I've always wanted breast augmentation, and I'm done having kids so I'm ready to finally take this next step. I recently went to Dr. David L. Buchanan, and the experience was amazing. I was nervous and scared of the the procedure and the recovery time. However, he and his staff reassured me and put me at ease. I felt comfortable, and they took great care of me. I would highly recommend Dr. Buchanan to everyone. I will be going back to him for my tummy tuck in the near future. I feel amazing and beautiful-so happy with his guidance and his stellar care!!
My review is about my breast augmentation with Dr. Buchanan. He actually revised my breasts! Dr. Buchanan changed my life for the better. I had a horrible experience with a different doctor in a different area about a year before. Not only did the other doctor botch me and over-dissect my breast pocket, but I was left with just a mean nurse (who didn't speak much english) for all of the post op appointments at the other place. I thought no doctor could ever fix my over-filled, lopsided saline implants that went in funky places on my chest. My right one was so low that my nipple pointed up to the sky. The other one pointed straight. After learning of Dr. Buchanan's 30 years of experience and his very thorough consultation (much better than the other doctor from the start,) I knew that my chances of the perfect revision started with him. He's got all the experience needed and he CARES about his patients. His staff is absolutely amazing as well. Dr. Buchanan not only gave me a perfect revision, but the perfect shape and size for my body as well. I LOVE my new cohesive silcone gel implants by Dr. Buchanan. They are so soft and perfect. I'm about 5 weeks post op and completely satisfied with how they're healing. Not only did he revise my implants and breast pockets, he gave me the most perfect as possible result I could've ever dreamed of. My breasts now look like twins/sisters, not like two completely different boulders. Also the staff and professionalism was so much better here, than the experience I had before. I actually got to see Dr. Buchanan after my surgery for the post op appointments! He cares enough to listen to your needs and desires, and has enough experience to do the best implants there can possibly be! I even look better in my clothes and bikini! People could instantly tell how much better I looked without the awful implants I had before. Now they look pretty, more full, and how I wanted them (in the right way and shape for my body, not too big or small), and they feel much more soft and jiggly! I am beyond happy. Dr. Buchanan gave me the gift of confidence, and that is priceless. For a whole year before getting my implants fixed, I was a broken woman. People don't realize the impact a breast augmentation can give. It can either give you the confidence you're looking for, or completely break you, and make you depressed for a very long time until fixed. I should have gone to Dr. Buchanan the first time! Getting a great plastic surgeon is so important due to what could happen if you go to a "chop shop" like I went to the first time. The first time was cheap, but defiantly not worth it. Dr. Buchanan is so worth it!!!! I can now face life with a happy, confident heart! Thank you so much Dr. Buchanan! You have no idea how you've helped me. I am truly a more happy, and a smiley person now that you've fixed someone else's mistake. My quality of life and how I feel in my body has gone up immensely! Dr. Buchanan is not only absolutely amazing at breast augmentations, but also revisions!!!! It feels amazing to finally have full, very symmetrical breasts! Thank you so much again to the staff here, and of course the best of the best, Dr. Buchanan!!! I will be recommending my friends and family to come here!!! 5 stars!!!!!!!
Excited, and nervous. I've had 2 children, both delivered by c-section and gained a good amount of weight during my pregnancies. The skin is hanging around 5 years later and just hangs down over my clothes. It's uncomfortable to wear jeans and I don't feel confident in my clothes. I'm a runner, and spend time weight training and cycling. As much as I exercise, I know that my stomach will never go back to where it should be and I know that the only way to fix that is through surgery. I've got lots of time to stew about it and get excited. Updated on 17 Nov 2014: So I'm about a month away, well just over 3 weeks. I'm still trying to figure out how to get my money in the account to pay for it, and get all the kinks worked out for that. I have the cash, but it's hard to make a purchase this big. I have to tell myself that it'll be worth it. I haven't been paying very close attention to my diet. I exercise like a maniac, but that doesn't do anything if I'm eating everything in sight. All the candy from halloween and all that. So I'm trying to get back down before surgery. I'm tracking using Myfitnesspal.com, running, cycling, and I'm going to add an extra gym day or two to my regimen. I am hoping that after my TT my gut won't stick out so much when I'm not sucking it in. I don't know if they can fix that. But I am hoping that it will. I look pregnant when I'm not sucking it in. Also, I take anti-anxiety/antidepressants as well as a mood stabilizer. For the record. I take Celexa and Abilify, my Abilify RX needs to be refilled and I'm needing it to be refilled by a different doctor than the one that had prescribed it in the first place. I am hoping this new doctor doesn't give me a hard time about writing the refills. Now is not the time to be playing around with my mood stabilizer. haha. I hear it's a very emotional process, and I'm a very emotional person. Other than that, all is well. Just trying to get the funds together to pay for this surgery. I have it the money, it's just not fluid yet. Hopefully, I can get it worked out before it's time to pay. Updated on 21 Nov 2014: 3 More weeks. I'm sure my friends are pretty tired of hearing about it, but it's all I can think about. I'm constantly looking at reviews and imagining how it's all going to play out. I'm so excited. I'm still waiting on my mom to get plane tickets out here, she can be pretty last minute about stuff like that but I know she'll be here when the time comes, so I'm not worried. It turns out my husband MIGHT have to work the week of surgery. I was hoping he'd be the one to bring me to and from the hospital since I might have a hard time walking and getting in and out of the car. Surgery should take several hours and it's a good hour drive to and from my PS Office so I didn't want my mom waiting around (with the kids) if they weren't able to go to school bc of it. I know it'll have to work it's self out, and we'll do what needs to be done. I just hate not knowing yet. I can't plan it out for sure and that bothers me. I've gotten my medications worked out, and have refills on the ones I take, so that's one less thing to stress out about. I've been tracking what I eat on My Fitness Pal again and trying to lose 5 lbs before surgery date. I was up at 130 and now I'm down to 127, I need to stop eating out of boredom, and snacking. It's hard to do. I exercise quite a bit. I'm a little worried about how long it'll take me to get my cardio back to where it is right now after surgery. I know that it'll be worth it though. I don't think it'll take me that long to bounce back once I'm healed. All I can do is hope though. Updated on 24 Nov 2014: Drank a little bit over the weekend, so I might be a little bloated. Ran a lot over the past few days, so today I took it easy and only ran 1 mile. Put these shorts on, and can't wait until I'm on the flat side. I want to put on my clothes and feel good about how I look. I have to hide all the extra skin with a baggy shirt, and I hate that. I want to be wearing my cute little tank tops or even just running in a sports bra. My bank card finally came in the mail so I am going today to deposit my check for surgery so I can pay for it. Hopefully the check clears in time to pay. I am so excited. I come on this site all the time and look at other people's success pictures and it makes me so much more excited. It's an addiction by this point. I'm wondering how long it'll take me to build my mileage up again afterwards. I just can't wait to find out. I'm hoping to run a 15k in the spring, and believe I have the drive to build back up to 9-ish miles by the time march rolls around. Start slow, but I'm already past that point, I'll have to play it by ear, but that's the goal. Even if I have to take it slow, just to be able to participate. Updated on 24 Nov 2014: Updated on 25 Nov 2014: Weight isn't going down how I would like it too. I'm tracking calories, but cheating a little too much. Hopefully I'm just bloated though. PS office called, asked if I had any questions. I didn't really