Question:
I need all the input you can give please......

Hi AMOS family, Well here is my situation, i am a year out this month more specific 8/14 was my anniversary, i am 37 lbs from goal and i am going in for a hernia repair and tt on wed, next week, it is being done by my weight loss surgery doc....i am nervous and just want to know what to expect..... also will this help me get to goal? will i be able to take care of myself? do the drains hurt? are they messy? is the pain really bad? when can i drive? i looked in the library...but most questions weren`t specific to my concerns or they were really old...lol i need to know i can recover quickly as my mother bailed on me....sigh.. so i need to take care of myself.open rny 8/14/03 261.5/156/119 love,and thanks rece    — nice n sweet B. (posted on August 27, 2003)

August 27, 2003
Ok i am kind of bumping my question here bc i really need some input i am really nervous and i just need a little advice,etc thanks rece
   — nice n sweet B.

August 27, 2003
Ok, I'll try :) 1. I've heard a TT can kick start weight loss, but it didn't for me, although I was pretty close to goal. I did lose 7.5 pounds of skin though. 2) Yes, I think you'll be able to take care of yourself. Just take it easy, and take your pain meds on time. 3) Drains don't hurt, just don't yank them. 4) They're not messy, but you do need to empty them 2x a day. It's not hard and the nurse will show you. 5) The pain was less than I expected, but make sure you take your pain meds ON TIME. Some people have said it hurts alot though. Everyone is different I guess, so I don't know how you'll react, but I'm kind of a wimp, and I made it through an entire lower body lift and breast lift at one time and did fine. 6) You can drive when you're off the narcotics. At least a week I would say, then you may just need them at night. Here's my best tip: Pain meds make you constipated. This was, hands down, the worst part of the whole experience. Start fiber or colace or something as soon as possible. Good luck!
   — mom2jtx3

August 27, 2003
Hi Rece - I just had it done Friday and got home Sunday. Today is Wednesday and it's still rough. I am VERY glad my parents are visiting to take care of my kids and animals! I am almost 13 months out and still not at goal, but had it done because of the enormity of my apron - surgeon removed 35 pounds of redundant skin and tissue - 30 of it from my panni! With that gone, I still have 40 pounds to go! But that sounds like a breeze compared to 250 just a year ago! It's a huge surgery - I can't describe the incisions because I am still totally covered and bound up. I didn't move until Saturday when I started going to the bathroom on my own. It hurt. Each day, the movement gets easier. The drains are no problem, although I was dreading them. They're easy to take care of and it's encouraging to have less drainage every day. Surely a sign that things are going well. I go back to the doc tomorrow and hopefully get a lot of this stuff taken off. I haven't been able to take a shower which is yucky! There's no way I could drive yet. I didn't know until yesterday that the vicadin (pain killer) was causing me all sorts of extra problems -- constipation, dizziness, nausea. I was not happy. So I've stopped taking it and switched to tylenol. The pain is more noticable, but it's great to not feel so sick. I'm hoping that will do a lot in the next couple of days to making me feel more normal. There's an entry at the very end of my profile about it if you want to scan down for a few more details. Good Luck!
   — jen41766

August 27, 2003
Here are my answers to your questions. I only lost 5 pounds with my abdominoplasty. It really depends on how much skin you have in the stomach area. I had 2 drains. Both were in my pubic area. They don't hurt and there not messy. You just have to empty them daily. It does hurt some when they pull them out (about a week later depending on the amount of drainage). I had little to no pain with this surgery. One of the easiest I've ever had. I didn't drive until about 2 weeks post-op.
   — Patty H.