? for the Ladies that were over 400 before surgery....GYN thing

Ok I have to have a PAP test before surgery...Well that sucks in itself, but I haven't been able to get onto one of those dang lil tables in years. Not to mention that I have a bad problem with bumps and places from my legs rubbin together for years,, A man hasn't saw me nekkid since I was 24!!!, I WANT, no I NEED this surgery, but what am I gonna do??? Oh I know I will buck up and pull up my BIG girl panties and get it done butttttttttt geeeeshhhhh! LOL. Has anyone else been through this and how did it work for ya? I need encouragement here gurls...Or I'ma runnin for them there hills!! HE HE HE.   .   !!!!!!! Advice? Threats? Humor? Anything? LOL. Hugs My Friends, A

howdy rabbit:    lord how i hated those exams.  my weight during my second pregnancy was so high that when the doctor pulled out the table extension, at the foot of the table, the fake leather covering ripped and pulled away.  OMG.  can you say embarrassed?      my highest weight was over 450, sweetie.  and i know what you mean about bumps and rashes from skin rubbing together.  it's not only unsightly, it can get painful.  after you've lost some of your weight - i've lost about 200 lbs now - some of those rashes will go away.  fair warning, tho, you may get others.      and as for a man not seeing you nekkid, at least you didn't have the one you love see you nekkid and reject any and all affection from you.  that's what happened to me.  made me sad but i could certainly understand.      so yeah, pull up your big girl panties and get the tests done.  it's another one of those 'hoops' and you'll feel sooooooo much better once it's done. (i hope)  but don't forget to bring your sense of humor.  :-)

Dorothe I thought those rashes only happened to african american skin. Nobody talks about it. I am glad it has been brought up.  When do they start  to fade. I started at 362 and am down to 314. But I still have the dark area between my thigh where my legs rub together. I had my first exam in 22 years 2 weeks ago. To be truthful the only reason I went then was for birth control. I am over 40, my kids are grown and out of the house and I don't want anymore children. I should have gone sooner. My pap came back abnormal. I got the depo shot for BC and I have been bleeding now for almost 2 weeks. As soon as I stop bleeding I have to go back and find out what's going on. My family has a history of different cancers and I should not have gone this long without an exam. It was embarassing, but I had a female doctor who made me feel very comfortable.

I never actually hit the 400 mark, that I know of, avoided the scales at all costs when I knew that I was getting close! The one thing I did that really helped me get over this hurdle was getting a WOMAN doctor, she was sweet, kind and sympathetic to my quest for WLS..... Good luck!

greetings rabbit while i have no good advice for you, i can certainly sympathize with you! at my highest, i was 463...and i didn't have any of those "girl" things done for many years. i did have a hysterectomy 8 years ago, so i felt i wasn't missing anything by not having paps -- although i do still have ovaries, but i've not had a pelvic exam yet. i also went 7 years without a mamogram...then had one last year. having lost 276 lbs, my breasts are the most pitiful things! even the mamogram technician felt compelled to ask me what had happened to them! i just told her they were imitating empty tube socks! anyhow, good luck to you! be brave (and try to get a laugh out of it if you can) deb

Honey, even at 400 pounds, I went to the ob/gyn for an annual exam every year.  I tucked my big booty up on that goofy table, slid my feet into the stirrups, took a deep breath, and then just waited for it to be over.  I figure there's nothing my doctor hasn't seen before, and frankly, my health is more important than what they think!  The anticipation of it was worse than the actual exam, which goes pretty quickly.  And I'm blessed to have a very kind, sweet female ob/gyn who does a great job of putting her patients at ease.   So buck up, pull up those big girl panties, and get it over with, girlfriend.  It won't be as bad as you think!!! Kellie

The last time I had a Pap, I lived in St. Louis, so it has easily been at least 20 years.  I was probably 350-400 then, and the nurse practitioner at my HMO was so rude.  She kept pushing on me hard, and then said, "There's so much fat here, I can't feel anything."  It was obvious that she was disgusted by having to do an exam on me.  Until then, I'd never minded having a Pap, and had had them annually since I was 16.   I allowed that incident to traumatize me so badly that I refused to get more Paps done until I lost weight.  Of course, I ended up gaining instead of losing. Getting up on the exam table has been a problem until recently, and at over 500 lbs, I don't think the doctor could have gotten past my huge thighs to access my girl bits.  And let's not even talk about thigh skin -- between Blobby and all the friction caused by walking, my thigh skin looks like the surface of the moon. Every time I go to my HMO, they give me a note saying I'm overdue for a Pap.  I like my doctor, and I can get up on the table now, so I'll probably have one soon.   If you have a good relationship with your doctor, talk with him or her about your concerns.  Communication is 9/10 of the battle. Kix

I can so understand what you are saying.  I haven't been to ob/gyn in about 10 years and even after losing 150 lbs. I still don't want to go.  I had a very rude doctor who I told if he didn't change his attitude I would castrate him on the spot (I didn't quite put it that way).  He was the only doctor that I had a problem with and he told me afterwards that he was sorry and he had his mind on his own problems.  I haven't gone back but need to.  Just do it.  These doctors see so much more.  Find strength in the fact that you are doing something about your weight. As far as bumps, I had a panni (fat persons tummy tuck) 4 years ago and I haven't had any bumps or rashes any more.  I found if you really scrub that area it helps.   The darkness area is common amoung even some of our skinnier sisters. Good luck. Jeanne

having a pap done once I was heavier was a little more difficult, but it's just one of those things you have to do. All in all it was done quick and not that bad, although most of my weight is in my stomach so the doctor couldn't feel anything very well the pap part was fine. You'll be fine.

Best of luck,

Jen

I am 364 and I had not gone for a physical in over 5 years. Well last year I went and guess what? They found cancer cells. So I went to a specialist and he made me feel like a fat cow and told me that he couldn't do the colposcopy (where they go in and pinch off some cells to see what stage of cancer you are in) in his office because he didn't have the equipment. He said he might be able to do it at the hospital but wasn't for sure. It's not so much what he said but how he said it. I was so mad that I didn't go back to him. Well now my pcp is not letting me have the wls until I at least have the colposcopy done. She will not document my weight loss for me or write the letter that I need until I go and have it done. She said there was no need of me having the wls surgery if I was gonna turn around and die of cervical cancer. So in a nutshell I am going to have it done no matter how embarressing or how mad a doctor makes me. It is for MY health which is the same reason I am wanting surgery to start with. So don't be embarassed, they have seen it all, rashes, bumps, you name it! Besides it's not a social visit, it is for your health. If I can do it you can.