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Thank you...I did forget to say that my doc thinks that I likely have 5-10# of excess skin (not bad enough to justify skin removal surgery as I can hide it fairly well), so that my "actual" weight may be 133-138#. But technically my BMI of 26 has me still in the Overweight category. I need to be below 24.9 to be in the Normal weight category, which starts at 136#.

Circumferential LBL which will include TT, lower back skin, and butt lift. Probably a breast lift and might need implants too because I pretty much have nothing left after WL. Good news is that this extended arm lift has helped with side boob and actually it seems as if upper back skin is better so shouldn't need to combine breast lift with upper back lift. Depending on how LBL turns out then maybe inner thigh surgery. Found out that the upper back looks good because the excess skin has slid to the lower back - looks like I have two saggy boobs in the back (to match the two in the front 🤣). I was hoping that skin could be taken care of as part of a LBL but the Dr said it actually needs to be part of an upper body lift. So for sure I'm going to want at least two more surgeries eventually - upper body lift including breasts (probably with implants), and circumferential LBL. Just not sure which would be my priority. I have plenty of time to decide since it will take forever to find the money.

Today's highlights: Actually went Costo shopping with Mr. this morning for some last minute pot-luck parties shopping. The greeters asked if I wanted one of these motorized shopping cart-moped combos, and while I was tempted just for the fun of it, the point was to get some walking in, so I declined. It was the most exercise I got at one shot in 5 days. I was pooped...went home and took a 2 hour hap afterwards. Had my first follow up with my surgeon this afternoon, and he is pleased with the healing, etc., etc. The swelling I continue to have is normal. Suggestion: drink water, move around, it will get better. The itchiness I am experiencing is normal. Suggestion: drink water, stay cool, take Benedryl, it will get better. The dizziness I am experiencing is normal. Suggestion: drink water, move around, eat more, get up slowly, ease up on the narcotics, take the prescribed Iron, it will get better. My tight feeling va-jay-jay is normal. Suggestion: apply ice packs as needed, it will get better (He also said does not look odd to him. He says I may not be used to the way it looks because I can actually see it now. Before the TT, there was excess skin above it the hid it lower between my legs.) I am now free to shower. Any steri-stips that fall off or get loose are to be covered over with a new steri-strip until my next appt on Jan 8th. Am to continue using my arm compression garment, sports bra & abdominal binder. When the tech was changing my dressings, I started to itch really badly. It seemed to get worse as the appointment went on. By the time we were walking to the car in the parking lot, it was so bad I was almost crying. Mr. drove us to the closest pharmacy and bought me a rapid-acting liqui-gel Benedryl. Within 10 minutes I was feeling better, and in another 20 minutes the itchiness was gone. BENEDRYL PEOPLE. BENEDRYL IS YOUR FRIEND. (but it does make me quite sleepy). My long-awaited shower was a tandem one, as Mr. insisted he be there in case I pass out or something. I didn't pass out. But I did have him wash my hair. I am anxious to stand up straight as the sore back is screaming at me. And I thought I would be able to do so by the time our annual 5-xmas-parties-over-3-days party marathon kicks off tomorrow night but its looking like its not going to happen...

It will un stall (is that a word) been stalled a few times - but they let loose after about 8 days I agree the working out is really doing the job I am on week 3 of cross fit and can already tell

Sleeved 11/11 and only 20lbs down slow and steady wins the race is what they tell me.everyone looses at different rates just stick to your plan and the weight will come off Sent from my SM-J260A using BariatricPal mobile app

aww...sorry to hear about your continued troubles with that wretched garment of yours! Perhaps your Dr. can give you some ace bandages to use instead? Or maybe he/she'll say you don't even have to wear anything anymore *crosses fingers*. I took the boob bandages off a couple hours ago cuz the itching was driving me crazy. Happy to report no blisters! I replaced the bandages with a previously approved sports bra, which fits looser than it did before...does this mean my boobs got even smaller???? To me they look the same size, just perkier and higher...am going to need to get re-measured later to figure out. And with the boob bandages gone, the arm garment/shrug is loose again across the bodice, but the sports bra is at least keeping it in place (am wearing the bra over the arm garment/shrug). I'm sooooooo looking forward to my own shower today! My surgeon says when drains come out, I can shower...which is in exactly in 8 hours and 18 minutes from now. Were you able to reach up and wash your hair on your own?

