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!!!!!!

I am 3weeks out from abdominal skin removal and I felt great so I went for a longer walk than normal and ending up walking 3 miles .. That was this morning .. Tonight I feel horrible. I'm so swollen in my hips legs and pubic area. My skin feels so tight and I feel yucky I can't explain it just don't feel good. I have completely scared my self;( and wondering how to know what too much is before it's too much? I felt great the whole time

I was walking. And now that I have done too much now what don't do? Im going to sleep in the recliner tonight with feet up hoping this helps and took a pain pill which I had stopped taking. Any suggestions?

I am 3weeks out from abdominal skin removal and I felt great so I went for a longer walk than normal and ending up walking 3 miles .. That was this morning .. Tonight I feel horrible. I'm so swollen in my hips legs and pubic area. My skin feels so tight and I feel yucky I can't explain it just don't feel good. I have completely scared my self;( and wondering how to know what too much is before it's too much? I felt great the whole time I was walking. And now that I have done too much now what don't do? Im going to sleep in the recliner tonight with feet up hoping this helps and took a pain pill which I had stopped taking. Any suggestions?

You gotta take it easy. It's hard to know how much is too much. You almost have to use trial and error. Except we need to err on the side of caution and not push our luck.

I am 3weeks out from abdominal skin removal and I felt great so I went for a longer walk than normal and ending up walking 3 miles .. That was this morning .. Tonight I feel horrible. I'm so swollen in my hips legs and pubic area. My skin feels so tight and I feel yucky I can't explain it just don't feel good. I have completely scared my self;( and wondering how to know what too much is before it's too much? I felt great the whole time I was walking. And now that I have done too much now what don't do? Im going to sleep in the recliner tonight with feet up hoping this helps and took a pain pill which I had stopped taking. Any suggestions?

You gotta take it easy. It's hard to know how much is too much. You almost have to use trial and error. Except we need to err on the side of caution and not push our luck.

Thanks ya I felt good so I thought walking more would be ok.. Any suggestions for helping the swelling?

Drink lots of fluids. Cut back on sodium. Keep the swollen parts elevated and wear compression garments on them. If it's your legs, do like the op did and buy some under armour compression tights that are a size too small. That should help.

Thank you !! Will do so happy I found this forum!! I appreciate the advise.

meagain3,

butter is dead on the money…….TAKE HIS ADVICE.

I AM CAUTIOUSLY HAPPY TO REPORT:

since the height of my swelling on New Years Eve I am down almost 17 pounds!!! That is some serious swelling!!!

As I mentioned in a previous post the remedies for me were as follows:

1. Rest with feet elevated

2. Water, Water, water which leads to pee, pee, pee

3. Clean diet (little or no sodium)

4. Compression clothing from just about head to toe (I even wore the compression socks they gave me after surgery)

5. I took an over the counter water pill also

When I weighed in I knew it was going to be high because of the swelling but follow this math:

Morning of surgery 168

Weight of skin removed 5

Net 163

New Years Eve 190 (I will admit…I almost broke down in tears because I felt defeated)

Total Gain 27

Weigh in this AM 173.8

Lost 16.2

TO GO 10.8 (I really don't need to be at that weight)

It snowed here last night but I am not budging, I am NOT pushing myself and if I could give anyone a piece of advice I would suggest you don't either. That is the easiest way to set you back. I know, I know, you feel great. Feeling great does not mean you body has healed completely and TRUST ME…..it will fight you back if you push it!!!!

Glad to hear you are doing so well. SO let me ask did this help with your chest, thighs and mons pubis area at all? I was hoping this surgery would help with that as well since my inner thighs are really bad but I'm getting the feeling it's just for the belly, butt area? I have a bad feeling I'll need the inner thigh and a breast reduction as well even after this.

You are correct, this is strictly at belly, butt, and pubis area fix. Your chest and inner thighs will not see any help from this procedure at all. I asked my surgeon about my inner thighs as well (which were not that bad but I wanted to get the most down at once) and he told me that it was not worth the risks.

I have a budget of $10k to have something done with my stomach. Do any of you feel I could have a Penni done for that much?

absolutely, you will be able to find someone to help you within your budget. I paid 14k for a complete lower body lift.

Ok. I'm just starting to think about calling around to schedule a consult and the pricing live freaks me out a bit haha. My ideal situation is to have my stomach and arms done at the same time. I'm not sure if they do that type of thing...

I'm pretty sure a penni can be done for 10k. On a side note so how long can you not work out for after the belt lipectomy?

I would think possibly 6 weeks?

Congrats on your tremendous loss and thanks for sharing your plastics story. I too was told by a PS that I should consider a belt lipectomy (aka circumferential lift, or lower body lift) and I'm actually surprised that you opted for that just judging on your before pics. It looks like you were mostly just skin, not fat. I definitely have the nice ole layer of fat under my loose skin that doesn't seem to want to go away.

Your price is excellent, I was quoted about 20K.

I'm still undecided about plastics. I keep thinking about putting my girls thru college on the money I would spend on myself (even tho they are only 11 and 13 it's going to be here before I know it!) and not to mention the pain, the drains (oy! one drain for the VSG was enough to make me crazy for 6 days that I had it!!) and the time off from working out.

Anyway, thanks for sharing your story with us, I truly appreciate it.