since I've been reading about everything here on this awesome website. I'm going to call my bank to make arraignments on Monday to make the payment. She also is going to call in my RX's to the nearby pharmacy. It's a patch for nausea. Talked to my mom and she has a lot going on. She's going to come but there's a chance that she's not going to come throughout Christmas. But she's coming for sure. She'll just be buying her ticket pretty last minute. Rolled my ankle on my run today. UGH. It's not too bad, but it's several hours later and it still hurts. Usually it stops right away. Surgery is going to be the best ever, since it'll force me to rest from running. I'll have a valid reason to take the time to let my body heal. AAAAND Finally, I'm waiting for my new running shoes to get here. Can't wait. Watching the mailbox like a hawk. Updated on 29 Nov 2014: No real update. I just like looking at it telling me how many days I have left. Got down to my "goal weight" the day before Thanksgiving of 125, it was on the high end of 125, which means I need to stop eating leftovers and start eating healthy again. It's just hard since that's what we have in the house. Need to go grocery shopping SOON. I'd like to get down farther, but who knows. I just need to do my best. Updated on 1 Dec 2014: Just waiting for the bank to open so I can let them know I'm going to be making a huge payment. Nervous, IDK why. Maybe because 10grand is a lot of $. Just gotta keep reminding myself why I'm going through with this. Yes, it'll be totally worth it. People are usually a little confused as to why I need surgery but it's pictures like this that remind me. I don't feel comfortable in my clothes. that skin that's just hanging around, is not cute. 9 more days!! I'll probably post again after payment has been made. Updated on 1 Dec 2014: Surgery is PAID for. It's getting real. 9 more days. Gotta go pick up the anti nausea meds some time today. Updated on 1 Dec 2014: Picked up the anti nausea medicine It's a patch that goes behind the ear. Ended up paying out of pocket because my insurance decided they wouldn't cover it. But it was only $20 and that's not SOO bad. Updated on 3 Dec 2014: One more week and ONE MORE DAY, by this time they'll be wheeling me into surgery and feeding me medications to knock me out! I'm not really scared, even though I read about how they put a tube down your throat, I'm just trying to keep in mind that I'll be knocked out and won't feel it. I get that's why people say they cough afterwards. I didn't have many questions because you awesome people answer most of my questions, but it's helping me come up with questions for my doctor. Like can I wash my hair the night before? Should I shave my downstairs? AND should I skip my morning run?! LOL That's a pretty huge question, since I'm not going to be able to run for the next couple of weeks, end when I start up again, I PROBABLY won't be able to run very far, or very fast. We'll have to let that play out, but for now I'm sort of planning on an easy run the morning of surgery until I call my PS and ask them if they think I should not run that day, lol. I'll bet all of my friends are tired of hearing about surgery. It's a huge deal for me. It's pretty much all I can think about. I'm so impatient. A week is too long. I went out and bought dial antibacterial soap like they suggested. And she said I should bring crackers or something to eat on the drive home, I got peanut butter crackers. Figure it'll have a little protein, carbs, sugar, and it's also crackers. Since I won't have eaten since midnight the previous day... I'll need something kind of crunchy and substantial. Hopefully, I don't eat them before surgery day. LOL. I figure I'll bring a pillow to snuggle with on the drive home. AHHHH I CAN'T WAIT. Updated on 3 Dec 2014: OOOH And ALSO I meant to say, I was telling someone about my upcoming surgery and he asked if I was getting it done in Santa Barbara at the Cottage Hospital, and I told him who my surgeon was and it was across the street. And he was impressed. He said that they were amazing plastic surgeons and that they do amazing work. That it's all top of the line and that's where everyone who want's to look good goes. Even during my consultation I was so impressed that I didn't talk to anyone else. 4.8 stars on Google, glowing recommendations, great before and after gallery. And they look confident in what they can do for me. They have their own hospital room, and perform surgeries on outpatient basis every week, I think twice a week they do surgeries. Overall I have a really good feeling about this. Updated on 4 Dec 2014: This time next week, I'll be out of surgery and resting at home. Seems like this week is flying by, but I'm feeling super impatient still. I woke up with a sore throat this morning, I don't know if it was before or after my run that it started feeling raw, but I spent most of the day in bed and I'm coughing a little bit. I imagine I might lose my voice but it's all speculation right now. Hopefully it doesn't last long. It's just what's going around right now. I have been taking airborne to make sure I don't get sick and because it's good for you, but just realized that there are some stuff in it that I'm supposed to be avoiding. Here I thought I was doing good, and apparently not. At least I realized now... Updated on 7 Dec 2014: My mom finally got her ticket, and I feel like a jerk because she's stressed out and I pretty much did everything in my power to get what I wanted no matter what it did to anyone else. So blah. I kind of wish I could take it back and push it back further so she wasn't so stressed out, but it's too late now. Everything is paid for, it's this week, and she has her ticket. So even though I feel bad, I feel better knowing that she'll be here. And I know that even though she's pretty mad right now, she loves me so much that she's going to be here for me. AND my dad is trying to make his schedule work so he can be here for Christmas too. It's going to be a full house since my husband's family usually does Christmas at our house. Which I hate for my mom because it's a lot of work, and she's injured. So many things to stress about. I'm not even going to think about it until we know for sure. Usually they all do most of the cooking and I just get drunk, but my mom will feel like she has to do everything for sure. She can't just let them take the reigns. We'll see as it gets closer. MAYBE they won't do it here since I'll be 2 weeks out from surgery and should probably rest. Won't know until it gets closer. Trying to get the laundry washed this week And fix up the house so it looks okay for my mom. We got a Christmas tree, and it's all decorated and looks really nice. I bought some vitamins, a little late but they're like little skittles and taste amazing. Updated on 8 Dec 2014: Apparently I'm so excited that the excitement outweighs my Ambien. Or perhaps I've taken it too much lately, but I sleep for a little while then I've been up most of the night for a few days now. Well, like 2 days now. It's still annoying. I've been going to sleep at 8 right when the kids go to bed so my day is over faster and now I'm wondering if that's a good idea. I don't fall asleep without the sleeping pills, and now I'm not staying asleep with them. HARHAR. I went to the store and bought a few supplies. So far I have really simple stuff. Peanut butter crackers for the ride home, jello, gas-x (just seems like I'm gonna need it), orange dial soap, chicken stock (to drink that first night), and I think that's it. I feel like I'm going to need a shower stool. I've really been obsessing over it. But I don't want to pay $60 that CVS wants, and to order one online is kind of risky... what if it doesn't get here in time... and surgery is just a few days away... it definitely WONT get here in time. My shower doesn't have a bathtub area... it's just a shower, I can imagine how hard it's going to be to manage a shower in it. It's really the only thing that I think I might really need. Everything is coming together. My husband is going to be able to take the day to bring me to surgery. It was up in the air because there's a chance that his office was going to have a big inspection but he found out it's the 2 days before. So he'll be free on Thursday for me. My 6 year old's birthday is Wednesday, my mom flies in and my 5 year old is getting an award on Wed as well at their assembly. How lucky that everything is Wed and not Thurs. I believe we decided that I'll keep the boys home Thursday since my mom comes in so late and it's all very new to her. She's never been to my house since we've moved here. So she'll need a day or two to get situated as well as get used to the time difference. She'll have to have someone tell her where the school is and how to park and pick them up and