mschan218

I'm getting a thigh lift in july. For anyone whos had a thigh lift before or know anything about it, how long until you can drive without it hurting? I'm going to be in a hospital in mexico for 8 days, will that be enough, or do i need more time off work?

Managed to get into the vest sleeve compression garment for only 7 hours yesterday. The Dr told me to try and get them on Saturday, if I couldn't stand them on to try again on Monday. I had some rubbing and tightness in the left arm pit and at the crease area in my arm. I guess I will try again on Monday with some pads in those areas.
In my case the excess skin has to be removed before the back Dr will do back surgery. So if I want to ever walk again without assistance I need all this skin removed.

That's amazing!!

Cover your scars with awesome tattoos, I can see a pretty floral design masking those.

It sounds like you are doing well and have made decisions that are good for you. I am happy for you.. not sure if I'll ever afford $11,000 for the procedure...
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Thank you so much for sharing this part of your journey so openly! I'm still in the loosing stage, but am starting to think about what those end procedures might be to make everything'feel right'. Please keep us posted and best wishes for a continued healthy recovery!
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Dr. Vincent DiNick, in Ypsilanti, MI, he was fabulous!
Thanks! I'm starting to look at surgeons, that's why I asked. Thanks for the recommendation!

Check your policy some (like mine) have some very specific requirements like pannus has to be x inches past pubic bone or things like that. Some exclude it entirely. Some require documented health complications. Looking at your policy is the best instruction manual for planning ahead.

Sadly I had to self pay all of mine.

Has anyone gotten by and been happy with less than a Tummy Tuck?
I have had an apron since 1991. Got up over 195, and even now at 137, I still have a flap that covers my hip bones, and hangs down about 3 inches. I am pretty sure there is still a lot of fat in there vs just skin. above my belly button seems ok, but I wouldn't object if it were flatter. Right now, I can wear a size 4 shorts, but I still have a pooch so I cover it with a shirt. now that it's getting hot, the rashes are coming back. ~sigh~
Obviously a full TT is the best way to get it all tight, and flat. But I'm not sure if it's bad enough for a TT, so I have been pondering if I would be ok with some Lipo. Based on pictures I've seen online, and stuff I've read, I think either a panni, mini TT or enhanced TT would be what I'm looking for. But I figured I'd consider less extreme sounding options such as lipo too.
if you had just lipo, what kind? pretty much no chance insurance will cover anything for me. I don't want to bear my stomach. no bikinis for me! I dont want a Fleur De lis either. no vertical scar. I just want to get rid of the pooch that's been left over since my C-section almost 27 years ago.
what does everyone else do? go big or go home? or think something is better than nothing?
thanks!

I had a Rough en Y bypass in November of 1999. I lost all of my weight but since have gained back 42lbs. Like most of the post Im seeing I have been through some very tough times. However I am the happiest in my personal life Ive ever been. I started looking at the weight loss programs all my friends are on and I thought to myself why am I trying to do what they are since they have never had this surgery. Since my surgery I had zero post op support of follow up. My hair was falling out and my teeth are not good. I cannot chew very well since Ive lost teeth. I dont want any more side effects or symptoms. I have to relearn and get some support now. Please dont judge me. I serve in ministry and I trust Jesus If I dont take care of myself and reset my pouch I will not be healthy to serve in ministry or care for my family. Please give advice on what you have done to get back on track?

I am 11 months post-op and I feel hungry every half hour. I don't want to eat and gain weight, but not eating anything only makes it worse. I get angry, feel tired and uninterested in doing anything. I'm scared what if my sleeve expands most of the time and end up staring at the ceiling most of the time, as I took a loan on my credit card to pay for the surgery. I take my meds on time. I take a Protein Shake every day, but this hunger generally starts during the second half of the day and gets worst from 6 p.m. onwards. I cannot take Water still. I can take 2-3 sips at a time, then 2-3 more sips after half hour, but food (veggies, fruits, bread) is okay to consume.
My starting weight was 251 pounds, on the day of surgery I was 240 pounds and in 11 months now I am 180 pounds and my goal weight is 155 pounds. I don't eat junk food....no burger, no fries (I do eat potato once a week fried in an air fryer or popcorn made again in air fryer), no soda, 1-2 tablespoons of sugar on a daily basis (in my glass of tea and coffee, which I take in the morning and evening), nothing more.
The quantity of food intake has increased compared to what I used to eat two months ago, to what I eat this month. And to make things worst I noticed today that I've gained 2.2 pounds (1 kg) since last week. I tell myself not to worry but I am freaking out. Please advise what should I do. Any suggestion is appreciated.

Badly. I've always been a drinker. Once I fully healed I became more of a drinker. One to two bottles of wine a day every day. I don't recommend that. If you're the kind of person who can have one or two drinks & stop, I envy you. I know myself well enough to know if there's a bottle open, I need to finish it. Today makes 105 days since I've had a drink.

