AvaFern

I drove myself home from surgery at 3 days. I made sure that we stopped the narcotics 24 hours before though, so I wasn't driving high. In hindsight, it may not have been the best idea because it's a little hard to twist and if God forbid you were in an accident, you would probably not be able to react as well, but physically as long as you're off the drugs, you're allowed to drive.

You should not need to have any help with the bathroom. I was in the hospital for 3 days during which time I had to go to the bathroom a few dozen times (thanks to all the IV fluids) and had no need for any assistance. It's a little like using the bathroom drunk- you have to pay a lot of attention and try not to fall on your face, but with concentration and creativity, you can do it yourself.

I drink regular caffeine diet Pepsi and I have since about two months post-op. I am at 15 months post-op and my sleeve is still working quite well. Caffeine itself is fine, but diet soda is just bad for you in general. It won't stretch your sleeve or hurt you any differently than it hurts anyone else, but the nice thing about being on major drugs for a few days is that you get to skip the whole caffeine withdrawal headache phase. You can easily use that time as a way to detox from caffeine with the help of narcotics, haha.

I had a tummy tuck and a breast lift and augment done at the same time. I had very little pain. I took the Percocet for about 3 days and never needed anything after that. My abs were stitched together during surgery and while it was hard to sit-up in bed for about 2 weeks, the pain was more comparable to when you've done too many sit-ups at the gym as opposed to anything really awful. I am very happy with the results of my procedure.

I lost quite a bit the 6 weeks after my first plastics surgery, although I tend to think a good portion of it was from muscle loss since I went from working out a few hours a day to not at all and the fact that the compression garment made me barf up everything I ate. I started plastics at 153 and I went into my second plastics surgery 3 months later at 137. Unfortunatey, I did not lose again after the second procedure. I dropped to 133 over the last month and now I float between there and 135. I've also been on vacation and while being cognizant of my weight (I have a scale with me) I've also eaten what I wanted to, so hopefully when I'm back on my regular diet January 1, I will lose again. I didn't mind the weight loss at all- wish it had worked the second time!

I can't really drink Water, so about three weeks after surgery I started drinking whatever I wanted just so I could get enough Fluid in. I also used a straw which made it much easier to drink and I haven't had any hydration problems since. At 15 months out there are still plenty of times where I feel like my Protein is sitting like a pile of rocks in my stomach, just beneath my esophagus. I reassure myself that this means my sleeve is working. You will want to eat again soon, but if you're lucky hunger won't come back as badly as before. I now am very intolerant of being hungry, like I get STARVING, then I have two bites, and I'm completely satisfied. Before, I could go awhile without food but then I would eat a ton. Tonight I'm traveling for the holidays so we ran into the only place that was open. I got like $15 in food, but in the end I ate a few crackers with hummus, and put the rest away for another time. Most people though have no problem eating normally again in a few months or a year, so I try to enjoy the days where I'm not hungry because I know I will make up for it another time. Good luck!

As a bit of background, I am 15 months out, and have been what I feel to be successful with the sleeve thus far. I don't tend to always get in my Protein though and even when I first started the sleeve process, I did not get into Protein drinks. First, I try to avoid chocolate for most of the year, so that knocks out a lot of good flavors, and second, well they taste gross and seem to have a lot of calories and ingredients that are not terrifically natural sounding. For those of you who really like your protein beverages, any ideas on brands that taste good or recipes that incorporate low calorie ingredients with a certain Protein powder? As of January 1 (the best start-a-diet-day ever), I would like to really work on getting in all of my protein, and I feel as if a liquid option once a day would be ideal. I am lazy, so a pre-mixed, pull out of the fridge, and drink it option is probably what would be ideal for me long term, but I'm generally a little ambitious at the beginning of the year, so blender versions with fun, low-fat ingredients would also be helpful. Thank-you everyone for your thoughts!

You may not need a fully month off. I was back to work in a week and I was a little tired, but I made 12-16 hour desk job days that entire week. Everyone is right in that you don't have to tell them why you will be off- you can call it a medical issue or just surgery and no one can say anything or question further. That being said, lying is easier. My friend had her gallbladder removed and her scars looked a lot like mine. You can say that you'd like the full 4 weeks off because your doctor is concerned about potential complications because of your weight and then if you're able to go back sooner, you can. I am a proponent of lying when it serves you well with regard to this surgery. Three people know I had it done and it's been 15 months and as far as I'm concerned it will never be anyone else's business. Good luck!

