Lap_dancer

HELLO BRATTY NICOLE!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE your Jack and Sally avatar! (big smiles and thumbs up) ...this is Halloween.. Originally Posted by minidriver Woohoo!!! Banding has occurred. I am back in my hotel room. Things went well - a few small problems (hernia, etc) but he got me all fixed up! Not feeling much pain right now, just a little gas. Gonna lounge around and watch the tube. I'll probably not post more tonight, but definitely tomorrow. MINI BABY..GASX chicka GASX. Send someone to Walgreens to pick some up. Weak tea, broth and liquid Tylenol Extra Strength. That was my cocktail for a week or so. Congrats friend. Welcome to the band. *we need "I'm with the band" t-shirts. There was Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show how about "Dr. K and the Medicine Show". Think I will change my signature to that. Tee hee.

Hi Kerry3: You can see by my tagline I went with Dr. K. My experience was more than I had hoped for. Very pleased. He's not aggressive with fills. You can expect a methodical doctor, no rush type. I was left with the impression he wanted you to fully understand the band, how it works and how the surgery works. My kinda guy. I'm post op one year, no problems with the surgery, recovery or my band. I was very pleased. Since I started he has added staff to his team. There is a woman named Natalie who works in his office. She's like the go to girl and I recommend you calling their office and just asking for her. She's been banded so she's "one of us". She's a great first contact person. Best of luck. Patty in Florida

UPDATE: I just got back from the plastic surgeon's office. My trepidation about facing my body isses turned out to be a positive experience and the visit was productive. Thank you Dr. Schulman, I feel because of some of the things I had the opportunity to discuss here, I was better able to articulate to this doctor what I was hoping to achieve. The focus for now will be my stomach and not my breasts. Because I still have quite a bit of weight to go there are alterations that happen to the body not just with the breasts but the back and sides. *Dr. Schulman could you go into a bit more detail about this. I would like to understand the process.* I did not realize the various concerns with the skin removal when we have large stomachs and the pennicula that hangs down. *He spoke of blood circulation and Fluid pooling in the stomach. Dr. Schulman could you expand on that and what would cause that? My surgeries will occur in stages. The first stage will be a partial tummy tuck, no navel involved. I'm going to lose 50 lbs before I have this done. This will give me time to fly back out to Dr. K for another fill in the fall and perhaps lose more than the set goal of 50. My surgeries to get me back to a normal body will come in phases. Thank you Dr. Schulman I appreciate your distance assistance in helping me with this process.

