ssflbelle

Hi Everyone It has been 3 years since I last posted. During that time I had 3 more Plastic Surgeries despite the fact that I never got to my goal weight. The Dr felt that with all the excess skin from having lost 280 pounds it was best to get it off and see if maybe I would be able to walk again. So in May of 2018, I had an extended Brachioplasty. Within 1 hour of waking up, I was sent home and within less than an hour of being home, I was rushed back to the hospital as I had blood pouring out of my left upper arm. The Surgeon's assistant was called when I got to the hospital at about 9 pm. He came right away and said I had a baseball size hematoma and c would have to go back into surgery. No room was available until 4 a.m. so I remained in the ER until an Operating Room was available. I remained in the hospital for 3 days and almost have to have a blood transfusion. I was released but was told I immediately had to go to the PS office. As I was being loaded into the van my arm started bleeding again. The Dr greeting me at the door and I was immediately taken into a room. I remember him saying I looked like death warmed over. He called insurance and they approved for a nurse to come every other day to clean and rewrap my left arm. It took me 10 weeks to recover from that surgery. I must say I am glad I had the surgery but even though he took off 7 inches of skin from each arm he could have taken off more. I have Micheline Tire Baby Syndrome and the excess skin removal did not take all the rings away. I still have one roll on each arm and some excess skin as my arms are 14 inches instead of 21. To this day I still cannot wear sleeveless shirts and added sleeves to my bathing suits. Insurance will probably never approve another surgery on my arms. After this surgery and complications, I had two more. In early Dec of 2018, I had my panniculectomy and a second hernia was repaired. I had no complications with this surgery and was thrilled to get 10 pounds of skin off my tummy and not have the huge overhang any more. Wearing the binder was not fun as it kept riding either up or down my butt. By the end of January, I was able to buy my first compression garment and was back to work 2 weeks later. Despite the 10 pounds being gone I still was not able to walk without a cane or a walker. All this excess skin being removed is not helping my 6 herniated discs, yet there is one more surgery and this I am told this one may be the one that allows me to walk. In late May of 2019, I had a belt lipectomy. The first week was very painful but by week 3 I was doing great. Two days I had terrible pain on the V spot on my back all the way around to my left groin incision. I was in terrible pain, my skin was hot and I had become so swollen I could not sleep on my left side and I had developed a blister. The Dr had been called the weekend I had terrible pain and felt so sick but I was not able to see him until Wednesday. He Popped the blister and over 5 Emesis Basin of fluid came out. He sent it for testing and 2 days later I was told I had to go to an Infectious Disease Doctor. The Doctor had no appointments on Friday and by Sunday 2 more blisters developed and I was so scared I went to the ER. It was determined I had MRSA and was in the hospital in an isolated room for 5 days. I had to have a MIdline put in as my veins were collapsing. OMGod that procedure hurt like you cannot believe, I was told I had rolling veins and it took them over 40 minutes to get that midline in. To make matters worse I still had a lot of excess skin in the area they wanted to put the midline. I could not move my arm for at least 2 hours after that procedure. For the next 8 weeks, I had 2 hours of IV Vancomycin 2 times a day. Finally Mid August I was well enough to return to work. This surgery did not help my ability to walk any better. I started going to a pain management clinic and he tried all kinds of procedures I can not even remember what they all were. By January 2020 the pain management Doctor thought that radiofrequency ablation might work. So in late February, he stuck me 4 times on each side of my back with the heat probe that cuts the nerve. I knew within weeks I had not worked and then Covid19 hit us all and I was in South East Florida a very bad hot spot. Even today as I wrote this we are still under phrase one. With my body the way it is I am afraid to go anywhere. My last day of work in the office was March 12th. I have been out of the house 3 times since that day. Thank God I can do remote Zoom lessons with my blind clients otherwise I would be homeless. So where do I go from here? I do not think the pain management Doctor who I went to for over 6 months is someone I would want to return to. In Jan I will be 65 years old and even though I have been on a Medicare advantage plan since 2008 I could change insurance companies and get all new Doctors. The only problem is I have no idea what kind of a Doctor to go to or whether or not these Florida Doctors would do anything for me. I am still obese despite having lost 250 pounds and have another 80 pounds to lose. I am over 4 years post-op for my sleeve surgery and barely manage to lose 5 to 8 pounds a month if I am 100% on plan. I was hoping to be walking by my 65th birthday but it does not look like it will happen. I wish I could say losing all this weight was the cure to my being able to walk but it was not. I am so totally disappointed that it did not happen. But I suppose when you have 6 herniated discs losing weight is not going to help them. Yes, I am thinner but am still in a great deal of pain and cannot do anything without a walker or a scooter. Some Golden Years I will be having. Am so tired of being like this. Jan 2021 will be 27 years since I was so badly injured at the Quiet Waters Park Kiss Country Chili and Band Competition. I wish I had never gone it was the ruination of my life.

