betheboo

Is it possible to get a second job? Sometimes 6 months or so of a second job is worth it. I always tell myself u can do ne thing for 6 months! Lol

Unfortunatly complications can happen ne where. I would be super nervous though if I had my surgery in Mexico & had to go to a doctor in tthe states who didn't put my device in. That's a can of worms not many doctors r willing to take on! When it comes to ur life & health bargaining is NOT WORTH IT!!!

I have never regretted my choice to do the band. I like a lot of people do not want my organs chopped or rerouted. Also if something were to go wrong the band is reversible!!! That was huge for me! I like the adjustability and flexibility of the band. I am able to control how tight I am and how much I can eat... The sleeve and bypass are far to permenant for me.

So here is some pics of my arms. I'm 3 days post op... I'm really bruised and really swollen. I'm hoping they shrink down quite a bit in the upcoming weeks...

Here are some updated pics... this is now 2 weeks post op.

Thought I'd add some pics so you all can see how things are looking now... my husband cut off my left arm in the pic b/c there is an area gapping midforearm that he didn't think should be in the picture. lol Looking forward to see the doctor again on Monday and hopfully getting the gapping sutured shut

When I'm at good restriction I don't count cals. I eat prob an ave of 600/day. I recently had an unfil for plastic surgery & with that came weight gain, plus I couldn't exercise, so I'm currently counting cal & trying to stay @ 1200. As long as ut loosing weight wouldn't stress to much about it. For a while I became so obsessed with cals in cals out. I had a body bugg & tracked everything religiously. One day I just decided I had wls so I wouldn't habe to do all this crap... & stopped. My weight loss actually picked up once I put all of that energy into exercise & making healthy choices But I do believe when u find urself slipping sometimes u need to get back on track with cal counting

Popcorn is my weakness! Especially when I'm tight & can't eat much. I know ican always rely on popcorn. Lopl

I've been silly & shopped @ regular clothing stores the whole time. Needless to say my bigger friends have gotten a lot of nice hardly worn clothing. My wardrobe has turned over about 5 times in the past 14 months, 120 lbs lost! I gained 23 lbs back recently bc of being unfilled for plastic surgery & being unable to exercise I'm thinking tomorrow I might hit up goodwill for a few shirts to wear while I work off thos weight since my current wardrobe is a bit snug

Way to go!!!! I wish I had ur strength when it comes to staying off the scale. I'm scale obsessed. My hubby hid mine the day after my brachioplasty,2 wks ago, & refuses to give it back. Lol

Take it from me, banded 14 months & dwn 120 lbs (well I was prior to an unfil for plastic surgery), u will start melting away soon. It takes months b4 u really start to see a physical change. It's hard to be patient after months of work thatg it took to get to surgery. But I promise u once u have a few fills u will be amazed by ur transformation! Hang inv there. It's worth it!

Allison0927 the weight gain was caused by a combination of unfil and being unable to exercise. The biggest factor probably was the unfil though. But protein intake for proper healing is more important than worrying about weight gain... Hard to do though! Bayougirlmrsc it's good to hear you got all healed up! I had a massage with rheke (?sp) and I feel like that has really helped speed up the healing process, along with a lot of Vit C

Thanks everyone for your words of encouragement. I've been focusing real hard on my food... logging everything in My fitness pal. Once it cools off here in an hr or so I'm going for a mile walk around the park. My arms swell so bad with walking that that's about all I can do. My doctor took out 1.5 mls prior to surgery and I plan on having him put in 1 ml when I go in on June 5th. I was super super tight before and don't want to go back to that place. Good luck Cazzy on your surgery!

So two weeks ago I had brachioplasty, I had a substantial unfil per my lb doctors suggestion to decrease risk for aspiration. Prior to this I was super tight & hit 120 weight loss bringing me 14 lbs from my goal weight. Immediatly after surgery I weighed myself & had a 13 lb weight gain. I know it was all fluid. So I decided to have my husband hide my scale & just let myself focus on healing noy my weight. So 2 weeks later & I'm up 23 lbs!!!!! Ahhhh!!!! I realize my eating has not been the greatest. I have indulged a bit to much. Pizza, steak, bread... things I haven't ate in about 10 months. I'm disappointed in myself:( I feel like a failure & that I haven't overcome my battle with food in the slightest. A combination of being able to eat anything & not being able to exercise has taken a hefty toll & quick! So my plastic surgeon has cleared me for light exercise as long as I don't work up a heavy sweat, my incision in my armpit is gaping & needs resutured. Tonight I did go for a mile walk & tomorrow I'm checking my eating habits. Tracking my calories & staying away from fast food! So I asked my husband tonight to unhide my scale...t hey refused & told me he doesn't want me obsessing over it. I'm kinda pissed @ him & am half tempted to go buy a new one!

I bread eggplant, bake it, then layer it like lasagna. It's delicious. Even my picky chef husband likes it!

I totally understand ur fear! I got a substantial unfil prior to my plastic surgery & in 2 wks I've gained 23 lbs back! Prior to the unfil I was super tight & eating a mear 400-600 cals per day. I kinda cut loose & started eating everything I haven't been able to eat in momths! I can't get in for a fill till June 5th. I'm hoping tog drop @ least 10 lbs prior to it. I would feel so ashamed to weigh in @ my doctors right now

The tech can not legally tell u anything. U can request to see the monitor while they do it so maybe u can see if something looks super abnormal. If something is wrong ur doctor should get u in quick to let u know what needs to be done. I wouldn't think they would wait a month if something was wrong.

Congratulations u r super dedicated! Such an inspirational story

The doctor was unable to stitch it when I saw him but I'm going back next week to see if things are more healed & can b sutured closed. He was pleased with my wound care & agreed there was no infection @ this time. We agreed that we will wait on antibiotics for now bc I have such trouble with yeast when I'm on them. He also cleared me for light exercise, thank goodness bc I've gained 23 lbs! He said I can walk & ride the recumbent bike @ the gym. He just doesn't want me working up a heavy sweat. Which doesn't take much since I am not wearing deodorant! Lol I'm still happy I did it. I knew it wouldn't b easy & that these complications could arise. I've been unhappy with my arms for yrs & this was the only way to get them where I wanted them to be.

Plan on sleeping on a couch with ur arms elevated the first few nights. Also get some surgical dressings 5×9's to put inside of ur compression shirt to catch drainage. If ur surgeon is having u wear compression shirt I suggest u order an extra, they run about 100$, to wear while u wash the other. The one my doctor gave me is beige so I ordered a black & a white one. I'm supposed tov wear it for a least 1month so I wanted options.

I finally got to talk to the nurse today and she made an appointment for me to come in tomorrow @ 9:30. She called me back and said he may try to stitch it back together, just to prepare me. I have a feeling after he see's it he will change his mind. They told me everything I've been doing thus far is good though. So we'll just have to see what tomorrow brings!

I'm a nurse also. The drainage is clear & there is nit redness, abnormal swelling, no fever, or odor. I got some saline & antiseptic wash to clean it & am doing steri strips. I do agree that starting on antibiotics again prob isn't a bad idea. I wasn't able to call the doc yest (sat) but I'm going to call him today (sun) I was supposed to nit sre him till fri but maybe he'll see me mon instead.

My internet searches seem to make me think that I need to do wet to dry dressings. Saw some posts on people who said restiching did not help at all. I'm going to run this by my ps in the am and see if he will call me in some kind of antiseptic to soak the dressings in so that they don't get infected.

Oh I forgot to mention that... I have been using steri strips to try to pull the skin together but they keep falling off because of the drainage. I even used tincture of benzoine on my skin to help them stick