AvaFern

It's ok, I had a meltdown yesterday, and today I feel much better. Hope your weight loss continues to go so well!

@CowgirlJane You make a good point, I did look at a lot of butt pictures before surgery. I'm sure Google thinks I have a butt fetish at this point, but mine really doesn't look much different than the ones I showed the doctor. I think the swelling may be down a bit today, so it looks a little more like a butt and less like a weird hump on my back. Like you said, it will probably take some time to get used to it. I've always had a flat, slightly saggy butt, so to have a high, round, and hard butt is new. As of today, I'm feeling a little better about the results, which could possibly be because I've been off the Percocet for over 24 hours and might be back to my more rational self. I did try on some cute panties I bought after my abdominoplasty that never looked good on me, and wow, no wonder people like going lingerie shopping when they're thin. There's no more skin hanging out of the sides or anything pinching. I still look weirdly thick, but the scale has me back to a pound less than I was before surgery, so in theory I should be losing some of the swelling and not actually be as sausage-like as I feel like I look.

@MichiganChic Thank-you for your thoughts. I'm really hoping it's just swelling and I don't look like a fire hydrant forever now (short, square, and thick).

My loose skin really bothered me. I don't have a husband, but I was very ashamed to be seen naked when I was almost at goal before plastics. I feel like once you love someone you don't care that much about loose skin, but when you meet someone new, the way you look is a major determinant on the possible future of the relationship. Of course, as I'm writing this I'm having a giant meltdown over the fact that my last plastics surgery, earlier this week, gave me a weird looking butt, and had I just left it alone, would I really be such a big yuck to look at naked? I traded loose skin for scars and possibly a messed up butt....so in the end, I traded one form of shame for another. I guess time will tell which was the better option.

It shouldn't be an issue to take before surgery. I have B-12 listed as one of the drugs I take and I have a plastic surgery procedure tomorrow. They told me to stop taking Melatonin, but said nothing about my B-12, so I assume it is fine. I use the Sundown brand, which is made by the same company as Nature's Bounty, and my label does not have any surgical warnings at all.

It's because it places you at a higher risk for blood clots during and immediately after surgery. Generally it's only oral antibiotics that they worry about, however I was also told I had to be off birth control before surgery. I use depo and I explained to my doctor that depo is not contraindicated for the same reason oral antibiotics are, he researched it, and then he cleared me. I would ask your doctor to research further into the ring, because it shouldn't be the same issue as oral contraceptives. Usually they just blindly tell everyone they can't be on birth control without looking at the versions of bc that are not orally based. If anything it is more of an issue before surgery than for a full month afterward. You won't feel like having sex for at least a week or two after surgery and after that point, I don't see a medical reason to wait the full month.

Well you look fantastic, no wonder men are buying your groceries and paying for your drinks! I don't know if it is amplified now or if it goes away later. I have spent my 20's being both thin and fat and I can always tell the difference in the way men treat me when I'm large as opposed to small. I think as a result of this I have developed a bit of a standoffish personality, which is not terribly attractive. I don't make eye contact, I don't express any interest, and they leave me alone. To be honest, I suppose there's still the inner fat girl that is afraid that if I am friendly and warm, men will just treat me like garbage like has always been the case, and then it's just me that isn't good enough, and not the fact that being fat made me undesirable. But, I say enjoy the attention. You've certainly earned it and when you're done getting free groceries, you can go home an enjoy that dinner with your husband!

I really liked Oh Yeah bars a few years ago, but I haven't seen them since. It's good to know they're still out there. I'm not a fan of Protein bars in general and Quest is not on my hot list of favorites. I really like the Yogurt Honey Peanut Balance Bars, the Peanut Butter Power Bars, and most of the Cliff bars, but I don't tend to eat any of them very often.

Don't worry about two pounds- once you're back on track, you will be right back to losing. I have been one pound from goal for literally almost 3 months. I fluctuate down to 130 and up to 134, when I wake up and I'm in the 134's I pay attention to what I eat that day and I'm back to 132. Then I do nothing and I magically gain a pound or lose 3 or gain 4 and lose 2, ultimately I stay within the 130-134 range and I try not to be seriously irked that I cannot for the life of me hit the 129 number. Hope you had a nice spring break- mine was WAY to short!

Ok, so this is an awesome thread. I think I "liked" every post in it. I was independent at 18 and moved across the country from my family, I finished college on my own and earned a BA, often by donating plasma so I could afford to eat (which seemed less awful at the time than it does now), I started my own business, which fingers crossed is still successful, I have a paramedic, RN, and real estate license (none of which I use, but I enjoyed getting them), and I have so far managed to not end up broke, homeless, and forced to explain why I can't eat certain foods at my local Soup kitchen.

I am 18 months out and I pretty much hate food, so I know what you mean. There are times I miss my old friend when I really want to sit down and enjoy a dinner or watch tv, but then I look at myself in the mirror and I know that the old phrase "nothing tastes as good as being thin feels" is true. It seems most people who are naturally thin don't actually love food as much as I do. They eat it when they need it, they enjoy it in the moment, and then they move on. Ideally I think we are supposed to get to this point, lol, although I do periodically mourn food.

