Swell Hell and HUNGRY

[Indieflickers 298]

I'm about seven weeks out from brachioplasty and Tummy Tuck. I'm back at work and my swelling has gone waaaay up. My job is really active - I walk an average of 10 miles a day and I'm on my feet 14 to 20 hours a day. My arms are fine but my stomach is swollen enough that I look like I'm nearing the end of my first trimester! Also, I'm ridiculously hungry all the time which is not helpful as I am constantly surrounded by food. How did you guys manage the swelling? How long did it take to go down? I'm wearing compression 24/7 but I'm not sure how much it's helping.

Edited July 21, 2016 by Indieflickers

[James Marusek 5,244]

Congratulations on your weight loss of 212 pounds. I cannot speak about the swelling in your stomach after brachioplasty and Tummy Tuck. But I might be able to help with the hunger.

I am over 3 years post-op RNY gastric bypass surgery. You are over a year post-op Gastric Bypass and most likely you are in the Maintenance phase. The Maintenance phase requires a different strategy than during the Weight Loss phase. This article describes my experience with the Maintenance phase. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery2.pdf

When I was young, I began to walk after work. I did this because I was becoming a little flabby and I thought walking would bring my weight down a little. Over a few weeks I built myself up to 10 miles per day. When I stepped on the scale, I found that to my surprise, I was gaining weight. [This is because I was replacing my fat with muscle and muscle weights more.] The amount of daily exercise you are getting is at a high level and you will need to consume more Protein to compensate. Otherwise your body will steal Protein and this can cause you health problems. So I would recommend that you review you minimum daily protein requirements and make sure that requirement compensate for the high level of exercise you are getting.

[JamieLogical 8,684]

My swelling took a couple of months to go down, so you should be getting closer to the end of it at 7 weeks. I remember one time I just walked on the treadmill for a while and gained three pounds from swelling! It was pretty rough!

[Indieflickers 298]

@@James Marusek thanks for the advice! I actually get a ridiculous amount of Protein. Probably a little too high since I've had to stop strength training whilst recovering from plastics. Are you considered maintenance of you're not quite at goal?

@@JamieLogical it had started to go down but has increased a bunch since my activity spiked. It's really disconcerting to seem my rather round stomach! I guess I have to keep reminding myself it'll go away eventually. Did you do anything to help minimise it or did you just leave it alone?

[James Marusek 5,244]

Goal is somewhat an artificial number. I think when I went in and met the surgeon, he initially set my goal at 190 pounds. It was a number I could be satisfied with. In the end I dropped nearly 50 pounds lower than that initial artificial goal. So eventually after reviewing the mortality data, I decided the ideal goal weight would be on the high side of normal weight. Normal (or ideal) BMI is defined as 18.5-24.9. So my final goal and the weight level I am maintaining is 150 pounds. This translates to a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 24.2

Research studies show that mortality rates are significantly higher for those that are obese along with those that are underweight. It is important to have a little fat on the body because when major injury or illness strikes, this fat is the reservoir of energy that the body draws on until recovery. So my end goal is to maintain a normal healthy body weight. Some of the latest research that I have seen even shows that within the normal BMI range, those on the low side of normal suffer with a little higher mortality rate.

@@Indieflickers If I interpret your question correctly you are asking if you can enter maintenance phase without reaching your goal. I think the answer is yes, your weight loss slows down the further out from surgery and then weight loss comes to a stop, not a stall, but a stop. That doesn't mean you could not drop some more weight in the Maintenance phase. It just happens in other ways. When you said "I'm ridiculously hungry all the time", it causes me to believe you are in the Maintenance phase. The goal of the Maintenance phase is Hunger Control.

[Indieflickers 298]

@@James Marusek ah gotcha. I think part of the hunger may be recovery from plastics but I can't say that for sure. I would like to lose about 12 - 15 more pounds but it's hard to do when constantly starving and unable to do serious exercise!

[James Marusek 5,244]

@@James Marusek ah gotcha. I think part of the hunger may be recovery from plastics but I can't say that for sure. I would like to lose about 12 - 15 more pounds but it's hard to do when constantly starving and unable to do serious exercise!

