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Everything posted by AvaFern
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Serious Question. How is WLS the "wrong way"?
AvaFern replied to LipstickLady's topic in Rants & Raves
My perception is that people think fat people are already lazy, and surgery is a way to allow them to avoid having to do the "hard work" of traditional diet and exercise and thus it is wrong because we are a bunch of cheaters. After all, if everyone just had their stomach cut out, no one would be able to eat too much and everyone could be thin, right? I will be honest, sometimes I do feel like a cheater for having had the surgery because I know I am now thin because I cannot physically eat enough to be fat. I watch some friends struggle with weight loss and I can understand how they would think I took the easy way out since I essentially eliminated the option of pigging out. I have told my three best friends about surgery and no one else, largely because I am 100% sure that the vast majority of people I am around would have zero value for my weight loss if they knew I only got here because of surgery. That being said, my three best friends have also seen how sick food makes me, how I can't ever really enjoy a meal out because half the food in the world makes me heave, how my hair is falling out in clumps, how I cried when someone pointed my hair out to me, how many plastic surgery procedures I've gone through to look normal, how I used to run when I was fat and my feet would swell up so badly I could barely walk, how I tried and tried dieting and I would lose weight and then gain it all back, and how despite the fact that yes, I cut out 80% of my stomach as a last resort, it has in no way been an easy process. They saw how miserable I was when I was heavy, how hard I worked to be thin, how many times I would sob in my closet because no matter what I tried on I looked horrible, how I would peel at my gross loose skin (or at times my fat) and think no man would ever want to see me naked, and how I just knew the entire world was laughing at me and I completely avoided leaving my house as much as possible. Therefore, yes, people who are not close to someone who has had surgery or who is obese, think this is the easy way out and I understand that. I forgive them for their ignorance, because there are many things in life that i am unequally uneducated and judgemental about and other people forgive me for my stupid comments. I also don't put myself into positions where anyone who is not close to me gets to impart their opinions on my surgery decision. My feeling is that if they haven't seen the suffering before and during my weight loss process, they don't have the perspective to really judge my choice, and I am relieving them of their obligatory need to give me their uninformed and often hurtful, if not intentionally so, opinion. Everyone has the right to an opinion, however my opinion is that, I do not give a crap what they think if they have not walked the proverbial mile in my shoes. -
Serious question, is eating bad sometimes good?
AvaFern replied to kikicoates78's topic in Weight Loss Surgery Success Stories
Lol, isn't that funny how that works? Over Christmas I had about 2-3 weeks of eating total junk and I ended up losing a pound in the process. Granted, if I did that all the time I seriously doubt it would work out so well, but as an occassional thing, I do sometimes think that having a few days of junk might be good for you. For me at least, it kills any cravings I had and then I generally don't feel very good afterward and I'm happy to be back on a diet. -
When to consider tummy tuck
AvaFern replied to kimpossible67's topic in Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums
@kimpossible67 I don't know how many pounds were removed from my stomach. I had my first consult at 157 but when into the morning of surgery at 153. When I came back home that afternoon I was 160 from all of the Fluid, and then I finally settled at 147 about a week later. That being said, I also have 2 pounds of new boobs added, so when you factor in the fact that I didn't eat much for a few days, I would not imagine they removed maybe more than a pound or two, if that. I also had lipo on my lower back, hips, and thighs done at the same time, so it's a total guess on how much was ultimatley removed during the abdominoplasty. -
I'm not totally sure I understand the issue...it hurts to wear a bra or your bra feels too tight and you need a bigger one? I am 15 months out and I have this pair of tights that has a control top where the top band comes up right around my bra line on my ribs. I can't eat anything when I have this on- it just squishes my stomach to the point that literally a bite or two and I will barf. The same thing happened in my compression garment after plastics. Maybe try wearing a loose sports bra? Or the cami shirts with the shelf bra? Not a lot of support, I know, but when I'm at home I always wear a cotton sports bra and very rarely does my stomach get as irritated by the bra band as it does when I'm wearing a tight underwire bra or some other form of compression near my ribs.
