Taoz

Howdy sleevers! My weight has stabilised at about 69kg over the past 5-6 months, and an opportunity came up with my plastic surgeon to take a cancellation surgery place (with 1 weeks notice) for last Tuesday 6th August for my first planned skin removal, FDL tummy tuck, and I went for it I had been set to get this operation at end of November. I got home late yesterday after 5 days in hospital, and with 1 central drain still in place until I see my surgeon for follow up on Tuesday. Very happy with how my tummy is looking so far, and post op pain is being managed with panadol and some endone still. My waist was quite small before the op, but looks REEAAALLY tiny now, even with the post op swelling I plan to have second skin removal at the end of November, after being in my little sister's wedding party, to get breast reduction and lift. Then further operations for upper arms in inner thighs next year. Who else has started skin removal operations now post sleeve? Cheers, Tanya

At 13 months post op and close to goal, I've also started looking into skin removal surgery. It took several months to get in for an appointment with the local specialist plastic surgeon I am keen to go with here, and their waiting list for surgery is 6 months plus.. so I didn't want to wait until after I have been weight stable 6 months before even starting to get the ball rolling. He previously specialised mostly in breast surgery, but in recent years has become really sought after for his fantastic post-weight-loss skin removal surgeries. If you have short windows of opportunity for surgery dates, and are keen on a well sought after surgeon then give yourself plenty of time to plan your operations. I have lost 52kg (115lb) and would love to lose up to another 9kg (20lb) to make it all the way down to "normal" BMI, however I have a fair bit of loose skin on belly, butt, upper arms and inner thighs, and my poor once very large boobs are now mostly deflated skin So I'm not sure how much more I really have to lose beyond the skin... I have a lot of upper ribs showing on my chest already at 69kg (152lb) and 157cm (5'2")

As others have stated above, loose skin happens when you lose a significant amount of weight. It will bounce back better if you are still young, have good genetics, have a lot of collagen/elasticity in your skin. Once it's been stretched out a lot by weight, it will remain mostly stretched out whether you lose weight fast or slow, so don't let speed of loss worry you either way. I carried a lot of weight on my arms and legs as well as my torso, so now at 52kg (approx 110lb?) loss and close to goal I have a fair bit of excess skin on my upper arms and inner thighs, as well as tummy. And my poor boobs have shrunk from 16G down to 12E and mostly skin (saw plastic surgeon for consult yesterday and they said once I get a breast reduction I'll be down to a full B/maybe small C!). I'll be getting a Fleur De Lis (vertical as well as horizontal incision) tummy tuck, belt lipectomy (rear tummy tuck), upper arm reducation, inner thigh reduction, breast lift and possibly breast fat transfer if I still look deflated post breast lift. Down from 121kg (BMI ~49) to 69kg (BMI 28) at 13 months post op.

sorry hun, this is carrying over from May 2018 surgeries (though doesn't say so in the title.. dunno if the original poster can alter it to saw May 2018?)

Updating me at 10 months post op. Doing really well, weight loss has slowed a lot as I approach "normal" BMI with only 12kg to go to ultimate goal weight. I have booked in with a local plastic surgeon for an initial appointment in June to discuss possible skin removal surgeries starting from the end of this year. Once I meet the "weight stable for at least 6 months" medicare requirement I will be possibly looking at the following skin removal surgeries: belt lipectomy (aka 360 degree body lift), extended tummy tuck (likely including fleur de lis vertical incision), breast lift and possible reduction (the poor girls are now maybe 2/3 their original size but only 1/4 their original volume), upper arm lift and inner thigh lift. I'm feeling well, still not keen on walking in place or lifting weights at a gym thus far, but enjoying a lot of physical movement and activity doing gardening work (including now some paid casual gardening work helping another lady at her place) and beach fishing. I'm down to mostly size small/10 Australian tops, skirts and dresses, and size 10-12 pants but the excess skin remaining still requires larger undies and jeans. I STILL have calves too chunky for most gumboots (thanks genetics! lol) so although the rest of me fits well in standard fishing waders I still need custom ones, and have taken my previously XXL custom pair back to the manufacturer across town the other week for them to use the same cut-down boots but attach a size small body-section to them Tomorrow I'll enjoy going back to a local large second-hand place to look at some smaller autumn/winter clothing for me as the size 16 stuff from last winter/early spring is much too big now I got a few lovely dresses and tops there the other week (with a friend there to help me select suitable stuff to try, and giving honest feedback on how things look on).. I took a friend as I realised I have no concept of suitable styles yet for my much smaller and differently shaped body! I had to previously make do with whatever fit best / looked least bad from the very small selection of plus size clothing available. I hope everyone else is doing well and feeling good. (note, my friend photobombing my blue dress photo is actually wearing one of my old plus-size t-shirts) (the watermelon is one I grew this summer, an Orangeglo melon with bright orange flesh and it weighed 12.2kg. This was the first photo I posted on my Facebook recently that showed my weight loss and sparked a lot of surprise/questions from those who hadn't heard about my surgery)

