anonemouse

Thanks, Denise! I'm currently plateaued, but I think it's because I had some wine about a week ago and a margarita on Friday. Plus, I've been a little piggy lately, due to stress.

I have an interview next week! It's just a little part-time job working in an office, but it's a chance at additional employment and some extra money. Wish me luck!

Thanks, guys! I'm pretty nervous because this is my first face-to-face interview. I've never had one before, believe it or not. All of my others have been either through email (for my grad position) or over the phone. I'm majoring in biology, mostly focusing on wildlife in my research and classes.

Not sure what to think, honestly. I like this surgeon, too, probably just as much as the first one. This one charges about $600 dollars more for a TT/BL than the first, though. There are some differences in the way they do things, but I'm not sure which I prefer. The first surgeon doesn't use a pain pump, the second one does, but said that I might not need one since she didn't think I'd need much, if any, muscle repair (she said that's the most painful part of the recovery). #1 would use an anchor incision for the BL, #2 would use a lollipop incision. Both said that I probably won't need an implant unless I lose a lot of breast tissue over the next few months. Both would likely use the hip-to-hip incision for the TT. Both had good pictures of their results, and both have worked on a lot of WLS patients. Anyway, I like both of them, like both of the staffs, etc., etc. Bleh. This is hard. :smile2: Oh well, I've got at least one more consult to go to, so I'll make a decision after it.

Update: I have a job interview on Wednesday! It's just for a part-time office assistant position, but it would be extra money coming in!

You look AMAZING, Nina! Geeze, this is making me want PS more and more.

Chickie and Jachut, too!

Adding my thoughts to the group's: You are going to look wonderful!

Well, both of the ones that I've seen so far have said that tummy tucks are pretty forgiving, in terms of weight loss, and that someone can lose quite a bit of weight afterwards and still have it look good. Now, of course, that doesn't mean 50 pounds or anything like that, but they said most patients could be about 25-30 pounds from their goal weight when they have the TT and their results would still be fine after losing that. The problem is the boobs. With boobs, both the PS's said that patients need to be fairly close (within 10-20 pounds) to their goal, or they'll probably start sagging again. I've been losing at a pretty steady rate of about 2-3 pounds a week. I'm wanting to have surgery sometime around mid-May to mid-June, at the earliest (maybe as late as December), so if I stay on scedule, I should be fairly close to my goal by then.

Right now, I'm just finishing up my thesis and not taking any classes, so I don't pay tuition. I'm working a day and a half a week, teaching three labs. It wasn't so bad last semester because I was teaching a lecture class in addition to a couple of labs, and we get paid more for lectures (plus I got extra pay because the classes I was teaching were off campus). After this semester, I should have enough done on my thesis that I'll be able to give up my apartment and finish my thesis no matter where I'm living. At the moment, I'm just stuck in an apartment that's costing me almost my entire paycheck (actually, more than, if you factor in rent, utilities, cable, internet, phone, etc.). I'm don't have to have much help from my parents, but I still feel guilty. I'm just really stressed between not making enough money to live on, trying to get this stupid thesis finished, worrying about what I'll do once I graduate (like I said earlier, I'm burning out on teaching), yadda, yadda, yadda.

Our only coffee shop is Starbucks, and they aren't hiring right now. That was the first place I thought of, lol, with my new caffeine addiction. :rolleyes2:

Honestly, I'm getting so burned out with teaching at the moment that I think I'd strangle the kid. :drool: I've thought about it, though, but I'm not sure I could pick up enough hours to make it really worth-while. That's what I'm hoping, right now. I've put in applications with several banks, a bunch of stores, a hotel, a shipping office, etc., hoping to find something. That's not a bad idea. I'll have to look and see if there's a temp agency around here.

Actually, you've complained several times about it hurting to eat. It isn't a leap at all to infer that you would like to eat pain-free, is it?

