ksgypsy

I Highly recommend Dr. John LoMonaco in Houston. An amazing Surgeon and even better human. He specializes in Bariatric patients. I had a body lift, arm lift and breast revision. Relatively little pain. He is meticulous about infection prevention and my scars are very thin & flat.

12 hours ago, Tomo said:

Congrats!

How long was your hospital stay? I'm thinking of having it all done at once, if and when, i decide to do it. Thanks

I was in the hospital one night. Checked in at 5:45am the day of surgery. It lasted @ 7 hours. I was feeling good the next day.Physical therapy walked with me & I had relatively little pain. After Dr. LoMonaco checked me out, I was discharged @ 3pm. Pain levels are very individual but mine really never went above a 4.5/5 and I have walked 3 times per day for 15 minutes with little discomfort since leaving the hospital. I wanted to have an inner thigh lift at the same time but Dr. said it would be too much so I may do that later. Good luck!

I had a lower body lift, arm lift and breast revision on January 25, 2023. My Surgeon implants a pain pump (a medical device he invented) in the abdominal area that lasts about 3 days after surgery so I really had much less pain than anticipated. I feel pretty good so I constantly have to remind myself not to do too much and jeopardize my recovery. My main area of soreness are my arms. The itching is the most difficult issue I'm having. My Plastic Surgeon, Dr. John LoMonaco in Houston, TX, co-wrote a book on plastic surgery specifically for bariatric patients. "Bariatric Plastic Surgery: A Guide to Cosmetic Surgery after Weight Loss". I found it on Amazon/Thrift books and it's a great resource! If you're researching Surgeons, I highly suggest you check him out. He is a truly gifted Surgeon who specializes in Bariatric Patients, and in addition is an excellent human being! Best of Luck!

On 12/8/2021 at 8:24 PM, Suzi_the_Q said:

So, I’ve lost 125lbs, and my body feels like I’ve got about 25-35 to go. I have a ton of loose skin which I plan to have removed. My question is: what was your starting weight and how much did your excess skin end up weighing? Just trying to figure out where I’m “really at.” (Sorry if bad format, on mobile.)

As others have stated; it depends on a number of factors and is individual to each person, I'm 5'4" and lost a bit over 120lbs. My weight at my first consultation with Dr. LoMonaco was 141lbs and he told me not to lose any more (never had I heard those words from a man...). I had a lower body lift, arm & outer thigh lift and breast reconstruction. He told me he took off between 4-5lbs. No liposuction needed.

Hi there! I'm 63 and had my RNY at age 61. I've lost @120 lbs and my only regret is that I didn't do it 5 years earlier! Even at my 'ripe old age', I'm having plastics next Wednesday!

Most meat still smells good to me but some is offputting. I've found I can't eat it nor can I eat any fowl but that seems to be unusual. It's been a couple of years but it seemed a lot of foods didn't smell good to me but that's mostly gone away. I still eat pretty bland food but since food doesn't hold the same significance for me, I don't mind it.

Hope it improves for you!

I've only experienced what I've read described as dumping one time. I was shaky, sweating, vomiting & couldn't leave the toilet for about 30 minutes. It's been a year and I don't remember what triggered it but seems it happened within 20 minutes of eating. It wasn't fun. Personally I can eat sweets (in moderation) fine but not fried food. The fried food doesn't make me 'dump' but I do vomit. An unusual thing that's happened with me is that I can no longer eat meat or fowl without feeling sick. You find out pretty quickly what foods you can eat and tolerate well. Eating too quickly will definitely cause issues.

Odd note about vomiting: There's no aftertaste for me and everyone that I've asked that has had an RNY. No idea if it's the same for sleevers.

Best of luck!!

I was initially told that my surgery would be 4 weeks out. We were going camping and I went out & purchased all of my favorites planning on indulging myself for a week. Not so fast... his office called the 1st day of our trip and said I could have my RNY the next week! That put the kibosh on my plans....🤣

1 hour ago, catwoman7 said:

I don't think that particular intolerance is very common - although food intolerances in general are. I know a lot of people have trouble with certain meats (like chicken breast) early out, but I don't remember reading posts about people having issues with it two years out (although maybe there are - but given the lack of posts (and I've been on this site for eight years), I'm guessing it's not very common. But like I said, certain food intolerances after WLS arent' at all unusual. Things like Pasta, rice, eggs - I read about those pretty frequently. Or various artificial sweeteners - that seems to be a big one.

Thank you for your insight. I'm only on here off & on but hadn't seen anything on it either. Perhaps I'm a 'one off' kind of situation. Pasta is tough for me too- just a couple of bites of that. Although I can eat the pasta Protein meals found in the Bariatric Pal Store just fine. And they are pretty tasty too!

