ssflbelle

Thank you both for replying. I was very tempted to through out the container but did hold onto it just in case someone replied. I do not want to use the milk so I will try room temp Water and adding it to the coffee afterwards and see if that makes a difference. I do like the flavor so I will give it a try tomorrow.

Notgivingup2 and Gradycat I am in a similar situation as the two of you. Maybe as a threesome we can help each other.

I was sleeved Jan 26 2016 along with a hernia repair and gallbladder removal. I got down to 217 and was told by my back Doctor that skin removal might help my back. Not being able to walk due to 6 herniated disc, spinal stenosis and radiculopathy he thought getting rid of the excess skin would help. So I had 4 Excess skin removal surgeries from 2017 till 2019. The last surgery in June 2019 resulted in 3 months of complication including MRSA. I was on 2 IV's of Vancomycin of 2 to 5 hours a day and could do nothing and I started gaining weight. By the time the pandemic hit I was up about 15 pounds to 232 pounds and now I am up another 25 to 257

After all my hard work to lose over 280 pounds I never dreamed I would have a regain. What a fool I was, however I am thrilled I have managed to keep off 240 pounds. In Nov I went back to another surgeon and he gave me a diet pill which has caused ringing in my ears within 2 weeks of taking it. I did lose 7 pounds but as soon as I went off the pill I gained that 7 pounds back. I have got to get this under control and head back down.

Have you both started doing anything to see the scales going down? With Christmas coming I need to really watch as I will not let myself get to 260.

Has anyone been drinking the 15.31 oz. container of Click all in one coffee & Protein Drink Mix. I made a cup of percolated coffee and added the drink mix to the coffee twice. Both times it did not stay dissolved. I stirred forever and as soon as I stopped it was all clumpy again. This also happened to the pumpkin Spice Latte drink mix. Both drinks were gross and I had to strain them three times and what was in the strainer was gross looking too. Does anybody know did adding these drink mixes into the coffee cause this problem? I have not tried just making the drink mix without the percolated coffee. I get the hot chocolate drink mix and put it into the coffee and it completely dissolves and is delicious. I thought these other two drinks would do the same thing. They were expensive and I would hate to have to throw them away.

On 8/14/2020 at 2:25 PM, BriarRose said:

August. And I have continued to lose about 3 to 4 pounds a month. I am super impressed with myself for this re-invention of ME at this age and stage of my life. I don't care if no one notices, I don't care if no one says anything - I feel so good. I am cooking for myself, and told my adult daughter who lives with me now, that she can prepare her own stuff, our eat out, or do take out, but this is what I am doing for me. She joins me for dinner a couple times a week, but prefers more carbs than I typically eat.

I am okay with it all, because I am; at 64 years old, finally doing me. Down to 178 for the last three mornings, so I can call it that. And I am so pleased.

Good for you. We are the same age and I have the same goal of 175. You are so close, Do not let anyone or anything stop you. I never made it to my goal. I am dealing with a regain of over 40 pounds and once that is gone I have an additional 42 to go. I hope someday to feel the same as you are feeling today.

Today I started a reset also. Did fine with just liquids today. Hope tomorrow goes as well.

So sorry for being away for so long. Yes, pictures will help as well as letters from the various Doctors who might be treating you for the infections. My PS doctor knows how to fight and got all three of my Excess skin removal surgeries approved and is currently working on getting approval for the next one.

Had my third Excess skin removal surgery Dec 5th. Have lost over 270 pounds and finally had my hernia repair and 10 pounds of my tummy skin removed. Spent 1 night in the hospital and was up out of bed within 12 hours of my surgeries. Was told my hernia was twisted and encased and the Dr did not want to use mesh because of possible infection. He had to take my belly button for the same reason. I have been taking Tylenol extra strength and tramadol. Have 2 drains and had a followup yesterday. Was told I am healing well but still need to keep the drains in. Was tired yesterday from the trip to and from the followup but overall I am doing better than when I had my Brachioplasty in March.

So glad you finally had the excess skisn of your lower belly removed. It looks real good and should help and motivate you to get to goal. Did you have any drain? If so for how long?

I had my breast and arms done but need to lose another 50 pounds before he will do my belly. It looks like yours did. I am hoping even though he is asking for insurance to pay for the lower belly that he will do the top half also. He did my forarms even though insurance only paid for the upper arms. Hope your feeling better each and every day.

I am only 2 1/2 years but I still check in every once in awhile. I came on today as I am sturggling so I came back hoping to find some others whom might be struggling also and maybe we could support each other. If there are any of you interested, will share more later about what has been happening, when you say you want support too. Hope to hear from some of you.

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.

On 4/6/2018 at 11:32 PM, axlr8n said:

It looks a lot better - another few weeks and you'll be all healed up! There were times early on that I really regretted having plastics, but now that it's been 7 months I'm starting to think about round two :-).

I know what you mean. I am suppose to have 2 more and am having second thoughts. Maybe by Nov I will be thinking otherwise. What second round are you having done and when?

