blackcatsandbaddecisions

Last weekend I was in a larger city and I went to some stores that I’ve heard of but never shopped in, because we don’t have them in my city. It was nice to know that all these upscale and trendy stores carry my size and I would look good in them. Now the problem is that they are too expensive for me. 😅. I guess I’ll keep buying stuff off of poshmark anyway.

I will try to look through my pics and see what I have…unfortunately to get the abdomen in a picture is a bit less clothed than I like to be in pictures, haha. My three week checkup went great, she said I’m healing incredibly fast. The drain hole is almost closed up (thank goodness). Still dealing with numbness on bottom part of left arm, but other than that I feel great. She released me to peloton workouts and walking longer distances and that has helped my mood considerably. My arm scars are still puffy and puckered in places due to the internal sutures/swelling so they look kind of scary at this point. My abdomen swelling is definitely still there but much less uncomfortable than it was even a week ago. I got on the scale and I was actually down a few pounds, surprisingly. I saw a number that started with 15 for the first time in my adult life. I am thinking I may still end up in the 160s because that seems to be my hold point, but it was a nice thing to see even if it was temporary.

Yep, did it all in one go. I’m not gonna lie and say recovery was easy but I was able to go back to work at 2 weeks and as of 3 weeks I’m able to get back to my Peloton rides and a lighter version of my exercise routine. I had about 5 lbs of skin removed over all.

Mine was a new wardrobe…and a tummy tuck/breast lift/arm lift. 3.5 weeks post op!

Three weeks today! Still dealing with the abdomen drain hole not fully closed, left arm numbness and swelling. The swelling is on my forearm so I kind of look like popeye especially since my upper arm is smaller now. Speaking of swelling, still super swollen especially as the day goes on. I knew this happened post op but I don’t think I really understood how much swelling was happening or how uncomfortable it was. Also hard to see real results when you’re puffed up like a water balloon. Not having pants fit was kind of alarming for me- I know it’s probably just the swelling but I can’t help but be worried that I’m bigger now.

I am in a marena girdle right now. Great quality and fits much better than the one my surgeon gave me. I am taller with a long torso and I was having trouble getting one to cover all my areas of swelling. I bought mine used off of poshmark for a big savings. I got the one that has hooks and zippers up to braline and short length legs. I just ordered a second one so I don’t have to rush to wash this one each night. I had a fleur de lis, arm lift, and breast lift.

Got my final drain out 1.5 weeks after surgery. Having issues with the drain spot however, as the hole isn’t in any hurry to close up on its own. Doctor wasn’t sure if the area was infected or if it was irritated so we have me on an antibiotic now just in case. That was four days ago, really hoping that drain hole closes up soon. 😖 Other than that I’m doing great, I feel fine on a daily basis. Sleeping propped up in my back is probably the worst part. I’m a side sleeper and this is not an easy transition. That plus my abdominal binder is just making for a great sleeping experience haha.

Also forgot to mention for reference, I did not have any liposuction, and the doctor said she would check to see if I needed muscle repair but I did not need any. I have no idea how I managed to go through two pregnancies and two C-sections and be that overweight for so many years without separating those muscles, but I managed it. I am very tall with a long torso so maybe that helped? Who knows. I’m just grateful because I am sure that helped post op. Also forgot to mention when the tape came off saw incisions for first time. Yikes, I am kind of Frankenstein’s monster right now. Still feeling good about the procedures and experience though.

One week appointment went very well. I got three out of four drains removed, and potentially getting the fourth drain removed on Friday if I can keep my output below 20 each day. They took all the tape off of the incisions, which wasn’t very painful but did it feel weird. When they were taking stitches out of my bellybutton I could feel clearly that they were touching the skin on the side of my abdomen, despite the fact that that skin is now in the center of my stomach. I think I am going to need to reroute some nerves or some thing. Ha! Due to the fact that there was so much loose skin on my upper body, they ended up actually having to do an upper body lift at the same time. So my incisions run all the way from my elbows through my under arms and underneath my boobs. I am happy with this, because I had such trouble with skin spilling out in my under arm area that I really was concerned if they left any skin there what it was going to look like a postop. It’s probably going to be a longer recovery because of the additional area, but I am OK with that. Still not in any significant pain, although riding to and from the appointment and getting the tape and drains out absolutely tuckered me out for the day yesterday. I guess it’s hard to judge how much energy you have when you were spending all day and a recliner watching an old season of project runway. My left arm is still significantly swollen, and missing some feeling on the lower bottom part of my arm. Hoping that resolves once the swelling goes down, whenever that is.

