Kris

Hi All,
I had breast reduction surgery on July 1st. I thought I knew enough about the surgery before going into it, but unfortunately I've experienced a rare complication (ischemia, which is loss of blood flow & oxygen to nipple/areola) and it has been a very scary and uncertain time for me the past week as I've tried to educate myself about what my condition is and what will happen next. My plastic surgeon has been very responsive and reassuring, but there's only so much time in a day he can spend answering questions, so I have taken it upon myself to learn as much as I can about this situation.
In my online researching, I found a really useful website, www.breasthealthonline.org, and I've learned tons about the breast reduction procedure on that site. I only wish I had known about this site before having surgery ... I am sure I would have been better prepared for what to expect after surgery, and possibly heal better. The site not only covers breast reduction, but also breast lift and breast augmentation, and even a section on tummy tucks (since many people have a combo breast and Tummy Tuck procedure). They are very big into using a "healing diet" which helps people recover faster (it basically is a very sleeve-friendly diet, lots of greens & fruits & vegetables & lean protein) and share lots of info about nutrition on the site.
There is a section of the site where you can view pictures of people who have had various surgeries. It does cost $25 to access it but I would really recommend it because you can get an accurate view of what your incisions/scars will look like at various points in time following surgery. I paid for the picture access so that I could better understand what happens to women who have the complication I've experienced, but even if I'd had a perfect recovery I still would have liked to see the pictures.
I'm now nearly 3 weeks out of surgery, and honestly my pre-surgery expectations of what the healing process would be like after this surgery were WAY off. In my experience, the VSG procedure was a walk in the park compared to breast reduction surgery. I'm still really babying my incisions, need lots of rest, and my range of motion is still fairly limited. But, this is very typical (I know now) so I don't feel so badly about it.
I just thought I'd share in case you are contemplating having any cosmetic surgery involving your breasts.
Oh, and BTW, even though I'm dealing with a serious complication, I have to say I still love my "new" breasts and know when I'm all healed up I'll be even happier. And I know that eventually I *will* heal up completely; it just may take a bit longer than I had anticipated.
Best,
Kris

Hi All,
I had breast reduction surgery on July 1st. I thought I knew enough about the surgery before going into it, but unfortunately I've experienced a rare complication (ischemia, which is loss of blood flow & oxygen to nipple/areola) and it has been a very scary and uncertain time for me the past week as I've tried to educate myself about what my condition is and what will happen next. My plastic surgeon has been very responsive and reassuring, but there's only so much time in a day he can spend answering questions, so I have taken it upon myself to learn as much as I can about this situation.
In my online researching, I found a really useful website, www.breasthealthonline.org, and I've learned tons about the breast reduction procedure on that site. I only wish I had known about this site before having surgery ... I am sure I would have been better prepared for what to expect after surgery, and possibly heal better. The site not only covers breast reduction, but also breast lift and breast augmentation, and even a section on tummy tucks (since many people have a combo breast and Tummy Tuck procedure). They are very big into using a "healing diet" which helps people recover faster (it basically is a very sleeve-friendly diet, lots of greens & fruits & vegetables & lean protein) and share lots of info about nutrition on the site.
There is a section of the site where you can view pictures of people who have had various surgeries. It does cost $25 to access it but I would really recommend it because you can get an accurate view of what your incisions/scars will look like at various points in time following surgery. I paid for the picture access so that I could better understand what happens to women who have the complication I've experienced, but even if I'd had a perfect recovery I still would have liked to see the pictures.
I'm now nearly 3 weeks out of surgery, and honestly my pre-surgery expectations of what the healing process would be like after this surgery were WAY off. In my experience, the VSG procedure was a walk in the park compared to breast reduction surgery. I'm still really babying my incisions, need lots of rest, and my range of motion is still fairly limited. But, this is very typical (I know now) so I don't feel so badly about it.
I just thought I'd share in case you are contemplating having any cosmetic surgery involving your breasts.
Oh, and BTW, even though I'm dealing with a serious complication, I have to say I still love my "new" breasts and know when I'm all healed up I'll be even happier. And I know that eventually I *will* heal up completely; it just may take a bit longer than I had anticipated.
Best,
Kris