Hey Friends! I haven't had a chance to read through today's postings so pardon me if I'm not acknowledging a success or other event. I just got back from the plastic surgeon. What I was anticipating was on the negative end but it turned out to be a positive experience. I'm sooo thrilled. I am impressed with this doctor and the visit was so productive. Much time was spent on discussing the band, diet, my body, procedures, fat deposits and what happens to the body. I felt like the education element that I see in a doctor was present in this one. What I learn: Since my last fill I have lost 2 lbs. a week. Spot on for good restriction. Now I know I gained and lost more than that but over all the average of the sum total was 2 lbs. Yay. The focus for now will be my stomach. I did not realize the various concerns with the type of skin removal that we undergo when we have large stomachs and the pennicula that hangs down. My surgeries will occur in stages. The first stage will be a partial tummy tuck, no navel involved. I'm going to lose 50 lbs before I have this done. I will probably time this surgery for Christmas. This will give me time to fly back out to Dr. K for another fill in the fall and perhaps lose more than the set goal of 50. My surgeries to get me back to a normal body will come in phases. I was STUNNED at what can be done with lipo suction. WOW. So that is my plastic surgery update. ........................................................................... There is a new section to our website here called Lapband Talk Magazine. You all know me enough to read this an recognize the who of it but I submitted it confidentially for the broader audience of this website fearing my family might jump online here and snoop and recognize it as me. Frankly I don't care now. (flying the big digit flag) Here it is along with the link: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f201/if-you-had-no-limitations-your-life-59269/ If you had no limitations in your life If you had no limitations in your life, what would you do differently? Let me qualify that. Suppose you suddenly dropped any extra weight that prohibited you from pursuing a fuller life and you had no physical limitations, what would you do differently? Would you travel more? Explore hobbies or venture off on a new career? For years, I knew my answers; they played out in a series of vignettes in my mind. I would leave the balmy breezes of my home in Florida for the snow-dusted cityscape of the north. I would take my daughter Christmas shopping in New York City and afterwards for a Handsome Cab Ride (horse and buggy) to see the holiday lights throughout the city. That was my dream for her 16th birthday she is now 24. I would fly to Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia with my son and walk the rolling hills that overlook the ocean. That was something we planned the summer after his 4th grade year he is in college now. I would join my husband on his annual winter adventure of snow skiing. We have been married 25 years. He still skis but I have never gone with him. All of these activities require strength in my legs and back, endurance to remain mobile and there would be no guarantee of a place to sit my 389-pound frame. Being severely morbidly obese, I knew the reality of feeling breathless by simply walking from my car to the aisles just inside the grocery store. I would soon be leaning on the cart handle to alleviate the strain on my limbs. Once, I tested my limits and pushed further along the concourse of our local mall until I was half clutching myself back to the parking lot and collapsing into the driver's seat. With the majority of my weight over my abdomen, years of accumulated fat forced the abundant mass downward, hanging from my body so that when I walked, it swung like a pendulum. To sustain myself on my own feet for any length of time under such physical stress was painful and short term. Travel? I did not feel it was possible. I knew my dreams remained just that. Dreams. So how did I get this fat? “You’re SO fat you brought a spoon to the Super Bowl” In high school, I was a trim 130 and a size nine. I was one of those persons who made fun of fat people. I judged them as weak with no self-control (those feelings would change). Eating disorders were a part of the fabric of my family. My grandmother would binge and purge and I recognized the foul odor in the bathroom at home after my mother came out as being the same thing. The excuse passed on to the next generation, “I’m feeling a little sick.” after a large meal. My older sister would be next only she was supplementing her diet with alcohol and cigarettes. The exposure to seeing wet debris left on too many toilet seats made me unable to get to that point when the weight started creeping up on me. “Girl, you sure ain’t missed a meal!” After the birth of my daughter, I had gained an additional 40 pounds and by the time my son was born, it was 80 pounds. My appearance was less of a concern as I busied myself with two little ones and began college. By the time I was working full-time, I found myself avoiding people from my past feeling too ashamed of my appearance and what others would think of me. I found that out at one of the few family gatherings I managed to attend when someone associated with my southern family shouted from across the yard, “Girl, you sure ain’t missed a meal!”. On April 17, 1990 my father died. After the death of my Dad, there was so much anguish in me emotionally that it only fueled the self-depreciation I felt for myself. I had little pride no matter how esteemed my accomplishments and these thoughts were only reinforced by events that surrounded me. I deserved this and other ridicule because my family would have otherwise defended me. Right? There is fat, there is obese, there is morbidly obese, there is severely morbidly obese then there is cutting the doorway to get you out of the building. Let me tell you the difference, nothing. Any amount of weight that impedes your life function is physically impairing and those labels mean nothing when there is physical impairment. I developed rashes in the folds of my skin and only the real high-end soaps prevented an outbreak. Where I use to get catcalls of appreciation for my appearance I was only hearing ‘you have such a pretty face’ followed by silence and a glance downward at my frame. If this was supposed to make me feel better, it did not. I once got a note in my mailbox at work with an ad for a diet supplement and a coupon. I received a phone call from someone I knew years before who I passed in glancing at the store a few weeks earlier. They were now in a multi-level marketing business and gushed endlessly about how, like a pilgrimage to Lourdes, one of their products could cure me of my obesity. I tried things on my own, I joined weight loss clubs, bought pills, liquids, and books, started walking, joined a gym, quit the gym, joined again, and started every Monday with the words, “I start my diet today”. Pennicula like peninsula only human. There came a point in my life where shame lost its voice and ‘Big Mama Bravado’ came forward. It was just me and the scale, me tending to the blisters under my pennicula, the access skin that hangs down from your stomach, where I had gotten a toilet seat chemical burn from sitting on the toilet with my stomach hanging over the rim. It was me clutching the walls first thing in the morning until I got my footing, me walking on the sides of my feet because my arches were cracking and ME looking at ME in the mirror before and after I showered. I had long since had a rule with my husband of ‘no nudity with the lights on’ but there I would stand, unclothed, with the only person I could truly be open with - myself. I started therapy for compulsive overeating and was encouraged to journal my feelings. The more I wrote, the more I felt. The more I felt, the deeper the pain, the deeper the pain I allowed myself to feel the stronger I got. It was in the middle of a one-year post follow-up for Type II Diabetes when my physician leveled with me. My weight was impacting my health and it was only a matter of time before a stroke or heart attack. He was being honest with me and I could not argue with him, I needed help or the conclusion was apparent. It was during that visit he told me about a new gastric procedure and encouraged me to explore it. I left his office, went directly across the street to the hospital to the bariatric department, and met the nurse overseeing the program for gastric surgery. I believe that all things happen for a reason. There are no such things as mistakes and that, like Edith Wharton said, “In spite of illness, in spite even of the archenemy sorrow, on can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things, and happy in small ways.” Despite all of the debilitating consequences of my obesity, I remained determined. I would find a way out. After months of pre-surgical testing (sleep apnea-positive, chemically induced heart stress test, psychological evaluation) my health insurance denied my request. There was an exclusion in my insurance plan that would not cover bariatric surgery: “Weight Control Services including any service to lose, gain or maintain weight regardless of the reason for the service or whether the service is part of a treatment plan for a Condition. This exclusion includes, but is not limited to weight control/loss programs; appetite suppressants and other medications; dietary regimens; food or food supplements; exercise programs; exercise or other equipment; gastric or stomach bypass or stapling, intestinal bypass, gastric balloons, jaw wiring, jejunal bypass, gastric shunts, and procedures designed to restrict the Covered Person's ability to assimilate food.” This exclusion did not simply apply to me but also to persons who are anorexic, the opposite of my problem. The Big Mama Bravado in me drafted a letter of appeals for my denial, DENIED, a second letter, nude photos included, still denied, and an appeal to the State Office of Insurance Regulation. I could not reason in my mind how an insurance company could direct the coverage over the recommendation of several physicians and their patient but it was, in fact, true. They could and did. Big Mama was undaunted and I went shopping for my surgery. Let me tell you how empowering this is. You call the shots. You have the cash, you can go wherever you can afford. I had never experienced that but it was truly a powerful feeling of knowing I finally had a voice in WHO and WHAT and WHERE. I was looking for price and quality and I found it in Aurora, Colorado. Another part of my thinking was the question of; where would I like to go for frequent vacations? Going from Florida to the beautiful Rocky Mountains was a no-brainer. The Lap Band Rockies and Dr. Kirshenbaum was an affordable cost saver intended to keep U.S. patients stateside where medical care is under stricter guidelines. I researched my doctor and discovered he had performed thousands of laparoscopic surgeries. This quelled any fears I had about complications, as I knew I would be flying back to Florida post my surgery. The procedure is done on an outpatient basis. Paying for the surgery myself, (why not? We make car payments without even flinching) I had my surgery date, April 17, 2007; the anniversary of my father’s passing. I knew it was a sign. April 17, 2008 It is one year since my surgery. I am off my Diabetes medication and my numbers remain good. I can walk from my car to the store and shop, checkout and drive home without getting winded. I still have a long journey ahead but I am so many (painless steps) closer to seeing my goals. There have been four amazing trips to Denver and friendships of other ‘banditos’. I am two sizes smaller and one shoe size smaller and more than anything I have hope. Hope for journeys to faraway shores, to carriage rides and city lights and the feel of snow blowing like sand across the crest of a mountain. I dream of possibilities and for the first time in too long, I believe they will become a reality. __________________