Most of us here are not the type to just pat someone on the hand and say, "There, there." We're the type to tell someone, "Okay, you've had your cry, now let's see what we can do to change your situation and improve it." If we see something that a member can do to improve their own situation, we tell them about it. Like many of us have said in past threads, constant agreement with someone isn't support. We are compassionate and we are helpful, but we do expect people to take responsibility for their lives and their actions. If you can't eat solids, try drinking low-calorie/high-Protein liquids. Ask WASa, she did it and she's at goal now. If you can't do harder exercise, try Water aerobics or something low-impact. Other members have. If you're having problems with grief or with coping, try seeing a therapist or counsellor. Don't just blow up at people who suggest valid possibilities for helping you without actually considering what they say.

That would be great! I went to one of the links that were on MMH (in the BL or BA forum), and it went through the different techniques, and I think it was basically saying that the type of lift used depended on how badly the boobs sagged. For example, the incision that just goes around the aereola is only used for minor sagging. Hmm. I'll try and find that page again and post the link. EDITED TO ADD: Damnit, of course I can't find the links now that I'm actually looking for them. Could have sworn that they used to be stickied in one of the forums. This is sorta what I was looking for, but not as good (the other one had diagrams): What You Need to Know About Breast Lift (Mastopexy)

Yep, they both use drains. The only issue I have with lollipop vs. anchor incision is that I've always thought that the type of incision depends on how much sagging there is, so I'm concerned that if I go with a lollipop incision, I wouldn't get as much lift as I would with the anchor. I would prefer less scarring, but I'm worried that they won't look as perky as they probably would if I go with #1.

Karey, we'll be thinking of you tomorrow!

You look so good, Nina! I'm hoping that I'll look that good after my surgery!

I keep telling my mom, whenever I see that commercial, "If someone really believes that, that person is a complete moron."

It's not about "liking it" vs. "disliking it." It's about whether it's relevant to how qualified the guy is. Who the heck cares whether his middle name is Hussein, Robert, or Sue? What impact does that have on whether or not he'd be a good President? The ONLY reason it's being brought into the media is to play on people's prejudices. If someone decides not to vote for someone just because his middle name's Hussein (or just because the candidate's black or because the candidate is female, etc.), that person is a bigot. I'm going to make my choice at the polls based on the political stances of the candidates. I'm not going to decide who I vote for based on whether or not I like their names, their hairstyles, or the clothing that they wear.

Very well said, BJean. That's one of the best pieces of advice I've seen on the board. WE are the only people in control of our lives. Not our families, not our doctors, not our bands. If we don't like how we are reacting to something (whether it's the band or something else), we are the ones responsible for changing. The vast majority of us can't honestly blame our bands for making us uncomfortable or for our lack of weight-loss, because in the end, it's you and me that make the choice to eat against the band (by eating foods that make us uncomfortable, eating too quickly, eating large bites, drinking with meals, etc.) or not moving the way we should. Our bands don't make us do that, WE make the decision to do that. There are really very few people on this board who can truly blame their bands. Don't get me wrong, there are people here who just physically can't tolerate the band. I can name at least one person who had a swallowing disorder that was undiagnosed before the band, and she's unable to tolerate any fill whatsoever because of it. But she's the exception.

It's better than the old chick. I HATED her because she had a ghost arm that I couldn't stop staring at, once I noticed it. I just wish we could still change the forum skin and not have a picture up at the top at all.

Wow! You are going to be SO happy that you did this!

Remember that allergic reaction I had? Well, I went in for a rast test, where they draw blood to test for allergies. Apparently, I'm now allergic to peanuts. Of course, peanuts weren't an ingredient in the stuff I had the reaction to (cheez-its), so I still don't know which ingredient to stay away from. But now, they've told me that I should stay away from all things containing peanuts or peanut derivatives. I'm not sure if I trust the results though, considering I had a couple of mini Butterfinger bars as a treat a couple of days ago and had no reaction whatsoever to them. I guess it could be one of those things where it builds up in your system, though. It was like that with my aunt's orange allergy. She ate oranges all the time and never had a reaction, then ate one one day and reacted to it. Better safe than sorry, though, I guess.

So glad to hear that you're out and doing well!