My hubby and I did this diet for 6-8 weeks earlier this year (February to March or April). He lost about 15 lbs. and I lost about 7. After about six weeks, I found I pretty much stopped losing weight, which peeved me to no end, so I ended up going back to "normal" eating. I think once my body figures out what the diet is, it seems to devise ways to stop losing weight (arggh).
So yes, I'd say try it to see if it breaks your stall, and if not there's no harm.
I have to say that being sleeved is a big plus for this diet. I found I could get by pretty well on ultra-low calories as long as I took in plenty of fluids throughout the day.
I have numerous posts about the 5:2 diet on my blog, if you care to read them (I included links below to the intro post on the diet and the first day I did the 5:2 diet, and you can continue reading on from that point if you're interested):
http://curvygirlwellness.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-52-diet.html
http://curvygirlwellness.blogspot.com/2013/02/52-diet-first-day-fasting.html
I am just now recovering from breast reduction/lift surgery and want to lose another 5 lbs. later this year, and I would definitely do the 5:2 diet again if I need to drop a few lbs.

Omg I went through the same thing on Friday and I tried everything and the only thing that would help was a enema boy the next day bought everything with Fiber in it I'm doing better now. Would not wish that on my worst enemy.

The nurse in me just won't let me not comment on this one! You are right about starting with the suppository next time (and hopefully even more right about steps to prevent that at all, next time!). Constipation is miserable, but it's worse when you are that backed up. Then, when take a laxative, it starts peristalsis, or intestinal churning movement. It also causes things to try to move through more quickly, ergo, the loose stools. When you have hard stool further down the colon that can't pass, all that churning and loose stools in the upper intestine cause all that cramping, and sometimes diarrhea will seep out around the blocked stool. No wonder you are worn out! This stuff just happens sometimes, but increased liquids might have helped. Another great trick is prunes, or prune juice, or even prune baby food. Hope you are feeling better!

Hi all, thanks for the well wishes! Today I ventured out a bit with my mom at lunch time. She drove me to get some Pho (Vietnamese soup) which I swear makes you feel 100% better when you are under the weather (I'm tapering off the Vicodin now, which I hate because it makes me feel so groggy). The Pho made me feel much better.
Also, I put on my post-surgical compression bra for the first time today. On the day of surgery I was bound up in Ace bandages, and yesterday at my first post-op appt. they put this mesh tube top on top of my dressings, which felt OK at first, but by today I was hating it as I was not feeling like I was getting adequate support. The compression bra does make a huge positive difference in how my breasts feel (they feel much more supported).
With clothes on I'd say my figure looks very similar to what it did before surgery -- very hour glass figure-ish. However, with clothes off the difference couldn't be more extreme ... instead of needing to wear both a bra and a sports bra over the bra to keep the girls lifted & minimized, I now only need to wear the post-surgical bra; the girls are quite perky on their own. I do feel my panni/stomach are much more noticeable now (the old boobs used to drape down and hide the belly, LOL).
Also so far this week my appetite has been extremely light, which makes me glad, as I'm hoping to "re-set" my sleeve if possible to be happier on smaller portions of food. I haven't weighed myself since the day before surgery, but I'm hoping this surgery will have taken a few lbs. off (the surgeon said he took nearly 2 lbs. of skin/tissue when he did the procedure). That would be nice!