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When to consider tummy tuck
AvaFern replied to kimpossible67's topic in Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums
I had this issue as well because I had a goal of 129 or 119 (still deciding on that) but I was stuck at 157 before plastic surgery. My understanding is that the general rule is to be within 15% of your goal weight. I have since lost 27 pounds and my abdominoplasty still looks fine, although if I lose much more my new boobs might be a little saggy, lol. You will love your new stomach though- I still prance around naked in front of the mirror admiring my flat tummy, lol. -
I had the upper part of me done (boobs, stomach, and arms) and I also had the groin incision only thigh lift. Recovery was very easy for that procedure outside of the lengthy bathroom routine for the first two weeks. My scars healed perfectly, but I have one leg that has a fat wrinkle which I don't love. I have a posterior lower body lift scheduled for March, so at that time ideally my doctor will be revising my inner thigh lift to fix my wrinkle and hopefully pull up a little more skin. I was not super crazy about my brachioplasty (I love it now that it's done with though) because of the visual nature of the scars, so I went for the lesser scars on the thigh lift, which doesn't produce as dramatic of a result with contouring, but does keep the scars hidden in the groin.
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Are you still in the hospital? If so, ask your nurse, it could be an allergic reaction to something. I'm sure they are monitoring you, but if something concerns you, bug the nurses, that's what they are there for!
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I didn't have quite the same procedure as you are having, but I think my abdominoplasty is close to the panniculectomy. I was cleared for full activity at 6 weeks, but I was walking 8-10 miles a day (4-5 miles twice a day, not all at once) a week after surgery. Don't do that, lol. I ended up with a beast of a seroma that took almost two months to go away. When they tell you to "walk as much as you want" turns out they don't mean a few miles of speed walking at a time. So..movement wise I was good to go in a few days, but in hindsight I should have taken a bit longer. Pain was minimal. I was on Percocet for 3 days and I also had a breast lift/augment and lipo of my thighs and back at the same time. After that I didn't even need any Tylenol- just be careful in your movements. I had a tough time sitting up in bed for probably a month (not sure if they mess with your ab muscles in your procedure or not) and while I did go back to the gym at 7 weeks, because I was delayed by my seroma, I honestly didn't feel normal for about 2 months. Even now if I arch my back or try to do a pullup, at five months out I still feel a little pulling (it doesn't hurt, just weird feeling) and my stomach is still a little numb. Good luck!
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How do you know how much is skin and how much is fat?
AvaFern replied to LumpySpacePrincess's topic in General Weight Loss Surgery Discussions
That's a good question! I had no idea that the vast majority of my own "puddle" was just skin that could be cut off until I went to a plastic surgeon. Once I knew that, I could then tell where I had fat, as opposed to skin because fat is thicker feeling than skin. The only way I can described it is that fat is firmer than skin, so when you sit down and for example, my thigh retains shape, the area that kind of flattens out like a puddle is just the skin, while the part that stays looking like a leg is muscle or fat. I also had this pooch of skin on my stomach that I always thought was fat, and after my abdominoplasty, it was all gone. Sure, there was some lipo involved because I don't think we can really get rid of all of our fat there, but it was really mostly skin. I feel like I have a lot of fat on my butt too, however in March I have a posterior lower body lift schedule and the doc says that almost all of what I'm grabbing is just skin that can be removed. We will do some lipo during that surgery as well to get the pesky stuff that I can't seem to lose, but I will be very happy when I don't melt into a puddle everytime I sit down. -
Thought eating was getting better, but going backwards?
AvaFern replied to FrankyG's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I'm surprised they want you to eat that much at 6 weeks out. I still don't eat that much and I am 16 months out. I was lucky if I got in 800 calories for the first several months and even now if I try to eat too much dense Protein, I barf. Not to suggest you disregard your doctor's orders, but I've never heard of a doctor suggesting you get that many calories that soon after surgery. You will be back to being hungry again in a few months...enjoy the time now where you're not able to eat a lot and can lose weight quickly. -
So this post is a little old, but I'm replying anyway, lol. I had plastic surgery done and I have my final procedure in March. The break down for the cost was: Breast Lift/Augument- $8k Abdominoplasty- $12k Groin incision thigh lift- $7k Brachioplasty-$8k Posterior Lower Body LIft- $8k The website realself.com has a lot of useful information as well if you're still wondering about things.
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Have you named...?
AvaFern replied to CountryGirl5584's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Lol, somehow my stomach got the name "baby belly" because I had to remember to eat like a baby or I would get sick. She has also routinely earned the name "b*tch baby belly" because she is temperamental, routinely likes something one day then hates it the next day, and makes me barf whenever she is in a particular mood. Oh and yes, my sleeve, like cars, is a girl. -
I also used the baby oil trick. For some reason the rubbing gently part didn't work, but with some careful scrubbing, the goo came right off.
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Posterior Lower Body Lift- Questions? Thoughts?
