After the kids I dreamed about implants for 15yrs & at the age of 41 I thought all my dreams were coming true. Much to my dismay after just 6 months I realized I hated them! I tried and tried to find something to like about them but couldn't find 1single thing! About a year after being implanted my health which had always been great began to gradually decline and I began to put on weight-a total of 28 pounds! And for the last 2 years my immune system has been shot causing several bouts of pneumonia. Several dr's say this won't help my immunity-I disagree!! My wonderful explant with complete capsule removal was just yesterday but I already feel better. Sore but confident! Hubby helped me shower today and he was so awesomely supportive! Updated on 18 Oct 2014: Explant was October 7, breasts are very cold sensitive and why am I so sore on my rib cage ( right & left side) where bra sits?
I started my weight loss journey about 6 years ago. At that time I weighed 325 lbs and I was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer and this changed my life dramatically. I am now healthy and down to 170 lbs and am ready to get rid of this loose skin so I can see the body I have worked so hard to get! Updated on 12 Mar 2016: I have been interviewing different surgeons as I continue to do my research on my procedures. I can tell you it is so overwhelming! The information varies greatly depending on the source. Cost, the method in which the procedure will be done, the length of recovery, etc. I am still very excited even with all this information I'm trying to digest. I'm sure in the end I will have picked the best PS for my procedures. Updated on 24 Jul 2016: I have never had a desire to be extra curvy but really athletic. Would love this body! Updated on 24 Jul 2016: I would love to have a lean, sculptured body... Updated on 24 Jul 2016: Lean and sculpted! Updated on 24 Aug 2016: I have finally made a decision on the surgeon that I will use for my body makeover. My biggest problem now is making sure I have someone to take care of me for the week following my procedure. My doctor said I will definitely need someone to help me with my drains as they require you to pull them a little to keep blood flowing and clots from forming. So my next step is to ensure I have someone and then I can set a date! Any of you have any advice on how long you needed help after your surgery? My first procedure will be the biggest one and it will include and fleur de lis tummy tuck and back lift. Updated on 15 Nov 2016: I have finally scheduled my surgery for April of 2017! Although it's quite some time away I made my down payment to hold my date and that made it real! I am getting ready to graduate from college and my birthday is April 2nd so I said let me do this as a gift to myself! I'm so excited and ready to see the new and improved me! Keep you guys posted as I get closer to the date! Updated on 6 Jan 2017: My surgery is scheduled for April 4th and I will be getting braline back lift and fleur de lis tummy tuck? I am wondering if I could get some suggestions in what I will need for after care and what extras may have helped beyond the normal products you need at home. Any and all suggestions are welcome. Updated on 3 Feb 2017: I am starting to really get prepared for my TT and BLBL on April 4th! I mentioned before this is my gift to myself for losing over 140 lbs, finally completing my BA and my birthday gift to myself which is April 2nd! Updated on 10 Mar 2017: I'm so excited about having surgery! I have managed to go from 325 lbs down to 180 but I lost my mom about 8 months ago and I ended up gaining about 30 lbs. Yikes! The depression was real! Although I am feeling a lot better I have not taken off all the weight that I gained and I'm afraid about not getting the results I'd hope for. I really want my tummy to be flat so I'm hoping the doctor will be able to still give me great results. I am right now about 195 lbs. with 3 weeks before surgery so I'm hoping to at least get another 10 lbs off. You guys think I can still get a flat tummy with the extra weight gain? Updated on 15 Mar 2017: I saw my PS today for the final time before my surgery! I paid my balance and they took pictures along with answering any additional questions that I had. I must admit I am really nervous about getting the results that I want. I think it's just nerves but we shall see. I carry a lot of fat in my upper belly and I just hope he can get it as flat as possible. In 3 weeks I will be one step closer to my dream body! I'm really excited! Updated on 3 Apr 2017: Everything has been going so smoothly as I have been preparing for my upcoming surgery but of course something always has to go wrong. My friend is flying in from out of town to take care of me and both of her flights were cancelled due to weather. Ugh! The airline rescheduled her flight for tomorrow and so now I don't have anyone to go with me and I don't know if they are going to allow me to have surgery without someone being there. She will fly in but it will be after my surgery starts so I'm hoping they allow me to go ahead with the procedure because I'm staying overnight anyway. I swear it's always something! The office is closed so I can't call and ask them if this will be ok. Keep your fingers crossed