okayestmom

Paid out of pocket for everything. Psych evaluation was $199. No longer obese, no longer pre-diabetic, and my Vitamin D is back in the normal range. Next month will be 2 years since surgery. I work in an alternative school that serves K-12. I will try not to get the virus, but the odds are not looking good for when school starts if I still have a job (won’t know for sure until July). The good news is that because of WLS I have a lesser chance of it being a death sentence.

I work for Communities In Schools (non-profit), a portion of our salaries are paid for by the Texas Education Agency and our director has already been notified that they can expect budget cuts. Either way, I will be in a school, because before all this started I applied to grad school and got accepted. I can’t back out now, because my adult kids bought my books for Mother’s Day. So, maybe I can get a grocery store job, or live off student loans and unemployment. I am almost 50 and have never drawn unemployment before.

That was a long ramble to say, I am glad I paid for the surgery. It was a hard recovery for me, but it is worth it because I got my health back on track.

I didn’t have my arms done, but Moving seems to help with all my parts. Initially I don’t automatically stretch everything straight. Just keep moving in a comfortable range of motion and more will come.

Also, I got brave and stepped on the scale today even though I am still swollen. 142.4. Which is down .2 since the last time I stepped on the scale pre-surgery. My weight fluctuates between 140-145. I feel relieved that I don’t have to try and lose weight again. I literally had to track every calorie to get down to goal and I don’t think it was good for my mental health. I still weigh things to get correct serving sizes, but no longer log all calories in app and no more daily weigh ins. I try and weigh once a week on Sunday, but sometimes I forget. I am excited about re-doing my Dexa scan in April, I am hoping I will have more muscle and less fat by then. 🏃‍♀️🏋️‍♀️🧘‍♀️

I am going to try a harder workout on the treadmill today, nothing else to do today anyhow, so if I need a nap after then nap time it is.

Side note- I went to a mall yesterday and saw some really cute things. I really like some of the Spanx, but $100.00?! Nope, it was fun to get out, but I am clearly more of a Ross/Target/Walmart girl. I just don’t want to pay that much. I spent $11.00 for my workout yoga type pants at Sam’s club, but I can get a similar item at Dillard’s or Macy’s for $85.00. Makes no sense to me...do those expensive yoga pants massage your butt while your sweating?

This is when the journey started. I hope you guys post some pics when you can. Also, I hope everyone’s swelling goes down!

I didn’t measure anything, but I know I must be swollen. I put on pants over the compression garments and my belt didn’t tighten to the usual hole. It seems weird to be “bigger” even though I can look down and see that my tummy is flatter. My thighs are a little bruised and swollen as well. I really don’t see much difference there, but I could not see the difference in a lot of the before and after pics of other people.

Emotions-are in check because my adult children came home for the holidays and we have been busy and distracted. Prior to them coming home, I literally told my husband I needed to leave the house and go do something because I felt depressed. I tried walking on the treadmill, but the compression garment rubbed the incision area when I walked faster. It is doing better now, but I miss my exercise endorphins. I ate one cookie, a lemon bar, and a small chocolate during our Holiday meal and I felt like I was going to die. Started sweating and my heart was racing. I generally avoid all processed food and sugar, but I thought it would be okay to cheat a little. Took about 3 hrs to return to normal. Just one sweet treat every once in a while from now on.

For some reason I feel like the arm surgery would be the most painful I am hoping for a speedy recovery for all of you.

Today is 2 weeks since surgery. I will have my husband take some pics tomorrow after the kids leave and post some progress pics.

Thank you for posting your experiences. I am currently recovering from Tummy Tuck and inner thigh liposuction. My surgery was December 11th. I had a drain, but it did not collect any fluids and they removed it at my first follow up appointment. I have numbness around my new belly button, but I am kinda glad because it doesn’t hurt. Do you have any numbness? I know it was listed as a possible side effect.

Thank you for posting your experiences. I am currently recovering from Tummy Tuck and inner thigh liposuction. My surgery was December 11th. I had a drain, but it did not collect any fluids and they removed it at my first follow up appointment. I have numbness around my new belly button, but I am kinda glad because it doesn’t hurt. Do you have any numbness? I know it was listed as a possible side effect.