Had my 7 week PS followup on Monday! Dr is very pleased the boobies are healing nicely. No incisions opened up which is great! However my left nipple still has not popped out yet. Was told to keep massaging it, which I will do. Told I could finally wear a regular bra. However we did discussed the fact that I bought the B cup bra in the style I use to wear and am smaller than that B cup bra. Yet, my friend gave me her padded B cup bra and the cup part fits over my boobies nicely. The padding comes out. The Dr and I discussed sewing those paddings into my B cup bra as I need the back and sides higher which is my bra style. I do sew so I was pleased to hear to go ahead and do that for now. Good News! The Dr wants me back on Sept 11th for the next consultation for PS which will be my arms. I was hoping for my tummy but I still have about 27 pounds before I get to goal. The Dr felt that the arms were ready to be worked on and the extra 27 I have to lose wouldn't really affect the arms as much as the tummy. Plus I have a hernia so he needs to coordinate with another surgeon for the hernia repair and tummy surgery at the same time This will be done next year. I am able to go back to swimming and can go to the gym if I wish to do so. I have been walking with my walker and also my cane and have been riding my bike. I am feeling great and have so much more confidence and am becoming more involved in life. I am looking forward to finding out about the arm lift and how long of a recovery period I will need. I don't know if getting the arm lift will help with my ability to walk better but I do know it will help with the types of blouses I will be able to wear. No more long sleeves!

Thanks FluffyChix for the support and encouragement. I don't mind at all if you follow me. If my posting helps just one person it was worth it to me.

Went back to work this past Tuesday and Thursday 6, weeks after PS. The staff was so happy to see me and stated I looked good. This was the first of four excess skin removal surgeries, so it will be a long process. My breasts were made smaller for the ME I will become, so right now they are not in proportion to the rest of my body. I didn't even fit into the B cup bra that the Dr told me I would be wearing. I spent the weekend looking for bra enchancers to put fill out the B cups. Even though they adhere to the inside bra side I do not feel comfortable with them in. However I do look better. I only work 2 days per week so during the other days I will not be wearing them. A few weeks before I returned to work I was out walking with my walker each day. I only used the electric mobility device to shop. Last week I walked into the WLS office with just my cane. He was so impressed. He figured it out that I have lost 89% of my excess weight. I am only about 27 pounds from goal and I told him I would have 100% gone by Jan 26 2018, 2 years after my 3 procedure surgery. When I went back to work on Tuesday I was able to use my cane several times while in the building to take short walks. Still used my electric mobility device for the longer walks as we have a huge building. The staff was surprised to see me using my cane. After work on Tuesday used the walker to go to Bingo and again on Wednesday to go to Michigan Rummy. Had to use the scooter on Thursday as I was all over the building. Come Friday I was extremely tired and rested most of the day. However for the PS I had being back to work a week earlier than expected, I think I did pretty good. I go back tot he PS this Monday for my 7 week followup. We will be discussing a few things I am seeing that I am not real happy with, but I am sure he will tell me things will get even better when the next PS is done. I just have to keep it in my mind that my body is still in the transition stage and the final outcome of what my body shape may not take place until late 2018. I am not a 497 pounder on a 500 pound limit electric scooter anymore. In fact the Vocational Rehab Department is in the process of trying to get me a smaller scooter as I the one I currently have is very old, and difficult to load into the van because it is too big and I don't need that big of one now. I shall continue to use my walker but will try walking more with just my cane, so by the time my next PS is over with I may not need the scooter any more. Some day soon I can say I am walking without any aids and I DID IT! Please continue to read my blog and celebrate that day with me when it happens.

