New to this site...

Greetings all! Well, where to start....i had gastric bypass surgery in November of 2012, and since then I have lost 185 lbs, and am now down to 150. Yay me! Next step is to have surgery to remove the excess skin from my arms and stomach. I have a surgery date of March 21st...7 days from now. Brachioplasty with lipo and tummy tuck with lipo. I wanted to also get my legs done, but the surgeon didnt feel that having all three surgeries at once was smart or safe. So the legs will have to wait for a little while. I am just excited to finally be able to wear sleeveless shirts in the summertime, like a normal person. I have always hid my arms and worn sweaters or long sleeve shirts, because my arms always disgusted me. I'm a little nervous about the surgery....ive watched a few tummy tuck videos..probaby shouldnt have tho, lol.....especially the lipo part, cuz, damn....how does the dr not just poke thru the skin with the fat sucker instrument?

So if anyone has had this procedure done, i would appreciate any advise regarding after surgery care, what kind of pain i may endure, will i be able to wipe my own ass? (thats the important thing HAHAH) I think the most challenging it going to be basically staying in bed for a week and recuperating, and not DOING anything.....you can only watch so much television, and i dont normally sleep alot. So, yeah, guess ill have to find some books to read, or something. Dont want to push myself more than I should and cause the stitches to come out or anything.

Thanks in advance for the insight you may be able to provide. :)

Hi Renee - welcome and congrats on such an awesome weight loss! I just had lower belt lipectomy last week (basically a tummy tuck and back/butt tuck/lift - cut all the way around).

Not sure what your surgeons orders are but I'm not allowed bed rest - rest yes but must get up at least every 2 hrs for 10 mins walking around. It's not easy and I'm hunched over but it's to promote healing and avoid blood clots. Follow your surgeons orders though :)

For me - I still need help with showering (mostly help taking all the bandages off and just standing by in case I get dizzy) and then putting all the bandages back on. I go to the washroom on my own but did need help the first day - although i wiped myself lol. I didn't poop for 3 days post op so was able to take care of things on my own then :)

good luck and keep us posted!

Thank you for responding:)

oh i plan on following PS orders... as for being stuck in bed, im sure i will have to get up every so often and walk around to avoid blood clots. I just meant, im normally an active person, so being innactive is going to be challenging. That, and having to rely on others for help.

A thought that crossed my mind this morning....i told the dr that i cant do percoset (they make me sick), so they are prescribing me Dihydrocodeine. Im not really all that familiar with this drug, but i believe it is an NSAID, which i am not supposed to take due to the gastric bypass. Guess im gonna have to talk to my dr later today and see what the plan is exactly.

Congrats on the weightloss! I recently made this list for another poster, about what I found helpful after my LBL with auto-augmentation. I'm 6 1/2 weeks post op currently.

The things I found really important:

• Power recliner (I rented this and it cost about $400 for the month). I only used it for a week but the daily price made it worth it to rent for a month.
• A lanyard to hang my drains on while I was up moving around/showering
• A shower chair, I used this only for the first week, but it was needed
• For the first 8 days when I was in a binder (vs surgical garment), I used these surgical dressings
• Easy protein sources: For me, that was RTD protein shakes, and whole fat greek yogurt. I didn't eat much else at first. Oh and Ben & Jerry's ice cream just to get some calories.
• Plenty of pillows for behind your back and under your knees as you won't be able to lay flat at first.
• My Purple seat cushion. My butt hurt more than anything else! This was especially invaluable for my 8+ hour ride home.
• Tylenol for once I stopped narcotics
• PJ pants (in a larger size) and large t-shirts (I had no issues wearing pants right away)
• A loofa for when it's time to start gently scrubbing off the glue
• Tank tops for under the surgical garment. I wore those to stop rubbing on the incision for weeks 2-4

Thank yo

Thank u Erin for the list of helpful "tools". Will definitely come in handy. Im trying to be as prepared as possible. ALtho, I'm sure nothing will prepare me for the amount of pain afterwards.

I definitely have enough pillows i think, i just bought 6 fluffy pillows and later today I'm going to get one of those pillows that have the arms, so it may help when i want to sit up. I have an adjustable bed...but its upstairs, and my PS told me I may not want to do stairs for a few days...so, in to the spare room I go, with the plain ol' regular flat bed. lol.

How many days do they keep you on narcotis for generally? Im just wondering how much pain i may have to deal with, and for how long. Like, is it a 10, on a scale from 1-10....? I do realize everyone handles pain differently tho, so i suppose its up to the individual. BUt, in your experience, was it like SUPER painful, where you're crying daily and wondering "why did i do this?".....or is just like discomfort, and slightly painful when moving?