Mommy Makeover: Stories

I booked surgery today for November 5th... Less than a month away. I'm very excited but nervous about all the particulars, especially the anesthesia and the recovery. I consulted with three different surgeons before picking my ps. I feel good about his before and afters and his twenty years in the field.

I am 31 with no kids. I had lap band surgery six years ago and have lost 115 pounds, weighing 150 now, about five or ten pounds off from my goal weight. I have a ton of excess skin and my boobs are ridiculously deflated and hanging. I am getting an extended TT and breast lift with augmentation, and I believe flank lipo, although I will know for sure at my pre-op on 10/17.

I plan to take a full week off work and then start back slowly. My mom is a nurse and will be with me for that whole week and then i will be on my own (I live alone). I have a desk job and can absolutely work half days for as long as I need to. Does this sound reasonable? I don't want to push it and not heal properly.

I'm also flying to Australia just under seven weeks after surgery. Am I freaking crazy?? I hope not!

Any thoughts or tips or anything would be very much appreciated. I plan to post pictures closer to the date because they're mortifying and frankly I don't want to look at them!

My pre-op is in two days and I'm very excited about this. But I'm worried that I'm so not prepared for this surgery. I haven't bought a thing yet, like CGs or supplies of any kind... I keep telling myself that I will have a much better idea after Wednesday. My surgeon sent me a packet of things to fill out and go over before the appointment and it mentions that they will be wrapping me in a garment for my tummy. I'm wondering if I will still need to buy something for the first week or if they're providing it. Soooo many questions... I am making a list on my iPad and will be taking it with me to my appointment.

I keep wondering if I should buy a used recliner for my living room. Everyone talks about how they can't sleep in their bed, but then some can. I'm just not sure how prepared to get, how to avoid unecessary expenses and over-preparation. Thoughts??

Soooo.... I just had my pre-op appointment and I'm feeling pretty good about everything. I'm still excited, still nervous, and soon will be a little more broke too :P

What I'm feeling good about:
The RN was awesome and made me feel really comfortable. She could tell I was stressing about figuring out whether or not I had a possible heart murmur (and I do but the PS isn't concerned) and she assured me all would be a-ok. She was also really realistic with me about what I was hoping to see size-wise with the BA. She is a runner, like me, and she was straight with me saying that I need to think a little more conservatively with ccs.

My PS provides all stages of compression garments because they want me to be in their preferred choice of CG. One less thing I have to buy. Woohoo!

I asked the PS how aggressive he can be on reducing my mons area (I'll post befores soon enough and then you'll get it) and he said as much as I need him to be. I told him I REALLY need him to be aggressive so all is good there.

The office staff are super friendly and are constantly reassuring me I'll do just fine and will be very happy with the results. The financial coordinator even showed me her TT scar that my PSperformed on her and it looks awesome. It was a decade ago but you can barely see anything and tummy is flat as a board.

No pain pump because I'm having exparel injections instead. One less thing to dangle off my body!

What I don't like:
My PS isn't very personable. He spent very little time with me and said hardly anything. I had read this about him, this was the only negative thing I've read.

My PS doesn't seem very willing/interested in dealing with my lap band port at all. I told him I'd really like him to move it if he thinks there's a less noticeable spot for it but I get the feeling that's not going to happen.

What I'm unsure about:
Implants! I was so sure I wanted 371cc high profile silicone but I ended up deciding on 339cc moderate profile instead. I am a B now and I've always been smallish in that way. I am not going for major mass, but I want a natural look that is right for my shape. I really really wish I could've had my mom or sister or a friend there with me. If you haven't done your pre-op yet- bring someone with you! Going solo sucks. So now I'm concerned I won't have large enough boobs and this concern seems almost ridiculous to me at the same time.

My stupid lap band port. I want it gone altogether. I'm so worried I'm going to have a bulge exposing something that I really don't feel I need at all anymore. It would be a shame to pay all this money for a flat tummy only to have a bulge sticking out above my port.


So I got my Rxs and just need to get them filled in the next couple weeks. I know I don't need CGs but I do think I'll get a funnel for peeing haha! I've read someone post that this has helped them so they don't pee all over their garment. I'm also thinking I'll hunt down a toilet riser from my office and borrow a friends recliner.

Anybody have 339cc implants? I like the moderate profile and that's as high as I could go before switching over to high profile, thanks to my awesome tuberous breasts! Can't wait to fix that life long problem!

Have to see the bariatric surgeon tomorrow to get the saline taken out of my lap band. Still hoping whatever is going on with my band won't keep me from having surgery in 12 days!

Just spoke with the ps office and my bloodwork looks good. This time next week I will be in the middle of surgery. CRAZY!!

