Out With The Old and In With The New @ NYEE/New York Eye & Ear Infirmary

So let me start off by saying that I am not new to real self. I've actually had a previous account in which I no longer wanted to review on. So I created a new one to start over. I've been a member of Real Self since 2012 and had my ups and downs with almost getting the procedure done but had obstacles and disappointment on not being able to get it done in the past.

This is a fresh start and back to the basics:
- I am 32 years old
- 5'2"
- 138 lbs
- 3 kids

So today I had a Consultation at New York Eye & Ear Infirmary (NYEE) with DR. JOHN DURRAN and I have to say that he is so sweet and down to earth. He definitely knows what he is talking about and I look forward to getting the procedure done by him. The cost of the procedure will be $4,500 and that will include everything needed to get the surgery done plus a night's stay at the hospital. They don't require you to take medical picture's because the DR. takes pictures with his phone so there are no extra fees there.

I've been trying to hold in the excitement of knowing that I could possibly be having the surgery on Monday, August 18th, 2014. This was the soonest day they had available. So I took it. I was asked to get my medical clearance done with my primary DR. but my next appointment isn't until August 15th. So Susana the assistant made a quick phone call to a DR. in the building and 1 minute I was just finished with my consultation and the next minute I was getting my medical clearance done. Wow all in 2 HRS. How AWESOME is that. Now I just have to wait for a call from Susana to let me know when to go back to see DR. DURRAN, which would be a week before surgery.

The Dr. Name is DR. JOHN CURRAN

And didn't mention the most important details. Lol So I will be getting the obvious which is a Tummy Tuck, muscle repair, hernia repair and lipo to the flanks.

So I'm hoping to lose a couple pounds for surgery in the next 3 weeks. I currently fluctuate between 135-138 lbs. My body is weird during the hot summer months. I'm hoping to reach 130 lbs pre op and 120-125 lbs a couple of weeks post op. I know having the surgery may cause me to gain some water weight but hope I can reach my goal within the following weeks. I'm trying to eat clean as much as possible as well as working out on a total body gym and running up and down stairs to get my dose of cardio.

And nerves are starting to take over. The thought of something going wrong keeps going through my mind. I know it's mind over matter but after reading and seeing horror stories I can't help to think is this really worth it. From what I know I'm pretty healthy. No drinking, no smoking, no allergies (except seasonal), no bad health conditions. I guess I need to stop over thinking it.

So I've been working out everyday sometimes twice a day and trying to eat clean for a week now. My body was achy in the beginning but now I'm starting to feel good and my body is starting to feel stronger and in some places tighter. I started out at 138 lbs and now down to 135 lbs. Goal before surgery is 130 lbs. I hope I can get there is 3 weeks -_- Over all I know it's not much but I've lost 4 inches (combined from waist, arms and chest). Oh and BM's are moving along better than usual. Lol

I'm starting to make a list of things I need to buy really soon. So far I have:

1. Morena stage 1 no legs compression garment. Still not sure about what size to get.
2. 4 pillows. I will be sleeping in my bed and want to be comfortable and supported as possble.
3. Stool softener. Not sure which yet. Maybe colace.
4. A bottle of tylonal.
5. I've read something for swelling but another one I'm not sure of to get.

I'm sure there's probably a couple of things more I need to add to this list but I'm stumped. Any suggestions? :-)

Is next Thursday, August 7th @ 10am. Surgery is still scheduled for August 18th. I feel half prepared. I still have yet to buy anything for surgery because I don't want to be staring at any reminders if it doesn't happen. I guess I will wait till my pre op appointment to then take the plunge and start investing in the things I may need for after surgery. There is one thing I am sure of and that is getting in better shape. I have been committed to exercising everyday 2xs a day and eating healthy. I've lost a total of 4 lbs. Now currently 134 lbs. My goal before surgery is 130 lbs. I have just a little less than 3 weeks to accomplish that and I feel I will get there and maybe lose a little more with the rate I'm going at. Dedication really pays off.

I'm still trying to save the excitement for the moment I'm in that hospital gown. Too much disappointment has set me to be more cautious. So if it doesn't happen I can ease my mind into thinking ok you can wait a little longer. Lol Now I'm definitely starting to over think it. Ok I'm done. Lol

All I do is think about it and now I'm also dreaming about it. I had the weirdest dream this morning. I won't bore everyone with every second of the dream but the main things that stood out that seem to matter the most were:

- waking up in the hospital bed and not knowing how I got there and started saying but I still had a week and a half till surgery. I looked down, wrapped in a compression garment with 2 tubes coming out from the bottom and the tubes are connected to a little electric machine that is suppose to be sucking excess fluid but instead I see blood being sucked out.

