Djmohr

I totally understand where you are coming from. I have always carried my weight in my upper arms and for the last 35 years or so I have hid my arms from anyone other than my husband seeing them. The bigger they got, the more embarrassed I got. I had Bariatric surgery almost 2 years ago and got to goal last March. This summer has been hard because I am at a great weight yet when you look at me, you would still see these giant arms that were both saggy and filled with residual fat that just would not leave my body. 2 weeks ago I had an appt. with a plastic surgeon who has excellent ratings. I live in Pewaukee wi. Not far from Chicago at all. Her name is Dr. Maida Parkins and she is in Delafield WI. I met her on Monday and on Thursday I had my brachioplasty. You would not believe the results. My arms are tiny, well defined, the skin is perfect and they look like I am in my early 20's. I cannot wait to get the dressings off in 2 weeks. I will tell you it hurts like hell, itches like crazy, in fact I am sitting with ice packs on both arms as I type. It is worth every single ounce of pain I have gone through and would do it 100 times more! Dr. Parkins is an artist and extremely caring and she totally gets it! It would be worth the couple hour trip for you. My brachioplasty cost $5950.00. She will also be performing an Abdominalplasty and breast lift with implants in the near future for me. I am attaching my before pics and after. Unfortunately the show upside down and I don't know how to fix that. I would be happy to share them via email along with the post surgery ones that show the bruising if you are interested. Just PM me with your email address.

Boy that sounds like my mother n law! She has passed on now but the crap that would come out of her mouth toward my husband and I. The worse part she was obese herself. She would give gifts that would not fit on purpose and then tell you to lose weight! I have a similar situation with my husband who is also morbidly obese but extremely supportive. I am scared for him as he is getting older but I won't pressure him into doing something he is not yet ready for. He knows he has a problem and he knows there are options for him. He has been so proud of me and supportive this entire time and I just want to be there for him like he has for me.

It all depends on your age and health but depending how much weight you had to lose it is unlikely it will all spring back. I am 53 and lost 151lbs. There is no way mine is bouncing back LOL. I just had an arm lift a week ago and 3 months from now I will have a tummy tuck and breast lift with implants.

I am so sorry that you have had such a rough road and I really hope this is the last time you go through this. You are so strong to be able to handle such a scary situation. I cannot believe your Bariatric surgeon pushed you off to the GI guy like that. How ridiculous! Knowing what it is like to go with very little besides Water in your tummy for a week, I cannot imagine how weak and frustrated you feel or felt and yet you have such a positive attitude. I hope that things get better from here on out and that you are well on your way to a full recovery. Which surgery did you have?

I am with everyone else on this one. A bypass is not going to help you if you are eating a lot of sweets and slider foods. Trust me, I have had bypass and there are days when I simply want something I shouldn't have. I believe in everything in MODERATION. If I want a few crackers I track them and know that it will take care of the craving but leave me feeling hungry in short order. You need to go back to basics and cut all that stuff out if you struggle to moderate it.

As others said, work with your surgeon to understand which surgery is going to be best given your current health. If you have severe reflux or gerd they should steer you to the RNY bypass. If you don't, both surgeries work fantastic. Also....this should never be about losing weight fast, don't get me wrong with both surgeries that will happen. The biggest factor is getting yourself to understand the lifestyle changes needed to get to goal and maintain your loss. Remember the surgery is only a tool. You have to learn to change a lot of your own behaviors to lose the weight and keep it off and that takes time to do. It took me 15 months to loose 151lbs which I consider fast, now I work very hard every day to maintain that loss.

I have had 3 sleep studies done. 2 in their facility and 1 in mine. I had mild sleep apnea but more importantly they learned that I have a shallow breathing and never really get rid of the carbon dioxide. I learned I need to be on bi-pap to help expel the carbon dioxide. Now 150lbs down, I still use bipap when I am on medications but most of the time i don't.

You are a bit behind where you should be and given your initial post I am sure you know why. The good news is you recognize it and you know what you need to do to get moving again. Don't let the past dictate your success. Pull out your post op diet and get back to the basics. This will ensure things start to move in the right direction again. You've lost over 70lbs, that means you do know how it is done. I know you can do this but you have to change what you are doing whatever that might be.

I called my insurance to better understand the requirements and they made it clear I needed to use a Bariatric center of excellence. It turned out the center was in the same clinic that my PCP was in.

I definately spend way more time cooking, shopping and planning meals. Before surgery I was always eating junk and fast food, now I am playful to make sure I have the proper groceries and I have had to learn to cook differently. I live on Pinterest finding recipes that I can use as a base and then tweak it to make it Bariatric friendly.

I am so happy for you! This guy sounds great and I really hope that you have found your guy. There is nothing better than finding the guy that truly is your other half. Bless you!

Teeny tiny is what I hear most often. My boys who I see every few months are the most shocked by my weight loss. They have only ever known me as obese so they both are freeked out and tell me I am too skinny. Oh and because I am tall I have heard a few references to my old favorite string bean. (Before I had my children I was tall an stick thin and was called string bean relentlessly by class mates) If only I had know how much I would appreciate being called a string bean now. I have worked hard for it so I just smile when it happens. My dermatologist who sees me every 10 weeks is shocked at how "teeny tiny" I am. He saw me at my worst in the hospital, 315lbs with a infection that could have taken my life so we are very close. He saved my life once literally. Wait until he sees me in August! I had my first plastics and he is going to be happily shocked at the results.

I found the easiest way to get close to goals was to be sipping something every few moments while you are awake. For week 1 Protein was not important only fluids. Week 2 we added full liquids including Protein shakes, cream strained Soups, Greek yogurt and even cream of wheat. Week 2 was when I started feeling somewhat normal again but was not even close to hitting Water and protein goals. Even though you don't feel like it you need to keep on sipping or you will get dehydrated, dizzy and nauseated which are signs of dehydration. Some people have ended up back at the hospital because they just did not feel like sipping. Best of luck to you and congratulations!