Yesterday, the boobage clock rolled back by about 35 years -- I had breast reduction surgery! I call them my boobs version 2.0. Woo hoo! I cannot believe the difference! I still have the dressings on so can't show off the new profile quite yet, but will post some before & afters here once the dressings are off next week. Suffice to say, my boobs went from very saggy & long with nipples pointing south to very perky and nipples pointing straight ahead -- like they were when I hit puberty several decades ago. They feel very firm too. I know there is a lot of wrinkling around the nipples right now, but that will straighten out over the coming weeks & months. At my post-op appt. today, the surgeon said everything looked good. So far the only thing that is slightly amiss is that I am lacking sensation around my right nipple/areola, but I've read that this happens and over time it should resolve (sensation is very good on the left nipple/areola).
I asked the surgeon to keep my breast size proportional to my hip size (i have big hips!) so I think I'll end up around a size 38C/D after things settle down a bit (pre-surgery I was a 40DD). It doesn't sound like a big difference on paper, but in the flesh it's an amazing difference, due to the breast lift.
My surgery lasted about 3 hours, and I was so out of it afterwards that I have zero recollection of being in the recovery room or even getting home. I won't lie, yesterday was a sucky day (I always have a tough time with nausea after anesthesia), but this evening I am feeling much better and am already tapering off the vicodin, and am hoping tomorrow will be even better. The one thing I really don't like so far is having to sleep in an elevated position; combined with the nausea yesterday I had a tough time getting decent rest. Today the nausea has pretty much abated so I'm able to rest more comfortably.

Yesterday, the boobage clock rolled back by about 35 years -- I had breast reduction surgery! I call them my boobs version 2.0. Woo hoo! I cannot believe the difference! I still have the dressings on so can't show off the new profile quite yet, but will post some before & afters here once the dressings are off next week. Suffice to say, my boobs went from very saggy & long with nipples pointing south to very perky and nipples pointing straight ahead -- like they were when I hit puberty several decades ago. They feel very firm too. I know there is a lot of wrinkling around the nipples right now, but that will straighten out over the coming weeks & months. At my post-op appt. today, the surgeon said everything looked good. So far the only thing that is slightly amiss is that I am lacking sensation around my right nipple/areola, but I've read that this happens and over time it should resolve (sensation is very good on the left nipple/areola).
I asked the surgeon to keep my breast size proportional to my hip size (i have big hips!) so I think I'll end up around a size 38C/D after things settle down a bit (pre-surgery I was a 40DD). It doesn't sound like a big difference on paper, but in the flesh it's an amazing difference, due to the breast lift.
My surgery lasted about 3 hours, and I was so out of it afterwards that I have zero recollection of being in the recovery room or even getting home. I won't lie, yesterday was a sucky day (I always have a tough time with nausea after anesthesia), but this evening I am feeling much better and am already tapering off the vicodin, and am hoping tomorrow will be even better. The one thing I really don't like so far is having to sleep in an elevated position; combined with the nausea yesterday I had a tough time getting decent rest. Today the nausea has pretty much abated so I'm able to rest more comfortably.

Yesterday, the boobage clock rolled back by about 35 years -- I had breast reduction surgery! I call them my boobs version 2.0. Woo hoo! I cannot believe the difference! I still have the dressings on so can't show off the new profile quite yet, but will post some before & afters here once the dressings are off next week. Suffice to say, my boobs went from very saggy & long with nipples pointing south to very perky and nipples pointing straight ahead -- like they were when I hit puberty several decades ago. They feel very firm too. I know there is a lot of wrinkling around the nipples right now, but that will straighten out over the coming weeks & months. At my post-op appt. today, the surgeon said everything looked good. So far the only thing that is slightly amiss is that I am lacking sensation around my right nipple/areola, but I've read that this happens and over time it should resolve (sensation is very good on the left nipple/areola).
I asked the surgeon to keep my breast size proportional to my hip size (i have big hips!) so I think I'll end up around a size 38C/D after things settle down a bit (pre-surgery I was a 40DD). It doesn't sound like a big difference on paper, but in the flesh it's an amazing difference, due to the breast lift.
My surgery lasted about 3 hours, and I was so out of it afterwards that I have zero recollection of being in the recovery room or even getting home. I won't lie, yesterday was a sucky day (I always have a tough time with nausea after anesthesia), but this evening I am feeling much better and am already tapering off the vicodin, and am hoping tomorrow will be even better. The one thing I really don't like so far is having to sleep in an elevated position; combined with the nausea yesterday I had a tough time getting decent rest. Today the nausea has pretty much abated so I'm able to rest more comfortably.

