[clfcarrie]

so surgeon says oh yea you are ready girl. ! Woohoo. So now the battle begins with the money/ins folks. I was all kinds of excited when the first quote I got including surgery center, dr fee and anesth we 4608.00 but when it was all said and done it will actually be 6008. so She was off on her quotes by a little bit as you can see. Still not bad. Just has to be prepaid before day of surg. So prayers going up on financial blessings and when the time is right and God says it is all will be in place but very happy to know he said "you are a walking example of success and also for the poison of carbs" when I told him of my little backsliding party that I had for a bit. He is a big pusher of gatorade/powerade to drink. He says it flushes the fat better and is better for the cells over plain water. I can't stand the taste of either so found crystal lite fitness mix in that does the same thing and it is pretty darn good I tell ya!

[Madison's grandma]

that is an AWESOME price for your TT . Mine was 12000.00 for the TT and lower body lift. Are you having just the front done?? mine was all the way around , maybe that is the price difference? I so wish ins companies would pay for our skin to be removed cause it really is do help our health (mental) !! lol
good luck and i am sooooo happy for ya

much love
mary

[MsVickie]

I am so happy for you honey. I need some plastics done myself but I have had my fair share of tummy surgery done and I am not ready to do it . But I am happy for you!!!!

[clfcarrie]

Well it will be awhile. and yes I can only do the front at this time have to do it in about that amount of increments unless the Lord decides to bless me with a huge wad of cash and after I do what I'm supposed to for Him then I might get to spend a little on myself! In His name. Insurance may or may not help I have some medical things attributed to the hanging belly skin, bladder related and skin tearing issues it just seems to be so thin. He said today that's cuz it was so stretched out for so long. makes sense to me. i got to change my goal weight tho...teehee he had always been saying 140 from the beginning....i was like uhhhmmm that seems kind of low now he doesn't want me anywhere near that and if I get there or lower I better straighten up cuz I'm not doing right. So woohoo I get to be 160 to 150 range. that seems about right.

[Cara178]

I am having a fight with my body over fluid retention. What exactly is the name of the Crystal Lite you are using? I don't like Poweraid type drinks either. I have been drinking lemon juice and water. I like it but I am always willing to try something new.

[clfcarrie]

I also like just lemon juice in water but it is crystal lite fitness. and it has pretty good flavor I think. I have so far only tried the lemonade strawberry kiwi and grape.

[melimel68]

I recently heard of someone who was getting a full body lift for free from a hospital in exchange fro her donating the skin tissue. It might be a far reach but it's worth a shot to ask plastic surgeons and hospitals that deal with burn victims, etc. I had a lower body lift and if that's all I had done it would have been $8,500 out of pocket. The extra costs would be the prescriptions but those were paid for by insurance. I also rented a hospital bed for 1 month which I still have and it's been a blessing. No way could I have laid flat in a bed. That was $260 and then I bought a toilet riser which was also well spent money.

Check around about either a prive break or free surgery if you donate the extra skin.

Good luck.

[DocSanae]

Originally Posted by melimel68

I recently heard of someone who was getting a full body lift for free from a hospital in exchange fro her donating the skin tissue.

This has been circulating around from time to time. Unfortunatlely, it seems to be only a rumor--someone knows someone who heard someone say someone did--, and some people who've checked out their local hospitals have invariably found out not to be true, although there was one member who posted that he'd heard that such a donation was accepted at a certain veteran's hospital for the wonded from Iraq. However, when he was asked for details, in the end, nothing specific could be found.
The fact is, skin donations from excessively overweight patients are often poor candidates for even temporary skin grafts due to the fact that it may be stretched out and in not enough a good condition to make a good graft.

Another option if you are doing PS out of your pocket and want to save some money, is to go to a teaching hospital and have a resident do the surgery. The resident will be under the hawk eye supervision of an experienced certified plastic surgeon, so there shouldn't be much concern about the quality of surgery.

[pretty woman]

hmmm.. $6000 for a TT.. good to know. I think I will need one.
We are beginning to plan for speakers to come to our WLS support group. Most are doctors or those who can help and support us.. non medical would be a hairdresser or a massage therapist so to speak..
The first to come is a plastic surgeon. I can't wait to go to that meeting.
It is still too early for me to do it, but I think about it quite a bit.
Thanks for sharing the info.

[KeriM]

Congrats! I hope it all goes smoothly for you.