Sorry I missed this initial question Mikeyy! I had a first appointment at Ashford with the bariatric physician in late March talking about my weight and health history, explaining the sleeve procedure (which was what I went in wanting), the pro-op diet etc. Had second appointment with the surgeon himself, Dr Michael France, only a week or so later, and was able to book in for my sleeve surgery 3 weeks after that on 2nd May. I think the out of pocket costs were about $150 for each of the visits? (may be over-estimating). With PHI the $3500 gap fee for the surgery includes all follow up appointments which so far were at (I think) 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months, and soon 1 year. Anaesthetist gap was I think $400, and my health insurance excess on admission was $250. Very happy with my surgeon and outcomes. As per our recent private messages, Dr Michael France primarily does gastric sleeve surgery (and I think is the most experience with sleeve in Adelaide) but there are many others who do bypass if that is your preferred surgery.

For me what felt like "hunger pains" "stomach growling" in the early weeks was stomach acid and healing, and generally my tummy trying to figure out WTF just happened to it I remain on reflux medication at 7 months post op as without it I get some annoying reflux, but with it no issues at all. At 4 days post op it is most likely just acid/adjusting post surgery. But some people also feel quite hungry early on post surgery and while you are only having thin fluids etc that may remain the case for you until you move up to more solid foods that sit longer in your tummy and provide more nutrition to create satiety.

Hi all. Doing good over here. For the most part I'm feeling well, though finding I get dizzy sometimes when going from bending forward to standing up straight (blood pressure is fine though). I stall at times, particularly mid-cycle but weight is still working it's way down. I made it into the 70s (kg) this week with 79.8kg the other day, which puts me just over 2/3 of the way there, with 20kg to go to (optimistic) goal weight of 60kg. I stick with 1000-1200 calories a day, minimum 75g protein. I'm not specifically limiting carbs. Most mornings I have a 2/3s of standard serve of rolled oats porridge and find I'm more hungry on the days I don't have this for breakfast. Morning tea is 2 shots of fresh ground and brewed decaf coffee (thankyou jura coffee machine!!!) with 200ml hot 1% milk, benefibre (soluble fibre) and a 15g protein serve of peptipro collagen hydrolysate (tasteless beef gelatin-derived supplement, good protein plus supposed to aid in skin elasticity!). Lunch is meat and veggies, either leftovers or half a serving of lite n easy (frozen) or youfoodz (fresh) healthy ready-meals (150-225 calories for a half serving). Afternoon tea is often a chobani high-protein yoghurt or a quest protein bar (if I"m out and about) and dinner is fresh meat and veggies. I'll sometimes have a piece of fruit or a few crackers with cheese as a snack too, and a few squares of 80% cocoa dark chocolate. I keep up my fluids with that decaf coffee, 1-2 large decaf teas, a few glasses of water and a few glasses of chilled brewed fruit tea. I'm down to an Australian size 14-16 and had to go bathers shopping the other week as we are about to start our very hot dry South Australian summer. I had trouble finding bathers that sat nicely on me as my previously very full large bust is now a very deflated large bust lol.. looking forward to a boob lift in another year or two! Attached is me in the one I decided looked best. I hope everyone is doing well and getting the love and support they need. Cheers, Tanya

