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For me the pain really was minimal. My procedure was laproscopic. I had some pain/discomfort the first few days drinking. I was shocked that it hurt to drink tiny teaspoon fulls of Water at a time, but that quickly got much better. I was back to work in 2 weeks. I could have used another week off just because of energy level, but pain was fine. The pain after my tummy tuck was WAY worse. Like 100 times worse....lol

I didn't weigh myself for the first week or 10 days or so after surgery, just because I was pumped full of IV fluids in the hospital. I didn't lose as much as I thought when I did finally weigh myself just because of that. Once I got through that first week or so though, now 22 months post op I can tell you that i've never really "gained". I mean, I may fluctuate a pound or 2 during that time of the month, but I definitely would not expect to gain at any point really if you are sticking to the plan as far as the right amounts of Protein, carbs, Water, not loading up on sodium, etc. The first 8 months or so you will see the weight fly off if you stick to the new way of eating. You may stall here or there, but I don't see any reason that you would gain. That's been my experience anyway.....

You are welcome to check out mine, I kinda like it. I started it 9 months pre-op and continue it even today, now 22 months post op, at my dream goal, and 155 pounds lost. Happy reading (it's linked in my siggy).

It took me 10 months to reach my "first goal" of 150 pounds which was about 120 pounds. Since that time, I've lost an additional 25 pounds to my dream goal weight of 125. That took about 18 months.

Here are my most recent before/after pics taken at 22 months post op.

Thank you!!! Hang in there!! You will get the great amazing results too! Just hang there!!

I have no idea how it came up....let me think. I think I was talking about spanx with a friend (which I am currently wearing because of recovering from a tummy tuck) and another acquaintance overheard and said "why do you have to wear spanx??? you're already too skinny". I said something like, "oh it holds everything in place..haha" trying to be light-hearted. Then she told me that I looked like I had AIDS and that I needed to stop losing weight and I needed to gain some back. This is also something (not that specifically, but the same idea) that my mom says every time she visits. She'll say something like, "you look sick. you looked better before." Let's focus on the conversation though. There is so much wrong with it. So much. I will attach my most recent picture so you can see that I don't really look awful.....and/or sickly..... 1. First of all, I don't like the derogatory nature of the comment towards anyone who is an AIDS patient. Not cool. 2. I get that when you knew someone when they were obese, and now you see them skinny, it takes some adjusting and sometimes it takes a while for you to think they look "normal" in their new body....but.... WHY do people think it's ok to comment on my weight????? 3. I am within a healthy weight range. My doctor is not concerned. My surgeon is not concerned. My therapist is not concerned. 4. Can we revisit #2? 5. You can fill in the blank....there's gotta be something else wrong with this. It doesn't bother me really. I don't let people's comments effect my emotional well-being anymore. I just thought it was the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. And I am STUNNED at the forwardness of some people. And I am stunned at the fact that other people who are just acquaintances not even close friends, feel the freedom to comment on my weight at will. PSA........don't share your comments on people's weight or appearance unless they start it.

Bravo! Gorgeous!!!! Thank you! I had a good surgeon!

where does one find it at? It's linked in my signature, but the website is themeiamnow.blogspot.com. I started it in Jan 2013 right before/after my first pre-op appointment (which ended up being 9 months before surgery). I've tried to update it at least 1 time a week since then and I'm now 22 months post op. I've also tried to be as honest as possible...the good and the bad. I'm glad others are finding it helpful, because that is why I did it.

Awww thanks! [blushing]. I'm actually thinking of turning it into a book at some point down the road when I feel "stable". My degrees are in English, I write, I teach English, so it kinda makes sense. And I feel like there is a lack in this kind of info for WLS patients. My surgeon's office gave me a book to read and it's all about what to expect physically and what to do physically to succeed, and don't get me wrong that is ALL so important, but I feel like there's the whole emotional, psychological side of it that we've barely scratched the surface of....