Congratulations on the weight loss. I don't know of any surgeons in your area. I know how hard the excess skin is to deal with but I would see if you can get closer to 200 before you seek out a Plastic Surgery Dr. Your recovery will probably be better. I waited until I had lost 280 pounds before I consulted with a PS. I went from 497 to 217 and had maintained that weight for about 6 months. Because of my 4 herinated disc and inability to walk without assistance the Dr was willing to do a breast reduction on me in June 2017. Sleeve presurgery breast measurement was 70 I. After losing 280 pounds I was a 48DDD. After breast reduction and recovery I am a 42 B.

Just this past March he did a Brachioplasty on me. This surgery was very difficult. I don't know if it was because of my current weight which is still 217 or maybe the Dr forgot to close up a blood vessel. They never told me what happened. I went from 21 inch upper arms to 15.5. However I am still swollen and only 2 1/2 weeks into recovery. Here is the posting on the last surgery I had.

He wants to wait a bit longer until Iget closer to my goal weight of 180 to do my tummy.

On 4/4/2018 at 6:54 PM, axlr8n said:

That looks painful - I hope you're getting better every day!

It has been 2 1/2 weeks now and that left arm is still very painful but healing. The glue is still on it as well as the pad for the location of where the drain was placed. The right arm is not as painful and is looking better. Here are the current arm pic.

The Dr on Monday said he still wants to wait until next appt 4/12 before he tries to get me into the vest/sleeve compression garment. However he wants me to try to wear a compression sleeve for a bit in preparation for the garment. The nurse helped me get into it. He said he would be surprised if I wore it for longer than a 1/2 hour. They kept rolling down my upper arm and that hurt so I managed to keep them on for 1 1/2 hours. The vest sleeve garment I think will be easier to wear. What do you all think? Does it look like I am healing?

It has been a difficult 2 weeks but I am finally turning the corner and feeling better. I went in March 19th at 2 pm for my bilateral extended to forearm briachioplasty. Opened my eyes in recovery ay 6:45 and was home by 8 for 10 minutes when the ambulance was called. I was bleeding profusely from my left arm and had passed out in my recliner. Had to walk to the stretcher as they couldn't get it into the house. Got to ER around 1/2 hour later, Plastic surgeon from the Center (not the one that did the operation but had assisted with my breast reduction in June) came a looked at what was going on. Passed out again while he was there. He told me I had a hemotoma the size of a baseball and would need to go back into surgery ASAP. No operating room was available until 4:30 when he went in and did whatever had to be done and gave me a drain. Finally at 7:30 am Tuesday morning I was in a shared room. They tried to send me home Tuesday night started bleeding again. They did whatever had to be done. My blood count had dropped down to an 8 and my veins were blowing every time they tried to take more blood from my hands. I had an IV in each hand in case the right one blew. I was seen by the PS again Wednesday night and finally sent home on Thursday. From the hospital I was taken directly to the PS DR office on Thursday as when the hospital staff was loading me into the van I started bleeding again. The Dr and 5 nurses saw me immediately, did whatever they had to do and bandaged me back up and sent me home with all kinds of meds including Iron as I was amenic. I had a horrible weekend with intense pain, not only in my arms but my back as well. I was itching like crazy because of the gauze and ace bandages used. When they discovered I had this reaction they came up with a different way of bandaging up my arms. This past Monday I had my 1 week followup and the drain was taken out. I was still way to swollen to fit into any sleeve compressions so I have just been bandaged.

I go back tomorrow for my 2 week followup, hopefully will get some stitches out and into the compression garments. I have attached some photos showing the left arm hematoma area drain area and the right arm. I am so bruised, black and blue and swollen I have no idea of what the outcome will be. I have a feeling this is going to be long difficult recovery. I just hope and pray I will be happy with the final results.

I had a hernia repaired and my gallbladder removed during the sleeve surgery. If I was having the other 2 surgeries I felt I might as well have the sleeve. However I had to go through a 6 month diet with the surgeon to meet the qualifications for insurance to cover the sleeve. My gallbladder and hernia were watched carefully and we made it past the 6 months. I went in to surgery on a Tuesday at 1 pm, was in recovery by 5 pm and in my room by 7. I was released from the hospital on Thursday afternoon. It took me about 4 weeks to recover. I had more pain due to the gas needed to do the sleeve then the other surgeries. I also had to take for 1 month Prolisec, and Lovenox injections to prevent deep vein thrombosis.

On 2/18/2018 at 4:02 PM, IveGotThePower said:

I am 20 months out and have lost 93 lbs. I fluctuate 2 to 3 lbs above that. Today I was exactly 93 lbs again, but for the past 10 months I NEVER go below that. It feels like my brain controls my hunger to keep me at this set point. And maybe it does. Has anyone got to a stable point above their "goal weight" and just said, ok this is where my body seems to be happy. This seems to be a sustainable point where I am going to be. And just accept that and continue to make healthy choices and stop trying to loose more weight, cause it just doesn't seem to be in the stars. Don't get me wrong. I am thrilled with my weight loss and very thankful and comfortable where I am. But I am still obese on the BMI charts. When do we just accept obese?