34 minutes ago, learn2cook said:

I worked with a woman that was allergic to meat. I’ve read of others since then, but they could eat fish, tofu, Beans and rice. Non of them had bariatric surgery, and it was rare. I would sleuth around with an allergy specialist. The people involved needed huge amounts of oral steroids to function before their diagnosis was confirmed. They had record high inflammatory markers in their blood work. I wouldn’t guess with this one, get it properly documented for your future health. I would even wonder if you could be in the same room as meat, like severe peanut allergy folks can be? What if you were stuck on a plane with 20 people chewing chicken?

Rice allergy? Wow- hadn't heard of that. I'm actually eating some now. Hadn't thought of this since I could eat meat without issue prior to surgery but it's a good idea to check out. I've been around a lot of people eating it and didn't have a problem but it's been in a restaurant, home or outside. I'll discuss it again with my Surgeon. Thanks for the response!

Thank you for your response. Even a small amount makes me vomit & my stomach very uncomfortable. It generally smells good though. I’m able to get my Protein through yogurt, cheeses, protein lemon tea…. Wondering how common it is to develop an inability to eat meat.

I had an RNY in 2020. I've not ever really eaten a lot of meat but since surgery I cannot tolerate any kind of meat or fowl. If it swims, I don't eat it- wish I did as I know it's good for a person but can't stand fish or sea food. My Surgeon said I should be able to eat meat and has given me a couple of endoscopies. Anyone else with this issue?

I'm having a lower body lift, arm & breast lift with Dr. John LoMonaco in Houston. Although he's a 5-hour drive from our Texas home, I chose him because he specializes in bariatric weight loss patients. He has fantastic reviews on RealSelf and everywhere else I researched. I only found 1 negative review and I asked him about it. He definitely lived up to the hype during my in-person consultation. My husband was skeptical about me undergoing surgery until he met Dr. LoMonaco and my fella is very difficult to impress. Because we live part time in Kansas as well, my initial consultation was via pictures. I was gobsmacked when he answered my emails (generally in the late evenings) personally. Not an admin nor a form letter. Good luck on your search!!

Congratulations! Looks like your results will be fabulous! I had my surgery a couple of weeks prior to yours and will be having a lower body lift as well as an arm lift on January 25th. Thanks for the tip on the drain belt; I plan to order one.

13 hours ago, ms.sss said:

P.S. We were in Italy, and there was an assortment of wine bottles every morning at the Breakfast buffet. Which at first surprised me, but eventually accepted as pretty cool😂

This brought back memories from 40 years ago when I was going to school outside of florence, Italy. Wine at every meal.... Breakfast of Champions!! 🍇

Thank you! 21 in less than 1 month is great! Congratulations!! 🎉 Think I lost 17 in 4 weeks.

Wishing you much success!

I have hypothyroidism as well. I feel as though my weight loss has been slow. My 3 months is on February 4th and I'm down 41lbs. I'm happy that the 41 is gone but the last few weeks have been 2lbs per week. Hopefully it will pick back up soon!

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I mix @16 cups of Water with 2 large tea bags and 1 packet of Crystal Light Lemonade. Not quite as good as the bottled 1/2 & 1/2 mix in stores but still good without all the sugar.

Wishing you much success!

Congratulations on your smooth experience and having a supportive spouse! I had a rough 1st month with 2 readmittances to the hospital. I'm fortunate that I also have a very supportive husband & was a fabulous care giver while I needed it. I have found sf popsicle to be a saving grace- for hydration and the crunch!

Wishing you all the best on your continued success! 😊

1 hour ago, OAGBPal said:

aren't you RNY'ers supposed to feel full/satiated?

I don't know if all do.... I did feel full on liquids but could drink about 8 oz of Soup before I felt full so I was concerned it was too much. Now on 'regular' foods- I definitely feel it at about 1/2-3/4 cup depending on the food.

On 1/11/2021 at 12:31 PM, Lisa LoVuolo said:

I finally found Celebrate sleep with magnesium and melatonin

Has this helped? I use melatonin but doesn't always help. Thank you!

Welcome! As you peruse the boards you'll notice some people lose weight very quickly and others progress is slower. Use other's success as motivation but please don't become discouraged if yours is a bit more leisurely. Although we're all o the same path, each of our journey's are individual.

Wishing you much success and happiness!😊

I had an RNY and was specifically told not to eat strawberries and to avoid seeds and skins on food like potatoes and fruit. As all say- so many different diet requirements....

Best of luck!

Phenomenal! Congratulations!!!👏

Enjoy your success and I hope you're feeling well very soon!

Wow- you look fabulous and are an inspiration for me! I am the same height and same SW. Pre-surgery weight was 236. My bypass was on 11-4-20 and I'd be thrilled to have your results at 5.5 months out!!

Congratulations and best of luck!👏

10 hours ago, HAPPYTRACE said:

You can make a smoothie (or just add into soups) with PEA Protein Powder. I haven't found an UNflavored one yet, but the vanilla is pretty good

I found unflavored Pea Protein Powder at Puritan's Pride.