shortgal

Ow Cindy, that surgery must have been painful, I hope it at least improved your neck pain. I think you might have to visit a few surgeons, they all train in different places and have different opinions and ways of getting similiar results. The other surgeon I saw never mentioned liposuction, now that doesn't mean he doesn't do it but just didn't talk about with me for my face. so I guess the question to ask any surgeon would be "are there other alternative procedures that can help you get some improvement". Then it's just a matter of how much improvement you are willing to accept. That's how I feel about my thighs. I would not want the long incision down the inside of my thigh and would rather accept 50% improvement with the groin incision. Now that's just me, some people would accept and might need the long incision for better results. Everything is a trade off! I screwed up my surgery date and had to change it to Dec 10th ( not happy that I'm getting even closer to christmas) but I completely forgot we have a wedding to attend Dec 5th. The new date will give me 2 weeks to christmas, so I hope I don't bruise too much. I'm just gonna go for it and worry about the rest and the holidays as it comes.

Name............Start........Current........Goal.......To Go CindyG...........191...........191...........178........13 Sades............186...........185...........175........11 Stephanie........175...........175...........145........30 shortgal.........173.6.........173.6.........168........5.6 Here I go with my piddly goal of five pounds but if I can get down at all I'll be happy. With Thanksgiving in the middle of this challenge (we are going to Vegas to visit our daughter for t'sgiving), christmas at the end of it and no band, this will be one tough challenge for me.

Foofy, Your post made me laugh! I do the same thing in the mirror all the time. I lift my thighs and belly and think how I could wear a cute one piece bathing suit ( the kind without the little skirt to hide things) if they were fixed. My husband is more fixated on my boobs than I am as I would never go without a bra even if I could. Funny but the back side of my legs are not bad, but the front of my thighs are very baggy and loose. I would accept even a 50% improvement as like you I know I am not 25 anymore.

Cindy, I doubt I will post photos on the forum, but after the surgery I will email them to you. I have a "turkey waddle" piece of skin that I hate. It has those "crepe" like lines. As the Dr. explained to me, it's partly just the anatomy of my neck, combined with age and the weight loss. The surgery will fix my neck to the extent that my individual anatomy allows and as a bonus the lower portion of my face (jowls) which also has fallen with age and weight loss will also be improved. I consider that a bonus as I really am focused on my neck. I was going to wait until after the holidays, but the Dr said I should be presentable in 7 to 10 days and 2 weeks at most. So why wait? What type of neck surgery did you have? The surgeon I saw says there are options that people don't always know about, like liposuction that can improve areas with less surgery and lower costs. Maybe that would help a double chin? She will use a natural crease that I have just in front of my ear to help hide the incision and the rest will be behind my ear and in the scalp. I saw a closeup photo of another patient and it is very difficult to detect the scar. She said usually the only one to know is your hairdresser except that other people notice the improvement in how you look.

I had my ps consult today ( my second one) and I am going to schedule the surgery for Dec 3rd. The Dr. says I should be fine for the holidays so I did not want to wait until after the new year. I am having a face/neck lift. I carried a lot of weight in my face and was considering a neck lift before I lost any weight. My flabby neck is partly a result of genetics and partly just my anatomy (the overall shape of my face/neck and my weight loss.) I wish I could spend the $$$ on other parts of my body, but we cannot hide our faces under clothes, so..... I liked how this Dr. explained the neck muscles and looked at my hairline as an individual and will adjust some of the procedure to suit me and not just do the same procedure as on every patient. I also liked the price from this Dr. better :thumbup: It's a female Dr. and I felt comfortable that she understood the concerns that females have. She has had some work done on her eyes, so she's been through some of it herself. I'll be nervous and excited as it gets close and hoping that I love my new face in this year's christmas photos!

Hi Dr. I have a few more questions relating to face/neck lift. How long should the surgery take? Are sutures, staples, glue or a combo of all used? I would like to come see you but I prefer not to have surgery and followup that far away, as I would have to drive myself or take the train alone.

I forgot you have kids at home. At one point during the night, I considered offering bribes to the kids at the door ( like I'll give you five bags of skittles for one small mounds bar)!

My favorite way to get more fiber is fiber one bars ( 140 c) and Kashi go lean cereal. The ceral has lots of protein but fiber, too. I alternate one every other day and it has helped, but you must have them in your diet regularly to help.