So I was about 4 months post op for the RNY and I ended up in the emergency room for Acute Urinary Retention, Male and Fecal Impaction. I hadn't had a bowel movement in 7 days and I was unable to pass urine for about 24 hours. Two enemas and a Foley later I was urine free and able to have a bowl movement. I went to my primary at the VA hospital because I ended up with a UTI and had a bladder scan. Seems I was not emptying my bladder when I urinated. They put me on medication for BPH. I am not sure if it is helping with the bladder emptying but it has helped with the bowl movements. Now I am sure that the VA is going to schedule me for testing to check out my prostrate. It sucks getting older.

They said gas. I said the surgeon left a knife in me. I don't know...

So unfair! You guys get bigger junk and all we get are smaller, saggy boobs!

Yes, I said it. I'm 2.5 months out from bypass surgery, I'm down 61.6 lbs. and I get so horny, my sex drive is on steroids at 51 years old, I feel like I did in my 20's. I've already worn my wife out and she is scared to touch me. I'm not trying to brag, as a big guy I've always been large down below and my wife can't seem to handle me now since my weight loss. Erection problems used to be my issue. I now get hard if the wind blows and for no reason. I can't even walk around in the stores because my erection shows through what ever I'm wearing. What's a man to do during these hard (no pun intended) times? Does anyone else have the issue I'm having after they had surgery? I need suggestions, thanks in advance.

I see. Okay. So..
The Keto diet is about putting the body into a state of ketosis. It's effectively tricking the body, particularly the liver, into thinking you're starving, but it realizes you aren't, if you're doing this diet as it should be done.
The liver first synthesizes carbs and stores it for fuels, but it quickly can be completely full of it rather quickly, so it then turns into converting those carbs to fatty acids.. those fatty acids get sent around the bloodstream generally to areas rife with fat (in men it's primarily the gut, in women it's a lot of places), but they also infiltrate the liver itself.
When the liver is deprived of carbohydrates, it starts producing ketone bodies that tell areas that need energy (the brain, muscles, organs, etc. ) to start looking for other methods of energy consumption. The first method of consumption is Protein. The second one is fatty acids. For the muscles, they quickly can run out of fatty acids, so need a steady stream of protein to prevent the ketone bodies from having the body burn up the muscle Proteins instead as fuel (replacing them with fat). The organs like the brain, heart, etc. will easily adjust, using whatever protein it can (not much), and then changing over to burning up fat, which, in an obese person, is rife.
So it makes sense from a standpoint of a perfectly healthy person to go with a normal diet you suggest, which is in line with what the government typically suggests with their food pyramid, but in an obese person due to the excess accumulation of fat, this processed needs to be reversed. Ketosis is, I find, the quickest way of accomplishing this, and when done correctly, and especially under doctor supervision, is quite healthy.
And it's not to suggest eating foods rife with sucralose.. not a good idea. But the body needs protein anyways to avoid burning up the protein in muscles. A high fat diet I think is okay in the short term, because in a state of ketosis the body will burn through that quickly anyways, nothing will come from it. But yes, as a person becomes thinner and requires less energy input to satisfy what their body needs, you'll find that the high volume of ketone bodies and fat will wind up working against the person. So as they get smaller, they must adjust to what their body needs.
I find a logical approach is by far what works best.. what you'll see often is people who are religious-like about diets and such.. which is counterproductive.

I was excited a few days ago hearing my surgery date was moved up to May 23. A few days ago my father went into the hospital to have a lobectomy. He is now in ICU on life support.
They filmed him just out of surgery, barely unable to speak but he smiled and mentioned my surgery. I live out of state but hope he is still there on Wednesday when Im able to visit.
I'm so sad wondering if he will be around, concerned if he is suffering, right now they medicated him so he cannot move. He's up and down. It feels like a lot on my plate.
I feel heart heavy, that my personal happiness is also mixed with one of the most heartbreaking hurdles in my life.
Thinking of my father, praying for his health, hoping for the best. He would want me to be healthy.
I love you dad.

