AvaFern

In theory, the separation might close, purely because there is no more fat underneath your abs causing them to be spread apart. When you have the abs repaired though they are actually sewn back together, which then not only helps the aesthetic in the moment, but if you do gain a little weight again, it minimizes the amount of separation in the future...unless you gain a lot and then either way that's not going to be great. I also had separated abs, which unlike for most women was just because I was fat not because I had children, and the only way to fix it was as part of my abdominoplasty. I was very close to goal when I had plastics done, and I didn't even realize I had separated abs until I asked the doctor afterward. You can very clearly see the difference in my waist before and after, and it's one of the things people noticed first...wow, your waist got smaller! Since you aren't at goal yet, there seems to be no harm in waiting until then and seeking a second opinion.

I don't eat three meals a day. I eat about 10, except they aren't meals as much as small Snacks. In theory, you are better off if you eat consistently throughout the day a small amount of food as opposed to eating only three meals a day in larger quantities. As someone who is newly sleeved, this allows you to get in enough Protein, and when you are further out and you can eat a lot more, it has already put you into the habit of eating smaller meals more frequently so you are less likely to be hungry and overeat at less frequent bigger meals. I rarely sit down and actually eat a planned meal. Right now I'm eating a chicken patty...I'll eat about half of it and toss the rest. About 2 hours ago I had a turkey and cheese roll-up. Before that I had a handful of goldfish crackers, and before that I had a Fiber One bar. I eat about 1500 calories a day, but I don't have a ton of issues with maintenance because I don't ever really get hungry and overeat.

Generally insurance won't cover an augmentation, but maybe if your rashes are bad enough they may cover a lift. Then you can pay the difference for the augmentation.

I'm three years out and I never adopted this rule. I decided I wasn't eating with a dry mouth for the rest of my life. The rule is in place so you don't wash your food through your stomach more quickly and thus end up eating more, not because there's a medical reason you would hurt yourself. As long as you're paying attention to what you eat, there's no medical reason you can't drink at the same time.

If it makes you feel better, I'm almost three-years out and every once in awhile I still miss food too. Most of the time I don't really think about it unless I realize I'm hungry, but there are times such as a special event or a bad day where part of me misses a bowl of icecream in front of the tv. You know what's better than food though? Feeling happy in your own skin, shopping for small clothing, and not spending your free time planning your next diet or workout. It's ok to miss food...soon enough, you may not even think about it anymore.

Just think though....when you know exactly what you like, you spend SO much money. Think of all the money you're saving right now while your figuring it all out!

Why even tell them? The psychologist just needs plausible deniability. They aren't looking for reasons to reject you, but if you give them a reason they have to act on it. Depression may not be something that gets you rejected, but if you're worried about it, why even bring it up? If they have access to your current medications, you just say, yeah I've been on that antidepressant for awhile, I've had no issues...and the conversation is over. The psychiatrist screening you does not remotely care about you or your history- their job is to weed out people who might have major issues. If you don't give them a reason to look at you too much, the visit is a very standard thing. You have a little chat, they sign off on the paperwork, and you're done. Honesty is usually the best policy...but sometimes it's not. Use your own discretion, but why give them a reason to deny you if you don't have to?

You will be fine. My pre-op diet was only 7 days, I cheated on day 5, and my liver was perfect. A burrito bowl 10 days before surgery isn't going to hurt you- just don't do that the day before surgery, or preferably again before surgery. If they crack your liver your easy surgery becomes much more complicated, and I imagine they will be upset.

