Sherrischeffler

Hi all,
Im new here and Im slowly ploughing through all the topics and discussions trying to get a better insght of WLS.
I have been referred by my doctor and have my first appointment in March for an assessment, so Im researching as much as I can in the meantime!
I joined the gym last week (also via the doctor) and gone on a diet (again) to try to lose weight in the meantime, hence why Ive already started a ticker bar !!!!!
From what Ive read so far on this forum, the general consensus is that the end results of WLS are worth all the pain, problems and lifestyle transformation one has to go through to get there. But Im interested to hear of your experiences, thoughts and comments regarding excess skin after weight loss. How bothersome is it? Can it be minimised by serious workouts at the gym every day during weight loss? I assume the more weight you lose, the more excess skin there will be? Has anybody managed to avoid it completely?
My philosophy is that it cant be worse than the excess weight Im already carrying about.....?????? Is that about right???
Looking forward to getting to know you all better

So I posted about my colonoscopy from earlier this week. The day before the colonoscopy, I had my psych eval. These are some of the things that we talked about during my psych eval.
Ever since I decided that "enough was enough" and I wanted to have WLS, back in November 2014, my right eyelid has been twitching. Almost constantly. It drives me crazy, but it's what happens to me when I'm stressed. I couldn't figure out what I was stressed about, but I figured it had something to do with my decision to have WLS. I have spent a lot of time since that decision really exploring my past and how I got to where I am.
I looked at pictures of my childhood, and saw that during the time my father was telling me I had to diet because I was too big, I was actually normal. I was shocked. I was shocked at how much one person could really screw you up. I thought about all of the things he did over the years, and the things that brought me to cut him off about 10 years ago and stop all contact. He is a mean, toxic person and is no longer in my life.
I also thought about the time in high school when I weighed 195 (I'm 5 ft 7 inches tall) and thinking, "well, it's okay, because I'm not 200 pounds." I remembered in my early 20's weighing 281 pounds and thinking, "well, it's okay, because I'll never weigh 300 pounds." Now all through this time period, I was still dieting, losing weight, then regaining weight when I couldn't keep up with the demands of the diet. But hey, it was okay, because I wasn't XXX pounds, right?
Then in my early 30's, I got serious (or thought I did), and dieted down to 225. I married someone who liked big women and was not supportive in my efforts to lose weight. Two years later, at 350 pounds, I got pregnant. When our daughter was two years old I left him. I continued to struggle with weight. About 5 years ago, I got on the scale and it read 397. I was shocked. There was no way in hell that I was going to let the scale read 400. I went back to my go-to plan, Atkins. I lost 75 pounds. But I couldn't keep it up, I was still emotionally eating and eating out of boredom.
But hey, it was okay, because I have tons of clothes (thank you, internet shopping), boots that fit my fat calves, and even tights that fit. There was nothing wrong with being a BIG BEAUTIFUL WOMAN, because that's what I was hearing all over the place. Accept who you are! Accept your size! That's the message I was hearing.
People couldn't believe that I was 50 years old. They would say, "you have no wrinkles" and I would respond, "that's because I'm fat - only skinny people have wrinkles." And they would laugh and I would laugh. Because it was okay to be fat, right?
In November 2014 I got on a scale and it said 403. I felt sick to my stomach. I did some soul searching. I decided to stop kidding myself and to stop accept being fat.
I told the psychologist that Fat Acceptance did me no favors. It may have done wonders for other people's self esteem, but it just enabled me to be fat. Now most of you are younger than me, and you may not remember what things were like before "FA" became a thing. There was no such thing as "BBW" - the term hadn't been invented.
I told the doc that I was afraid of failing. That I had read a post here about someone who was afraid to get rid of her fat clothes, because every other time she had done that, she had to go back and buy that same size again when she failed in her efforts to keep the weight off. I told him that I had a hard time with failure (and had been my whole life, another thing to thank my father for), and I think that was what I was really stressed about.
I poured all this stuff out to the psychologist, things I had never, ever admitted, even to myself. And it felt great.
And then my eye stopped twitching.

xx

drinking and eating together not good because fluids wash away nutrients your body needs to feed from thats why 45 min waiting period should occur

I would report them to the management!

