Bluesea71

Hello! I had my sleeve surgery back in 2014 and I just the first of two plastic surgeries done this past July. I waited until I was at my goal weight and said these surgeries would be a treat to myself if I maintained my weight for a few years. My start weight 242, lowest was 138 and now I’m at 160. I like myself best at 150. My first surgery was a J upper body lift and breast lift. Those surgeries were $18,200. The next surgery will be a lower body lift which includes fat transfer to the buttocks and some Other technique so you’re not left with a flat butt. This surgery will be around $30,000 Im a researcher and I did a lot of it before I selected a surgeon. My goal was to look good naked. Hard to do with most of the horrific scars left over from these surgeries. My research led me to Dr. Agha in Newport Beach, CA. A one hour plane ride or 6 hour car ride from my home. Are there better deals out there? Sure. His website showcases before/after pics showing the scars. They are thin, low and perfectly straight. That sealed the deal for me. I’m 5 weeks out from my surgery without complications and my scars are razor thin. No regrets!

I have a confession. I'm sure I'm not unique. I'm really tough on myself. I judge my body and its imperfections in a way that's often WAY worse than when I was overweight. I surpassed my surgeon's goal months ago. Why didn't I Celebrate? Because the body I saw NAKED in the mirror didn't reflect back to me the image I wanted to see. So I keep loosing weight. I hit 150 on the scale yesterday. At one point this would have been my goal weight. I still see a small percentage of fat underneath the skin around my belly so I have adjusted my goal. I worry I will keep doing this and I will never be satisfied. This behavior is new to me. I'm typically one to find pleasure even in the littlest of things. I can easily express gratitude for the things I have. I find lately I have become quite obsessive about the way I look. I spend hours looking at myself naked in the mirror. I love the new body being reflected back at me. I have gone from a size 20 to a size 8. My husband tells me I'm sexy. Some days I feel that way. Other days I obsess over the stretched out, puckered skin on my belly resulting from two huge pregnancies. I HATE the surgery scars on my belly that just cry out I've had WLS (although faded, you will always be able to see them.) My breasts are no longer full. My Husband is very anti-plastic surgery. He wants me to accept myself the way he does. Would plastic surgery even be the answer? Or would it start a vicious cycle of other surgeries to reach a level of perfectionism I will never reach? (Note: I'm not judging others choices here, I'm worried that my need for perfectionism is much deeper and wouldn't easily be "cured" by simply having surgery.). I also want to say that if I want plastic surgery bad enough I can easily convince him. He's probably the only man on the planet who doesn't care for breast implants! I came across an article online today (link posted below.) It's funny how things appear in our lives just when we are ready for them. It's about this mom who posted a picture of herself on the internet in a bikini with her belly full of stretch marks. My babies trashed my body when I was pregnant. I have to admit that I am one of the lucky ones. After an almost 90 pound weight loss, I have almost zero loose skin except what is on my belly. Yet that is all I focus on when I look in the mirror. The one area I can't stand. I get angry that I've lost all of this weight "and still can't wear a bikini." It's led to some plenty heated discussions between the spouse and I. I tell him he just doesn't get it. I tell him the only people who will understand are my Bariatric friends who have lost a significant amount of weight and are dealing with the same body image issues as me post weight-loss. Ugh. So the weight loss journey continues. It's like peeling an onion one layer at a time. This journey is so complex and never ending! http://m.today.com/parents/mom-flaunts-flab-stretch-marks-viral-bikini-photo-2D80567590?cid=sm_fbn