I plan to buy myself a fishing kayak when I reach goal weight (60-65kg). I had looked at them a few years ago but came to the conclusion that I was really too heavy to be able to safely and comfortably use the most stable/suitable fishing kayaks available. We just spent a weekend camping with some families from my kids school and several brought some small kids and larger tandem kayaks and my son and husband loved them I'll have to get a wetsuit to go with it (something I also wasn't keen to do at size 24/26). I will also be getting myself some new fishing waders as I'm already swimming in my old ones, plus my feet are shrinking a bit and my old ones were sized to include my orthotics I used to need. I already did a massive clothes shopping trip a few weeks ago, out of necessity, as I"m now a size 16 and my old size 22-26 spring/summer clothing wasn't going to work at all. I stuck with very affordable stuff from k-mart/best and less though, as I'd likely be needing stuff in smaller sizes again in another 3-4 months (though I can start borrowing stuff from my sister and mum soon too)

Still chugging along ok over here. Had to go shopping for a whole new spring/summer wardrobe last week (cheap stuff from k-mart / best and less since I'm only going to need it one season) because I'm now a size 16 and all my old summer clothes were size 22-26. Once I get to size 12-14 I can also start raiding my little sister's and my mum's wardrobes Down to 86.8kg this morning.

hmm... looks like the consensus so far is bypassers have become less appetising to mosquitoes, but not sleevers.. bugger... I'm another person they usually flock to

I'm 38 and my surgery was also May 2nd At time of surgery my period was 2 weeks late (I'm usually very regular, I figure delayed by VLCD for 3 weeks pre surgery) and it arrived nearly a week post op. It has remained odd since. some post op have been crazy heavy as usual, the most recent was shorter and lighter, the one before at least 2 weeks late. I think the low calorie intake, the surgery, and the hormonal changes it causes really throws our system out of whack, and it might take a while to settle back into it's new normal (or not settle for a while, if menopausal).

I also use MFP (have used it every day since 2 weeks pre op). Some things I have to guestimate my serving (especially when it's recorded by "cups" not grams) but it gives me a pretty good record for each day. If I have a couple of squares of dark chocolate or a teaspoon of peanut butter (after making my daughters toast) etc I make sure to record that too and keep to my current 1000 calorie limit. MFP is also really good for tracking my water intake and pushing me to drink more.

3 months post op and aim for 1000 calories a day. I'll probably move that up to 1200 calories in another 6 months or so.

yikes, it adds up to a lot when I calculate it I"m only 3 months post op, so I'm still having some protein water and a collagen protein supplement in coffee daily. Taking Multivitamin, Calcium&Vit D, and Iron&Folate tablets. My multi and calcium&VitD vitamins are a special Australian bariatric formulation, and cost me Aus$47, the regular Iron&Folate another $5. (note, everything in Australia costs more than US). My daily protein water and collagen supplement costs just under $100 a month. I'll be dropping the $60 for protein water beyond about 6 months post op, but may keep up the collagen for longer, especially if it may help my skin elasticity in the first year post surgery (though I'm expecting to need some skin removal surgery) I do tend to think of my protein supplements costs as some of my "food" costs though, with the remainder being mostly rolled oats porridge (like $2 a month lol), fresh veggies (half of them grown in my organic garden), some lean meats (mostly chicken drumsticks/marylands to slow cook sous-vide and beef mince), some crackers, cheese and milk, decaf coffee beans and some quest protein bars, so the overall "food" costs for me are pretty cheap per month and will be very cheap once my food volume allows me to get all my protein with meat and dairy. Once I get beyond 6 months post op I may move to cheaper vitamins provided I"m sure they will be effective for my post op tummy and diet. When I see my doctor this week I"m going to ask him to order a blood test to check my current vitamin levels (since my surgeon didn't ask for it and I'm not seeing him now for another 4 months). I particularly want to know how my calcium, B12, and iron levels are.

As others have said, it's normal to feel scared about surgery, but it is a very safe surgery and it would be far more risky to stay obese and risk all the dangerous obesity-related diseases versus having the surgery. Try to let go of your shame. There is a multi-billion dollar diet industry that sells you products and ideas that DO NOT WORK in the long term, and have been shown time and again to fail, but they cause you to blame yourself when they fail. Many of us keep getting fatter the more we try to diet away the weight. Once you become obese the chances of being able to lose the weight and keep it off on your own are tiny, our biology works against us to put the weight back on. The only proven effective way to be able to lose significant amounts of weight and keep it off (provided you put in the work to make the tool work for you) is bariatric surgery.

