ALuv82

Has anyone had a minimal incision brachioplasty? I just scheduled my procedure for next month. The surgeon said that for optimal results I will probably have to have a second procedure eventually but that the scar is only under the arm pit. I figured it was worth having some residual sagging to avoid the big ugly scar I've seen in a lot of before and after procedures. I talked to 3 surgeons and they all warned that arms do not heal well and the scar will likely be very visible with regular bracioplasty. Also, I'm not at my goal weight, although I've been stable for abotu 6 months now. I started at 320, went down to 230 and then went back to 250 and have stayed there for some time. None of the doctors I've spoken to had a probem with doing brachioplasty or yon me yet (though I'm going to wait a little longer for the tt) since m weight has been stable and the hanging skin is pretty excessive. I'm hoping that getting this done will revitalize my motivation and will have lost more weight by the time I go in for the 2nd procedure. Has anyone else had this type of brachioplasty? What kind of results did you see? Do you think it was worth it?

Geez, it’s been a long time since I’ve written in this blog. A lot has happened, and also not so much. In a lot of ways I feel stuck. My weight loss has definitely stalled. In fact, I had regained about 10 pound although I’ve re-lost about 5 of them in the past couple of weeks and am hoping this is the beginning of me getting back on track. Anyway, that’s not really the point of this post. The truth is, my psychologist gave me a homework assignment—to write about fear; to help me with my fear of developing relationships and letting people in. As I was researching (yes, research-- I’m a dork:tongue_smilie:) and thinking about what I would write it reminded me of a blog post from many moons ago. In it I was talking about how I got upset over people asking me if I “felt” better. Because the truth was that I didn’t. And that scared me. I was actually pretty healthy before this (or as healthy as anyone with a BMI of 47 could be). The changes I was looking to make (other than to my waist line) were more mental and emotional. On an intellectual level I always knew that losing weight wasn’t really going to change my life, but on a visceral level I think I believed it would. I imagined all the ways my life would be different when I was skinny. Now I know I’m still a long way from “skinny”, but I’m far enough along in this journey to have to admit to myself what I really knew all along—that my unhappiness was the cause, not result, of my weight. So what was the cause of my unhappiness? Well perhaps it’s this fear that Dr. F wants me to write about. I suppose everyone is afraid to some extent—not just of cockroaches (eek!) or heights, but of the important stuff. Of letting others in, of getting hurt, of being too dependant on someone else, of being so independent that we die all alone with the exception of the 40 some-odd cats we’ve kept for company. But it seems like most people are able to overcome this fear whereas I’ve let mine debilitate me. Instead of confronting that fear, I hid behind 100 pounds of excess fat. I got so big, I became invisible so that I wouldn’t have to let people see me. Now I’m going to risk becoming one of those people I hate who bring their pets to me after having “diagnosed” them on Wikipedia. In my attempts to complete this assignment, I did some searching on “social fears” and found a lot of reading on “social anxiety disorder.” (But not on Wikipedia ) A lot of it resonated with me, though to be fair many aspects didn’t seem like me at all. Then again it seemed like a pretty broad disorder. Forgetting about labels (it’s only my job to put a name to dog and cat diseases—not my own) the truth is, I have a major tendency to sequester myself. I used to think (believe?) it was my self-consciousness over my weight that lead me to avoid social situations and getting to know people, but as my weight goes away I find myself facing the fact that perhaps being fat was just the excuse I gave myself for avoiding these situations. I still find myself feeling extremely anxious when it comes to putting myself out there. When social situations arise I want to take part, but as the time approaches I find myself making excuses not to. And even when I know a person the thought of picking up the phone and calling them to see if they want to hang out makes my chest literally tighten with anxiety. For a long time I felt like my weight defined me but if my weight is really a manifestation of my fear, does my fear define me? Do I let it? I don’t want to. I want that life that I envisioned I would have once I was skinny. I still think I can have it, it just turns out that getting skinny isn’t the way to get it.

Hey guys! It's been a long time but I thought I'd pop by and say hi. I'm 227.4 today. The scale wasn't moving for a long time but it's finally going down again.

I haven't been around in a while but I decided to stop on by with an update. 235.8 on my scale this morning. I was at a plateau for a while but I hit my sweet spot and things are picking up again. Slow but steady loss. No complaints here. Hope everyone else is doing great.

Hi everyone. I'm 8 months out from my banding and doing great. I've lost 78# and am finally at my sweet spot. In fact, I'm doing so well that the PA at my Dr.'s office asked if I would be willing to speak at one of the upcoming info sessions they have for new patients. I love to talk about my band, but I've been thinking about what I will say to a big group of perspective bandsters. For those of you who have had the surgery already, what would you tell those who are considering it--good and bad? For those of you who are considering it, what would you want to hear? I hope that I can help lead someone to a decision that will be as great for them as mine has been for me. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks. -Lauren

If he's a psycologist, it should count. He just needs to write a letter giving you clearance saying you are psycologically fi to under-go the procedure.

Hi Michelle. Congrats on your decision to go ahead with getting banded. I had my surgery done by Dr. Geiss as well and have been very happy. I had my initial consultation on Dec 30 last year and was banded April 27th--7 months ago yesterday. I have lost just over 70# in that time and am half way to my goal weight. I can't help you with the insurance questions as I have Healthnet and they did not require a 6 months supervised diet. They gave me no trouble at all with getting approval. I hope things go as smoothly for you. You may want to start getting some of your pre-op requirements done since that takes a whil. You may need a referal for some of them and you get those through Dr Geiss's office but you may also be able to get them through your PCP if you wanted to get a head start. You need to see a cardiologist, pulmonologist, psychiatrist, nutritionist, and have a thyroid test performed as well as an upper GI series. Hope that helps. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Good luck.

242.8 this week for me.

I completely agree about working out. Working out isn't about losing weight for me. I exercised reularly before I was banded and I know I would lose weight, though maybe a bit slower, if I didn't work out. But I do it anyway because it makes me feel good and makes me stronger and healthier. If you look at exercise as only a means to and end--ie losing weight, it will be a chore and not an intregal part of your life. Exercise is something that should be done because it improves the quality of you life. That's motivation enough for me.

Screw chocolate and ice cream and pizza. I just got a treat that tasted WAAAAAAY better. I went in to Old Navy today and bought clothes...ones that fit me. And I mean really fit me, not "if I suck it in and try not to breath I can kind of sort of button them" fit. Buh-bye fat clothes. Soon I'll be able to shop in any store I want to. :thumbdown: