34 Years of Hating my Thighs...OVER! - Melbourne, FL

Having had 12+ surgeries, liposuction is still rating as the most difficult recovery process. I get very tired very quickly and still spend the majority of my days on a horizontal position. Last week I noticed a gigantic lump across my tummy, under my belly button. I saw ps the next day for a follow up and he said it was perfectly normal. I asked about lymphatic drainage massage, and PS says its "hocus-pocus" lol. I went for one anyway and it did soften part of the lump but it only lasted a few hrs and the hardness came back. That's pretty much confirmed his hocus-pocus theory for me. I popped back in the office today for more pain Meds and he wasn't busy at the moment so he wanted to see me because I am still in pain in my stomach. He says the lump is still okay and asked if I'd been doing anything to it. I said I'd been applying oils (coconut and other essiential oils) twice daily. He advised against everything I've been doing he says "hands off!" So that's what I'm doing from here. 2weeks post op tomorrow! (No pics yet, yall. Nothing to show besides lots of swelling!)

So it goes like this… I've always always always hated my thighs. I've always felt disproportionate and never quite comfortable in my own skin. Buying jeans (any bottoms really), is reoccurringly, one of the most frustrating, saddening experiences of my life. First world problems, right?! I met my hubby 15 years ago and, according to him, have been complaining about my thighs (and tummy pooch) all 15 years. I have jokingly brought up having surgery but never was really serious until about a month ago. I've gained weight and I've lost weight and while my thighs and my tummy have gotten bigger and smaller, I have always seen them as disproportionate to the rest of me. And Ya know, if you going to have your body contoured, why not fix the boobs too?! So, I have also decided to have a mastopexy (Breast lift) done in 6 weeks. ;)

My experience with the surgery itself has been much different than I anticipated. I have a low threshold for pain and on top of that was not expecting the pain to be so great. I've had 10+ surgeries in my 34 years and this one is by far the worst pain-wise. When I woke up from surgery and my legs hurt SOOOOOO bad- on a 1 to 10 scale, I'd say it was a 12! I was literally rolling back-and-forth on the recovery bed because it hurts so much. They gave me a shot of something in my IV and it took me down to like a 9. My husband got me home and I took some more pain medicine and it was still wicked. The doctor called me in some really heavy duty stuff and honestly that didn't really touch it either but it did knock me out so I could sleep. The only thing that made the pain better was time. Each day has gotten a little bit better than the last. Today is day five post op and it is the first day that I've been able to survive just on Tylenol alone. The best way to describe how I have been feeling is that I was at the bottom of a cattle stampede.

Another crazy thing for me… When I take off this consound did compression garment I get very dizzy and lightheaded and see spots. I'm told that this is normal, it's referred to as a "vaso-vagal response". Today when I took the garment off for just a few minutes I actually did feel a little bit better so hopefully this phenomenon is dissipating.

Lastly, I strongly encourage anyone thinking about any kind of surgery, not just cosmetic, to investigate the doctors that are available to you. And always, always go with a board-certified surgeon!!

That's all for now. I will update every few days.