Been told to stop losing weight - plastics reason - mixed feelings

I had RNY 10 months ago and am almost at my goal.  I had a mastectomy several years ago and never finished reconstruction. In fact, I still have a TEMPORARY tissue expander in there that should’ve come out after a maximum of 6 months. My body does not like that foreign object in me, plus radiation and healing issues ruined the skin, so they do not want to replace it with an implant. They want to use my belly fat and skin to make a new breast, and I would actually prefer that myself. I also have a huge hernia that is now causing me problems, so that needs to be repaired as well.   Good news: I will get a tummy tuck and abdominal muscle tightening paid for by insurance. Bad news: I’ve been told to stop losing weight if I want enough fat and tissue to remove from my lower abdomen and plop up onto my chest to make a new breast—and it won’t be a large one…probably a small-ish B.   Yes, I feel pretty happy and healthy at this weight, but I can tell that I’m not done losing. In my heart I’d like to lose more, and I’d be able to get to 160 or lower easily if I let myself. I’ve added in more healthy fats and carbs to start maintaining. What worries me is that at 10 months out I still have malabsorption going on. I’m afraid I’ll get used to the extra calories I’m eating now and a few months from now will start gaining on that same amount and will have a hard time cutting back to maintain.   I guess I’m wondering if anyone else deliberately tried to stop losing weight—before they reached their goal--in order to have plastic surgery. Thoughts???

Yes. I was told at my surgeon visit last month at 170 I was done losing weight. My PCP set an absolute maximum loss at 160, and as of today, I'm 5 pounds away from that.

I have a DS, and I've been struggling since I hit 180 to put the brakes on this thing! I'm on Creon (digestive enzyme) to help absorption, and I am eating more carbs, but it just won't *stop*!

I have massive amounts of hanging thigh skin that need to be in a compression garment or some other type of body shaper to keep me from scaring small children when I walk, which is also made difficult if the skin isn't "strapped down".

I have been partially approved for a medically necessary thighplasty, due to cellulitis and other skin problems. The compression garment rubs, due to the way it was made to accomodate the skin and that sets off the cellulitis.
The problem with this is that the surgeon's insurance claims person is unwilling to even try to prove the surgery is medically necessary to Medicare. Ihave my own PCP telling me that it is, and it only takes one look at my thighs to see that this is more than a cosmetic issue.

Wow!  Best of luck to you.  Is there a different surgeon who would be more willing to work with you?

Typically, plastic surgeons would like post ops to be 18 months post op WITH a stable wt of 6 months duration. I know at least two women in one support who had plastics at 11-12 months, when they "hit their goal wt".  Guess what?  They lost a little more wt, and returned to the plastic surgeon for a "tune up surgery" to help with a little more lose skin.  You might consider the surgery for the breast and hold off on the tummy tuck for a few more months. This way you can get the best results from both procedures. DAVE

As your surgeon indicated, to get the best breast reconstruction you need some belly fat.  If you feel you are still too heavy at that point, you will need to make a decision on which is more important to you.

To me, patients who had co-morbidities from obesity that were improved by the weight loss have met an important goal regardless of what the scale says.