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!!!!!!

What doctor did everyone have document skin issues and stuff like that for insurance purposes? PCP, PS, Gastric Bypass surgeon?

Scout thank you for all the information you have shared with us on your plastics journey it has really given me a lot to think about. Thank goodness your swelling is finally gone down. I've been thinking of maybe doing plastics in Mexico to save on money. I had my sleeve done there. But now you have opened my eyes that complications can occur and what would I do with my doctor in Mexico. So many doctors do not want to treat you after someone else has done surgery. I am going to continue on my weight loss, save more money and have my surgery done closer to home. I am also going to continue to watch your journey as long as you continue to share with us. Thank you.

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE:

It has now been a few days over 6 weeks since my LBL. If you want you can go back an read some of the highs and lows but todays notes are to let you know about getting moving again.

Almost 2 weeks ago which would have been a few days prior to 5 weeks post op I met with my surgeon and he asked….."what are you not doing that you want to do?" Obviously my answer was…."I want to start my workouts again". He said that he was clearing me to do whatever I wanted to do but realize that my body could fight back with another round of swelling OR it just might be fine. There was only one way to know, and that was to workout and see what happened. My thoughts was……..screw that!! I didn't want to risk swelling again so I just tried to keep my weight in check by keeping the diet clean. Well I did that for a week and a half and I continued not to experience any swelling!! Yesterday, 1 day beyond my 6 week anniversary, I hit the treadmill. 30 mins @ 3.5mph and a 1% incline. Obviously nothing like my workouts prior to surgery but I wanted to see how my body would react…..drumroll please……I was fine. No swelling! Woke up today and hit the Concept 2 rowing machine for 30 mins and almost 6000 kilometers and then some strength training (Chest, Biceps, and Legs). That was almost 6 hours ago and fortunately no swelling. I am hoping, cautiously, that my issue is behind me.

Moving on….

At my last appointment the doctor also said that I could begin to treat the scar in an effort to begin the visually healing process. His recommendation was to use the silicone strips, he felt in his experience they provided the best results behind laser treatments. I am using the Oleeva brand by Bio Med Sciences. I bought the shapes product, one was the abdominoplasty and one was for brachioplasty. The second was just a straight piece to bridge the gap on my back where the abdominoplasty piece did not go all the way around. I have been using them for a week, and it does appear to me as though they are working. The scar does seem to be lightening. I did buy 2 sets, that should last me around 12 weeks. Regardless of how the scar looks at 12 weeks I will be done, meaning, I will not continue to treat it beyond that. The process is kind of a pain in the a$$.

Binder:

The doctor said the more you wear it the better. I continue to wear it essentially 24 hours per day. I will be seeing my surgeon again in 5 weeks and at that time I think I will ditch it. The binder has never bothered me. I have been wearing spanx for men for so long that the snug feeling of the binder was no issue. I continue to wear the spanx as well. I really feel as though compression garments (top and bottom) have really controlled all facets of the swelling.

Leg Compression Garments:

Still wearing them and probably will continue while working out is new…..

Workouts (part 2)

I plan on taking it easy the next 2 weeks. My plan is to only walk for the next 2 weeks and then I am starting a 15 week Half Marathon Training routine. The race is the weekend of 5/17/14 so I think that will give me plenty of time to get ready.

MY PERSONAL OPINION:

A few people have mentioned that they were thinking of doing Mexico for plastics to save money. I obviously did not do that, I paid for both my VSG and LBL out of pocket. I saved for my VSG (18k ) and paid 4.5k out of pocket for the hospital portion of my plastics and put the balance on CareCredit (using their 18 month 0 interest plan) which is GE Bank.

In hindsight, I see no problem with the VSG in Mexico but with everything I have experienced and pictures I have seen of patients that have had plastics done in Mexico I would NEVER go there for that part. I am not passing judgement and if that is your decision, I wish you nothing but the best. I compare what I look like versus others and there is no comparison, not even by a long shot. In addition, if you do have complications, getting the right care at home may be difficult. At that point you might be wishing you had paid more!!!