OH OH OH...I forgot to tell you DEE- Weigh in for me...I'm down 3 pounds, can you believe it? Two weeks in a row.

BAHOTMAMA - Rock some tight jeans for me will ya? ................................................................. I am glad that my appt. got bumped one day. It gave me the opportunity to write all of the problems the penni has given me and the two pontoons I call breasts. I typed it all up and I'm taking it to the doctor tomorrow so I don't miss a thing. I figure if it is meant to be it will be. I've been through so much with my body that these supposed ghastly photos are suppose to turn my stomach: Not . I'm suppose to have trepidation about surgery ( all together now..ahahha hahahha hahahha ) that the unappealing looking scars are suppose to make me squeemish ( what? a scar or two or three? ...yeahhhh) and the cherry is suppose to be the pain ( wanna talk pain? ask an severe morbidly obese person about pain, I'll give you pain, I'll talk pain) and the surgery pain is discomfort that may last as long as.... (are ya ready ?) six weeks. Oooooooo, I'm shakin in my shoes. Talk to the woman here who has a rash, back pain, shoulder pain and a migraine all at the same time. ( YEAH, JUST PASS THE FORK SO I CAN STICK IT IN MY EYE, THAT MIGHT FEEL BETTER) So I'm ready. tmmrw at 2:45. I'm to bring myself and my co-pay. I figure the rest is evident.

