Nervous and excited - LBL

I'm having my LBL on 12/22 and honestly, I'm starting to get nervous. I had my VSG in July 2011 at a starting weight of 360, down now to 215 for a total weight loss of 145lbs. According to my PS I have between 12 and 17 pounds of excess skin that will be removed. Do you guys have any suggestions on:

Comfortable sleeping positions/locations - couch, bed, recliner? What did you find worked best?

What should I have on hand before surgery, aside from the obvious pain medication and prescriptions required by the surgeon?

How long did it take for you to be able to start feeling "human" again? I'm expecting to be pretty miserable for the first few weeks.

Overall, was the experience better or worse than you had anticipated?

Any and all input is greatly appreciated!

Hi there,

I am just under two weeks post op of a tummy tuck with muscle reoair, lipo of flanks and mons repair. First week, you must keep on top of your pain meds, move very slowly and rest. I didn't have a recliner but I have a very strong husband who was literally able to get me up off my bed and bathroom. If you don't have help, or your bed is low, I would think about a recliner but not one you need to use your arm to adjust.  You won't be able to reach and pull it into position. A toilet seat is a great idea and one with arms if possible. That was difficult the first week, seriously. 

Sleeping, you can only lay on your back and in a propped position like a beach chair, so pillows under your knees and your upper back and neck need to be raised as well. I had a terrible backache all week mostly because your not able to stand straight and laying on your back isn't easy to do ALL the time. 

I bought a couple of long tank tops to wear under my binder they really help feel more confortable. I used a lanyard to clip my drains onto that hung around my neck. It worked great. The hospital had mine clipped to my binder but that wasn't working well. The lanyard was great for showering as well. 

They removed 7 lbs from me. That would be incredible if they removed more than 10lbs from you. I honestly have never heard of more than 8-9 lbs being removed for your procedure. This gal was 432 lbs and was down to 196 lbs. Dont stress about the weight of the skin your plastics surgeon claims they will remove because really you may SEE you have a lot of skin but it really doesn't weigh that much. 

Really, truly the first few days weren't great, but I guess day 9 I turned a corner and felt so much better. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. 

Good luck, it won't be long now! 

Annette 

Thank you so much for the reply and suggestions. I still live and home so I'll have the help of my parents and brother (whether he likes it or not). I'm not having my muscle repaired, and my PS doesn't require a binder. He said I could get a pair of Spanx if I wanted too, so I'll have a pair of those handy. We have a really comfy recliner that I'll be able to use too.

Im not too worried about the weight of the skin - I just want it OFF. It will be such a relief and confidence booster. Im 24 and don't wwant to live the rest of my life having to cover my belly/be self concious about shirts.

I also took 5 weeks off from work to really rest and be ready to go back. 

If you're not having muscle repair, your recovery shouldn't be too miserable.  Most of the pain from the LBL is from the muscles, not the skin removal or the incision.  The incision is mostly numb - you'll have very little pain from it.  You'll be hunched over for a bit which causes lower back ache when you walk.

I slept in bed with many pillows under my knees - basically in fetal position, but on my back.  I suspect a recliner would be easier.  Keep pillows handy wherever you are because you'll want to take pressure off of various parts of your body by shifting the pillows around.

I recommend a binder/compression garment of some type.  It'll help with the swelling.  I felt more comfortable in the compression garment than out of it.

Expect the first week to be bad.  After that, it'll depend on how much swelling you get.  You'll be surprised at how quickly the incision heals.  Increase your protein intake to help with healing and keep the salt low to avoid swelling.

The LBL was the hardest to recover from for me and was worse than expected, but it was all due to the muscle repair.  But for that, I would have been good to go at around the 3-4 week mark.  As hard as it was, the result was absolutely worth it.

I just had my fleur de lis lower body lift on Wednesday. I did not have muscle repair. Thank goodness I didn't need it. The first 2 days were super tough for me. My surgeon pulled the skin super tight so lots of pulling when I get up, walk, etc. My weight when I had the gastric sleeve was 350lbs. Weighed before the lbl surgery was 190lbs which I have been maintaining at for several months. So 160lbs lost. Which the result was 13lbs of excess skin taken off. My surgeon was amazed he only guessed 7lbs. lol 

ok anyhow. :) I borrowed a lift chair from family. It's a lifesaver! I would never had been able to get out of my bed. I found that out getting out of bed at the hospital. I also have a toilet riser with arms. I'm so glad I have it, doesn't pull on my incisions at all.

I over prepared for surgery but I'm glad I did. I stocked my fridge with ready to drink protein shakes and greek yogurt. I also bought a ton of protein bars. I've found I don't feel like eating so those things are the easiest. Make sure you have stool softeners on hand. You don't want to worry about that pain. Dressings, medical tape, gloves for cleanliness when changing drains. I have a small table beside my chair so everything important is easy to reach. Phone, phone charger, protein bar, water, and meds. I also have anti embolism stockings on, they really help though you need someone to put them on. Yes I underestimated how painful it would be, but I feel myself getting better day by day. The results will be worth it! Best of luck, you'll do great!