*****BIG NEWS*****

A few plane rides, two airports and two customs inspections later, here we are in Monterrey, Mexico!  What are you doing in Mexico, you ask, pray tell...........<drum roll please>................................PLASTIC SURGERY or, more appropriately termed for those of us who undergo bariatric surgery and have massive weight loss, RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY.  It really is reconstructive because of all the skin that has to be removed to re-shape our bodies.  


The thought of having reconstructive surgery has always been a consideration.  I KNEW I was going to need something done, I just figured it would only need to be done for one, maybe two spots at the most.  However, as I have been on this journey, it has become more and more apparent that this is not the case.  I need A LOT of work.  I have done so much damage to my skin over the years of yo-yo dieting that I can not reasonably expect it to get any smaller than the little bit it has.  Surgery has been in the back of my mind for several months now, seeing that my weight seems to have stabilized around 162-164.  Those last pesky 29 just don't want to budge.  I think my body seems to be "happy" at this weight.  Me, not so much.  It's not about the numbers on the scale, it is about what I see when I look in the mirror and there is a lot of lose skin.  My GP feels that once I have this surgery, I'll be able to get into the 130's.  We'll see.  I just want all the excess skin gone so my body doesn't look like it belongs to an 80 year old woman!  A large factor in my depression is how I look in the mirror; all of the excess skin.  In some ways, it negates even having the sleeve surgery because I can't see past the excess skin.  My self confidence/esteem has taken a beating. 


A few weeks ago, I sent in my pictures for a consultation with a doctor that I have been following on "Obesity Help" forum boards since last year.  This man is amazing, he is an artist.  He really is.  He viewed my (naked) photos and suggested a thigh life (knee to groin), large tummy tuck, liposuction on my lower back, arm lift (elbows to arm pit) and a breast reduction and lift.  The night before my surgery I was marked up and he explained what and how he was going to do everything.


Pictures.  I want to post pictures on here, I do, but I would also like a sense of privacy so that not just anyone can see them.  Some of them will be graphic, especially the post operative ones, and I need to ensure that young ones don't see them.  There will also be naked shots as well.  My thought right now is that I will post my before and after sleeve photos on here.  However, my pre-operative and post-operative (ie: naked photos) will be in an album off this site.  There will be a link from my blog which will take you to my pictures and you can access the photos by entering the password, which I will give to you once you email me and ask for it.  If you are not a follower, I won't give the password to you.  If I see you signed up and want the password in the same day, I will not give it to you, unless you are someone that I know from a forum or elsewhere.  If you write anything nasty, you are gone.  


Later I will post my surgery experience and get all caught up; I'm post op day 3 today but I am tired having just been released from the hospital today.  More to come......