Cathrine J.

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I'm healing very well from my mid March surgeries to remove redundant skin.  I'm really pleased with how transformed my body looks and still adjusting to my new contours.  With the exception of the inner and outer ends of the breast incisions all have flattened out entirely.  I was told by the surgeon's nurse that these would take the longest to flatten since this is where the knots were. 

I understand that the six month mark is a good indicator of how my breasts will look.  And at the year mark most people's incisions/scars have lightened considerably.

Six months will be mid September.

On the morning of March 16, 2015 I had a tummy tuck and breast lift done by Dr. Jason Gray and his team in Victoria, BC.  In the afternoon I developed a hematoma in my right breast and was taken back into the OR that night at 10:00.  This meant a two night stay in the hospital instead of just one.  I lost 400 ml of blood and that brought my hemoglobin down to 67.  The normal range, in the labs I use, is 120-150.  Dr. Gray opted to treat the low hemoglobin with iron supplements and vitamin c instead of a transfusion.  I was happy about this cause although I'd signed a document agreeing to blood transfusion I really only would have wanted one if my life depended on it.  I just don't trust our national blood supply.

Because I didn't have the full tummy tuck, where they literally sew your ab muscles together again, my recovery has been remarkably pain free.  I know they gave me morphine after each surgery while I was still in recovery but not sure if they were giving me anything for pain by IV once I got to my room.  I was given extra strength Tylenol and that was doing the trick.  I received a prescription for tylenol with codeine on release from hospital and took it only once.  I had hoped it would allow me to sleep but no luck.  It might have even kept me from sleeping at all deeply that night. 

More to be added here later.

Here I am on April 9th and doing quite well.  My hemoglobin had already come up 23 points two weeks post op.  I should mention I'm taking a heavy duty iron supplement:  300 mg versus the usual 35 or so mg.  This more potent iron is available 'over the counter' at the pharmacy.

I still need to 'take it easy' this week and next (April 12-18) so although I'm returning to work on the 13th I'll work half days for a week or two.

Still adjusting to how different my body looks now.  I'm glad I took pre-op pictures, on my abdomen, to compare.  I didn't take pre-op breast pictures as I'll never forget the shape those poor things were in prior to surgery.  :)

On October 8, 2014 I went for a consult with Dr. Jason Gray, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon here in Victoria, BC.  I had such trepidation going into the appointment because I had seen him for a breast reduction consult several years earlier and he told me he'd do the surgery but I'd need to lose 85 pounds first.  Well, he might as well have told me to fly to the moon without a spaceship.  I left dejected.

This post WLS appointment went exceedingly well and he ended up recommending a tummy tuck and breast lift be covered by provincial medical plan.  He congratulated me on my weight loss and maintaining it.  He told me if I didn't hear back from them within a month or so to presume the surgery had been approved and their office would be in touch about six weeks before the surgery date.  I was thrilled and told my sister, my boyfriend and one or two others.  I think I told my very supportive boss that the consult had gone well and that, if it was approved for coverage, that I'd be giving him at least six weeks notice of the surgery.

By December I still hadn't heard anything so I started to get more excited about it.  I was full of good intentions to start exercising (walking) more regularly and increase my protein intake again but didn't follow through in any really consistent way.

Has it really been that long since I posted?  I still periodically visit this site to read the forums and recently I've been viewing the before and after photos as I did when I first started this journey.  I even submitted my own before and after in the hopes of inspiring someone like I was inspired during my pre-op phase.

I was supposed to see the endocrinologist  again this week but after doing the required blood and urine tests last Saturday I had a brainstorm Sunday evening and thought 'I'm going to cancel that appointment'.  Monday morning first thing I did just that and felt a huge sense of relief.  Lots of people have WLS and never seen an endo afterwards; they get their labs done through their g.p.    I had already shared with my g.p. my feelings about the specialist and he had said he was fine with me getting future labs done through him. 

I had been a little worried about those lab results since I haven't been consistent with my vitamins.  The results came back in the normal range except for two which were just one point outside of normal. Those were related to potential iron deficiency so I MUST start taking that liquid iron or find myself the iron supplement that is taken most often by those on my local post-WLS board. 

I'm just over 13 months post-op and I hover around 150 lbs.  I go to Curves 3-4 times a week and really enjoy feeling stronger.  The energy difference in weighing 110 lbs less is extraordinary.  I love being able to move quickly without getting winded and fitting comfortably into average seating.  Buying 'regular' sized clothes is also great but I'm not a clothes horse so I haven't gone all out in terms of replacing my wardrobe.  A woman at work had the same surgery last October and I've passed along some clothes to her to use.  It's nice to be able to do that than just donate them since she's midway through this journey and doesn't want to have to buy new stuff yet.

Well, I think that's it for now. 

It takes some courage to write this but I want to be honest.

Had my second visit with my endocronologist yesterday and she put me in my place. I'm 4.5 months post-op and haven't consistently taken my vitamins from the start nor met the daily protein requirements. I started well with exercise but haven't kept it up in recent weeks. I was ' lucky' with my blood work as things were okay and she said my iron, b12 and vitamin d have all gone up since my preop tests. I've lost 95 lbs. (45 were preop) and, after the appointment, I realized I've let things go because I've met my g.p.'s weight loss goal and my surgeon's BMI goal. The endo woke me up though - and definitely got me back on track! - by reminding me that by not meeting my protein requirements and exercising regularly (she wants 60 min. daily) that once the honeymoon period is over and I plateau I won't be able to lose more weight and regain will be exceedingly difficult if not impossible to lose.  She put it like this:  "No one is going to be able to help you then."  Also:  "Only 1 in 20 people get this surgery so don't waste this opportunity."

I've got the next two weeks off work so I'm re-dedicating myself to ALL that is required and have created a daily check-off list to ensure I do it all. Trying not to be overwhelmed but realize I'd better get 'on track' or this could all go sideways.

This is the most I've lost, except in the first week or two, since surgery.  Now whether it's due to not exercising (weight training and cardio) and/or not eating enough I can't say.  It's put me solidly into the 180's though so I'm not complaining!

I did my measurements today for the first time since July 15th. I've lost 24 1/2" overall. My highest weight (from January of 2011) was 261.4 and today I weighed 202.4. 

My final weigh-in at my surgeon's office was 222 on the 19^th and following the bowel prep on the 31^st they weighed me pre-surgery on the 1^st as 215.8.  So I've lost 13.6 lbs. so far.

Everything is going smoothly. I'm healing very nicely. Only one of the six incisions had any bruising. I'm increasing my walking a bit each day and today a friend and I went for a 40 minute walk.

Wahoo!