Lol, ok so this was my list from the other day. We have the program where they shop for your order at Walmart and bring it out to your car, so while it's not costco, I buy a whole pile of stuff all at once so I don't have to grocery shop. I bought 6 cases of diet Root Beer, 6 cases of Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper, 6 boxes of flavor blasted goldfish crackers, 3 giant boxes of Fiber One bars, 4 cases of Water, 10 packs of Crystal Light, steam in bag veggies (corn, peas, and caulliflower for calliflower shepherd's pie, and pepper and potatoes with light sauce), several Protein power packs (cheese and turkey chopped up for 2 year old with nuts in a pack) , ground turkey (for turkey burgers and shepherd's pie), sliced monterrey jack from the deli, sliced turkey from the deli (because they are good rolled up), and probably a few other things. I'm almost 3 years out and I know what I can and can't eat and that involves plenty of crackers and goldfish, and not a whole lot in the way of things like cottage cheese, yogurt, fruits, etc. Before surgery I would have had a lot of Lean Cuisines, which I now never eat, and some Cookies, which I also now rarely eat. My shopping list is by no means something most people think is something a sleeved person should be eating, but it's what works for me, and if anything it shows people that life does really go back to normal and boring after awhile.

Haha...you're right about the fact that your stomach isn't different based upon who cut it out. NSAIDs should be fine..or I am in some big trouble. I also did the research, but I don't remember my doctor talking about it one way or the other. I wouldn't say I NEED Advil, but I am not spending the rest of my life tolerating headaches and muscle pain. I am three years out and I've taken plenty of NSAIDs, to be fair, probably more than the average person, especially lately since I had dental work done and they give you 800mg Mortin (and Percocet haha). I read that it was safe and that it was only an issue with bypass patients. Physiologically there should be no reason you can't have NSAIDs because the mechanisms that causes the problem is at the bypass, which sleeve patients don't have. If I end up dying or getting an ulcer, I'll probably be unhappy, but at 3 years out with as much Advil as I have taken, I have been completely fine. I would let your stomach recover the full 6 weeks before you gave it anything that might irritate it, which even then NSAIDs may not be a problem, but past that, the science says you're fine.

Medically, once you are healed from surgery, you can drink diet coke all you want- it isn't going to hurt you anymore than it would have before you had surgery. That being said, it's not good for you, but having a sleeve or not, ultimately you're not hurting yourself more or less with a smaller stomach. I drink diet soda all the time. It's good.

I used it a few years ago- it's just a diuretic. It's something I use when I want my stomach to be bloat-free a day or two before I have to wear a tight dress, but it isn't something I would use as an actual weight loss product.

I think that you need to do what works for you and if that approach is what works, then who care what everyone else does? I have obsessed about my weight since kindergarten. I have weighed myself most days of my life, although the times I was thin are the times I weighed everyday and the times I was not thin are the times I did not weigh. I can understand the way a scale feels like a monkey on your back, although I have learned the monkey is what keeps me a good size. I can appreciate that there are times where you get to a point that you are so obsessed with weight that tracking it makes you feel like you are feeding the fire, but in my situation, that fire is what I need. Do I always feel good about myself? Nope, but my personal experience is that I can be thin, or I can be fat, and the only way I get to be thin is if I am held accountable daily to the scale. Ignoring the thing that makes me unhappy only made me more unhappy, even if I can understand the idea behind why a therapist would suggest that idea. Ignoring the scale because weighing yourself makes you unhappy, anxious, and triggers undesired thoughts only results in the underlying issue (being overweight) not being resolved. Sometimes you have to face what makes you miserable if you really want to move forward. I weigh myself every single morning on three scales, which any therapist will tell you is obsessive. I write my weight down from all three scales. When I see all three of them get to the top of the three-pound fluctuation I allow myself, that day I cut back on what I eat, and within a day or two I drop right back down to within 2-3 pounds of goal. I have three scales because one I've had forever, and I'm attached to it, one I got before surgery and it has bright numbers, and one is an Aria so it syncs with MyFitnessPal, but also because there are times where one jumps up 2 pounds for no reason and the others stay the same. I don't freak out about that the way I would if I only had one scale telling me my weight because I can quantitatively look at all three measurements, look in my notebook where I have each weight written down and see that the offending scale had a bad day. As someone who might be a bit like you in how much the scale has dictated my life, I can understand that you don't want to weigh yourself. For me, and not saying anything about what will and will not work for you, the only way for me to be a healthy weight is to face that particular demon every morning...ignoring it just made me fat and I would rather suffer with a little scale-anxiety than be back to my old 200+ pounds. Ignoring what stresses me out, makes me sad, and causes unwelcome thoughts accomplishes nothing for me. It's only when I face it and fight it that I resolve things in a way that really allows me to actually be happy, as opposed to in a state where ignorance may seem like bliss, but ultimately I'm just fooling myself into feeling that way. Again...who cares if no one else wants to take your approach. It's your sleeve, you need to do what is right for you.

