SpecialK

Mimi -- thanks for posting and sharing you had BR and brachioplasty combination. Did they do the two procedures together on same day? outpatient? Would you do them together again if you had to do it over? Did the surgeon charge you just the incremental cost of the surgery for the arms and then you had 1 operating room, 1 anesthesia, 1 office visits set, etc? Trying to figure out if I can get a price break on the brachioplasty cost by combining with BR that insurance will cover when it excludes covering brachioplasty. I need both surgeries for sure. I totally agree with you statement that you have to look in the mirror and decide what you want to live with. My arms are something I definitely cannot live with. My breasts have always been a problem but I didn't act on changing it due to my overall overweight and obesity situation. Hope you will post some answers to my questions here? Any change you would be willing to share the cost for each surgery? in a Private Message? Thanks.

Yankeerobin - thanks for posting your experience specifically with Breast Reduction. I have an appointment on Feb 15 with a Plastic Surgeon in the Columbus area that came highly recommended to me - a woman surgeon. I am going through the process of getting a medically necessary recommendation from my PCP - she wrote the letter and gave it to me right while I was in the office! Fabulous. That coupled with the size of my breasts -- 42G now down from 52DDD -- so I would love to be a C cup!!! I have never not known the pain of large breasts and am looking forward to having a chance to be more physically active. I am also considering having my brachioplasty done on my arms (it is self-pay) to see if I can combine two surgeries together for 1 anesthesia fee, 1 hospital OR cost, follow up doctor visits, etc. since all of that would be covered by my Aetna insurance and then mostly just pay the surgeon extra cost for the additional surgery time/procedure. We'll see what she says. I figure if I am going to be bandaged up on the top, I would like to try to do them together. Anybody else do BR and Brachioplasty together? I have another year to go before I can get insurance approval for panniculectomy - and then I plan to pay to upgrade to abdominoplasty (out of pocket extra) at that point. My goal is to lose about 50 lbs this year before going forward with that surgery. I have not lost more in the top even though I am losing around the band size for my bra. I don't think (or at least I hope) my PS won't ask me to wait for 6 months for BR to see what else I lose. That would be disappointing and if she did, I definitely will get a second opinion.

I am on Year 2 of my longer journey too because I want to lose a total of 200 lbs - at -125 now and coming up on my 2nd bandiversary on March 17 - about a month now. By my 3 year anniversary, I am trying to be in Onederland for sure but I'd like to try to lose 1 lb per week approximately in 2010. Lost 3.4 in January so I am very happy with that. I was still dealing with work stress things that have dramatically improved since mid-January now. I am going to the gym at work and also the gym after work when I don't go in the day at work. Trying to do something each day. Sunday and friend and I did mall walking and that was fun - we not only did the upper level and lower level mall but we zipped in and out of all the big anchor stores like Sears, Penney, Macy, etc. so we got to do some window shopping while we did our exercise! An hour passed pretty quick doing that. P.S. I did birthday celebration splurging on food so that is not a good thing to confess - clearly I still have a problem with food and have to continue to be diligent.

LadyRoz - a walk for MS - can you tell more details, date, location and I will gladly see if we can get more walkers. I took my measurements yesterday on Feb 1 and had done it on Jan 1 -- so once a month I am going to see if I am losing inches as well as pounds now because I sometimes get discouraged. So, here is what I found: Bust - lost 1" in my band size around my upper body not counting the chest/breasts - so those ab crunches I am doing is helping!!! Upper Arms - lost 1" so that upper body free weight training is helping! Neck - lost 1" so yes, still losing in that area --really feels bony now! No fat pad left at all I can feel. Thighs - the largest part of my upper leg went down 1.5" -- so yes, all that Elliptical Trainer and Treadmill walking is still helping. Hips -- no change as this is where my flabby tummy/skin is and it seems hopeless for now. Waist - I must have not measured right as it said I went up 1.5" and that isn't possible so I'll recheck on March 1 on that. So, I recommend you take measurements and write them down with a date so you can have an alternative to the scale to see. Even if you are fluctuating on weight up and down, you may see your measurements losing or stable and that counts for sure!

Name -Starting Wt .......Goal/End Wt 2010 ..CurrentWeight- SpecialK.............232.2.........155...................229.4 Scrappy_friend....149............135...................145 LadyRoz.............220............190...................216 I finally broke into the 220s! Yea!! Lost again this week, slow and steady wins the race -- my personal race that is.

Harley, congratulations for being so close to your goal. You are set to join the Century Club of 100 lb losers any day!

He is just under a year old now but we love him to death! We took him for a picture with Santa because the donations at the Pet Store went to a rescue shelter. Ahhhhh

Hi ladies! ... yes, it seems we have no male lapbanders any more among us. I lost again this a.m. when I weighed in. Can't tell you how much happier I am now that I am losing, slowly, but surely, and I know it is from careful eating and exercise and the lack of work stress now.