Did you drink enough this week? Check your logs. I had a severe shin splint problem after I took a winter break from running outside. Despite my diet being the same, and drinking the same, and loosing weight, I was killing myself with pain. It turned out that, I *never* was drinking enough Water. As I lost weight over the winter, I also lost water reserves associated with fat. My problem was that I needed to drink much more water than was I was dieting with. Treadmills also engage different muscles than being outside. I forget the muscles specifically, when outside, you must give yourself forward movement. It might feel the same, but on a treadmill, you do not have to use those muscles as much and other other muscles get stressed more. That is the commonly speculated reason why treadmills seem harder. You might not have enough water to process the nutrients for the muscles being used more, or your pathways have not adjusted yet. Make sure you have enough water.

Circumferential LBL which will include TT, lower back skin, and butt lift. Probably a breast lift and might need implants too because I pretty much have nothing left after WL. Good news is that this extended arm lift has helped with side boob and actually it seems as if upper back skin is better so shouldn't need to combine breast lift with upper back lift. Depending on how LBL turns out then maybe inner thigh surgery.

The gas actually releases through your skin. Walking and moving are the best way to move it along. Your body will be taking the next few weeks to readjust. Best of luck with the rest of your recovery!

More micro-improvements today. Reaching a little higher, standing a little straighter. Getting up and down from a seated/laying position is no big deal, and apparently I'm speed walking. The Kid called me "Energizer Grandma" when she saw me high-tail it to toilet hunched over with my cane cuz I had to pee so bad after a nap. Took a narcotic pain med this morning, and I think that is the last of them for me. Gonna just stick with the Tylenol now, not just for the minor aches, but for this non-stop dizziness I'm still experiencing. Been doing laps around the kitchen every hour and that seems to help both the achiness and dizziness, but the head spinning comes back soon after I sit down (unless I lay down) and the achiness comes back if I stay too still too long. My right arm & hand is no longer swollen, but my left forearm still is, and the left hand just barely...but at least now I can see the wrinkles on my knuckles again! My va-jay-jay is also feeling so much less tight, but is still looking up at me when I look down in a seated position. I did not notice before, but my thighs are actually a little swollen. My boobs continue to be a non issue. My drains are draining very little now. One drain has collected maybe 10 mls since 9:00pm last night (about 21 hours) and the other one has collected even less in the same period. Both are coming out tomorrow, so I'm definitely looking forward to that. I was feeling this unbearable itch on my left shoulder blade under the ace bandage wrapped around my boobs and Mr. went digging under there to scratch it for me. He found what he thinks is a popped blister right underneath the velcro that was touching my skin there. He put some gel on it, covered it with a band-aid and put a piece of cotton bandage between my skin and the Ace. I'm now thinking I've got a bunch of blisters under all these bandages. Can't wait to see what the incisions look like when they change my dressings tomorrow...one more sleep!

with the amount of excess skin I had, I'm pretty sure only traditional plastic surgery would have worked (which I had...). Maybe if you just had a tiny bit of excess skin it might work, but I'm not sure. I'm not all that familiar with it.

Has anyone fibro blasting for skin tightening? How did it work and r u willing to share pics?

Does anyone have a great program for building lean muscle mass? I want to make my skin look better but I don't want to get huge.

Does anyone mind sharing their total cost for mexico surgery? I want to do lower and upper body? Also would love to hear about experience and down time.

In 1998 I had a VBG, which is like a sleeve and a band together. I lost 100 pound in 8 months and by month 16 I was at 155. So, yes you can loose indefinitely if you follow your plan!

Hi everyone, Hope that the holidays are joyous. I need some help getting back on track. I had gastric sleeve in 2015 and lost over 100 pounds. I started excercising, was doing really well until this year. I ended up having some serious joint pain issues and started on prednisone. That med worked wonders for reducing the inflammation in my joints BUT it made me feel as hungry as a pregnant cow....and I craved sweets. I ate. This coupled with getting married and now going through a divorce...has has me stress eating. My lowest weight was 168 and now I am at 205. I started at 300. I refuse to gain anymore weight back. This has been the HARDEST time in my life to loose this extra weight. Anyone over 4 years out have any tips for when hunger returns? After year four from getting sleeved my hunger just all of a sudden returned. And then the medication didn't help. Also going through the marital stress was another factor. I've REcommitted myself to getting back on track. I even went to the weight loss doctor for help with food cravings. Y'all tell me what works for you and help me with your tips. Thanks

How much weight did you manage to loose?

