Weight Gain After Pastics...

[AZDee 138]

Has anyone else noticed weight gain after having a skin removal surgery? When I had my first surgery which was three procedures at once, a lower face/neck lift, a arm lift and a breast lift with implant, I was in such pain that I babied myself with food during recovery. Eating what sounded good and not really noticing fat or carbs, then after recovery I found myself up 10 lbs. rather than being down some weight which I was expecting. Then last year when I had my lower body lift, I told myself I wasn't going to let that happen again, but low and behold that 10 lbs. came back. I have heard there is swelling and that could be part of it. But shouldn't the removed skin take care of that weight? I have a good friend who has had a total body makeover and has had this same thing happen, so it makes me wonder if it's some part of self destruction that's deep inside of us??? I am currently getting in the best shape I can so I will be as fit as possible when I go in for my long thigh lift at the end of summer, and this time it's not going to happen...hopefully.

[CowgirlJane 14,261]

Since I follow a Dr S group on FB, I read ALOT about people's experiences with plastics.

A couple of things, most of us don't have that much skin removed. Seems like 20# but for me, it was only 5.5#

Then, you DO generally have swelling.. often for months. I didn't swell too bad, but did have some.

Extensive plastics take alot of calories to heal (especially protein!). I was HUNGRY I mean really hungry during the healing phase. I had to focus hard to not overeat. It wasn't destructive, it was my body telling me I needed the nutrients to heal. I stayed high Protein and really monitored my intake so i didn't gain weight ... but I didn't lose any either.

Others on the PS forum (private FB page) have LOST weight due to the "afterburn" I just described. I am not sure why - but many say they have no appetite. I don't think that is necessarily better as I want my overall health to be as good as possible and if I need nutrients to heal - I would rather feed the healing process than lose a few pounds.

So for me, I stayed the same but could have easily gained. I do NOT think it was sabatoge, it was genuine physical hunger that declined approx 4-6 weeks post plastics. Remember, i had alot done at once too (LBL, breast, arm lift and a small thigh lift)

[TheRealMeIsHere! 863]

Congrats on the new you!!

I had about 15 lbs of swelling that took probably about 6 or more months to go away. That may be part of your 10lbs. It also sounds like you may need to learn a new way to comfort yourself, other than food. Maybe a counselor could help change your relationship with food?

Good luck with your upcoming surgery

[AvaFern 3,516]

Fortunately, plastics helped me lose instead of gain. Immediately after all three of my surgeries I was about 10 pounds bigger than I weighed that morning because of the Fluid they use and the swelling. I was back to my pre-surgery weight within a week each time. The first time I started at 153 and ended 6 weeks later at 137, where I stayed until my second surgery, after which I balanced out at 133. I then fluctuated between 130-134 until my last surgery, where I started that day in the surgery center at 136 (my scale said 134, lol) and I am now 6 weeks out at 127. I was hyper-conscious of what I ate during my post-op recovery because I knew I couldn't get in a good workout for at least six weeks. I recorded all my food on MyFitnessPal and I walked obsessively- 3-6 miles a day after the 10 day point on each surgery. Fortunately, this seems to have prevented gain.

That being said, for the first 4 days after each surgery I ate what I wanted to, which for me was cake, crackers, and chex mix. You need to baby yourself a little bit, but once those first few days are over, the junk food stopped and I was back on the wagon.

You can certainly recover from your 10 pound gain. Focus on Protein for healing, get to walking a few miles a day, and you will be back to where you were in no time. You will also begin to appreciate your new figure once the swelling goes down! Good luck!

[JamieLogical 8,727]

Well, I regained 80 pounds ultimately after my plastics, so I am probably not the best person to turn to for advice. But I think it's very common to gain weight from the swelling immediately post-op and even for the first few months. The swelling is no joke. I remember one time early on after plastics, I tried just walking on the treadmill for 45 minutes and the next day I had gained 3 pounds from the Water retention! It's hard to be very active immediately after plastics and any activity can trigger swelling/water retention.

[AZDee 138]

I am usually pretty disciplned with what I eat, but yes after surgery I was starving...i had read so many stories about those having skin removal and losing even more weight, I was expecting to be down 10 not up 10! Sorta reminds me of WLS, when I heard all the stories of those who the weight just fell off...not me I had to fight hard for every pound as I continue to do so today.

[tebowfan 70]

I totally get what you are saying. I originally lost right after plastics, but i had some set backs with my thigh surgery and I'm laid up here since march 12th. This past week i am up 9 pounds. I am scared. :/

Btw, I had my thigh lift surgery with Clayton Moliver and he did a fabulous job! Check him out.

[MichiganChic 3,262]

I had roughly 12 pounds removed between 5 procedures in 2 separate surgeries. I expected to be 12 pounds lighter, but I weighed the same for months and just recently lost a couple of pounds. I might have some swelling still, but not much. So, I feel like in reality I gained 10 pounds because she cut that off in fat and skin, but my weight is the same. However, I'm down a size and I don't look any heavier so I just don't know how to explain it.

[Sherrischeffler 74]

I also have gained 9lbs since breast reduction last Tuesday but i believe its mostly fluids &pain meds causing Constipation & lack of exercise im thinking positive