all that. It's not hard, but it's going to be new to her. I also feel like I'm doing a 2 steps forward 3 steps back with this cold I've been experiencing. The raw, sore throat starts to go away and now I'm back with head cold conditions, and a little bit of coughing. I THOUGHT I was starting to feel better, but maybe not. It's kind of too late to call up the doctor, maybe I should have done it a few weeks ago when this all started. Sinus infection maybe? IDK it's just pretty inconvenient. I should probably not be running so much. I know this, I just keep thinking, I'll stop when I have the surgery. Just break down my body until surgery then hit the reset button. I realize I might be over doing it just a little. And the only thing I get pretty sad about is my 5 year old who likes to rub my belly and kiss it and snuggle it. It's soft and squishy and he's a wierdo who likes that. He's really needy most of the time and is always glued to my side. I feel for him because that's going away. He's not going to be able to lay on me for a couple of weeks/months. He's not going to be able to come to my room in the middle of the night to sleep. How do I tell my kids what's going on? They wouldn't understand. I was looking through reviews on RS and he was next to me and I was like. "This is what they're going to do to mommy." And you should have seen his face. He didn't understand. I didn't try to tell him again after that. I don't want to totally surprise it on them, I want to be as honest as I can, but at 5 and 7 they're both very young, My 7 yr old MIGHT understand... But Idk. I just know I don't want it to be a surprise. Meh I don't know what else to say. lol. Sorry about the rambling. I don't really have any other outlet for these thoughts and my friends have got to be tired of hearing me talk about it. They understand but I don't know if they really want to hear about it. Updated on 8 Dec 2014: I can't exactly tell if I'm getting worse... or better. It's not bad, no fever as far as I can tell... but as it gets a little bit later in the day my throat is raw again, and I kind of feel like I have a sinus infection. I kind of want to call my dr. to see if they'll see me and put me on some Zithromax, but it's such a pain in the butt. No fever though. It's more annoying than anything else, I had thought it would be cleared up by now. Updated on 9 Dec 2014: I have some time on my hands so I figure I'll update on the nothing but excitement that's going on with me. I'm apparently not sleeping any more. For the past 3 days, I wake up around midnight wide awake. It's lame, I kind of understood over the weekend since I was in bed most of the day resting, but I've been so busy yesterday that I should have slept like a baby. My Ambien doesn't want to work. I'm had told the lady at the PS office that I didn't need an RX for it since I already take it, but maybe I ought to ask if they were planning on writing it for 10mgs rather than the 5 I take normally. I've been needing it to sleep every day so I'm probably building up a tolerance... plus I'm so excited about impending TT. So I will ask her when she calls me tomorrow with pre-op instructions. Yesterday my 7 year old came up to me asking about surgery, apparently he remembers the date, and basically what's going to happen. He is so smart. I still don't know what exactly to say. Other than the truth, I figure if I'm somewhat honest with him, he'll know what to expect. He's a smart boy, like really smart. He asked my why they were going to make it tight, and noted that it would not be soft and squishy any more. And told me that it didn't look THAAAAT bad. Which made me laugh. Kids are so honest. He asked me why, and I didn't have a really good answer for him. The truth is so adult, I have a hard time thinking he would understand body image issues, or that maybe he would understand all too well. I know why I want to have the surgery, but I still am having a hard time explaining that to my kids. I figure if I ignore it then it'll be okay, they will understand. It'll just be something that happened and it won't make a lasting impression that they remember for the rest of their lives. When I was a kid my mom had surgery all the time. Well, that's how I remember it. But she has Endometriosis, and it's bad. By the time they figured out what was wrong with her, it was so bad and she'd been sick all the time for as long as I can remember. I remember her being tired all the time, and cranky, and sick, and knowing as an adult what she went through... it must have been so hard for her. It left a lasting impression on me as a child that follows me into adulthood, and me going into surgery brings up those memories. 6 weeks of recovery is not that long, but to a child it can be everything I imagine. My kid was upstairs counting, I could hear him counting the days in a week, and how many days were in about 4 weeks, and he comes downstairs concerned that he couldn't snuggle me for 30 days. Poor kid, I told him we'd play it by ear, and if anything we could lay on the bed next to each other and watch cartoons with our stuffed animals. That seemed to calm him down a little bit. I was at target yesterday picking out a few more toys and some pajamas for the boys for christmas and pajama day at school, and had the bright idea to check out some pajamas for surgery. Normally $24, the flannel button down ones with pants were $15. So I bought them, I'll be comfortable on the ride there and comfy enough to go right to sleep in them if I don't feel like changing after surgery. I need to buy a few more pillows, my mom said she'd do that for me. I have one of those anti-gravity lawn chairs that I'll probably bring inside since I don't have a recliner too. AHHH I'm so excited. I'm probably most worried about being intubated during surgery, but I'm trying to brush that off because I'll be knocked out. And I hate waiting, I'm so impatient! This is KILLING ME. lol. My friend told me to ask them if they'll weigh whatever it is they cut off. That's a good idea, I don't NEED to know, but it would be interesting. I feel like I already love running, but might love it even more if I felt like I FIT comfortably in my skin and in my clothes. AHH I gotta go take the kids to school now and finish cleaning up my house. Tah Tah ladies!! Updated on 10 Dec 2014: TOMORROW IS THE BIG DAY!! One more night and I'll be going in for surgery. THAT IS... if this sinus infection doesn't stop me. I want to do the surgery no matter how I'm feeling, but I'm not feeling too bad really. We'll have to see. I'm going to see the doctor today and hopefully she puts me on some Zithromax to clear it up quickly. I've been teetering on feeling like I'm getting better and then all of a sudden, I realize I'm not getting better and it's too late. Have you heard of that saying "Hindsight is 100%" Well looking back, I'm thinking that I probably shouldn't have been running through the slight cough. I should have rested when I knew I needed to, but nooooooooo. Now I'm stuck with this. I'm PRAYING that they don't decide they're not going to do the surgery. So today is going to be a busy day. 5yr old gets an award at his school assembly today, then doctors appt right after. Quick clean my house real quick. Pizza for dinner since it's my 7yr old's birthday, pick up my mom from the airport, birthday cake for the birthday boy! and then prepare to not sleep all night from excitement. Updated on 11 Dec 2014: Omg Today is the day!!! However I have to wait another couple of hours before going to Santa Barbara, and actual surgery isn't till 11. I went to the doctor and got a bunch of meds for this sinus issue I have, and after taking all of it, I feel good as new again. A little tickle in my throat, but it's not bad, I can deal with that. No food or water since midnight, Patch behind my hear for nausea, showered last night and this morning in Dial soap, and I'm wearing my new pajamas that I bought for surgery. I'm ready. Now if only I could sleep a little bit longer. I guess I'll watch a little tv until everyone starts waking up. Good luck everyone who's having their surgery today or soon, or has already had it!! :D Updated on 11 Dec 2014: Not writing a lot because I'm gonna go upstairs after this. Everything went smoothly, haven't looked at it yet because i'm scared haha. i'm in a lot less pain then i'd thought i would be in. mostly just tight from the muscle repair. trying to drink lots of water, and trying not to cough. sinus infection feels great, don't feel my incision at all. and all the nurses said I'm going to be very happy with my result. love you ladies!! Updated on 12 Dec 2014: Here are some pictures. I'm still pretty surprised as to how fast everything got going. I wanted for what felt like a LONG time in the lobby, then again in the room. That's probably because I was both