MichiganChic

Glad to hear you are doing well! Once the swelling goes down, you will feel even better! Take care of yourself and don't overdo it

I do believe you can go through periods of plateaus where you are doing everything right, and the weight does not come off. I think it's absolutely true that we just don't really understand obesity and weight loss as well as you might think. I've had periods of time where I did everything right, and didn't lose weight, and other times when I didn't do so good, and the weight just fell off. Before I had the sleeve, I followed weight watcher religiously for 18 months. I lost 50 pounds the first year, and the next six months I lost nothing. There was no explanation for it. With the sleeve I can tolerate much lower calories, so I didn't experience anything like that. However, I lost about 40 pounds the first two months post op, and then in the third month I lost about 6 pounds - nothing changed, but my body was fighting to stay fat while I ate less than 600 calories a day. I think the physical dynamics of a morbidly obese person is just so much more complex than calories in = calories out (that we've all been taught). One thing for almost certain, though, if you keep consuming low calories, you will lose weight over time. It's what we do for the long haul that makes the difference, and the amount we can consume to be successful varies from person to person, so we each have to find what that is.

I never had a band, but I have never had anything get stuck, and I've never vomited either.

Mine was also covered.

I flew as a think person for the first time last summer. I swear, I love a lot of things about being then, but that was right near the top of my joyous list! I was just going on a work trip, and I flew alone and knew I didn't need to worry about fitting in the seat, maybe being told I needed 2 seats, spilling over onto someone else, and walking through airports. I still remember that feeling of utter joy, satisfaction, and freedom. ahhhhh. Enjoy!

I had the same problem. I would read on here how people had so much energy! and think to myself something must be wrong. But there are plenty of people like us, too. I never did get a noticeable jump in energy, because it was a gradual improvement. Then one day at about 7 or 8 months, I realized how much energy I did have. It wasn't sudden at all. I think that time coincided with a significant weight loss and a slight increase in calories. I have a theory that even though I was not hungry, and I didn't get the other physical symptoms of hunger such as shaking, I still was weak and tired to the super low calorie intake. So that's a long winded answer to say it's normal, and you will eventually get more energy back than you had before your surgery. Just take care of yourself and be patient.

@@twinhappy I love my Vitamix for smoothies. It's expensive, but you can do frozen deserts and hot soups in it, too.

That's great that it seems to be resolving! I'm glad for you. I'm sure hoping this wound vac does the trick for me. I had a small area of dehiscence after my lower body lift last August, and that literally took 4 months to heal, which was about a week before my thigh lift. So, I've had some sort of open wound to deal with for about 7 months - and that's getting a little old! There was a plastic surgeon who was a guest speaker at the last bariatric support group I went to, and one of the first things he talked about was the need for mental stamina. My experience really brings that statement clearly into focus!

She said she was hurt that I didn't tell her, she thought we were better friends than that. You're right, I think I didn't tell her because I knew she wasn't a true friend. I just need to let it go, it's just hard. We work together and I have to see her everyday. That does make it rough. Maybe she will quit and make your life easier. If you didn't have to see her every day, it would sure make it easier to write her off - where she belongs. Her behavior is really out of line. I would just be professional toward her and let it be HER problem, because it clearly is. You need your energy to focus on your health and weight loss, not for such negativity. Leave that to her.

Yeah, I was an expert dieter and never heard the word stall before I came here. I made up my own definition based on what I thought people meant by it. I never asked my doctor because I'm pretty sure he wouldn't know. I know one thing, though. Weight loss is generally not steady and even. If you lose 4 pounds for 2 weeks, and then none, and then 4, you've lost roughly 12 pounds in a month. Even though one week didn't reflect a loss, the other weeks more than made up for it. The truth is that medical science has a long way to go about understanding obesity. (My doc did tell me that). I am and have always been a daily weigher. I always looked at trends over weeks and months, not days, and you know what? It was more steady than I thought.

@@BethinPA did you get the drain?

What would make her think you owe her any sort of explanation about your health or weight? I suppose if she really cared and felt close to you, then it might make sense to wonder why you chose not to say anything....but given the fact that you didn't feel like you could mention it, you obviously did not really think of her in that light, anyway. You felt like you couldn't trust her, which proved to be true.

Never had it once, at over 2 years post op

It's unique to the individual. The closer you get to goal, the slower is goes (in general, not for everyone). One thing that I did notice is that when I would hit a previous set point, or weight I had stayed at in the past, I would tend to hang there for a while before continuing to lose. The weight I'm at right is a set point for me, and I've been here a year. It's the weight my body always try to stay at when I was young. I could diet and exercise my way to the 140s, but I'd only stay there 5 minutes and slide right back up to the 160s, where I am now.

Just in the past couple of days I started getting notifications when I post. It's driving me nuts!

@@Alex Brecher you are magic. I woke up today and it's fixed. Thanks.

