Indieflickers

@@jess9395 @@JamieLogical thanks for the reassurance!

@@Djmohr oh that sounds terrible! I don't have any itching. Well not related to the surgery. I got a big bite on my arm, which was infuriating because I couldn't quite tell where the itching was coming from due to the fact that I was still numb along the incision!

@@jess9395 I think I had some Lipo but not much. The combo of the swelling and hunger is terrible because it makes me feel like I've gained due to over eating!

@@Daisee68 that makes sense. I've been averaging about that! I just don't know if I should still be doing that now that I'm farther out. I was actually at about 2000 calories before plastics because of how active I was but boy was it anxiety provoking to eat that much when I was essentially sedentary! I'm back to being incredibly active at work but not doing serious cardio or strength training yet.

@@James Marusek ah gotcha. I think part of the hunger may be recovery from plastics but I can't say that for sure. I would like to lose about 12 - 15 more pounds but it's hard to do when constantly starving and unable to do serious exercise!

@@James Marusek thanks for the advice! I actually get a ridiculous amount of Protein. Probably a little too high since I've had to stop strength training whilst recovering from plastics. Are you considered maintenance of you're not quite at goal?

@@JamieLogical it had started to go down but has increased a bunch since my activity spiked. It's really disconcerting to seem my rather round stomach! I guess I have to keep reminding myself it'll go away eventually. Did you do anything to help minimise it or did you just leave it alone?

I'm about seven weeks out from brachioplasty and Tummy Tuck. I'm back at work and my swelling has gone waaaay up. My job is really active - I walk an average of 10 miles a day and I'm on my feet 14 to 20 hours a day. My arms are fine but my stomach is swollen enough that I look like I'm nearing the end of my first trimester! Also, I'm ridiculously hungry all the time which is not helpful as I am constantly surrounded by food. How did you guys manage the swelling? How long did it take to go down? I'm wearing compression 24/7 but I'm not sure how much it's helping.

Thanks @@Kyn13!

@@erp that's impressive! I didn't know they were that cheap at costco. I don't have a membership though.

@@CowgirlJane yeah that's kind of what I assumed. Do you happen to remember how many calories you were getting?

I used to bake with Protein powder a lot but my oven is really crappy and just bad at baking things in general. I used an unflavoured protein powder. You can replace 1/3 flour (be it whole wheat, coconut, almond, etc) with protein powder. Also I've heard casein protein is better to cook with because it's thicker but I've never actually tried. There are a lot of really great sites with protein powder recipes though I mainly use Pinterest to find ones I want to try.

I tend to buy the Fage 0% Greek yogurt there because it's cheaper there than the other grocery chains. Also the Quest bars are about fifty cents cheaper there than any other brick and mortar store, though I tend to order them in bulk from Amazon.

For the first ten months after surgery I weighed only once a month, on my surgery date. I think this helped because a) it meant I didn't really notice stalls the weight loss was usually a good, big number and c) it kept me from obsessing. As long as you're following the rules, the weight will come off. Now that I'm almost 15 months out I weigh once a week. I was told you shouldn't weigh daily because there are a multitude of factors that affect the number on the scale, many of which are completely out of your control.

@@CowgirlJane my appetite has definitely gone way up, just like you said your did. I'm getting obscene amounts of Protein but I was wondering what else you did to keep from gaining? Were there foods or meals that you found particularly filling or did you just have to live with being hungrier.

@@jess9395 it's a combination of both. I do seem to be more thirsty than usual. I'm also pushing the liquids more than usual in an attempt to stay hydrated and also to help a bit with hunger. I'll try cutting back to 64 ounces and see if that helps with swelling.

@@jess9395 my salt intake is average and I'm drinking about a gallon of Water a day.

Thanks so much for the advice! I'm sure it will be worth it. Even swollen, my arms look ten times better than before so I'm sure it was worth it!

@@jess9395 interesting. I took arnica yesterday and I'm wondering if perhaps I had a bad reaction to it because I hadn't had any swelling before taking it.

@@jess9395 oh that's good to know about the sun. My surgeon seems to only give me the info I need when I get to the next step, which is somewhat understandable but also annoying since I like having as much info as possible. Did you have much swelling in your hands? I had read that people's hands got really swollen and felt extremely lucky that I hadn't experienced that and then of course when I woke up today it looked like I was wearing a fat suit. My hands were so swollen I could barely bend my fingers. I'm wondering if that's because last night was the first night I slept in a much flatter position. I had been sleeping almost upright since surgery.

@@jess9395 that's all very reassuring! I'm not wearing sleeves just ace bandages. You were able to stop wearing them after two weeks? Did you put something over the scars after you stopped wearing them?

I'm trying to accept that I probably will gain some weight, weight that isn't swelling, and that that's ok because I have made great changes and I am anxious to get back to exercising so dropping whatever weight I gain won't be too much of an issue as long as I don't go nuts with the food. I think part of the anxiety is that sitting around all day watching to TV is basically what my life was for the decade before surgery, so having to go back to it is a bit triggering. I have to keep reminding myself that it's kind of a good sign that I'm not enjoying it and that it's only temporary.

So I had the TT and brachioplasty last Tuesday. It went as well as can be expected, though I underestimated how much of a b***h the first 72 hours are. I know it doesn't make sense because they're such very different surgeries, but I think I got it into my head that because bypass was so easy (I practically jumped off the OR table) that this would be a breeze too. I also underestimated the amount of assistance I'd need and for how long I'd need it.

Now that I'm a week and change out, I have a few more questions for people who've had plastics. In the almost year and a half since my bypass, I've become an exceptionally active person. I find it incredible difficult to sit still for more than a few moments at a time. For the next week and a half I have no choice but to sit still. While I do feel crappy, and get physically exhausted quite quickly, my brain still has trouble allowing me to stay put. Basically I'm bored as hell. I'm catching up on really good TV (Game of Thrones!!) but even really good TV doesn't distract me enough from the fact that I want to move. What did you guys do to distract yourself?

Also, I am incredibly hungry. I realise that my body needs a decent amount of calories while it's knitting my skin back together, but the combination of no movement and 1800 calories a day makes me anxious. I had been eating almost 2000 calories a day in the month before surgery and still losing, but I was also walking about 15 miles a day. How did you guys find a balance between not being starving but going nuts with the calories?

As for the surgery itself, the scars look pretty good, though the end of the incision on my left hip and the incisions in my armpits look pretty raised and ropey. Did they flatten out for you and if so, how long did it take? How long before you were able to shave your armpits and how did you manage with the scar? How long did you wear the ace bandages/compression sleeves on your arms?

Any advice is very helpful!

I second planking. I started off barely being able to hold a plank for 15 seconds and am now up to 2 minutes. After I'd been holding it for 30 seconds for a few weeks I noticed this weird bump right above my hip and got really worried that i'd herniated something. Until I realised I had one on the other side too and they were muscles! One of the best feelings.

Congrats! That's so awesome!

Thanks!!

First one was two summers ago and I was at 377. The second one was in January at 187. I'm down another 19 but don't have any more recent full body pics.

@@jess9395 well that's encouraging to hear! I'm far more anxious about this surgery than I was about the bypass. I'm worried about pain but also the lack of mobility and being able to do basic everyday things since I live alone.

@@CowgirlJane I only eat that much because of how active I am. I may actually dial it back while I'm recovering since I'll be essentially sedentary. I'll have to look into something with some stretch though I do still have a pair of jeans that are about a size too big so maybe I'll try those.