I think I kind of know how you feel. I was 60 in Jan 2016 when I had my sleeve, hernia repair and gallbladder out all on the same day. I had never had any kind of surgery in my life so I was extremely nervous and anxious. However, I also knew with all that was wrong with me if I didn't have these surgeries I would not have much of a life left to enjoy. It was the best thing I ever did for myself. Just 18 days ago I had my second surgery which was excess skin removal from my huge sagging deflated breasts and a free nipple graft. The second best surgery of my life. Because of all the weight I have lost I will need 3 more excess skin removal surgeries provided insurance pays for them. When all is said and done I will be a new woman and you will be too. It will be a challenge but if I could do it I know you can too. You will feel so much better and have a happier life. Send me an email if you want me as a friend. I am willing to help you with moral support and encouragement.

When I had my sleeve the Doctor also did a hernia repair and removed my diseased gallbladder. My hernia has come back but it is not causing me any pain. I am 34 pounds from my goal and had the 1st of 4 skin removal surgeries. I am hoping with this 1st skin removal surgery it will help me be able to exercise more so I can get to goal soon so I can have the 2nd skin removal surgery and the hernia could be repaired at that time. . However since I do have the hernia the thought has crossed my mind that if I can't get to goal I could try for a revised sleeve at the time of the second hernia repair. If your Doctor is going to be in there anyhow and the tests show your sleeve needs to be revised If it was me I would do it.

Getting delayed can be very frustrating. My 1st plastic surgery in March was canceled. I too had everything planned out at work as I am a teacher. We switched all the clients over to another teacher at the Center and the following week I was back at work. Three months later we had to do it all again but thank goodness this time it wasn't canceled. I had my surgery June 26th and am home recovering. I hope today Friday they were able to give you the info you wanted and everything works out well for you. Good luck keep us posted.

On July 26th it will be 1 1/2 years ago that I had my 3 procedure hernia repair, gallbladder removal and sleeve surgery done. I have lost over 280 pounds from my highest weight but was still not able to walk without excruciating pain in my back. . 18 days ago I had the first of 4 excess skin removal surgeries. The Dr felt that I was low enough to be able to have a breast reduction and free nipple graft. I was suppose to have this surgery in March but the day before surgery, they canceled it due to finding microcalcifications in my left breast. I had to wait over 6 weeks to get approved for a biopsy and it proved to be benign. Than I had to go through all the preop testings and get approval again . Finally on June 26th I had my breast reduction and FNG. Today is the 18 day after surgery and I just walked 1/4 of a mile with my walker without any back pain. It felt so great to be able to do this walk without pain. I was and probably will continue to be hunched over as I still have a huge amount of excess skin on my tummy and lower half which needs to be removed as well. Despite being tired from the walk and sweating like crazy in this Florida sun I was able to do this walk. I am thrilled and just pray to God that I continue to be pain free on the rest of the walks I plan to do this weekend and in the future. I have a goal to do in Sept 2018 the WLSFA Stamp Out Obesity 5K walk. Would love to do it this year but I doubt I will be ready for it in time. But come 2018 I am sure I will be able to do it if there is a group in South Florida sponsoring it.

