naturegirl

Well they look great in a nice bra but my hubby knows the shocking truth! I actually look pretty flat chested in a tee shirt without a bra on. It's sad but I wouldn't trade them for anything. I love my 150+ lb weight loss more than a full chest

No don't be sorry.. I'm wondering what size I'll really be.. There the only thing I like these days lmao

They're still here, just deflated haha! I went from a 46DD to a 38DD.....not necessarily because they are still large but they need that much room for all the extra skin. Sorry if its TMI.

I'm in a gown just waiting to start my journey. This has been a life changing experience so far. I am a bone cancer survivor & in remission as of 2 yrs, 5 mos and feel this surgery will help get me to my pre-cancer weight. It was a 3yr fight with chemo & the amputation of my leg at cancer site. Due to loss of mobility, constant hospital stays & steroids I actually gained weight. I am very active with 3 kids & cycling helps but need additional help shedding this weight as I don't want to have beaten cancer only to die later due to being fat.

So I had surgery yesterday and couldn't believe how easy and almost pain free it was...until they sent me home and took me off of the morphine drip. Holy Cow do I feel a lot of pain now, especially the left side of my abdomen. Can someone give me an idea on the actual pain recovery time? Or at least what I can expect. Thanks.

This has been helpful. I was sleeves on 7/21/15 also. I am pretty sore and wondering when it will go away. One thing I'm worried about is having a feeling to cough. When I start coughing it last awhile and I have been coughing up blood tinged mucus. It's not a lot of blood by any means. I think it just from the tube that was in my throat. I'm worried I could pop a stitch. Anyone else have that issue? Also I really haven't drank or eaten anything. Advice please.

That's great! My husband weighed 315 lbs prior to his pre-op diet. A month later and he's in the 270s. His pants are all too big and shirts are listening. It's a great feeling.
Keep up the good work ????

Aside from losing weight I hope to learn how to eat correctly. So food types/priorities, Portion Control, and listening to my body are goals that I have.

I had surgery yesterday (Tues 7/21). It's 3:40am pst and can't sleep. Kept dozing off all day yesterday, but can't sleep now. Should Find out sometime this morning if I can go home today or if it'll be Thursday. I'm currently itching everywhere! The nurses said its a common reaction and nothing to worry about. Gas pain isn't bad at all, just annoying.

DH has been living off of blended retried Beans with Monterey Jack, purred onions, and sauce. He's also puréed chili, and made a cauliflower mash.

I have residual back problems due to a car accident in 2000, but slipped over winter and created new issues. What I noticed is that the weight I dropped in the weeks leading up to my pre-op diet, and during the Pre-op diet have helped the recent pain to diminish significantly. Hoping that some of the older pain will dissipate overtime as well due to the weight loss.

Surgery went great. The Doctor was impressed by my liver shrinkage. It shrank so much it was floppy, lol. I thought the pain immediately after surgery was moderate. I recall asking for pain medication because it felt so bad, but once it kicked in things weren't so bad. Yes it hurts when I sit up or sit down, but it's manageable. I've slept most of the day and was pretty loopy for a few hours after the procedure. I have also gone for one walk. They had me wait about 6 hours after surgery until walking due to dizziness. The anxiety was worth it, I'm now on the losers bench ????

Aside from losing weight I hope to learn how to eat correctly. So food types/priorities, Portion Control, and listening to my body are goals that I have.

Aside from losing weight I hope to learn how to eat correctly. So food types/priorities, Portion Control, and listening to my body are goals that I have.

All insurance companies are different. A friend of mine chose a different health insurance plan then me (same employee) and had go complete the 6 month supervised diet, while all I had to do was list out my dieting attempts. It comes down to talking with your insurance company early in the process to identify the steps needed.
While discouraging think of it as an opportunity to start working on some of the post-op and pre-op responsibilities and life changes.

I was sooo into Rosarita Traditional Refried Nonfat Beans with melted cheese. Actually, I still like that stuff.
Just don't do what I heard one nitwit did: Puree a Big Mac.
LOL!

I bought fresh bean and beef chili in the deli section of my supermarket. Added a bit of beef broth to thin it out and popped it in the blender. Sprinkled a bit of cheddar on top. It was AMAZING. I had it every day of my pureed stage.

Yep...I was happy to finally get pureed food when the time came, too. I made a beef stew, very light on the potatoes, with carrots, onions, etc. I pureed some of it and froze it in an ice cube tray. One microwaved cube made me very happy and it tasted great. The stew lasted until I was moving into the soft foods phase.

By the time you're actually able to eat pureed foods after being on the liquid diet, a dead rat will taste good pureed. Believe me.

Tomorrow I leave to go to Chapel Hill. I will call before I leave to see what time the operation is scheduled for.
I have been working on stuff for school to try to keep my mind occupied. They say things happen when the time is right, and the time is right. Looking back at this process I cant believe I was able to get all of this taken care of in this short of a time frame. Hopefully I will be back home by Monday.
We go back to school on August 12th so hopefully I am ready for that.
Thanks for all of the support and good wishes.
Jesse

I wanted to give everyone a short update. The insurance company approved me and the doctors office called me on Tuesday to set up my appt with the surgeon and they said July 27. I freaked out. I told them I am supposed to go back to school on Aug 12 and I needed it done as soon as possible to allow me to heal.
The next morning I got another phone call and my meeting with the surgeon is tomorrow, Mon at 1015. When I talked to his nurse she assured me the doctor will rearrange things and I will get this taken care of in the next 10 days.
I cant wait to get it finished. Even though I have not been told I had to go on a pre-op diet I have, for all intents and purposes, been on one. I have had a couple of scares with my hernias so I am very cautious about eating anything that might cause a blockage. I am dealing with a lot of belly discomfort but I am so ready to move forward.
I have 3 goals I have set for myself, well, milestones maybe:
1. I want to wear "normal" pants again. I haven't been able to do this for over a year because of the other operations I have had. I have had to wear elastic waist band athletic pants. I hate wearing those to school. I cant wait to dress like other people.
2. I want to walk down the stairs for a fire drill at school. I am on the 3rd Floor. Between my knee, my foot and the weight I cant go down 3 flights of stairs. I want to be able to make sure my students are safe, no matter what.
3. I want to be able to get certified in CPR again. I was an EMT for over 10 years and even taught CPR during that time. But because of my weight I haven't been able to do it for over 15 years. I want to be able to do that again.
I cant wait to do those things again. I cant wait to be able to move forward.
Hopefully I can update people with a very quick surgery date.
Jesse

Just a quick update, I called the insurance company today and they have all of my paperwork. They should make a decision within 3 business days. They also told me the requested surgery date is July 15th.
I feel a lot better about things today.

I had surgery yesterday (Tues 7/21). It's 3:40am pst and can't sleep. Kept dozing off all day yesterday, but can't sleep now. Should Find out sometime this morning if I can go home today or if it'll be Thursday. I'm currently itching everywhere! The nurses said its a common reaction and nothing to worry about. Gas pain isn't bad at all, just annoying.