sgc

I have the doctor's cell phone number. Not really concerned that it is an emergency.

14 minutes ago, jess9395 said:

Call your surgeon. I'm sure they have an ok call situation.

If you don't have a fever it's likely not an infection but it could be a seroma.

That is what I'm thinking. The office is closed on the weekend. I'll call Monday if it doesn't get worse.

I may have an issue. I noticed a lump now along my incision line near my hip right above where my drain is inserted. It's about the size of a tennis ball. It's different than the other swelling. It protrudes out like a ball.

36 minutes ago, jess9395 said:

Wow! My requirement was the same 30cc and my drains came out five days post op.

Part of the problem I believe is I lost a drain. I had two for the front and two for the rear. The remaining one is in the rear. Only 24 hours after the surgery, my one drain in the rear fell out so I basically have had one drain doing the work of two. It's three weeks though now and likely will be four weeks at the earliest before I get it out.

Doctor says it can be removed when Fluid levels reach 30 cc over a 24 hour period. I'm still averaging at least 70-80 cc over 24 hours. Doctor says a seroma can develop if it's removed early.

Doctor said it cannot be removed until the output reaches a certain level and it just isn't close to reaching it yet.

I had a Tummy Tuck and lower body lift and paid about $11,500. My insurance paid about $3,500 so the total was about $15,000.

Nearly three weeks and this last drain doesn't seem close to coming out yet. My stomach is still pretty swollen. With all this Fluid from this last remaining drain, I hope I don't develop a seroma in my stomach.

1 hour ago, MAYintheD said:

Annnnd that's exactly how it happened! I'm scheduled for the 3rd. I meant after the surgery, hospital stuff, pain after, liquids, what you wish you had known, done differently 😊

I had my surgery at St John. After you are all prepped for surgery, they place you in a room with other people awaiting surgery. I was in their for a while. That is the only time I actually saw the surgeon in my hospital visit. He asked me how much weight I lost. I'm not sure if he would have canceled the surgery then if I didn't lose the required amount or not. There wasn't any pain afterwards and I never used the pain meds prescribed to me. The worst part is you can't drink any liquids until they do the leak test. That was rough as you will go nearly 24 hours without drinking. I had a private room which was quite large. I was discharged around 3 PM the next day. I would probably make sure to take stool softener afterwards. I had bad Constipation right after. I was in labor for a good 45 minutes during my first bowel movement after surgery.

3 hours ago, MAYintheD said:

Sgc you are an inspiration! We have the same surgeon! I'm going in on Oct 3rd and getting nervous but not deterred! Any tips to share?

Not really any tips. The whole process was pretty smooth. My first appointment was April 25th and by June 22nd I had y surgery. The wait time can be a little long in the office. You will need a letter from your primary care doctor. You will also likely need to have a psychiatric evaluation. It will really depend on quickly you get those done. He will then do an endoscopy and you will meet with the nutritionist before you start the two week diet.

58 minutes ago, FamilyGuyNJ said:

Did your waiste size decrease after the LBL? Or did the swelling keep things about the same?

Congrats!!!

Yes and no. I had so much skin around the stomach and sides, that I always wore my pants lower than what they should be. Now I can wear my pants higher where they should be. The waist size is still the same but now the inseam is longer.

I got the Tummy Tuck and lower body lift in the US. I found Mexico wasn't any cheaper.

2 hours ago, Back2fit said:

Great job pal! Keep it up with your discipline.. hows is your food intake this days?

My food intake is still the same. I could eat more if I wanted to. My doctors have actually advised me to eat more. Just going to gradually up my portions but eat the same food. I'm happy in the 170's. I also just had a Tummy Tuck and lower body lift. My stomach is still swollen so as that goes down, so does the pounds.

Had gastric sleeve surgery in June of 2016. Was 389 at the time of surgery. All time high weight was 470 pounds in February of 2015. Now down to 170 and hoping to maintain at this weight. Included some before and after pics. Still have the pants from the before pic and can literally fit my entire body into one pant leg.

I am pleased. My stomach is still pretty flat despite the swelling. Backside is also better than I thought. Finally have a normal waistline.

On 9/7/2017 at 0:27 PM, sgc said:

Surgery is tomorrow. I leave with some before photos. Not having the chest done yet. Doing a Tummy Tuck and lower body lift.

Two weeks now and I finally got some after pics. Stomach is obviously still swollen and I still have one drain in.

9 hours ago, JohnnyCakes said:

that’s amazing! that’s gotta feel weird as hell tho, huh?

It's nice to be able to walk into any store and buy clothes. Honestly I found it slightly difficult to find jeans in a 30" waist. Seemed most were 36 or 38. I did go to the mall and just tried on some Calvin Klein slim fit shirts that fit nicely. They were too expensive. I was only there to try them on. My whole fashion sense has changed. I even bought new shoes, a new belt, some new eyeglass frames, and even new socks.

**Edit** I take that back. I cannot walk into any store and buy clothes. The clothes at Casual Male are too big now. No longer have to pay top dollar for bland clothes. It always bothered me that they sold so many shirts with horizontal stripes. Big people shouldn't be wearing horizontal stripes.

I just bought some 30" waist jeans today that fit. At one point, I wore a size 60. Also picked up a medium slim fit shirt, down from a 6xl.

My goal was 250 pounds. Once I got there, it wasn't like I can just go ahead and stop now. I kept going and am down to 173. My BMI is 23.5 and right in the middle of the normal range and yet all my doctors tell me to gain weight now. I'm not sure what to make of BMI. You can be healthy and normal with a BMI over 25 and be unhealthy under 25.

Got two drains out but still have one left. This last one seems stubborn.

I dabbled in dating but ended up with a cat named James who only seems to show himself when he hears food. I have finally bottomed out on my weight loss and had some skin removal surgery so I will give it one more go. I feel it's best to wait until you are finished product. I'm not even going to tell women I had surgery or was even overweight.

On 9/19/2017 at 11:33 AM, DaAlchemist said:

HI All I'm bout a month away and Im still trying to figure out if I want the sleeve or Gastric Bypass looking at this forum I see that the sleeve guys have some huge losses What made you go with the Sleeve ?

The sleeve was less aggressive than the bypass and had better results than the lap band. I went from 470 pounds to 170 pounds.

The numbness around my waist is weird and will take some time to get used to. When I remove the binder, it almost feels as if I'm still wearing it. Still not sure I will have these drains out by Tuesday. There really hasn't been any pain but some soreness in the tail bone area when I sit.

I'l post some pics when I get these drains out. It's hard to take good pics wearing a binder and having these drains hanging out.

My ass seems to have come out better than I thought. I'm not used to having a normal ass. To me it was just one cheek with a crack in it. Not used to have two separate cheeks. I don't know why this is an adjustment for me.