratulations. Ana

I second with Dr. McKeen, he is great. I had my band done in Mexico with Dr. Kuri in 2003 and Dr. McKeen does my fills. Ana

Congratulations Mimin, I can't wait to see the results. I know you will look and feel fabulous. I can't wait to get rid of my panni and have my FTT, BL. I will post pictures because I find it so encouraging to see everyone's progress and will share mine so others can benefit. I am so excited for you. Congratulations. Ana

Ghost your results are awesome. I look exactly like your before picture and I'm 5'3" but my weight is a little higher at 170. I already had a consult and as soon as I find out if I got into the credential program I will be having my surgery in January or June of 2008. I'm having a ftt, mons lift, bl, contouring lipo and I think I'm going to see if he an do a little lipo in my upper mid inner thighs. I think once I get my tt that area will be too puffy and I don't want be focusing on that. Again you look great and thank so much for sharing your experiences. Ana

I hear ya. I'm a single mother of 3 boys and it is very hard, especially since I don't have an athletic bone in my body and my boys love sports. But just like there are great single parents there are crappy parents, you just do the best you can. You can do it and you will do it, because you love your kids and that's all there is to it. Good luck.

I had the exact same problem when I had a too tight fill last year and I lived like the for 8 months. I didn't lose any weight due to the tight fill but I started walking alot and lost 25 lbs in 4 months then I went for an unfill and the night coughing stopped. But as a preventative measure my fill doctor recommended taking an acid reducer at night with hot tea. A year later I'm still minus 25 lbs and taking acid reducer and don't exercise as much. BTW I'm 4.5 years out and had not lost any weight at all during years 2-3 but now I'm only 10 lbs from goal. Definately get a slight unfill. You have to be able to live with the band and not sleeping at night is not the way to go. Ana

Julie you are so tiny and look like a million bucks. I can't wait for my FTT/BL, next year can't come soon enough. Ana

I have been following your story JulieNYC and I almost accused TheGhost of taking my "naked" pictures. I have very similiar stats, I'm 5'3" and am currently 160 and sometimes feel like I still weight 242 due to the skin and other stuff. I had a consult and will be having a BL, FTT with mons lift, lipo to my waist, abs and side boobies for $14,000 (house equity will be paying for it) and can not wait. I am sick and tired to looking like this, cleaning under the "folds" is awful and hoisting up the boobies into a 36D is not my idea of cleavage. My PS said I will have excellent results since all I have is extra skin and my expectations are very realistic. Just to be smooth and proportioned is my ultimate dream. My surgery won't be until next year and I'm currently pursuing my 2nd dream of obtaining my teaching credentials and I have to decide which one could wait. But hopefully in January if not it will be in June. TheGhost you will look awesome and JulieNYC thank you for sharing your experience, the information has been invaluable. Ana

I start school 9/5 for my teaching credentials, I'm 35 and a single parent of 3 boys. You will fit right in and be very suprised how many others are in the same boat. Good luck.

Congratulations...I'm so excited for you. Ana

I agree with Jachut, they are pretty damn perfect already. A full D is quite large and do you really want to deal with more scaring and future very saggy boobies they are quite large. (Because they will sage eventually, PS can not prevent it just postpone it). Ana

With the arms down they look awesome, my advice don't walk around naked with your arms raised. If you are aiming for perfection you will never achieve it, there will always be something wrong. Were you looking for a huge improvement or perfect boobies? During my PS the dr told me that he really tries not to do surgery on people that expect perfection because there is nothing he can ever do to make that happen. Look at your before and compare to now. What if you have another surgery, more scars and they are worst than now, what then? Now if your boobies were 2 different cup sizes or the nipples pointed in different directions then I would totally be talking redo/fix ASAP. Just my 2 cents worth. Ana 242/165/150 Pre PS, need FTT, BL

I can so relate. Here is my story. I'm 4.5 years out and last year I decided to get tough on myself and asked the my fill to make me tight because the weight just was not coming off. Anyway he filled me tight just like I asked in one year did not lose a single pound instead I constantly pb'd and had night time reflux. I ate soft food and made myself worst. That had been my 5th fill. My weight when I had surgery was 242 and I was at 197 (my lowest had been 168 during my depression/divorce issues), well for one year it stayed at 195. Finally I got it and started exercising not to lose weight but to ease the reflux and help the food go down (I pay 325 for fills/unfills and wanted to try this before paying any more money). Well low and behold I lost 30 lbs in 4 months just by doing what I should have been doing all along. I did eventually get a slight unfill but have not gained any weight and that was 8 months ago. I now weight 165 and I walk almost every morning and eat large salads and drink tons of Water and can't believe I am doing to well finally after 4.5 years. Don't get discouraged in 2 years of my journey I did not lose any weight because I wasn't following the band rules. The band does not work by itself, you have to make it work for you. Ana

I married my best friend (or so I thought), no heat and 11 years later we divorced. He was not at all what I needed or wanted after all. If and when I decide to marry again I want it all, starting with romantic love and growing into a wonderful friendship. I now know that in order to have a happy marriage you must have both. Good poll. Ana

Congratulations, I am so happy and excited for you. You must feel like walking on cloud nine. Ana

This is a great thread. I am now at 167 after all time high of 270 and it still surprises me that I can wear a size 12. I was going to have PS this year, even got the quote and everything, but decided to put it off until next year. I never saw myself as really big when I was big and now I'm having issues seeing myself as smaller. I know a huge part of it is my tummy, it's awful. I always believed it would get easier, better once I lost the weight. But guess what life is not perfect no matter what you weigh. It's a struggle and will always be a struggle. I still do not like to exercise and will look for any excuse not to start but once I start it really does feel great. Great topic. Ana

I had surgery with Dr. Kuri in 2003. I was born in Mexico so the language and culture were not an issue. What will be an issue will be maintenance. I went back to TJ twice for fills but it was an all day thing and needed to find someone closer just for the simple fact that I'm a single parent and needed to be closer to my boys. I found Dr. McKeen in San Jose and he is great. Mexico is not bad but make sure you have a local follow up doctor. Ana

I've had my band 4.5 years and am feeling great. I have lost 80 lbs of my excess weight. I would like to lose 15 more lbs before I have PS. I would do again in a heartbeat and recommend it over the gastric bypass since I have had no complications other than reflux at night when I had a super tight fill. I had a slight unfill and have been doing great since. The band helped me lose the first 40 lbs and the other 40 lbs have been lost due to exercise and watching how much I eat. I have had to pay for 4 fills and 1 slight unfill other than that no problems. I am so happy I did this for myself. Ana

I can so relate to the intimacy issue. My ex was a hornball and could never get enough. It was quantity vs. quality with him. After a while I really did not enjoy it and it became a chore. I looked for any excuse to avoid it since I rarely had orgasms. I realized that I'm more of the manual stimulation kinda of gal. Well this situation worsened over time and we eventually divorced after I discovered he was cheating. I just didn't want him bad enough to try harder. He wasn't worth it. After I had my first intimate relationship after my divorce I discovered it wasn't me and it wasn't him, it was me with him. Quality over quantity beats every time. I have sinced discovered that a man who cares about you is a much better lover than someone who is selfish and egotistical. I don't know if this helps anyone but I wanted to share since I can sympathize with what everyone here to saying. Ana

Great, I can't wait. I will also be having a ftt and bl next year and I love seeing real life before and afters. You look great so far...congratulations. Ana