Beginning my journey!

[turtlekaren 1]

I just started my 6 months of nutritionist appointments so I can get my surgery- yay!!!

Before my therapist will approve me, though, she wants me to get as much information about what goes on with your body AFTER the surgery. So here I am, asking all of you! What kinds of thingd do you struggle with now that you've had your surgery? How do you feel about your body? Do you need to have surgery to remove excess skin? Do you have other body image issues? What about hair loss- if you experienced that, how long did it take for it to start growing again?

Thanks for your help!! :-)

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[JamieLogical 8,710]

I had plastic surgery due to excess/saggy skin even before I had weight loss surgery. Back in 2010/2011, I lost 90 pounds "on my own" and had a Tummy Tuck and breast lift with augmentation. I had my weight loss surgery in Sept. 2014 after having gained back a lot of those 90 pounds and now I am looking at having a spiral thigh lift this coming September to remove the excess skin from my thighs and hips. Luckily my tummy tuck held up well through my weight regain and re-loss, so no additional work will be needed there.

As for hair loss, I only lost hair from 3.5 months post-op until about 5 months post-op and it began regrowing right away. I didn't lose enough for anyone else to notice.

I would say, in general, post-WLS I have a lot more confidence in my body. Yes, I want additional plastics, but I am dressing much more fashionably. I actually wear dresses now, which I hadn't done since I was a little girl! I was able to buy some calf-height boots over the winter to wear with tights and leggings. Not dressing nearly as "frumpy" as I used to, taking more pride in my appearance, and I don't try to blend into the background as much anymore. Oh, and I let people take my picture now!

[Bufflehead 6,358]

What kinds of thingd do you struggle with now that you've had your surgery?

The only thing that comes to mind is that I realize I am treated better now as a "normal" size person than I was as an obese person, and that sometimes makes me feel sad and sort of question my self-worth. That's pretty rare that I go down that path though.

How do you feel about your body?

I love my body! Sometimes I love it so much I can't believe it is mine

Do you need to have surgery to remove excess skin?

Define "need." Could I benefit from it? Yes, definitely. Can I afford it? No. Does it make me feel bad about myself? NO. I don't love the way it looks, but I accept it as a reminder of how far I have come and how hard I worked to get here. It wasn't easy -- I fought for it!

Do you have other body image issues? No more than before, in fact, far fewer body image issues than before, understandably.

What about hair loss- if you experienced that, how long did it take for it to start growing again?

I had severe Hair loss issues before the sleeve, just due to bad genetics, so my experience with hair loss really isn't even close to normal (I was wearing cosemtic fake hair to cover my loss well before surgery, for example). So, my response on this isn't going to be pertinent to your situation.