I think you're beautiful- and that includes your face. I felt like when I was heavier everyone always said "oh you have such a pretty face" so hey too bad you're fat. Even right after surgery one of the people I saw while walking through the hallway with my IV pole goes...ohhh, you have such a pretty face when that weight comes off you'll just be gorgeous". I guess I relied on my face to help round out the fact that the rest of me wasn't so great. Now that I'm thin though, I feel like I need a face lift. My eyes have wrinkles, my cheeks are a little saggy, and I'm mostly happy with the rest of me, so I find fault in my face. I think the guy in the bar was just too busy checking out your figure, that he didn't think to comment on your face. On that note though, when I am self-conscious about some part of me, I notice far more readily when a tiny little thing seems to affirm my beliefs. Right now my face and my hair are points I'm insecure about, as well as my butt, lol, so I'm sure I notice comments about those areas more than other places.

I was cleared to get back to running at 3 weeks and I was back in the gym doing boxing classes at 5 weeks. I had no problem using the elliptical after about 3 weeks and of course, walking from the first day is not just good for you but will help with the gas pain as well. Good luck!

Lipo should be included in the cost of your brachioplasty. I did mine all at once, because lipo just makes saggy arms look way worse and I didn't want to pay for lipo and a brachioplasty, when it is generally priced as one thing. During my procedure the doctor lipo'd a bunch and then chopped off all the extra flab. If the doctor does not include lipo as part of the brachioplasty or charges extra for it, I would not use him as a surgeon. A friend of mine had a brachioplasty a few years ago with a doctor who didn't lipo as part of the procedure and she is unhappy with the results. The goal of the doctor should be for you to come out looking as great as possible and without lipo done at the same time, the result is generally not positive. Good luck with your search! Oh and check out realself.com if you haven't already!

I had read that a lot of people feel very cold after surgery so I was aware that it might be possible. I notice that now I get cold much more quickly than before when it is actually cool out and that I have zero tolerance for chill- I start shivering and shaking. In my house though, I feel like I wear pretty much the same things I did as when I was larger, just in a smaller size, lol. I live in Florida though, so I'm not sure if my experience is comparable to those who live in colder areas.

I know what you mean, although I have accepted that the only way I stay thin is to be 100% vigilant. In the past, I have gotten to the weight I'm at now and decided, woohoo, I'm cute again, time to party- then 50 pounds later I wonder what happened. I am far happier when I am in weight loss mode, because when I just try to maintain I tend to let myself get away with things I shouldn't. I am 4 pounds from goal, but after that I will probably drop my goal just a bit lower, because I find that I can work at about 75% of my weight loss effort and lose 2-3 pounds a month, 50% effort and I can maintain, but any less than that, and bam, I gain weight all over again. It is a little depressing to think that for the rest of my life I will always have to be careful about food, but like CowgirlJane said, all of the women I know who are thin and over 30-35 are only thin because they are extremely careful with what they eat and how they workout. I suppose it isn't just a bariatric problem, but metabolism is a bit of a B for all of us as we get older.

Great job on planking! I am not very good at planking at all, lol, so I can appreciate that sets that long are awesome. I'm glad that you have found you enjoy exercise!

It's ok to occassionally eat sliders, especially when you have a hard time keeping anything else down. Most days I am completely fine, but there are days where everything I eat makes me sick and by the end of the night, when I've had maybe 100 calories, I will eat wheat thins or pretzels because I know they are sliders, but I also know they won't make me sick and the maybe 200-300 calories they consist of isn't going to hurt me at that point. Enjoy your soup.

