Almost 1 month out and so far so good.

Only issue was a hematoma about 2 weeks after the operation on my left side of my chest that required a drain inserted for a week to drain a large amount of fluid.

Other then that my abdominoplasty and Bi-lateral breast reduction went pretty well, only spent 2 nights in jail (whoops, I meant hospital) and there was minimal pain but a fair bit of discomfort for a week or two.

I am pretty happy with the results, only issue is my love handles which remain and will probably require a day procedure to fix.

Other then that, I can't wait for the scars to fade and summer to roll around again!

That's fantastic news Couchie.

Hope you have a smooth ride in recovery.

Cheers
Gail

Good luck with everything... I think its awesome you've saved up and are getting something you want

Onya indeed.

Good on you for saving and making a decision for YOU!!!

Good on you!
All the best with it, & look forward to hearing how it all goes!

Good onya Couchie, you have had a great weightloss and deserve all the trimmings that will go with it

Best of luck

Greg

Goodluck with it all Couchsurfer

Cheers Sue

I'm doing it next week.

Excess skin from the chest and tummy is going to be removed.

I'm crapping my pants, but very very excited. I have saved for this for the last year. Its going to be $14k out of pocket.

I've heard that there is a good chance of skin bouncing back after a year or two if you're young and exercising.

I've been noticing less sag on my own body as of late with more exercise and skin products. You can get creams used for women that are preggers to help your skin get back to normal.

I too was going to get the surgery pretty soon... but am going to wait the 1-2 years to see if my body sorts itself out. Waiting may save a lot of money and the chance to not have an operation... worst case scenario you get the operation done at the end of your wait.

Spoke to the Doctor who performed my OP today for a checkup. He said I wouldn't get to a normal BMI and anything in the 90-100kg range would be fine. Whatever...

He weighed me and I was 99kg on his scales. The thing in I was in full work gear with heavy jeans, big shoes and a full wallet, mobile phone etc. All of which I weighed on my scales and it added up to 3kg!

When I asked about my excess skin he dismissed my concerns and said don't do anything for at least a year because I'm 26 and will still have some elasticity. We spent less then 30secs talking about it. Very unsatified with today.

Screw that, I'm going to get a second opinion, and at least talk to someone who will give me more then 30secs on the subject...

I say go for it too, Im only 25 and once I have my next (and last baby) I will be approaching a surgeon to do a tummy tuck on me too.
I totally understand how you must be feeling, I have people telling me how good I look, but that's with clothes on. Underneath I have the body of an 80 year old, and I want to feel good about myself (which is something that I have never ever felt).

You have lost an incredible amount of weight in such a short space of time, and you should feel proud of your new body, not ashamed.

xx
Tamara

I have only lost 20 kilo with another 30+ to go, and I can already see myself having a huge problem with my apron!!

I will approach my bariatric surgeon about doing this surgery after I am at goal, and I guess I should start saving now, because I am sure part of this isn't also covered on Medicare like the sleeve.

Couchsurfer, I say if its what you want and yes at only 26, GO FOR IT!!!!!
You still have a long life ahead of you. Im almost 45 and doing it now, I feel 25 again and I wish I could have done this for myself in my 20's, man how much easier life would have been without the extra weight and the issues that come with the extra kilos.

You will feel fantastic, having now done a boob job, I can vouch for how you will feel after.

Good Luck

Max

I'm only 26, I shouldn't look like this. I shouldn't have breasts, not just saggy bits of skin, actual breasts.

Its humiliating.

Couchie,

You are so vain!!!!!!!!!

Greg

I've got to stop thinking about this, its doing my head in: How much will it cost, will it hurt, how many procedures would I need, how long off work, can I really go through with it...etc.

First thing next year I am booking a consultation, I need answers badly.

All what I've heard and read so far is to wait with any plastic surgery until reaching a stable final weight. Of course, exercising the body parts in question from the start on should help on the way.

It's also the weight loss of course, but what we really want to loose is FAT. The only problem is that if you gain weight, the number of fat cells increase, but if you loose wight, the number of cells stays the same, the cells only get smaller.

This makes exercising all the more important: I do a mix of swimming, walking and will add exercise biking in the winter, which started now.

I already see the plastic surgery coming, but not as a means to reach the final weight, only as a bonus at the end.

my bariatric surgeon will also be my plastic surgeon (one stop shop) and he suggested getting as close to goal as possible for the best results re plastic surgery. said that I would loose approx 6kgs in the skin removal process. so as I am aiming for 75kgs i will probably consider the surgery at around 75-80kgs. basically once my weight is stable. but as Chris said I may loose more than that, so will see in about 12 months time where Im at.

Hey couchsurfer..... maybe your surgeon could recommend someone, mine seems to have an affiliation with one ie has this guys cards on his counter, or word of mouth or as I would do, let your fingers do the walking and go to the yellow pages! then the web to google said doctors names?
It's an idea. Good that you have done so well, nice if you can now do the tidying up!!
Keep us up to date please.
Linda

Hi there couchsurfer
When I went to see a plastic surgeon, he said that if I lost or gained 5kg it would have a big impact on the work he'd done, so I'd definitely wait.
That's not to say that you can't go and see someone now, and they can then give you an idea of what they can do, and how much it will cost, and will be able to advise you on timing, too.
I've had to postpone mine indefinitely due to other needs, but i still consider the initial consult as money well spent.
Also, you may lose more than expected...I certainly have! And I'm 17 months out now, and my body's still changing shape, even though I'm not losing much weight these days.
Let us know what you find out.
Best wishes
Chris

I have lost about 51kgs and I can see that loose skin will be a massive issue. I have a big man boobs and an apron. Arms are another issue and thighs to a certain extent. But mainly its my chest and stomach I am concerned about.

I had my OP last Feb 9th and went from 153kg to 102kg, I am aiming for 90kg.

Should I wait till I reach goal weight, or could I get it done when I am around 5kg away? Also any recommendations for surgeons around the Goldcoast or Brisbane?

Its really not easy to find out costs or recovery times etc on the web.