Update re: plastics appointment

yes, i did already have a vertical incision. my rny was open, and i'd had a previous abdominal surgery -- the rny incision was a reopening of that previous incision. and after the rny, about 5 inches of that incision opened and took several weeks to heal and close. the resulting scar was horrible. nearly an inch wide for the top several inches. so, anything new would have been an improvement! and this new scar is a wonderful improvement. i'm very happy with it.

i don't have any pics, but i can ask the surgeon's office if they would send me the charming shots they took! when i went in for the pre-op visit on the thighs, they also took "afters" from the abdominoplasty. now that i'm thinking about it, i'd kinda like to see those pictures myself! i'll let you know if/when i get them.

i'm hoping to someday do breasts and arms, too -- but will pretty much be out of money/credit after the first 2 procedures, so the upper body will probably have to wait awhile!

good luck kellie

dont say youll never wear a bikinni,you never know.lol

i have lost my chest almost completly ia m so sad,i tell my dh i want a hoochie lift a tummy tuck and to have perky girls he laughs and says all is possible.

but good luck sweetie

Bikini would rank right up there with getting pictures taken buck naked!!! 

Kellie,
That is so awesome, I really want to explore that for myself. I have a question. Are you at your goal weight.? It appears we had surgery around the same time, of course I had way more to lose than you.  My doctor wants me to lose another 30lbs before seeing a plastic surgeon.
She said a plastic surgeon would operate on me, but she would perfer if I waited to lose more.
I hope you have nothing but the best experience with this, and keep us posted.
Lynn

Hi, Lynn.  My bariatric surgeon never gave me a goal weight, and I never set a specific goal for myself either.  I just told myself I was going to push my body to it limits and see what it could do for me.  Today I weigh 180 pounds and, prior to this week, I'd been 185-190 pounds for about 6 months now.  I'm pretty comfortable at 180 and I think I'll be able to maintain here.  I exercise a lot, so have good skeletal muscle, which makes me look smaller than my actual weight.  (When I tell people what I actually weigh, they don't believe me - they think I weigh about 160-165.) 

If I wanted to lose more weight, I would be holding off on plastics regardless of what my insurance situation was.  But I'm super comfortable at my current weight and people tell me I look really good, so I can live with this.  Plus, I'm hoping to lose a few pounds when I get rid of the excess skin, which may put me in the upper 160s or low 170s.  From a starting weight of 396, that's okay by me!!! 

If you have plastics now and then lose another 20-30 pounds, you are going to have lose skin again.  I started actively thinking about plastics a year ago, but since I was still slowly losing, I've been biding my time.  If you can be patient just a bit longer and finish losing that last bit of weight, I think you'll be happier with your plastics results when you get there -

Kellie

Kellie,
Congrads on your ps appt!!! I too never thought I'd drop my clothes for pictures..but ya gotta do what ya gotta do!  It's coming up on 9 months now since my hernia/gall bladder/panncutamy (panni)  I'm happy with the skin removal.  The weird part is that things kinda got more pushed to right under my chest.  Because of this, I have a hard time with my zipper sliding down when I wear pants/jeans.  It's not just one pair of jeans..it's most all my pants.  I gotta be careful I don't give a peep-show to the world lol.  Just one piece of advice about ps.  Make sure that you are definately covered  by your insurance, even if the ps office tells you that you are.  I had to fight to get the surgery covered up to about 6 months after the surgery.  I had to go back to medical records, and write letters pleading with the insurance company to cover the surgery.  I ended up paying $200.00 out of pocket for the 3 surgeries, but it took some doing.  I just wish I had known that the insurance co. automatically kicks it out when plastics are involved.  My out of pocket they wanted me to pay really was reasonable..but it was more than I was told I would be having to spend.  Good luck with everything!
Hugs,
Ginger

Happy for you that the appointment went well. 

That's the best way to describe it - an out of body experience.  In all my hospitializations I just took having to be naked or partially naked for the medical staff in stride because I am able to kind of leave my body and let them do what they need to do.  I hope its the same when I have to take the medical nudes for plastic surgery.  I know it is years down the road but at the same time, when I was contemplating the surgery, it was one of the things I made sure I was prepared for in the future. 

Good luck to you!

Hi Kellie,

What insurance do you have?  I heard back within 3 weeks.  They needed to hear from the GBS about my weight loss.  Once that was submitted I got the approval.

You will feel so much better once the hanging skin is removed.  Congratulations on such a successful appointment.  Please make sure you keep us all posted.


Jeanne

Hi, Jeanne.  My employer is self-insured, but they use a third-party administrator to process claims, approve procedures, etc.  They are doing a massive overhaul to our health benefits next year, so it'll all be changing.  I'll still have good coverage, but nothing as broad as what I have now. 

I'm really looking forward to getting rid of the excess skin; it'll truly be a blessing...  Will definitely you posted on my progress -

Kellie

Wow Kellie, great news how exciting! Support is coming your way.

Wonder how much more weight you'll lose when they do the procedures?