-My husband walks in about 5 minutes after I wake up and I asked him how I got there because I still had a week and a half left for surgery and he said it's already your surgery date. I said how can that be possible if I don't remember anything that's happened the last couple of days. Then I said to my self OMG the anesthesia gave me memory loss. LOL it's funny now but wasn't funny in the dream. I was scared sh*tless. LOL

-I remember looking down and saying to myself omg my tubes we're placed unevenly across from each other. The right one was placed a little more above my woohaa and the left tube was placed closer to my left hip.

- when I went to peek from the top of my garment in which was loose I touched the top part of my stomach only to feel a wave of fluid.

- Checked out my belly button in which popped out about an inch long because it wasn't even sewn down. Yikes that part was a nightmare.

There's lots more to the super long dream but those we're the things that seemed most important to me. Any who, this surgery is really starting to get to me but slowly starting to get excited. I went to Target yesterday and finally started to buy a couple of things. I brought 5 pillows, bottle of rubbing alcohol, bottle of extra strength Tylonal and a tube of neosporin. Almost brought colace but didn't because I thought I had a bottle at home in which come to find out I didn't. I still need to get that and order Marena stage 1 garment online.

Has anyone used the No leg stage 1 Marena garment? I'm really stumped on what size to get. I read the size chart but the sizes don't make sense to me. Supposedly by my measurement I fall into an Extra Large. I know I shouldn't be comparing what size of clothes I wear to that but I'm 5'2, 133 lbs and waist is a 34. I wear an 8 in Jeans and a medium or small in shirts depending on brand. So to think of buying a garment in an Extra Large makes no sense to me. I hope someone can tell me they have this and suggest a size. I don't want to waste time in returning it if I only have almost 2 weeks till surgery. I was thing of ordering it today. I know I shouldn't have waited so long but I had doubts about this surgery happening.

Finally ordered my compression garments today. I ordered two MARENA 1st Stage Regular Waist Compression Girdles with No Leg Coverage in a medium & Large. I didn't order the high waist because I saw a couple of complaints about it being too high and digging right under breast. So I figured I'm only 5'2 with a short waste and I'm going to be hunched the first week or 2 so the "regular" waist (which seems pretty long for a regular waist) is most likely going to give me full coverage. Instead of ordering the garments at the MARENA web site in which they didn't have the regular waist available I ordered them from imagefor4youtoday on sale for $57.99 each and free shipping.

My Pre Op Appointment is coming up this Thursday, August 7th @ 10am. I still can't believe this is going to finally happen. I still have my guard up about getting excited. I guess I'll wait till after my Pre Op Appointment :-)

It went pretty smooth and quick. I'm all set for August 18th @ 3pm (The time may possibly change to 8am). Now the nervs are kicking in but for some reason I still don't feel too excited. This is something I've wanted for 6 years now and maybe I still can't believe it. Anyway, I won't get any prescriptions till after the surgery. That's just how they do things at NYEE. Oh well, I guess hubby is going to have to take them out for me because their is no way I will be hauling my self any where but home the following day of surgery.

As far as weight goes I lost a total of 7 lbs and now down to 131 lbs @ 5'2. I still have what? 11 days till surgery so I'll see if I can squeeze off 2 or 3 lbs. If not I think I'm pretty much happy where I'm at because I'm a healthier and toned 131lbs compared to my previous unhealthy 138 lbs.

During my pre Op I was given a copy of my blood work. As I was going over it I was quick to look at my HEMOGLOBIN level which is 13.7. Normal ranges between 11.8-15.6. To be honest I was quick to look at the number because during the course of being a member of real self (2 years now) I've seen a lot of people mentioning about HEMOGLOBIN and how some procedures not being done because of not falling into a certain level. So I went online and wanted to know more. First off let me start off by saying before I go further into this that I had a goal before surgery and that goal was to lose weight. If you haven't read my previous posts about 2 weeks ago I started working out hard 2 times a day and eating healthier and to be honest restricting my intake just a little bit because I wanted fast results. FAST FORWARD TO NOW AND WHAT I'VE LEARNED. I went online and read how unhealthy weight loss (although over time) can affect your HEMOGLOBIN levels. WHY? Because not getting a proper diet or more like depriving your self from certain foods can affect your iron intake. Low iron causes anemia and anemia affects HEMOGLOBIN. NOTE: OTHER HEALTH CONDITIONS CAN AFFECT LEVELS AS WELL.

NOTE: I am NOT a doctor. I am just posting my experience and what I've read and hope this can be helpful to other's especially before getting MAJOR SURGERY. If there is a need for major weight loss before surgery it should be SUPERVISED by a medical professional.

The FOLLOWING is information I found helpful to me online. Found here,

www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/I/iron-deficiency_anemia.html

Because there is so much information found at the above link I will not copy and past it all because trust me it's a lot of reading but I will post a small portion that pretty much sums it all up. If your SERIOUS about surgery and weight loss JUST before surgery. PLEASE go to the above link.

