clairec

I hope that your appointment goes well. Try not to be too worried about it. You need to allow enough time to recover but I haven't found it scary, but we are all different. See what she says at your appointment and then think about what is best for you. I am pleased that I have had it done. Take care Claire Hope the appointment goes really well and is reassuring and gives you the answers that you want. Take care Claire

I hope that your appointment goes well. Try not to be too worried about it. You need to allow enough time to recover but I haven't found it scary, but we are all different. See what she says at your appointment and then think about what is best for you. I am pleased that I have had it done. Take care Claire

Hi, I think that knackeredness covers it all!!! The stitch like pain is probably just nerves regenerating themselves so that is fine. I have learnt a new trick.... if I press the areas swollen with Fluid I can make fluid come up through the wound in the belly button. Hopefully that should mean that I don't need further aspirations of the fluid. It fills up again fast but it is draining and of course it sops the unplanned explosions, so it is all good really. Carry on getting better Deanna. My friend Julie had her op almost 4 weeks ago and she is doing really well and has been signed off by the cosmetic nurses already. Take care all of you. Claire

Hi Deanna, Hoiw wonderful, it is such a nice surprise isn't it! I still have a lot of Fluid underneath mine but I can still see how good the results will be. Unfortunately the fluid is still coming out through my belly button much like an alien and the discomfort has returned like a stitch on my right hand side near the wound. I have no idea what that is but I am going back to the hospital again today for another dressing appt so we will see. On the upside I went to a 3 day country music festival, a lot of big names and emerging talent from Nashville and all over the States, as well as quite a lot from the UK. We had a fantastic time and I managed to cope with it all despite the exploding abdomen and the extreme knackeredness, so that was a real bonus too. You are doing so well Deanna. Thanks for letting us know. Claire

Hi Deanna, Yes lying flat made all the difference to me. I am really happy with how I will look in the end but right now is not a good indication of that because I have a lot of fluid build up, both generally and a large amount of fluid under part of the wound. There is an area which is deep and seems like something the alien might come out of! It leaks serous fluid at times quite fast. It just needs to heal but I shouldn't need any more surgery and it just needs to heal from the bottom of the wound upwards towards the skin. I have a friend who had the surgery 10 days ago and she has her recliner almost flat now. Unless you have been told differently perhaps give it a go after 10 days. Our Consultant might be saying something different to yours though. I agree that this group has been wonderful both immediately after the bypass and the months after that, and now some of us are going through the second surgery. The support has been fantastic. I hope that all continues to go well Deanna and do ask us anything, I know how helpful that is. Take care Claire x

Hi Deanna, Way to go! I found standing up straight gt better after about a week. I am now just over 4 weeks later and have had some challenges but nothing that is totally unexpected. aS you know i had 22lbs removed plus a hernia repair so I think it is not surprising. I have a deep wound and a lot of fluid that has been aspirated once (500mls on Weds) and probably will again this week. However much of the wound is looking great and although I can't see the end result in all irts glory yet, I know that it will be wonderful. So I am not despondent at all. I hope that you don't have some of my issues though and it is all plain sailing for you. I big turning point was when I could lie flat, and even on my side which I did after about 10 days, that made a huge difference I found. Take care Deanna and do keep posting, I have been thinking of you Claire x

I think that all surgeons are different but the more that is done at once the more difficult it can be to heal and the blood supply to areas can be compromised. It isn't always about money, sometimes it is is about the best results. So it might be better to have them done separately. She says while still coping with the aftereffects of a larger than normal abdominoplasty with liposuction....! Hope it goes really well Deanna. Take care Claire

Hi, I paid for mine and it was about $11,500 dollars for a pretty extensive abdominoplasty with liposuction. I could have had this one done under the NHS because it had caused such a problem, which could be justified on medical grounds. I wanted to plan it round my work etc so I didn't want to have any changes in date, or cancellations so I paid for it myself. However, I think that the important thing is to get a package which covers everything, including aftercare. At the private hospital where I had my surgery this happened but in the private ward of the NHS hospital it would just have been an estimate. That worried me in case anything happened and as I have had lots of additional appointments with lots of dressings and an emergency admission with IV antibiotics and blood transfusions I am so glad that I did. I would not have been covered for any of that. I know someone else who has had this done on the NHS, and he has also had his moobs and legs done in three separate operations. However, he has lost such a lot of weight and has been quite unable to be as mobile as he could be because of all the large amount of skin. It has to be a medical issue and then a case can be made, at least in some areas of the country. That doesn't help any of you over there though! Do keep in touch about how your surgeries go. This is the second stage of our support network and we are all celebrating our 2 year oppiversary this month too.Something that I hadn't remembered until someone pointed it out to me. Take care Claire x

Hi Kim and Deanna, The photos are really impressive Kim and the after ones look like I do if I didn't have the swelling at the moment. It really is miraculous, thanks so much for sharing them. You are clearly so pleased to have fulfilled everything you wanted to in getting the surgery done and I think that that is the important thing. Keep the long goal in sight as you are going through the recovery process. It isn't an easy operation to have but it so worth it. Not long to go now Deanna, and I know someone elsse who is having hers on the 18th, which is even closer. I will be thinking of you both and do let us all know how you are doing. Take care Claire

