ellen

Hi Cadence Hey, you bit the bullet. That's reat news. 18th october is it? very best of luck with it! I hope this will be the start of an exciting new life for you. No need to be terrified at all! All the best Ellen

Where are you located Cadence? if you are in Ireland / Dublin you probably know fills are available in Dublin. On the money side, remember you will save on food quantities in the long term- you will eat little more than a mouse or a Frenchwoman! (only joking), you'll be able to find nice clothes more cheaply.... Seriously though, waking up and putting on the kind of clothes you like to wear (rather than the 2 things in the house that fit) is great, getting admiring glances on a regular basis is great, the house can wait if needs be! And why should you worry about friends thinking you vain for wanting to lose weight? Number one, you shouldn't tell them (it's private - I told only one person) and number two, its perfectly natural for young women to value their appearance and their health. I remember once starting to justify to an elderly aunt of mine spending money on something for me (cant remember was it clothes or some anti aging procedure or what) rather than investing is something else big for the house, and she interrupted me saying "Ellen, dont you realise your appearance is much more important than things for the house?". A n80 year old telling me it was right and proper to value my appearance - not even using the figleaf of health benefits!!!! I'd never quite looked at it that way before but of course she was absolutely correct. Not wanting to scare you or anything, but part of the reason I went ahead with the op when I reached 14 stone was because as you get older it becomes even harder to lose weight thatn at 20-30 (your metabolism slows way down) and I was afraid the 14 would gradually become 15 and 17 and ...... I went to the UK alone for the op, no bother at all, had it done on a saturday, flew home on Monday and back to work on Tuesday. No issues at all. Good luck!

Hi Cadence, Im Ellen from Galway Had the band 'installed' in the UK in Sept 2007 - 4 years ago. Am 5'5" weighed a little over 14 stone so about the same as yourself. Had done the dieting thing for years (I'm in my early forties) and just couldn't control my weight in any long term way. Felt slightly guilty but back then we all thought the money would keep growing on trees! Anyway I spent 8K stirling on the band in the UK back then - didnt know about C De B's existence at the time. Anyway to cut a long story short, it was the best thing Ive ever done and it would have been worth it at 80K!. lost the weight in less that 6 months and now hover around the 10 stone 7 mark. You are too young to waste years being overweight, my advice is Go for it. There will always be houses to buy, but your health and your appearance are to be nurtured. its possible Im sure to conquer the weight thing without intervention but in my experience most of us dont succeed without help in the long term because the habit of overeating is hard to break and its usually a well established pattern before we start feeling ready to accept the need for help.... and that's what the band is - a little bit of help. From what I have read about CdeB he seems very good. I have gone to him in Belgium for x rays etc when I was over there even tho he didnt do my surgery. He is very very experienced and that is good. Also at 14 stone you are not a high risk case. Very best of luck if you do go for it! Ellen

Yes I had mine in France but the flight home is only 2 hours so my surgeon did not see it as a problem. I stay in france for 10-11 days post op to check healing and if there had been a problem presumably he would not have allowed me to return at that point. Ellen

Hi Panda I'm getting nervous too. Am having brachio and inner thigh lift with vertical incision half way down thigh on Monday 6th in France. Had an LBL there last year which was tough enough for a day or too but not so bad afterwards. My brachio is a re-do. First time round no lipo was done so they are still bulky and the incisions were badly placed. I too will stay in hospital for 5 nights and then I'll be alone in France until I come home - 11 days post -op. I have to be back at work 3 weeks post -op so am hoiping for no complications. I'll be able to take it easy for a few weeks though. Hope all goes well for you. Ellen

Hi Dr Schulman, I had a diagnosis some years ago of mild lupus though I have had no symtoms for years apart from low white blood cells. in this case would you consider it to be risky for me to have a combination of srm lift any thigh lift? Are there any additional risks for me? Would there often be a need for blood transfusions with these surgeries? How about each of them individually? Many thanks for your advice. Ellen

Dr Schulman I am hoping to have a revision armlift this year involving liposuction and a repositioning of the scars. I would like to have a thigh lift performed at the same time, mainly because of the difficulty of taking time off work a second time. Is this combination regularly performed or something you would recommend against?