for me ladies! I'm so ready to get this over with! Updated on 5 Apr 2017: I had my tummy tuck and back lift yesterday morning and I'm so glad it's over! The pain hasn't been terrible but the nausea is almost too much. When I stand up, sit down, turn over..it's miserable. It is much better today but it's still there. I didn't take any after pictures yesterday because I could barely function so what we have in common? You and I both have no idea what the results look like! lol I just arrived home and once I take a shower I will take some pictures for us! Can't wait to see my results! Updated on 5 Apr 2017: Today was MUCH better than yesterday. I barely had any nausea and I was able to walk quite a bit more. I am in some pain but it's not terrible. I was able to wash up and change my bandages but I didn't take a shower because I still feel like I may fall but tomorrow is a new day! I managed to take a few pics. I didn't do as well as I would have liked but I think you can still be able to see my results in these photos. Updated on 6 Apr 2017: My surgery was performed 2 days ago and I finally am feeling good enough to shower! I feel so much better even though I was partially afraid that I was going to accidentally cause my sutures to open but it all turned out fine. I'm nice and clean! This is also the first time I have been able to see my entire body! I am super swollen but i can already see what a great job he has done! I am already looking forward to the next phase of my surgery and that is to get an arm lift and inner thigh lift which will complete my journey! Updated on 9 Apr 2017: I am doing pretty good and feeling better as each day passes. I haven't had a bowel movement yet but I really just started focusing on adding ground flax seed and apples to my oatmeal every morning and I can already tell it's going to work in a few days. I just am trying to keep from straining to push gas out but otherwise I am in no pain from not having a bm and am hoping that now that I am completely off the prescribed pain meds that now I can naturally start to "go". I went for a long walk yesterday and boy did the swelling get to an all time high! I was swollen everywhere so I guess I overdid it a little? I don't know. I was only hurting right around my drains(I have 4) and my leakage is down to a minimum. Very happy thus far and can't wait to see my results! I'm really focusing on my diet and eating healthy to help me completely recover and to help maintain my weight. My appetite is ridiculous! Everyone had been telling me I wasn't going to want to eat so I was thinking good! lol I won't be craving everything BUT my appetite is FULL STEAM AHEAD! Ugh! So I have to be extra careful not to gain any weight. I'm so happy to be on the flat side! Updated on 10 Apr 2017: It's been quite the week but if I had to I would do it all over again to get rid of this skin! The itching, swelling, pain and sleepless nights are worth it in my book! I am calling my surgeon's office today when they open to schedule my first follow up appointment. I forgot to call Friday and do it for this week but to be honest I am not looking forward to these drains being removed ugh! Well, I am but I'm not..the pain is what I think about and I have 4 drains so I might would have felt differently if it were only say 2? Lol. Either way I'm still happy and looking forward to being completely healed. At least my outward wounds so I don't have to focus so much on wound care..I was wondering about this wrap that my doctor says that I have to wear 24/7 for the next 6 weeks. How do I know if it is tight enough? And he gave me two sizes(medium and large) but I feel the large is too big and the medium is too small so I don't know which one to wear...they both ride up and I'm constantly having to pull them down. I also would prefer to have on something more like a bodysuit that holds me in rather that a waist belt that can crawl up. When did you guys start wearing a different type of compression garment? Updated on 11 Apr 2017: I made it through week 1 and I'm very happy so far with my results. I'm really swollen but I can see that my stomach will look really good once it has completely gone down. I am really missing working out and when I went for my check up yesterday my doctor said it would be at least 4 weeks before I could start to work out ugh! What has been your experience with returning to your routines after your surgery? I feel pretty good just ready for these drains to come out as I know I will feel much better once they are removed. I probably won't check in again for another week unless I have some drastic changes. Updated on 14 Apr 2017: I'm up early because I am unable to sleep but I am still happy that I'm not in pain! I still have a few areas that hurt like my crotch and a few of the drains but otherwise there is just the itching that I can't scratch, swelling from hell and the crotch area...I had one drain removed yesterday and I can say I feel a lot better but I still have 3 left in and now know that once all of them are removed I will feel so much better. I also have been looking at certain areas on my body and I hope that it's swelling and not extra skin. I'm not going to be happy if it's still going to be extra skin hanging on my back. I will continue to be