AvaFern replied to AvaFern's topic in Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
@MichiganChic Thank-you for your reply! I tend to agree with your doctor that it's better to not do too much and then wish you hadn't than the other way around. I'm glad you are happy that you went for the procedure. @@Sweet Pee Your pictures look great- thank-you for posting! Being able to see your scar is helpful for me because I wasn't entirely sure about the placement and a lot of pictures I've seen are with people wearing something that covers the scar placement. -
Posterior Lower Body Lift- Questions? Thoughts?
AvaFern posted a topic in Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
For anyone who happens to remember my earlier postings, I have already had two procedures. In August I had a breast augment and lift, abdominoplasty, and lipo to my hips, back, and thighs. I was very happy with the results, so then I scheduled my next procedure in November. This was a brachioplasty and groin incision thigh lift. I am not terrifically pleased with the thigh lift, but my doctor will ideally be fixing it during my next procedure, and I loved the arms. Much thanks to everyone who encouraged me to go for the brachioplasty when I posted my "wings or scars?" post! So..I am now going into my last surgery in two months. Ideally it will include a fix for my thighs, but it will predominately be the back half of the lower body lift. 1. For those of you who have had that part done, are you happy with it and do you really notice a big difference? 2. If you don't mind sharing, did you have the incision that is heart-shaped and goes up a bit higher or the straight line across the top of the butt crack version? My doctor strongly advocated for the higher scar because he said it produces a butt that looks more like a woman's, however I don't love the higher scar and it's hard to tell in pictures the difference between the two. 3. After surgery, did you recover laying on your back? Thank-you! -
Was your surgery a few weeks ago or last year? Your post says, 2014, which if that's true is like my issue below, but if you were sleeved 3 weeks ago in 2015, totally ignore my issue, lol. Surgery three weeks ago with some barfing sounds normal, especially if you are eating too quickly. This is the prime point though where you could develop a stricture, so push the issue with your surgeon and have them make sure everything is good. Now, if your surgery was in 2014... It seems you and I have a comparable issue, although I'm fairly certain my problem happens because I eat too quickly, since it's pretty much a matter of eating, feeling like the food is stuck in my throat, puking, and feeling all better. I was sleeved in September of 2013 and I feel like I really didn't have any major issues with barfing until around September of 2014. Since then I have developed the unpleasant habit of barfing several times a week, usually because I either ate something my sleeve doesn't like (almost always some form of melty fat like cheese) or because I eat too quickly. Dense Protein is especially problematic since I feel like I'm eating like I used to and then one too many bites into it, it's like it starts to come right back up my throat. Since I don't have the problem when I eat soft foods slowly or when I eat dense protein very slowly, I tend to think that the barfing is what happens when I forget I don't have a normal stomach anymore and try to eat like I used to in not only too much of a quantity but too quickly. Good luck!
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Posterior Lower Body Lift- Questions? Thoughts?
AvaFern replied to AvaFern's topic in Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
@iamsoworthit Thank-you! I'm glad that you are happy with your results. I'm leaning toward the heart-shape but I wasn't sure how well it would be hidden by panties. I feel a bit better about that now! -
SCARS - getting rid of them
AvaFern replied to Chrisi's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I didn't use anything other than Mederma a few times on my sleeve scars. They were almost invisible in a year without having used anything. For my plastic surgery scars I used BioCorneum, which is supposed to be the best scar cream to use. I'm not totally sure if it worked or not, but my scars are very light and I am only about 5 months post-op on those scars. If you get it on Amazon it's far cheaper than buying from a doctor. -
Probably the millionth hair question but.....
AvaFern replied to Elode's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
@2happily Your surgeon says hair starts to regrow at the 2 year mark? Halleluiah! I started losing hair at about 5 months and at 15 months it is still coming out, although it doesn't seem to be getting much thinner. Over Christmas someone told me that I am pale and my hair is falling out, I must be sick. Well I'm pale because I'm a white girl who doesn't see much sun during the winter and yeah, my hair is not looking too hot. I would be SO happy if my hair started growing again- I've become a bit self-conscious about it although until the snotty comment at Christmas I had convinced myself no one else noticed. -
What is the downside?