I can understand that you think most of us only post the good things. I'm one of those people because, rude as it sounds, whiny people annoy me so I try to spare others from my own complaining. In the end, I made the decision to get the sleeve, and as such, I own the consequences. Also, complaining about something never has really gotten me anywhere, so that may be the rationale behind why people tend to post more positive than negative. So...for your list. chocolate and sweets make me insanely sick, but plain old boring ice cream is way easier to eat than Protein. At 15 months out, I still can't choke down more than 1/3 of a chicken sandwich and sometimes this makes me very annoyed. I am not hungry fortunately, however I do get head hungry occassionally and I find myself munching away on things I shouldn't eat. Yes, the same food gets boring...but there are a lot of ways to switch it up. Honestly, I like being skinny more than I like exciting food, but at the same time I've found ways to eat a pretty big variety of food as long as I don't get too crazy (Peruvian ceviche put me on a 6 hour puking bender that I will never do again). Yes, protein bars and shakes are gross- I don't eat or drink them and I never have. My goal is to try this more often though in the future...go check out the post "Does anyone actually like their Protein Drink?" I posted that the other day and people gave me excellent suggestions. My breath doesn't stink and once you move into solid foods, yours won't either. Use a toungue scraper until then. A big reason your breath stinks now is because you don't have the mechanical act of chewing things that scrape your toungue and eliminate the bad breath. That part will improve once you get to go to normal foods. Nope, you don't lose weight that quickly, but if you stick with it, you will eventually get to goal. It's a basic process of math- more calories out (exercise and just the process of living) and less calories in (which is what your sleeve is for). Yes, sometimes I wish I could really sit down and enjoy a good hearty meal. Then I think about the fact that the size 4 dress I'm wearing fits me beautifully and I like the way I look in mirrors now. I can have a few bites of whatever I want and then I am full. The volume of food I gave up has given me the life I had given up on before, and I can still eat whatever I want to, just in smaller portions. I would say that is a fair trade. So you're right...sometimes it seems like everyone here is sunshine and daisies, but at least for me it's because I choose to own the decision I made to have surgery and I recognize that complaining about it does me no good. I am very happy with my sleeve decision and while it comes at a cost, the reward for me has been more than worth the aggravation. In a few weeks you will start to have normal food and a year from now you will most likely be ecstatic with your decision. Like anything in life, that which is most awesome, is not that which is handed to you on a silver platter. Your silver platter right now has mushy food on it...this time next year it will have a few nice bites of good food and you will be eating off that platter wearing something you could only dream about now. Enjoy the process....I promise, it will all be worth it in the end.

I had ice cream yesterday for lunch and I also forgot to put my fitbit on which made me mad because there was no way I was hitting my 10,000 steps when I only started them at 6pm. I then had ice cream for dinner. I woke up this morning, had some oatmeal, went out for a run, and now I'm eating a salad. I completely understand your fear of regaining, but it's ok to have a fall off the wagon kind of day. As long as you get back on, you're going to be fine.

Don't be worried- I had the most epic food poisoning ever a few weeks ago when I tried a new Peruvian place. Let's just say ceviche and I do not get along. I was on my bathroom floor barfing, shaking, and being sick as could be for almost 6 hours. Also, if you don't regularly eat out, just restaurant food in general can make you sick. Sometimes they cook with way more butter than we are used to, so even at 15 months out I have to be very careful with what I eat or I get to spend some time barfing in the parking lot after dinner.

I had an abdominoplasty, which is similar to the panniculectomy. My catheter was removed before I left thank goodness and those drains are such a pain in the butt. I didn't really need anything as mine was also an outpatient procedure. I also had my boobs done, so not sure if there is an issue with a bra if you only have the stomach portion fixed. I would wear a sports bra, just because for me it's way more comfortable. I also always wear sweats, a t-shirt or tank top, and then a zip up warm sweater over top, just because it's easier to get into after surgery, and for some reason I'm always cold after surgery. As for the underwear, this is a trick. I didn't wear them coming home because it was just one more thing to annoy me and to try to get into and you're all wrapped up in gauze anyway. If you do want to wear them though, it won't hurt either way. They put the drains in a position where two of them come out of your mons area and they stitch a little piece of skin to a knot around the drain tube so it doesn't fall out. That stupid suture annoyed me more than anything else. I resolved the issue by cutting my suture and using tape and gauze to keep the drain tubes in place. It hurt MUCH less and it worked just as well. I wore a compression garment that had straps that went over my shoulders- it looks like a jazzercise suit with zippers up the side and runs from your knees like bike shorts to just below your rib cage. I slid the drains out the pee-hole (because that is totally worthless to pee out of, you just have to take it all off) and then I wore a pair of tight shorts over top of the compression garment which kept my tubes nicely in place and prevented them from swaying around at all. During my first time with drains I wore them in a necklace around my neck, the second time I just tucked them into my shorts and that worked fine. Also, good trick, if you don't want to cut the sutures like I did and be creative with gauze and tape, at least slide a piece of gauze under the tube where the stitch is so that there is a separation between your skin and the suture attached to the tube and then tape it in place. I swear, that tiny sticking and pulling of the suture when you have drains is worse than the stomach part and the gauze between the suture and your skin is a nice way to make it more comfy. So, after surgery you will be able to dress yourself into any loose clothing you want. You are not only massively doped up on pain drugs but you're largely oblivious to the world, so basic functions like getting dressed you sort of do on autopilot, like a clutzy two year old. They also help you so you don't trip over a pant leg and fall on your face. So, whatever is most comfortable and loose for you is the best idea. Also, wear dark clothes, sometimes you ooze goo for a few hours afterard. Good luck!

I am fortunate that I work near my fridge and can easily run to the store for meals, but you mentioned that they go to Subway a lot for lunch. I really like their chopped salads and I can make one last for a few meals. I get double meat (usually turkey), lettuce, tomatoes, olives, and a lot of banana peppers. When it's all chopped up the tomatoes and banana peppers eliminate the need for any kind of dressing (at least for me) and the turkey is a good source of Protein. I can eat maybe 1/6 of a salad at a time, so I tend to eat it for lunch and dinner and then sometimes lunch the next day. If you mix up the meat and veggie options, that could potentially help knockout two of your meals. Also, how do you feel about oatmeal for Breakfast? I eat the Quaker Weight Control version with 6g of protein and it keeps me pretty full. When I was at work in the mornings, this worked well for me. Also, someone else mentioned soup- a good option that worked well for me were the Progresso light soups, especially the veggie version. It's a little high in protein, but easy to take to work and make and good for you. Another option are those egg white patties that come in the freezer section. A light English muffin has 100 calories, the egg white patty has 25 and you can throw on a piece of turkey cooked in the microwave and it tastes a little like bacon for minimal extra calories. My sleeve is not terribly crazy about bread or eggs, so I usually only eat half of one of these with some ketchup and I'm good to go. Lastly, I am bad about Protein shakes, but for awhile I would make one before I left for work and sip on it during the drive and at my desk in the morning, which also helped cover my breakfast need.

You are all awesome! Thank-you so much for all the great ideas- it is very much appreciated!

Running is very much a love/hate for a lot of people. I love to hate it, lol. Sometimes it hurts, sometimes it makes you sore, sometimes you just have a bad day and it's miserable, but it keeps you honest. I've been a runner for the past 16 years and regardless of whether I was fat or thin, there's nothing quite like that happy feeling you get when you're done with a run. I notice that I am far faster and it is far more enjoyable the thinner I am. I recently had some plastics done and I joke that I'm faster now because I got rid of some of the wind resistance I was carrying. Short version, running does get easier and more fun, but most runners I know love running because it isn't a friendly sport. It makes you hurt, it makes you gasp for air, and sometimes it makes you really frustrated...but then you hit new goals, you get faster, you get thinner, and you get stronger, and you find yourself pushing even harder during runs because you like the pain. I love running because I really really really love chocolate, lol. Good luck.

I tried injectables in my lips a few months ago and you're right, it hurts!! I felt like I got punched for a few hours. I also wasn't overly crazy about the results, although the doctor I went to was fairly conservative. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

I had the same issue after both my plastics procedures and my sleeve surgery. I'm not patient enough to wait around for the slower, more gentle versions of things to work. I popped two Exlax and I felt wonderful within 6 hours. Just make sure you're near a bathroom, lol, relief is quite sudden.

I am three weeks out from my last batch of plastics (brachioplasty and thigh lift this time) so I feel you on the swelling. My arms were so bad my fingers swelled up like those little vienna sausages the first week. I had the groin incision thigh lift and I have to say I'm not a fan. I am hoping that over time they will improve, but at this point I really want my doctor to just go in and redo them again when I finish out the back part of the lower body lift. I didn't want the scars going down my legs, but now my top half is great (I had boobs and tummy tuck for my first surgery) and my bottom half is not awesome at all. I hear you on wanting to be "finished". I am totally over surgeries at this point, but my butt is so not awesome compared to other areas I hate to not finish the masterpiece, lol. I feel like the first two weeks of recovery is great, because you can noticeably see improvement. I was fortunate both times in that I had basically no pain. Then weeks 3-5 are annoying because I feel like I see no improvement and everything hurts because I feel like I can totally twist one way and then nope, not healed enough yet. At six weeks, hopefully this time like last time, I will be back to feeling normal. Good luck to you in your recovery!