frumpynomore

I had a tattoo about the size of a large orange on the front side of my left hip. I say "had" because after my Tummy Tuck I now only have the top half of two of my Iris flowers leaves and about 1/8 part of the top of the Iris flower. I will have to have the tattoo redone. My advice....WAIT!

I didn't have any when I woke up. I think (just my thoughts) with the VSG you're not under long enough to warrant the doc keeping them in until or after you wake up. I haven't heard of anyone waking up with the breathing tube still in.

I use vitacost.com and the Syntrax Nectar is 32.41 and free shipping. It's the best priced website I've found.

Everyone is correct...the VSG does NOT get rid of Hypo/Hyperthyroidism or Hoshimoto's. In my case the surgery did absolutely nothing to change my medication dosage...I have Hoshimoto's Autoimmune disease.

I might as well jump in....went to a movie last night....enough said?!

ROSS, ROSS, and ROSS! All through my weight loss journey I've been shopping at Ross! Yes, they are not top quality BUT they are not as cheaply made as say Wal-Mart or a Family Dollar store. The clothes really do last and if you go on a weekly basis you can find some really cute clothes!

_{I don't think I got my first "hey, are you losing weight?" statement from anyone including all the women at work until I had lost about 50 lbs and then still not from many people. I have lost 80+ now and do you know there are still women that I work with everyday that have not said one word about my weight loss???!!!! People are very insensitive and JEALOUS! Be proud of yourself and try not to judge yourself too harshly. You have done what it will take to lose the weight. It's just going to take a little time....CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!}

You are looking GREAT! It won't be long until you reach your goal weight! CONGRATS!

YOU LOOK SEXY AND FABULOUS!!!! CONGRATS!!!!

I think you have become super sensitive to your weight and are unconsciously using sex as a tool to not eat in preparation for your preop diet for surgery...GOOD FOR YOU...GOOD FOR YOUR HUSBAND!!!

WoW! You look FANTASTIC! Good for you and best of continued success!!!

I know that there are a LOT of us on here that have or had the same issues with a significant other that you had. I feel for you and just know that you are not alone. You are sooooo smart to seek therapy so that you won't make the same mistake again. Good luck to you!!!!!

CONGRATS ON YOUR 1ST STEP TO A SLIMMER YOU!

That's really between you and your doc. My VSG included once a month follow-up appointments up to 1 year. I stopped going to him at my ninth appointment. I always got a good report and I just felt like I didn't need to keep going back.

OMG! YES! You will know when it happens! It has happened to me three times since my VSG which was Dec. 2011 and it isn't fun! All three times happened because I over ate. The last time just happened this past Saturday. I made a piece of Cod fish and some brown rice. Well, I love rice and was sitting in front of the T.V. and ate too much! Rice blows up in the stomach and I knew that but I was mindless eating not paying attention and it happened. I got real sick to my stomach and just knew I was going to throw it all up but instead of vomit it's FOAM and lots of clear liquid like saliva. The foam is awful! It lasts for about an hour and then all is fine just like it never happened but when you're going through it, it seems like forever! Hard to explain other than you will know when it happens!

I just had a TT about 12 weeks ago and have been tanning for 3 weeks. I put a 50spf over the scar and haven't noticed any discoloration.

I can certainly understand your worries BUT YOU ARE STILL LOSING! Please try to not get discouraged. I have been a slow loser too and my sleeve was a medium size bougie. I can eat an 8 oz steak, 1/2 baked potato and even some salad before I get full. It's still less than what I could eat pre-VSG but it's a lot more than what most people can eat that have had a VSG. Keep your eye on the end result. You will lose the weight you want to...so what if it takes a bit longer...you will still get there!!!

I just got this suit from Kohl's. It has "ruching" on the front so it hides my tummy flab (and stretch marks). The little skirt bottom was a separate piece that I loved. It hides more stretch marks and loose upper thigh skin.

You look GREAT!!!!!!! Too cute!

I have a very different way of thinking than most people that are overweight or have loose skin. Even at my highest weight I still wore a bikini to public pools and beaches. I've always had the frame of mind that "if you don't like what you see then quit looking at it"! I never let my weight be my "excuse" for not living. I was the one that I'm sure many people looked at and said "she must not have a friend to tell her not to wear that" or "she shouldn't be wearing a bikini with all that going on" BUT I am a sun worshipper and never let anyone's opinion stop me from enjoying the things I wanted to do. I look around me and see that everyone has faults and nobody is perfect. I've yet to see anyone that didn't have their own issues of some sort. I am not without embarrassment or insecurities or inhibitions it's just that I look past them and try my hardest to ignore them. Now that we all have had the VSG and working to try to look physically better it's imperative to work on our minds and thoughts too. GO AHEAD AND PUT THAT BATHINGSUIT ON! You look FABULOUS just the way you are!

Oh, thought you were just wanting 'before' pics. My 'after' is on my profile.

WoWeeeeee! Sexyyyyyy! CONGRATS!!

Ditto to Rebecca_dsu! I will admit there were times that I felt the same way as you do MrsSaso. I am almost 50 years old and still wear a bikini. When I was fat I wore a bikini too and for awhile I thought that I looked better in a bikini at 230 lbs than I do at 152 lbs. Then one day I took pictures of myself, after I had lost some weight, and realized that even with the extra loose skin I still looked a WHOLE LOT better then I ever did when I was fat! I have recently had a TT and am very glad I did. You are just going through a little phase of "buyers remorse". You should go shopping and try on different bathing suits. You will find one that hides the skin. Perhaps you should consider a TT and if you can't take the time off or afford it then at least work towards it and someday you won't have to "accommodate" the loose skin. Remember where you came from. Do a reality check in the mirror from time to time. Look at pre -weight loss pictures to remind yourself of where you've been and how much better you look now. The main point here is this is just a phase you are going through and many of us that have had a VSG have experienced the same feelings. It will pass...

You're TT looks fabulous! I have been wearing the silicone strips in hopes that my TT scar will heal nicely. I have been using the expensive silicone strip shaped specifically for a TT scar from Oleeva yet I still had to cut it to fit my scar shape. I had enough to cover my scar with about 4-5 inches leftover. I doubt if one silicone shape will be enough to cover your scar from end to end. I would recommend NOT buying the TT shaped silicone and just buying the straight one since you will have to cut it too to fit your specific TT shape. I'm not sure but I think the straight pieces are a little cheaper. The bad thing is that the silicone wears off and you have to replace it approximately 6-8 weeks I believe. My silicone strip has turned up around the entire edge and doesn't stay to my skin anymore and I only wore it for 3 weeks. I will be trying a different brand on my next purchase.

No, it doesn't vary by patient on the amount of pain when you compare a single incision to multiple incisions. Now, when you compare one person's single incision to another person's single incision the pain will vary but from the way my surgeon explained it the single incision is less invasive, obviously, and therefore the recovery time is less and the amount of pain. My surgeon said that most surgeons don't like to, don't want to, and/or can't perform the single incision because it takes more time, is more difficult and requires expertise and experience. I believe the surgeon that was quoted above stating that "there is more pain" with the single incision just didn't even want to offer the alternative. Just my opinion...

You are still SEXY even with the scars!

I had the Spider technique surgery done in Austin, Texas and at the time I didn't want more scars but the MAIN reason I chose it was for less pain and side affects. I literally had NO pain! I woke up from surgery and if I hadn't seen the bandages on my tummy I would have never known I had surgery. I went home the next morning. I never was even sore at the incision which was on the inside upper half of my belly button. I sort of knew that I was going to have to have a TT so it wasn't so much the scars as it was the fear of pain that made my final decision.