@@2feelgood @@Inner Surfer Girl is exactly right. I had RNY bypass and it controls how much I put in my body but certainly not what I choose to put in it. I can eat around my surgery all day long if I choose to. Trust me, there are days when I have only to find out that I had either stalled out or gained weight. I got to goal and have remained there so far because I choose to follow the rules at least 90% of the time every day. Why not try resetting before heading for another surgery? Go back to the basics. Start as if you had surgery yesterday and go on a liquid diet for a few days. Use the 5 day pouch test which you can google. Then follow the rules and see if the weight starts coming back off. The most important this to do is track every single thing you put in your mouth. Leverage something like Myfitnesspal to do that. Best of luck to you!

@@stephanie_kayln I would immediately call your insurance and ask what is required of you for Bariatric surgery. Many times they require you go to a Bariatric center of excellence as part of the criteria. They will also give you the list of requirements needed to get your surgery approved. In most cases, if you choose your Bariatric center of excellent they will handle everything. It is good that you have your appointment with your PCP because you will need them to do a pre op physical but I will warn you that so many general doctors are not as educated as they should be and tend to talk patients out of taking this step. Just be aware of this as you begin to work with them. Congratulations on taking the first steps at getting help. It is worth all of the hoops you have to jump through but just realize there will likely be many. Most programs require a 3/6/ or 12 month supervised diet. A BMI of 40 or more or 35 with comorbitities (you will have no problem here), many require the use of a bariartric center of excellence, monthly sessions with a nutritionist, clearance my a physiatrist and I am sure I am missing a few. If you go to a Bariatric center of excellence, they will handle getting that all done with you and make clear what needs to happen. I am post op 22 months. I have lost almost half of me, in went from 310 to 159 and just had my first plastic surgery to remove loose fat and skin. Having weight loss surgery is the best thing I ever did for myself. Best of luck to you!

I try to stick to protein options that give you the biggest bang without all the sugar. For me, that solution hands down is premier protein ready made shakes. They have 30 grams of protein in an 11oz shake, they only have 1 gram of sugar and are 160 calories. They don't have that crappy gritty protein taste and served ice cold are pretty great. Even 22 months post op I still have one every morning. It ensures that I hit my protein goal every day.

For me, it took 7 weeks before I felt like me again. By that time I was able to get all my fluids and Protein in and I remember going to Vegas for 11 days and I outlasted my family. It will get better with time.

@@Indieflickers Thanks for asking the questions. I am one week out from brachioplasty and still swelling like crazy. I am also itching like crazy and hoping that ends sometime soon. I don't know whether this level of itching is normal? Everything I have read say there is some itching but this is crazy. Did you itch like crazy with your TT and Brachioplasty? I have allergies to many different adhesives and I am actually wondering if I am having an allergic reaction to the glue or the mesh binding used on my incisions. I am currently taking Benadryl every 4 hours and it barely takes the edge off the itching. I am hardly taking anything for pain anymore which can cause mild itching but my itching is only on my arms. They look fantastic though, even swollen. It is crazy how you can literally feel your arms swell and tighten. Hopefully your swelling goes down soon.

Most plastic surgeons will not remove loose skin until you are at goal and stabilized for 4 to 6 months. In some cases, costmetic surgeons will even require you are at goal and maintaining for a minimum of 1 year.

That does not seem normal to me. The only thing I noticed was how empty and flat my stomach became with every 10lbs lost. The part about your stomach being numb is what I would be most worried about. Have you called your surgeons office?

@@melbell2222 Start by removing all the junk from your pantry and refrigerator. Take each day on its own, in other words don't think about how long you have to do this. Every single day of my liquid only diet, I reminded myself of why I was doing this in the first place. Keep your eye on the prize! Remind yourself constantly of that. The first day is the worst and by the time you hit day 4 it becomes much easier. Lastly, I would not have survived without good chicken bone broth. Everytime I felt hungry and was sick of the shakes I turned to the broth. Just having that hot cup of delicious broth in my hand to sip on really helped me through. Make sure it is good homemade broth not the crap in the can. That stuff tastes like dishwater...... Best of luck to you!

@@jesslo First of all congratulations on your loss so far, it is excellent. If you are not hitting your Protein goals you will stall out. You need to find a protein solution that works for you. I struggled hard those first few weeks with protein until I called my surgeon and told them. That call changed everything for me. The Bariatric nurse who had RNY herself suggested that I try Premier Protein ready made shakes. Each shake has 30 grams of protein, 1 gram of sugar and 160 calories. Most importantly they don't have that nasty protein flavor or the grit from protein powders. In the first few weeks, I had to milk them down with lactose free milk to thin them out. chocolate was and still is my favorite. I am now 22 months post op and I still drink one everyday. Protein keeps you healthy and actually assists in weight loss. Besides Water, it is critical for your success. You have to find a solution that will work for you but you must get your protein in to remain healthy through this process.

@@shannonmarczak I have said this many times to many people. The only thing I regret is not having WLS sooner. I was 51 had diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, severe gerd, stage 3 kidney disease by the time I actually decided not to be scared anymore. Within a few months of surgery all of my testing came back normal. I still have some issues with my kidneys but compared to where I was headed, I am extremely healthy! I regret waiting because all those years in an obese state left my joints severely damaged. In particular my spine and I have been paying for it ever since. Don't wait and do more damage to yourself. Walk, no run to your closest center of excellence and get help for this disease. You will not be sorry!

It very well could be an issue with your bowels. If you are having trouble going to the bathroom you should call your Bariatric team. You don't want to end up with a blockage. Hope you feel better soon!