Nobody ever told me anything regarding coffee, so I just kept on with what I was doing. I drank coffee up to the day before surgery, and I had coffee three days post surgery. I’m currently almost 2 years out and I drink a ton of coffee every day, and I have never had any issues whatsoever. Interestingly enough I just had a pretty big plastic surgery operation less than a week ago, and my anesthesiologist asked me to have black coffee the morning of my afternoon surgery since she said she hates to have people have caffeine headaches post surgery, and there is absolutely no medical reason to not drink it. So there’s that as well.

Well of course he’s happy with how things are now, he isn’t doing any work and has no responsibilities and somebody else is taking care of everything for him. If somebody is not providing emotional financial or household support, it’s really kind of a struggle to figure out what exactly it is that they are doing. Sorry, I would love to say something reassuring and inspirational here, but I am of the opinion that grown able-bodied adults all need to pull their own weight in life, be that childcare, household, earning money, etc. It really seems like he’s taking advantage of you.

Update- drains suck. Very annoying. One arm is super swollen and I am having trouble with that. Tummy tuck surprisingly the easiest to deal with. Haven’t needed pain meds for a few days so that’s nice. Will see how all is going at Wednesday post op.

I am out of surgery! Total nerve wracking, spent all last week concerned 😟 was making a huge mistake. They removed over 5 lbs. currently staying overnight (surgery center can do 23 hour care) and so grateful I picked the center that had that. Nurses are the kindest that I’ve ever experienced, such a good experience. Not in a ton of pain really, but just more stinging and uncomfortable. i made it, it’s done!

I run and do my spin classes in the middle of the day, before lunch. So I go home from work, (live super close), get changed and run for 20 minutes then do a spin class for 20 minutes. I have a latte and coffee prior to my workout, have my protein shake and cheese afterwards. For me I am always hungry in the evenings, the morning and afternoon are kind of a non event for me. I usually take one rest day from exercise a week, I don’t normally Notice a change in hunger levels that day.

I run and do my spin classes in the middle of the day, before lunch. So I go home from work, (live super close), get changed and run for 20 minutes then do a spin class for 20 minutes. I have a latte and coffee prior to my workout, have my protein shake and cheese afterwards. For me I am always hungry in the evenings, the morning and afternoon are kind of a non event for me. I usually take one rest day from exercise a week, I don’t normally Notice a change in hunger levels that day.

I run and do my spin classes in the middle of the day, before lunch. So I go home from work, (live super close), get changed and run for 20 minutes then do a spin class for 20 minutes. I have a latte and coffee prior to my workout, have my protein shake and cheese afterwards. For me I am always hungry in the evenings, the morning and afternoon are kind of a non event for me. I usually take one rest day from exercise a week, I don’t normally Notice a change in hunger levels that day.

So I know this is “exercise” but it’s actually quite fun and engaging too, I bought an echelon bike and I take peloton classes with it. I find that the time zips by because the instructors are chatty, the music selection is good and it has a lot of variety. Plus the echelon bike is like 1/4 the cost of a peloton. And for those who said they want to start running, I would have bet that mega millions jackpot I would never be able to run a mile in my life, but I bought a used treadmill off Craigslist and downloaded the couch to 5k app last year. Now I run at least 2-3 miles every day and have run in 5ks getting my time down to sub 28 minutes. It’s possible, even in your 40s and beyond!