AvaFern replied to theskinnyone's topic in Tell Your Weight Loss Surgery Story
For me the downsides would be that if I eat to quickly I barf, I can't sit down and eat a meal like a normal person, I can't have too much sugar or I get sick, and I can't chug Water. I also get randomly barfy over food that usually doesn't make me sick, I need to use a straw or I can't really drink a lot, and I am reminded everyday that I gave up 80% of my stomach so that I could be thin. I don't get to enjoy Nachos during football games, I have to be insanely careful about what I eat on dates (it is less than sexy to be puking in the parking lot) and despite all of this, I still have to watch what I eat and weigh myself every single day so that I don't gain weight. For the rest of my life I am going to have to be just as careful about what I ate as I used to be, I am never going to get to really sit down and pig out on a good meal again, and the hair I lost the first few months after surgery may never grow back to the thick lustrous mane of fantastic hair that it was before. Despite this, every single day of the year I would have the sleeve surgery all over again. The only thing I regret is that I didn't do it sooner. I read through all of these posts before surgery and I kept reading "I regret I didn't do it sooner" so the first few weeks after surgery when I was sick and miserable and couldn't eat anything I thought all of those jokers were lying. Nope, they weren't lying. My life has dramatically improved, and while there are major drawbacks, I wouldn't trade in my sleeve for any of them or all of them combined. It won't be a pleasant surgery, recovery won't be fun, you will feel like crap, you will be cranky, and you will miss your old pal food...but in the end, it will be worth it. Good luck! -
How long to wear compression socks once home
AvaFern replied to monopoly2015's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I wasn't given compression socks to wear. Generally as long as you're walking around fine you don't need them. They keep your legs in compression and often use those inflatable leg things to make sure you don't end up with blood clots. If you can walk around on your own and aren't spending the majority of the day in bed, walking alone should serve the purpose that compression socks did in the hospital. On another note, if you have CHF or another illness that may cause edema in your legs, I would call and check with your doctor as the requirements would likely be different then. Good luck with your new life! -
Caffein free and craving orange juice
AvaFern replied to Jamie Murray's topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
OJ doesn't have caffeine, so if you crave it, go for it. Just be cognizant of the amount of sugar in it and if it helps kick the craving, you can always Water it down with water or if you want to be bad, use some sparkling water. It will be like a mimosa...sort of, haha. But, in terms of caffeine withdrawal triggering a desire for OJ, I didn't have that issue, but others might have. -
Healing....and am I paranoid?
AvaFern replied to shizwiz's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Don't worry...as long as you are only drinking liquids, you won't stretch your stomach or bust a leak at only one week post-op. As long as you aren't getting sick, then you're just fine on how much you're "eating". If anything, it's good that you are able to consume a reasonable amount of liquid without an issue because some people have a hard time not getting dehydrated the first few weeks. Also, it is totally normal to be hungry right now- you've basically been on a liquid diet for a minimum of what, two weeks now? Anyone would be hungry, lol. You aren't going to hurt yourself by slowly drinking a bit more and if anything it might make you feel better. The stretching of the sleeve generally comes when you are eating real food, so not something you have to worry about yet. Bottom line- don't worry, you're fine. -
How slow do you all eat?
AvaFern replied to Chuckie's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
So this is not the most scientific advice, but the only way I learned how fast I can and can't eat is through trial and error. When I puke, I ate too fast, when I get that choking feeling at the top of my stomach/bottom of the esophagus area, I ate too fast, and when I do not feel sick or like my food is trying to crawl back up my throat, I ate at the right speed. At 16 months out, I am still a fast eater and very frequently barf, so I could improve on this area quite a bit! -
Four months after I had the sleeve was around Christmas 2014. I enjoyed two weeks of chocolate, cake, and other junk I shouldn't have been eating, and while I only had a few bites, it certainly wasn't the best decision making. As of last January I cut out all the junk and while I occassionally had an off day, I again around Christmas decided I deserved some chocolate and other things I don't eat the rest of the year. I paid for my surgery out of pocket and my idea about the sleeve is that the goal is to be normal, which does not mean always eating veggies and grilled chicken everyday for the rest of my life. Sometimes I have a french fry off someone's plate, today I had an entire 360 calorie blueberry muffin over the course of several hours, and earlier this week I had a chicken salad sandwich. Much as I think all of us have looked at what other people are eating, especially if we know they've had surgery and be a little judgemental, I have found that there are snapshots in time where if someone looked at me they would be like, damn girl put down the cake and go get on a treadmill. As such, I think the important part of surgery is that you use it for what helps you be successful. If that means once a week you get a cheat meal, or you allow yourself a few pieces of chocolate a day, or like me I drink diet soda with a straw by the gallon, in the end if I get on the scale on the morning and it says somewhere between 130-132, right now I'm ok with that. If, like the other day it told me I was 133, I spend the day being very careful with what I eat and I am right back within my weight window. What works for you, may not work for someone else, but I'm sure there is a whole more to their journey than the junk we happen to catch others eating occassionally.