Liz -- I found that my local Community Center offered evening Water aerobics classes and I took those for several years and enjoyed them. I don't know if you live close enough to something like that but give it a try. Second, I joined Urban Active Fitness gym a year ago and they offer water aerobics classes in the evenings after work and the exercise classes of all kinds are included in my monthly gym membership fee so that is a bargain. I now don't sign up and pay extra for the Community Center classes, even though I loved that instructor, because the free classes are available at the gym.

NurseNiki -- so wonderful to see your Ticker at Goal and Below!! Congratulations girl! I'm still working on my weight loss journey day by day. My goal is to lose 1 lb a week for 2010 and so far I'm doing okay at that with -2.9 lbs in January so far. My new project at work is so much better, gives me a hopeful outlook to get up each morning instead of dreading work. I believe the work situation I was in was holding me back on losing weight last year so that is a real bummer but things are better.

Congratulations Nancy. I was on a plateau for a few months at the 2nd half of last year but I'm on a losing pace again now with 2.9 lbs in the first 3 weeks of 2010 but that has been with very dedicated food tracking and exercise. I set myself a goal of 1 lb per week average to get the last 52 lbs off this year before going for the tummy tuck next year as my 3rd year bandiversary present! Keep up the good work to all.

My replacement BodyBugg just came Friday and I had it on charging yesterday and plan to get it going today with the help line guy. So I should also have my info by the 13th to share. I have to tell you, while it was not working I have gotten hooked on using the DailyPlate food and exercise tracker so I am not sure which I will keep using for the food tracking for Calories Eaten vs Calories Burned.

Name -Starting Wt .......Goal/End Wt 2010 ..CurrentWeight- SpecialK.............232.2.........155...................230.1 Scrappy_friend....149............135...................145 LadyRoz.............220............190...................216 Okay, I kept thinking how could I have a gain and I weighed this morning and was down all of what yesterday showed I was up and then down some more. So I guess the scale is playing games but I am hanging in. I think I need to call for a fill too as I am finding I get hungry faster than I should and if I let myself sit there, I can eat more than a cup of food so I think a small fill might help but it will likely take me 3 weeks to get in for an appt.

Hi Desdemona. I did get busy and called for an appt for B reduction. The first consult appt is now for Feb 15. They said they would send me a packet of what all insurance requires. I have a feeling this is going to be something where I have to document repeated visits to a doctor saying I am still experiencing neck, chest or shoulder pain and have tried the supportive undergarment route to no avail. I am going to the first consult though just to see what they officially say they think is possible. I chose a woman plastic surgeon as my first consult that my best friend who is an RN recommended. She has seen many post op patients at the hospital she works and done alot of wound care on people and she said she thinks the most highly of this surgeon above all others she has seen so that gave me the confidence to give it a try. My hospital I had my WLS at, has a doctor who does lots of PS also but I thought I'd try to get over my fears of embarrassment with a woman surgeon consult first. Well, I logged a small gain this a.m. on the scale and not sure exactly why but I'm not going to let it get me down. Just keep exercising and making the best food choices. I think I will call for a small fill adjustment in February because I think I am able to eat more at a sitting than I should.

Name -Starting Wt .......Goal/End Wt 2010 ..CurrentWeight- SpecialK.............232.2.........155...................231.5 Scrappy_friend....149............135...................149 LadyRoz.............220............190...................216 Well, this isn't good, went backwards and I'm not quite sure why I had a gain this week so I guess I better step up the exercise and watch even more on the food choices. I am going to log the ups and downs here so I keep track of the long term picture and I am weighing on Friday and putting the weight on a calendar that hangs in my bathroom.

Well I will tell you I think it is true that the stress I was under at work was impacting me more than I wanted to admit. I feel much more in control of my eating, much less tempted to look for easy things to eat. I have started checking into what insurance coverage I have for plastic surgery. Aetna will cover panniculectomy but not abdominoplasty, will Not cover arms or thighs at all, and will cover breast reduction if you meet different "medically necessary" criteria which I think I do. It looks like they have some similar hoops you have to jump through on the breast reduction/lift situation including pain documented for at least One Year. I guess that could mean I have to get it on the record with my doctor now. So I am going to take the plunge and see about making my appointment. I'm pretty scared about this and don't know the cost range for out of pocket costs for that procedure. So many of the other folks who posted on the Plastics and Cosmetic thread were going for breast lift/augmentation with implants and I want to go the other way, down in size! I am going to ask at the appointment what the cost difference is between panniculectomy and abdominoplasty as I definitely have a skin/fat roll above my waist as well as the pannus issue. I will also ask what the cost of doing both arms is, brachioplasty, as I have major bat wings of skin and I am self conscious about that. It would be 100% out of my own pocket. Okay, wish me luck. Others have gotten over the embarrassment of the initial consult and I suppose I will too.