Only you know if it's right for you. You shouldn't do it unless you are at peace with it. And maybe you aren't. Before WLS, I used to wish that either I could just be happy fat and eat what I wanted, or that I could eat what I wanted and be thin, or that I wouldn't want to eat so I could be thin. Turns out that the sleeve put me pretty close to that third option. I understand what you mean about eating as your reason to travel. I used to be like that. I'm not anymore, and I feel free! I'm planning a vacation, and food never crossed my mind until reading your post. WLS has changed how I eat and how I think about food. I still enjoy food, go places for special food, but it is not at the center of all I do and think about. It's a pleasant sideline now, and I think it's in its proper place. I don't miss the way I used to be, but I sure do love the way I look, feel, and think now. So, no regrets here.

I think it depends on what you have, and how often. I got fat eating my home cooking - that was not fried or high in sugar. I never used frozen dinners for the first two years, but I'll tell you, I'm sick of eating the same things all the time, and I'm totally over cooking. The less time I spend thinking about and preparing food, the better. I use a lot of convenience foods these days, though most of it's pretty pure. Just this week I had a lean cuisine, and I ate the meat and left most of the Pasta. It was 18 grams of Protein and about 4 ounces of meat, so I am OK with that. I don't do it often, but like all things, I think it's ok in moderation.

The seroma drain I had was totally no big deal. It's like an angiocath with holes in it, and a suction drain attached. I wish it had worked for me, and I hope it does for you. I'm working half days in the office, and half days at home. I just can't miss work even though I could work remotely. I am a department director and there's lots going on, so I need to be there. So I've been taking my durable medical equipment, complete with (hidden and safely secured) bio hazardous waste and going to work! Yesterday I went to the doctor, and the tunnels are trying to wall off again! She had to open it back up. This is really getting old, but I do believe it will be OK in the end. I'm still not sad I did it. Anyway, if the Fluid stays in too long, that's when you get encapsulated and end up with more surgeries, like me. In the office, local only....and spotty numbing at best!! I'm really starting to feel like a warrior, lol. So yeah, get that drain and let that belly heal

Yep, it's a long surgery. Each day will get better!

I think this is different for everyone, but most people do have pain after this surgery. But, as my plastic surgeon says, pain never killed anyone, lol. I had a lower body lift which included an abdominoplasty (muscles) and auto fat flap in the back. I also had brachioplasty at the same time, so that was a lot of surgery.The first 24 hours were very rough, and the first two weeks were also pretty rough for me. I took lots of pain meds around the clock and had help from my family. I think if it were only abdominplasty, it wouldn't have been so difficult. Anyway, I went back to work remotely at 2.5 weeks, and was back in the office in under 4 weeks. Ideally, I would have been off 5-6 weeks, but I just can't be away from work that long. Even with all that, the misery was pretty short term for all the fabulous improvement! It was SO worth it.

Today is your day! Wishing you well, and a speedy recovery! I'm sure you are going to love your results - can't wait to see those before and afters!! Keep us posted.

I think this is a good time to consult a plastic surgeon. Only they can tell you what would get the best results. Another thing - you may or may not be able to lose all the weight you want. Once I got closer to goal, no more would come off. I saw a couple of plastic surgeons and even though I had more to lose, they both said I was a good candidate. And even though I'm technically overweight, my plastic surgeon said I didn't need to lose more. Since then, she has cut of 12 pounds in a variety of surgeries, and I still weigh the same. Anyway, it takes a while to get appointments, and you probably are going to want to see more than one, so it can't hurt to start now. You'll probably need some time to come to a decision, so it's likely going to be a few months start to surgery. Good luck - having plastics was the second best thing I ever did for myself, right after gastric sleeve. I

@@BethinPA I've been meaning to post or IM you. I saw on another thread you said you have a seroma, and so do I. ugh. I had a vertical thighplasty December 12, and I have one in my left inner knee. I've been going back and having it drained, had it cut out once, had a seroma drain placed, and last week had it cut open and packed. I now have a wound vac that should heal it....or at least that's what we hope. Seromas are a mild and somewhat expected complication from plastics. I've read that as many as 40% of tummy tucks will get one. Most of the time you can drain them once or twice, then your body is able to absorb the Fluid and you are good to go. Once in a while it goes to the other extreme, like mine, and they persist due to encapsulation. Mine was loculated, where it had many separate areas, so it was impossible to drain it all. I'm an RN and used to be a homecare nurse, so I've treated wounds worse than this, but I've got some pretty deep tunneling that's making me nervous. Go to realself.com and research it there. Lots of docs commented on other people who posed questions similar to yours. You can see the responses of board certified plastic surgeons, and most of them indicate it more of a nuisance than long term worry. Let me know how you are doing.

That is also the policy they employer bought. I have a similar insurance now, and I have to pay the first $2600 out of pocket before they ever start to cover anything - and that's for any and all medical coverage they do provide. I don't even think they cover WLS at all. When I had my sleeve, I worked at a different place, and the policy covered almost everything. If I didn't already have surgery, I'd be flying to Mexico for one of those $3900 gastric sleeves Alex is advertising, for sure!