Brachioplasty - Arm Lift or Arm-a-Geddon?

Welcome to the Good, the Fat and the Hungry. I'm Karla and I have been -- or am -- all those things. Here, I will share with you my lifelong struggle with my weight, and I hope you'll follow along on with my determined attempt to lose the last 40 pounds. I promise to tell you every Wednesday about every win and setback along the way.

Ouch. No, for real. Ouch.

Everything about this latest surgery has hurt. I don't mean excruciating pain, but consistent pain. As much as I'd assumed the arm lift surgery was going to be easier than the abdominoplasty, I was dead wrong. I figured that the arms would have to be easier than having all that excess fat and skin removed from my mid-section, but it was not. My thinking was that it's a smaller area and would therefore be less invasive. The pain associated with this procedure is far greater than anything I experienced with the tummy tuck. Not only greater pain, but there's more of it.

Clearly, this is no reflection on my stellar surgeon, Dr. Olivier. Even one week out, I am thrilled with the results. I would trust her with any of my body parts. Fortunately, this was one of the last areas that gave me pause and made all my hard work feel futile. Hence, the remaining parts will stay the same. Dr. Olivier really is a great joy to work with, and her entire staff is just as amazing. She prepared me, but I did not prepare myself so I've got no beef with her.

I do have beef with ME! I really took the arm lift for granted and did not follow any of the same steps I'd taken to prepare for the abdominoplasty. I've got beef with myself because I made some very bad assumptions. I thought, what, arm lift? That's nothing after a tummy tuck. Surely it would be a walk in the park. And it was, if you mean A PARK IN HELL! OK, so maybe I'm exaggerating and my pain was escalated simply because I didn't expect to have very much. Nevertheless, I have pain. With the tummy tuck, I only took pain meds for the first few days. Nearly two weeks post arm lift, and I plan to ask my doc for a refill. It still hurts! I've got a recurring shooting pain in my left arm, and my right elbow feels like I sat it down in a bowl of wooden splinters!

I expect that at some point the pain will ease up since it has begun to diminish day by day. But wait, there's more. Severe itching is slowly creeping in to take pain's place. Great. What's worse: Pain or feeling like you have fleas? Hmm. That's a toss up, but I'll let you know next week. An itch that you can't scratch is no fun. Thankfully everyone's experience is different, so please don't let mine deter you if you're considering it. No surgery will ever be a walk in the park, but my experience is not the last word, it's simply MY experience. I have no regrets about having the surgery and can hardly wait to bare my new arms. I'm thinking of going back to work in a tube top, EVEN IF IT SNOWS! OK, so I won't wear it if it snows, but I will wear it. Very soon, my dear, very soon.

A special note to the many folks who leave their comments to encourage and motivate me: I read your stories and am amazed at how our experiences parallel in so many ways. I'm so proud of how you guys overcome and are winning in this war. Well, I'm right here in the trenches with you and together we can keep obesity at bay. Thank you. Your heartfelt notes and prayers mean so much, and I take them all very seriously. Each of you in your own way lets me know that I am, in fact, normal and that even though I'm single, I'm not alone. Thank you. Keep the faith!