I was sleeved 2nd May, so 3 months post op now. I"m doing well, mostly feeling good (Aunt flo knocked me around pretty bad mentally the other week). I'm eating 800-1000 calories a day, minimum 75g protein (keeping detailed track in MyFitnessPal) and finding that's plenty to keep my body happy and hunger at bay. I"m not doing any major exercise/extra walking/gym etc, but am doing physical work shifting a lot of dirt, heavy digging, shoveling mulch etc in my veggie patch when the weather allows me (mid-winter here). My weight tends to stay the same for up to a week, then drop for a week, then stagnate again for a bit. I weigh myself most days but never feel disappointed when it's stalling since I know I'm eating well and the scales will eventually drop again. I'm down just over 10 BMI points now and almost half way to goal with a loss of 28kg (62 pounds), 18kg (40 pounds) of it since surgery.

I've seen people post that they were eating about a cup of solids at a time at one year post op. I"m only 3 months post op so still only about a half cup of solids per meal for me so far.

You should be able to get some unflavoured/unsweetened whey protein isolate powders if you want to make yourself a shake and can then include your preferred amount of stevia or similar. I never liked milky shakes either. I have a gelatin derived "peptipro collagen hydrolysate" protein supplement to add 14.5g protein to my morning decaf coffee. My mum now uses this supplement in her daily bowl of soup (it dissolves well in hot liquids as well as cold, without any gritty texture) I also use an unflavoured clear protein water powder (derived from whey protein isolate) to make nice not-too-sweet clear protein waters with brewed (then chilled) fruit tea. My favourite is red seal brand "peach and pineapple" and I add a little stevia powder to add slight sweetness.

soft meats like mince and soft-cooked chicken were fine for me from around week 3 post op. Some people have real issues with chicken, and I wonder if it's because chicken can become quite dry and chewy with most traditional cooking methods when ensuring it's cooked all the way through (to avoid risk of salmonella and other food-born illness). I slow-cook my chicken in a sous-vide hot water bath for 4-6 hours so it's always fully cooked and soft but never over-heated and remains really moist.

Avoid it for now if your plan says to do so. In future you may wish to include it if its something you like. My plan includes moderate carbs, not very low carb as some people are doing post sleeve. I actually include 2/3 of a standard serving of porridge (made from natural rolled oats cooked with water) as my breakfast for most days, which myfitnesspal tells me is 74 calories, 10.8g carbs. I find it to be a good quick high fibre meal which my tummy is happy with (I cook a batch on the weekend and microwave my serving in the morning). At 3 months post op my surgeon is happy with my progress and what I'm eating.

Interesting. This is the first time I've seen reference to obese peoples ghrelin levels not dropping fully after eating in the way that non-obese peoples ghrelin levels do. It certainly supports the idea that our obese bodies are actively pushing us to continue eat too much, not just our mental desires/cravings for food.

I had trouble sleeping for the first month post op. I had trouble getting to sleep, and would be restless and waking several times a night. I think it was a side effect of the anaesthesia, and post surgery hormonal chaos. The only nights I had a good sleep were the couple of times I took an over the counter sleeping pill. Hopefully it will resolve for you in time.

In the "honeymoon period" sleevers still lose weight even while not eating a great diet. But when the post sleeve honeymoon period is over you will tend to stall and even start regaining of you continue to make poor food choices. You said the food you are eating with your parents is bad. How bad is it? Start tracking your food and calories each day to figure out how many calories you are eating, as the current total must be more than what your body needs to maintain its current weight. If you are eating more than 1200 calories (counting everything, including drinks) then it's likely too much, especially while you still have more to lose. I'm currently having 800-1000 calories at 3 months post op, and will move to 1200 calories when close to goal weight. Figure out how much protein you are getting each day. Not getting enough protein can result in losing muscle and organ mass which reduces you basal metabolic rate (the amount of calories your body burns just to function day to day). My target is minimum 75g protein. Most people's target is at least 60g. Don't worry if you have health problems limiting physical activity. A diet that creates a calorie deficit requiring your body to burn fat to function day to day is key to making your sleeve tool work for you.

I've heard about some bariatric surgeon's offices maintaining a closet of clothes donated by people as they loose, so people can leave some of their larger sizes for others on their way down, and use smaller sizes others have donated.