czkat

[guru]

Addiction is a hard
thing and that's what I believe overeating is -an addiction.I was 25 yrs
old and weighing 350 plus pounds.Now I seem to bounce around from 175 to 185.
It took me almost 3 years to take the weight off,and I have kept it off
for a little over a year.I am very grateful for where I am now,life is
different.Now I am ready for the next major phase of my life,the plastic surgeries.

[gmt]

My PS chooses not to use the drains. I was wrapped up in bandages last Wed and left that way(with ace bandages around my arms over the bandages) until this past Tues when I rtd for my first po visit. She cut the bandages off and left them open to do the rest of their healing. PS used internal stitches and strei-strips (I think they are called), so each arm has little pieces of tape travelling up from the elbow to the arm pit.

I am still very surprised at how little discomfort this whole thing has caused. I feel very well and have to force myself to stay down. I did a few things this week that are probably questionable, but I figure I lay down when I need to and pay attention to how I feel after.

Hoping today is only a rest day. I drove Wed to the post office to pick up mail. And I went one step further and drove about 15 miles or so to a dept store cos I wanted to get a few things to decorate for Christmas... that is the toughest part about staying down, I want to make it Christmasy around here. Yesterday I went to the Post Office and then to the grocery store to get three things. I got a ride to a meeting last night and a ride home, not ready to drive at night on my own yet for sure and today we are expecting 6-10 inches of snow..... thank you God that will keep me in!!Haha, I feel good but a little tired this morning.

I have only needed to take tylenol for the past 4 days and usually just take it at night to help rest and sleep. Sleeping well, I get very dry during the night and find that many times I dont want to get up but I am so parched I have to so I can get a drink of water, I think that since I finished the antibiotics and pain meds I am not drinking as much water so I will up my intake a bit more during the day... I know that is very important.

So any way.... My PS didnt' give me a compression garment (if I needed one she would provide it, I left the hosp w/2 surgical bras that she provided), says that is mostly for lipo patients and I didn't need one. I am watching the arms daily to see if I see any slight changes in healing but it is tough to tell. No oozing, I have yet to get into the shower and may post that as a topic on the other site because I seem to be hesitant to want to get the stitches wet. I got the feeling from PS that I may be apt to ooze once I wet them.. and I dont really want to ooze....

[acer]

Hi, I have been following your posts here with great interest, as the whole weight related issue is such a powerful one for me too. I was working on a 100 pound loss myself, and was somewhere around minus 90 at the time of my brachioplasty six months ago. I also read with great interest all the other surgeries that are being planned and I too am looking forward to at least one more round ( tummy and breast areas) and have also had to spread them out due to financial considerations. I've been having a tough time this holiday season re the healthy eating, and am hopeful of getting it under control before too much major backtracking becomes nec. I too am thrilled with the results of the brachioplasty....part of me wishes that there was not the scarline to deal with, but I'd do it over in a minute, for the chance that I had to majorly reshape my arms that would not have been possible with any of the lesser methods. Good luck to you both in the different stages of this process that you are in and happy holidays. It is nice to have this place to come to for support.

[melmel]

Originally Posted by guru

Addiction is a hard
thing and that's what I believe overeating is -an addiction.I was 25 yrs
old and weighing 350 plus pounds.Now I seem to bounce around from 175 to 185.
It took me almost 3 years to take the weight off,and I have kept it off
for a little over a year.I am very grateful for where I am now,life is
different.Now I am ready for the next major phase of my life,the plastic surgeries.

I agree with you that overeating is an addiction. It's a common addiction. I think the reason is that foods are treated as a reward. Our culture treats eating food as a fun past time, rather than something that is done for nutrition. Kids are given deserts as a prize, which is why people look to unhealthy food for comfort.