Hi, i am on regular diet and i have started to eat fish,prawns,chicken.. but as for the rice still has to be a little soft..As for the chicken(only meat) as the skin is quite hard to digest.

Everyone (who knows) asks me if I am glad I had surgery.... HECK YEAH! 15 1/2 weeks post op. For the first 2 1/2 months, I lost weight at a quicker than average pace according to what is expected. Then I went through 4 weeks of barely loosing. The scale would go down 1/2-1 pound, then up 2-3 pounds for an entire week, then I would drop 1/2 -1 pounds below that lowest weight that I accomplished the week before. Then I would go up another 2-3 pounds for another week and repeat. It was frustrating, but I knew my body would slow down at some point to "catch up". I also knew that while the scale was barely moving, my body shape was still changing. To date: I lost 21 pounds in the 2 months pre-op. I have lost 48.5 pounds post op. That puts me at a total weight loss of 69.5 pounds since May. I am already BELOW my doctors projected goal weight. I am at a weight that if I stayed here, I would be fairly happy. And then I am only 23.5 pounds away from my IDEAL (in my mind) goal weight. Everyone is commenting on how great I look and it is obvious I lost a lot of weight. People are funny. There are those who know I had surgery and those who are thrilled for me. There are those who know who are jealous I think who needed the surgery more than I do who won't talk to me or say a word (whatever lol). Then there are those who do not know who are obviously noticing and afraid to say anything. And of course, the last group who hesitates before saying "you lost a lot of weight" followed by the long pause "are you OK?" LOL To them I just smile and say "Yes, I lost a lot of weight. I fixed some problems that I had and it is finally coming off". Their reactions are kind of amusing. Today, I decided I needed to buy a couple pairs of jeans because none of my old clothes fit me anymore. The clothes I bought in late October no longer fit me any more either. What size did I buy today??? Size EIGHT pants and MEDIUM tops! And they ALL FIT WONDERFULLY! (I am HALF my dress/pants size of 16!!!) I even bought some fun dresses. I don't wear dresses, but I am excited to get these. My shoe size has also shrank. My feet are at least 1/2 to maybe 1 full size smaller. They are actually a little on the bony side right now. I don't remember them ever being this skinny lol. The other new thing that I have noticed? My legs not only look much skinnier, but they are a bit "jiggly" lol. Never before have I been so excited to have my calves jiggle LMAO. My daughter was excited that they jiggle lol. And today, I also took out my "mothers ring" that I haven't worn in nearly a decade. It fits perfectly again. So yeah... VSG??? Best decision ever. Even if I can't eat all of the foods I love!

Hope you don't mind, but commenting here A total of 400g of skin & fat was removed, though he said it was mostly skin Holy crap that's a tiny amount (0.88 lbs for my fellow Americans). For contrast I had 4.5 lbs removed from my LBL. I'm an inch taller and about 15 lbs (pre surgery) heavier than @ms.sss There was only a "little bit" of muscle tightening done on my abdomen I'll have to ask my surgeon how my muscle were. He predicted I had no real need for tightening (I told him to anyway, cause I want a wasp waist please). I wonder if resistance to diastasis recti is genetic? I assumed mine was because I've never had children. But I was talking to my mom, and she performed the "test" my surgeon did for me (basically how much of difference does "sucking in" make), and she doesn't seem to have much if any diastasis recti either despite pregnancy and weight fluctuations. There was minimal lipo on my flanks and pubis, and no lipo on my arms nor stomach So interesting your surgeon did lipo. Mine didn't as I he didn't feel there was much if any benefit. And you are far leaner than I am. He had predicted pre-surgery that I would not need to have the drains in very long due to my size I wasn't aware of the connection, but when I mentioned my lack of swelling to my surgeon he said it is due to my lower BMI. Apparently fat swells more than any other tissue.

@rs : just thought of another thing to ask you...you mentioned that it hurt you to pull on and off the garment...are your incisions covered? I have a multitude of perpendicularly placed steri-strips all covered with these silicone gel-type pads. The garment that I have slips right over them (mind you it is a little loose on me, but still).

Everyday, usually in the morning, usually multiple times and it’s usually pretty loose!

