Had my surgery on Friday! Feeling pretty good but I am still relying on the drugs! I had an Exparel shot that supposedly lasts 3 days so that should be wearing off and then I will just have the hydrocodon they gave me to take by mouth. I have my first follow up appointment on Tuesday so that will be the first time I get a chance to see anything. I was able to see that my backside is much tighter, no sag!

Quick Thoughts:

1- Drains. Kind of a pain but not as bad as I thought they would be. That doesn't mean I don't want them gone now but they are tolerable

2- Pain. I think it is way to early to say considering the meds

3- Mobility- Toughest part is getting in an out of bed

4- Results- Can't say yet

5- Nausea- I am fortunate, I have had non

6- Eating- Not very hungry but I am just doing Protein shakes and yogurt

7- Restroom- Dreading having to sit for the first time, that is going to be painful

8- Would I do it again?? NO QUESTION!!! Absolutely!!!!!!

Fiddleman…..thank you very much for the compliment.

Great question, but as you know there is no secret. Month to date I have spent 22.8 hours on the treadmill for a total of 119.28 miles. I only have missed one day this month and many days it is twice. My diet certainly slips on the weekends but tends to be just about perfectly clean monday thru friday .

I have said it before, i am not a runner, i am a finisher…..i have races planned on my calendar for the whole year so it helps keep me accountable to train for them. i just secured a spot via lottery for the philadelphia broad street run in may which is a 10 miler and the week after i have the st michaels md half marathon. i am not concerned with either of those, i know i got those but i am training for the baltimore marathon in october……i am seriously concerned with that one!!! there are days when i run 7 on the treadmill and then i think if it were race day i would have 19 more to go and it scares the bejesus out of me!!

just like all of us….i was very heavy and right now i have food and exercise in complete check. everything is right in the world but i know i have a demon that lives in me and so far i am winning the battle in a life long war. i have read all of the stories where folks have lost thru their goal weight and maintained it for a while then put some back on…..i realize that is a complete reality. i am just trying my best.

this board helps

Scout...I have my body lift consolation tomorrow. If you could do that all over again, what questions might you ask?

Edited February 24, 201412 yr by much2gain

I love reading your guys stories. I still have about 30 pounds to go until I hit my goal and then I want to get plastic surgery toward the end of this year.

How long were any of you off from work. Luckily I'm behind a desk in my job and don't have to worry too much about lifting, but having an idea would be helpful.

much2gain….

that is a great question because i met with a few docs before i actually selected ultimately who i used.

it was basic stuff like an estimate of how long he felt the surgery was going to be to did he feel as though my abdominal muscles needed to be worked on while he was in there. i wish i had more time because i know i have a list and it might be at my office because i would be more than happy to email it to you.

at the end of the day, it comes down to a feel when you are in that consult. my surgeon offered referrals that i could call of his patients that had the same procedure and that was truly helpful. because, every doc is so different. i can tell you that my guy talked about belly button reconstruction for 5-10 mins and i thought if he was taking that level of detail on just the belly button imagine his passion for everything else. we talked in depth about the amount of surgeries he does and what percentage is body work versus face work.

most of my questions were about recovery and i will tell you as prepared as i thought i was…….i wasn't. things happened that we didn't foresee. my swelling, the drains coming lose prematurely, how out of it i was the following week due to the length of time i was under (5 and a half hours)

feel free to reach out if you have any questions that you don't want to post here…..i would be more than happy to answer them and give you as much candid feedback as i can

I WILL TELL YOU THIS…….AS MUCH OF A PAIN IN THE A$$ AS THE RECOVERY IS…….IT IS ALL WORTH IT

aayers88

i am lucky, i own my own business so i did my surgery at my slowest time of the year (dec thru early jan)

it is a desk job as well but i will say that it was 5 weeks before i could do a full day.

part of the delay is getting tired around 1:00 - 2:00 and i had a swelling issue that has been pretty well documented in this thread so i spent a fair amount of time on my back with my feet up (that reads pretty funny and even funnier to type, dirty mind i guess)

having an employer that would let you be flexible and work a little from home would be a HUGE help if you could set that up

GOOD LUCK….those last 30 can be the toughest!!!

Ok thanks for the info... I must say that they have been tough. Even though this is a sucky excuse this winter has been rough and I haven't been exercising like I should have been but I'm getting back in the swing of things. Good luck with the dr Appt!

Hi Scout,

I had plastic surgery in June 2013. I signed up for my first 15k back in October 2013. and will be running on March 1, 2014. I signed up for it because after my LBL I was having a hard time getting motivated to exercise due to lack of energy. I would also hurt on certain places on my body when I would jog, so I postponed jogging and I would wait a while and try again later.