hungry and thirsty and I'm super impatient. I was happy to have my husband there with me even though he wasn't talking to me too much. Just really great to have support. So, we got there and after all the waiting around, they brought me in the office to take my vitals and get me dressed in my cute little outfit. They gave me a some compression leggings, booties, awkward panties, and a robe to wear if I got cold. Got changed and hung around. They had me do a pregnancy test and I went to the bathroom before they took me into the surgical suite. I'd kinda hoped I'd be able to poop before it was time, but nope. The anesthesiologist came in to meet with me and explained how he was going to make sure I was comfortable and in no pain. Sounded like he had a solid plan for that. He said something about a lidocaine shot to numb the catheter area, then the IV, after that some medication to make me calm and relaxed, then another medication to numb the inside of my vein because apparently the stuff that puts you to sleep can burn a bit, and finally the stuff to knock me out. He told me about the tube that they'd place in my throat and how I'd probably have a sore throat and cough a little bit after. Whatever he said definitely made me more comfortable. When they rolled me into the surgical suite, laid me down on the table and secured me to it and stated right away with the IV and booties for my legs plus a warm blanket like item to get me warmed up since the room was pretty cold. I was talking to the nurse and don't remember getting calm and relaxed. I fell asleep, no dreams or anything. It felt like a few minutes later and I was waking up in the recovery room. At this point time was passing pretty quickly. The nurse came in and asked me about my pain level, which really wasn't that bad. But as what I thought were MINUTES, probably was half an hour, then she came in and I told her my pain level was getting higher so she put painkillers in my IV and said she'd come back in a few. It was already 4:30ish She helped me get dressed and my husband came back into the room. They wheelchaired me out to my car, good to go. So all in all surgery started at 11am, and ended sometime before 4. The ride home was even shorter. Took us over an hour to get there, and it felt like maybe 15 minutes. We picked up Jack in the Box on the way back for all of us, my mom and the kids included. I got a small burger, PROOOBABLY shouldn't have eaten it but I've been craving a burger, and I was starving. The crackers I brought with me just weren't doing it. Got home and made a nice cozy mound of pillows and started watching TV with the husband. Eventually went to sleep. obviously the sleeping pills aren't working. But I got a little sleep and I'm not in too much pain, it's just really uncomfortable. My throat hurts just the tiniest bit, it's not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be, and coughing is NO FUN. So I'm trying to suppress any coughing. I wish I could look at my stomach but I was given strict orders not to take the CG off. So I'll have to wait until Monday at my next appt. Love you ladies!! Happy Healing!!! Updated on 12 Dec 2014: Updated on 12 Dec 2014: Feeling pretty good still. Not as good as this morning, but certainly not as bad as I thought it was going to be. I'm taking pain pills every 3 hours pretty much on the dot. When I close my eyes, I get pretty dizzy, but I'm not nauseous. I've been trying to eat a little here and there but nothing major. I can't wait to see what my tummy looks like now, it's probably all gross and swollen. It's hard to even imagine what it's going to look like. I've got a little spot on the couch where I've been all day. And I'm moving around quite a bit too. Abs feel really tight, it's pretty uncomfortable. I'm drinking a lot of water and need to get up to go to the bathroom often. Drains are doing good, a little bit annoying but they're doing their job so that's good. Updated on 13 Dec 2014: I think today is day 3. Still feeling pretty good. The Vicodin is doing it's job but at about 2.5 hours it stops working, and I'm supposed to take it every 3 hours. So I haven't been sleeping very well either because I wake up 30 minutes before I'm supposed to take pain medicine. AND not to mention all the water I'm drinking means I have to go to the bathroom pretty much all the time. Getting in and out of whatever position I'm can be pretty uncomfortable. It's funny how much you use your abs every single day. I really want to see what it looks like. Since I haven't seen it, it's hard to imagine it looking any other way. Trying not to get my hopes up. I know it will look good, but it takes a while to see the finished result, so I'm just hoping it looks good. The whole experience is pretty unreal, I can't believe I went through with it. I'm so gassy, I've been taking gas-x and that seems to help, but I can feel every little bubble in my stomach, and it's pretty loud too. My belly feels really hard. I'm feeling pretty good overall. Just very uncomfortable. Updated on 13 Dec 2014: Pretty much just resting and trying to heal. Overall I don't feel too bad. Tubes aren't really bothering me, but I have a feeling that my scar is a bit higher than I expected it to be and not quite as long. Won't exactly know until Monday at my appointment. I do know that they did the best they could, so I'm not worried at all. Updated on 14 Dec 2014: I'm so grateful to have my mom here and have my husband home for a long weekend. So much help. I'm getting a little stir crazy up in the house. But my appointment is tomorrow. My drains are still doing what they should be doing, so I don't know if they'll take them out or not. I just want to see what it looks like. I try to pull the binder up to peak, but can't get it high enough, I'd really have to take it off to look at it. I'm trying to be patient but it's hard. My kids are pretty supportive too. I know they were both pretty scared about surgery, and now they're helping me around the house and being very gentle with me. It's very sweet. I did pull my binder down a little bit in the front and noticed some new stretch marks above my belly button, they're small and rather cute. I'm trying not to stand too straight so the skin doesn't stretch but I feel like it's inevitable. I tried to wash my hair, and realized that I couldn't get in a comfortable position where my whole body didn't get soaked. I have a spray gun but apparently my abs are necessary for every single thing. So no hair washing for me. GROSS. And my back is so sore. I wish I knew where my heating pad is. And anyone else have to pee like every hour? It's feeling a little ridiculous. I am drinking more water, but still it feel like something is constantly pressing on my bladder. Maybe that's part of the surgery. Happy healing ladies!! Updated on 15 Dec 2014: Today I go see my PS at 11am, hopefully they'll give me more pain meds because what I had ran out, I took the last pill at 7am. Hopefully I get to peek under the binder and take a pic or two. I washed my hair this morning, it's been my biggest compliant thus far. It was getting oily and gross. so now it feels good again. It was hard and painful and I had to lean on the wall, but gotta do what I gotta do. My mom says I'm not nearly as swollen as I was when I first came home, but I can't tell. I feel the gas bubbles just rolling around in there and it hurts. I've been taking too much gas-x, oops. And the stool softener apparently make me gassy. I pooped a few days ago, but nothing since. I can't tell if I'm constipated or not. Been watching Reign on Netflix. 