Did yoga today. Really helped stretch out that scar tissue. Here is a bunch of pics of what my arms look like exactly 7 weeks post op today.       

Sent from my SM-G930R4 using BariatricPal mobile app

All the pics look great! The belly button pic was cool, I was never really sure what mine should look like, but I am happy with what they did. I am able to do more intense cardio without the rubbing of the incisions being bothersome now. I do have some peeling dry skin areas in between my belly button and incision line. I am putting extra lotion, but I guess not scrubbing hard is contributing as well.

Two months

I am super happy with the Tummy Tuck, as of yesterday I could put my belt on the pre tummy tuck notch, so a lot of the swelling has gone down. No more loose skin, so no weird bulge below the belt line. Plus my belly button got chopped off when they did my gallbladder surgery and now after reconstruction I think it looks more normal. I’m 49, so wearing a bikini isn’t the most important thing to me, but now I feel like I could wear a bathing suit and not feel self conscious. I am ready to be done with the abdominal binder, but I am going to follow the Doctors advice and wear it another month.

I haven’t noticed a big difference in the liposuction they did on my inner thighs other than I am still very sore from it. I was getting the TT anyways, so I don’t regret giving it a shot, and maybe there is still a chance that the swelling isn’t done yet.

All the pics look great! The belly button pic was cool, I was never really sure what mine should look like, but I am happy with what they did. I am able to do more intense cardio without the rubbing of the incisions being bothersome now. I do have some peeling dry skin areas in between my belly button and incision line. I am putting extra lotion, but I guess not scrubbing hard is contributing as well.

For those that had a TT.... this is weird but have you stuck your finger all the way into your belly button? LOL. I put calendula cream in there still and decided to see how deep he made mine and it is pretty deep! It also felt really weird. O_O

Update: Swelling and pain around elbows and forearms are much better. Yeah! I think there are a couple things that contributed to the improvement. I returned to sleeping more traditionally, lying horizontally with a regular pillow under my head. For the past two weeks since the arm lift I was sleeping at an angle using a pillow wedge thing, mostly because it seemed best when I had the drains. But the angle made it harder to get my arms lifted higher than my heart. Now lying horizontally it's easier to get my arms up higher. I've also been making more of an effort to move my arms more, slowly of course, and I think that's helped stretch out the stiffness and pain I was having. I haven't worn the compression garment or ace bandages in a day or two which may also be helping. I noticed I pretty much don't have any pain on my incision lines. In fact I can even lie comfortably on my side which is how I prefer to sleep. So thankfully it seems that I've turned a corner. Just in time to return to work in the morning! (Although I'm just going to work from home these next two days instead of going into the office).

That's not good I love Australia..
Any one who qualified as low income family gets full coverage from the government.
Until my RNY surgery I never had to pay for anything my surgery and all bills were covered that's all pre and post op consultations.
I go to my gp dr regularly. I've spent multiple weeks in hospital as a child for tonsils and appendix and kidneys.
I used to have blood tests monthly for my kidneys and I've never had to pay a cent for healthcare before I chose to get surgery.
If I wanted it paid for by the government I would have been on a waiting list for like 3 years and jump through numerous hoops but instead I went thru insurance and it was a quick easy process I just had an out of pocket expense but it was well worth it to get a private hospital and private room..
Never been to a private hospital before so it was an amazing feeling being cared for so much and I was there for 7 days with around the clock nurses unlike America where they seen to kick you out after a day or 2...

