Back from Sugery

Hi all. Have been trying to catch up but will post here rather than attempting single responses to other posts - just wanted to say hi. The mastopexy (breast lift) went well although the stitching job was much more complex than the abdominoplasty. My surgeon said there was nothing but skin to work with (I knew that!) and he had a difficult time coming up with a design plan. He said I just have a ton of loose skin all over the place and he took quite a bit from the sides as well. I am very bruised and swollen so it's hard to tell what I'll end up with but it's amazing what he did as far as I can tell. Will keep you posted. I'm thinking a lot about the plastic surgery piece of all of this and it I wish I would have worked with someone to help me become more realistic about my expectations. I thought my body would look better than it does, that's the bottom line. Will have to give this considerable more thought before I post on the subject again because I certainly don't want to discourage anyone from pursuing it. The entire issue of the redundant, extremely excessive skin is something that needs to be much more thoroughly addressed as we consider WLS because it can be evey bit as devestating as the morbid obesity, don't you think? I mean, for those of us who were super morbidly obese (I've lost over 200 pounds), did you know what was going to happen to your body, did you fully comprehend the consequences of the redundant skin? I didn't. Just something to ponder. I can tell you this much, I'm tired of going under the knife! Take care. Reenie

Hi Maureen and welcome back! I'm glad that everything went well with your surgery. As for final results... I think that we're back to the old story of EXPECTATIONS one more time. I'm going to lecture you a bit, but I hope you take it in the spirit in which it is given. This is not meant to be critical....it is meant as advice from a friend.....Here goes......We all, I'm sure have been dreaming of ending up with that perfect body after all of this surgery. Well guess what sweetie....there ain't too many of those perfect bodies out there. Take a trip to the beach some time and look around with a seeing eye if you don't believe me.You need to stop looking at what you see on TV and look at the real world. If you look at the competition and by that, I don't mean the 20 year olds..... you look just fine. Let's face it, we all look at ourselves naked in the mirror every day. Yeah, when I do it, I see a lot of sag and bag and wrinkles and stretch marks, but I spent a lot of years making a mess of all that skin!!! On the other hand, when I put some clothes on, and accept the fact that I'll be turning 52 in a couple of months, I can live with how I look. It's a whole lot better than what I saw in that mirror before March of 2004!!! The last time I saw you, you looked great!!! I realize that you have gone through a lot of surgery and I don't know if this issue is stressed enough pre-surgery, but I think that we need to admit to ourselves that no matter what the surgeon tells us beforehand, we only hear what we want to hear anyway. I think that the decisions on what and how much surgery to have is a very personal one and couldn't really advise anyone on the subject. I do think, however that we need to be realistic in our expectations. If you use your former self as a baseline instead of the "Reenie of your dreams", you are much more likely to end up satisfied. Enough said, my friend. I hope that your recovery goes well and that you can reach a place of tranquility. Take care and be well. Mike

Welcome back, Reenie!!!! Glad to hear your mending well. I do think about the plastic surgery from time to time....but in my case, I just can't justify it. I didn't realize you lost so much weight! Over 200 pounds! I'm sure your body looks GREAT! I too had rather different expectations of what I would look like after I lost the weight. We've all come such a long way....I think you look totally amazing and I'm glad your back! Joanie

I'm so glad to hear from you Reenie and that things went well. I'm sure you are not looking or feeling your best--try to be patient and wait for healing. The things Mike said are so right--if I could only remember and practice them! We are all works in progress. We are much better than the two years ago models of ourselves! Hang in there and take care of yourself, Girl! Joy