13 episodes yesterday. LOL. it passes the time. Updated on 16 Dec 2014: Went to see my PS yesterday and he was impressed, he said I'm on top of the game, or at least on par with where I should be. Drains are getting less and less. Incision looks great, I look thin and it's beautiful. He commented on how much he took off. I wanted a picture, but he said not till it looks better. Which he's right. It's gross down there. However if i'd had a picture I could relive that moment instead of trying to get the damn binder off by myself later so I could look again. lol. He said it's going to be gorgeous if I take the time now to let it heal properly. Stay off my feet, short walks around the house. No getting up and moving around too much right now, or it'll prolong the swelling and all that. Just let it form scar tissue and get stronger. It's hard asking for help, but my mom and my husband are here and willing to help, I need to be the baby. He gave me more pain pills which Is good. After that hour and a half drive to the PS office, then the same way back, we stopped at the CVS and it's the slowest one EVER. Dropped it off and they were quoting me an hour. I looked all pathetic with my drains and hunching over, asking the lady OMG PLEASE I am in PAIN can you do this right now. And my mom told her I needed it now, and they did! The pharmacist did it right away, took maybe 5 minutes. Never seen them move so fast, and boy was I thankful. Took one right there, my back has been killing me. My mom says it's from the anti gravity lawn chair thingy I've been lying in, but I think it has more to do with walking hunched over for the past couple of days. Either way, it hurts when I stand. I've been sleeping a little better. It started where I stopped sleeping the week before surgery, I usually take 5mg Ambien to fall asleep every night and it works initially,, but then I wake up and can't go back to sleep. Last night I still woke up at 3, ate a banana, and was able to fall asleep again until 6. I figure I'm not eating as much as I did before surgery, I probably need the calories/nutrients. I got on the scale the day after surgery and i was 131 then a few days later was 129, this morning I'm 127. Score! I'm fully prepared to gain weight since I'm not exercising like a crazy person. I'm not specifically watching what I eat, I'm just trying to focus on not eating after I feel full, and staying away from stuff that'll probably make me bloat. Hmmm what else is going on... I don't believe anything is happening. Can't wait to get my drains out, they're starting to pinch since I messed with my binder. I still want a picture even though it looks gross. I want to have something to compare it to when it starts looking better lol. I should have just had him take the picture even though it looks so gross. My mom commented on how she didn't see any of the stretch marks that I was talking about having seen when I peeked in. And my belly button looks like it's in the right place. That's a plus! haha Happy Healing Ladies!!! Updated on 17 Dec 2014: Nothing new to say, things are going well, I'm trying to cut down on the Vicodin. Went to the commissary and walked around for a while, may have been a little too much, spent the rest of the day parked in my chair relaxing. Tomorrow the drains might come out, so exciting! Updated on 19 Dec 2014: Drains came out yesterday. PS said I'm doing great. It hurt quite a bit, and was really uncomfortable. But I'm glad they're out. The holes they left are pretty big and he said they'd close up quickly. I'm allowed to shower today, and he says to wash the binder. It's going to be weird sitting around the house without it on. I go back to the PS on Christmas eve to have some sutures removed. One step closer. He said I can be doing more and more each day. It's hard though, because I'm still pretty hunched over. Updated on 19 Dec 2014: Updated on 21 Dec 2014: I think I'm at 10 days. Healing nicely. Feeling a little nit picky, but I believe that will pass. I'm going to call on Monday to ask if there's a reason why they left my old belly piercing. They just moved it down to an obvious location. I've got a good sense of humor about it, but am curious about it. It seems like it'd be so easy to just cut that off, but who knows, I'm not a plastic surgeon. Scar is a little higher on one side, but I believe that happens, I'm not upset about that at all. That happens, belly button rings don't happen. lol. The binder is getting annoying. It's sooooooo tight. So I'm spending a little time without it on this morning. I was going to wait and wear it to Monday and see what the PS office suggests, but whatever. UGH of course I'd have to sneeze while I don't have the binder on. lol. All in all, everything looks good, I'm healing well. Life is good, all I need is time. I walked around the mall yesterday for longer than I have been and didn't even feel bad. I was right back in my chair after, but I wasn't extra uncomfortable. So that's a win! Happy healing my loves! Updated on 23 Dec 2014: Called the PS about my belly button ring that he moved, wondering if there's an excellent reason why he didn't remove that, seems like it'd have been easy enough to remove, but who knows? The nurse said she hadn't noticed it during my last appt. And neither did I, I really hadn't seen anything until my shower the next day. It might not be THAT obvious, but I know what it is. It's not going to just go away. I could get used to it if I needed to, but I still feel like he should have taken that off. We'll see, she's going to look at it tomorrow during my appt. to have my stitches removed. I also asked if I need to be wearing the binder all the time, and they said yes unless I'm showering. I kind of wanted to be free of it for my cute Christmas outfit. But whatever, I can deal with the binder. I've done a little bit of nearly sneezing lately, and let me tell you that is scary as hell. It hurts even though the full sneeze doesn't come out. I'd overdone it shopping the last few days, so I spent yesterday mostly in my chair relaxing. At first my tummy hurt on the left side, and yesterday it was hurting in the same place, but on the right side. Ended up taking some Vicodin and that helped. Otherwise I'm just taking tylenol and that kind of helps. I don't think they'll write me another Vicodin prescription and only have 2 pills left. meh. I can't wait until there's more time between me and this surgery, my mom looks a little concerned about some of the puffy parts, but I believe most of it is swelling. I think it's going to be well worth it when I'm out of this binder and the incision doesn't hurt anymore. No jeans yet because it pushes on the incision. Overall, I'm very happy. I just need time to pass. I'm asking for running gear for Christmas, and I can't wait until I can put it all to good use! Happy healing my loves!! Updated on 26 Dec 2014: Had the stitches removed the day after Christmas it was just a little bit uncomfortable, since I'm always nervous. That went well. I mentioned my belly button piercing, and they do know about it and meant to talk to me about removing it at a later time. She didn't remember what he'd said about it during surgery. Mostly everything looks good. She cleaned out my belly button which looked a little raw with some peroxide and antibacterial ointment. And they wanted to wait a little, but I convinced them to prescribe the antibiotic right away just in case. Got the go ahead to drink and drive... not at the same time... lol. But I managed to overdo it with the wine on Christmas and ended up puking several times. OOPS. I'm not nearly as sore today as I'd thought I would be. I did sleep last night, but not well of course. But I'm feeling okay today. Tylenol, and no hang over. No wine for me for a while. ;) Still pretty swollen, can't wait till all that starts going down. Everything is going well! Updated on 27 Dec 2014: I'm going photo crazy. Lots of swelling from Christmas-vomiting. But I'm not as sore today. Belly button is looking better. I know things aren't perfect but I'm still happy with my results. I had a friend's hubby ask me if it was worth it, and knowing things aren't perfect.... I still think it's worth it. To not have that extra skin hanging around... I can put a price tag on it, it's amazing. All the tops I'll be able to wear, any material, thick or thin. I'm so excited. I feel like a whole new person. Things may not be perfect, but I can totally appreciate the direction in which I'm going. I'm taking Cipro for my belly button, putting Polysporin on it, and cleaning it out with a little bit of peroxide. It's already looking better, but still pretty red and a little raw. I wouldn't expect it to look perfect over night. And I know everything looks the same as yesterday, but I'll still probably post pictures often. Updated on 1 Jan 2015: 21 Days PO! Went to my PS yesterday to check out my belly button. It's looking good, there were a few more stitches in there that came out, it's healing nicely. I'm still doing the peroxide plus polysporin in there, and today is the last day of the Cipro. I'm not taking nearly as much of the Tylenol as I had been, maybe 2x per day some times 3x. Sneezing doesn't hurt nearly as much lately. I mean, it still hurts... but I actually got most of the way through a sneeze before I realized it was still going to hurt. I'm not in sheer horror when I feel it coming on. Of course, I'd get my appetite back sooner then I'm sure most people do. So I'm TRYING to pay attention and stop eating when I'm full. It's difficult, but it's something that I need to learn anyway. It's the holidays, and I can't exercise.... of course the 3 lbs I've gained will go away when I can start up again. It's just messing with my head right now. PS also said that I can walk, I told him about walking a mile on the treadmill at a super easy pace, and he said that was fine. Nothing more, just work on going a little bit faster, and a little bit longer. Start from the bottom and work up. Wait another week to 10 days to start working up to more "vigorous" exercises, like the