Try what I have done for the past two halloweens: I buy skittles and starburst to give out. I hate both of those, don't touch them no matter what. We had leftovers both years and I never ate one. Those are the ONLY two candies I could think of that I wouldn't touch!

Wow, that is a big goal, but if you aim high and miss you might still do better than aiming lower. No matter what I do I still hover between 172 and 175 (one day I went down to 171) so I ended up getting nowhere on the last challenge. I walked over 80 miles last month and still I'm just maintaining ( which I am happy about). But to stay focused I will weigh tomorrow and join the challenge with a small goal, as I really want to see the 160's ( even if it's 169!)

Ha, here is my list in the order I would have each surgery: ( ok so I have given this some thought before you asked) LOL 1)Face/neck lift ( I have a consult tomorrow) 2)Thigh lift ( I will only consider a groin incision, b/c I don;t want to trade off the loose skin for a long incision down my leg) 3) Panni ( I hate the belly fat that hangs) 4) Arm lift ( only if they could get improvement with the armpit incision, again I wont trade a long scar down the arm. 5) Boob lift ( no implants). Now this is only b/c you said money is no object. Boobs, no matter what I wear are held up in bra/bathing suit.

Congratulations on your baby! When you scheduled the fill did you tell the Dr's office the problems you were having? Maybe if you tell them you are having problems you can see them sooner, so you can stop worrying. I would think it is harder for an empty band to slip b/c I believe most bands slip from being too tight????

There is a nerve called the vagus nerve ( you can google it) that runs from the stomach or abdomen up to the left shoulder. This is why we get pain in the left shoulder and not the right. The gas or the surgery or the band can affect this nerve in the beginning and for me it would sometimes happen after a fill, too. I used to work for an MD and that's how he explained the shoulder pain to me. Gas x did nothing for me. I had lots of rumbling and noise coming from my belly the first few months after surgery. It got better. I would stay away from solid food until you feel better overall. Your stomach is not ready to work hard at digesting your food yet. That's the work of the stomach to digest our food and right now you should make that job easy for your stomach and stick to liquids. Drink slow and as long as you stay hydrated, you'll be fine.

Name............Start........Current........Goal.......Left CindyG...........195...........191...........185........6 Momto1plus1......193.6.........188...........185........3 Foofy............226...........226...........216........10 Sades............185...........185...........175........10 Hollyberries.....245...........245...........235........10 Shortgal.........174...........171.4.........168.........3.4 Wnt2Lose.........195...........190.8.........180........10.8 Stephanie........182.5.........179.5.........167........12.5 Linda............183...........181.5.........170........11.5 Shalee04.........180...........178...........174........04 Bandpal..........185...........175.12 .......175........0.12 I am down a pound from last posting here. I won't make my goal by Halloween, but I am happy that I have gotten off what I gained, since the wedding. I am almost back to my ticker weight (.4 to go for that). New goal, to get in the 160's before Thanksgiving. I had to reduce my walking mileage a bit last week ( possibly this week) as I have a nasty blister on the bottom of my foot. It's almost a callous now and that's what I need it to be to get back to five miles vs. 3.5 miles.

Good to hear from you Craig. I see a common theme for the November Nymphs. Most of us are up and down the same few pounds for awhile now, so it must be kind of normal for this to happen at this stage. I think the band stats are against some of us ever making goal as I think they say that the "average" person ends up with 60% of their excess weight off. So some will do better and some worse but many will end up at that 60%. Maybe it justs get too hard or maybe we just settle for the 60%. We get compliments, we feel better and maybe we just give in to that. I'm not ready to give up yet, even without my band, and my goal is to get to and settle in the mid 160's ( even though I want more than that, I'm not sure it's realistic without a band). At some point, I just want to stop with the feeling that I still want/need to lose more. I want to live a life of maintenance and be happy not to always be worried that I have to lose more weight. I hope the fill in TX helps you get a jump start again Craig, but over 100 pounds gone is amazing.