Now, recently, am at a point in my recovery where I can jog and even run, which means I have trained very little for this race on Saturday. Just to see if I could do it, I ran/jog 8 miles on last Saturday. I felt like I had just won an Olympic medal after that.

Do you have any suggestions for me, or any recommendations for me. I am so nervous!!

Thanks,

Sweetpee

Sweetpee….

First: 8 miles is AWESOME!!

Second: If you just did 8 on your own, doing another mile and a third in a race setting will be NO PROBLEM! The adrenaline of the environment will carry you to the finish line!

Back in November I was signed up for a 10 mile race and at the time the longest I had run was a little over 6 on the treadmill and the 10 mile was not overly difficult. It wasn't a walk in the park but it wasn't ridiculously tough either. Having said that, up to the time I was running a great deal but it was a difference of 4 miles…you only need to add a little more than a mile.

If you are feeling like you are hitting a wall……walk for a few mins an recharge..

YOU CAN DO IT...

I wish you nothing but good luck!!!!

Make sure you let me know how you make out...

Thank you so much!!!

I will let you know how it feels to cross the finish line in my first 'marathon'

1 day shy of 12 weeks.....this is after a shower and a 5 mile run so the scar is always a little more red than flesh colored. Still wearing the Oleeva silicone scar strips, you can see them in the foreground of the picture. He (the surgeon) said to keep wearing them. Also, he said the binder helps the scar heal. I have still been wearing it a good bit. Not ALL the time, in a strange way it's comforting. Can't really explain it. Saw my surgeon on Tuesday and he was very pleased with the progress. He did point out that on both of my hips the scar was a little wider. He said he pulled so tight that as it healed it spread a bit. We are going to look at it at my next visit and he said something about a short revision surgery if it bothered me. We didn't talk about it any further at this meeting. My assumption is that it is more a cosmetic thing than to tighten me up further.

Till next time....good luck. Keep moving and losing (or maintaining). Lol

Scout.. ? I had surgery on 12/12 and I'm still swelling I am up 7lbs I started running again (training for a half marathon at the end of March) I know the weight is water swelling cause if I take a water pill I loose it all but gain it all back with in 3 days.. I have increased my water and keep my compression shorts on but is there something Im Doing wrong? My dr too is not concerned ( you can swell for 6-9 months) I just hate this puffy feeling and I weigh more now than before surgery . I was 3 years out from my sleeve surgery and had never gained. I had maintained for 2 years before this surgery and to see the scale go up and not come down is freaking me out! I just need someone to tell me it's going to get better..

meagain3,

here is what i will tell you but please know this is my opinion from my experience only…...

i waited 18 days after my last sign of swelling before i began walking……i walked for 2 weeks before i started jogging and another week before i started running.

i know that you are excited and need the training for the half marathon but if you are not ready don't push it. get rid of that swelling….there are plenty of races out there!!!

weight:

On friday i weighed in at for the first time at a weight below my pre surgery weight by 2 pounds and i have been working out like a maniac. i am doing my best not to be beholden to the scale. it is a complete mental thing….i went to a facility that has a Bod Pod and had my body composition tested. i am going to try and stay off the scale because as you know with all of this working out putting on a little muscle may throw off the scale results and my fragile psyche can't take it. it sounds like you are exactly like me!!

in summary:

I will give you want you wanted……IT ABSOLUTELY WILL GET BETTER. In my opinion you just have to take 1 step back to move 2 forward with the working out and swelling.

also, it is my interpretation when they say swelling can last 6-8 months or even up to a year they are not referencing the type of swelling that you and i experienced in our lower extremities. that type of swelling is the body dealing with the trauma of the surgery and is different than the above the scar swelling post op. again, that is me and far from a medical opinion

stay in touch!!

BTW: what half marathon are you considering at the end of march???

Sweetpee…. First: 8 miles is AWESOME!! Second: If you just did 8 on your own, doing another mile and a third in a race setting will be NO PROBLEM! The adrenaline of the environment will carry you to the finish line! Back in November I was signed up for a 10 mile race and at the time the longest I had run was a little over 6 on the treadmill and the 10 mile was not overly difficult. It wasn't a walk in the park but it wasn't ridiculously tough either. Having said that, up to the time I was running a great deal but it was a difference of 4 miles…you only need to add a little more than a mile. If you are feeling like you are hitting a wall……walk for a few mins an recharge.. YOU CAN DO IT... I wish you nothing but good luck!!!! Make sure you let me know how you make out...

I crossed the finish line and it was the best feeling ever!!!!

Congrats!!! That is soooooo cool…..you have so much to be proud of!!!

15 weeks today. I always forget to take a picture before a shower. The heat and humidity of the shower bring out the redness. In some areas the scar is already just faded flesh color. 2 spots on my side are a little too big for my liking and a little purplish in color so we are going to do a small revision surgery on those spots

Happy Spring!!!