FS Rob

Yes its Flat Stomach Rob today! Flab is gone YEAH! I hope all is going well with you and remember to take those pain pills regularly! Me the Queen of the black button after my RNY would not steer you wrong. Pain is not your friend but pain pills are! Don't drink the juice! See you soon! Hugs and Fleece Blankets coated with Codiene Debbie

Ditto. I'm looking forward to a post by Rob, too.

I'm home. Life is good, stomach is flat, all the back fat is gone, and life might be good a month from now. I had a bad night, they called it hypotension, sweats, blood pressure bottomed out at 52/30, and then again while I was eating breakfast. Pretty scary, I passed out this morning, but they got me on fluids and got everything under control. The staff at Wilmington Hospital was phenom, I have to thank every nurse on the floor (especially Mary Beth). My surgeon said that I will be real excited about the results. I came home with two drains in but they should get removed on Monday. Not much pain except when I stand up. So here is the kicker, after visiting with seven different surgeons (including Irgaau and Jadalhi), Dr. Malek found a bi-lateral hernia while he was performing the procedure. BTW, it is called abdominal dermioplasty, a little different than a normal tummy tuck because it goes 330 degrees around the body and gets rid of most of the back fat packets that are impossible to get rid of. It also does a little bit of a lift on the butt to get rid of some of the cauliflower. So back to the hernia. Dr. Malek will need to go back in again once I get healed and repair those twins. Too bad they didn't find those guy prior to the surgery since I had to pay out of pocket, but at least when I go back in it will be covered by surgery. I'm going to try and postpone the surgery till after the MS 150 Bike to the Bay and our trip to Germany. My wife has been great at taking care of me. I am so lucky. I'll be healing for a while and guess I need to find a hobby for a month until I'm allowed to get back to the gym. Will be interesting to see what's left below once I get rid of the binder. Right now I keep thinking I've lost an old friend, but I guess it was just a tire. Thanks to all for checking up on me. FS Rob (i like that name)

Yeah, I am so happy to hear you are doing well. Keep up the good work. Nicki and Ellisa ran a super meeting on Thursday. You were missed, but you were a little busy so I guess that is a good excuse not to come Take care. See you soon. Ellen

Thanks Ellen, I think I am doing well. I have a lot more admiration for the other people who have had gone through plastic surgery already. It is a lot more painful than RNY but only when I need to stand. Haven't been able to get out running yet today (lol)! Glad the meeting went well. Maybe I'll get there next month. FS Rob

Rob, So glad to hear from you. I had you on my mind all day Thursday. Missed you at the meeting too. Glad to see you're up to posting and keeping us informed. Hernia's after all. Go figure. Shame the PS couldn't just take care of business all at the same time. Let's see, what kind of hobbies can you do???? MMM there's always chess, checkers, chinese marbles. But knowing you I'm sure you'll be walking around north Wilmington on good days. I guess 1 bad night will be worth it all. As for me I'm in New Hampshire this weekend, along with all the rain. Nice to get away. TT ya soon my FS friend. Elissa

Hey there Abs of steel!!! So good to see you home and posting. *smoochies to you and your absolutely wonderful wife* About that tire ... I have never thought of mine as a friend ... I have always considered mine an enemy who is sticking close, way too close!!! At any rate, hopefully my tire will be joining your tire soon! Too bad I can't use them for the car ... I NEED new tires on it!!! DIANNE - congratulations sweetie!!! You are doing awesome!!!

Hey there Tammy, Well, I didn't get the drains out today which was a major disappointment, now I have to wait till Friday, but I did get to take my first shower since Thursday. Oh what a relief that is. Don't know how many weeks to get to see whether the tires are there or not, but I can wait. Of course just about the time I get back to normal I'll probaby need to have those hernias repaired. May turn out to be a bad summer for exercise, but Dwight has still got me committed to doing the MS 150 Bike to the Bay in October, so I'll need to get back to training as soon as possible. Hope all is going well with you. Who would have thought we would have gotten to this point back in Oct. 2003. We have come so far, and yet it's great how much more we can accomplish. Your eternal bud, Rob

Wow Rob, Amazing that you are posting so soon after surgery. But we are all glad that you are ok. You have been in my prayers. SURGERY is an interesting adventure and our bodies have an odd way of reacting> That was some pretty low blood pressure but thank God that you are ok> Best wishes in the recovery time> Use this time to spend with that great wife that you have and I'm sure you'll find something to keep you busy. One thing that I do when I am down on the sofa is : A family member brings me one drawer at a time and I organize it . Works for me. God bless and keep well. Protein still works in the healing process. We'll miss you this Tuesday at Victory. God bles,s Your Friend, Faye

Hi Faye, Posting is not a real problem since I can sit in a chair in my bedroom and just hack away. I just finished a 500-piece puzzle my wife gave me. I'm feeling so much better today. Next is a 1000-piece puzzle. I'm real surprised by how different this experience has been from the RNY. In comparison the RNY was such a breeze. I know with this surgery, I really couldn't make iit on my own. I actually have used the pain meds this time. My wife got drafted and has been great at helping me do all those little things. I go see Dr. Malek tomorrow morning, and hopefully he'll be taking out the drains and that will allow me some additional flexibility. He seems real excited about seeing the result since he couldn't stop talking about my muscular abs. One thing he did let me know is that people that are genetically biased to obesity should not be surprised that weight gain will go right back to the fat packets (lower back, below the neck) first even after surgery so it is critical to maintain a healthy, high-protein life style. Going to bed now. Once the drains are out I get to take my first shower. Can't wait. Have a great meeting on Tuesday. I don't think I will be going out for awhile. Waiting to see the FS and take a shower, Rob