Tomorrow's the big day and it still doesn't seem real. I am just finishing up all the housework and will be heading to town to get supplies like tylenol, benadryl, MOM, stool softeners, granny panties, etc. Any last minute things I must have, please tell me!! In the mean time, I've finally posted two before pics. I think I'm going to wait until I actually have some afters of the boobs before I show the befores for those! Haha!

Well I'm on my way to the ps, have to be there in 30 minutes. They had me take vistaril last night and this morning and I'm feeling good- not very nervous at all. Wish me luck ladies!!! I'll see you on the flat side!

Ok ladies I made it thru surgery and am now back home with my mom/nurse. I was doing great considering, til I got up to pee and now I'm not so comfortable.
The surgery took 4.5 hours (I think) and they did not to do muscle repair woohoo! Hoping this means recovery will be less severe.
So far my biggest complaint is the boobs. They're sore and my whole chest hurts bad. Like a deep ache. Is this normal?

Three of four of my drains has clots in them and so now my output is very little. Anybody have this issue? If so, what was done about it?

Ok I've been out of surgery for about 24 hours now and so far everything is ok. I've had a couple painful moments in one breast in particular but very little tummy discomfort and nothing in the right boob. I'm thinking that exparel can be thanked for this, I think my tummy is just constantly being numbed. I'm severely hunched and getting up out of the chair is the worst part. I've developed some wicked acid reflux too, not sure if that's lap band related or from the meds. I've read that acid reflux is pretty common after a TT, so hopefully that will subside when the inflammation does. Let's see... What else... It hurts to pee! It feels like I'm peeing razor blades and I know that's from the catheter during surgery. But seriously. As if getting up to use the toilet isn't bad enough- it also hurts to pee!! Oh well, it's not that bad.
They said they removed a very large amount of skin and tissue and as a result I lost more blood than expected but all is good. I really wished they would've weighed the stuff they removed but they didn't. My nurse said it was at least 5 pounds, and I'm not sure about the lipo.
They didn't have to do any muscle repair, they said my muscles were tight as a drum. Yay!
I'm already tapering off the dilaudid, taking every six hours now instead of four. I really really want to see my new boobs but I'm not sure if it's ok to unfasten the bra? Any thoughts?

Thank you all for your support! I feel so much better about this thanks to real self!!

Everything is going well. Aside from a couple times in the day when my pain med has worn off and I haven't been able to stay ahead of it, everything is way better than I expected. And when I do get those painful bouts it's always in my left boob, still haven't had any pain in my abdomen or right breast. Yay!

I'm draining still and as of today my output is still too much to get the drains out tomorrow as scheduled. But I'll check back in with the ps in the morning to let them know my 24-hr output. I would LOVE to get the drains out, they are by far the most annoying part of the healing process, well that and my surgical bra that cuts into me.

Hoping for a BM today too but still scared to really try :/

Ok everybody's favorite topic... But I haven't had a BM since right before surgery on Monday. I'm taking two stool softeners a day as well as MOM twice starting today. I'm eating fiber and drinking lots of water. Now what? I know I need to go but it's like my muscles forgot how to do their job to make it happen. Plus I feel my drain sites so much when I try and it worries me. If you've gotten thru this hurdle, please share how! Thanks :)

PO Day 4
BM success this morning! Yay! I'm down to dilaudid every 12 hours as of last night and was unable to go in to have drains out because only one of four is draining under 25cc in a 24 hour period. But hopefully tomorrow. My main complaint as of this moment is how hard it is to focus on anything Im reading or watching on tv, thinking that's from the narcotics. I'm probably not getting a lot of sleep either and my scopolamine patch dried up last night. Since then my vertigo has come back and there's been a little nausea. This may be from my chronic vertigo, not sure.

I'm more swollen today than any other day. My bra is digging in soooo bad because of this. I can stand almost entirely straight now and I'm hoping thats going to quickly help with my back soreness. I'm for sure going to try and sleep in my bed tonight now that I can straighten up.

I know it sounds like just a whole lot of complaining but really that's about it, everything else is going good, I hope everyone is healing well!

Hope everyone is healing well and thinking about those ladies just having surgery today! I'm doing good. Pain is almost non-existent, just some drain discomfort and some new stinging/shooting pain in my nipples which my ps office assures me is perfectly normal. My output is very low in my drains but my ps still wants me to wait til monday to have all four removed with my bb sutures. :( I was really hoping to have a couple out today and now I have to wait all weekend. But I know this is far better than developing a seroma.

Highlight of my day so far: my mom washed my hair!! Yay! I have really really long hair and the waterless shampoo just wasn't cutting it. I feel so much better with clean hair! I just kneeled in front of the bathtub and it was easy peasy.
Also I pulled my bra down and got some pics which I will upload now. They're bigger than I expected but I know they're probably pretty swollen.