elliptical or whatever. Wait to run, and when I start up... do it like an adult. Don't just rush into 10 mile runs. lol. They know my type. He also said to go pick up a pair of spanks or 2. He said that I could wear that during the day, and then go without during night time, I thought that sounded a little backwards. So I still wore my CG at night time, and I'm going to start wearing the Spanks during the day. Yay for being able to go out without it being super noticeable. Over-all, I'm feeling great. Husband and I had a fun day of driving around looking at stuff and window shopping, we took the scenic route back from Santa Barbara back to Lompoc, through the mountains and a few neighboring cities. It was a long, long day. Happy new year friends!! Updated on 4 Jan 2015: Feeling a little better every day. Probably eating a lot of salt, so I'm bloating a lot at night. But in the morning, I look great. Overall the swelling has gone down a little every day. I'm walking on the treadmill just a mile and a half. I know I'm not ready to start running yet, but I'm getting there, I feel like I could be ready in another week or so. We'll have to see. I get a little farther sneezing every day. I've got a cold or something, my throat has been raw for the past week and now my sinus passages are starting to get irritated. It's still scary to sneeze, but I'm getting there. And little uses of my abs are getting easier, like getting myself out of bed, or out of the car. Made the choice that I am for sure signing up for that half marathon at the end of April. I think I can be ready. It's like 3.5/4 months or something like that. I don't think I'll have a hard time building my mileage back up once I start running again. I'm not planning to run fast... just do it. All my buddies are going, I want to be part of the cool crowd. I'll just have to pace myself, and maybe walk a little bit. But for sure I'm going to do it. Runners chime in! When were you running again? How'd it feel? Tips? Updated on 7 Jan 2015: Things are pretty much the same, steadily getting better. I feel good the last couple of days. Walked 3 miles on the treadmill this morning, and the past few days I've just been building up. Tomorrow I'm going to try out the elliptical. See how that goes. 4 weeks tomorrow! I have no complaints. Every day, I feel a little more like it was worth it. I'm sitting around in a tank top and shorts, and I feel good about myself. I don't feel like there's a part of my body I need to hide or cover up, my belly isn't hanging over my clothes, I feel good about it. I feel good about me. I'm still not wearing jeans yet, I'm guessing that'll be a while. Leggings it is! I'm okay with that. I feel like there is still swelling that will go down over the next few months, and I still swell a little bit at night. I'm wearing the spanks I bought from target and I'm sleeping in that too. Hard to pull up and down to go to the bathroom. But I feel supported. It's a tradeoff. My mom left this morning :( I go back to the PS next week Wednesday. Hoping I can start scar therapy then. They give some sort of cream or something. It'll be the first time driving myself to an appt. I'm a little nervous because I don't enjoy driving, however I think it'll be fine. I made a CD for my car and have fresh new jams for the hourlong drive. Updated on 8 Jan 2015: I know I added pictures yesterday but I woke up today feeling flat and non bloated! I actually slept in this morning for 2 hours longer than I have in the past 6 months probably. I can lay on my stomach now, well mostly on it. I can get out of bed, drive my car, do most of my normal stuff. Today was supposed to be my elliptical day, but I wasn't able to get to the gym this morning, Bummer. but maybe it wasn't meant to be for today. I'm actually posting these pictures because a few days ago I noticed that I could actually see the line going down in the center of my abs, and you have no idea how excited this made me. WELL, I finally got a picture where you can see it. I'm also posting pics of my scars because even though I take them, I haven't really posted them. Scar is healing well. Updated on 11 Jan 2015: I'm feeling great. My energy levels are great. I've moved over from walking on the treadmill to the elliptical machine. I feel like I want to start running, but I'm going to wait until I see my PS on Wednesday. I'm wearing my spanks all the time, it makes me feel more secure. Especially at night. I'm reading the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy so of course I had sex for the first time in what feels like forever. Go read the books ladies. they're awesome. I'm trying to watch what I eat, or at least not over eat, it's so hard. I don't want to gain weight, My jeans all fit kind of snug, but I'm still wearing leggings anyway. woke up and my belly is flatter at the bottom than it had been, woke up yesterday like that too. So of course I took pictures and had to share. Everything is healing great. Life is good. I'm standing straight muscles are feeling much more normal, and even though sneezing still hurts like hell, it's not so bad. I haven't even taken any tylenol in like 2 or 3 days. AND I can sleep on my tummy again. Which certainly makes thing more comfortable. I signed up for a hilly 15k in March, and then there's the Half marathon in April. Don't know for sure if I'll be ready in time, but I suspect that I will. I have high hopes that it won't take me long to get my stamina back for running. I'm so competitive and feeling so good. I think that I'll be fine come race day. Happy healing friends!! Updated on 14 Jan 2015: Went to the PS today. Drove myself all the way down there for the first time, it's about an hour, hour and a half long drive. I love that they're super flexible with appt times. Appt was at 9 and I arrived at 9:30 bc of traffic and all that and they completely understand. Totally puts me at ease in driving all the way down there. He wanted to know if I've been taking it easy. The truth is that I have... FOR ME. I gradually built up to just under an hour for the elliptical making it a little harder each time. I learned my lesson, the other day I ellipticalled a little too hard with the resistance a little too high or something and was more sore than I felt like I should have been. Enough to take a dose of Tylenol. So I need to take it a little easier, stick to half an hour not a full hour. Give it a week or two. He did give me the go ahead to start running again, but really stressed taking it EASY. I called back just a little while ago to ask for how long should it take me to build back up to running for an hour and was told like two weeks, but really stressed that I didn't want to ruin anything. He also told me to wear my spanks while I'm exercising and pretty much all the time too. He gave me some bioCorneum Stuff to start scar treatment. So I'm going to put some of that on at night. I brought up that my scar is uneven, but I know that it'll probably hardly be noticeable in a few months. At the moment you can see it over all of my panties. I don't know why I even brought it up since I know it'll calm down. He asked about my energy levels, and really they are great. I still feel like I need a nap if I do too much, but I believe that's normal for me. I'm a stay at home mom and other than running I can be very sedentary. Yesterday I cleaned for several hours (off and on) and was exhausted by 4pm. Lol. Totes normal. Sneezing stil hurts so I've found out. LOL. Uh what else... I still look pretty much the same. When I wake up in the morning, I'm pretty flat, and only a little swollen by the end of the day. Everything is good. Life is good. I'm happy with my results. I'm happy with my body. I want to get it moving again. I need to start tracking my calories again, all this lack of exercise is getting to me. It's just so depressing to know how many calories I'm over eating. lol. Happy healing friends!! Updated on 17 Jan 2015: Sneezed twice this morning, and it didn't hurt!! I feel like that's a HUGE step in the right direction. I'm running again, slow and easy. It feels easier than the elliptical anyway. Swelling is pretty minimal and restricted to my incision area. Just gotta watch myself to not over do it. AND it's my 29th birthday!! Happy birthday to me!! :D Last night my husband and I went to a function and I got to wear my sparkle dress. Updated on 18 Jan 2015: Swelling is going down slowly but surely, can't wait to see how it looks in another month!! Updated on 23 Jan 2015: I'm not attaching a picture of my tummy because it looks the same as it has been. And I ran this morning so there are all kinds of marks and red spots where my pants lay. I'm feeling good lately. Minor aches in my belly area sometimes. But not bad enough to warrant medicine. All in all everything is good. I put my scar cream on