Hi Deanna and everyone else, Sorry I haven't been on here since my surgery. The laptop is rather heavy and writing long things on the iPad can be difficult too. I am also trying to steer away from the work on my computer. It is all being covered but I still see it. I know someone else who is having hers done on Thurs 19th and it is very exciting. I had my surgery 11 days ago on the afternoon of Thurs 28th and the surgery went really well and I was really pleased with how I was doing and I was discharged home on the Sunday. I did have a very big version of the abdominoplasty (with the umbilical repair carried out at the same time. They removed 22pounds of skin and fat and there was a lot of liposuction over a large area. I am only saying this because I think it is the reason for what has happened since. I am not typical of people who have this done and recovery is therefore more straightforward. I developed a high temperature last Thursday night which they took very seriously because they were concerned about sepsis. I was readmitted to hospital and given IV antibiotics and I am still on oral ones. However that is really only to cover all eventualities because the problem is viral not bacterial. Which is just unlucky. My temp is still high now so my body clearly has no reserve to fight back at the moment but it will do. Also I was draining a lot of blood afterwards, so much so that my haemoglobin dropped a lot and while I was in hospital they gave me 2 units of blood. I must admit that I do feel knackered so that's the reason for that. The third thing is that I seem to have responded to the large invasive nature of the surgery by swelling up everywhere. So much so that I had to remove the corsets because they were doing more harm then good. I am wearing Spanx type things which are working really well though. None of these things should happen to you Deanna so please don't worry about it. My Consultant said that for my particularly operation something would go wrong and hopefully this is it, and i can cope with that. My body just needs to start fighting back. If I didn't have these things I think that I would be really much much better by now. You do need help around for the first week or so in my experience because just washing and taking the corsets on and off is really difficult on your own. Apparently some people manage and maybe you might have different bindings from those used for me, but that is what I would suggest. Do ask anything that you want to and I will answer as honestly as I can. The devil is the detail and things like the large amount of pubic swelling seem to be very typical and buying the most helpful sort of foundation garment seems to be important. I am feeling fine about having it done and before the swelling started i got a glimpse of how impressive the surgery is. In fact the suture line itself is the one part of me that isn't swollen because it is total muscle. Who knew I even had any muscle there?! It really is awesome. I hope that helps and that your surgery goes really well Deanna. I will be thinking of you. Love Claire

Hiya to you all, Well in a week's time I will have had the surgery and starting the long recovery. It would be good to see some pictures KIm, my email address is clairechambersx@gmail.com. I think sleeping in a recliner might help me too. The problem is that with my spinal issues being at that angle's is so uncomfortable, and that's without the surgery! So good that you are fine now and that you are so pleased with your result. I can't imagine myself without a tummy and it will be so good to get the hernia dealt with too. I will let you know Deanna how it goes before your surgery but do contact me either here on my email if you want to ask anything particular of if I forget to do it quickly enough. Sorry about your bounce back Janette but I think that it happens to most people. My dietitian said that it was totally normal and that she wasn't worried at all by my gain. So the next week will go fast I am sure, but think of me next week. Take care all of you. Claire

Hi Kim, It sounds like you are doing so well. I will be glad to have my surgery at the end of January. I will be in touch if I need to know anything. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all. Take care Claire

Hi Deanna, I am having the hernia that they found at the bypass sorted out when I have the apronectomy on 28th Jan so I will let you all know how it goes. Has anyone found that their weight has had a bit of a bounce back, because mine has? My dietician seems to think it is predictable and normal and I am not over stressing about it, I just want it to stabilise.It would be good to know whether it has happened to any of you though. Have a lovely Christmas Deanna and everyone else. Janette how are you doing? How is Kim doing after her surgery. How are you Erin? Sounds like everyone is great if they are not posting here and this has been such a great group and a massive support when we all needed it. It's a positive sign that we are all thriving. Have a lovely Christmas and Happy New Year Claire

Hi Kim, You look so wonderful, you must be thrilled! I really hope that you are healing well now and feeling better. Thanks for posting this picture, it is such an inspiration for us all. Take care Claire x

Hi Kim, I think it depends where the loose skin goes as to what should need doing. My public area definitely needs sorting out but my back doesn't. So at least I won't be uncomfortable back and front like you are. I am expecting it to take a long time to heal though and being worse than the bypass and painful. It sounds really sore for you and I do hope that you get back into bed again soon. I think the fact that he drive manual cars over here is what can make a difference, lots of lifting both feet when driving. Also there is the concern from insurance companies that we could have to break hard and they base everything on that. As you say even a C Section is 6 weeks for most insurance companies here. My surgery I think should take about 4 hours and probably will cost about a half of what yours did. You have had different areas sorted out, a longer operation, and maybe the costs are higher in the US, I don't know. I do hope that you feel better soon, it sounds as if you are on the mend. Do take care and we will al celebrate the new you. How fantastic. Claire