I don't think you're being naive. I have always had an all or nothing relationship with food, so when I was thin I was not allowed to eat certain things, and as soon as I did I totally fell off the wagon and gained weight. I am almost 3 years out and this is the longest I have consistently stayed at a thin weight and knock on wood, it doesn't take a whole ton of effort as long as I weigh myself everyday and make immediate changes if I start to gain weight. Other than chocolate (which I only eat around the holidays because I just love it so much I am afraid I would eat it everyday), there isn't anything I am not allowed to eat. As a result, I have no real interest in the junk because I know if I want it, I can have it, and so I don't care that much about it. When it was forbidden I ate it all the time, but now, eh, it's there if I want it. As an example, two weeks ago I had major dental work done and I managed to eat my way through two of those 4-pack boxes of Smuckers Uncrustables. Those are SO not healthy, but they were soft and didn't hurt my teeth and so I ate them. I didn't consider it cheating, and while I should probably not have had the second box, now that my teeth feel better I haven't had any interest in eating any more of them. I woke up about a week ago about a pound over my allowed 3-pound fluctuation, I ate healthier for a day or two, and now I am back to where I usually am, which was probably what I had to do t make up for those damn Uncrustables. On Saturday I had leftover lobster mac for lunch and lobster bisque for dinner...I then got to be sick, lol, but it was good for the 1-2 times a year I eat it. I don't like pizza that much, which you mentioned in your post, and I don't really care about Pasta. I didn't care that much about that stuff before surgery, but I also get fairly immediately sick if I eat things that are heavily based in oil, butter, or heavy sugar or cream, so I have learned that when I really want something, I have it, it's good, and then I barf. So..I don't really have any great interest in usually eating it. I would agree that being normal means that you can eat things in moderation. I got a 100 calorie pack of those meringue things today...they are still sitting on my counter and I have no interest in actually eating them. Before they would have been gone in an hour. I have my entire Easter basket of candy somewhere in my pantry...it's there, if I want it I can eat it, but eh, not that interested. When I go out to dinner, I order something I like, I eat a few bites, and then I take it home and eat a few bites a dozen more times, and I'm completely content. If I go to a party and I feel like having cake, I do, although mostly I don't much care about it anymore. I used to regularly (post-sleeve) have Panera paninis and all kinds of crap that wasn't actually on the diet because I knew that as long as I was within my calories, once or twice a week, having a cookie or two, half a cheese steak, or some creamy Soup was not going to hurt me and it gave me a chance to enjoy food. I think because I was not terribly compliant on the diet AND because I got lucky and I have a sleeve that does not have much tolerance for junk food, that is why I have been able to stay at goal. Right now I'm going to go lay in bed with some crackers, I had a handful of combos for breakfast/lunch, and I had crackers for dinner. I didn't feel great today so I ate what I felt like eating which works out to maybe 600 calories. Keep in mind Saturday I had a serving of bisque and mac and cheese...for me, it all works out to be even in the end and like I said, as long as everyday I wake up and I am accountable to that scale, I can enjoy living a life that does not prevent me from eating anything I want in moderation.

I got sick before surgery too. As long as you can breathe while you are sleeping, you're fine for surgery. You can't have a super junked up airway because when you wake up from surgery you're still groggy and you need to be able to breathe without consciously coughing to clear your airway, since you aren't conscious enough to do so. A sore throat without blockage isn't that big of a deal and all of the antibiotics they give you will clear it up.

