Questions on my condition

[GrandMstrBud]

I've had this my whole life and it sucks avoiding the things I should be doing. I am 6 1, about 225 so I could lose about 25 pounds but even when I was at or under 200 I could never lose this or the stomach no matter what I tried. The closest large city to me is probably Chicago at about 2 1/2 hours away. So if I had this done how long would I need to stay in Chicago before driving back and should I lose the weight first before considering this and should I look into lipo at the same time? I'd like to get an idea on what it would all cost also or a rough estimate.

[TomJones]

You need to state your questions in ask a doctor.

[hammer]

Dr. Pensler is in Chicago and comes highly recommended! So he would be a very good place to start!
You can get his info from right here on the forum.


Bob

[headheldhigh01]

1.  how long depends on whether you drive or catch a bus.  in your shoes i would consider finding a cheap motel to stay at for a few days, but you can get good advice from your doc. 
2.  losing weight will probably keep things simpler for your op and you should do it, but you probably know not to expect it to fix the problem.   
3.  do not restrict yourself to lipo.  the biggest complaints i've seen here were from people who were told to do lipo only.  it will not get rid of the denser tissue the fat runs through and you will not be happy. 
4.  costs depend on the dr's location, the severity of the case, and other things, but might run between 5-10k.  in rare cases 3 but don't hold your breath, that's an exception.  you could probably get a rough estimate once a dr does a consultation. 

at least you found the forum, right?     

[GrandMstrBud]

Thanks, yeah the bad thing is I have to drive nearly 6 hours round trip just for a consultation and if it's over 5K I may just deal with it. I don't mind going from say a cab to a hotel and staying there a couple days. The lipo part I was talking about my sides and stomach because no matter what I get to in weight those never seem to go away. I was as low as 190 for 6 1 and while looked skinny those never went away. I just want to be able to enjoy things with my little one like swimming and not hiding and making excuses not to do it like I have my whole life. If only insurance covered this it really does suck and I'm not getting any younger and at 39 I've dealt with it for 20 plus years.

[hammer]

Believe me, your at a place where we know how you feel! I had 5 kids and I was your size when my daughters were young and we were camping all the time, but some how I never let them stop me from swimming at that size! I too have had them all my life but at 56 I've had more time to accept and when I was younger we didn't even have a name for them expect man boobs and not to many gave me a hard time about mine.

If you can't live with them surgery is the only way to get rid of them and yes sadly insurance is no help in most cases. The cost of surgery is not easy to swallow so you need to weigh out the pros and cons. This is a personal choice that you will need to make along with your family.

Good luck with this and God bless.


Bob