Re: PS costs, difference in life

[Guest guest]

At 11:10 PM +0000 11/16/02, vickiang wrote:

>...

>Steve, I didn't know you could have as much done at one time as you

>did. I assume the hernia was covered by insurance, but was anything

>else? How much did you have to cough up out of pocket.

Insurance covered the hernia repair and the tummy tuck part of the

abdominoplasty. They refused to cover the muscle tightening (repair

of diastasis recti), saying that it was cosmetic, but the PS said

that it was included free of charge, because no self-respecting PS

would leave the ab muscles from a formerly MO person distended

without repairing them. I paid the co-layment for the hernia repair

(about $700) to my WLS who did that part (he also took an extra

stitch in my reduced stomach, for which I paid him off-line as a

private arrangement--I had the DS if you recall, and the " extra

stitch " was to make me feel fuller faster to help me get to goal

weight). The hernia repair and the extra stitch took about 1.5

hours. Then the PS took over and did the abdominoplasty and the Butt

and thigh lift. Bless his soul, he never charged me any more than

the insurance paid him for the abdominoplasty. I paid his self-pay

package price for the butt and thigh lift, and that came to about

$7500, as I recall, including his fee, two nights in the hospital,

anesthesiologist's fee, OR, etc. There were a few minor co-pays such

as pathology and the anesthesiologist's fee for the parts that

insurance covered, so, all-in-all, my out-of-pocket may have been

about $8,000, as near as I can remember.

>I need to start looking for surgeons and saving my pennies.

Dimes, nickels and quarters, too. And, a few B. s.

>...I am very interested in hearing people's experiences with the surgery

Compared to the DS, it was a piece of cake. Most probably because I

was in so much better physical shape this time around (for example,

two days before the PS, i took a brisk 3-mile walk in the park near

my house--could hardly walk 2 blocks without huffing and puffing

before WLS).

>and also about how it changed the way you look, your perception of

>yourself, how it changed your movement, etc.. Did it make as big a

>difference as WLS?

It sure did. First of all, the TT part was justified to insurance

company on the basis of chronic back pain from my overhang in front,

both pre-WLS and post-WLS from the pannus. The PS professional

association literature states that every pound of weight in the front

exerts 10 pounds of stress on the spine. So, the back pain is just

about gone--even though the PS only removed 10 pounds in all (and I

lost another 10 pounds in the ensuing 2-3 weeks). But, more

importantly, the psychological impact is huge. I had seen pictures

of myself seated at a meeting after I had lost close to 90 pounds. I

looked pretty good, except for my belly roll that stuck out below the

belt like a sore thumb. And, I have always had a big ass. Even

after losing 110 pounds with OptiFast and getting to what would now

be my goal weight, my ass always stuck out like a caboose. I had to

buy suits and sport jackets a size bigger, pants, too, to get them

over my ass. NO MORE! Today I caught a sale in a men's store

(REGULAR SIZES, no more portly sizes!), and I got a gorgeous camel's

hair sport jacket at half-price, and damn if it didn't fit me well in

the back (front, too). In fact, it looked like it had been

custom-tailored for me. At first, I was not going to buy it, as it

was an extravagance, and I will soon retire and not need many dressy

things. But the way the darned thing fit almost made me shed a tear

and fall in love with the image in the mirror (no narcissism here,

mind you!). Oh, by the way, I also got a pair of Levis jeans,

REGULAR CUT (no more " relaxed fit " ) for the first time in 15 years.

In a nutshell, if WLS was the Bachelor's degree, the plastics were

the Ph.D.

Best,

Steve