Omg - I had laser hair removal done for the first time yesterday. OUCH!!! Has anyone else had it done before?!? I had laser treatment before to remove a tattoo and it was the exact same feeling (I compare it to being hit by bacon grease from a frying pan over and over again.) When I had my tattoo removed, the doctor applied both a numbing cream and I had him inject me with something to numb the site. Yesterday I went to Kaiser (new treating facility) and she said it wouldn't be as bad as it was less intense lasers. She lied! I have given vaginal birth (one natural, without drugs) and i swear, the pain was worse. I have a really high tolerance to pain so for me to say this, it's weird. The only way I got through it was knowing it would eventually end. 176 pulses later, it did! Was my experience unique? Maybe it was the locations or size treated? The area is now red, puffy and feels like the worse sun burn ever. Any advice on how to treat it? I was told I wouldn't have to do much aftercare. Just come back in 8 weeks if needed for another treatment. When I had my tattoo done the skin severely blistered up into a 3rd degree burn. I'm glad I didn't do it in an area easily seen by others. There's no way I could cover this up by make up or would I want to! ????

Hi all - I haven't been on this site forever. I thought I'd give an update. Here it is almost a year later. I'm proud to report that one PAINFUL laser treatment is all it took to get rid of the unwanted hair! It left red marks for almost 6 weeks, but didn't leave any lasting scars.

The day is finally here! Whoop whoop! Where are my sleeve sisters (or brothers) !!!!! I have to be at admitting tomorrow morning at 7:30. Surgery is scheduled for 9:30! Beyond excited at this point. Not an ounce of doubt or fear. Bring it on!

Why didn't I know about this sooner? I'm in heaven!!! 2 scoops has 20 grams of protein plus I mixed it with 1.5 cups calcium/protein fortified soy milk which brings the protein up to 29 grams of protein. I'm in heaven! Each serving has 2 espresso shots to boot. Perfect drink on the go with ice. I ordered mine on Amazon.

I am a few months shy of 2 years post sleeve surgery and I haven't been on the boards for awhile. It's interesting to read posts pre-surgery and remember how much anxiety and fear I had about the process. Would I succeed? Was I losing the weight fast enough? Would I gain it back? I was a Slooow loser throughout the whole process, but had no problem reaching my surgeon's goal of 160 by 14 months and have recently dropped down to 140. The process for me has been pretty effortless. I came into this journey will pretty good eating habits, but my portions needed adjusting. At two years out, I'm never hungry. I mean never. It's actually becoming an issue as I can go the whole day without hunger pangs. It makes me think that many people who gain weight back are emotional eaters who continued to binge post surgery. I'm still not sure how it's possible as I still am full after eating a few bites! Honestly, this process was a lot easier than I expected. But then again, I didn't have any complications. I eat whatever I want, but limit my portions. Don't let the statistics scare you. Make a choice to be one of successful ones.

I'm going to be honest here - before I had WLS, I would look at people's before/after pictures and always notice a huge difference in their hair. After much research I became familiar with hair loss as being one side effect of of WLS. For the most part, it was temporary but my hair has never returned to its healthy, shiny, full state pre-surgery. I know I'm not alone when I look at other's pictures (sorry, don't mean to sound judgmental, but I've almost become an expert on being able to call out which skinny people have had WLS based on their lackluster hair!). I take vitamins and eat my protein requirement everyday. Is this my new normal? Dry, thin hair at 15 months post surgery? Any suggestions? Signed, Skinny Mop Head (I had the sleeve, so malabsorption issues shouldn't be an issue here)

I have tried and come up with nothing. The only information out there is what the company provides. That alone makes me a tad suspect but I will continue to use a scoop in my coffee every morning as it is flavorless and its paid for. I really do think its too good to be true though. Why wouldn't GMC and other suppliers be selling this product if it was so amazing?

So nice to hear from you sleeve! I hope your Husband has a speedy recovery! I often wonder how everyone is doing in theirjourney. I still frequent the boards often, but find my interest is dwindling as the newbies ask the questions I had in the beginning! My hair is just... AWEFUL. Thin and I fear will never be what it once was. Partially my fault as I don't think my protein intake is what it should be. Outside of that, nothing more to complain about. I have been maintaining at 148 with very little effort. I seem to drop 3-4 pounds every 3 months or so but I think that may now stabilize. People finally seem to have accepted me at my new weight and the comments have finally stopped (thank God.) please don't be a stranger and stay connected!!!!!

Update: I went back and had the dermatologist on staff check the redness of my skin. She determined that it wasn't burned but temporary pigment change due to my skin being sensitive. It lasted about 6 weeks and did 100% go away. Good news is the area is still 100% hair free and there has been no new hair growth. The laser hurt like hell, but perhaps it was effective enough to kills those hair follicles in one shot!

148.1 - same

15 months post surgery and I still never really experience hunger and frequently have to remind myself to eat or I will go the entire day just eating one protein bar. I'm now below my goal weight at 148 (surgeons's goal weight for me was 160 and my goal was 150.) Am I alone here? Do others struggle with not having an appetite?I was never an emotional eater and gained my weight due to PCOS so I don't turn to food for comfort. If I'm not hungry, I don't eat. It's just ironic to be on the other end having to remind myself to take in food. Funny how the universe works....

Hey there - which symptoms in particular are you wondering about? PCOS never fully goes away but some less pleasant symptoms of it become more manageable. Weight management for one, has becomes Easy! Easy! Easy! (Well, at least for me at has!)

I should probably clarify... The journey has changed throughout the process. I do remember being hungrier during the losing phase. It's been more of an issue now that I'm at goal weight. It feels really weird to be "complaining" about it and I wouldn't if I didn't notice my hair starting to shed again! I haven't lost much in the last 6 months. Maybe 6 pounds, so I'm more worried about feeding my body the proper nutrition. I was just curious to hear from some other veterans to see if the hunger hormone came back the farther out from surgery they were. I think that has more to do with it than the size of my sleeve.

Add me to the list of post-weight loss gals with knee arthritis. A contestant reminder what being overweight can do to your body in the long haul. My poor little knees had to support all that extra weight for so long! ???? Dreams to be a runner some day crushed!

Starting weight: 148.1 Goal weight: 145

Sorry. I've been out of town. Is it too late to post my final weight because I've been doing these challenges for well over a year and I finally made a goal!!!! 148.1!!!!!!!

12 months post-op. I have 4 scars - one of the "most visible" in this photo is actually a birth mark! I can't wait to get a tummy tuck to remove these signs of WLS!

I'm in ????

I tried on bathing suits today. I tried on a few bikinis knowing there is no way in heck I would be seen in them in public with the sad state my tummy is in. I snapped the picture on the right to send to my Husband as a desperate plea for a tummy tuck ASAP (he's anti-plastic surgery and loves my body the way it is.) I left the store feeling sad that although most of my body has snapped back after my almost 95 pound weight-loss, my stomach still frowns at me. I feel trapped in a fat suit most days. Something made me search for the pic that led me to get WLS in the first place. A picture of me at my heaviest (245 pounds) in a bathing suit on a zip line on vacation. Im still critical of my body but it helped to remind myself where I started. For those of you just getting started, take plenty of pictures to remind you where you started. Now to save up for that tummy tuck! ????????????????????????????

Sorry - I keep forgetting to check in on Monday and report my weight. I am 149.5 today, so I guess enter that for my 6/22 weigh in. Woo-hoo! Finally made it into the 140's but have 1/2 pound to make it to goal! I will be out of town the next two Mondays but will check in the following day on Tuesday!

I started taking the maximum amount of biotin (and zinc!) pre- surgery. I've been the most compliant WLS patient regarding everything I "should" be doing. That's why I'm wondering if its just me or if others have noticed this long term effect. It isn't as thin anymore but it isn't how it used to be!

I had this done at Kaiser in their plastic Surgery/dermatology department. There were less expensive options and I chose them thinking having doctors / RN's perform the procedure would be a safer route. Sigh. I will call them today and check in.

I have no clue what kind of laser it was but it's now five days later and I still have a red marks where the treatment was done. Is this normal? Everything I read online called this a "lunchtime" procedure. I'm seriously worried this is going to leave a scar ????