I wish I could offer some advise but I too am above my goal and have been there for many months. I lost over 280 pounds and bounce back and forth from 207 to 217 and my goal is 180. I just can't seem to drop below that 207. All that weight lost and I am still obese also. I can't accept this wieght as I am not physically comfortable at where I am now, but I am really struggling to get lower. I have done a week of just liquids several times. I get to 207 and then when I start eating again I am back to 217. I know if I could walk and do more exercise I might be able to get below the 207 mark but the back pain is too great. I don't know what else to do and have some idea of how you too are feeling. Just wanted you to know, your not alone.

I eat Hummus but never saw this kind. Where did you find it? What do you use it on?

1 hour ago, Brina1980 said:

So I was supposed to start my liquid diet tomorrow. However I have a cold. My surgeon postponed my surgery due to the cold. I’m soo upset. He said it could be up to 6 weeks from now.

Yes I feel for you and know how disappointed you are. I am also disappointed as my Brachioplasty for today was postponed due to illness. Went to the PCP on Jan 26th for pre-op testing and became sick 4 days later due to all the coughing, sneezing and germs in that waiting room.. Now no surgery until March 19th. Way too long of a wait as I am suppose to go to a conference 5 weeks after the surgery.

I had been told if I ever got to 250 pounds (highest 497) I might be able to have back surgery on my 4 herniated discs and spinal stenosis. After seeing the back Doctor (at 250 pounds) he told me I had to have all my excess skin removed and be at 180 before he would do anything. After I got to 220 I had a consultation with a PS he said he would do a Breast reduction which he did in June and he will be doing a Brachioplast March 19. The PS wants me to get closer to 180 before he does the lower part of my body. At this rate I am not sure when I will get to 180. However sometime in May I do plan to see another Back doctor and see if he might do something for my back before I get all the excess skin removed and get to 180. I truly feel my limited ability to walk is preventing me from getting closer to my 180 goal.

Needless to say I am disappointed as my surgery scheduled for Monday has been postponed. Why? Because I went to the PCP on Friday Jan 26th for pre-op testing, waited over 1 1/2 hours in a waiting room filled with over 20 people. Several of them were coughing, sneezing and spewling germs all over the place. Come Tuesday Jan 31st I am sick, I told the Dr before I left I knew I would be sick and sure enough. Have meds since Feb 1st but can't get rid of this fast enough and now my surgery is postponed. The 1st PS I had was also postponed. Don't understand why I have such bad luck. The Brachiopplasty has been rescheduled for March 19th. Now I need to get over this illness, stay healthy and stay out of the Doctor's office. I intend to tell the PCP when such sick people come into her waiting room she needs to hand out masks. Had I know I would have brought one with me. You can be assured I will bring one with me from now on.

3 hours ago, sleevedshereen said:

Your happiness comes before anyone else! If he can't get on the support train, then let him leave. Who would want you to be overweight and increase your risks of health and the quality of your life? Is he insecure that you will leave him anyways? I would rather be alone then in a relationship with someone threatening to leave if you better yourself. No way!

To answer your question a man who happens to be a Fat Admirer and can't get aroused unless the woman is obese. When I came to realize this was even possible I divorced him, and lost over 285 pounds from my own body.

Well it is official the surgery is posponed, I am too sick and the Dr will not do the surgery.

14 minutes ago, proudgrammy said:

@ssflbelle

Even if I do manage to get well before the cut off date to cancel surgery the Surgeon will not do an extended brachioplasty to my wrist as it is too dangerous.

oh no - can't imagine your angry thoughts you are dealing with

you don't deserve this!!!

I'm so sorry

no helpful platitudes i will/ can say

kathy

Kathy This is my own fault as being 497 pounds I stretched my skin to its limit. The surgeon did say he would not go below the elbow but will try to pull what ever skin up from the forearm that he can. If I am not happy he will have to do an additional forearm surgery at a later date. My breast reduction was not exactly as I had hoped either thus I didn't post pictures anywhere. I have to keep in mind I am 62, have many other physical problems and probably will not see another romantic relationship in my life time, so I will not need to worry how I look naked. I will just deal with whatever PS results I have when all is said and done come 2020.

3 minutes ago, proudgrammy said:

can only imagine the hoops you have jumped through

in your whole PS voyage

you have gone through so much dealing with PS

but you WILL have extended brachioplasty to wrist

eventually, right??

hope things will turn around and you will have good news

about PS, sooner than later!!!

Fingers and toes crossed

good luck

kathy

Even if I do manage to get well before the cut off date to cancel surgery the Surgeon will not do an extended brachioplasty to my wrist as it is too dangerous.

7 minutes ago, proudgrammy said:

@ssflbelle

Amanda - always great to

see/hear from you. 286 lbs gone!!

sad i am seeing "less and less of you"

you are my hero too!!

hugggs

kathy

Thanks Kathy I so enjoy your positive postings especially today as it looks like my Brachioplasty on Feb 12th may not happen.