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Whaaaaaaaat? Me too? That's right 😅
I decided to go ahead and (silently) have plastics done. This mommy had a makeover yesterday and is very happy with the results so far. Still very early in my recovery but I wanted to document as much as I could before I forgot.
Procedures: Mommy Makeover (breast lift w/o implants and extended Tummy Tuck with Lipo of sides)
Where: Miami baby! Southbeach body here I come 😜
Why: the usual reasons... I've been thinking about it forever and finally took the plunge
When: Jan 03, 2020
Still early out and I'm pretty laid up so ill update when I can!
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So, the VA referred me to plastic surgery to have a cyst removed from my knee. The surgeon said I qualified for skin removal because of the amount of my weight loss. I had no idea they would cover this, because they don’t cover Bariatric surgery unless you are on tri-care. The nurse practitioner said he is a good surgeon and that she would let him do work on her. I requested the referral and my Dr. put it in. We met and he said he could do the Tummy Tuck with liposuction and even make fake abs if I want them. He said the skin on my thighs isn’t as bad but that he could liposuction my inner thighs during the same operation. He also said the fat could be injected into my breast. I already met my deductible because of my gallbladder surgery, so I scheduled for December. I can do all of this or nothing. Still not sure what I want to do with my belly button either. I always had an outie, but when they did my gallbladder surgery they “repaired my hernia” which means they chopped off my belly button. 😂 I like to make phantom belly button pain jokes.
the ladies at the gym say I should get the abs. I have been flat chested my whole life. I bought bra’s in the kids section and couldn’t get a nursing bra in my size when I breast fed. This should be interesting. I am 49 now do I really need to do this? Probably not, but I think I am going to because if I am getting one thing done might as well go for it and do all the pain at once.

Hubby is worried about another major surgery but is supportive of what ever I decide.

has anyone had all three of these procedures done? The tummy tuck would involve muscle reconstruction and liposuction on sides. What should I do with my belly button? I feel like it is already missing. 😂

I got a Tummy Tuck with muscle repair and liposuction on December 11th. The surgical staff at the VA were awesome. Some of the staff remembered me from my gallbladder surgery (probably helps that there are not that many woman). I let them decide what was best for my belly button. They ended up doing a hybrid of part of my cord and added a little to it (they removed my outie when I had my gallbladder surgery). My stomach is definitely flat and everything looks good. Can’t really tell about the thighs yet because I still have some swelling, but I can fit in my jeans, so not to bad.

Lessons learned- my surgery was same day and I slept an hour past my pain meds after returning home. Significantly pain that first night! Got easier each day. I did have to call the second or third day to get a lesser pain reliever because the morphine based one was knocking me out. They gave me tramadol at my request and it worked great. I didn’t need all of them, but was glad to have a little more given the climate of opioid prescribing now days. I got on the treadmill, but the rubbing of the compression garment hurt, so I am trying to move but not do to much at once. Also, don’t sneeze or cough! Well, the last one can’t be helped, but it does still hurt when that happens.

Glad I bought compression garments for my legs. The surgeon ordered mine through the VA. The prosthetic department (same department that provides my knee braces which I am able to use less and less after weight loss) called me and said I could come pick them up. Waited 2 hrs to be fitted and then told they didn’t have my size. They ordered them and they arrived at my house yesterday. They told me I would be receiving 2 pair, but there are 8 pairs of mid thigh compression socks/hose in the box. I will return them to the VA after the holidays. My husband wanted me to complain about the wait and whatnot, but my thinking is what other health plan actually provides you with free compression garments. Also, they take patients in order of arrival time and a lot of the people waiting are missing limbs (the younger ones break my heart a little, but seeing them walk in on titanium is pretty cool).

Best part of the follow up was that the Doctor seemed genuinely interested in whether or not I was happy with the results. I go back on the 30th for another follow up.

I hope they are able to help more weight loss patients because the studies that have been done show that the patients that pursue plastic surgery keep more weight off at the 10 year mark. I did learn that the VA would have covered my weight loss surgery as well, but the Doctor in the women’s clinic lied to me and said the VA did not cover weight loss surgery. I switched to my husbands doctor due to communication issues with the women’s clinic and inability to get a simple bladder infection treated. My first visit to that clinic was a bit traumatic as well. Patient came out crying loudly and her friend was threatening to call the media, not sure what her issue was, but I believe she was in pain and not getting the help/drugs she needed. I like the Doctor and team I am assigned to now, but just learned he retired. My husband has seen the Nurse Practitioner he was replaced with and said it went well.

So, like any health plan there is good and bad, but I believe most people there genuinely want to help patients.

Thanks for all the advice!

I will post some before and after pics after my next follow up.

This is transference. He's afraid YOU will no longer be attracted to him when you get thinner and more conventionally attractive. Pat him on the head and tell him to STFU.

I feel your frustration. I had surgery a week ago and was told at discharge to call my surgeons office to make a postop appt. And to call the Dietician to make follow up appts. I got the surgeons apt. 4 weeks out. However I've never recieved a call back from the dietician office and I left 2 vm msgs. ! I feel like they are not there to help at all. I was told at preop dietary mtgs. to follow the program book, but it is not specific enough to be helpful. TBH, I have found the answers I've needed this far from the vsg redditt community. Good advice from real people.