You can have your skin removed whenever you want and if you go to a plastic surgeon who requires you to be at a stable weight for a certain period of time, go to another surgeon. You are the client and they are the provider- it is not a doctor-dictated process. I have a healthcare background and I have zero tolerance for doctors who don't understand the concept that they are performing a service and we are paying them- they don't get to put limits on it when there is no medically valid reason to do so. They are absolutely right in that it is generally a good idea to be stabilized, but it's your call, and it's your money, and I have found that the doctors who want to dictate terms to me are not the doctors that I personally do well with. That being said, if you aren't within 15% of your goal, you're wasting your money. I wanted to be at 129 as a goal, and I saw my surgeon when I was 157. I told him that I would still be losing about 20 pounds after surgery (I knew I'd be closer to 150 by the time I had the procedure) and asked him if he thought that extra loss would matter. He said that nope, that little bit wouldn't make a difference and he was completely right. I went into surgery at 153, I went into my second surgery at 147 and I went into my last surgery at 134. I hit goal of 129 about a month after that and have stayed there for about 15 months now. Your results within 15% of goal will be about the same when you hit goal, but as a matter of getting the best deal, you want to be as thin as possible so that any and all extra skin is gone. They are going to do some lipo, but they can't suck out all of it, so the less you have, the better the finished product.

I know nothing about Montana, but it looks beautiful there, so good for you moving out there!

The only regret I have is that I didn't have it sooner. I was also very nervous before surgery. I regretted my decision quite a bit the first few weeks because I thought I had ruined my life. You might feel that way too. As time passes though and you move back to regular food and you start losing weight, you realize that you made the right decision. I am about 6 weeks short of being 3-years post-op and the person I am today is such a much healthier, happier, better person than I was 3 years ago.

You don't have to take special bariatric vitamins- the reputable brands in the grocery store are fine after you've moved to regular foods. I don't currently take a multi because they all make me sick, so you should add that into your list, but the below are the prices I pay for vitamins: sublingual B-12- $8 (lasts 2 months) Feosol Iron- $15 (lasts 1 month) When you add in a decent multi, it's maybe $10-$15 extra a month. You can buy the regular people Vitamins and then it is not anywhere near as expensive as it seems. I like gummy vitamins, atlhough they aren't absorbed as well as the regular version, if the regular version makes you sick, taking some vitamins is better than having none at all. Again, except sublingual B-12 these are all for after you are back on solid foods.

I was working 80+ hour weeks when I got sleeved and I was taking full-time classes. I took a week off of actually going to work, but I wrote a paper on day three post-op and was back to working at home for 10 hour days by day 5. Mentally you're fine after you're off the heavy drugs which should be when you are out of the hospital. Physically, a week to lay around at home is optimal, but after that you're fine to go to class. You're going to be tired and cranky, but make sure you have fluids with you, and it all starts to suck less at about the three week mark. Missing more than a week of classes in 3L is not worth saving yourself a little short-term misery by staying home for longer than a week. Good luck