Hi Spartan, What I mean by "hit the wall" is those who get the first 80% of their excess weight off and find it very hard and very slow to finish the last 20% regardless of which type of surgery they had. I have observed that RNY patients in my hospital program say they were told to get as much of their excess weight off in the first year because after that, their pouch would stretch some allowing them more capacity to eat, and also that their new portion of intestines has the capacity to adapt and be better at absorption and so the combination of more capacity and more absorption slows things down for them. I am not saying it is not a good surgery -- I have met many happy people in my support group who chose that. I have not heard much about it being reversible. Not sure of the success rate of trying to reconnect the portion of the stomach back to the small pouch or just reconnecting the intestinal tract back to what it was, but my understanding is that it would be a very difficult reversal surgery compared to the removal of the band in relative terms and potential reversal success rate.

Creamer -- a couple suggestions I'd offer -- please don't be the "diet police" unless your wife asks you to. We know if we are eating something we shouldn't. We have to make this decision 100% for ourselves to eat what is healthy. Second suggestion, if you have a sweet tooth, or she has in the past, try not to keep any sweet stuff or high calorie Snacks in a cupboard or location where she has to see them. I'm not saying you can't have them, but definitely for me, seeing them is temptation so if they were in my husband's reserved drawer or cupboard that might help. Same with eating them frequently in front of her if she is struggling.

I'll try to answer your questions from the 2 yr out perspective about this point. 1. Nobody bothers me about how much I eat - restaurants usually give you such large portions these days that lots of people take half their meal home. Just plan on doing that. 2. I take all my Vitamins whole without a problem. I do try to take them in the morning with a warm drink and or with a pretty good amount of Water. 3. The lapband and port are in there permanently unless there would be some medical reason it has to come out. Not counting on it ever coming out. I committed to a lifetime thing even though I knew it was reversible medically if needed. 4. I think there are many band placements outside the U.S. in the U.K and Austrailia that easily go back to 2003-2005. Hope that helps.

Amy, thanks for that info. I have the AP-L band and have 10cc out of the 14 now and was wondering for a lifetime about whether they would max out the 14. Thanks.

If you don't have a food journaling tool, the www.mydailyplate.com site is free and I think it is very good. I journal my exercise and food and it tells me what my net calories are for the day and I can see a whole week or month of my progress. Look for the big picture. Don't beat yourself up over 1 day off track, get back on the next.

Michelle - hang in there and it will get better. I should tell you that its all in the perspective of how you are looking at things. I would love to be 180 and a tight size 12 right now but I'm still up in 18s mostly and 230 lbs and hoping to get to where you are by the end of 2010. So, first, be thankful for where you are and don't beat yourself up. You are at the right place to get support. Start logging and tracking your food and exercise. The www.mydailyplate.com website is free and is a great tool. Best wishes for a new start in 2010.

Check out www.mydailyplate.com -- its free journaling of your food and exercise and it should help you get some awareness of what you are eating. Hang in there. You can do this. I also had an incredibly difficult stressful year and I am convinced our bodies do not allow us to turn lose of excess fat as a protection mechanism so hopefully if things on that aspect are better, with dedicated eating and tracking, you'll be on a good path again. God Bless.

At the time I chose lapband surgery the doctors were saying this would be a 2-3 year losing process and that I had to commit myself to the right diet and exercise. I said, yeah,yeah, give me the lapband now! and I have been happy but in year 2 it was much harder. I saw others banded the same time as me hit their goal, have plastic surgery and I was envious, the old green eyed monster. I started measuring myself against others. When I got my act together and looked at things, I had lost 80 lbs by Dec 2008 and another 42 lbs by Dec 2009 for a total of -122 and now I am setting myself a practical goal of 40 lbs in 2010 and then I should be close to being where I should be -- 3 years after starting. Who knew that the surgeons really did mean it was a three year process! Now I am totally with the post about see me in 5 years, make me stay committed for a lifetime which is what I signed up for when this was put in. Doesn't it that much more help us be sympathetic to those who had the more drastic WLS of Gastric Bypass and then after the initial thrill of losing the first 100 almost without trying find they hit the wall but they can't go back, still have a permanently changed internal organ structure, etc. Start back 1 day at a time. You are in the right place to get support. Stay in touch on this board daily.

I'm not a sue-happy person at all but this is total malpractice and that ER surgeon who saw what he did and took pictures realized it big time. Get a lawyer and a new WLS doctor.