Body Lift: Stories

I'm 33 years old and after a 90+ lb weight loss, I was left with loose saggy skin all over my body. I did a lot of soul searching and knew that to be truly happy with myself, I'd need to get rid of the skin. The scars will fade but the skin was not going away.

After 4 consults, I chose the best doctor in the area. He is doing my surgeries in 2 stages. The first stage is the LBL and lipo of the outer thighs (no matter how much I exercise, the fat pockets on my thighs wouldn't go away). The 2nd stage will be over labor day - arm lift, thigh lift, and breast lift.

Here's my experience so far with the LBL. I showed up yesterday at the office at 7:30. After passing all the test - BP, pregnancy test, etc, the PS came in and marked my body. I was in the OR by 8:30. The nurses gave me a sponge bath of warmed up brown goo (can't remember what its called) then off to la la land I went. I woke up around 1 p.m. I was vre y groggy and disoriented for awhile. Oh and I was in PAIN, oh my, it was the worst pain I have ever felt. The nurse told me they removed 7.5 lbs of skin - craziness because I didn't think I had that much and skin doesn't weigh that much. By 3:30 p.m., I was in a wheelchair on my way home. My mom was with me and I'm very thankful that she is a nurse.

After making it up 3 flights of stairs, yes I live in a 3rd floor walk up. I crashed in a reclining chair. The positive is that they sent me home with the foley - I was upset at first but now I think it's the best thing ever. I'm sleeping a little at a time and taking meds every 4 hours. My first post op appt is on Thursday - super excited to see myself without the compression garment. I'll post pics at a later time.

Day 3 PO it's amazing how much I've healed in the past couple of days. I'm getting around so much better although still taking my pain meds every 4 hours and still very sedentary. I'm walking around every 3 hours as I have that staying in one position for too long isn't good. Had my first post op appt yesterday and saw my incision for the time, pretty scary looking. No complications, I will post pics as soon as I'm on my laptop.

I can't believe it's the end of day 3 PO already. I am moving around much better. I went for a walk to get the mail and road in the car to the store (stayed in the car obviously). Showering was interesting today - felt good but wow, I was tired afterwards. I rinsed out my compression garment. It took forever to dry and the swelling got really bad. I think I'm going to purchase a 2nd garment. The p.s. nurse advise that it shouldn't go into the dryer and it took 4 hours to dry, even in front of a fan. I'm using ice packs religiously, they seem to help. The itch of not doing anything is starting to kick in. I went from being really productive to barely doing anything at all - and not being able to do much because I'm so tired. Oh well, guess I should try to enjoy it. I posted some pics from day 2 at the docs office. The belly button position at first caused some concern but as soon as I stood up, it was centered. I guess I'm just more swollen on one side.

Well, I gave up on simply using miralax and took exlax this morning. I was really trying to hold out but I couldn't wait another day.

I'm really curious about what my weight will be once all the swelling is down. The nurse said she weighed the skin and it was 7.5 lbs. Since surgery my weight is down 8 lbs but I'm swollen and look like I'm 3 months pregnant. I'd love to be down another 10 lbs once the fluid is out of me. Guess I will need to wait and see.

To all those getting a LBL or even a tt, I'd recommend buying a 2nd compression garment. The p.s. gives you one but they take forever to dry. I found one on eBay - marena- for half the retail cost.

Tomorrow I will go in for my one week post op appt. I'm hoping to have 2 out of the 4 drains removed. I'm also going to ask about getting a copy of the ps's pre op pics.

So I've read a lot of comments about "swell hell" and i can say I've definitely experienced it. Most of the time, my tummy is hard and round. So far, no issues with the incision. It's healing fine. I use panty liners to cover the incision, best idea ever. My butt looks funny but I was told to expect that for awhile.

Not a lot has changed, I'm resting and still sleeping in my reclining chair. Showering and rebandaging everything each day is a chore and usually is followed by a long nap. I have another week off of work so I feel I will be okay to return by then.

I had my one week post op appt today. Everything looks good so far. They took out 3 out of 4 drains -- yay! The removal of the drains hurt a little more than expected. It was a very weird feeling. I no longer have to bandage the incision anymore too. Next appt with the p.s. is in one week.

Not a whole lot to report. I'm feeling good, walking - well, taking a casual stroll - 3 times a day for 30 mins. I feel much better when I'm not sedentary for long periods of times as my body stiffens up and aches. Back to the doctor on the 29th.