Hi Karey How is your de-hiss coming along? I think I have one too on the incision line (Lower body lift) a few inches to the right of centre - my back. I'm 9 weeks post op. This small area has not been healing. The scab fell off about 3 weeks ago (OK maybe I helped it fall off just a little because it seemed loose), but the area was still weepy beneath. Now there's a tiny hole or tunnell in it and my Doctor thinks its infected. She has given me antibiotics and if they dont work she is making sinister noises to the effect that I'll have to return to my surgeon in France. Apparently no surgeon in this country will touch me to sort out a problm if they didnt operate in the first instance!! How long did your take to improve? Ellen

I love this thread. Having reached goal after 30 years of being overweight, I had an LBL which I found really tough. Arrived home from hospital, was greeted by my well-meaning mother who exclaimed that I looked "too thin" (BMI of 25 or slightly less) and she would cook for me and "fatten me up" in the coming weeks. After all my efforts and all my explanations.................................

Hi Ailbhe Are Marks and Spencers and Debenhams stuff of any interest to you? Ive tons of size 18s and 16s (jeans, work stuff etc) and am very much hoping not to need them again. I'm in the West, I think you are too? We met once in Dublin. Ellen

Dr Oliver McAnena at the Galway Clinic does it. It costs about 15K private unless you can get it done thru the HSE. Thats all I know Im afraid as I had mine done elsewhere. Best of luck Ellen

sorry I meant 'port' not 'post' ..... on all 3 occasions!

Nina Thanks for the advice. I'm very relieved that you are happy with your experience. I kind of wondered as you vanished off the site some time after your op and I wondered if maybe you werent all that happy with the result. I'm due for slicing on 9th Oct. One more question for you. Did you ever discuss with Dr Pascal swapping a low profile post for the one you had? Since Ive lost weight and had lipo on my stomach the port area really sticks out now (didnt get lipoed around it). Am getting a bit nervous aboutt damage to my post as both Boo Boo Kitty and Kareyquilts have had slippage post - tummy tuck I think. Did you have any problems with your post after the op? I wonder how much experience Dr Pascal has had with lap bandees, any idea? Ellen

Hi Nina and everyone Another question, did the TT you had improve your waist size much? Ive had 3 kids and was 14 st 5 at my heaviest so my waist isnt what you'd call impressive. He told me that even with a LBL my waist still wouldnt be tiny that I'd need incisions up the sides to improve that and in my case, he didnt think my shape was bad enough to justify the additional scars. I forgot to ask him about muscle repair.... did you have that done? Did you discuss the pain pump thingy with him in advance? The other doctor I went to was a Dr dedoncker. Most of his patients seem to have been really happy with him I must say. I suppose if I had lost a huge amount I would have been willing to swap very visible scars for the loose skin but I went into it expecting the scars to be on the inside not the back. I mentioned to my husband last night that I'll be acquiring one of the best asses in Europe (as per your earlier post) and he seemed pleased. Hadnt realised at all that Dr P was known for his fine ass-work, I'd have settled for less but I must confess that I am now looking forward to wiggling it with abandon when the time comes. Have made no plans yet re a hotel. Any suggestions? This is such a cool site!!!! Ellen

Hi Nina I replied to you ojn another thread but it seems to have vanished. Yep, I'm off to Dr Pascal, he is quite a charmer isn't her? Am getting the LBL done this Autumn including the fat flap. Hmmm, hope I end up with the best ass in Europe..... Assuming I survive the LBL, the plan is to return to Lyons in spring for a thigh lift and revision of my arm lift. I much more unhappy with my thighs than anything else but he recommended going in this order because the LBL result is so noticable. I had a lot of lipo done on the upper thighs earlier this year which in my case was probably a mistake as the skin was not elastic and already riddled with stretchmarks. Even though Ive only lost about 50 lbs Im going to need a vertical incision half way to the knee because there is too much skin in width - way too much - and Dr P thinks the the horizontal lift wont give me enough of a result. I had my arms done in belgium also earlier this year and am quite unhappy with them. The surgeon took off very little skin, they are still floppy, in bad need of lipo and the incisions run down the back and are totally visible from the back. I remember reading your posts earlier in the year and thinking Dr P is way too expensive, I'll go to someone cheaper. BIG MISTAKE! Seeing as I will now endup paying twice over! Nina, can I ask you are you happy with your results, happy with Dr Pascal? Ellen

Hi there I'm getting LBL also in October - the 9th, in Lyon, France. Can't seem to think about anything else. Am scared but excited. Ellen

Hi StephCongrats so much on all you have achieved.... I loved the skin pictures. I had an arm lift some time ago under sedation and remember during the operation asking the surgeon to show me the bits he'd removed. Which he did! How are the thighs now? I'm thinking of having a TL in the autumn. Although I only needed to lose 50lbs, I have a lot of loose skin on my thighs as they were always very heavy and stretchmarked. My PS has recommended a semi vertical thigh lift - vertical but going down only half way to the knee. He thinks I would not be happy with the result of the less visible lift given the amount of excess skin I have width-wise (as opposed to length-wise). Did you have the vertical one or the one with groin incision? How long would you say before the pain of the TL became manageable? Hope all is going well for you and thanks again for sharing your experience. Ellen