it 2x per day, scar looks pretty good. Maybe later after I change I'll take a picture. Feeling pretty confident in my clothes. Went out to lunch with my husband yesterday and got dressed up. And felt super happy with how I looked in my outfit. :) My mom got me these jeans right after surgery and I couldn't fit them, but now they just fit. Running is good. I get out of breath when I run faster, at my old pace. Which sucks. But it'll come back. Running 6 miles on Sunday, it'll be the farthest I've run since before surgery. Updated on 26 Jan 2015: 6 and a Half weeks! I don't know why I feel better posting pictures on half week times. Probably because I don't usually run on Mondays, so I wake up pretty flat and stay pretty flat until I'm ready to take pictures. I'm including close up ones of just my belly. But I don't feel like they really do it justice. So I'll include a set of full body shots too. Please excuse my messy room. lol. My scar doesn't look THAAT dark in person. I've also been using the scar cream and it's looking good. I feel like I've hit a stand still... I'm not getting flatter every day, but it's going to keep happening without being super obvious. Exciting!! Happy healing friends!! Updated on 30 Jan 2015: Here's a pic from after my run this morning. I LOVE that my tummy is flat under my running clothes. This is the main reason I had it. So I would feel confident in my running clothes. I'm wearing spanks in the picture, and probably still will for a while, PS says at least another month. Things aren't perfect, but I'm happy. Updated on 31 Jan 2015: I love that I feel good in my clothes. Not wearing my spanks in the pic because I didn't feel like going upstairs to put it on. lol Updated on 4 Feb 2015: WAHOO!! I'm at 8 weeks!! Hope everyone is doing well!! I'm doing pretty great. I've been back at running for 4 weeks now worked my way up from 12 miles when I first started, doubled that the next week, then 30 miles the third week. This week I'll be taking it a little easier since I'm not feeling so well. I have a cold or something, my throat feels a little raw. But I ran 10 miles yesterday which is good. At 7.5 I'm back to running pretty much like I was pre-surgery. My endurance has suffered a little bit, but hey... if I can run 10 miles so soon... that's not too bad. It's just not as easy as it had been before my TT. No complaints though lol. At the last minute I signed up for a 25k trail race this weekend. That's actually why I ran 10 miles, because 25k is 15 miles... I haven't done that since about a month pre-surgery. So I needed the miles. Hopefully I can run with this cold/whatever it is that I've come down with, because it's not an option at this point. What I'm trying to say is that I've had pretty smooth sailing with recovery. My swelling is not so bad, some days are worse than others, and my "worse" days are really not so bad. I'm wondering if perhaps my doctor didn't take off enough skin... but I'll worry about that later and try not to let it bother me. The part of my incision that is uneven is starting to be less noticeable to me. Uh... sneezing hurts, coughing hurts. There was a brief period of time where it didn't but that passed quickly and it hurts again. Updated on 9 Feb 2015: Apparently my 8 week post TT body can run 22 miles. There was a lot of walking, and the race was MUCH longer than it was supposed to be. Sure my 2 friends and I came in close to last place, but the point is that we ran 22 miles yesterday. Crazy. Minimal swelling after, crazy. Updated on 11 Feb 2015: My weight is going up. Like... I've gained 10 lbs since surgery. I'm hoping it's swelling, because I feel like I'm eating healthy amounts, and I'm not over eating. I've been doing lots of running, gradually building up my mileage, but I haven't started weight training yet. I have hopes that my weight will come down naturally, and that I'm just building the muscles back up in my legs. I don't feel like I LOOK like I'm putting on weight, but the number is still messing with my head. My jeans feel snug, but the rest of me looks good. I'm going to have to learn to deal with it. I feel pretty good. Running doesn't bother me, and I wouldn't know if I'm swelling, because I look pretty much the same all the time now. I hope I'm swelling in fact, because I don't want this to be my final outcome. When I sit down, there's extra skin, and I'm not completely flat. Which is slightly annoying, however if I'm feeling confident walking around in a crop top which shows the bottom of my midriff then it can't be too bad. I go back to the PS on next Wednesday I think. I'll ask about swelling, and if he think's that's extra skin... or is it swelling. Will I be completely flat by the time everything is said and done with? I do go though times where I'm ultra tired, and I'm going to blame that on surgery, I am still healing. I'm sore everywhere from running all those miles over the weekend, that it's taking me forever to recuperate and feel better. Sneezing still hurts. In one spot. Can't wait for that to be over with. lol. Let's see... Anything else? Happy healing!! Updated on 3 Mar 2015: Things are good. I can cough and sneeze now without pain!! Which is good because I'm coughing all the time from some kind of chest cold/sinus infection. Meh. Still running through it. But took some time off to let my body heal after I hurt my foot at that trail run I did. Now I'm back at it. Started a diet bet. $10 bucks says I'll lose 4% of my body weight and I'm pretty excited about it. Something to motivate me to eat healthy and exercise regularly. It's time!! All my jeans are starting not to fit, and I'm determined to look hot this summer. Last week we went out of town, so it was nothing but fast food while we were on the road. So I'm super motivated. I had started leaving the binder off while I was hanging out at home, and wearing it just when I exercised or went out, and then forgot it at home while we were on our trip. So now I'm not wearing it at all. Don't notice any difference. So that's cool. It's smooth sailing for me. Life is good. Ready to fit into my clothes. Glad I can hit the gym. No pics because I look pretty much the same. Updated on 5 Mar 2015: I'm calling this a before pic, because I've gained a few since surgery, and am starting to work out harder and eat better. Here we go!! :D Happy healing friends!! Updated on 9 Mar 2015: Had what seems like my last appt with my PS today. WOW 3 months... or is it nearly 4 already? Time flies. No, I am not completely happy with my Tummy tuck, I would have still done it knowing what I know now... but there are things that I didn't see going into it. Like... my tummy is not completely flat. There's still fat there, I had been under the impression that it would have been pulled tight and removed, and it was not the case. Maybe I gained it since the tummy tuck? I don't know. But I got a quote for Lipo of that area, and he'd said that would flatten it. And they quoted me the price very cheap but I don't know if my husband will go for it because we don't exactly have the extra money lying around. If I had known ahead of time... perhaps. He mentioned my love handles... but I'm not worried about those. Diet and exercise and they'll be gone... I'm worried about my tummy not being flat... or still having that deflated look. So I'll talk to my husband about the option of Lipo, but work really hard now that I'm at 100% trying to lose the extra weight I gained and hopefully that will do the trick. I'm not adverse to hard work, I just don't want to be doing all this work... and it still remain. He also said he would remove the belly button piercing. He tried to tell me again that some people grow very attached to them and get angry when they're taken off... which I think is crap. It should have been removed. So he said he'd do that. That we could schedule an appt later for that, and I'm thinking I'll wait until my run season is up. Schedule it with the Lipo, if I should decide to go that route. Overall, I am still very happy. Even with the minor flaws, I'm still quite pleased with my new body. No it's not perfect, but who has a perfect body? Knowing what I know now, maybe I'd have checked out a few other PS offices before settling down. Updated on 12 Mar 2015: It's about a week between these two pics. Maybe just a few days idk. It's early to tell, but I have lost a few lbs and I think that it is already looking better. Gives me hopes. I am really hoping that I can lose the tummy fat non surgically since we don't have the grand right now to do Lipo. Updated on 19 Mar 2015: So I've been really hitting it hard, eating less crap, tracking my cal intake. Getting my run's in, biking. Hitting the gym. and I'm starting to see a difference. I've lost probably 5 lbs between the two pictures. I'm thinking that by the time I get back down