PO Day 6
Oy vey. Let me just start by saying last night SUCKED. I started sleeping in my bed two nights ago and was getting ready for bed when my breast drains started hurting BAD. I was in tears as my mom tried to make adjustments that would ease the pain. My compression garment was digging into the drain sites and then my bra was putting pressure on top of them as well, a double whammy. So she managed to stuff some guard in the right places and unzip me just enough to make some relief. I took a dilaudid even though my plan was to go without but I was miserable. One of the worst things in this process is the restriction I feel when I'm laying down/reclining for bed. Only pain meds makes me comfortable enough to get through it. So she helped me in bed and I went to sleep only to wake up a few hours later in major pain from my left boob drain and the compression garment digging into it again. I made some adjustments and managed to fall back asleep for a couple more hours. When I woke up my back was hurting worse than I think it ever has. I was able to get myself to the living room nearly crying the whole way. I took another pain med and passed out on the couch where I slept for five freaking hours! It was just what I needed. I'm feeling much better now and know I'm not ready for my bed- sofa city for me still (Sixteen Candles reference thank you very much!). My drains are all below 25 cc output now and it sucks knowing I have to wait til Monday to get tem all out. My drains are my biggest enemy right now!!

PO Day 8
Im leaving in an hour to have my bb sutures and drains removed. I'm SO excited about removing these four literal thorns in my sides, they are the bane of my existence. BUT Im nervous about how bad it will hurt having them removed. I willbe taking a pain med with me for this. I'm also really nervous about what's happening under my CG. I have no idea what I look like and I know today is the big reveal. What if my TT scar is high? What if my bb is scary? What if my lap band port bulges? What if what if what if?? My drain sites hurt, are they infected? Ugh, too many unknowns. But I guess I'll figure it out soon enough!
Hope everyone is healing well today :)

Let me start by saying HALLELUJAH! for no drains!!! I had four of them and all but one was a piece of cake coming out. But that left breast drain GOOD LORD it was a tear jerker. But that's all over now and I am no longer walking around with rubber balls hanging off my body and that's all that matters.

I posted pics- tell me what you think! I am happy with the results and I also know that I'm only a week PO so nothing is healed yet and I know I'm swollen. I love my boobs. My PS specializes in giving people a natural look and I think he absolutely succeeded here. To me, my boobs look right for my frame and they're not even super lifted, they look like the boobs I should have always had.

My stomach is crazy flat and almost totally numb. I have not spotted by lap band port yet so I am happy! :) The only real issue thus far is my left hip is having some kind of reactions, maybe a heat rash because of the garment. I have to keep an eye on it and let them know if it gets worse or doesn't get better. We don't want an infection.

I had a shower too! YES!!! I am so totally exhausted otherwise I would write more. But I had to get these pics up. Hope everyone is doing well!

Ten days PO and I had to go back to work to do payroll and billing. Im the only one that does it so I had no other choice. Well it was horrible. I was exhausted before I even got there just from showering and getting ready. I honestly was so zombied out I don't even really remember driving to work. I'm no longer taking narcotics so the driving thing shouldn't be an issue but yea... It was. To top it off, the rash on my stomach is worse and spreading so I had to go to the surgeon's office this afternoon after work. I live an hour away from my ps so it was a loooooong day. He says he thinks it's probably a yeast infection from the antibiotics and the lack of air thanks to the trusty compression garment. So he prescribed me a one dose oral of diflucan and had me buy some topical anti-fungal. The only good news in all of this is that I have been told that I have to air my tummy out for two hours a day. That's two hours with no CG. Woohoo!

Ok that's all I got. I'm too tired to do anything but couch surf now. Hope everyone is doing well today!

Back to the ps again today... I really wish it wasn't an hour drive! We ruled out a yeast infection after I called the office and told them the rash had spread to my breast incisions too. So now were treating it as an allergic reaction to the steri strips or sutures or glue or.... The ps took my steri strips off and told me to start using cortisone cream and taking benadryl. I hope this works! I have pics of how bad it's gotten but I'm not sure it will do anybody any good to see that mess.

I'm two weeks PO today and I'm more numb & sore than ever... Oh yea and constipated! Yay! Now most if this is totally my fault I'm sure. I have been back to work since last Thursday and today was my first full day running the office all by myself since surgery. It was 9 hours of crazy with no lunch break. The whole time I was internally scolding myself for abusing my weakened recovering body but there was nothing I could do, the work had to be done. Well as a result, by the time I got home I was as numb as day 1, and in the places I could feel, I was sore as hell. I'm not sure if this is normal, but I think it probably is considering what I put myself through today. I'm wondering if it's all from major swelling? My boobs look way bigger than normal so i know they're hating me almost as much as my entire abdomen is. The first thing I did when I got home was strip out of my horrible CG which I'm supposed to be take several hour breaks from to rid myself of my rash (which is getting better everyday).