Cindy, Our Lhasa looked more Lhasa than poodle and he totally choose me to bond with. At one point we had two dogs and two cats and now we are down to just our Golden ( Sonny). All of them lived to at least seventeen. The Lhasa was run over in our driveway ( accidently of course) by my husband when the dog was 14. He was very hard of hearing by then and tried to follow me and didn't realize the car was moving. It broke his pelvis. I nursed him for weeks, having to set up a washing center for him, as he could not stand and peed on himself outside, so I washed him after each outing. One side of his pelvis never really healed perfectly, so he had a few mobility issues, but he still managed to live another 3 years! He just never wanted to give up and I so admired his spirit. I love having a pet, but this might be our last. Each time we want to travel we have to arrange for pet care and it is becoming a problem. Now that our children both live out of state, we travel more often to visit them. I hope the pathology report shows the cancer is a treatable type. Let us know. Judy

Cindy, I just read this thread and your post about your family and pet. That's a lot to handle at one time. I hope things are improving. We have a 15 1/2 yr old Golden Retriever and we have been through a lot with him the last six months. He had a cancerous growth on his leg removed in May and we could see before that, many signs of old age. He cannot get up from lying down without help and needs help up and down the few deck steps to go out. Twice in the last six weeks, we thought it was time to let him go and then he rallies. This week he has been pretty good. Like old people he has good days and then a few bad ones. Radiation was suggested as a follow up to the growth removal, but we opted not to do that because of his age and mobility problems. Our previous dog was a Lhasa Poo that we had for over 17 years! I still miss him some times, too. Amazing how attached we get to our pets. I hope treatment works for your dog so you have more time with her.

Sades, So many things to learn. I think weight loss and maintenance is a skill. One that most overweight people just haven't mastered ( obviously). You know how you have "normal weight" friends that can't master a different life skill, like managing to pay bills on time or keeping the house clean, things that maybe you have mastered. We think about our friends, just sit down and pay the bill or just clean a little at a time etc. but they don't seem to be able to do that. I'm sure conversly, they were thinking just stop eating. I think this is similiar, it's a life skill that we have trouble with, but we can learn how to do it better. I think the band helps to stop you a bit and ask, do I need the next bite? Before the band, we just inhaled and have regrets only after the whole plate is gone. Like most of you I dieted many, many times before, but my goal was always to lose so I could go back to eating again. Well that obviously doesn't work and I think this time, I finally know that! Sure, like my skinny friends I can indulge a day or two but then I have to stop and get back on track. My friends learned that much quicker than I did or it's one of those skills that come easier to them. But we can all learn these new skills, if we work at it.

Hi Wendy, Just FYI, there are over 16 pages of Wendy Hall's on facebook so finding you among all of them could be hard for people! Judy

Thanks Cindy, At my height, I need to be in the 120's to be normal weight. In even my younger adult life, I never weighed that little, so with older age and no band, that goal is impossible. I would still prefer to be in the 150's, and that might have been possible with a band, but without one, it's hard to control the hunger. Many banded people have trouble getting to 150, so I doubt it's reasonable for me. However, I am much more comfortable than I was a year ago, so I could live "happily ever after" at my current weight. I still have a goal to get into the 160's and I am working hard at that goal, especially while the weather allows me to walk. I'm a bit worried about winter months coming and being able to continue walking. I guess with or without a band it will continue to be a struggle for most of us and we just have to accept that.

If you don;t have FACEBOOK but wanted to see the wedding photo, I am attempting to attach it here.

LOL, yes this is the problem, we try to fix the problem of being overweight and then we get other problems, flabby thighs, arms, bellies etc. Fix one problem and then you notice the next! There seems to be no end! Being nervous is normal. Who wouldn't be nervous before surgery? It's good that you're getting all your ducks in a row before you have to recuperate.

Thanks Shalee, You must be getting excited (and maybe a little nervous, which is natural) about your upcoming PS. I'm following your thread on it. I hope it goes smoothly and that you get the results you want. I am considering some PS,a neck and face lift and will schedule a consult soon. Additionally, I would love to get rid of my belly and get a thigh lift. My legs did not fair well even with my not so big weight loss. They totally deflated. But face and neck are bigger priority for me first.

I bought a size up from what the chart said I should wear and they are still very tight. I think it depends on where you carry your weight and my tough spot is my belly. I also find it depends on which type you get b/c I bought the ones that are like shorts and they kind of "indent" at the bottom of them around my thighs, so under certain garments that might show. They do have some that are longer like leggings but that won't work for short dress/skirt outfit. Congratulations on your son's graduation. There are a few other threads about spanx that you could do a search to find.

Thanks Bandpal, I still look "rounder" than I would like to, but it's a heck of a lot better than a year ago. It is so wonderful when your "children" find the right person and start their own family. :tongue_smilie: