JamieLogical

Here are some things you can do that *might* help lessen loose skin. It really just depends on a lot of factors, most of which are out of your control. But here is what you can do: moisturize daily stay well hydrated take your vitamins (vitamins C & E, as well as beef gelatin can improve skin elasticity) strength training (you can "fill in" loose skin with muscle where you lose fat in some areas) Just remember, you should not let the prospect of loose skin discourage you from WLS or losing weight. A little loose skin never killed anyone, but excess weight has killed millions of people.

@@bayougirlmrsc Did you have muscle repair? I'd be surprised that you were up and walking around the day after surgery if you did. That's impressive!

@@gina171 Getting to a 40 BMI might not be enough. My insurance required a documented BMI over 40 for five years. That's why I ended up being self-pay. Even though my BMI was over 40 when I began researching WLS, it had been well below 40 for a couple of years prior, because I had lost 90 pounds "on my own" and it had just crept back up over 40. I wasn't about to stay fat for five more years just to qualify for insurance coverage!

I'm running a full marathon on September 18. So it is definitely possible!

In Mexico you can have it done for about $4000 to $6500, depending on which surgeon and facility you choose. In the US, it varies pretty drastically depending one which city/state you are in. I have heard of some surgeons in Texas, Florida, and Nevada doing it for almost as cheap as Mexico. But then it seems like in most other places it's can be about $15,000-$18,000? Maybe even more?

@@shesticklish Did you look at the BaritricPal packages? I think they are fairly inexpensive and I am pretty confident that Alex wouldn't put the BariatricPal name on something unless he fully vetted it.

Definitely on the pricier side, so budget could be a real concern. The facilities were great and the support staff is what really put them over the top for me. I received far more follow-up care, support, and feedback than it seems a lot of TJ surgeons provide. Even two years out, I know I could email the nutritionist with a question and receive a reply within an hour or two.

I used Ariel Ortiz at OCC and had a great experience, but BariatricPal is also affiliated with a few surgeons now and offers special pricing packages, so I would definitely encourage you to look into those. You should be able to message @@Bill Yanez if you want details on pricing and services.

I was never told a carb limit. Just a protein minimum and that really helped keep everything else in check during my weight loss phase. I was supposed to have 100 grams of protein per day, so I really just had no room left for carbs. If you are trying to keep your body in a constant state of ketosis, you probably need to stay below about 40 grams.

5 weeks post op? I wasn't even on solid foods until 40 days post-op.... I was told no fibrous veggies for 3 months post-op. Besides corn is pretty high in carbs/sugar, so I probably would have stayed away from that one in my weight loss phase altogether. I've eaten corn many times post-op by now, but I'm two years out.

I recommend two weeks off, even if you do have a desk job. You will be very very fatigued, even if you aren't in pain anymore. I didn't go back to work until 15 days post-op and I still really struggled to stay mentally focused through the full work day and ended up going straight to bed after work the first few days I was back. Although, I will say it might depend somewhat on your post-op food plan. I was still on full liquids when I returned to work and I did notice a big improvement in my energy level once I was onto purees and soft foods. So if your plan calls for quicker movement between the food stages, you might not struggle as much. As for vacation versus sick, I was able to take sick leave and since I didn't have enough sick leave accrued, I was able to draw from my work's "catastrophic leave bank". Not sure if something like that is an option for you, so you should probably talk to your HR department.

@@fluffy22 Glad to hear you are progressing well. As long as you stay focused and determined, there is no reason you can't be successful.

@@saphfyre14 So glad to hear you are getting this figured out. There really is so much trial and error involved to figure out what works for you long term. Everybody and every BODY is different. The guidelines from the surgeons and nutritionists are a good starting point. But everyone has a different lifestyle, different challenges, different metabolism, different intolerances, etc. So it is critical to figure out how your body responds to different foods, different schedules, different activity levels, etc. Only you can figure that stuff out for yourself. The experiences of others is helpful too. So I am glad I was able to help you by sharing my own experiences. Keep up the hard work and keep using your tool to it's greatest potential!

Had to post here, because I'm just so proud of myself. Yesterday was my longest training run for my full marathon. 20 miles! I know I will have another six to go on race day, but I'm counting on adrenaline and no need to "save" anything to carry me the extra distance. On training runs you have to hold back a little to avoid injury and to make sure you can recover. On race day, I am putting it all out there and if I have to crawl across the finish line, so be it! Less than three weeks to go! Fun Fact: I weighed myself before and after the run. Despite drinking 80 ounces of Water and G2 on the run, I still lost 4 pounds. That means I sweated out 9 pounds! Yikes! Don't worry, though. I rehydrated the whole rest of the day yesterday and was back to my normal-ish weight by this morning.

@@jenrae1 So happy to help and inspire you. So many people on these forums helped and inspired me along the way and I am glad to pay it forward!

It depends on the surgeon. I have had tons of follow-up with the team at OCC, but not every surgeon offers such extensive after-care. You should really discuss it with your coordinator and find out what post-op services are provided. OCC provided support for questions about nutrition, any medical concerns, issues with nausea, medications, etc. I saw my PCP here in the states for regular blood work post-op.

You should be fine to fly. I flew home three days after my surgery, so several weeks out shouldn't be a problem. Make sure you bring protein powder to mix into water that you buy in the airport, since you won't be allowed to bring liquids in with you. As for swimming, you'd need to ask your surgeon. Depending on what method is used to close your incisions, you may not be allowed to swim for a couple of weeks.

Sorry I'm late to this party, but what you are going through is so normal. You are not alone! The pain is tough. It is no joke. I try to spread the word about that as much as possible on these forums so people know ahead of time. BUT, the pain is temporary. You will make it through. Just take it one day at a time, just like you had to after WLS. It will get better! Not as quickly as it did with WLS, but eventually. As for the worry about weight gain, it is SO SO SO important to feed your body right now. You may not be exercising (please do NOT push yourself before you are cleared to do so!), but your body is using a LOT of energy to heal. Protein is super important right now. Stay off the scale too. The swelling will only make you depressed. It takes literally MONTHS for the swelling to subside. If you have an lipo done, it will be even worse. So just stay away. Focus on healing, be kind to yourself, and do NOT push yourself too hard too fast. Hang in there!

I think I am the one you are referring to when you say 9 months to return to normal. But you need to understand, I had a complication. That is not a common outcome for people. I had soft tissue swelling in my lower back that made it painful to sit up in a chair for more than a couple of hours at a time and caused massive Fluid retention with physical activity after my extended tummy tuck. It did improve over time, but took a full 9 months to be completely resolved. Complications are a risk with ANY surgery, but they are by no means the norm. Were it not for that specific complication, I would have been back to work full time at 4 weeks post op. Though I would recommend 6 weeks off if you can get it. For the first 2-3 days, I couldn't care for myself, due to the severe abdominal pain and restricted movement. I needed help getting up and down out of bed, using the restroom, showering, etc. It was about 12 days before I could stand and walk fully upright. I would say it was a good 3 weeks before I could laugh, cough, and sneeze without soreness. My incisions were closed and I was able to shower immediately post-op, but it was a good 6 weeks probably before they were "healed". It was about 2 years before they were faded to the lightest they ever got. I experienced extreme amounts of phantom pain and itching for the first year and it took about three years for that to fully subside. I think all of that is pretty normal and had nothing to do with my complication. For compression garments, you should be able to get your stage one garments through your surgeon. These will be the most restrictive and you will need to probably wear them for the first 3-4 weeks post-op. Stage 2 garments you may get on your own and they are less restrictive. You will wear these for a few more weeks. And then stage three garments are just normal compression-wear like you would by in a department store. Spanx is a major brand here in the US. As for clothing sizes, it's really hard to predict. It depends on how much skin you have, how it's distributed, and how much swelling you have. It will be a good 3 months before the swelling is completely gone and you see your true results. But if you have a lot of skin removed, you could drop in clothing sizes immediately, despite the swelling. I think it is INSANE that they do this as an outpatient procedure in the US. As I mentioned before, I was useless as a newborn for the first three days or so and had a very hard time getting up and moving around for a good while after that. I had my surgery in Mexico and stayed at a recovery house for two full weeks post-op. I am SO grateful to have done it that way. I had nurses to tend to me 24/7 that whole time instead of relying on family members or friends to do truly humiliating personal hygiene tasks for me.

Foamies are no fun. I actually didn't experience those for the first time until I was over a year post-op. You are exaxctly right, that something is "stuck" partway down. That causes your body to over-produce saliva and mucus, which is what the foam is. And since it can't get down, past the blockage, no choice for it but to come up. Yuck! The only way to get over the foamies is to wait for the blockage to clear by eventually breaking down enough to go down, or by throwing it up. Both times I've had foamies, I ended up throwing up and then felt 100 times better immediately! I am pretty sure it's caused by eating too fast or not chewing thoroughly. It is a terrible feeling. Make sure you chew a LOT and take a little time between bites.

@@goplay94123 Sounds like a great adventure. I'd count the bathing suite and hot tub chat as part of the adventure! All things that I imagine would have been WAY outside your comfort zone not too long ago! Don't fret about pace. That's something you can work on much later, once you've gotten your stamina and conditioning where you need it to be.

It's okay to work out 6 days as long as you are switching things up and not overworking the same muscles. I'd recommend two cardio rest days where you do no cardio. But you can feel free to do strength training on those days. As for whether you should eat less on rest days, I would say the calorie total doesn't have to be drastically different, but you should cut out your pre-workout carby snack, if you are having one (which you should).

I eat a fair amount of carbs, but in a calculated way. It's certainly true that carbs breed carbs. You need to always be putting your protein first. Are you eating carbs at the expense of protein or in addition to your protein?

Thanks. I know it will be worth it, just as the sleeve itself was. I'm not as concerned with the pain, I have a good pain tolerance. I'm more worried about how much time off of work I will need. I had a breast lift with augmentation, extended tummy tuck, and all-over lipo done at one time. I was originally scheduled for four weeks off of work, but ended up taking more than that. Mostly due to soft-tissue swelling in my lower back that plagued me for months. I worked half days for a while upon returning to work. My recommendation would be to plan for 6 weeks off of work, assuming no complications. And depending on how much you have done at one time.

The pain is for real and the recovery is long. The tummy tuck has the hardest and longest recovery. If you have muscle repair along with the panniculectomy (most people do), the pain is incredibly intense in the early weeks. But even if you don't have muscle repair, the incisions take a long time to heal and fade (took about 2 years for mine to fade to their lightest) and the phantom itching/pain and numbness can last about three years or so. That all being said, I am a little over 5 years out from my plastics and they were WELL worth it. Yes, I had a miserable few months (actually had a complication that meant I was in some pain until 9 months out), but that's a distant memory now. My stomach is still tight and flat and I am happy every single day that I had my plastics! Depending on your age, a few months worth of misery can bring you years and years of joy and confidence. Well worth the trade-off in my book!