I learned my lesson- my program told me to take before pictures and measurements prior to sleeve surgery and I didn’t. But this time I will, so I’ll be able to see if I lost inches from this. Well, I’ll take the measurements, as I was filling out my preop paperwork I realized the center uploaded my pics into the system. 😱. I spent most of the weekend being like do I really look like that? Holy heck. I’m used to seeing myself from better angles in kinder lighting. 😓

So I’ve lost 180 lbs, and it is still a mind trip sometimes to look in the mirror. For me I feel the same as a person- it’s annoying to me that people act like I suddenly am someone different. Same me, different size. I always had low blood pressure, and I still do. I don’t feel like food or exercise takes over my day, but I enjoy my exercise routine and I feel like food is a pretty settled routine at this point. I don’t weigh or measure, but since I’m getting plastics next month I’m going to cut back on some of the “extra” food since I’ll be cut off from running for a while. On the looking older- yeah, it sucks, no two ways about it. Lost the fat in my cheeks and I am looking my age. I know it’s kind of taboo to discuss openly for some people but Botox and fillers can go a long way to helping out with some of these problems. You won’t look 25 (or 35) again, but it might be worth looking into. A good injector can make a huge difference. Not saying anyone “needs” this but it’s an option.

I messaged my obgyn to see if she would put in an order for my blood work I need and she very kindly did that- saves me the out of pocket cost to get that run though insurance for sure. Having an obgyn who has also had a sleeve is awesome. Surgery is next month- kind of freaked out about it. The recovery is going to be difficult because I won’t have my core or my arms to help me. I’m trying to decide if I’ll stay in the city that my surgery is taking place for a few days or brave the 2 hour drive home. They said I’ll hopefully get two drains out at one week and the final two out at two weeks. I wish I didn’t have to have drains at all because they kind of freak me out but oh well. I’m also curious to see if my pant size changes at all. My goal isn’t to reduce that, but I know they will be removing a lot of skin from my abdomen so it’s possible. If so I guess I’ll just buy all new pants yet again. Just running through new clothes nonstop over here over the past few years. The pants are especially annoying though because I have to find tall sizes and those are almost impossible to get second hand. It will be worth it in the end. I’ll see if I feel brave enough to post a before/after that actually exposes my abdomen. I always like to try to share as much info as possible with the forum, because I know how much I appreciated it when I was going through the sleeve process!

You are amazing! I also took up running post sleeve (not nearly to the level you have, I’m more of a 5k runner) but I’m so grateful to this surgery for letting me discover that exercise doesn’t have to be a punishment.

Took my kids to theme parks on vacation and there was never a single concern that I wouldn’t fit on the rides. They had to have a person step off the ride due to his weight and I felt so bad for him. Wondering if you’ll be able to get the bar down is such a horrible feeling. We were just riding the kiddie rides because my children are young but it was amazing that I was able to take them there and not spend any mental energy on worrying about fitting. Also it was hot but I wasn’t a sweaty mess, nor did I lose energy halfway through the day! And the pictures of us on vacation are nice family photos without me trying to hide behind walls or people.

I don’t drink a ton with meals but if I get thirsty I sometimes drink while eating. I’ll be two years out in November. I never drank soda so I can’t miss what I never had, but I do drink beer occasionally so I’m not completely abstaining from carbonation.

I am considering a possible tummy tuck and/or arm lift. I’m not sure if I really want to move forward but I am considering talking to some doctors. I would likely need a fleur de loa tummy tuck due to a lot of upper stomach laxity. Does any one have any recommendations in the Pacific Northwest? Pdx, Seattle, etc? Anyone to stay away from? Is it even possible to combine an arm loft with a tummy tuck or am I looking at two surgeries? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!

I lost about 50 lbs before surgery and I’m super glad I did. Every pound I lost before was a pound I didn’t have to lose after, and also I feel like it made me healthier for surgery. The awesome thing about it as a lifelong yo-yo dieter is that I lost that weight and then had surgery so I never gained it back. I had a lot of weight to lose as I was starting out at 339 lbs, however. I knew that the weight loss would be easiest right after surgery so I wanted to lose what I could without it and let the surgery take care of the loss I couldn’t do on my own.