Hi folks I know I haven't written anything since June. That is mainly because I am finally living a life I should have been living all along. It has been a little bit past 10 months since I had my 3 procedure surgeries for hernia repair, gallbladder removal and the sleeve. In those ten months I have lost 95 pounds for a total weight loss of 277 from my highest weight. I am still 40 pounds from my goal. I still can't stand for more than 5 minutes without pain. I must still use a cane to walk for a short 5 minutes until the pain starts. The back surgeon doesn't want to do any operations on my 4 bulging discs and spinal stenosis until I have gotten to my goal and had skin removal surgery. Why I really do not know. However despite the limited time I can stand and walk I am able to do so much more than I ever could before losing 277 pounds. In March of this year I became the social director of our community and (with the help of many wonderful volunteers) have been able to plan and implement many wonderful Summer, Fall and Seasonal activities for our community. I have also been able to finally assist my room mate with bringing in the packages from our shopping trips. This year I was able to assemble the Christmas tree string the lights and put the ornaments on by myself while my room mate decorated the outside. What a wonderful feeling that was! In years past all I could do was tell him which branches to put the ornaments on. I have started attending Bingo on Tuesdays, Friday Morning social and Trivia nights. I have lived in this community for 26 years and this year I have met some of the wonderful people who live here. I have also taken on some new and different teaching responsibilities at my work with longer hours. I am not at my goal yet, but I know I will get there. The weight loss has started to slow down but I am going to increase my exercise and do more than riding my bike and swimming. In 2017 I will probably join a gym and hopefully be able to do some sit down exercises of the circuit. I meet with my back surgeon again on Monday Dec 5th to review the x-rays and nerve conduction tests they were finally able to take. There is some talk about me getting an epidural in my back and seeing if that will reduce or eliminate the pain. If it wasn't for this horrible back pain I know I could do so much more than I am all ready. However I am thrilled to be doing what I am and to have finally had a life outside of the house. Until I write again Have a wonderful Holiday Season, Stay healthy and happy! I know I will!

Hi Everyone NOTE****** This posting was written Jan 26th 2016 not July 9. Somehow it never got published and when I clicked to publish it today it came up after my 1 year posting. Sorry for any confusion this may have caused. ****** Today Sunday Jan 24 is my birthday and I had to start my 2 day liquid pre-op diet. We celebrated last night with a Wine and cheese fondue party. I had 2 small glasses of wine and some vegetables, meats but the fondue was a flop. It isn't as easy to make fondue as it seems. I guess we should have made some fondues before we had the party. However my favorite the ice cream and the cupcakes were great. This past Tuesday during the pre-admission workshop I was told to stop taking my Meloxicam for my arthritis as it will affect me during surgery. I was also told to stop taking all the vitamins and supplements I take for various problems. Well about an hour after the party ended I started getting my horrible leg craps. OMG! I had such horrible leg cramps in both legs in various locations throughout the night from 10 pm until 6 am. At 3 am I couldn't take them any more and took one of my Clonazepam. I am hoping taking the clonazepam doesn't affect me in any way for surgery. I had a few more cramps after the med but they were not as intense as the ones that happened between 1 to 3 am. Around 3 am I thought I could have a bottle of Powerade Zero which would help as it restores electrolytes. I finally fell asleep around 6 am and slept till 10 am, Today I had 3 protein soups, a SF Jello and popsicle and of course plenty of Crystal Light. and Powerade zero. I mostly just sat around the house but did do 2 loads of wash, started getting my hospital bag in order, and froze all the vegetables and meats left over from the party. This evening my body is feeling badly mainly due to not being able to take my Meloxicam. Only being able to drink I am peeing every hour and am really sore from all this standing up and down. Despite having protein in my soup and drinnks my tummy is growling at me this evening. But I am staying busy. I hope tomorrow will be better. Will continue writing more tomorrow. I am basically calm now but who knows what will happen tomorrow. Ihope I don't have any more leg cramps tonight. Wish me luck as I don't know if I could stand another night like last night.

