brittanyatwalsh

Silly Kitty makes a very good point here. Each surgeon needs to evaluate one's age, health, skin type, pain threshold and flesh amount to be removed. For myself, I had stretched my petite frame beyond extreme at 5 feet. Even a few inches would have spread the wealth. LOL. Surgery for tummy + breast lifts past December was six hours from prep to recovery. My recovery was smooth, concise and without issue. Close to 6 - 7 pounds of skin removed! Interestingly, while my weight loss had stabilized - my body responded positively in other ways to the plastic surgery procedure. Day of surgery - I weighed 130 pounds. 1 1/2 months later - I settled in at 118. Now, 115. My arm lifts are scheduled 7 months from December surgery. I have very heavy upper arms, and suspect each may weigh 1 pound!? Soooo, that might mean a final weight of 113 pounds in the end. Do not plan on inner thigh skin to be removed. I can manage and conceal that pretty well. That being said, I am amazed at the Art and Science - Skill + Talents available to us with WLS and plastics to help us arrive at our best selves! So thankful and at awe of all our wonderful transformations! Other than the COVID thing - I'm really enjoying my slimmest happiest summer of adult lifetime. Game changer, indeed!

I’m 14 months out and down to 165lbs, 110lbs of weight loss. My boyfriend and I have been trying to conceive with no luck and it’s time for me to become more proactive and take prenatal Vitamins. Any recommendations?

Listen y'all! My dietitian just told me to puree Wendys chili.....!!!!!!!!!

@21pilots my mouth is watering................................. LOL

First of all, I had my sleeve done on June 17.
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The only time I feel restricted is when I drink a Protein beverage (not a shake). I was drinking the Premier Protein clear drinks (purchased from Sams Club but I have seen them in other places) prior to surgery and mixed with Water for 1 week after surgery. I had no issues. This past week, I drank some (not much) and I felt a horrible pain - I had mentioned it in one of my posts before, no clue where now. The only way I can describe the pain I had was the old cartoons where you see a hose and you can see a big bump of water trying to make it's way through the hose...That is how it felt. I had to stand, walk, spit a little, and do a sternum rub to feel better. Probably a day or two later I was sitting on my back porch and the same thing happened when I took a drink of a PROTEIN20 drink! I'm thinking to myself what is the problem here, I hadn't ate prior to it and I know darn well I didn't drink too much or too fast. So I just did my little walk and rub and after about an hour it went away. LAST NIGHT, I'm driving and I knew I was behind on my protein so I brought a Premier Protein to drink on the way to where I'm going. Literally ONE DRINK and I had the SAME issue. Again, I am not drinking fast or gulping. I'm thinking it's something IN these drinks that I cannot tolerate? I'm looking for suggestions on what it is, and what I should drink instead. I've had the Premier Protein Shakes but I haven't had an issue with those yet.... But that isn't really something I can take "out" with me, you know? A water-based consistency? By the way, this only happens when I drink those things. I'm on puree foods and am eating that fine- Cottage cheese, refried Beans, scrambled eggs, chicken salad, tuna salad, etc. and I have no problems with other liquids I consume.........
Looking forward to your responses......!!! Thanks for helping me out.

When I get that hunger pang (I'm only 2 days post op) I take one of those muscle spasm pills and it helps me feel better. Glad to know I'm not the only one who is hungry right now, and I'm hoping it goes away with puree like some f you suggested!

Hey! Looking for a Sleeve Sister or even brother to talk back and forth with!
Here's a short story about me-
I was banded in 2005 when I was 15 in Tijuana by Dr. Ortiz. Over 13 years, I lost about 70 lbs but by 2018 I had gained it all back. I found Dr. Udelhofen in Cincinnati, Ohio (working under Trace Curry) and he determined my band was slipped. I had no idea, but I believe it. So he removed my band in July of 2018 and initially I wanted to get the sleeve done the same day but decided against it. I didn't want to quit smoking and quit drinking. March/April 2019 I decided I wanted to go forth with it. I stopped smoking and decided to put my alcohol consumption on hold and here I am - 2 days post-sleeve!
So far- I'm really not in pain. I feel nauseous more than I feel pain. Last night was terrible - I was in the shower taking off my dressings and got 2 of the 5 off when I felt really sick and dizzy. Thankfully, I'm staying with my parents currently since I'm single and I was able to get my Mom to help me out. But today I feel great. The only time I get any pain is when I'm sitting up out of the chair or getting out of bed.
Speaking of bed, anyone else not able to sleep through the night? I typically am a side sleeper but I can only sleep on my back right now. So I'm up practically all night until I go to the chair to sleep. How long will this last for?!
Anyone get hunger pains? I typically take a muscle spasm pill when my hunger pains start. Drinking 2 oz of Powerade zero / Water / Protein water every 30 mins.

