Upper Arm, Upper & Lower Ab, and Waist-line - Scottsdale, AZ

Soon to head off to my pre-op appointment with my surgeon this afternoon. I'm sure he'll have more input about expectations of the surgery than I got from his assistant on my last visit. My best understanding so far is that most of his clients go back to work in 2-5 days as long as it's not heavily physical. I'm hoping to go back on day 3 - we'll see how that goes!

Some questions I'm going to ask:
Can I pick up my dog as long as it doesn't hurt? (he weighs 15 pounds)
Can I take my One-A-Day Womens vitamin around the surgery, or does that need to go with my other supplements?
How long will the procedure take?
Low sodium diet was recommended to ease swelling - how many mgs per day should I aim for?
Which of the medications hinder driving in the days following the procedure?
How long before/after should I stop taking Advil?
Can I take allergy mediction if needed / what is the timeline on that (specifically Zyrtec or Benadryl)?

A little nervous about pain level. Been reading other blogs - that's helping me understand what to expect.

About me: I'm 28, 5'5, and weigh 140. The arms have been my main concern for years. About 6 months ago I decided I had the money and was going to use it to up my self esteem regarding this area of my body. After researching, I learned that the proceedure is much less expensive than I originally thought, and decided to go for the mid section as well. The total for all areas was only about $1000 more than what I had originally believed I would need to pay for arms only. I'm definitely pleased with that part.

So far the office I am working with has been very helpful. I wasn't able to find a place I was comfortable with locally, so the office I chose is a couple hours away. The day of the procedure I'll plan to stay in a hotel with room service and a husband to care for me :)

I will be posting before pictures soon!

My surgeon was so helpful and very nice at the pre-op appointment. First of all, let me say this -- it is every woman's nightmare to have a man poke all your ugly parts and tell you what needs fixing. That said - he had me tell him what was ugly and what I thought should be fixed. He did poke the ugly parts... but actually suggested we skip the waist-line, or if we did anything there at all just do the lower part where it blends into the hip - told me there wasn't really much to take and he would only do enough to ensure I keep my hourglass shape. Whoa! I actually left that conversation feeling good (dispite the horribly large mirror and unflattering paper panties).

I didn't get copies of their before pictures, so I'll take some of my own this weekend.

As far as the questions I was intending to ask:
Q: Can I pick up my dog as long as it doesn't hurt? (he weighs 15 pounds)
A: Not for a couple weeks - if he (or my larger dogs) get in my lap that's okay, as long as it doens't hurt. Actually, he mostly said don't bench press him, but if I needed to scootch him or something like that it was fine as long as no pain.
Q: Can I take my One-A-Day Womens vitamin around the surgery, or does that need to go with my other supplements?
A: Nope. Discontinue 5 days before. I forgot to ask how long after!
Q: How long will the procedure take?
A: He's estimating 2-2.5 hours. Said I was easy.
Q: Low sodium diet was recommended to ease swelling - how many mgs per day should I aim for?
A: He told me he had no idea! Just said keep with unprocessed foods and I shouldn't need to worry. Don't add salt when I cook, avoid eating out, and Ramen Noodles is the world's biggest no-no. Gave me a firm impression that I don't need to focus too much on this since I generally follow those rules anyway.
Q: Which of the medications hinder driving in the days following the procedure?
A: Pain meds = no driving. He said he doubts I'll even take them past day 2. However, I'm glad the prescrip is for enough to get me through a few extra days if needed.
Q: How long before/after should I stop taking Advil?
A: Nothing for 5 days before or 2 weeks after. This will be hard for me, since I get pretty bad headaches about twice a week from being on the computer so much at work. Buying a bottle of Tylonol asap.
Q: Can I take allergy mediction if needed / what is the timeline on that (specifically Zyrtec or Benadryl)?
A: As needed, not an issue.

That pretty much sums up how it went. The doc was very nice, friendly, poked some jokes at me for scheduling it two days post-Thanksgiving (so I can load up on crap and then get it sucked out). I told him (and I'll tell you) that I'm the kill-joy who brings salad to Thanksgiving because I can't stand a meal without something green. But - it's still Thanksgiving, and there is no way to avoid the yummy foods. I won't be bringin home leftovers this year, though.

Some of you who post talk about this aspect and some of you don't - privacy. I am not telling very many people about this surgery, for a few reasons. First, I don't want people thinking I have tons of money, when I don’t (especially when it comes to co-workers). Secondly, I’m doing this for myself not for those around me, and don’t want to deal with what their feelings are or are not on the subject. Thirdly, I have some friends who are quite substantially overweight (at least a hundred pounds overweight), and I would never want something positive in my life to hurt their feelings. That being said, I’ve chosen to tell only a handful of people my plans at this point: My parents, my brother (we’re very close), one close friend who lives near the clinic I’m using, and my husband. I am sure over time a few more people will be brought into the loop, but we’ll play that one by ear.

More from me after I have before pictures!

3 days to go! Getting excited. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving - going to try not to "earn" my surgery. I've been extra strict on my diet the last week to hopefully offset what will be a meal that isn't within my control (I'm only in charge of the sweet potatoes). But - at the very least, I can control portions.

My mom is going to take my before pics tomorrow before we eat and my before measurements. I'll get those up before the end of the day tomorrow!