Yesterday, the boobage clock rolled back by about 35 years -- I had breast reduction surgery! I call them my boobs version 2.0. Woo hoo! I cannot believe the difference! I still have the dressings on so can't show off the new profile quite yet, but will post some before & afters here once the dressings are off next week. Suffice to say, my boobs went from very saggy & long with nipples pointing south to very perky and nipples pointing straight ahead -- like they were when I hit puberty several decades ago. They feel very firm too. I know there is a lot of wrinkling around the nipples right now, but that will straighten out over the coming weeks & months. At my post-op appt. today, the surgeon said everything looked good. So far the only thing that is slightly amiss is that I am lacking sensation around my right nipple/areola, but I've read that this happens and over time it should resolve (sensation is very good on the left nipple/areola).
I asked the surgeon to keep my breast size proportional to my hip size (i have big hips!) so I think I'll end up around a size 38C/D after things settle down a bit (pre-surgery I was a 40DD). It doesn't sound like a big difference on paper, but in the flesh it's an amazing difference, due to the breast lift.
My surgery lasted about 3 hours, and I was so out of it afterwards that I have zero recollection of being in the recovery room or even getting home. I won't lie, yesterday was a sucky day (I always have a tough time with nausea after anesthesia), but this evening I am feeling much better and am already tapering off the vicodin, and am hoping tomorrow will be even better. The one thing I really don't like so far is having to sleep in an elevated position; combined with the nausea yesterday I had a tough time getting decent rest. Today the nausea has pretty much abated so I'm able to rest more comfortably.

Yesterday, the boobage clock rolled back by about 35 years -- I had breast reduction surgery! I call them my boobs version 2.0. Woo hoo! I cannot believe the difference! I still have the dressings on so can't show off the new profile quite yet, but will post some before & afters here once the dressings are off next week. Suffice to say, my boobs went from very saggy & long with nipples pointing south to very perky and nipples pointing straight ahead -- like they were when I hit puberty several decades ago. They feel very firm too. I know there is a lot of wrinkling around the nipples right now, but that will straighten out over the coming weeks & months. At my post-op appt. today, the surgeon said everything looked good. So far the only thing that is slightly amiss is that I am lacking sensation around my right nipple/areola, but I've read that this happens and over time it should resolve (sensation is very good on the left nipple/areola).
I asked the surgeon to keep my breast size proportional to my hip size (i have big hips!) so I think I'll end up around a size 38C/D after things settle down a bit (pre-surgery I was a 40DD). It doesn't sound like a big difference on paper, but in the flesh it's an amazing difference, due to the breast lift.
My surgery lasted about 3 hours, and I was so out of it afterwards that I have zero recollection of being in the recovery room or even getting home. I won't lie, yesterday was a sucky day (I always have a tough time with nausea after anesthesia), but this evening I am feeling much better and am already tapering off the vicodin, and am hoping tomorrow will be even better. The one thing I really don't like so far is having to sleep in an elevated position; combined with the nausea yesterday I had a tough time getting decent rest. Today the nausea has pretty much abated so I'm able to rest more comfortably.

Mylifeinpink, OMG what an amazing transformation! You look HOT! Congrats to you!!!!

I'm a mere 10 days away from having my breast lift/reduction surgery, which I'm having locally. I am TOTALLY going to Mexico for the rest of my plastic surgeries (lower body lift, face lift, and arm lift). Dr. Niebles here I come!!!

My go-to satiety food is beef Jerky. I am particularly fond of Costo's Kirkland Signature Steak Strips; 1 oz (2 pieces of jerky) is only 60 calories. 2 oz. of it and I am *stuffed* for only 120 calories.
Also, for a no-calorie tummy filler, I drink a mug of hot tea with Splenda. I like fruity teas a lot (Republic of Tea Ginger Peach Green Tea, and Lipton's Orange Passionfruit Jasmine Green Tea are two current faves). I'm always struggling to get enough fluids in and so now each day before I eat anything I make sure I drink at least one full mug of tea, and when I want to eat but don't have the calorie budget, a mug of tea helps tame the hungry monster.

Coops, congrats on your successful surgeries! You are beautiful inside and out and are an inspiration to so many people (including me of course!)! I'm having my first procedure (breast lift/reduction) on July 1st and am super excited about it. I'm going to wait 6 months for the Tummy Tuck.
Did your surgeon have to do a vertical incision (I think it's referred to as a Fleur de Lis) in your tummy tuck? My surgeon told me it would be necessary to have a vertical incision remove the excess skin from my upper abdomen as well as the standard incision to remove the panni. I was taken aback when he said that, but apparently it's fairly normal for people who have lost a major amount of weight (and, in my case, the skin has like zero elasticity!).
Thanks for sharing what life is like in the weeks after surgery; that is good to know so I can be better prepared for what lies ahead.

My go-to satiety food is beef Jerky. I am particularly fond of Costo's Kirkland Signature Steak Strips; 1 oz (2 pieces of jerky) is only 60 calories. 2 oz. of it and I am *stuffed* for only 120 calories.
Also, for a no-calorie tummy filler, I drink a mug of hot tea with Splenda. I like fruity teas a lot (Republic of Tea Ginger Peach Green Tea, and Lipton's Orange Passionfruit Jasmine Green Tea are two current faves). I'm always struggling to get enough fluids in and so now each day before I eat anything I make sure I drink at least one full mug of tea, and when I want to eat but don't have the calorie budget, a mug of tea helps tame the hungry monster.

OilSooner, in addition to the above good comments, I suggest you start tracking your food too and see if there are trigger foods that are causing your GI distress (look for patterns). I haven't had your symptoms, but I do find that my body really can't handle fats well. I always have to be careful eating anything fried or cooked in a lot of fat (i.e., shrimp scampi) because that sort of food really hurts in my sleeve (which is a good thing; keeps me from eating junk I shouldn't eat).
Also, are you getting enough Fiber in your diet? Loose stools often means not enough Fiber.< /p>
I guess what I am suggesting it to pay attention to what you eat and see if you can find patterns/links, and make changes from there.
BTW -- I'm also struggling with losing weight after some weight re-gain (and unfortunately I had never even gotten to goal before I started regaining). I also know I eat too much, too, especially when I see posts about what people are eating. I'm always shocked at how stringent most people are. Then again, that explains my lack of success! I keep my diet at 1,000 calories a day and find it to be very challenging most days to do that. Only eating 600 or 800 calories a day seems like an impossibly low amount, even considering my sleeve. I am sure I would lose weight faster being that strict, but holy moly I would be a hot mess too. I am not one of those lucky sleevers who has no hunger pains. I get hungry like clockwork every 3 hours or so. And while I definitely have some head hunger issues, it's not just head hunger -- it's real hunger pains. So, I find it a huge challenge to distribute 1,000 calories in a day where I'm having the physical need to eat every 3 hours or so (that's 4-5 meals in a typical day).
Keep us posted on what you find out please!

Coops, yay on your surgery! Glad it went well!

Hey Seattle neighbor!
Best of luck to you in your sleeve journey! I truly feel getting the sleeve was one of the best things I ever did for myself, and hope you find that to be the case as well.

Dragonsloard, I totally agree with you about not getting the surgery done sooner. I wish I had done more research in alternatives to gastric bypass years ago. But, better late than never!