Oh, since I'm new - How do I get one of those little goal tracker things you guys have at the bottom of your posts?~?~?

I was angry and irritable. Like, very angry. The most insignificant things pi....ticked me off. I'm 2 weeks and 2 days out and believe my anger is subsiding.

I was angry and irritable. Like, very angry. The most insignificant things pi....ticked me off. I'm 2 weeks and 2 days out and believe my anger is subsiding.

Thanks for the link!!! That chicken crust pizza looks AMAZING!!!!!!!!!

I was angry and irritable. Like, very angry. The most insignificant things pi....ticked me off. I'm 2 weeks and 2 days out and believe my anger is subsiding.

Thanks for the link!!! That chicken crust pizza looks AMAZING!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the link!!! That chicken crust pizza looks AMAZING!!!!!!!!!

@Healthy_life2 Thank you! I will look into this kind!

Thank you so much!

Surgery ran super long yesterday due to them fixing a hiatal hernia that was undetected before, and fixing keloid scars from my gallbladder procedure last year. Surgery ended up being around 6 hours.
I feel great! No nausea or vomiting, able to keep fluids down, and minimal pain... only around incisions area and gas pressure. I requested pain meds about every 8ish hours due to soreness and incision pain. I HORRIBLE overnight nurses who refused to let me walk until my husband became very stern with them about the risk of blood clots and the gas pain in my chest. At that point they let me go and we talked for about 10 minutes. Hoping to be discharged later on today to continue this journey at home. I’m so excited and happy to finally be at this point!

I’m a few weeks behind you but I’m here if you need me!

Hey! Looking for a Sleeve Sister or even brother to talk back and forth with!
Here's a short story about me-
I was banded in 2005 when I was 15 in Tijuana by Dr. Ortiz. Over 13 years, I lost about 70 lbs but by 2018 I had gained it all back. I found Dr. Udelhofen in Cincinnati, Ohio (working under Trace Curry) and he determined my band was slipped. I had no idea, but I believe it. So he removed my band in July of 2018 and initially I wanted to get the sleeve done the same day but decided against it. I didn't want to quit smoking and quit drinking. March/April 2019 I decided I wanted to go forth with it. I stopped smoking and decided to put my alcohol consumption on hold and here I am - 2 days post-sleeve!
So far- I'm really not in pain. I feel nauseous more than I feel pain. Last night was terrible - I was in the shower taking off my dressings and got 2 of the 5 off when I felt really sick and dizzy. Thankfully, I'm staying with my parents currently since I'm single and I was able to get my Mom to help me out. But today I feel great. The only time I get any pain is when I'm sitting up out of the chair or getting out of bed.
Speaking of bed, anyone else not able to sleep through the night? I typically am a side sleeper but I can only sleep on my back right now. So I'm up practically all night until I go to the chair to sleep. How long will this last for?!
Anyone get hunger pains? I typically take a muscle spasm pill when my hunger pains start. Drinking 2 oz of Powerade zero / Water / Protein water every 30 mins.

Oh, since I'm new - How do I get one of those little goal tracker things you guys have at the bottom of your posts?~?~?

Hey! Looking for a Sleeve Sister or even brother to talk back and forth with!
Here's a short story about me-
I was banded in 2005 when I was 15 in Tijuana by Dr. Ortiz. Over 13 years, I lost about 70 lbs but by 2018 I had gained it all back. I found Dr. Udelhofen in Cincinnati, Ohio (working under Trace Curry) and he determined my band was slipped. I had no idea, but I believe it. So he removed my band in July of 2018 and initially I wanted to get the sleeve done the same day but decided against it. I didn't want to quit smoking and quit drinking. March/April 2019 I decided I wanted to go forth with it. I stopped smoking and decided to put my alcohol consumption on hold and here I am - 2 days post-sleeve!
So far- I'm really not in pain. I feel nauseous more than I feel pain. Last night was terrible - I was in the shower taking off my dressings and got 2 of the 5 off when I felt really sick and dizzy. Thankfully, I'm staying with my parents currently since I'm single and I was able to get my Mom to help me out. But today I feel great. The only time I get any pain is when I'm sitting up out of the chair or getting out of bed.
Speaking of bed, anyone else not able to sleep through the night? I typically am a side sleeper but I can only sleep on my back right now. So I'm up practically all night until I go to the chair to sleep. How long will this last for?!
Anyone get hunger pains? I typically take a muscle spasm pill when my hunger pains start. Drinking 2 oz of Powerade zero / Water / Protein water every 30 mins.

Oh, since I'm new - How do I get one of those little goal tracker things you guys have at the bottom of your posts?~?~?