Fatwidow said: "I am sooooo sad for a lady I work with. She lost her son 2 days ago. He was drinking at a friends house and choked on his own vomit and died in his sleep. This was her only child and he was only 19. She was working two jobs to help him through college. He was really smart and had scholarships and graduated with honors. I guess he had a drug and alcohol problem. He was partying at a friends house and MY daughter was there for a short time. She was friends with him and told me she hugged him and was sitting with him that night but he was "so messed up". She is soo upset. I have lost some very important people in my life but I can't imagine losing a child. I have to go to the funeral home tomorrow. I am dreading it. I don't do well at funeral homes (does anyone)." OMG this is so very sad and I'm sorry for your daughter's loss and the pain you both are going through. The best thing you can do is just be there, amid all those teen tears and young people who are facing the reality of YES, it can happen to one of their own...it's so shocking to them. Your being there will be the best thing you can share with your daughter. Hold her hand, put your arm around her if she needs it. Wow. *19 years in education and the past 15 working middle-high school and voc. tech, it's never easy to see the young ones go and they mostly go in circumstances like this.* The story that remains as a memory in our town is this superbly vivacious young man who graduated and after grad there was a party, everyone was going, he hopped on his bike (motorcyle) and was heading to the first of many parties that night (big italian community...loads of parties) when he was driving down the main road and someone pulled out in front of him. Instantly. His funeral prosession was three miles long. These moments we hear of make life so priceless and precious. .................................................................................... Friends my appointment with the plastic surgeon has been bumped by 24 hours. He has a surgery that is running longer than they first anticipated and want to allow some extra time so rather than tomorrow it will be Thursday I go in for my consulation. Going for a breast reduction and a penni-off (my word) that swagger that is much less swag down at the bottom of my tummy since my band but is still giving me persistant backaches and so much more. I'm sure I will have more than one surgery and I'm told there are some cases where getting that extra area off to relieve the pain and DRAG will allow me to pick it up and move more readily. BUT MY FEET DON'T HURT! and I'm so much better than in 2007. It's all a journey isn't it? Wheeee.

Just an update. The doctor has a surgery that will take a little longer than anticipated tomorrow, my appt. is the same time, next day. Consulation on Thursday for the breast reduction, (crossing fingers) and penni-off (my word). Goal: No back pain would be great in 2008!

Thank you all for the kudos on my slideshow. I appreciate the kind words of support. They really help. .............................................................................. nicnaknut: Funk it up. Ride the low tide til you hit the shore friend. The thing about the internet is we become friends but we don't SEE eachother daily in the face 2 face sense of the word. We don't all know some of the other challenges we all have in our lives. Keep coming here no matter what. Read even if you don't feel like posting anything. I don't think there is one person here who has had a perfect day. There's always tomorrow! ............................................................................................. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& ............................................................................................. Blog Post from yesterday. Hubby had his cancer treatment which was a TRIP in every sense of the word. Sharing>>>>> Madame Morphinia Ladies and Gentlemen, Madame Morphinia was in the house! Postscript: The seeding for cancer with hubby went fine. The doctor said all looked well, 58 seeds the size of rice were planted all around his prostate using 18 needles. Me: Will he be in discomfort when he wakes up? Doctor: "He will feel some discomfort initially but we will give him something to dull the pain and by tomorrow he should be doing better." They called our name "Reeves Family" and Patrick wanted to be the first one in to see his father. I wait. Ten minutes later he comes out like he's just seen the Lightening win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. What happened, I ask? DAD is STONED on MORPHINE. People look up from their papers, glance in our direction. SHHHH, I say. But he's right. I could hear him from the hallway as I rounded the counter to his recovery bay. From behind the curtain a lone voice rises, "...feels like a bat was shoved up my azzzzz...?" it's my husband. I walk around the corner into his room. There he lays looking more like he did one night in '82 when he had Two-for-One Toilet Bowl sized margaritas at a now defunct Mexican restaurant. I walk in and sit down next to his bed. HEY!!! he says. I caught the next thirty plus minutes of his opiate driven ramblings on my phone video. BRING ON THE DRUGS! Where's my juice? is there any vodka in it?? I gotta PISSSSSS, I can't PISSSSSS...my dick won't work!!!!!!!....DRUGS... (hey, that's my line)... hey, baby why don't you go down there and get the blood flowing so I can piss... ( the morphine was in the driver's seat of his brain) So he is fine. Before the procedure he could not eat for 36 hours. By the time we left Moffitt he had one word on his lips...FOOD! He's sleeping after a McDonalds Big Mac, jumbo fries, one apple pie, large sweet tea and half a home made pie once we got home. Some how I think he's going to do fine.