You look fantastic! My last surgery is next week, so I can appreciate the feeling that you are finally done with the endless recovery process. I was also self-pay for everything and I shudder a bit at the cost, however I agree, it has been worth it. Good luck with your last procedure!

@@tebowfan So this post may be too late for you, but the best thing to do for an arm lift I discovered and which I got the idea from someone else on here is to wrap your arms in compression Ace bandages and then cut a pair of little girl tights in half. Cut off the feet, cut down the middle of the tights so that you have two individual legs and then wear these over the Ace bandages. It kept my bandages from sliding off and kept everything nice and snug.

If you ask for something they will generally give you something before they wheel you into the OR. One time I had valium, which I am not a fan of, I forget everything for days afterward, and one time I had something else which I can't remember. I much prefer being fully conscious when I am rolled into the OR. When they knock you out, the second drug they push (at least for me) is this white stuff....oh hello wonderful, you see it go in, you feel all warm and high, and then bam, you wake up in recovery. Short version answer, yes, if you tell them you're feeling anxious they will give you something that will likely make you forget everything from a few seconds after you take it until you're in recovery. Good luck!

@@Cleo's Mom In response to your post, when you want to address someone specifically you can just use the @ symbol and their name, or I click on the @mention underneath their name on the left because it's faster and I don't spell their name wrong then, lol. In regards to the rest of your post, everyone has the right in an online forum to say whatever they choose within reason. If you don't like what they have to say, you have the right to tell them that. If someone misinterprets your post and wants to pass judgement about the fact that they think you're eating a fast food kids meal, then they are allowed to do that and you are allowed to correct them. For example, you didn't like my post and you basically told me that (good for you!), and my response to that is, I'm sorry hun, I don't particularly care. I stand by what I originally said. You're in an online forum, if you can't handle the fact that not everyone is going to always agree with you and not everyone is always going to be nice, then don't be part of an online chatroom. This is the Internet, not preschool- no one is required to be nice to you. That being said, if you read my posts, to my knowledge I have never been mean or hurtful to anyone. I give my honest opinion and if I really don't agree with someone I either don't post at all or I post a sandwich reply (good, bad, good) so I don't inadvertantly hurt someone's feelings. I agree that it would be nice if everyone was always sunshine and daisies, but I use the internet and online forums knowing that not everyone is always going to agree with me and if they don't, I stick up for myself, just like in the real world.

I thought I had ruined my life for the first 1-2 weeks after surgery. Try drinking with a straw. They tell you not to do that because you might drink too much and give yourself a stomachache, but I couldn't get enough Fluid in until I started drinking with a straw. I'm almost a year and a half out and I use a straw everyday. It eliminated the painful chunking feeling of fluid going down my esophagus. Don't worry...it won't stink forever. A few months from now you will be on the "I LOVE MY SLEEVE!!" train with most of the rest of us.

Perhaps in the future you should include a post that uses the "@" function which tags people so they can specifically see your reply. Include anyone in your post who misunderstood what you said and clarify what you meant. On another note though, you're on an online forum- not everyone is going to be nice, so you need to develop a bit thicker skin. If you don't like what someone says, blast them back, don't make a totally separate post about how you got your feelings hurt. Most people don't care and the nice people that replied above are frequent posters who are unwaveringly kind to everyone. The people who were not nice to you are either going to read your post and call you a cry baby, or not even see it. Go into the forum where they made you mad, tag every single one of their names, and call them out on their crap. Woman UP!

@chunkymonkey86122 I was 153 when I had my first plastics procedure, 137 at my second, and I will be 130-133ish for my last one next week. My doctor told me that as long as I was within 15% of goal, then I wouldn't mess up my results with weight loss. My boobs and stomach were the first things I had done and they look just as good now as they did before I lost 20 more pounds. I LOVE my results and I am glad I didn't wait to lose more weight first.

@BethinPA I had a sermona around my belly button after my abdominoplasty. It was super sexy...I could squish one part of my stomach and wash Fluid swish around to the other part. My doctor and I both drained it a few times a week for about a month, then we got annoyed with it and put another drain in for a week, and when we pulled the drain the damn seroma came right back. Finally he pushed alcohol as a slcerosing agent, let it sit in my seroma for about a half hour, then pulled it out- my seroma was gone in a week.

I'm a dumper...a big dumper, lol. For the first 6-8 months of the sleeve if I ate anything with sugar or fats I would get hot, sweaty, breathe fast, my heart would race, and I'd need to lay down for about 20 minutes before it passed. At around the one year mark I transitioned to a point where the sugar and fat now makes me puke, pretty much instantly. I am now at 18 months and if I eat any food from a restaurant or even processed sweets (ice cream, cake, etc) I get to spend the next five minutes barfing. I get hot, my heart rate goes up, and I literally feel it all coming right back up my throat. It's gross, but it keeps me really accountable about what I eat and I suppose I will call it a blessing in disguise.

