Catching up...........

..........Hi all its been awhile since ive been here, all the forum residence may remember me. But i always lurk here n there but just dont post as much as id like, well nice to hear that yall are doin well.     Im gettin ready to have my tummy tuck done, I am more scared this time around, cuz im a big woose to pain hahahaha. Just thought id share with yall. For all you post PS peeps, any pointers you wanna give me or things you think i should know? pls share Take Care =) Robert

You've done great getting to your goal weight! Wooohooooo! And congrats on your next chapter....PS. I am in the "reading" stages of PS. I'm only 5 months post op WLS so I've got a head start on my research. I wanna be fully prepared going into plastics.  Please share your Plastic surgery journey......which doc? Did you have consultations with other docs? Did you insurance cover your soon to be tummy tuck? If so....did you have HMSA HMO? Fill me in on the scoops. Aloha from Kauai! michelle

  Hi Robert!!!  It has been an awfully long time!!!  You are looking just great, actually better than great!!!!  I am so proud of you, and you should also be proud of yourself. I still remember those crucial days just before your surgery, and then you had bit of a difficult time after.  But they always say that " God never gives us more than we can handle". You really took off those pounds and were so successful in your journey! Now comes the next step in your journey. I had my lap rny on January 10, 2005 just about the time that Mitzi had hers done.  I just had a TT on March 6, 2006.  I'm not sure how much you've discussed with your plastic surgeon. But even having had several conferences with mine, I could not have been prepared for what I saw after the surgery! For one thing, my incision went from around one side of my hips clear across to the back of the other side.  I thought the incision would only be right across the front, but mine went around to the back on each side!  I was going to go back in and have him take care of the "dog ears" but decided against it.  I could not afford a full body lift, and I'm not sure if there are any plastic surgeons here in Hawaii who are really qualified to tackle that type of surgery. Actually, I'm really quite happy, I have a flat stomach and when I go out depending on what I'm wearing I wear one of those shapers that holds in the excess skin on my back.  I'm not sure how a guy would address this issue.  If anything I think guys really don't wear anything that's clinging so that might not be an issue. A bit of advice that I would like to offer is to buy yourself one of those wedge pillows to prop yourself up in bed.  We did not have a recliner, so that really came in handy.  I eventually got used to sleeping propped up.  You really won't be able to sleep on your sides for quite  awhile.  Be sure to follow your surgeon's instructions and wear the support that he is going to give you.  You will be much more comfortable.  Also, be careful after he removes the sutures, in my case unfortunately I ended up sleeping on my side only to get up and find that the stiches had come apart and I had to go back in to be restiched, (not to mention all the bleeding).  Just thought I'd share that, because you really do have to be careful.  Don't do anything that is going to place any undue stress on your lower tummy area. It took at least almost 6-8 weeks for me to be able to get around normally. If you have any questions, please e-mail me, I'll be glad to share!! Aloha, Pat Nicely