Well, I finally can feel comfortable enough with my loopiness to post on here. I did want to share some things I was not expecting:
It hurts worse than a c-section
I only had 5 incisions - not 7
Water and ice taste sweet, like sugar is added
SF popsicles and Jello are so sweet it almost burns the back of my throat
broth tastes like overly salty MIso Soup and I used my cup of warm water given for tea to water down the broth so it was somewhat enjoyable.
Breathing hurts, but the more deep breathes you do, the less gas pain you feel in your shoulders. Mine went away a few hours after surgery.
Walking does help relieve gas. For me it was burping. Haven't had it go out the other way yet.
Getting water down is no problem. I've already gone through 100 ounces today. I was a very big water drinker before anyway, drinking a gallon and a half a day.
I have never had so many hiccups as I do here. If I even talk or breathe a certain way, I get a long bout of hiccups. It's painful.
I feel a tightness in my chest/ neck when I'm satisfied and very uncomfortable stomach when I push it. So far it's liquids only but I still feel it.
sleeping is the only thing I have wanted to do. I'll wake up, have water, take pain meds (which are glorious) walk the halls and come back to fall asleep in a chair.
I have only used my pillow, chapstick, travel lotion, and robe. The robe is unnecessary for me but I brought it so I decided to use it.
Surround yourself with pillows even when sitting. I have 3 pillows on me at all times if I'm sitting and it is wonderful. Comfortable with just the right amount of pressure. Plus I can adjust them to support my face for sleeping.
The first thing I did when I was able to walk was go to the bathroom and use a washcloth to wipe down my face arms and body. Then I brushed my teeth and hair. I wiped myself down every time I went to the bathroom the first 24 hours.
Know your nurses. My night nurse is a rockstar. He's funny and quick to make sure I have what I need before I need it. My day nurse leaves little to be desired. I've learned to ask for meds 30 minutes before I badly need them. If I ask when I badly need them, I won't get them for 30 minutes. If you absolutely have zero pain, awesome. I got this surgery because I was tired of trying to be stronger for everyone else and I'm taking meds to get a break from that. I don't need to tough this one out.
Know when you're tired and let yourself sleep. My eyes literally start getting double vision when I'm tired and I have to close one eye to be able to see what I'm typing. It took me 3 naps to get through this post.
HW: 328 (02/21/17)
CW: 275 (preop 53# disowned)

I've realized, now that I'm 4 days post op, that there's very little im expecting or shocked by. From the posts I'm seeing, there is not much different in the experiences.
Bloating and gas is real
Walking eases it
Deep breathes hurt and help
Water water water sipping all day
food tastes gross (especially Protein powder/shakes)
Incisions hurt and itch
You gain surgery weight from water/gas
Pain meds are bad and good but mostly have worse side effects
It feels like it's pulling
Feels tight and hurts to drink a lot
Pain radiates elsewhere on the body
And of course there are those few who don't feel a thing and wonder if it "took".
The forum has the same topics and answers that I've been reading since my first consult and I'm grateful for it in a way because I'm not worried about any of these normal effects. So far, I'm just looking forward to the maintenance phase lol. Forcing myself to drink Fluid is more frustrating that I thought it would be. Especially since I know I'm thirsty for it, but feel very full.
I keep thinking that when I heal, everything will go back to "normal" but that's not the case. The only thing that will return to normal is the bloating and pressure plus incision pain associated with surgery. In 2 weeks, I hope that will be gone. Other than that, it's a bit of a shock to think I am going to live with stomach discomfort for a long while.
HW: 328 (02/21/17)
CW: 275 (preop 53# disowned)

Seems that for the first year, as you try different foods, you tend to discover that your new stomach simply rejects foods that you used to eat regularly. Is this common for most of you?

The three week stall.... it happens to almost everyone keep you head up, and your yogurt down!


Sleeved

I had the same problem, I'll give a link to the info im about to give, but you hit a stall because your body isn't getting enough calories yet. So, your body starts storing rather than burning because it goes into starvation mode. I'm a month and 2 days out, I have been losing weight like crazy this past week because I'm starting to hit between 1000 and 1200 calories a day. https://www.mexicobariatriccenter.com/not-losing-weight-after-gastric-sleeve-surgery/

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I'm 9 months out. I'm down 91 pounds. From the time I switched to soft foods right after surgery, I ate with my family. Your food should stay hot for the 30 minutes it takes you to eat. You do not need to be shoveling food in to try to eat while its hot -- in fact, that will physically hurt if you try to eat too fast.
Let's talk about restaurants. We eat out. Frequently. Tonight, after we drop our daughter at her senior prom, we will be heading to a lovely restaurant for dinner. I will have a cocktail. (That's my out to dinner treat.) We'll order an appetizer and I'll have a taste or two of it. I'll order a main course that is likely a Protein and veg. The last time I ate at this restaurant, I had one of their famous burgers - served topless. I didn't eat the bottom bun, but it makes it easier for the kitchen to prepare that way. I ate about 1/2 of it because it was an 8 ounce burger. The remainder came home for lunch the next day.
I can have the occasional bowl of Pasta or slice of pizza, but to be honest, they make me feel ill so I don't do it often. I'm Italian - I do miss my pasta, but I have it maybe once a month.
We enjoy conversation during our meals. Really, it's not as bad as you are making it in your mind. You will find a way to make it work. But you need to change your relationship with food. Going out to eat isn't really about eating - its about spending time with your family and friends and talking and laughing.

My experience early on was I had to eat solid food all the time or my sleeve would swell more and restrict. So once I started on food all my meals were food not Protein Shakes. I would have a Protein Shake in between if running low on Protein but that was it.
My experience is still, if I don't eat protein (I have been sick a few times not WLS related) and just have fluids because I don't feel like cooking or eating. My restriction is tight a drum. My sleeve has a use it or lose it attitude.
Also 2 bites is a useless metric. How many ounces or grams is that?