Hi Everyone It was 1 year ago today June 15th 2015 at 1 P.M. that I went to see the surgeon for a hernia, gallbladder and possible sleeve surgery. I had to use my mobility device as despite having lost 145 pounds on my own since 2004, I still was not able to walk into his office building. That right all, my highest weight was 497 pounds. I was pretty much housebound and in so much pain I cried every night. Any how 1 year old ago at 352 pounds, my surgeon told me I had to see him for the next 6 months as he was putting me on a HPLC supervised diet. After that more than likely I would be able to have the 3 surgeries all at once. On Jan 26th 2016 he performed the 3 surgeries with me weighing 314 pounds. A 38 pounds lost in those 7 1/2 months I had to wait. Since surgery 5 months ago I have lost an additional 60 pounds for a total of 98 pounds in this past year. I am only able to eat about 2-4 oz of meat and still have the feeling of being full before I even get to the vegs. I never knew feeling full could be so painful. I am tracking calories around 800 to 900 calories and getting in 60 to 90 proteins and 41 to 80 carbs and all my water each day. I am biking 4 to 6 miles 5 days a week and started water aerobics 2 days a week. I am 5 pounds away from being able to go to a back surgeon to see what they can do to help me to walk again now that I am almost below 250 That was their magical number before they wanted me to get to before they would help me. I was sitting here pulling out seams to to cut down and take in my clothing, but have taken a break from it as there are many pants I have to take in. I am thrilled to be doing this but it is a lot of work for my CTS hands to be doing. When I do stand to transfer to a chair my pants are falling off of me and I am stepping all over my pants legs. I can't afford new clothing but am thankful I know how to take in clothing. Since my highest recorded weight I have lost 243 pounds. My BMI has gone from 80 to 41. I haven't posted any pictures since the day before surgery. But once I get below that magical number of 250 I plan to take some more pictures. When I do get there I will be sure to post. I still have 102 pounds to lose but because of the sleeve and all the hard work I am doing I know I will reach my goal. I plan to be here over the next year as I just today renewed my Bariatricpal VIP Membership.

Yes I too noticed very few start with the initial consultation date. However my blog dates back to 2008 when I first got Medicare and tried to get the lapband. If your interested in my journey to walk again here is my blog. http://www.bariatricpal.com/blog/1683-welcome-to-my-journey-toward-being-able-to-walk-again/?st=10 Please leave a comment at the last posting if you read it. Good luck on your journey I will be following your blog.

Very discouraged as it has been 18 days since my last posting and I haven't lost a single pound. I guess I am in my 2nd stall since weight loss surgery. I like to see the scale go down, however I have been trying to focus on Non-Scale Victories. About the only things that I see changing are 1. this week I finally am able to eat without that horrible pain I was having. 2. my overall body measurements, have decreased which is resulting in my clothing fitting better but still not in the next size down. 3. my ability to bike a farther distance in less time. 4. am still trying to hit the 60 grams of protein an eat no true carbs. Over the last 18 days I have hit the 60 gram goal only 5 times of which 3 days this week were 60 or over. So I finally think it is happening. I haven't had a single true carb you know like bread, pasta etc. 5. I have no hunger but know I have to eat. I am still not that great with establishing an eating routine but I am getting better. I only work 2 days a week and when not working I have a totally different eating and exercise schedule. 6. I am hitting the mark every day and having no problems with drinking my water. So overall I am seeing changes and will continue to work on them all. I hope this 3rd month will show better results than the 6 pounds I lost in month 2. I see the Dr again on April 20th and hope to see at least 10 pounds down this 3rd month. Hope whom ever is reading this blog is doing well. Please feel free to let me know your following my progress towards getting healthier and being able to walk again without mobility devices. If you want to be friends feel free to send an invite.