i'm not good with eating when i'm supposed to, but i also don't have a schedule right now (unemployed and only have class 1 day a week) which makes it harder. keep healthy snacks on hand for while you're out, like string cheese, protein bars, nuts, fruit, etc. 

 I had RNY in September 2010. I never got down to my goal weight, but I am happy where I am (other than my excess skin and residual fat but that process starts in June!). For the most part I feel "normal" and definitely think that surgery was the best decision I have ever made. 

i hate the way that my stomach looks even in jeans. and i'm extremely uncomfortable in spanx (or even tights), plus if i wear them now i get awful marks all over my skin. i'll probably never get all of the surgeries i want (unless i marry a plastic surgeon lol), but a girl can dream lol. i'll probably post before/after pictures when i'm all excited about how i look lol. if you add me as a friend i have pictures on my profile from before/after my rny, they haven't been updated in about a year but not much has changed since then.

i don't really know how to describe it so this is my surgeon's before and after gallery:

http://www.drbottger.com/gallery_abdominoplasty.html

it's somewhere between the 5 & 6th pictures down (for my stomach). the panni extends about half way around my hips and hangs just above my pubic area. the skin on my legs is good but i accumulated weird fat deposits on my upper inner thighs so he's going to lipo them and we'll see how the skin responds and if i'll eventually need a thigh lift. my flanks have some laxity which depending how i look after this round i may include with by breast reduction/lift in the next. i have very little excess skin in my breasts as they didn't lose too much size (still a DDD), they don't really hang more than they did pre-op. my arms hang maybe an inch and a half, as of right now i'm not too concerned with them, but we'll see. everything above my shoulders is perfect, except my nose looks bigger now that my face isn't round, but i wouldn't touch my face anyway!

you look great!

 

1. Was it difficult to get your doctor to approve of the surgery? I JUST switched to a new doctor because my health insurance was no longer accepted at my previous doctors. I do not know this doctor well, but she knows I struggle with depression and obesity.

at 24, my cardiologist is the one that recommended the surgery so after i told my pcp that he jumped on board. i had been seeing my cardiologist for 2 years at that point and my pcp since i was maybe 15 or 16 and both knew that i had been struggling with my weight. dieting and exercising like crazy and still gaining weight.

2. Which surgery did you choose and why? I'm leaning towards Roux - en - y.

i wanted restriction and malabsorption (the malabsorption being more important) and my insurance only covered rny or lap band so it was an easy choice. plus ds seemed to drastic for me.

3. How did you choose your surgeon? How do you learn their qualifications?

again my insurance made this easier, i had to use a center of excellence, which left only university of penn in my area (my parents live outside of philly and i was living with them at that point). i went to their informational session and scheduled my consult that day with the nurse that ran it. she recommended my surgeon for me, based on my goals and age, when i had my consult both me and my dad agreed that he seemed great, and he was! 

4. I'm terrified of side effects - losing hair, teeth falling out - any advice?

most people lose some hair, it's more an effect of the anesthesia. for me it was a lot, but i had a TON of hair to begin with. my hair texture changed to but i'm not sure if that's coincidental since they say it changes every 7 years or so. my hair still hasn't grown back to the same thickness it once was (i'm almost 2 1/2 years post op) but i'm okay with it. if you didn't know how thick my hair was before you would never know, plus it's a lot more manageable and easier to straighten now! i haven't heard of anyone's teeth falling out, but i'm assuming if that happened they haven't been taking their vitamins, which is super important! 

5. Loose skin - I'm pretty young, but have been obese for a long time. In mid-20's is it more likely that your skin will be less saggy post surgery?!

this was probably my biggest fear about losing weight. they say age and genetics play a huge part. but a lot of us on the board have had problems with excess skin, and a lot of people have had plastics. i have my first consult with a plastic surgeon february 6th. in a perfect world i would have a lower body lift, boob reduction and lift (they're still DDD after losing around 100 lbs), arm lift, and inner thigh lift. right now i think i'm going to focus on the lower body lift, but i'm open to see what he recommends and says can be done at the same time, and of course the cost. but i'm lucky and my parents and grandparents want to help to cover the cost. 

 

 

hope this helps! if you have any other questions feel free to ask or pm me. i have some before/afters on my profile (don't remember if you need to be my friend to see them). i haven't updated in a while but not much has changed. getting surgery was definitely a great decision that i made. sure i'm still not happy with my body (but is any woman ever really happy with their bodies?), but i can physically do a lot more than i could before, and i am so much more healthy!

they look amazing! i think i'm going to try and make a consult with a surgeon while i'm off in january

how did you surgery go?!

so jealous! hope everything went great!

yeah i'd go crazy! especially since isopure grosses me out!

 i was 24 when i had my rny, 5' and 252 so pretty comparable. i could not lose weight no matter what i did so i'm no help there. i definitely have excess skin, and it is noticable by other people not just me (my neice thinks it's cool and likes to play with it, talk about making me feel uncomfortable lol). my arms, thighs, and stomach are what i would get plastics on in an ideal world. just like excess skin is different for every single person, so is hair loss. i had super thick hair before surgery, now it's probably the thickness of most people's but seems so thin to me. it is growing in though, it's thicker on the top and i always have the little new growth pieces sticking up. for most it starts around 3 months after surgery and lasts 3-6 months.

for both there is no way to prevent them, or to stop them. working out may help your excess skin look a little better, but the only way to get rid of it is plastics. and nothing will prevent the hair loss because it's the shock of surgery on your body, getting your protein and vitamins in will help it regrow though. 

 i can't wait for you to join us on the other side! you are already so prepared so you're definitely going to kick this surgery's butt!

 you look great! my 2 years will be in 2 weeks, crazy how fast the time has gone by! and how so much has changed. i love love love your dress!