You know what it's like to not constantly be thinking about dieting or what to wear or what you look like? It's freeing. I have spent my entire life feeling like I was too fat for every major thing I wanted to accomplish. I still did accomplish almost all of them but the last 7 years before I had surgery, I had gained and lost weight, where I was at one point 137 and another point 237 as the highest and lows in that time, but ultimately all of my energy went to managing my weight. I never thought about the future or all of the things I could accomplish because in my mind until I was no longer fat, and thus no longer worthless, the only thing I had a right to be doing was losing weight. That has pretty much been my thought process my entire life since I was in kindergarten and a kid poked my stomach and made the Pillsbury Doughboy sound. Like you, I look back on what I look like and I wasn't that fat! I graduated high school in the 120's because I lost about 70 pounds my senior year of high school and I started college at 130-ish. I was always the fat girl in my mind though because to stay that size required constant obsessing about food, exercise, and my weight. I am now 32, I have been at goal for about 15-16 months, and within a few pounds of goal for a little under 2 years, and for the first time ever, my entire life does not revolve around my weight. I wanted to go to law school when I was younger, but realistically I couldn't afford it so I just forgot about it. It occurred to me last summer that I could actually do that now, and in the span of less than a year I got into a law school with a full scholarship and an MBA program, both of which I start in a month. I would never have even considered those things before I had reached and stayed at goal because, first, why would anyone want to be nice to the fat girl in school, and second, I should be devoting energy to losing weight...if you're not thin, then you're worthless, no matter how smart, educated, or kind of a person you are. That was my thought process my entire life, and I won't lie, if I start gaining weight, it will be my thought process again. Right now though, I find value in the fact that yes, I wear a size 2 and I feel confident, but also in the fact that there are SO many other things about me that now I feel like matter. I am intelligent, successful, educated, and a good person, and those are things that now I can see as being who I am, rather than just the fat girl worth nothing. Last summer my first serious relationship (serious isn't saying much but it was important to me) that I had after the sleeve and probably one of my most serious ever ended. My boyfriend left me to go live with his family in another state. Before I was at goal my only thought would have been that it didn't work out because I am fat and worthless and he was ashamed of being seen with me. Now though, sure a few body inferiority thoughts have crossed my mind, but I can see the real reasons that it didn't work out and they had nothing to do with what I looked like. That allowed me to not spend any time hating myself and torturing myself with exercise and diet because I wasn't good enough to be loved, which was the first time ever that I was out of a relationship and didn't feel like if I had been thinner or prettier it would have worked out. That's a really nice feeling. So...when you no longer have all of the fat stuff to think about, you find that you can suddenly be all of the things you never had time for before. When you love yourself, you get to grow and be better and bolder and do all of the things that might not even occur to you right now as being something you want to do. The world may not be your oyster, but it certainly feels like it, and the weight of being able to think of something other than losing weight, of waking up everyday and thinking about living life instead of why you don't deserve to live life until you're thin, and finding that there are SO many things in life that it never occurred to you to care about or try before is a really great feeling. Three years ago and for the entire 2.5 decades before that I woke up thinking about how I wasn't going to be fat. Today I woke up and thought about how I need to order some things for my business, how I need to clean my house (I didn't say the thoughts would always be exciting) and how HOLY CRAP I get to start law school and my MBA in less than 4 weeks and how far I have come in the few years it took for me to find that the person under the fat was someone who was every bit worth loving- not just by other people, but most importantly, by myself. Good luck with your sleeve journey. There are points you might wonder if it is worth it...if I can be your voice of Christmas future (less Ebenezer Scrooge), every single second is worth it.

That is very sweet of you! While they give you socks, the socks are scratchy and I was very happy I brought myself fluffy socks. Just make sure you get the ones with the grippy things on the bottom or they don't let you wear them because you are a fall risk. Also you can't eat anything while you're in the hospital or for a few weeks, so maybe skip the Protein bars for the hospital care package. So...in a nice little care package I would put. - Fluffy, grippy socks -Heating pad (I was freezing, but it also helps to put it under your shoulders to minimize the gas pain - Chap stick - Gas-x strips (they didn't have them at the hospital so I was glad I brought my own) - Power strip (she might want to plug in her phone and the heating pad and there are never any outlets that you cant easily get everything plugged into and reachable) - Blanket (sounds silly, but their blankets are not thick and it feels really nice to have something with you from home- I still sleep with the blanket I bought for the hospital) - Bear (ok also sounds dumb, but I read a study that showed when people are emotionally stressed in hospitals, a soft bear minimizes stress, even if it's just tucked under their arm- so yeah, got myself a bear, and he has since been loved to death and is looking a little raggedy. I was not a very good adult, but I was glad I had him) - Pillow case (she can bring her own pillow or just put it on a hospital one, but ahh, my own soft pillow on my face, so happy I had that) So...those are the things that I was glad I had and which really you don't NEED, but which make the misery far more tolerable. Of all of those things I was most thankful for my blanket, my pillow, my soft socks, and my heating pad, although the power strip would have been a pain in the butt not to have.

