Deciding to Get my Life Back - Body Lift at 23 Years Old - Baltimore, MD

Very few men post their story on here. So lets start with mine, I am a 23 year old 6ft tall male. Currently 215lbs.(pictures are of me 225lbs)
Growing up as a kid I was a stick figure until about 14 years old and started packing on weight. When I hit 20 I was 375 pounds.
I decided I did not want to hide and eat anymore. Through diet and some exercise(Exercise did little, its more of changing my diet up and tricking my body into thinking its full) I went from 380 to 170 pounds in 8 months.
Being fat since I was 14, I had always felt I was a monster. Whenever I went somewhere I always wondered was I the reason someone was laughing. I literally hid inside my house, I never enjoyed highschool or went to the beach to go surfing or even go swimming(I LOVE to swim) due to not wanting to be the fat weirdo with a shirt on at the pool.
So having lost all the weight sounded great, I was finally thin, I was finally going on many dates with plenty of women. I even had folks ask if I ate enough!?!(large frame so at 170lbs and 6foot I looked THIN) Life is great right?.. Not so much.
I still feel like a monster hiding behind a mask. I never go swimming or do anything I thought I would do because of all the excess skin and the fat in areas that just wont go away(Man Boobs/Stomach). After exercise did nothing for my sagging breasts/stomach skin I gave up and reverted to hiding inside and I gained weight again going up to 230(but held steady there).
Dont get me wrong, I love life, Its generally improved. But I still stay hidden, I still wear an over shirt to cover what my body looks like. But I am living a half life, while I am more social and can go out, I feel I can only go out in winter when I can cover everything. Im just not enjoying life.
Fast Forward to 2 weeks ago. I found a doctor in Baltimore who has great references. I sent him an email and that SAME DAY HE CALLED ME. I said "Im in walmart can I give you a call back?" He called me back 20 minutes later.
I was sold right then and there, the fact that he himself took the time to call and spent a good 30 minutes on the phone with me was the main selling point. Even giving me his cell number and "Call anytime you have any questions". It was clear he had respect and cared about his clients.
I had talked to 2 other doctors and while one blew me off saying I needed to lose more weight, another told me I had to pay a $150 consultation fee.. So DO TAKE THE TIME to shop around. Its not just the price and references, also make sure the doctor is someone that has some respect/care.
Lets fast forward to 2 weeks ago. I was 225 pounds, I had told the doctor(Who thankfully believed me when the first doctor that blew me off did not0 I would get down to 200 pounds before the surgery(1 1/2 months from then).
Today I am 215 pounds and a month away from surgery.Thats 10 pounds in less than 2 weeks and ahead of schedule. Did I need to lose the weight? Not really.. But you want to be within 10 pounds of your ideal weight before a tummy tuck or body lift and I would like to be 190-200 before the surgery as my ideal weight is 180-185.
Anxiety..
I get anxious and nervous sometimes. Having not been to a doctor in 12 years and never having had a surgery or so much as a stitch, this is all to much at once. But I am tired of hiding behind clothes, im tired of the best years of my life being stolen from me by this fat that I have waged war against for the past 3 years.
Advice:
My advice to folks also planning this. Dont think, just do. Think positive thoughts, remember what brought you to this point and putting it off is not an option. My problem is I sit up at night thinking about it and I always want to call it off or feel sick to my stomach. DO NOT think about it at night, it WILL depress you. During the morning/day I am Mr.Positive and im sure you will be to.
The past few years have been good to me, I have had more than a few girl friends, I have had nice sports cars, money has not been an issue. But none of it has made me happy with myself which has quickly become apparent is most important.
My goal? I want the fat gone in my breast area, I want my stretched areolas cut down to size, I want my stomach and pubic mound GONE. I dont just want some of the fat gone, I want it all eradicated, exterminated, destroyed. Pick your word. It has ruled my life for far to long and its time it goes.
I am having a body lift, basically all the fat is being removed from my breast area, the extra skin there is being cut away and my areolas are being removed/cut down to size and basically skin grafted back on so that I have a flat chest. I will then have the fat from my stomach/love handles/pubic mound removed and my tummy tuck done.
Its an 8 hour surgery and I am driving from Raleigh NC to Baltimore MD. Staying in the hospital the first night and in a hotel for at least 12-14 nights until my Doctor feels its safe for me to go home. Thankfully my girlfriend and dad will be there to take care of me(This is tougher than it sounds as I believe in doing everything myself and being in a weak position will be new to me)
I am meeting my doctor this coming monday to both go over everything and have my physical/blood work done AND hand over a large amount of money(for me anyhow). My preop is scheduled for the 21st of May and my Operation is early AM 22nd of May.
Cost break down?
$10,200 is going for the doctor/surgery. $5,000 is going to the hospital stay/anesthesia(Thats my main worry.. Anesthesia awareness)
Congrats for getting through that 700 page book I just typed up! I will update with every detail including my doctor when I get back monday night.

Down 15 pounds since posting the picture.
I had my pre op appointment which went extremely well. My doctor explained I would basically have a body lift. There will be little lipo done. His reasoning is that most of my fat is attached to the skin and that hes going to be removing most of it.

He seemed extremely confident that I would be completely flat post op(of course there will be swelling). My "Man Boobs",stomach,fatty skin on my sides/pubic area will be gone and I will be getting a slight "butt lift" from the excess skin being removed from back. I will keep my belly button.

Being almost 400lbs at one time my skin stretched and with itobviously my areolas. My "Boobs" will basically be removed after my nipples are basically cut off and then skin grafted into the proper position once they are reduced to a normal size.

I will have a total of SIX! drains and he expects to remove 2 at the end of the first week and the other 4 at the end of the second.

I am extremely happy with my choice in going with my doctor. He genuinely seemed excited for me(Im a decent judge between someone throwing a sales pitch and someone who really gives a crap).

Had my blood work and exam done. Even though I basically starved myself to lose all that weight my heart is strong, my blood pressure is great and I have no issues.

Scheduled for surgery on May 22nd. Its an 8 hour surgery.

Am I worried? A bit, I am still not comfortable talking about this as I still see myself as a monster(under my clothes anyhow). But its all going to be gone, im not worried about the recovery, I am not even worried about the operation. I have 100% confidence in my doctor and his staff. I am just worried about when May 22nd rolls around and those first couple hours of questioning/prep/IV needle and keeping the good thoughts/courage going through my first surgery ever.

Thanks again for reading another LONG book of my thoughts. I will update with pictures and what all is going on the day of or likely after the surgery.

Weight loss update:
As of today May 1st I am 3 weeks away from the surgery on the 22nd. Currently at 205lbs. Thats 20 pounds dropped in 3 weeks so far.

My goal is 195-197lbs, I figure with a full stomach/water I will be 200lbs.(That may be overthinking things)

My doctor says I will lose about 8-9lbs of weight from the surgery, but I am expecting(and hoping) for a even 10.

The things I have gotten so far?
Percocet(prescribed by my doctor) and a couple different anti infection prescriptions as well as stool softener and vitamins.
Low Sodium Soup, Jams, Bread, Jelly, Tea

I will post a couple more pictures the day before the surgery just to see what 25lbs lighter looks like. I can currently fit in size 36 jeans and would like to see size 33/34 again(when I was thinnest).

7 pounds to go and 3 weeks to do it in. I imagine I could lose another 15 if I worked hard. But at 180lbs I was close to rail thing. My thinking is 200lbs for surgery, 190lbs after surgery and then that first week another 5-6lbs lost from recovery/lack of appetite the first week.

I am ready for the day to be here!