My dear fellow bypass warriors, I finally have a bit of news to share, and since I’ve finally found a moment of peace, I figured I’d lay it all out for you.
As far as I’m concerned—and my surgeon, Dr. Velnić, agrees—my battle is officially over. I’ve achieved exactly what I set out to do, and according to "my" Dr. Velnić, where I’ve landed is an excellent result; frankly, I don't need anything more, nor do I want it.
I had my gastric bypass (the classic cut) back in May 2011. Since then, I’ve dropped 68kg, but I was left with this horrific excess skin on my abdomen and hips. It wasn't just an aesthetic nightmare; I dealt with a hanging stomach constantly. The skin would get red, I’d develop fungal infections—honestly, I won't even go into how much that used to smell.
I used to be in the shower four times a day, and I’d even use a sitz bath about three times a week—which really wasn't great either, because over-washing isn't exactly healthy. I tried every cream imaginable; the only thing that truly helped was a zinc-based baby cream.
To make a long story short, my surgeon gave me a referral for a plastic surgeon, Dr. Gveric, at the medical center, who saw me in September. He was absolutely adamant that the final stage of my treatment had to be an abdominoplasty to fix the stomach. To my absolute joy, he scheduled me for March 2015—though Dr. Gveric did warn me that he wasn't sure if Medicare would approve it. They’ve become incredibly strict lately, though he hoped they would see this as a medical necessity rather than just cosmetic.
I told him I’d wait patiently until March, but if the insurance denied it, I wouldn't just roll over. I told him I’d contact a lawyer if necessary, because when I originally went in for the bypass, I was told that removing the excess skin was part of the complete treatment plan.
Let’s be clear here—and I made sure to tell the doctor this—I am not looking for any more surgeries. I am done. Sure, I could have gone on to fix my breasts, my arms, or my legs, but ladies, I am perfectly happy as I am.
For my chest, I have a good bra that does the job, and I’ll try to tone my arms and legs through exercise—even if they stay a little loose (and honestly, they don't look bad, they just aren't tight). You can always tighten things up with a compression garment, but you simply cannot hide or tuck away a sagging stomach, no matter how much I wore my binder to try and pull everything in.
Anyway, I spent the months leading up to March trembling with nerves. I did all my check-ups in mid-February, and everything came back fine, except for my iron levels (I’m anemic), but nothing alarming.
When I showed up at the hospital, I was still bracing myself for them to tell me, "No surgery today, go home." Hah! Luckily, that wasn't the case.
I was admitted, and the surgery took place first thing in the morning. I was actually the only one on Dr. Gveric's schedule that day, because this is a complex, highly demanding procedure, and that is exactly how it must be approached.
The operation went smoothly. They removed 7kg!!!!!! of skin from my abdomen and hips. Waking up went okay, though I struggled a bit with breathing for the first five minutes—but that’s mostly because I’m a smoker.
Once I came to, they moved me to the ward. That first night was a bit rough because my back was killing me. The back pain comes from being operated on for 4 hours on a tiny, narrow, hard table—not to mention the lingering effects of the anesthesia.
By morning, everything felt better and the back pain subsided. And the incision? Honestly, the cut doesn't hurt at all; it just feels like you have intense muscle soreness. When I finally looked at my stomach, I just cried tears of pure joy. I couldn't believe the mass of loose skin and fat was gone; it's flat now. It’s swollen, sure, but it is FLAT!!!!
My stay at the hospital was pretty straightforward. The drains were removed, and my folks bought me that compression garment you absolutely cannot leave the hospital without. I have to wear the binder for 6 weeks. On Tuesday, I go in to have the stitches removed, and then that’s it, girls.
My advice to you? Don't listen to the chatter. Listen to your surgeon. If he writes the recommendation for plastic surgery, you're halfway there. My Dr. Velnić actually wrote the referral and even called Dr. Gveric to ask him to fit me into the schedule. From there, it goes to the department heads and then to Medicare. The truth is, they are still doing these surgeries, but you can't get everything covered anymore. They aren't doing breasts, legs, or arms most of the time; they mostly focus on the hanging abdomen.
Greetings to everyone from sare