Please feel free to reach out or post any questions, I would be happy answer any questions!!

Brett, glad you're doing so well. I applaud your patience in resuming exercise. It is so tempting after not working out for so long, and it is the hardest part of the surgery.....being inactive for so long. I have not had too many negative reactions to resuming exercise. I had one day where I was quite swollen after overdoing it. I also had another day where I realized how little direct ab work I had done (none) when I tried to do some pull ups. Whoa my abs were sore for days. Other than that it's all been great and at 7 weeks since returning to exercise...I'm back to where I was before surgery. It's amazing how fast it comes back.

If I go through with the surgery in New Jersey ,I'll have it done in a surgical center. Last time I was skinny I needed a breast reduction it was so easy and although they lost volume I still get compliments on them/how great the plastic surgeon did(my gynecologist) sorry forgetting of track basically I couldn't imagine not having one night in the hospital. It's crazy because now I might actually get implants. It may seem a bit obsessive but I just want my old body back. And I have it just with tons of extra skin. Forgive me for not being very articulate with my writing… But last time I did have an overnight stay. I have a very close acquaintance who just went to the same surgeon I can't wait to talk to her. And actually see her new boobies.

The scar is not that high as it looks, my waistband is pulled down to show it. The silicone strips are in the foreground on my vanity

How much weight is lost with plastic surgery? 5lbs? 10lbs?

That if course varies from person to person.....my surgeon removed 5 pounds of "stuff" from me during my procedure. The night before my operation my wife and I figured around 3 pounds. We were shocked. I was in a support group meeting for VSG and the presenting plastic surgeon showed a photo of someone that had 35 pounds removed!!! It was after MASSIVE weight loss of course

The scar is not that high as it looks, my waistband is pulled down to show it. The silicone strips are in the foreground on my vanity

Wow your incision looks really good and you healing well. In no time that scar will fade.

I'm 5 weeks post- hysterectomy and had vaginal swelling. It was completely gone by week 3.5. Because of VSG, I'm left with extra skin there too that I didn't realize until recently how bad it looks

My panniculectomy is scheduled for March and now I'm worried about how bad the extra skin will look after more pubic swelling comes & goes.

vogue,

i had pubis extra skin, the surgeon was able to make a vertical cut and it helped a great deal….did it eliminate all of it??? NO. I also still have normal swelling so it should be a few more weeks before I see the final, final, results...

Good luck

Looks great

Wow!!! You look fantastic and you can really tell you've been careful and healing well! It's so exciting! Thanks for sharing the photo.

meagain3, i plan on giving a full update when i have time but i wanted to let you know my swelling has not come back, it has been 2 weeks today since it has subsided. during those 2 weeks i have done everything i could to make sure it didn't. meaning, rest when i could, compression garments, feet up, and a water pill a few times a day. i just got finished with my first cardio in over 6 weeks so i am watching myself very closely this morning. my upper pubic area is still slightly swollen but doing much better than before so since i see the improvement i am chalking that up to typical swelling its funny that you described it as a waterbed because that is exactly what mine looked and felt like. here is what i will tell you…..we are all so different and don't get discouraged that you are having these issues. many people that i talked to did not have the issues with swelling that i did. while they tell you that it is possible to swell in other areas than typical not everyone does. and since we are 2 of the people that have experienced swelling it will go away on its own time and different for each of us. keep doing what you are doing and you will do nothing but help it go away faster. don't get discouraged!!! it gets better…..and it look FABULOUS BKA

I had my 6 week check up today and they removed 50cc of fluid so another week off work and back to DR next week to recheck. Hopefully if will stay gone. They said the water pill will halo the legs swelling but not the fluid that is like a waterbed in the pubic area;( it's all good tho. I do feel good and scar is healing great! So happy to hear how good your doing. I know these are small set backs in the bigger picture. Again thanks for the advise and support!