Kate and Foofy Thanks for getting back to me. Yes my appointment is with Dr Pascal in Lyon, same doc that Nina attended. Im sure Ill know more once I see him. He does the drainless technique for LBL and abdominoplasty and has nice photos on his website. In answer to your question Kate, yes sadly I have to pay myself. I went to a PS in Belgium who was cheap and had a lot of admirers on another weightloss site in the UK. But my results were not good, cant really explain it, lots of other people seemed really happy with him. The way I look at it is Im only 41. I look way better than I have done in years but I cant even take my kids swimming because my arms and thighs are appalling - way worse than before the armlift / lipo. (for balance, my stomach and hips are way better than before the lipo). I will take out a loan for 20-25K Euro and yes it will take ages to repay but at least hopefully I'll be able to do normal things again. I have sure learnt my lesson regarding false economies though! All the best Ellen

Kate Your Dr Capella certainly looks experienced. I checked out his website and was delighted to see he has done 1000 thigh lifts - 500 cases. I'm tempted to make an appointment. Only problem is I live in Ireland. There is no one here with significant experience. I had an arm lift and thigh lipo in the Spring. Neither were great. He took a lot of fat from my inner thighs and they are seriously drooping now. (I didnt know that could happen!). The incisions on my arms are at the back not the inside so they are totally visibloe at all times. THe only good thing is that he took very little skin and fat away so there is lots of potential for a revision which will reposition the incisions on the inner arm and thin them down also. I cant afford to pick the wrong surgeon this time so am doing lots of research. Im going to a man in France in July. America is also an option - hence my excitement at someone who has done 1000 thighs. I'd be surprised if there is anyone in Europe with that experience. Wishing you all the best, I found your posts and blog very interesting. You write very nicely! Ellen

Dr Schulman Many thanks for your advice re armlift revision above. Ellen

Hi Dr Schulman I had an armlift in March this year. The scars are at the back of my arms (I wasnt given any reason for this but had expected them to be on the inside of the arms) and the arms themselves are not as slim as I would have liked given the extent of the scarring. The measurement pre-op was 15 inches and post op is 13 inches. The scars are positioned at the back but close to the inner side. In such circumstances where there is still a significant amount of excess skin, do you think a revision op might be possible to remove the excess and reposition the scar on the inner side of the arm so that it's not immediately visible from the back? Thanks for your advice. Ellen

Hi Ailbhe The man in Galway is Dr McAnena in the Galway clinic. Not sure he does fills for people banded elsewhere though but you can contact the hospital and ask. Ellen

Hi Coco Yup believe it or not about 5 lbs of the 7 are gone. I was doing lots of exercise and nothing was happening so one night I took a couple of Tony Quinn capsules (Amino or ) which I had in the medicine cabinet from ages ago. They are supposed to burn fat while you sleep. Lo and behold 2 lbs gone the following morning, another lb 2 days later etc. I find it hard to believe they could have accomplished this (given that Im eating a bit more than normal and doing way less exercise than before) so am chalking it down to coincidence.....intrigueing though. When I took them in the past pre-band I might as well have been scoffing smarties for all the effect they had. It may be that the post -lipo retention is still going down but i confess the timing was curious. Dying to hear what you think of your sister's facelift. Im getting my 'polyfilla' done in Dublin next week. Hope you have a great time in the states. All the best Ellen

Thanks Coco Ive read his website and it looks good.....but I wanted reassurance. Havent heard of Cosmetico - are they in Dublin? 25K my goodness, presumably they provide a variety of gigolos as well for that price? I want fillers for the nose to lip lines and maybe spectra for my poor shrunken cheeks. Dont know if he can do anything for my neck, its just starting to get stringy right under my chin. Am probably too young to start getting necklifts just yet. Last time I lost weight that happened too.... and I rectified it by putting weight back on (not deliberately of course but it was a happy side effect). Didnt twig immediately why the stringinness had vanished and wrongfully gave the credit to a new face cream I'd got... the people i'd so glowingly recommended the cream to must have been so disappointed! Hope all is going well with you. Cannot absolutely cannot shift these last 7 lbs. I'll try to maintain for a while and then maybe try Lipotrim or something in a few months if theres been no change. ellen

Hi Coco Am thinking of going to Patrick Treacy for a consult next month. Does he have a good reputation? I had never heard of him before reading one of your earlier posts. Am just going for fillers to start with so its not a major job but I suupose I'm looking for reassurance that he's good. Hope all going well for you. Ellen