Hi all,
I was sleeved by Dr. Aceves in Mexicali, Mexico in 2011. My best friend was just sleeved last week at a hospital in Seattle, WA (VIrginia Mason) and I was there with her from the time she checked in for surgery to the time she was discharged (I did go home for 8 hours to sleep at night, but the rest of the time I was at the hospital with her).
I noticed a lot of differences between what it's like to have surgery here vs. Mexico. I'm not here to flog my blog, but it is a pretty LONG post, so I put it up on my blog rather than here.
Here's a link if you're interested.
http://curvygirlwellness.blogspot.com/2013/03/weight-loss-surgery-in-mexico-vs-usa.htm
If you need to self-pay for surgery and are debating whether to have it here or in Mexico, the post might help you see the differences.
I don't know how Virginia Mason compares to other US hospitals but I'm guessing there aren't too many differences. I hope this helps!

Hi all,
I was sleeved by Dr. Aceves in Mexicali, Mexico in 2011. My best friend was just sleeved last week at a hospital in Seattle, WA (VIrginia Mason) and I was there with her from the time she checked in for surgery to the time she was discharged (I did go home for 8 hours to sleep at night, but the rest of the time I was at the hospital with her).
I noticed a lot of differences between what it's like to have surgery here vs. Mexico. I'm not here to flog my blog, but it is a pretty LONG post, so I put it up on my blog rather than here.
Here's a link if you're interested.
http://curvygirlwellness.blogspot.com/2013/03/weight-loss-surgery-in-mexico-vs-usa.htm
If you need to self-pay for surgery and are debating whether to have it here or in Mexico, the post might help you see the differences.
I don't know how Virginia Mason compares to other US hospitals but I'm guessing there aren't too many differences. I hope this helps!

Sorry, not sure why the link didn't work! Here is a link to the homepage and it should be the first entry you see.
http://curvygirlwellness.blogspot.com/
That makes sense about the bowel prep. I would never have agreed to converting a sleeve to a gastric bypass so glad my surgeon didn't leave that option on the table.
I didn't really have many problems with gas after surgery, or a problem with Constipation. I guess I'm fortunate in that regard!

Hi all,
I was sleeved by Dr. Aceves in Mexicali, Mexico in 2011. My best friend was just sleeved last week at a hospital in Seattle, WA (VIrginia Mason) and I was there with her from the time she checked in for surgery to the time she was discharged (I did go home for 8 hours to sleep at night, but the rest of the time I was at the hospital with her).
I noticed a lot of differences between what it's like to have surgery here vs. Mexico. I'm not here to flog my blog, but it is a pretty LONG post, so I put it up on my blog rather than here.
Here's a link if you're interested.
http://curvygirlwellness.blogspot.com/2013/03/weight-loss-surgery-in-mexico-vs-usa.htm
If you need to self-pay for surgery and are debating whether to have it here or in Mexico, the post might help you see the differences.
I don't know how Virginia Mason compares to other US hospitals but I'm guessing there aren't too many differences. I hope this helps!

Oh, my fellow Costco-lovers:
I was there today and a couple of my fave products are on sale.
Currently costco has a special on the Pure Protein Protein Bars (18 ct variety pack; 6 chocolate Deluxe; 6 chocolate Peanut Butter; and 6 Chewy Chocolate Chip). The regular price is $17.49 and there is a $4.50 instant mfr's coupon off. I stocked up and bought 3 of them today, since they are our fave Protein Bars (20g Protein, 180-200 calories per bar). I prefer the Pure Protein bars to the Premier Protein bars, which, although they have more protein (30g vs. 20g) they are just too honkin big for my sleeve and I never finish them ... always get about 2/3 or 3/4 done and then can't stand the thought of another bite, so the rest always gets thrown out. I can always finish a Pure Protein Bar, though. It's just the right size for my sleeve.
Also, there's a sale on the Stacy's Pita chips (another of my fave costco buys). I believe it's a $2 or $2.50 mfr. instant coupon per bag (I think the regular price is $5.79 or something, so that's a big savings). I also stocked up on those. They have a pretty long shelf life.
I heart Costco!!!