BR Scheduled for June 18th - Sacramento, CA

Hi Kapilani!

Why is it that we feel that we are being selfish when we want to do something for ourselves? Do we feel guilty when we put braces on our kids teeth when it isn't medically necessary that they have them? No. Do we feel guilty when we spend $500 on prom night for our kids? Maybe a little...but we do it anyway.  I think we need to come to the point where we say it is ok to do something for ourselves too. Its not like you are doing it for purely cosmetic reasons. You are doing it to improve your quality of life, which you have already proven by the steps you have taken with your fitness regimen (by the way...what program did you follow! It sounds great!) So I say go for it! This is the time to do something for you!

GOOD LUCK!

Hi Iowa71! The exercise plan that I followed is called "Couch to 5K" and it can be found online. It's so gradual, there is never any soreness! After that, I followed "Bridge to 10K" (also online). For the weight loss, I joined a class called Sutter Options for Sucess through Sutter Health. It was actually this program that gave me the idea to go ahead and have a tummy tuck. They taught us that we only gain fat cells at two points in our lives: during the rapid growth of adolescence, and pregnancy. After that, your number of fat cells is set. They just deflate when you lose weight, and puff up again when you gain it back. They actually spoke highly of surgical removal of fat cells. I looked into a tummy tuck with a renewed sense of interest, knowing that I've toyed with the idea for years now. I am thrilled to know that my stomach won't ever look as unsightly as it does now. Just out of curiosity, I threw the idea of a BR at the same time out there, and when my PS said I'd be a fine candidate for both, I felt validated with my moderate dissatisfaction with my moderately large breasts. I think a breast reduction to go with the smaller core is a lovely idea, but again, the cost keeps running through my mind. But you are absolutely right, both my kids have braces, and there is no way I'd let my kid miss prom just to save $500! Thanks for putting it in that light! It's not like I'm unemployed, and we ladies need to remember we only live once! My husband pointed out that if I just do the TT, every time I get dressed and look in the mirror, I'm going to hate that I didn't take advantage of just doing both at the same time, and it's unlikely that I'll spring for the steeper expense at a later date. After working so hard to lose almost 45 pounds, I am totally on board with getting rid of all this guilt. I hope I go through with both procedures, love my new body, and never look back, never regret.

Thanks so much for the support, ladies. Sammy, you make an excellent point. I often think of two people at an interview for the same job. All other things being equal, if one looks like she takes better care or herself, she will exude more confidence, and is more likely to get the job. In the long run, this can justify the cost of lazik surgery, teeth whitening, and PS when warranted.

Iowa, yes! The one-time combined anesthesia and and OR cost is what really brings the cost down, plus the doctor takes off $1,000 or having two procedures at once. The cost of my initial TT is now 1 and 1/2 times what my original quote was, but if I can swing it, i hope you are right. After spending so much, I better keep it off! In 5 or 10 years, I'm pretty sure that I won't mind having spent the money if I still look better than I do today!.

Good luck Kapilani!! I'm excited for you. congrats on the weight loss and your futures goals. That's amazing. I too felt guilty for doing something for myself. But I deserve to enjoy the rest of my "prime" years with a body that i am comfortable with. I'm 46 also and had a BR and TT 9 wks ago. No regrets! your are going to look and feel beautiful!

Answering the drain question...I had 2 drains down in my pelvic area. No drains on my breast. Whatever you do don't drop them. Be very careful. I dropped it one time and it made me cry from the pain. If you wear big granny underwear you can tuck them in there. Worked for me.

Thank you, Ana! I actually have some granny underwear from when I weighed more. Digging them out is less work than making new little cloth bags to hold them. I'll just do that.

I live in the Sac area and wanted to know Who's your PS. I am a single parent of three and had the same guilt feelings. But I'm lucky, my kids are so supportive. I'm scheduled for a TT in jan2013. My PS doesn't like to do a MM at one time because of being under for too long. Best of luck!

Hi Rcady! My PS is Dr. Wayne Yamahata. He is soft-spoken, and my anxiety went way down when I met him. He is with the Plastic Surgery Center of Sacramento, a group of about 7 doctors or so. But you pick one doctor and your consultation, pre-op, surgery, and post-op are all by the doctor you choose. Incidentally, I went for a second consultation by a top PS in the area, and he wanted to do both procedures separately for the same reason you just mentioned, which won't work with my work schedule. I liked the office staff better with Dr. Yamahata. At the other office, the secretaries were complaining about the doctor and nobody called me for a follow-up conversation after my consult, even though they said they would.