Lynnlovesthebeach

I am post op day 3 from lower body lift-butt lift, panniculectomy, abdomanoplasty and also brachioplasty. My advice would be don’t do arms and legs together. You need your legs to help get into bed or chair because you can’t use your arms ! The pain is extreme! Also, I was in the OR 12.5 hrs for just that much surgery because they had trouble waking me up and getting me to breathe. My next phase is upper body lift-boobs and back. The last phase is thighs and fat grafting to boobs. By the way my friend had arms and legs at the same time and she said she couldn’t move for days!

Good luck with your surgery. Just remember the goals they give you are just that- goals! Don't expect to drink the full requirement of fluids your first day post op. You can slowly work up to the desired goal and you will be fine. Don't worry you aren't losing weight fast enough...it will happen if you follow the process! Walk as much as you can after surgery and take your pain meds if you need them. This is a life changing decision you have made. Do the work and enjoy the reward! Most of all...never go back to what got you here in the first place! Best of luck with your new life!

Got to my room at 6 pm day of surgery, went home 2 pm the next day. I had RNY. Have had absolutely no problems and never any pain. Can't believe it's almost 2 yrs ago!

I won't miss having to shop for a new bathing suit and buying anything that fits! I bought 4 new suits this year and I love how all of them fit and I love going to the beach again!

Yes it is totally possible to lose more than predicted . At my first surgeon visit he predicted I could get to 140 lbs. My first post op visit he changed it to 130 lbs. They said my "ideal" weight would be 117.3 lbs and I weighed a little less than that at my last visit for a total of 101% excess body weight lost! I've been maintaining for a few months now.

I'll be having my surgery in Fl.

I had RNY and my hunger came back at one month but it takes very little to satisfy it. A few nuts or a cheese stick will do if it isn't meal time.

I was supposed to start my whole "body contouring" journey on May 5 but of course it was delayed so I can tell you exactly what my estimates are. I'm not using insurance. I rescheduled for Aug. This is what my doctor has recommended for me for best results and this is what I'm going to do. I know other people that have done things differently...my friend did arms and thighs together...big mistake! She was miserable! I can't wait! I'm ready now! Phase 1: LBL with fat grafting to butt, and brachioplasty $16,000. Estimated 8 hrs of surgery. One night in hospital. Phase 2: Upper body lift, (breasts and back) $11,000. Estimated 5 hrs of surgery. Outpatient. Phase 3: Thighplasty and fat graft to breasts. $8,900. Estimated 3.5 hrs of surgery. Two nights in hospital.

I will be 2 yrs post op in Oct and I can honestly say I don't really care about food anymore! If I get hungry (rarely) I can eat a couple of crackers and be satisfied. I still track my food to make sure I eat enough protein otherwise I may forget to eat all day. Work days are better because I take my food with me for my 12 hr shifts. I live alone so I don't cook much anymore. Yogurt is a fine dinner in my book! If I go out for a meal I bring at least half of it home for later.

After years of reading my medical reports and seeing terms and unflattering statements like obesity, morbid obesity, "composed mostly of fatty tissue", and "due to patient's habitus," (which is the medically polite way of saying "can't see sh*t due to too much fat!" I finally had a CT scan this week and the report has the term "dose lowering technique utilized due to patients size." WooHoo...I'm too small for a normal dose of radiation! That's a NSV in my book!

My highest recorded wt (242 lbs) was a BMI Of 48.8. My starting wt with my bariatric surgeon (229 lbs) was a BMI of 46. I just recently reached my "ideal wt" (117 lbs) which means 100% of excess wt lost and I have a BMI of 23.6!

Congratulations for making the decision to change your life! It does get easier every day. What you are feeling now is normal for any surgery. I remember waking up in the recovery room and thinking "holy ****, this really happened!" My abd felt like I'd been hit by a truck. After that, I never had any more pain. Follow your teams instructions and this next year will be transformative! It has certainly been one of the best things I've done for myself!

I'm not sure if it's because I'm in a better state of mind these days or not because I have finally conquered the "obesity" issue but I find my life much less stressful after surgery. If I get bored I go for a walk or read a book or something other than eat. I actually have very little desire to eat anyway. I still track my food and have to make myself eat because I know I haven't eaten enough for the day. I still have one protein shake for breakfast otherwise I have trouble getting all my protein in.