Thanks so much. "Radiant beauty". No one has ever said that. Tied2bfit: The doctor replied, "Well, that's a great observation!" I wondered what meds she was on! AND I wished every man in the world would get some! Because in her eyes, I was a hottie! There are still some jewels out there but meds help. Look for my blog post later on about yesterday at the hospital. The patient saw what the others didn't see. Very intuitive. My Goodness Patty! You're looking Hot! Your features are becoming so defined. I love that little slideshow! You can be so proud! THANK YOU! I remember the first time I felt my jaw line. I said to myself...why did I wait so long to take action to the next level?

Okay friends check out my slideshow in my signature.

That was me thirty years ago. Tied2BFit I think you are on to something. I say we, the obese people of America, demand a surcharge to all exceptional passengers as well. Let's rattle them off shall we? Screaming children that make our ears bleed. Dudes that belch and fart because I am pretty sure their stench haze exceeds the boundaries of their seat dimensions. Leg spreaders. Those hulky muscle folk who have to sit with a yard stick spread as if the massive muscles of their legs cannot contain the normal thigh closure. *on most southern flights Elbows. I think if someone is using your arm rest that constitutes crossing over into your space so they too need to buy another seat. Do NFL players have to buy two seats? I'm just askin' is all. I mean many of them do crest 6 ft. and those shoulders are pretty wide ya know.

My sister is a flight attendant with SWA and I can tell you this is true. When she told me a story about a fat person on the plane who was taking up some of the next person's seat... and went on to discribe somewhat of a similar story I let her finish and then said, "Okay, on behalf of all of the obese people in America, fuck you."

Dr. Schulman what about if you can look at the area and see scaring, that is, the skin is much shinier on the surface, reddish to darker in shade to deep red along the underside of the skin at the crease. The hair follicals must have been damaged from persistant friction because you can clearly see where the growth of hair ends. It's my thought that any trained eye can look and see the results of years of infection, irritation and so forth. I am looking at it like scaring from a burn. Same difference. You would see some pattern in a first, second or third degree burn by the damage left. Does that make sense? There is no doubt looking at my skin the damage that's been done. As for my breasts, they fall to almost my navel. So very disproportioned to my chest that it's almost obtuse to look at.

Question for our doctor. What would be beneficial for me to bring to the consultation? Would he need to see my band card to show where the port is (has photo)? I'm certain this might sound a bit silly but as an educator I'm always aiming to educate as much as possible to facilitate the process. Thank you Dr. Schulman.

Second update: I have an appt. next Wednesday for a consultation with a PS. I am familiar with his breast work reconstruction (excellent) and I was told by the office manager he has done 'about 30 gastric patients'. We shall see if it's a match between myself and him. Dr. thank you again for you direction.

Mini this is my favorite place to buy from. Lower prices and shipping is one flat rate of $5.95. New-Whey Liquid Protein from IDS on sale. Find information about IDS That's a link to the protein shots I buy. They are amped with protein, low calorie and a good source to get your requirements in.

Girl, I'm holding your hand.