So some info I forgot to share since getting discharged yesterday: During my last in-hospital chat with my surgeon he mentioned the following tidbits: I was the smallest, if not the smallest person he has performed body contouring on. (but not the smallest person he's performed any surgery on because he also does alot of reconstructive surgeries on burn patients ). He and the team kept exclaiming how "tiny" I was all throughout registration, and throughout the lead up to the surgeries. A total of 400g of skin & fat was removed, though he said it was mostly skin. There was only a "little bit" of muscle tightening done on my abdomen There was minimal lipo on my flanks and pubis, and no lipo on my arms nor stomach. He ended up performing some corrections on my left nipple as well as my right. My right nipple was in a weird state from a previous breast reduction: there was thick scarring or something with a fold that sort of inverted one side of it. Anyhoo, he said he fixed the right nipple, and that he also made the left one smaller so that it would match in size (the left was already bigger than the wonky right one going into this round of surgery, and the fix made it look even bigger, so he addressed the issue by resizing it). He had predicted pre-surgery that I would not need to have the drains in very long due to my size. On discharge day, he said the drains could probably come out the next day, but it being a Saturday, and he not being available, he said I can wait until Monday. Boo. Too bad because I hate these things. Some MacGyver tips: My mom gave Mr. her cane to let me use for a couple days when he came to pick me up at the hospital. That thing was/is a life saver! Not that I needed it to actually walk, but it was cool to have to lean on and hold my body weight when my back got strained and I needed to take a break mid-walk. As an aside, if I could have got my hands on a walker it would have been better as it would be more stable, but I still love me this cane. Travel neck pillows are awesome to use to make the transition from sleeping incline to reading/laptop-use incline much easier, and not have to re-arrange so many pillows (I didn't need to stay in a recliner after all, just the bed with pillows was enough) A low stool at the side of the bed also is useful to get in and out of it My ace bandages were making me itch on my arms, so I put on a compression garment on and then wrapped the bandages on top. The plan was to return these garments because i think they are little too big on me as the shoulders keep sliding off and then the arms slide down. But I guess its good I didn't get around to returning them yet because putting it between my skin and the bandages has eliminated the itch problem. It does however, now fit nicely across my chest (it didn't before) because I've got ace bandages wrapped around my boobs. I'll probably ask my mom to tailor them since I've used them now. I am pleasantly surprised that I can feel me getting better with each passing day (if not hour!). I am sooooo much less hunched over today! And my arm movement range has also improved. Still can't reach the second shelf in the cupboards, but this morning, I could brush my hair (just the sides and back though, lol) I do have a near constant (mild) feeling of dizziness though. I think its the pain meds and all the laying down. Am making myself do laps around the kitchen every hour and will just take one narcotic today (vs. the two), hopefully the dizziness improves. I am not all that hungry and haven't really eaten much since the day before surgery. I'm likely sub-400 cals for the past 3 days. I am also not getting in as much water as I'd like to. I am going on 5 days poop-less as of today.