I’m halfway through purée week- get to move on to soft foods Friday - so excited. I had a lapband revision to DS on 6-7, tuna and chicken salad purée along with cottage cheese have been go to for me this week and all goes down fine. Adding in shakes here and there to hit my 90g Protein goal (plus they count as liquid). Just tried a caramel premier it’s pretty good. No nausea no constipation- if anything it’s the opposite. Mild soreness occasionally but I haven’t used even a Tylenol in a week. full steam ahead!

Listen y'all! My dietitian just told me to puree Wendys chili.....!!!!!!!!!

I had no specifications but I also didn't even have a liquid pre-op diet! Lol.......... My pre-op diet was packaged food that I purchased from my office.

September 5th 2018 at exactly 7 AM. EDT. the Ohio State University- WEXNER MEDICAL Center 410 W 10th Avenue Columbus Ohio. I live in Mount Vernon, a smallish city of 20,000 48 miles NE of Columbus, which was the absolute closest facilities offering RNY. No Big Thing in the long run, I ended up with the Big Kahuna , Bradley J NeedlemanMD, the chief of Bariatric Medicine and Metabolic Weight Loss, a full professor in the College of Medicine, and actually a pretty wonderful guy to know as well as a Perfect Surgeon. When I was having my pre- surg physical which my son Tomkitten accomplied me to, he went over, shook TK's hand and said "I promise, I WILL TAKE VERY GOOD CARE of your mother!" Didn't have to do that,but he read my situation correctly, knew it would give TK and I peace of mind to make such a promise.
How am I recovering? Ah, a very loaded question! Now keep in mind what happened to me is a pretty rare occurance, in all of Bariatric- Pal-dom there are maybe 4 others currently. To back up a little I went into my surgery with an ulcer, I named him, as I do many of my possessions, Hector, a small and not ready to perforate gastric ulcer,i was on a stronger PPI (protein pump inhibitor) called Dexilent, lucky for me insurance covered because without it would be over $300 monthly for a once a day med. I made it very clear to Dr Needleman that I was a proven Ulcer Grower. Well after my surgery they prescribed Omeprazole , the very one I was taking when Hector was discovered by my gastroenterologist at that time Dr Mujataba, pronounced Moo Shah BA. I hollered" What are You doing to ME ?" Was figuratively told to just shut my mouth, they had done many cases, THIS would work best. Wrong Wrong Wrong! At 2 weeks I restarted complaining, told them SOMETHING IS VERY WRONG! And I got all kinds of replies, I was impatient, delusional, still merely swollen inside. But I kept up complaining , finally I suspect to shut me up, they scheduled an Endoscopy on October 12th, when I woke up Dr Noria,my surgeon's Junior partner shook my hand . She said Congratulations , you were right, we were wrong , you have 3 ulcers within your pouch, the opening is strictured down, you have 5 additional on the back wall of your jejunem, the portion of small intestine your pouch is now fastened to and they look ANGRY. Now sleeves seldom ever stricture and even the average RNY diesbt as a rule. And we have been trying to heal them since, I take Carafate 6am- noon- 6pm- midnight for what seems like forever. Frequent endoscopy to check the status, took turn for worse the end of November, malnourished and anemic of Protein. Had a PICC line inserted in my upper left arm the next day, was on TPN ,that's total parental nutrition , for 3 months 12 hours a day. Was finally taken off of it the end of February, although I had been steadily losing a pound o4 2 monthly, I dropped 30 pounds in a month, in March I required an Iron INFUSION, would have thought I was due another in June but nobody interested enough to have ordered complete blood labs yet. I started at 365+ and BMI of 52, at nearly 10 months I have lost down to BMI31.1 and just under 200 pounds. So I are doing well if not perfect, and even if I Had known the bumps, bruises, twists and turns to my journey, I WOULD DO IT AGAIN in a❤beat, the positives still outweigh the detriments. Why did I not elect the VSG, I needed the certainty of quicker weight loss, I have had arthritis since 25, horrid GERD, sleep apnea, and had a First Cousin , my June-Ellen die on the operating table at the Cleveland Clinic of previously undiagnosed Esophageal Carncer, was there a hereditary component? Not perfectly certain but why take that risk when the Gold Standard of Bariatric Surgery was available? Medicare/ Medicaid picked up the tab for one surgery, would they pay later for a revision? Doubtful!!!❤ So I would say my surgery had a 85-90% percent success, still a high B+grade if not a Full A, and the story isn't over, I may still make it ALL THE WAY! I am optimistic, I came too far to stop progressing, this tired old jalopy at 73, still quite a few miles left in me, even if I'm not a Ferrari, DON'T COUNT ME OUT! I will make it to VICTORY yet! ❤and a Great Big Hug -----FRUSTR8

You got this! Just walk! Good Luck!

You got this! Just walk! Good Luck!

I make Peanut Butter Protein fudge. 1/2 cup margarine/butter, 1/2 cup peanut butter, 10 sweetner (Splenda or Truvia) packets and 2 scoops of chocolate Protein Powder.