DREWSLOU whussup chica!! GREAT to see you posting here. How's life ROLLING? :blushing: ........................................................................................... Dee- put me down for 3 pounds down. I knew I'd have a big loss this week. Got my shipment of whey protein RASPBERRY..liquid nector of the sugarless fruitGods...last week. I mix that stuff with Raspberry Lemonade Crystle Light the 42 grams of protein vile. I drink two of those a day eat my protein bars in between breakfast and lunch then have a "sensible dinner". I tried one piece, about 2 ounces, of Warr Sue Gai chinese chicken last night and had a gastric blowout. (fried) That's what I get! ................................................................... Whoever is having the rough time..can't remember but did the Micky D's breakfast biscuit here is what I find. I find if I feel "starved" I will eat that which I am not suppose to. Something about having one drawer in my bedroom dedicated to all things bariatric intake makes me feel like I have my own fast food place. I have that drawer packed with protein bars, viles ( I bought boxes like they sell in the store) of protein whey, so if I am feeling deprived I reach for something that is controled in content. Don't want chocolate shake, fine, I got vanilla, I got carmel, peanut butter, mango, raspberry... I can pretty much hit bitter or sweet. *Whatever it takes, keep experimenting til you hit what works for you* .................................................................. Fatwidow, I read reviews online from users that have stayed at hotels. I found this for Extended Stay: Toweling stained no matter how many you attempted to use. bedding - all stained pillows and sheets w/ long black hairs everywhere. carpet stained and very dirty everywhere a vacuum didn't.. One Star *i'd keep looking but that's just me. The hospital is 2 miles off hwy. 470/Parker. 470 is a major artery, good highway that connects easily to their main interstate system that circles the city. *If you live near a big city it's like I-225 or I-275(mine near Tampa) that circles the city...Denver has several highways that mostly connect at some point. Loads of places on 225 and 470. Just stick to the southeastern side of the city for close proximity. It's all pretty urban there.* ........................................................ ............................................................. GREEN- Thanks and worthy of reposting the how to know if you need a fill or are spot on. Thanks again. We can all use refreshers at some point. Doing good here folks, great restriction, all is fine, pipes are doing perfect. Love MY BAND!!!!

Hey Group: The plastic surgeon who is one mile from my house, did my friend's reconstruction after her breast cancer DOES gastric patients. He specializes in breasts but the pannus (my hanging stomach swinger at the bottom) was something the office manager was not 100% certain about. My consulation is next Wednesday at 2:15 PM. Here we go.

Hello All: Blowing a kiss to the puppies out there. Dogs and cats are precious. I wanted to share an update on my progress with the plastic surgery. My restriction is spot on but even though my feet no longer hurt, my upper back between my shoulders and at the base of my neck as well as my BACK can't take the exhursion. I'm popping Extra Strength Tylenol and sucking it up. When that kicks in I get up and do the housework what little lifting I can. My weightloss is down to a crawl. I KNOW it ain't restriction. The band is doing it's job I just am not able to increase my physical activity. I've still got the occasional rash underneath the skin (FRUMUNDA) and my breasts are not reducing in size like I thought they would. I'm going for a reduction and having my penn. removed to allow myself the ability to MOVE. Called my insurance today and ended up with a supervisor who GOT what I was trying to explain. I had the name of five surgeons in Florida who did bariatric reduction who understand the situation with our skin/healing/ ports and so forth. None were on my insurance. Insurance told me if they can't find anyone who is able to do the surgery in network, I am to find someone with the qualifications and then go through my doctor here in Florida. I know the drill, the letter, the wait, probably an appeal, maybe not. I have far too much fight in my now to go back. I've made so much progress. So that's my update. I'll keep you posted. Have a great week...weigh in is in the morning.

UPDATE: I spent the afternoon on the phone with my insurance company and eventually got a supervisor. To my surprise this person understood what I was looking for. Because we could not find a surgeon on my BCBS plan who listed bariatric/reconstruction/or something other than "plastic surgery", the supervisor informed me that my insurance company would assist me in finding a provider who provided such services if they were deemed "medically necessary". Not worried about that. Dr. Schulman thank you for the direction. I would have spent the next year or more sucking it up, popping my X-Strength Tylenol every four hours and first thing in the morning.

Dr. thank you for cutting to the point. Thanks to this response I've called my insurance, spoke to a 'Drone" who had no idea what I was talking about, switched to a supervisor who did and is calling me back later this evening when I have more details of the specifics of what I am looking for in a surgeon. "Your plastic surgeon should understand how skin reacts to massive weight loss, and the nutritional implications of this weight loss on your ability to heal after surgery.". I know by my intake that it isn't what I am eating or how much but more to do with what is going on with my body and lack of ability to move. I think reduction now will certainly allow me to move without the after pain I suffer. I'd also like to correct the area around my pelvis that has been "morphed" by the weight rubbing against it for so many years. Thanks again. I sure wish you were in Florida! PR

In my neck of the woods, the only thing missing here is a full moon, a bonfire out front, good music and some vittles.