YES! I was telling my friend about this and I said it was basically like when I was pregnant and complete strangers feel the freedom to comment on my body at will "oh you look huge" "you look so tired, etc"

Thank you for the compliment :-)

So I'm a pretty regular poster on the "general discussion" board since before my surgery in 2013. I still need support to maintain my weight loss as much as those who are actively losing. I still struggle everyday to work with my new "tool", I still struggle to make the right choices, and I struggle to keep myself in line. I join the holiday challenges to get me to goal and to keep me accountable to maintain. But more than once I've gotten snarky comments there like I don't have a right to be tracking my weight there. And sometimes when I post responses in other threads about struggles etc I feel like I get some snarky comments there as well. Like maybe once you reach goal or a certain point people don't really want to hear about struggles, or think that you don't need support? IDK...... I mean people on on the pre- and post- surgery forum seem more than happy to get feedback, so I don't get that vibe there, but I guess I just am disappointed because we all need support in this journey, no matter if we are 100 pounds from goal or at goal. Oh well Does anyone else ever get that vibe??

I agree. I dont' think I would have even bothered having it done if it was just the excess skin removal or even just the panni. I'm so pleased with the results from both, and what's a little soreness for a few months in the grand scheme of things.

I am now 1 year and 9 months post op. I reached my goal weight at about 10 months post op (140-145) and in the year since then I've felt that things have been moving very slowly. Well, I was ordering a dress online the other day and I had to take my measurements. I hadn't taken then since reaching goal weight almost a year ago. I was shocked to see that even though it felt painstakingly slow, I lost an additional 20 pounds and 22 inches in the past year, putting me at my "dream goal" and feeling pretty freaking amazing. My husband and I just got back from our anniversary getaway and we took a picture together. When I got home I decided to see if you could really tell a visable difference from me at 1st goal weight and dream goal weight a year later and I think you can. I was pretty surprised. I'm feeling super happy at my weight and health and fitness level right now, and having kept it off for nearly 2 years I"m feel pretty good about the prospects long term as well. Well then I decided to go a little crazy, and I went back and found my anniversary pictures from the past 5 years and decided to do side-by-side comparisons. I'll only include the one from last year (goal weight) to this year (dream goal weight) AND one from my highest weight (278.4) to now (125), but if you want to see the rest of them, just click on the link here to the blog post with all the pictures from the past 5 anniversaries: "The Proof Is In the Pictures" Post Here is goal (June 12, 2014) to dream goal (June 12, 2015) and highest weight - 278.4 (June 12, 2013) to dream weight - 125 (June 12, 2015). Enjoy!

I can post my most recent before/after, which was taken at 1 year post op. Right now I'm 22 months post op, another 20 pounds lighter and 22 inches thinner. I guess I should take a new one. :-) There's lots more in my profile and on my blog too.

Thank you. I am super pleased with the results.

I completely agree. I was in the hospital for 4 days and the first 2 I could not bring myself to even get up to go to the bathroom so I had a catheter. It was a 7-hour extensive surgery. I also, was in great physical shape and am a runner. It's 6 weeks and I'm still not back to running - or long walks for that matter ...... But, all that said, it was still worth it. To me, not even comparable to the sleeve surgery as far as invasiveness, recovery, pain, etc.

Definitely a longer and more difficult recovery than the sleeve. The sleeve (for me at least) was laproscopic so not too hard physcially. For me the recovery was more mental and emotional with that. Not that there wasn't any pain at all or physical adjustment.....but nothing compared to the TT & panni. I had an abnormal amount of muscle repair work to be done though (due to having 4 9+ pound babies and carrying around 155 excess pounds), so I'm sure not everyone is as sore afterward as I was/am. The incision site actually never bothered me. It's still pretty numb. I have to massage it 5 minutes 2x a day and it does't bother me a bit. Right now it's just mainly muscle soreness in my upper abs. He said that could take a good 6 months to work itself out. If you see the before/after pics though, you will see why I say I would do it again in a heartbeat. Good luck to you, no matter what you decide!!

Exactly.....offensive on that level too.