I'm so close to 50 lbs I can taste it! My highest weight was 259.6. I was 246.6 when I started the pre-op diet. I was 229.5 on the day of surgery (12/18/14). 213 today when this pic was taken. 16.5 down in 4 weeks since surgery. Total of 46.6 down. I'm 40 years old and 5'3".

I fid 2 1/2 wks ago w/muscle stitching & only regret not doing all this yrs ago feeling much better today.

My surgeon says he doesn't use drains on the breast anymore anyone else have a surgeon who is doing this?

My surgeon says he doesn't use drains on the breast anymore anyone else have a surgeon who is doing this?

I recently had abdominalplasty on January 2nd & had Nashville's top plastic surgeon work on me @ Vanderbilt Plastic surgery / Dr Bruce Shack,im still in recovery mode @home but my husband sat in room when he started drawing his lines .of course i hadn't had any other man physically touching me since before 1990 &that was akward.&sll i say is that was quick drawing &he chuckled.

I recently had abdominalplasty on January 2nd & had Nashville's top plastic surgeon work on me @ Vanderbilt Plastic surgery / Dr Bruce Shack,im still in recovery mode @home but my husband sat in room when he started drawing his lines .of course i hadn't had any other man physically touching me since before 1990 &that was akward.&sll i say is that was quick drawing &he chuckled.

You know...just thinking about a nice warm walk on the beach, sand warm and squishy between my toes cool ocean breeze blowing with just a hint of refreshing mist...I would be wearing a bathing suit no matter what because well I just don't care what others think I know I look good
It just sounds like an awesome fantasy right now in this deep freeze!! I'd love to have the dogs running along the shore tossing a frisbee at them and playing fetch. That would be an added bonus!
So now I'll take my leave and get me to the Bariatric Doc and take another step closer to making dreams come true!!

How lonv did anyone have to dleep in a recl I ner after TT ???

did you have dr guitterez??

I am 5 weeks out from my LBL, Tummy Tuck, and Lipo. I have to say that this week I started feeling really good. Not back to normal but starting to feel more normal. I am up doing my normal things although I don't work outside of the home. I still move slower than normal but it's getting better! Next week I will slowly star adding my workouts back into my routine.
I would for sure take 3 full weeks off of work and if you can do it I would take 4. This is just my opinion.

I think the experience of plastics has made me totally immodest, lol. I have a health care background so fortunately I recognize that to the doctor, we are really just a slab of naked meat to be nipped and tucked, so I don't care a whole lot that they are seeing me without clothing. I did see some of my before pictures though and I am making the funniest face. Clearly while my mind was telling me that being drawn on while naked was completely normal, my face was making an expression that clearly said I was not totally enjoying the experience, lol.
Outside of that another fun experience was when I got home from my abdominoplasty and breast augment/lift, my best friend had to help me get into a compression garment. She's a nurse, so no stranger to naked people high on narcotics, but in hindsight it must have been very funny to try to get a person who could barely stand up without falling on her face into a compression garment that was ungodly tight and hard to get on.
Ahh, the things we go through to look good!

Im 5 days post op TT &feeling much better day 2&3were worst but todsy i had a BM finally &feel much relief. Now to get these drains out hoping for Friday.

I hadmy TT Friday January 2n dbeen almost 48hs 2nd day was the worst so far & im hoping to feel a bit better tomorrow. .

I hadmy TT Friday January 2n dbeen almost 48hs 2nd day was the worst so far & im hoping to feel a bit better tomorrow. .

Where did you sleep instead, if not in your bed?

I too have had back surgery and a lot of other surgeries. I cannot exercise. I had lap band surgery at the end of Feb. 2014. Lost 82 lbs in under 10 months. Would I do it again? In a heart beat. I watch what I eat very closely. No junk. Only healthy food without going crazy. Only downside, accepting that I am skinny. First time in my life. I tell everyone that I had lap band surgery as I am proud for what I accomplished.

I am happy with my TT. My scar healed darker than anticipated, but I have no regrets. The scar is low enough that it would be indecent to wear anything that showed it - it keeps me from wearing a string bikini and that's about it. ...and frankly, I would feel silly in one anyway and would probably look ridiculous. Lol!

thanks for advice im so ready.

I found some fleece lined leggings @walmart for $6 wpre them today & im happy & toasty working outside.

I found some fleece lined leggings @walmart for $6 wpre them today & im happy & toasty working outside.