Almost 5 months post LBL

I haven't posted because I needed a break. I wanted to get back to life and not 95% focus on the surgery. I don't heal well from surgery and my head gets a bit crazy so I needed space.

I posted how my surgeon set me loose at my 3 months post op. While I feel great being in clothes I can buy off a store rack, my TT wasn't what I thought it would be. I noticed a lot of others posting similar issues so I figured I would, too.

*Numb in a many areas--outer but cheeks, sides of thighs, belly button.

*I'm not flat. My surgeon said it was a phenomenon (rolling eyes) that my skin just has no elasticity left. I have a round belly and it feels like a trampoline.

*I can feel the tight corset inside. My belly feels super tight and I can feel the concave of the muscles. But... this pouchy skin on top doesn't help.

*My belly button feels weird. It's tight and I constantly feel like I need to pull my pants up.

*My scar all the way around my body gets sore. Some days it feel like my scar is going to burst at the seams.

*I swell like mad still.

*I have scar tissue inside all over and it's hard. One area feels like a big mass of tissue. It's painful. I wonder if it's something else.

*My skin is now hypersensitive. I don't get why, but it is. My scar bugs me, everything makes me itch. Weird.

I don't regret having it done, just want people to remember, like WLS, it's not glamorous.

I felt kind of thrown to the wolves after my surgeon cut me loose. I often wish someone was still watching out for me. I'm still giving myself a full year before I consider things all healed up.

I'm 9 months out and still have most of the issues you've described.  But most of them continue to get better as time goes on.  Yup, still have the "corset" feeling.  Still swell, although it's getting noticeably better.  Still numb between the belly button and the incision, but the area of numbness gets smaller every month - but I don't know that it's ever going to go away completely.  Still get zingers from nerves that are re-connecting.

On the plus side, I'm flatter than I've ever been (except when I swell!).  My incision is practically invisible.  I don't wear support garments anymore.  But I think all the docs really underestimate the time it takes to fully recover.  Yes, you're up and about, back to work, and standing upright in a few weeks or a month, but the healing goes on for a long, long time.

Good to hear from you emelar! I agree with you. They acted the same way with my RnY. Like I'd be up and doing cartwheels in a couple of weeks. Took me three months off of work and over a year to heal! And so it goes w/ the LBL. Silly surgeons!

And like my bypass, if asked would i do it again, I say Yes, because it's the best option right now. It's not glamorous and not easy and I hope one day others do have it much easier. But for now, it was the best choice for me and I don't regret making it.

What do you mean he cut you loose after three months? I am shocked. My surgeon, Dr. Capella, keeps his patients for life. I did not have any of the issues you describe except that at 3-mos I still had numbness on my tummy. At 6-mos, which was 10 days ago, he converted my TT to an LBL and my tummy no longer feels numb. I wonder why?!?! I would say my TT results were glamorous and I hope the same for the round I just went through.

Although individual mileage may vary based on your skin condition and what your max weight was, choosing a highly-qualified plastic surgeon is crucial to maximizing the best outcomes you will get, rather than just settling for looking better than you were before the surgery. 

I hope that as you continue to heal your issues resolve and you get the results you desire. Good luck!

I agree that a highly skilled surgeon is key. My lbl scars are practically non-existent and rubbing my hand across my skin I cannot even feel where they are. My belly button is perfect and my stomach is flat. I needed to feel "whole" again, not just better than before.

I don't think anyone would argue that you don't want the best doc you can find.  Their job is scar placement, cutting and draping your skin and muscles, and tightening your muscles.  The things Cinn and I are talking about come more from individual healing issues.  I suspect we developed more scar tissue than average.  And nerves and blood vessels re-establishing themselves don't have much to do with the surgeon either.  It's like keloids - some people keloid, some don't.  And there's nothing the doc can do about it.

The things my doc could control - scars, the placement is perfect and they've been smooth since very early out; bellybutton, which I thought was freakishly high and had trouble looking at post-op, has fallen into the perfect position and is smooth; my butt, which was flat and (again) freakishly high, has also dropped into place and become rounded again; ab muscles, oh, yes, they're tight!   I have no muffin top and I'm amazed that he was able to do that without the fleur de lis cut.  My mons got lifted with no issues.  The "problems" I'm left with are just from my body taking its own stinking time to heal.

It is good to hear from you.  I understand about the skin not having lots of elasticity left in it.  It was one of the reasons my PS wanted to do my LBL in two stages.  After the FDL TT, I still had some loose skin left.  On my second surgery he came back almost completely around again and removed more excess skin.  Now, six months later, I could have another upper bra lift and remove the remaining skin and lift my breasts but I am still not sure that after another six months that my skin would not continue to relax some more.  I guess I just wore out this body suit of mine.  I am pleased with my lower tummy and hip area but I continue to have a muffin top when I sit down.  I may have this removed later on but for now I am going to wait it out.  My PS still continues to check on me and will so for at least 1 year out of surgery.  I am sorry yours cut you loose.