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Iron-deficiency anemia is a common and easily treated condition that occurs when there is not enough iron in the body. It is the most common type of anemia. A lack of iron in the body can come from bleeding, not eating enough foods that contain iron, or not absorbing enough iron from food that is eaten. In iron-deficiency anemia, the body does not have enough iron to form hemoglobin, which means there is not enough hemoglobin to carry oxygen to the whole body.

The body gets its iron from food. The main foods that contain iron are meat and shellfish as well as iron-fortified foods (that is, foods that have iron added). A steady supply of iron is needed to form hemoglobin and healthy red blood cells (erythrocytes).

Iron-deficiency anemia can range from mild to severe. A mild case usually causes no symptoms or problems. However, a severe case can cause extreme fatigue (tiredness) and weakness. Severe iron-deficiency anemia can lead to serious problems for young children and pregnant women, and it can affect the heart.

The heart is affected when there is a lack of oxygen in the body. The heart has to work harder to get enough oxygen throughout the body. Over time, this stress on the heart can lead to a fast or irregular heartbeat, chest pain, an enlarged heart, and even heart failure.
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So with that being read. Although from what I read and my understanding this can occur slowly over time it's still something to consider when wanting to drastically lose weight especially before major surgery. This had me thinking what's really important. So for my situation (everyone one's situation is different) rather than worry about the numbers I have to worry about being strong and healthy prior to surgery. Major surgery isn't something to be taken lightly and healing from surgery is a journey. With GOD's protection, mercy ( I just had to throw this out there because I am a Believer), proper diet and other precautions I hope to get through surgery and recovery. It won't be easy but hey nothing in life comes easy.

So I had a minor set back and won't be getting surgery on Monday, August 18th. Now I'm hoping to get the surgery done the end of November. I will be updating when I go back to see the DR. sometime in October. Happy and Healthy healing to those that have already gotten the surgery and those that are about to get the surgery :-)

First off I wanted to say Thank You to those who have been wondering what was going on with me since I've been Missing in action and haven't updated in a couple of months. I haven't updated because it does get depressing having to come on here and having to post disappointment and set backs but I guess that's life and it happens. I'm hoping 3rd time's a charm and things start going a little smoother from here on out. So much has been going on that I wasn't and still not able to get the surgery done. I'm hoping to schedule another consult with the same DR next month. I don't know if another consultation would be necessary but I have to start some where so I can get the ball rolling again.

It's been and a long and fustrating road to having this surgery done. It just seems like I'm not meant to have it. Things just keep preventing me from getting it but hopefully now it will happen. My surgery is scheduled for February 26th. Wow in just 6 days. After my last attempt to having surgery I'm which failed I got depressed and went up and down in weight. I went up to 139 lbs But now 6 months later I am currently 119 lbs. I am proud that I have reached my goal or should I say surpassed my goal of 125 lbs because I would have never thought of weighing as much as I did as a teenager. I thought those skinny years we're gone for good. LOL.....I've lost so much weight with just a proper diet and a little exercise. No starch and lots or protein. I will be posting new pictures today because I Def don't look the same. I've actually lost my curves yikes it was a trade off for losing that much weight :-/ but I'm happy and healthy so that's what really matters the most. I will update the night before of morning of surgery :-)

Pictures as promised! After my weight loss I am currently 119 lbs.

I can't believe I have to wake up in 4 hours to get ready to head to the hospital for surgery. I think it really hasn't hit me yet. It seems like dream. I think it'll sink in once I'm in that hospital gown. I will update just before sugary and take one past picture. Hopefully with markings :-)

So I got out of sugary 2 hours ago and I'm still speechless I went through with this but then again no surprise because I've been wanting this for a couple of years now. When I first woke up it felt like I had the longest dream ever. I literally did have a dream but can't remembet what lol....the pain feels like when your in a active labor and you get full blown contractions non stop. My throat feels so sore and my mouth is dry. I guess lots of fluids will take care of that. I was given meds to take the edge off the pain and its helping a little. I'm starting to feel a burning and itching sensation. I'm so out of it and will update later on :-)

I am amazed at the job Dr. John Curran did. I would have never thought to look like this. I love my new shape And I'm amazed with my incision.

Wow I don't even know where to begin. All I've been doing to resting, get up to use the bathroom, walk around for 2 minutes and back to bed. yesterday I went through the stage of why did I do this to myself but I woke up this morning feeling a little more positive. The worst part I think is caughing. ever since I woke up from auger my throat feels soar and mucuS has been accumulating in my throat and as much as a try to avoid caughing my bodyS natural reaction is to caugh and itS torture. It feels like my muscles are being ripped apart. So what I do is when I have the urge to caugh is ask my husband to hold a pillow down as firm as he can on my stomach and then I give a few caugh times till its clear. I've been taking my meds round the clock so the pain isnt excruciating just a little pulling and tugging here and there. Staying still makes it a whole lot easier but my butt is sooo numb from laying down that I can't feel it. I just want the days to go by fast already :-/