Also I'm a little worried my belly button might be infected, both of my boobs have opened at the vertical seams (my ps says this happens and he's not worried), and I'm afraid one of my breasts is bottoming out. Ummmm I think that's it! I will be calling my ps tomorrow to see about coming in this week instead of waiting til next Monday.

I wih I could say things were amazing but oh well, it is what it is and I'll get through it. I hope everyone is having a less sore day than me!

I'm two weeks PO today and I'm more numb & sore than ever... Oh yea and constipated! Yay! Now most if this is totally my fault I'm sure. I have been back to work since last Thursday and today was my first full day running the office all by myself since surgery. It was 9 hours of crazy with no lunch break. The whole time I was internally scolding myself for abusing my weakened recovering body but there was nothing I could do, the work had to be done. Well as a result, by the time I got home I was as numb as day 1, and in the places I could feel, I was sore as hell. I'm not sure if this is normal, but I think it probably is considering what I put myself through today. I'm wondering if it's all from major swelling? My boobs look way bigger than normal so i know they're hating me almost as much as my entire abdomen is. The first thing I did when I got home was strip out of my horrible CG which I'm supposed to be take several hour breaks from to rid myself of my rash (which is getting better everyday).

Also I'm a little worried my belly button might be infected, both of my boobs have opened at the vertical seams (my ps says this happens and he's not worried), and I'm afraid one of my breasts is bottoming out. Ummmm I think that's it! I will be calling my ps tomorrow to see about coming in this week instead of waiting til next Monday.

I wih I could say things were amazing but oh well, it is what it is and I'll get through it. I hope everyone is having a less sore day than me!

Went to the ps today and everything seems to be ok. He doesn't thnk my bb is infectedand he's not at all concerned with the openings in my vertical seams. He also said we could fix the bottoming out down the road. I go back Monday to be re-taped (we tested my skin with tape to see if id react and I didn't so they think it's the glue they use under the steri strips that I'm actually allergic to). I should also get the green light to stop wearing the CG at that time hopefully. Mostly I just really want to sleep with it off.

3wpo
I'm three weeks PO and feeling good. I went to the ps today and have officially been cleared to take off my CG and start running again!! I'm sooooo excited about getting back to my routine and just moving. I also get to wear regular bras- whoohoo! I guess three weeks is the official "get back to life" stage and I'm very ready for it.

The nurse told me I'll have to wait another few months before I can get the revision done to fix the bottoming out in my right breast which is ok- I'm not ready for another surgery.

Happy healing everybody!

2 month PO and part of me feels like it's been a lot longer than that. Since surgery I've been to Australia and back and apart from the occassional phantom itch in my tummy, I really don't feel like I'm only two months out. My swelling has finally subsided quite a bit and I really only notice it after long days. This morning I realized my jeans are too big and I'm finally feeling like I'm getting to my post op size. I still need breast repair for the bottoming out and possibly a dog ear scar rivision on my right hip. Aside from that, I feel great. Hope everyone is healing well!

March 22, 2013
I am scheduled for another surgery under local in May to repair both breasts. The right breast has that implant dropping issue and some healing issues on the vertical incision. The healing issue is minor, it's just sometimes the incision re-opens superficially and I have to put a bandaid on it. So my ps wants to cut the area out and clean up the incision, and hopefully fix the implant issue. The left breast needs a repair to the areola, apparently the stitch didn't hold and so as a result my areola has widened. Aside from that, and the dog ear on my right hip, everything is great. I still get just a little bit of swelling by bedtime and wake up thinner the next morning. I can run and hike and lift weights, everything feels normal again, although there is some tingling in my tummy when the blood starts to pump from exercise- that feels weird! I have the occasional shooting pain that last for just seconds in my TT area and I know that's nerve reconnection. The phantom itch thing sucks too but there's absolutely nothing I can do about that so I just have to distract myself as much as I can. Doesn't last long anyway. I still have very little feeling in my breasts. I think I forgot to mention during my last post that I went to Victoria secret and bought an awesome (but way too expensive) bra. That was sort of pivotal for me, seeing how I look in bra like that- that I look the way the bra intended for me to look! haha. I am a 36 D, and I am totally ok with it. I was worried about being too big but it hasn't gotten in the way of running and that was the main concern. Plus they really don't look that large, in my opinion. My boyfriend thinks they're huge but that's not a complaint coming from him! I'm happy with them :)
I hope everyone is healing well!!