TT and wt loss

March 9, 2003

I had my Lap/RNY 27 mos ago. My personal goal was to lose 200 lbs. Of

course any amount of loss would have thrilled me. I have been a steady

loser all along. Thank God. I can't begin to tell you how much my health

and life have improved. That's another story.

With this loss came some different problems, lots of loose skin. Not a

pretty sight, but I'm still happy. I didn't lose weight to look pretty.

My panni was hanging about mid-thigh. It was very much in my way. It

flapped if I walked fast. It flipped on the bed as I turned over. It

made my lap too small. It was difficult to put into a pair of underwear.

Forget wearing pants. It made me walk oddly.

I had an abdominoplasty 9 days ago. The PS said it was all loose skin.

He removed 9 lbs, no lipo. He tightened the muscles all the way up to my

breast bone. He cut around the belly button and restitched. He pulled

the skin down to the pubic area. That eliminated a lot of the discolored

skin and scars from years of fungus infections. The surgery was almost 4

hours long. I stayed in the hospital about 30 hrs. I only had pain when

I moved or got up. It was all muscle pain. like I did too many situps.

The incision and stitches do not hurt because that area is numb due to

all of the nerves being cut. I was able to get out of bed to use the

bathroom with help from nurses. I refused the pain meds as I don't like

the side effects of them. I did take extra strength Tylenol. The muscle

pain was gone in 3 days. I have 2 drains that are annoying. I get them

out tomorrow along with the stitches. I have a very high theshold for

pain. With gastric bypass, I had no pain, no PCA pushing, no vicodin ,

only Tylenol. This PS was a little more painful, like 2 on a scale of

1-10. I can sit, stand, and walk straight. I keep my feet up in the

recliner and rest. I can sleep on my sides but could not with the

bypass. My advise is to choose your PS as wisely as WLS surgeon. I saw 4

before deciding. Talk to his patients.I am very happy with my results.

I met my 200 lb loss goal. But the scale only shows a loss of 4 lbs

since PS. I may be swollen. Oh, the pain meds cause me constipation and

that is not good with stomach muscle pain.

Also, I asked the nurse on the day of surgery to go to the delivery

room OR to get a baby scale to weigh my skin. The PS said not all OR's

have a scale in them. So that may be why some of you did not get yours

weighed.

I went from a tight size 32 or 3x to a size 10 straight skirt and small

or medium top. I was an obese child with a large tummy. Yes, I'm happy

and grateful for WLS and PS.

Sheila

March 9, 2003