I had my sleeve in June of 2018 and my surgeon said my liver looked good at that time. I started having some pain under my ribs in January 2019, I was basically ignored even though my labs were whack. They gave me antibiotics for a UTI at that time. I had gallbladder surgery in April 2019 after I went completely jaundice. To be fare it was initially hard to tell how yellow I was if you didn’t know me. I have had elevated liver enzymes since 2014, but they were not super high (I was told to quit drinking and lose weight which I did, but my labs never changed). They guessed it was gall stones shooting into the common duct. They did a procedure to clear the common duct prior to my gallbladder removal, but they did not find anything. Then they said it could have been caused by the antibiotics they gave me for the UTI in January. Or it could be from a supplement I was taking. I was drinking turmeric tea which I stopped. They also tested me for illicit drugs and repeatedly asked me if I was using anything. I am like yeah, I waited until my kids graduated college to start living the thug life I always dreamed of...

They did do a liver biopsy and it came back 5% fatty liver. I think it has to be 10% before they actually call it fatty liver disease. This is after I was down to my goal weight and had been going to the gym regularly for 6 months. The gastrointestinal doc was not concerned about fatty liver and my liver enzymes are now in the normal range which is better than pre sleeve. Whatever caused the jaundice resolved after my gallbladder was removed. I am hoping the fatty liver will improve with exercise and continued healthy eating. I generally avoid processed food, but I started doing that in January 2019 in an effort to feel better. I just stuck with it, because it probably is better for me.

Now that everything is normal I can pursue my illicit drug use...but apparently I suck at it because I didn’t use all my pain meds from my plastic surgery. Maybe I am just not the opioid type, maybe I need the blue meth like on breaking bad. I would just smoke some weed, but I am afraid I’ll get the munchies and bust my pouch. Plus I am an ex cigarette smoker and I don’t want to hurt my lungs anymore. Not getting the yearly bronchial infections has been nice.

I also remember reading that fatty liver can occur during rapid weight loss. My weight loss was not that rapid compared to others though...

Hope it all turns out okay.

I didn’t have my arms done, but Moving seems to help with all my parts. Initially I don’t automatically stretch everything straight. Just keep moving in a comfortable range of motion and more will come.

Also, I got brave and stepped on the scale today even though I am still swollen. 142.4. Which is down .2 since the last time I stepped on the scale pre-surgery. My weight fluctuates between 140-145. I feel relieved that I don’t have to try and lose weight again. I literally had to track every calorie to get down to goal and I don’t think it was good for my mental health. I still weigh things to get correct serving sizes, but no longer log all calories in app and no more daily weigh ins. I try and weigh once a week on Sunday, but sometimes I forget. I am excited about re-doing my Dexa scan in April, I am hoping I will have more muscle and less fat by then. 🏃‍♀️🏋️‍♀️🧘‍♀️

I am going to try a harder workout on the treadmill today, nothing else to do today anyhow, so if I need a nap after then nap time it is.

Side note- I went to a mall yesterday and saw some really cute things. I really like some of the Spanx, but $100.00?! Nope, it was fun to get out, but I am clearly more of a Ross/Target/Walmart girl. I just don’t want to pay that much. I spent $11.00 for my workout yoga type pants at Sam’s club, but I can get a similar item at Dillard’s or Macy’s for $85.00. Makes no sense to me...do those expensive yoga pants massage your butt while your sweating?

I didn’t have my arms done, but Moving seems to help with all my parts. Initially I don’t automatically stretch everything straight. Just keep moving in a comfortable range of motion and more will come.

Also, I got brave and stepped on the scale today even though I am still swollen. 142.4. Which is down .2 since the last time I stepped on the scale pre-surgery. My weight fluctuates between 140-145. I feel relieved that I don’t have to try and lose weight again. I literally had to track every calorie to get down to goal and I don’t think it was good for my mental health. I still weigh things to get correct serving sizes, but no longer log all calories in app and no more daily weigh ins. I try and weigh once a week on Sunday, but sometimes I forget. I am excited about re-doing my Dexa scan in April, I am hoping I will have more muscle and less fat by then. 🏃‍♀️🏋️‍♀️🧘‍♀️

I am going to try a harder workout on the treadmill today, nothing else to do today anyhow, so if I need a nap after then nap time it is.