At my initial consult with my surgeon, when I weighed 229 lbs, he said he thought I could get down to 140 lbs. Post op appointment he changed it to 130. On my last visit I weighed 125 which was 93% of my excess weight lost. He told me not to lose anymore. When I asked him "Why does this paper you give me always say my 'ideal weight' is 117 lbs?" his response was "that's if you lost 100%, don't worry about that, no one ever loses 100%." I said, "no one? Well, if you've never seen anyone reach 100%, you are about to...see you in Feb!" This morning on my scale I weighed 117.8, without clothes of course! I never would of believed this a year ago. I'll be 14 months post op on the 9th.

Happy Birthday! Also, congratulations on reaching onederland! It's a wonderful feeling for sure!

My incisions were closed with staples and I had the same reaction. The Bariatric Fellow that saw me at my post op appointment before my bariatric surgeon freaked out! She said she had never seen such a reaction. A couple of days after they were removed and using hydrocortisone cream the rash was gone. Surgical staples are now on my allergy list. My ortho doc said they use cheap metal for those and allergies are not uncommon. He had to use a "zip line" to close my incision after my hip replacement 4 months ago. It's plastic and looks like a zipper. I also can't wear cheap earrings so it makes sense. By the way, the internal staples are a higher quality metal.

Today I went for my first mammogram since I had my gastric bypass last Oct. While I'm standing there with one of my boobs in the machine the very young tech says to me, "Uh, I need to ask you something. Did you lose a lot of weight since you were here last year because I didn't see any scars from a reduction and looking at your results from last year your breasts look a lot smaller." I told her "yes, over 100 lbs." She said , "oh, I better put that on your paperwork or the doctor is going to think I got the wrong patient." I told her, "Oh, Dr G has been looking at my boobs every 6 months for over 10 yrs now...don't tell him and see if he figures it out." I just looked at the report online and normally it starts out with, "breasts composed of mostly fatty tissue." No such mention this year!

I did not have an endoscopy before RNY. I had one about 2 yrs before along with my colonoscopy so I don't know if that made a difference. I told the doctor I had gerd and had been treated by GI doc.

Reeses peanut butter cups for me too! I don't even get tempted anymore because I'm so glad to have broken my sugar addiction and I never want to go back there! Whenever someone says, "just one isn't going to hurt" I just say no thanks and think to myself...yes, one today leads to the whole bag tomorrow! The way I feel now is so much better than any piece of candy tastes!

I got to my room at 6 pm the day of surgery and went home at 2 pm the next day. I also live alone. I had people lined up to help me but didn't need it.

Yep, I weigh and measure everything and then track it! Otherwise, I'd never remember how much of anything I've had. Also, it's kind of cool to see how much protein you can get in the fewest amount of calories! My eyes are notoriously wrong when "guesstimating" an appropriate serving!

Yes, I feel that way every time I shop. I thought if I made it to a single digit size it would be amazing. I figured an 8 would be my final size. When I hit that size, but wasn't to goal yet, I wasn't sure where I'd end up. Currently, I'm a petite small tops and 4P pants. Even though it's a lot more fun to shop these days, I'm trying not to go overboard because I feel like I may go down one more size when I decide to have plastics. I've bought some pants at Sam's Club and Costco because they have nice stuff and it's cheap! I won't feel so bad giving away $10 yoga pants or $15 jeans if they no longer fit. I wear scrubs at work and have gone from an XLP to XSP and probably could go to XXSP but I have reached the point where I refuse to buy any more because I hope to retire in 3 yrs and who really cares if they are just a little too big! Maybe I'll change my mind when all is said and done! I did "treat" myself to a Lily Pulitzer dress that cost $138 for reaching goal. I haven't spent that much for anything while in the weight loss phase! I was in the store, loved it, and felt a sense of pride when I had to ask the clerk if they had a small in stock. For once I didn't get that "that's never gonna fit you look!"

As of this morning I am officially in the normal BMI category! 123 is the top of my BMI range and I weigh 122.7 today! Yay me! Haven't been here in years!

No, I didn’t even attempt to because I didn’t have room after my protein. Now I eat a small amount.

@newlady1surgery was on Oct 9, 2018.