I can appreciate how you feel, particularly to the point that stores that are supposed to carry sizes up to a 14, never seem to actually have those sizes. I didn't start shopping in regular stores again until I was about 30 pounds from goal, but I do understand it can be stressful. If it helps at all, as someone who does fit into the 2's and 4's that half the stores only seem to carry despite supposedly carrying up to a 14, there are still plenty of times where I try something on and it's too tight. For the most part, now that I am at goal, I love shopping because most things do fit me, but it took awhile for me to not feel like an imposter when I walked into stores. I tend to like Express, NY&Co, White House Black Market, and banana Republic and while the first one, no one seems to care much about what you look like, the last three, I feel like you better be a certain size. Although I have been within a few pounds of goal for almost two years and actually at goal for about 15 months, it has taken awhile to feel like I belong there. While now I walk into those stores and head for the smallest sizes, there is a part of me that remembers what it felt like to not be able to wear a single thing in the entire store. I feel like Target is a constant reminder because they have those dual mirrors that let you really see how big your butt is and I distinctly remember times where I fit into absolutely nothing and how upset I was. The other day I was annoyed because an extra small was too big on me and then I took a minute to remember what it was like when the XXL didn't fit and I remembered to be a little more grateful. I'm not sure how you feel about NY&Co, but you can get dress pants in a tall from them for really decent prices if you shop sales. Usually I spend about $25 on their pants. They also have annoying names for different cuts, but if it helps at all the Signature is designed for women who have a little thicker butt and thighs (like me), the modern for me is always a size up from signature, and the slim-fit is always a size under signature. That might be useless to you, but now that I know what size I am, I almost order entirely online from them and returns are easy in the store, so that helps too. I'm sure you will look fabulous in your new job. I have spent the last several years working largely from home and in a few weeks I start law school, so I will have to be a big girl and put on real clothing everyday, so I can extra appreciate the desire to have something nice to wear to give you a little confidence. Good luck!

I agree with the first post- wait until you are sure. I chose to keep my surgery private. I told my three best friends, and three years later, those are the only people that know. I did not tell my boyfriend, several of my very close other friends, or anyone at work. Part of the reason for this was because a few years earlier a girl at work had lapband. When she lost weight it was just because she had surgery, not because she worked hard, and when she gained it all back, all anyone said was, well she cheated, of course it didn't work. Are those things true? Of course not, but the fact that you will always be the person who had weight loss surgery is something that is true and it is something I did not want to deal with. A few people who knew I had lost a lot of weight and had plastics have flat out asked me if I had bariatric surgery and I have lied. I feel no regret. It is my call who knows about my medical history and aside from my plastics surgeon who knows about it, I did not even tell my other doctors because it is not relevant to my care. To be fair, I have a medical background so I know when it matters and when it doesn't, so not telling your PCP is not the greatest plan if you don't have a medical background. People will judge you and they will be rude. If that is something you feel won't bother you, then tell people, but I knew that I did not want to be known for the rest of my life as being the girl that was only thin because she had her stomach cut out. There is no shame in having the surgery or in telling others, but keeping it to ourselves is our right and a decision that I am extremely happy everyday that I chose to make.

It may not be thrush. It's often what happens when you are on a liquid diet. Because you aren't chewing food, which scrapes across your tongue in the process of eating, you develop kind of a film. Gross, but usually not thrush and nothing that won't go away when you can eat food again. Have you tried a tongue scraper? Brushing didn't work for me, but a tongue scraper got about 70% of the gross off. As soon as I was chewing or even on soft foods again, my tongue went back to its normal pink self. Thrush can be caused by some antibiotics that throw off the chemistry in your mouth (kind of the same way it works with yeast infections of the lady parts), but in adults a lot of times it happens more with people who are immune-compromised. Not saying you def don't have thrush, but I had exactly what you described during the liquid phase, and I had it once before when I went on a slimfast for a month diet, and the mechanical act of chewing food fixed it almost immediately.