Just wait until you're 187 (your goal weight?)...everyone will talk to you then, lol. I am more open to conversation now than when I was fat, so that could be part of the reason. As you lose weight, you gain confidence. Of course, I am 100% sure that the men that hit on me now would never have given me the time of day 100 pounds ago, so I don't entirely dismiss the fact that people are more interested in being friendly with people who are not overweight. Kind of blunt, but I also tend to think sometimes it is true.

Medically it's fine to drink in moderation after the sleeve, however just remember to count those calories. When I socialize, I'm not a big drinker but I do tend to snack more, so don't forget to add in the handful of chips, or the bite of wings, or all of the other things we mindlessly consume when we are drinking and having fun with friends. Also, I am a fan of girly drinks, so while the shot of tequila in the margarita isn't a ton of calories, all the sugar in the mix is not really the greatest thing for a diet. When I did drink more frequently I found that I weighed more than when I didn't....but technically as long as you're accounting for all of the empty calories, then enjoy drinking dinner occassionally, lol.

I did the same thing that you're doing before surgery. Eating everything that I thought I would never be able to have again! Jamie makes a good point though in that technically you should still be able to have everything again after you are recovered from surgery. The sleeve only limits how much you can eat and drink, so you can have the small sugar laden coffee and a few bites of pizza and still enjoy them just not to the capacity that you used to. For example, I've always liked the vanilla bean frappucino at Starbuck's but now I get it with skim milk, I order the tall instead, and I don't usually drink all of it. I'm mostly happy just having the taste as opposed to the volume. I can though appreciate that your relationship with food changes. I can't bury myself in a nice big dinner in front of my tv anymore and I can't mindlessly eat anymore because I get sick pretty quickly. Everytime I feel frustrated by this I look in the mirror and I think well, do you want to be thin or do you want to be able to eat a lot of food? Being thin always wins out in the end.

WORKING OUT: I am looking forward to working out after my sleeve, in order to tone and get my body to the image I have in my head. How long after the surgery will I be able to work out? Will i have energy to do cardio classes and weight training? Yes, you will be fine to workout fairly soon after surgery. I was jogging and doing kickboxing classes at 3-4 weeks out, and I am now about 16 months out and I just ran a 15K the other day. The important thing for me has been taking the B12 and Iron suppements, otherwise I really notice a drop in energy. HOW MUCH Water CAN I DRINK? I am in Dubai, it's hot as hell here in the summer... so if im super thirsty... i wont be able to quench my thirst? It kind of scares me!!! How does the thirst / quench thing work? I always drink with a straw because it was the only way after surgery I could get enough Fluid. You can't gulp water anymore, but you should be more than able to keep yourself hydrated. I'm in the southern part of the US and regularly workout outside and have never had an issue. Will I be able to drink alcohol again? I don't care much about food, but sometimes i like to go out for drinks with my friends. Will i get drunk faster? After how long can I drink again? and since i heard no carbonated beverages.. how about beer? Because i love beer. You can drink again and you can drink carbonated beverages. They tell you no soda and no beer so you don't drink all your calories in Coke. I drink Diet Pepsi every single day. I'm not a big alcohol drinker so I'm a lightweight as it is. You do probably get drunk faster. It's fine to go out and have a drink or two with friends, but the idea behind the surgery is to not be consuming the fattening stuff (like beer) that got us to the weight we were at to need surgery. Can someone list out the foods that I cannot ever eat again? I tried to make a list from people's stories, so it includes stuff like spicy food, asparagus, carbonated beverages. I believe these things will be bad for the sleeve. This list is different for everyone. There is nothing that medically prevents you from eating or drinking anything you want six weeks after surgery. Your sleeve on the other hand may not agree. I can't eat anything with fat or sugar or I barf, but it seems like I am really in the minority of people that have that issue. How long after the surgery shall I stay in Syria to ensure that all is well? The doctor is saying 4 days. Is this realistic? Syria is in a civil war now, so it's not super safe to stay unnecessarily for a long time, so for those who had it done in Mexico... when is the best time to leave, ensuring that the sleeve didnt leak or anything? I was in a US hospital for three days and entirely on my own at home after that. I would personally not get a surgery like this done in Syria, but four days is realistic. This is a personal question - I am currently uprooting my life, getting a new apartment, new car, starting a new job, is it a good idea (emotionally) to get this surgery now? Or shall i wait until I am more 'settled'. I just want to get it out of the way so I can start seeing changes soon, and incorporate my new body with my new life, and also because just incase I want to get pregnant in the future, I can distance the surgery as far away as possible. I am generally a very strong person so I just want to get some insight if people think this is a very emotionally exhausting experience, or if it could enhance my new life. You are as strong as you let yourself be. Only you can answer that question. I had surgery during a very emotionally difficult time in my life and then I quit my job to work for myself a month later. If you want something, you get it done, if not, you make excuses. For example, I should go running right now, but it's hot, so I'm going to take a nap instead, lol. Excuses.

I weigh every single morning and I have for almost every day of my adult life. After the sleeve, I was religious about weighing every morning. This is especially helpful to me now because I see immediatey when I may be gaining and I can take steps to fix the problem right away. For example this week I gained 2 pounds one day, so the next day I was extra strict on my diet and those two pounds were gone the next morning. If I waited a week to weigh myself, it would have taken far more energy and time to get back on track.