kristieshannon

My before & after pics.

I had mine at about 18 months post WLS. I had a tummy tuck w/muscle repair, breast lift & augmentation, and arm lift. My surgeon was Dr. Alex Earle in Miami and I paid $16,100.

In short, yes! I follow the guidelines I was given. Very strictly at first. Now at nearly two years out and at goal not as strictly, but still within my maintenance calories. That doesn’t mean I didn’t ever “slip” but it was rare during weight loss phase. I figured I did something drastic, went through a major surgery and I wasn’t going to mess it up. I’d suggest tracking what you eat vigilantly, making an appointment to see your nutritionist to review your plan and come up with options that work for you, and consider therapy. Come here often for support! Best of luck to you ❤️

Oh man, I feel you. Night shift is so hard to keep on track. I’m a nurse and have worked many an overnight. I do best when I pack everything I’m going to eat at night and track every bite that goes in my mouth. I have even gone so far as to leave my wallet at home so hitting the coffee stand or vending machine isn’t an option. Try your best to keep up with hydration and sleep-I have fierce sweets cravings when I’m low on sleep. Meal prep on days off and pack healthy snacks that are waiting plan. I also walk the halls on breaks to get steps in. Keep up the good work!

Yes! Check out the Plastic Surgery forum. Lots of us have had plastic surgery post weight loss surgery. I had a breast lift and augmentation, tummy tuck with muscle repair, and arm lift in January. Here are my before & after pics. Absolutely no regrets. WLS was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, and I’m loving my PS results too.

I didn’t think I would be heading for another round of PS, but at 6 months post op from my tummy tuck, breast lift/augmentation and arm lift I am now planning to get my thighs fixed. I’ll go back to Dr. Earle in Miami for it. He is amazing and I trust him and his team. I’m booked for a thigh lift with him next March. However, I want to get de-bulking lipo done first after I get back to Seattle after my summer living and working in Boston. Anyone have this done prior to a thigh lift? Anyone here have lipo in Seattle and have someone you can recommend? Thigh pic for reference.

Meal prep/planning is key for me! I do much better staying on plan if I bring pre-portioned meals and snacks to work with me. At 21 days out I think I could only eat about 1/3 of a cup at any meal.

Would you mind sharing your quick pickle recipe? I love pickled veggies of all sorts. What are Duxelles? All look delicious, I need to get in gear meal prepping tomorrow for and four night stretch of work.

I didn’t use that doc but hi! I’m a fellow Seattleite, had my surgery @ Swedish First Hill.

Oh, and also-are you getting in plenty of fluids each day? Sometimes people get what feels like a hunger feeling when actually they are thirsty. I’ve found warm beverages can often cut that signal off pretty well. If it’s happening in the evening try camomile tea, it’ll have the added benefit of helping you sleep :)

Some of us notice signals from our body that we are full-I’ve heard mention of sneezing, a tight feeling across the chest, or what I feel which is hiccups. If you don’t have these signals, something you may consider if you aren’t doing it is strict calorie and macro tracking. That way you will know when you’ve met your body’s needs for the day and can tell yourself you are done for the day. This can also help to make sure you aren’t eating so much that you’re hitting maintenance calories vs weight loss calories.

Also, my office has PAs and ARNPs that do some of the follow up visits. Would that be an option for you?

I feel for you, was there myself. I had a brachioplasty in January. It is so nice to feel comfortable wearing short sleeves & tank tops! You may want to check in to the cost of PS in other states. I had a tummy tuck, the brachioplasty, and breast lift/augmentation. It would have cost $30,000-$40,000 in my home state of Washington. I had it all done in Miami for $16,100. Just the arm lift would be less. Costs vary wildly across the country! In the meantime, be kind to yourself. You’ve lost 90lbs which is an awesome accomplishment!

Absolutely worth it for me. My only regret (and you’ll hear this here often) is not doing this sooner. My highest known weight was 286. Today I’m 140.2. My life has changed so much for the better. I’m happy, healthy, and fit. Off all meds and my CPAP. I can hike, bike, kayak, dance with no pain. I can go on any ride at an amusement park, fit comfortably in airplane seats, and walk in to any store and buy clothes that fit and are in style. I had very little post op pain, and progressed my diet as expected. I can now eat anything, but in much smaller quantities. I’d say I follow the 80/20 rule, probably more like 90/10 of mostly healthy foods that I love with the occasional treats. Best of luck to you as you make your decision!

Sorry to say, but no skin care product is going to keep you from hanging skin after massive weight loss. Genetics, amount of time spent overweight, and amount of weight to lose are all factors. If you are young, have good skin elasticity, and haven’t been overweight very long you may not need PS. If you’re older, have poor skin elasticity, were significantly overweight, or overweight for many years you will likely have loose skin. I had my sleeve surgery at 49, was overweight for most of my adult life. After losing 140 lbs I had lots of loose skin. I had a tummy tuck, breast lift & augmentation, and arm lift in January. I’m planning on a thigh lift next year. I’m so glad I had these surgeries, but even if I hadn’t would still be glad to have lost all the weight.

New dress for a wedding next month. I’m thinking sparkly silver sandals to go with it, and a silver clutch if I can find one.

@ChubRub and @Kris77 were awesome support buddies and are now rockin totally hot bods 😍😍 I highly recommend a MMO after WLS!!

My husband and I separated a couple months ago and are just waiting on court availability to finalize our divorce. I’ve just started dipping my toe in the dating world. It’s fun on some levels. However, I can’t help but feel a little (probably misplaced) resentment. Suddenly I’m a bit of a hot commodity. While on dating websites before my marriage, when I was 140 lbs heavier, I had few show interest. Now I’m overwhelmed with messages. It kind of messes with my brain to go from someone seen as undesirable to someone desirable. I’m still the same person, just in different packaging I guess. It’s frustrating to realize how much my value as a person was minimized due to my weight 😡

For sure follow your plan provided.by your survival team! To me it sounds like you aren’t getting near enough protein. Can you tolerate protein shakes? Constipation is a common issue for WLS patients. Stool softeners and/or miralax may help, but for any of those meds it’s important to stay well hydrated. How much water are you getting in each day? Walking helps too, as much as you can tolerate at this point.

Head hunger is real! We’ve lived for many years eating beyond our physical needs due to emotional eating, cravings, etc. Therapy to work through these issues is great! Also, no reason to avoid ice cold drinks as long as your stomach tolerates it. My team allowed coffee right away. I mix my morning protein shake with cold brew coffee. It’s delicious!

Congrats! Happy healing ❤️

Ah, I assumed by your name that you are in Seattle. Swedish is a hospital there :)

Hi @SeattleLady-I had my surgery done by Dr. Sara Martin del Campo at Swedish. She was really great, I’d recommend her for sure.

Yum! I love cottage cheese with fruit with a tiny sprinkle of cayenne.

Love it!