****** I had meant to write the entry below as a blog entry at first, but I ended up posting it to the thread "A Tale of Two Arm Lifts (rs & ms.sss)" yesterday instead. Anyway, I am now including it here as originally planned ****** Get comfortable, this is a long one... So here is the additional backstory info to my PS journey: So I ended up getting a last-minute Tummy Tuck two days ago (Dec 18), along with my arm and breast lift. Back in June 2019, when I initially scheduled my procedures, I was going to get an arm lift, a breast lift (to address side boob skin), and a tummy tuck. The tummy tuck was actually partially covered by provincial insurance. Basically the panniculectomy part was covered and I we only need to pay out of pocket for muscle tightening or any required Lipo. But sometime around August or September, I decided to forego the tummy tuck because I thought that I could live with the state my stomach was in, and I didn't want to have more surgery if I didn't really need to. So I called my surgeons office and let them know. Fast forward four months later and I'm at the registration desk at the hospital on surgery day. I'm signing all the papers, and one of them is a confirmation surgery procedure form and lo and behold the tummy tuck is still on there. Apparently, the fact that the tummy tuck was removed was not properly communicated to the hospital. (As an aside, this is a perfect example of why confirmation of surgeries is necessary at registration!!) I had a discussion with my surgeon: he said the OR is already booked and set up for all three procedures including the tummy tuck. So if I wanted to, we could go ahead as originally planned back in June, or not. Whatever I decided was fine with him. If I didn't want the tummy tuck, there would be some paperwork to do beforehand, but it was doable since the OR was booked for all 3 procedures, and there was time to do the paperwork/system corrections and still complete the arm and breast lifts in that time. So now I had a discussion with Mr.: It wouldn't really cost much more, and they were all set up for it already anyway, so why not? It's funny because the decision making process felt like when you're in a grocery store line and decide to buy that pack of gum at the checkout. It's been almost 48 hours since the completion of my surgeries...here's what's happened so far: Day 0: Got to hospital at 7am and all the above happened. I got on the operating table at 9:30am, and don't know what time I woke up at recovery. The surgery was supposed to be 4 hours. All I remember was that it was 4pm when I got rolled into my room. That first night after the surgeries was relatively pain-free as I was drugged up and in bed the entire time. I slept a lot but not for very long periods of time. They put these leg type massagers on my legs that work kind of like a blood pressure cuff. Each one inflates a chamber with air starting from ankle to thigh, to squeeze my leg nicely and then deflates. Then the other one on the other leg does the same thing. Its to promote circulation and prevent blood clots. I've had them on the entire time (except when going to bathroom or taking a short walk) and I LOVE THEM. I want to buy one of these contraptions for home! The nurse said that I am the first patient she's met that likes these things. Which I find hard to believe because these things are awesome. Didn't eat anything all day, other than Water, a cup of tea and 1/2 an unsweetened apple juice box. Day 1: Now the next day I felt the pain for the first time when my drugs wore off and I had to get out of bed to go to the washroom (they took my catheter out). Oh. My. God. When I twisted my body and put my foot on the ground, I felt like I was being stabbed in my hip with a large knife. It was so painful that when I walked I couldn't put my heel down. I had to do I sort of walk–tiptoe shuffle to the toilet. So first lesson: do not twist your body. Because of the tummy tuck, I have to walk hunched over and this quickly puts a strain on your back. So second lesson: walk with the help of your IV pole/cane/walker/buddy. I have 2 drains in my tummy, which are mildly annoying. I forgot about them once when I got out of bed and pulled on one a bit which caused some bleeding. Boo. I was surprised that I could move my arms relatively freely and pain free. I could even put weight on my arms to lift myself out of bed, type on my laptop, feed myself, and go to the washroom by myself. I may not have been very efficient, but I could do it. Also, I could brush my teeth but not my hair. Nor could i adjust my head pillows. Basically anything where I have to raise my arms above shoulder height is a no-go. My boobs didn't/don't hurt at all. As if nothing was even done there. I got to see all the work done when the nurse changed my dressings. My arms are tiny. My boobs are nice and perky with matching nipples (my previous breast reduction had one of the nipples wrinkle/fold over at the outer edge and my guy fixed it). My tummy is wrinkle free and my new belly button looks better than the old one. My inner thighs from the front has been smoothed out! This was an unexpected bonus My va-jay-jay, however, is quite "perky". When I look down sitting in bed it stares right up at me. My nurse said she noticed it was swollen. She said it is a combination of being yanked up and the use of the stomach binder. Didn't show it to surgeon this first day, but will remember to bring i up when I see him before I leave. Today I had a cup of coffee, 1/2 a chicken breast and some beef Jerky. Day 2: Now today I feel exponentially better. I got an a good seven hours of continuous sleep. When I woke up I could feel that my pain meds had worn off but I was able to get out of bed and walk to the washroom just fine. I can tell I'm walking much faster now and am much less hunched over. I could probably skip the pain meds from now on but I think based on @sillykitty's comments, i'll take them for another day or so. Mr. has already filled my prescriptions, so I may as well take them. I'll play it by ear. I find that the only real pain I get is from twisting my torso. I can easily do a sit up or leg lift motion pain free, but if I twist in any way, I get a sharp pain. Everything else is bearable. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd say my pain level is about 1.5. Compare this to the pain of WLS recovery, which I would have given an 8 at its worst. They took the IV out this morning because my swollen hands were basically embedding that entry thing into my flesh and it was starting to hurt. They tried to put a new one in twice but couldn't find a vein because I'm too swollen. They asked if I was OK with them trying a third time, and I was all, No Thanks. IV insertion hurts, man! So they are off finding an alternate antibiotic to administer without an IV. I'm supposed to be discharged sometime today but honestly I'd rather stay because I love these leg massager things. Plus I like the adjustable hospital bed! Anyway just hanging around now waiting for my surgeon and next instructions. P.S. I ate 1/2 an omelette & a peach yogurt cup so far today.

I know it depends on your weight but I'm still curious