All through the preop. Talked with the surgicenter nurse. First case. 6:30 am. Scheduled for 3 hours. Dr said probably 2.5. Amazing. Lower body lift with breast lift and implants in 2.5 hours

Getting through the weekend will be interesting. I'm too busy in the week to think about it. Eeeeeeaaaaappppp

Glad to hear you are back at work. Doc's orders make sense, wouldn't want to jeopardize your results. Congrats on all your milestones this week.

Glad to hear you are back at work. Doc's orders make sense, wouldn't want to jeopardize your results. Congrats on all your milestones this week.

Erp, I am notorious for taking soft medical instructions and bending them to suit me. I was dancing in my sling 2 weeks after rotator cuff repair. I wasn't even lowed to drive! I healed at the 98th percentile. Fantastic for that surgery. Bad news for this one. It doesn't translate. Lol.

I am so glad I asked for boundaries and had a more in depth conversation about risks/benefits. I have easily let go. I'm officially a rule follower.

Who knew that grocery shopping could cause so much soreness. I overloaded the cart because I'm the only one who can REALLY grocery shop and it's been 3 weeks :

So turning the corners to go from isle to isle took a toll. I got stuck in the back of the store. Lol. I made a straight line to the check out. Had a carry out and family unloaded at home. I'm def sore. I'm surprised!

Who knew that grocery shopping could cause so much soreness. I overloaded the cart because I'm the only one who can REALLY grocery shop and it's been 3 weeks : So turning the corners to go from isle to isle took a toll. I got stuck in the back of the store. Lol. I made a straight line to the check out. Had a carry out and family unloaded at home. I'm def sore. I'm surprised!

3 weeks for many surgeries is enough time to be back on your feet and doing a little groceryshopping. Not this surgery! I completely understand. Smiling!! Go slow!

You all heard me whine about how slow recovery was..seemed like forever. I just got back from vacation now at 5 months post op and I can say the results were worth it!!!! Patience really counts in recovery from LBL.

I'm defiantly hitting that transition time where I feel fussy. I know that means a big change is coming. I just wish is hit that milestone already. Well it might have a little to do with vacation next week

So I had all my hair cut off. It was the middle of my back. Now it's at my jawline. I love it. I thought it's be a good, strong distraction for ppl who will notice that something is different and then think it's the hair. LOL

Really, the DHEA dried my hair out. Even though I was getting regular cuts, my hair really dried out on the ends and it kept getting worse. When the surgeon told me to stop losing weight, I was able to stop the DHEA. I think my hair and skin will be much improved.

I hope to get pictures on vacation next week.

I'm five weeks yesterday. Yesterday and today are swell hell with a side of muscle spams.

I'm also noticing that with all the numbness and nerve damage, I am back to being very cold. My nervous system can't regulate my body temp.

I'm eating nonstop because I'm hungry!!!

I'm on vacation.

I thought I was takin it pretty darn easy, for me. I am humbled in this recovery.

This surgery will make the strongest, stubbornest individual realize that our body is in complete control, and we must humbly follow along, no matter if we are willing participants or not.

Give it some time. You will be back in the drivers seat in a few more months. Until then, just happily and meekly go along for the ride.

Sweet pea did you get super hungry? I've had 2 days of insatiable hunger. I've also been quite active relative to earlier recovery. The surgeon told me this would happen. I just want to hear it from a WLS-LBL patient. KWIM?

I am not sweetpee but Cbt my insatiable hunger happened in the early weeks post op. Others lose weight during the "high burn" but I maintained being so hungry. I stayed focused on Protein but ate often!

So most of us are cleared for activity at 6-8 weeks but I will share a warning of some ladies in my FB support group who caused themselves complications after 6 weeks by way over doing it. I sometimes think I was way wimpy as I waited more like 12 weeks plus to resume horses, farm work, and hard workouts but I did manage to avoid complications. I had mega procedures done at once including the LBL. Anyway main message is that recovery is slower than it seems..

Sweet pea did you get super hungry? I've had 2 days of insatiable hunger. I've also been quite active relative to earlier recovery. The surgeon told me this would happen. I just want to hear it from a WLS-LBL patient. KWIM?

Hi CBT,

Hunger is just a signal trying to tell you that your body needs something. I hate it when I am hungry, then I eat a few bites, get full, but still feel like I need to eat more. That means I am lacking a particular nutrient that my body needs.

I made sure I supplemented, because I knew it was important, especially after my surgery. I was not hungry because I supplemented my nutritional needs when I was in recovery. As soon as I arrived home from the hospital I started juicing vegetables and fruits which contains vital micronutrients that supported my body during the healing phase. All of my nutritional needs were met by doing this. I could not meet my nutritional needs by eating food alone, because of my tiny tummy and the compression garment. I could not hold very much food. There is no way I could have met my daily nutritional needs, plus have extra nutrients to support my healing body by eating only food. My body was demanding a lot! (Smile)

I also supplemented with a whole food vitamin- mineral supplement. I also used a green vegan Protein powder supplement, 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, 1 raw egg, colostrum powder, and collagen powder daily to help support the soft tissue healing process. It may seem like a lot, but the scoops in the containers were very small, so a little for me lasted a long time.

If you are craving specific foods, your body is probably craving a particular nutrient. Listen to you body. It is very intelligent! I know when I want a banana, I might need more potassium, or oranges, I need Vitamin C. I prefer to eat the orange, because they are my favorite. You get my point.

Listen to your body and find out what it is lacking and go from there. I hopes this helps. Smile

Happy healing,

Sweet Pee

Thank you for taking the time to write your thoughtful reply. It really does help to process with others.

I'm not craving per say. Just had 2 days of hunger. Today was less. I did a moderate 2 mile hike so I'm curious to see how hungry I am tomorrow.

I'm having abdominal defused edema in the afternoon and at night. Still wearing binder. The swelling and the binder impact how much I eat at any sitting, for sure.

I do supplement at home. Too much to fuss with on vacation, though. Lol.

Abdominal defused edema? I'm guessing it's belly swelling of done sort... Can you tell me more about it?

CBT- I too am always hungry and have been over eating. My band helps to the amount but I seem to be eating constantly. My DR. said My body needs the extra calories to help with healing.

Abdominal defused edema? I'm guessing it's belly swelling of done sort... Can you tell me more about it?

You got it right. It's scattered belly swelling that isn't a seroma and only in the abdomen.

The surgeon says at 12 weeks the previously cut lymphatic drain channels will have established and that's the first significant decrease in swelling patients notice.

Some people's bodies are better at absorbing fluid in other ways, too. Hence the "swelling for up to a year but mostly 3-6 months" chat we get.