Sorry I've been MIA, but my brother-in-law died quite unexpectedly Wednesday morning. We buried him yesterday and I'm still quite numb from it all. He was only 57 and my sister and niece are still quite in shock. Actually, my whole family is, including his family. His family had all been together on Easter Sunday and again last Sunday since it was his Mom's 88th birthday. Thank goodness, everyone demanded pics being taken, with the whole family and each of her children with his/her own family. So we had good pics to display at the wake. It has really been a trying time for all of us and i know my eating this week has been totally out of whack. Eating the wrong types of foods and not drinking near enough what I should be. But regardless of the weight on MOnday, I will be posting. Hope everyone else has had a better week than me, Deidrah

ISN'T IT GREAT!!! It remind me of the lik 'em stick yummy glad you like it

The PS was very forthcoming about the scarring. He says of all the surgeries he performs, the brachioplasty was the one that typically left the worst scar. Dr Barber says that he personally hates this scar and only performs the surgery if the benefits would be well worth it. He said that there was just no way around it and the scar was the trade off for the loss of the loose skin. He was also very specific about how he does this surgery. He said that he "used" to do it down the back of the arm. He did it that way for years because he thought it made the patient feel better not to see the scar every time they looked at their arms. Then he changed because it upset patients just as much to know that others could see the scar. He does it on the inside of the arm now, always. As far as losing more weight. Most of the "fat" that I have to lose is left on my butt and legs. I have very little fat left on my upper arms. If I lose 50-75 more lbs, it would be very little that could affect that area. He won't have to remove too much fat to do the arms. He looked at all of my other areas of need and said he wouldn't do any of them till I had been at a plateau for at least 6 months. No need to do a TT or LBL if you could still lose 50 lbs and have more loose skin. When I asked him what his thoughts were on a facelift, he just looked at me and said "you don't need one." He actually said that by looking at my face and neck, he couldn't even tell that I had once been almost 350 lbs. That made me feel really good. At least one area that won't have to go under the knife to look "normal." I would love to see some pictures if you have them. You can email them to me at [email protected] so that I can take a look discretely. I am curious to see what it looks like at different stages of healing. I can understand about the "numb feeling" as it is probably comparable to my c-section. That was the weirdest feeling ever. It felt like that part of my body was suddenly foreign. Except for the tingling feeling, there was no feeling at all. That feeling lasted about 2 years and some areas of the scar still don't have good feeling. I can imagine having that "sensation" from the elbow to the arm pit. I appreciate all of your input. I am still considering April 30 but I am thinking Sept is looking better for every reason. I am a Scorpio and also terribly impatient!! It was all I could do yesterday not to say sign me up for April 14th. I had to bite my tongue. Hugs, Valorie

Valorie, Being a Libra, I see both sides!!! You could get through the hot weather and have it done in the fall when everyone is wearing longer sleeves or you could be impatient like me!! I always want everything done yesterday! On the other hand, it won't be terribly hot til July and your incisions would be looking better by then. I'm still pleased with my progress but the worst part about the arms is the numbing or strange feeling of the nerves. With the LBL, the numbing is still there but it is a little different or you just don't notice it as much. With the arms, I can barely stand to wash my underarms because the nerves in my elbows just tingle and feel like they are being (lightly) shocked. This will wear off but it is a strange feeling! Now, about the additional weight loss. In my case, I think it did make a difference. I had always said I was going to have my arms done but the additional 18 pounds I lost after the LBL (the 10 he removed and the 8 I lost during recovery) did make a difference in my feelings about my arms and in the appearance. Now, it just may have been more fat was lost and the arms looked more wrinkled and hanging, I don't know but they bothered me MUCH more after the additional weight loss. If the doctor thinks he'll remove all that before you have to go through that stage, well, I guess that's great! Ask him if he thinks recovery will be harder or easier if there's more fat than loose skin. He's the expert! I just tried to find my surgical fees for the arm lift. Since I had 3 procedures, I can't remember exactly what that cost plus it would be hard to figure the operating room fee and anesthesia fee for just that part but I assume that is a fair price. Ask him if his price will go up in the fall. It's a big decision, Valorie! I'll send you a couple of pictures to let you see my healing. Just to let you know, my doc thinks he gets a better result by making the incision down the back of the arm. I didn't much care for the idea because it will show more but he thinks it pulls less and the long term result is better so I did what he though was best. I honestly think the incisions are going to be very pale and it won't be that often that I'll be totally sleeveless or in a bathing suit, so maybe it won't matter in the long run. I'm sure your incisions will be on the inside of your arms. CeCe

Congrats You look wonderful in onederland. I knew you could do this. Deb