Side note- I went to a mall yesterday and saw some really cute things. I really like some of the Spanx, but $100.00?! Nope, it was fun to get out, but I am clearly more of a Ross/Target/Walmart girl. I just don’t want to pay that much. I spent $11.00 for my workout yoga type pants at Sam’s club, but I can get a similar item at Dillard’s or Macy’s for $85.00. Makes no sense to me...do those expensive yoga pants massage your butt while your sweating?

I didn’t have my arms done, but Moving seems to help with all my parts. Initially I don’t automatically stretch everything straight. Just keep moving in a comfortable range of motion and more will come.

Also, I got brave and stepped on the scale today even though I am still swollen. 142.4. Which is down .2 since the last time I stepped on the scale pre-surgery. My weight fluctuates between 140-145. I feel relieved that I don’t have to try and lose weight again. I literally had to track every calorie to get down to goal and I don’t think it was good for my mental health. I still weigh things to get correct serving sizes, but no longer log all calories in app and no more daily weigh ins. I try and weigh once a week on Sunday, but sometimes I forget. I am excited about re-doing my Dexa scan in April, I am hoping I will have more muscle and less fat by then. 🏃‍♀️🏋️‍♀️🧘‍♀️

I am going to try a harder workout on the treadmill today, nothing else to do today anyhow, so if I need a nap after then nap time it is.

Side note- I went to a mall yesterday and saw some really cute things. I really like some of the Spanx, but $100.00?! Nope, it was fun to get out, but I am clearly more of a Ross/Target/Walmart girl. I just don’t want to pay that much. I spent $11.00 for my workout yoga type pants at Sam’s club, but I can get a similar item at Dillard’s or Macy’s for $85.00. Makes no sense to me...do those expensive yoga pants massage your butt while your sweating?

I get pooped out from just walking around too, so apparently I didn’t get the super healing powers either. The Doc I saw at my follow up yesterday was the intern. I still have a lot of soreness in my thighs, she felt around and said I do have a lot of loose skin where they did the liposuction. During the conversation I told her that WLS patients that pursue plastic surgery keep more weight off at the 10 and 15 year mark, so there is a health benefit. Surprisingly she did not know this, but she did say that they will probably be allowed to do more procedures in the near future, and that they could do more with my thighs. While that is certainly good news, I wasn’t talking about me getting more surgery. This is like giving birth, I need some time to forget about the pain before I do it again. 😂😂 Plus I am terrified that I am gaining weight without my usual gym schedule. I was a slow loser and even gained some on this journey. The gym not only helped with my weight, but my overall health and well-being. At first it felt like a second job I had to go to. I started going twice a week to a 30 minute beginner class and doing the free Sat. morning class.

The weird part is that the gym I ended up at isn’t air conditioned and only has space heaters. The staff is basically former athletes (some with significant sports injuries) and most have degrees in kinesiology. They do have personal training, but the 30 min classes are only $10 and they make sure you are doing things correctly so you don’t hurt yourself. They even give you a modified exercise if they know you have a particular injury. I almost wish it was a chain so I could share this experience with everyone. I never would have tried lifting weights if I wasn’t at this gym. I miss it now even though I couldn’t lift that much. I can ‘t wait to get back at it. There probably isn’t anyone on here very close to me (Central Texas) but the name of the gym is Oppose Gravity and they are on Instagram. Plus, the gym members come in all sizes and shapes. I started in a beginner class and I couldn’t do one sit up, I can do a bunch now. I also could barely do a squat because of my bad knees, but all the exercise actually improved my knees and I have less clicking than before. There were a couple of times I have had to wear the braces because I did to many burpees or jumping. I also cannot do an actual push up yet, but I will get there. I can plank and do girl push ups.

Now I just need to find a way to make going to the gym my job and vacationing/shopping for my free time. Guess I need to buy a lottery ticket...my adult children call them poor people tax, but I call them $1.00 hopes and dream tickets. As long as you just get the one every once in a while...