As I said earlier I have no experience with brachioplasty and Tummy Tuck.< /p>

[Daisee68 2,493]

I think part of the hunger may be recovery from plastics but I can't say that for sure. I would like to lose about 12 - 15 more pounds but it's hard to do when constantly starving and unable to do serious exercise!

I have not had my plastics yet but from reading stories on RealSelf.com, I think your body goes in to overdrive a little while it is trying to heal. My PS says to eat 2000 calories a day for the first few weeks! Not sure I will be able to do that (without Protein shakes anyway) but my point is that he feels like you need to really feed your body after plastics while it is healing. Just my 2 cents....

[Indieflickers 298]

@@Daisee68 that makes sense. I've been averaging about that! I just don't know if I should still be doing that now that I'm farther out. I was actually at about 2000 calories before plastics because of how active I was but boy was it anxiety provoking to eat that much when I was essentially sedentary! I'm back to being incredibly active at work but not doing serious cardio or strength training yet.

[Djmohr 6,965]

@@Indieflickers

Thanks for asking the questions. I am one week out from brachioplasty and still swelling like crazy. I am also itching like crazy and hoping that ends sometime soon. I don't know whether this level of itching is normal?

Everything I have read say there is some itching but this is crazy. Did you itch like crazy with your TT and Brachioplasty?

I have allergies to many different adhesives and I am actually wondering if I am having an allergic reaction to the glue or the mesh binding used on my incisions. I am currently taking Benadryl every 4 hours and it barely takes the edge off the itching.

I am hardly taking anything for pain anymore which can cause mild itching but my itching is only on my arms.

They look fantastic though, even swollen. It is crazy how you can literally feel your arms swell and tighten.

Hopefully your swelling goes down soon.

[jess9395 5,448]

The hunger post plastics is REAL!!! Went through that for sure! It does end. Do Keep your Protein high even without the workouts because your body needs it to heal.

Can't help with the swelling I was lucky that way... Did you have Lipo? I hear it's a lot worse if you do.

The itching was awful for me too! Hope it ends for you soon!

[Indieflickers 298]

@@Djmohr oh that sounds terrible! I don't have any itching. Well not related to the surgery. I got a big bite on my arm, which was infuriating because I couldn't quite tell where the itching was coming from due to the fact that I was still numb along the incision!

@@jess9395 I think I had some Lipo but not much. The combo of the swelling and hunger is terrible because it makes me feel like I've gained due to over eating!

[MichiganChic 3,262]

Yes, swell hell, hunger, and itching. I had it all, and really bad. I had brachioplasty and circumferential body lift 2 years ago, and I think I had swelling for 2-3 months, and maybe longer. I also had a couple of open areas on the back incision line, so I had to increase my calories, I think to around 1500-1700. I also took lots of Benadryl.

As a result of increased calories, I actually think I gained weight. I had about 12 pounds of skin and fat removed, yet I never got any lower than my pre-surgery weight. However, I still went down size and love my results.

As for the itching, it drove me crazy. I had a couple of spots on the backside that I can remember just hitting, which seemed to relieve it a little. I also wondered if I was allergic to something, but I really think it was just the healing that caused it. It was nerve regeneration. If Benadryl doesn't help, maybe something for nerve pain would help (Neurontin).

Anyway, it does get better with time, and even though plastics were hard on me, I still think they were worth it.

[jess9395 5,448]

@@Djmohr oh that sounds terrible! I don't have any itching. Well not related to the surgery. I got a big bite on my arm, which was infuriating because I couldn't quite tell where the itching was coming from due to the fact that I was still numb along the incision!

@@jess9395 I think I had some Lipo but not much. The combo of the swelling and hunger is terrible because it makes me feel like I've gained due to over eating!

I've been told that any lipo at all is just harder on your body recovery wise and swelling wise. My brother in law had a tiny bit of lipo only, nothing else and his swelling and recovery were worse than mine! Still swollen six months after!

And I totally get you about feeling like you've gained... But go easy on yourself. You do need the extra calories and Protein to heal and the swelling will go away. It will be worth it in the long run!!!!

[JamieLogical 8,684]

@@jess9395 Yeah, with Lipo, the swelling is no joke. The areas where fat is sucked out just fill with fluids for a couple of months.