TakingABreak

Girl yes. I think I'll be needing one of those. That and an electric throw blanket that plugs into the cigarette lighter in my car.

Complaint: Fall equals cooler weather, and I'm anticipating a big adjustment period. I've been suffering from severe cold intolerance when the temps drop into the low 70's... therefore, when fall officially hits in IL, I'll be struggling. Usually by the end of Oct we are getting hit with 40 degree days. Suggestion: I'm going to layer up and enjoy wearing jeans, sweaters, and boots. Looking forward to: Cooking and hosting holidays. I love to feed my family and decorate my house.

Biggest piece of advice I can offer is... Don't use protein shakes before you absolutely have to! I made the mistake of supplementing some of my meals with shakes to "prepare myself" for the pre-op diet. Big mistake. You will get to the point where they are DISGUSTING, and you don't want to increase the timeline of that by drinking them before you need to.

Love that look! You do look fantastic!

^^^ ditto

Oh shoot, I didn't read the original post correctly. My bad.

Is that really true though? I feel like there were a lot of things that my surgeon's office required that weren't a part of the insurance requirements? I get what you are saying though, just find a different doctor.

Every time I go to update my profile pic off the app (IOS) it does this glitch thing where it blinks that it is saving for about 2 minutes and force closes the app. This is been happening for months, so none of the updates have fixed it.

Thank you! I didn’t drink a lot before surgery. So my tolerance was lower. My experience thus far has been that the effects do not last long. It hits me fast and wears off within 30-45 mins unless I continue drinking. But one drink has me feeling sloppy, unless I make it very light.

Yesss! Still sounds amazing. I hope the opportunity arises!

I've grown close to a few of you guys over this journey. You are a part of my everyday life and I find myself saying... oh well, @Orchids&Dragons said this.... and people look at me funny. Anyway, crazy enough I find myself day dreaming of some sort of get together. Like a giant family reunion or a retreat of sorts. LOL. I know this will never happen, but if anyone's ever in IL.... let me know! I'd love to meet you!

Its been awhile, but wanted to tell you all how much I appreciate you. I love this community, and I'm indebted to your support.

I feel you 100%. I am just trying to hold onto the fact that I am grateful for the weight loss and it has ultimately made a huge positive impact on my life, as it will yours. Hair loss (for those who lose it) is a very large draw back to the surgery. I have a friend who would never consider it, because she has such thin hair to begin with. Ultimately, seeing how much this has changed my life... I wouldn't take it back. Hair will regrow, it won't be pretty, but it will regrow. At the end of the day, this process will be a small blip of my life.

I'm 8 months post op, and had EXTREMELY thick hair pre op. Now, my hair is teetering on thin... it brings me to tears thinking of all the loss. I am still losing weight, but not as rapidly. Despite the slowing of loss, my hair is still falling out in clumps. I don't see an end in sight. The other very scary and real thing is... regrowth. What in the hell will my hair look like when it starts to regrow? How long will I struggle with the regrowth, years...? I did everything right. I took VERY good care of my hair 1+ years going into surgery. My hair was uncolored and virgin hair. I was/am taking 10k units per day of biotin. I get my protein in daily. I limit heat exposure and use only the best products. There is virtually nothing I can think of that I haven't done to prevent this loss.

Agreed!

I will echo what MarinaGirl said, and be your own advocate with your surgeons office if you feel that you need to take additional time off or if you need restrictions at work. If they aren't helping, reach out to your PCP. Getting your fluids is very important. Set a timer and carry a bottle with you everywhere. Most importantly, find something you like to drink. You will be less likely to drink if it doesn't taste good or satisfying.

Yes, you most certainly can! Girl.. you should see some of the things I've bought recently. I'm very impressed with myself. I think I'm finally discovering my true style.

Girl, you look freaking awesome. I wish my stomach was as FLAT as yours... dang.... forget about the thigh gap... I still have a giant stomach roll. KILLING IT!

I still take 40mg of Omeprazole every night before bed. My surgeon indicated I could be on it for at least one year post op.

I think I have one too... when I look in the mirror, even with the loose skin, My thighs don't touch. If I had a thigh lift, I'd for sure have a thigh gap.

^^Agreed. Also, I always, always mix my own drink. I'll order a shot of vodka and a glass of whatever I'm mixing it with. I usually start out with a half of a shot. There's nothing worse than getting drunk when you are just trying to "feel good" or getting drunk in an environment that isn't appropriate like a nice dinner.

I think 7 weeks post op is too soon for alcohol in my opinion. Obviously, if your doctor thinks it is OK, then go for it. However, we are still healing at that time and I feel like its just too soon. And, I want to warn you, that one cocktail could land you flat on your @$$ if you aren't careful. In fact, I just had a few sips of a drink this past weekend and felt drunk for almost 35 minutes. For me, its hard to find a happy medium, between feeling good and drunk. The first time I drank, it was at home, and I always recommend it that way. You just never know how alcohol will affect you. Still to this day, 8 months post op, I mix my own drinks at a bar. You want to go slow and easy. I never do a full shot of anything.

Yes, I'm super thankful that high waist bottoms are popular, and that shorts are an option! I don't know what I'll do for a top. My arms aren't super bad, but I'm self conscious still. This summer I wore a rash guard and longer shorts. Maybe I'll do that next summer too. Honestly, I like the rash guard because I don't have to worry about burning and reapplying sunblock. I did get comments from people who were like, "what are you wearing?!" "Are you swimming in that?" I guess people in these parts don't see rash guards very often.

This is awesome! Congrats, what a wonderful NSV. oh, and I like the blond...

Oh lordy, my inner thighs...If you just saw them... nothing else... you'd think I was 90 years old. Thankfully its just the top part by my va-jay and it is easily hidden by some boy shorts.