BitterSweet*

Yay! So glad to hear that you're feeling better! =)

An EGD would be helpful. It could be something as simple as an ulcer in your stomach. An ultrasound can rule out your gallbladder as the source of your pain. Sometimes the gallbladder can cause referred pain before attacks start. I really hope they get this figured out soon. Sorry you're going through so much. =(

You've pretty much got it right. Cardio and weight training. Stay hydrated (internally with water), moisturize your skin frequently and take your Vitamins. That's it. You didn't say your age (guessing around 26ish), so youth is also on your side for skin rebound as well. If you do plan on plastics, surgeons usually say to wait until your weight has stablized for one year, once you've hit goal, in order to have the best results and give your skin a chance to settle in and retract on its own as much as possible. Btw, they'll still take your money and operate; that's just what they recommend! Lol! Good luck to you and congratulations on the decisions to change your life, health, and on your upcoming wedding.

Good, don't. I think we all know ourselves very well. If you know you're that girl who can't stay off of the scale and the lack of weight loss will throw your entire mood into the toilet, I wouldn't weigh either. I think the scale is better suited as a maintenance phase item.

EGD, ultrasound of your gallbladder?

No advice at all. Just want to say @@Miss Mac, that was as eloquent as I have ever heard. Just beautiful and inspiring. Thank you.

@@WhoKnows, everyone is different. Rogaine made me grow peach fuzz all over my face, regrew the lashes (not longer ones, but new ones) to replace those that I lost when my hair fell out, and a delightful female mustache. Honestly, even hair down there filled in more. I still have thinned areas in my hairline that are likely permanent, but it is better. I've been using Rogaine for 14 months.

How bad it will be depends on what your body used to look like at a normal weight. If you drop enough that you are close to that weight, your boobs will likely be around that same pre-fat size.......just deflated, or having less volume / fullness. If you had ass before, it will shrink relative to the rest of you, but your genetics will still shine through. Either way, the best advice I can give you is to do weight training. No matter where you start or what your genetic makeup is, weights can create a new you. Do lots of squats and lunges with heavy weights, and you will marvel at the changes. Lean muscle will also help loose skin look better. I don't know about you, but I want to look fit and trim, not skinny. I like having curves.

Rogaine will make eyelashes grow back too. As well as hair everywhere else. I've just resolved to wax the spots I don't want hair growing. Yes, that includes my mustache (ugh) and chin hairs.

If your gallbladder checkd out fine when your ultrasound is done, they'll probably just switch you to a different PPI and or maybe some carafate for the reflux. Have you tried Maalox or Mylanta?Hope you feel better soon.

@@deedadumble, congrats on your new boobs! Implants just wasn't the choice for me. I have not heard of lifelong implants, but I even have a hard time accepting lifelong titanium staples in my body. Implants have been around for it seems a gazillion years and if they've finally come up with one that doesn't require replacement, that's great. I know about the "gummy bear" implants that won't leak even when pierced, but never of any that can be permanently left in the body. If they've invented one....Cool. Yay for technology!

Looks like 2 completely different people. What an amazing transformation! Congratulations!

Bob, I applaud you for taking the steps necessary to restore your health. You will be given Versed to ease your nerves; every pre-op patient gets this medication unless you are allergic to it or specifically state that you don't want it. It is not just given to ease your nerves, but is a medication that causes intentional, temporary amnesia. So no worries. Anesthesiologists work with anesthetists (CRNAs) and anesthesia assistants (AAs). The latter two are the ones that actually monitor you during your surgery, and the anesthesiologist floats between assigned OR rooms (usually 4 rooms), especially if you are in a large hospital. The anesthesiologist is typically only in the room while you are actually induced (put under general anesthesia) and when it's time to reverse the anesthesia and wake you up. When there is someone with a very high BMI or patients with increased risks, the anesthesiologist will tend to stay in that OR room more, to provide maximum safety. They are trained for any and every emergency possible, assuming of course you are having surgery in the states. Not knocking Medical Tourism, I simply don't know anything about their practices. You are going to be fine. Let me assure you that you are not the first person with a BMI like that, and you won't be the last. Everything is going to be great! The loose skin.......impossible to escape from. Even if you were 18 years old and needed to lose around 200 lbs (just guessing), you would have hanging skin. The only things you can do to help are cardio and weight training. Keep your skin hydrated (internally with water), and externally with a good moisturizer. In all honesty, start saving for plastics, or do a kick-ass job of documenting through doctor appointments, the persistent problems the excess skin is causing; like repeated yeast / fungal infections, non-healing sores, chaffing etc. Some insurance companies will pay for a paniculectomy under those circumstances. Good luck to you!

Kindle!!! Lol!!!

I take it the reflux meds aren't helping?

@@Luana526, I think you answered your own question! The only caveat to the situation is that your surgeon does retain the right to cancel your operation, even when you're cut open on the operating table. Every doctor is different and why that is, I don't think any of us know. But when a surgeon requires a liquid diet (especially one that's 2 weeks long), they can tell whether you've complied. Not that you've been perfect, but that you followed the requirement fairly closely.

Keep doing or start doing cardio. Maintain maximun hydration and moisturize the skin frequently. There are some exercises you can do do strengthen frontal neck muscles, which can make the skin less loose. Google it. You're young, a lot of it should rebound. Good luck and congratulations on your success!

To the OP, how old are you? Lol @ Miss Mac's response!!!

Hope the carafate helps. That sucks.

Ladies only Pole party. Yeah, I said it.

Glad you called your doctor. Try taking something for acid and see if that helps. If you're already on a PPI, take another one or a different one. If that doesn't help, I'd get checked out. Hope you feel better soon.

Yep.

Remove it. You can live perfectly fine without it. If it is diseased and known prior to surgery, decent, well-skilled doctors take it out during the sleeve. If diseased and you keep it, I can almost guarantee that you'll regret it. Gall attacks are extremely painful and can turn into an emergency very easily.

@@ShortiAKA, awwwwww. I'm glad you're coming around but all of us need to be supportive of each other. That sucks that no one replied to you.

Or, you really could just be hungry. =(