Brandeis

Hey all! I'm your fairweather friend who I guess only comes around when I need something; haven't been on the forums for a good year but now I'm finally looking into plastics. In particular, I'm looking into a drainless around-the-world abdominolplasty and a breast lift (not reduction). I've found a great surgeon who I think I'm going to go with, but when I mentioned that I was going on a cruise in early march (and snorkeling on it!) the scheduler suggested that she thought I'd be fully healed by then, so long as I had the surgery mid Dec at the latest. I'm curious if this is a realistic timeframe; if anyone has had these surgeries, how long realistically was it until you could do things like hike, exercise, run, swim...? In the ocean, especially. It's a cruise, so obviously I would LOVE to wear an amazing bikini on it in March, and look the best I have ever looked. But is this a realistic time frame? Or am I likely setting myself up to ruin my cruise experience?

It's been nuts! The pain is so much worse than I expected, and so much worse than my sleeve surgery. I was back to using my computer and working two days post op, after sleeve, but now I'm still sleeping most of the day. It's getting better bit by bit ... Tonight I'm going to try to sit down at the table for a proper dinner for the first time! And tomorrow, maybe a shower...

I ended up getting an earlier date than I ever could have imagined, which is THIS MONDAY!!! so that's about 3 1/2 months until my cruise. I took it. I don't think I want to wait. Now I'm figuring out other recovery things....

I am officially one year out today -- had my surgery 11/14. On the day of surgery, I had lost 25 pounds to get from 317 to 292, and was incredibly proud of myself. Today I'm 181. I am 14 pounds from goal at a year out. In the last month I lost 5 so -- soon maybe ?? Definitely by 18 months if nothing else. I did a bunch of progress shots at 6 months, figure I'd add to them today! First pick is at my heaviest; second pic is xmas day 2016, so about a year ago; third from 6 months out and the last, of course, is today! First pic here is about 1 week post op -- I was so proud of how much I'd lost, jeeeeeez!! Second picture is around January, I think, then march, and then today, again! This one is painful. I took the picture on the right the day before surgery...looking back at it now, I don't even recognize myself! My face from my 10 year college reunion at my heaviest, and then again, today (I don't recognize myself in EITHER of these pictures, and it freaks me out just a little. Finally, for fun, a big change -- I picked up a tennis racket again this fall. And now it's too cold to play and I'm mad, because I want to SO VERY MUCH. I'll have to see if there are any cheap indoor courts... Other awesome moments in my recent life: > seatbelts fit comfortably on airplanes > I can cross my legs to sit comfortably in any situation > didn't have to worry AT ALL about my size when going on rollercoasters at Hersheypark > I haven't had a clumsy fall down in months, despite an incredible amount of increased activity > SIZE 10-12 FROM A SIZE 24, I CAN FIT IN STRAIGHT SIZES!! went shopping at H&M and other places and realized how cheap clothes can be.... > went from fattest friend in the group to...potentially....the thinnest..........??? 14 more pounds to normal BMI, and that's what I really want more than anything else.

I take a lot of selfies. Assembled this; roughly a year, each roughly a month apart......

I hit my high school weight this week. So I tried on the prom dress I for some inexplicable reason still had in the back of my closet. And it fit. I definitely need a bra at 33 (which I didn't at 18 lol) but otherwise...HELL YEAH. ADDING IN HIGH WEIGHT FOR COMPARISON:

You need a revisit, but protein shakes aren't the answer, because they're not sustainable. Don't look for a short term solution; start looking for things you can eat for the rest of your life and be not only losing weight but also happy with your food choices. Make meal plans, and figure out what you'll enjoy eating but that will also fit within your dietary restrictions. In the long run, this will be much more successful than something you do for a short while before going back to poor choices.

8 weeks is early, yet; your appetite will come back eventually, for better or worse. I was a huge fan of food before, tried anything I could try, and I'm one again now (a little over a year out). I just eat LESS now, when I try things. (;

By the by, it's not some office worker who makes these policies or determines whether or not you're a good candidate. It's rules that have been written out by experts, and included in your health care information. You have a right to this information, to read exactly what would be required by you before you even begin, and potentially to contest it if you have good reason. It's frankly not even that complicated; I'd say it took me less than an hour all total to figure out what my requirements were, before I entered into my program. Reducing it to "some office worker choosing your treatment" is extremely inaccurate and not particularly helpful.

