2Bsmaller18

I used to never eat breakfast before surgery. Now it’s my favorite (and biggest) meal of the day.

First thing in the morning is 24oz of Water with a squirt of Crystal Light and my Multivitamins.

Then, my typical breakfast.

Depending on the day, either a Protein Shake as breakfast or some dark coffee with Gingerbread Cookie Equal (the stuff is like crack cocaine if you're a fan of ginger).

Certain body parts like my neck looked really bad at first. Then even with losing more weight things firmed up. You can try doing hip abduction and adduction exercises (google that) but once you hit your goal weight and give it a few months to settle you get a better idea of how things will be long term.

It was a polo shirt and chino pants type of day...lol

New dress. A little skimpy, but will be fun for summer.

Missing in action, I know. I know. Missing our days when we were really rocking and rolling our new outfits!
That day will come again. Finally got out of my PJ's for four house sale showings yesterday. Selling by owner - perhaps, the right offer and buyer right around the corner?!
Like mirror mirror on the floor whose the fairest buyer of them all... ;]

I'm with you..... I hate olives. Tim loves them... he likes most anything....
I'll save us the vodka soaked cherries..... vanilla jar and whipped jar

@Arabesque this house has a choice of olives.... plain, garlic stuffed, blue cheese stuffed, pickle stuffed and pepper stuffed..... Tim love anything picked and stuffed..... hehehehe. Have you ever had pickled garlic or pickled okra? I have on order (back order) some Filthy Black Cherries....

I jinxed myself & everyone else in Brisbane - today is cold & overcast. Not your cold @ms.sss (brrrrr) but Brisbane cold. 😉 Woke up stiff & curled in a ball because of the overnight drop in temp.
I love a gin martini @BayougirlMrsS with lots of olives. Would love to join you. 😁
Great T @GreenTealael. Nerds do rule the world. I recommend Nerds with Vaginas & captains coffee on Insta for a daily chuckle only nerds would get.

Did they check to see if you pinched a nerve in your back? When you lose a lot of weight your posture changes. I would look into the Vitamin issue but it could be that you are now sitting or standing with more or less of a curve in your lower back. For those of us that had thick thighs pre weight loss lying on our side kept our hips and knees in alignment. As you lose weight and your thighs get thinner your knees comes together when lying on your side and could be rotating your lower spine. Back issues are not always doing a sudden activity and getting pain. A lot can be slower due to postural changes. Maybe ask your doctor for a referral to physical therapy.

Full liquid diet would probably be the only thing that will work. To get the last 1-2 pounds wear the lightest weight clothes you have and wear slip on shoes to take off for the weight in. It sounds crazy put it could be an extra pound that helps make the difference. Make sure you don't drink or eat 2-3 hours before weight in and of course go to the bathroom right before. It stinks because most of us can weigh a few pounds heavier an any given time of the day.

I initially gained form the swelling and then stayed the same for about 2 weeks. If you are following the guidelines I think you are just holding onto swelling and it will probably suddenly drop. If you are constipated you could also be weighing a little heavier than pre surgery too.

Did you start a new Vitamin? Even if it's the same brand but a new bottle it could be a reaction to a filler in it. New medicine like an allergy pill?

Did you start a new Vitamin? Even if it's the same brand but a new bottle it could be a reaction to a filler in it. New medicine like an allergy pill?

I initially gained form the swelling and then stayed the same for about 2 weeks. If you are following the guidelines I think you are just holding onto swelling and it will probably suddenly drop. If you are constipated you could also be weighing a little heavier than pre surgery too.

I asked my surgeon and he said to count the shake as one of the 3 servings of Calcium supplement. Later (6-9 months post surgery) said to go down to just 1x day since I had 1-2 glasses of milk or a shake and 1-2 servings of Greek yogurt a day. Your body can only absorb 500mg every few hours anyway so if you drink a shake and have a supplement at the same time you wont benefit from the excess anyway.

Hey Silly Kitty. Lovely to hear from you again. Love those pink leggings - very Spring.
We’re in lockdown again in Brisbane. Just three days but everyone’s gone crazy at the supermarkets again. I don’t understand it. Didn’t a lot of people just do their weekly shop on the weekend?? How can they be out of food already?
Anyway, my friend’s daughter just got her hen’s do in. She had an 80s theme - that family lives a good dress up opportunity. The bride’s friends bought her a just lovely 80s wedding dress plus the ubiquitous floral headdress, synthetic fabric, leg of mutton sleeves & lace inserts. 😂 The Princess of Wales has a lot to answer for. No 80s for me. Been there. Wore the clothes. But my dress did have shoulder pads - coincidence though.

I had mild reflux before bypass. Then a year after surgery I began to have what I thought was reflux again. It was almost like I heard not felt bubbling. Like carbonation when I hadn't eaten or drank anything. I switched surgeons for annual follow up and the new surgeon took a contrast x-ray and saw that I have a candy cane or hockey stick off of the pouch and that my pouch had stretched or at least was bigger than the normal despite me never eating more than a half cup of food in one sitting and feeling a lot of restriction. . I think when food or salvia goes into the candy cane and then moves into the pouch it creates that feeling. The new surgeon said some people will have reflux after surgery and I had never heard that from the first surgeon.

I think I do look older but I after 6 months and reaching my current weight my neck area below my chin was super saggy like a turkey waddle saggy! 18 months later and it has improved dramatically. It just took time for the skin there to bounce back. It is still not perfect but you wouldn't notice it unless I pointed it out now.

I am surprised how much the color faded. I had read that steroid injections wont help the red but will help flatten a scar. However it makes sense that if the skin is flattened out the the red color is over a larger surface area so it would then be lighter. It looks like it worked great for you and I bet it gets better over the next few months too.
My scar looks puckered still like your middle picture so I am hopeful that it will smooth out eventually.
Old scars are definitely thin lines or at least faded. I think I just didn't pay attention to how long it took to fade before and need to be more patient.

I also started using a scoop of collagen powder mixed with regular Water and a mio water flavor to increase Protein.

I got the Premier brand grape flavored one at Target or Walmart. It has a slightly dry aftertaste but when I poured it over a cup of ice it diluted it enough that it was fine.

I went from 44H to 38B. I don’t miss them at all 😂

I would, but truth be told I HATE/distrust Zoom calls (or any other video-based communication) with a firey red hot passion. I'd rather chat it up in real life.
Though if I were to put it out there...would there be any interest among the BP plebs for some sort of group meetup IRL? Like pick a city, and "see ya if I see ya" kind of thing? Just wondering....

Ok, finally got around to taking a current pic of my arm scars, which are by far the worst of my plastics scars.
NOTE: I am probably an example of the worser-case scenarios in terms of wound healing, most people will fare much, much, better than I do. So don't get freaked out!
You can see in the before pic (taken 11 months AFTER PS!) that my scar is pretty red/purple and very RAiSED.
After the first round of steroid shots, there was a visible difference about 1-2 weeks after. It flattened out quite a bit, and got less red. The skin around the scar also started to pucker a bit (which was something my doc told me may happen).
I got a second round of shots about 2 months later, and now, two months after that, my scar is completely flat, even lighter, and the pucker/dimpling is gone.
I am deciding if I want to go for a 3rd round or just wait it out. The injections HURT, man. Hurt, like tears in my eyes hurt.
Anyhoo, here are the pics:
P.S. FYI ...I have read/been told that steroid shots are more effective on hypertrophic scars (which I have) than keloids. So discuss with your doc if this is a route you want to go down....