patient until I can properly assess. The plastic surgeon told me that I can expect to have large amounts of swelling but about 90 percent of it will go away by week 6 so I'm super stoked about that! Updated on 16 Apr 2017: I am 12 days Post op as of today and I'm feeling really good. I have gotten into trouble a few times about moving around too much, too fast as the swelling was amplified 10 fold whenever I was over active. So, I have made it a point to sit still until further notice. I am hoping all my drains come out tomorrow! I am so sick of them hanging from everywhere. I only had one removed last Thursday so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he will take the rest out tomorrow. I wanted to share that I now am taking care of myself completely on my own. I didn't know how much help I was going to need so I a friend stay with me for two weeks. Had I only had a tummy tuck one week would have been fine but I also had a back lift and was unable to wash my back like I wanted to with the drains underneath my breasts and an inability to see what I was doing. I advise to make sure you have help for at least a week. I have not used a walker but I probably could have. I just walked hunched over without assistance but I still have done ok. I am at Day 12 and am able to bathe and clean my wounds, go to the grocery store and lightly clean. I don't pick up anything heavy I just call my friends if I need help with heavy things. Also, I am still very swollen but as the swelling is going down I am starting to see that maybe he didn't liposuction some areas. My biggest concern was to make sure my upper stomach was flat and he reassured me he would lipo and remove excess skin. I leaned over today and saw a little tiny bit of hang. Is that to be expected or do you think he wasn't aggressive enough? I hate to not have good results because ONE: it's expensive! Two: who wants to go though this twice if they don't have to? Sigh...hoping for the best...ladies, how long before I can get back into my regular pants? My belly is super swollen... Updated on 20 Apr 2017: Today was the first time I tried on some real pants that I already own. I have been wearing sweat pants and very loose shorts because with all the swelling I can't fit my regular clothes and plus these drains I can't stand to put any pressure on them outside of my binder. I noticed that I still have some rolls in my upper belly and on my back I sure hope this is swelling because I seriously think that he didn't do lipo because I didn't even have any bruising or pain that most people describe after lipo. I am going to be patient and wait as I know that the swelling takes a considerable amount of time to subside. I'm only 2 weeks and 2 days Post op and the doc said 90 percent of my swelling will be gone by week 6 and the rest within 6 months. All else is well, I am just ready for the last two drains to come out. He said he may take one out tomorrow so keeping my fingers crossed. I sure am hoping I'm not going to have a thick upper belly as this is what I hated the most about my pre surgery tummy. Updated on 27 Apr 2017: I decided to try on some old pants to see if they fit because I noticed a lot of you guys are in your pants by week 3. I guess I'm still swollen because I can barely fit! I'm hoping by the time I return the work I can get in my pants! lol I did manage to lose a little weight but it doesn't reflect in my stomach area so I'm not sure where the weight has been lost. Updated on 30 Apr 2017: I'm so worried that my upper stomach is still going to be really thick once all the swelling goes away. I told my doctor that was a major concern for me and he assured me he could get it flat as possible. This is where I carried most of my belly so he did a T incision, removed the loose skin to give me a more cinched in waist and thin out the upper portion of my belly. Just so you will know it was mostly skin and not fat. I am almost 4 weeks now Post op and when I lean over I can see a bit of stomach hanging. I sure hope this is swelling and not skin! I'm going to be patient as it hadn't even been 4 weeks yet. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Updated on 5 May 2017: Went in to see the doctor today and he said he is impressed with my level of healing. I haven't had any set backs or problems with my wounds so he said I could get my arms done whenever I want now. I am still really swollen but from what I can see I will be pleased. I really wanted a super flat tummy so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the top part of my belly will thin out. I also expressed some concern about how much was left on my flanks and back. He said if need be he will go back in and fix the lower back. Still two more weeks before I can return to work. My job requires that I have no restrictions so I wait. Updated on 25 May 2017: I was really hoping that this was swelling on my back and my sides but it's fat! He said he was going to do liposuction along with my back lift and tummy tuck but he didn't. I told him I wasn't happy and he said he could go back in but I had to take 6 weeks off from work and I really can't do another 6 because my job needs me and if he would have liposuctioned the first time I wouldn't have to take anymore time off. I'm so disappointed.