Well, going to Mexico means completely avoiding any kind of tests to make sure you're a good candidate, so.......... But I also disagree. But sure, we can go the cynical route, and my point still stands. Insurance companies are evil, maybe, but a huge part of why they do that stuff is to protect the patient -- because protecting the patient also protects them from added costs. By making sure you do 3-6 months supervised weight loss with a dietician, it means they know you're not going to eat something stupid and make yourself horribly sick post op, thus costing them a lot more money to deal with your care. By making you see a psychiatrist, it means they're not sending someone with a major binge eating problem into the program, thus saving them from having to potentially pay for a revision. By checking your vitals, they're making sure you're not going to go into cardiac arrent or die on the operating table, thus hurting their numbers. By providing additional care after surgery, they're making sure that you're doing well, which might lead other people to their insurance to do the same surgery. Just because it's not altruistic doesn't mean the end result isn't the same. It's better for you in the long run to put up with the "hassle". On top of that, just because the insurance companies may be evil doesn't mean the people at lower levels are. The people who you can call up to ask questions and get information, the local doctors who are within network if something goes wrong, are resources that are only at your fingertips if you work within the system, and I personally think they're very, very much worth the extra couple of months to do things right. Listen to your health care worker husband. He sounds like he's probably one of the good ones.

The "hoops" aren't that bad, in most places -- and are there as much to protect you as to protect the insurance companies. They're there to make sure you know what you're getting into, and what to expect afterward, and how to make the most of the sleeve you're getting. Cutting corners NOW isn't a good sign for your future, in my opinion. If you have no other choice, then I can completely understand going to Mexico, you do you! But if you just don't want to deal with a little bit of hassle, I feel like you're starting this out on the wrong foot.

The wrists are what freak me out the most, I think. Wrists. Collarbones. Being able to feel my hip bones (and ribs, even, when I lie down!) My body feels so alien, sometimes. Other times I just grab the excess skin on my belly and that feels more familiar/natural. xD

Yours sounds like it's going pretty amazingly!!

I "liked" this but I also groaned. Thank you all!!

I go to a fancy party every oct...dug out my picture from last year (size 22) to compare to this year (size 12, and that's in DESIGNER sizes) and...wow! By this point last year I'd already lost about 20 pounds on my pre-op diet, and was feeling really good about how I looked. Everyone was complimenting my weight loss....lmfao One year next week. I'm going to have to dig out the big dresses to put on and compare again!

It still is uncomfortable for me at almost a year out -- but only if I eat too fast, or too much, or eat and drink at the same time. If you go slow, are careful, and chew everything well, it'll be better.

Try the liquid over the powder. I can no longer stomach the powdered stuff (not after I saw the residue it left behind in some of my bottles...) but the liquid is the bomb.

It'll come off. Most programs advise you not to weigh yourself outside of post-op checkins with doctors. we all weigh ourselves anyway. lol. but it'll be better once you're able to walk/run/whatever exercise you do, to get your metabolism moving, and believe it or not, once you're able to eat MORE you might start losing more. As I see it, though, as long as the scale is moving in the right overall direction, don't stress it.

Been so busy, I didn't have time to go for a walk/run for about 3 weeks. I was ridiculously excited when I finally had a day to do it........that would never have happened before!

I can tolerate a very small amount of all three. Rice & bread have a tendency to swell in your stomach, though, so eating a lot of them can make me sick; if I eat more than a tablespoon or two of rice I can feel it starting to rise up, and it's really unpleasant. A great way to control cravings. I definitely eat all three now and then, but only as a "treat" and a special occasion thing. None really have protein, so they don't have a lot of what I need to keep myself going. Focus on that protein first!

How long does your diet plan have you drinking shakes?? I was off them as soon as I started purees....can't stomach them at all anymore.

Salad was off my list for about 3 months, according to my diet plan. It's just rough on the tum. Anything that high in fiber, actually, can just shoot through you (a charming picture, I know) and you have to be careful eating.

My fingers have shrunk so much, I've had to drop a bunch of rings. Even the ones I got in high school -- they don't fit now! I literally swung my hand and one went flying off not that long ago....

Exercise is key, imo, for long term success. Have you considered swimming...? It's low impact, and can be great for people with joint issues. And, well, everyone else, too...

I mean, there are people who have "pushed through" and lost the weight, but...for me , the complications of surgery are way lower and less of a risk factor than those of staying overweight. Add to that the fact that the chances of you getting the weight off on your own and keeping it off are extremely slim -- I believe the number is somewhere around 1/125 people actually succeed in doing this. That's less than a 1% chance of success. If you want to give it a try, give it a try. Maybe you're the one in a hundred who can do it. But I'm not sure what you're so afraid of in surgery. And, again, it really sounds to me like you need to talk to a psychiatrist about it all before you make a decision either way.