to 115 or 120, I'll be 100% pleased. I'll still have the belly ring taken off, but I don't think I'm still considering Lipo (not that we have the funds for it anyway). Also, I'm feeling good. I can plank, do all my upper body moves without pain. Feeling good about life! Updated on 8 Apr 2015: I'm dedicated, using Myfitnesspal to track calories, and exercising like a maniac. And things are looking good. I've lost about 10 lbs and you can totally tell a difference between my before and after pics. I'm much happier now. No pain when I work out, and I feel confident and successful. This means I'm really going to have to watch how I eat for the rest of my life to make sure I don't put on weight, but I'm happy with how I look. I still need to have the belly button piercing taken off. But I'll do that after race season is over. Updated on 8 Apr 2015: pics didn't upload Updated on 15 May 2015: working on my abs. they're starting to show SOME definition. I might just not be one of those people who's skin will cooperate with abs. It's fine. But that's not going to stop me from working on it daily. Updated on 15 Jun 2015: I don't know how many months it's been 7, perhaps? Things are going well. I'm hover around and just under 120, I've been lifting, and exercising a lot. I'm feeling pretty happy with my body, no real complaints. There is some extra skin and I wonder if perhaps I should have waited to have surgery until I lost as much weight as humanly possible? I actually went to the pool, and the beach and felt really good about myself in my bikini. Pretty fantastically happy about that. I would have done the surgery again in a heartbeat. Sure, I'm a little pissy about the tiny bit of extra skin... but that's okay. I can deal with that. I look amazing in my clothes. Updated on 28 Aug 2015: I think it's been about 8 months now... nearly 9. Things are good. No, I am not 100% happy, but I am about 80% happy. There is STILL extra skin there even when I lose the weight. I feel like the Surgeon could have taken more skin off, or perhaps I should have lost more weight before surgery. I was trying, but it was unsuccessful. Kind of a bummer, but you know what... 90% happy is pretty damn good. I feel confident enough in a bikini at the pool, walking around my house in just a bra, or running in just a sports bra down the street. To have that confidence is priceless to me. The pictures I'm posting were from when I was on vacation. Too hot to run with a shirt. I love my body so much now, I appreciate it. I'd gained about 5 lbs over the summer that I'm working back off right now, back in the gym l'm lifting, stairs, running, rowing, rope pulling, biking. Pretty much doing all the exercises all the times. My abs feel good. I did have the muscles repaired and can still feel it. I wouldn't say it HURTS, but it's like I've constantly done an abdominal workout. I can definitely feel it on the row machine. I can do all the ab exercises without problems, I can run as far as I want to, my body doesn't hinder me in any way anymore. Running another marathon In November,
The worse Dr. Ever! I had a breast augmentation with him and he did a terrible job Told him I had extreme pain and he dismissed me he said was normal a week later I called and he retired. Now I have to pay To removed my implants. I am glad he retired his job sucked.
This is my second job, I had kids since my first and my breast were a bit droopy and I wanted them bigger; I wanted to not have to wear a push up bra. So originally I had 375cc and they were perfect. Now I have 700cc and they are what I wanted, but the dr let down my crease on the left side and the implant dropped nicely, but not on the right so it's still too high, and it's 5 months out. I wear a strap and massage but nothing works. I'm angry bc I don't see why he would t let them both down. I want him to fix it but I don't have money to pay any more money. The lipo on the other hand was so worth it, results are amazing I love it! Updated on 5 Mar 2016: My before boobs. What do you guys think? Was it worth the unevenness in my boobs?? Updated on 5 Mar 2016: I'd like to know if anyone has had experience being unhappy with their procedure, particularly assymetry, and what their surgeon said. Were they willing to fix it? Did they charge you? I think it's really unfair because I have all my money to have him so it right in the first place, and I think in my case it was his fault. I don't have any money to get it fixed :( any experience with this? Updated on 15 Mar 2016: And I am getting a revision on my right breast. As soon as I come up with 1000$. I understand the or and anesthesia but his fee is higher than both!! I thought I paid him all that money to do it right the first time! Updated on 17 Mar 2016: I am having my revision on my right breast. Capsulectomy(sub pectoral reaugmentation) bilateral. I'm nervous from the recent Doctor answers to my last question, but he did a good job on my left breast so... I don't know, I'm excited to have matching breasts! I hope it goes well! I hope by writing this it helps someone; ladies make sure before you sign on with a surgeon what his revision policies are very clearly! Updated on 19 Mar 2016: I am also concerned about the slight double bubble on my right breast. The fold was lowered to accommodate the large implant, but is there anything i can do to help release or stretch the old imf? Anyone have experience with this? Updated on 20 Mar 2016: To see what he says about the double bubble. Not that I have the money for him to correct this if he can. I'm really disappointed with my dr overall. I wish I had chosen someone else. There's just no way to know what the outcome will be.if I had the money I would go somewhere else and have a revision. Is the double bubble that bad to warrant another surgery? Updated on 20 Mar 2016: I know it could be way worse, and it's probably not my doctors fault these complications happened, and after reading other people's stories what he charged for my revision sounds incredibly reasonable. I hope he can fix my other breast. Updated on 24 Mar 2016: Today is my revision, at 10:30 and I'm already starving and so thirsty!!! Ahh this sucks. Can't wait to have matching boobies tho! Updated on 25 Mar 2016: That ambien gives you crazy dreams! I dreamed that I woke up symmastia and it was awful!! Updated on 29 Mar 2016: Feeling good, a little sore. I'm worried about having to lift my children that my muscle will construct and keep my implant high. It still has to drop and let swelling go down. Updated on 30 Mar 2016: New pic. Progress? Updated on 30 Mar 2016: To push down my right breast, but I'm afraid my left breast will be pushed down too far, if it hasn't already. Updated on 2 Apr 2016: I am much happier with the symmetry of my breasts. I hope it drops a bit more, though it kind of feels like it's done dropping. It looks a lot better than it did already though Updated on 4 Apr 2016: I think I'm getting my stitches out today. Updated on 6 Apr 2016: More pics Updated on 11 Apr 2016: Found old photos right after I got my 375hp Updated on 11 Apr 2016: Didn't upload Updated on 11 Apr 2016: So I know it's only been a few weeks and it has to drop but the assymetry still bugs the [RS bleep] out of me. Updated on 11 Apr 2016: Side view Updated on 13 Apr 2016: Updating with pics! Updated on 19 Apr 2016: Does everyone with implants get kind of weird looking/shaped breasts when they flex their pecs? Do you guys work out your chest muscles? Updated on 20 Mar 2017: Weird it has been exactly a year since my surgeries. The lipo was brilliant. It really takes about six months for the swelling to go down, so you must be patient to see results. My breasts on the other hand... the double bubble got a bit better but that breast still just has an odd shape. The other one is too high. I have animation deformity, which wouldn't be that big of a deal to me except they go totally different ways! They are too big. I feel like he didn't listen to me. It's embarrassing when you are having conversations and people keep glancing down at them. And worst of all, I so regret that he let down my crease which is the root of all of my problems, and he never discussed it with me. I didn't even know that was possible until I researched it online AFTER surgery. Researched it- he didn't tell me. It does make me sad, I wish I had the money to fix it. QUESTIONS: (Honestly) 1)Is it worth fixing? 2)Is it that bad? 3) is it possible to restore the crease? 4) is it possible to try and fix them and have them turn out even worse? Updated on 21 Mar 2017: Okay I thought I updated but I don't see my update....it's been about a year post op, my revision helped, it was definitely necessary. One still rides high and one still has double bubble. I have motion deformity, but they go different ways lol. They're a little too big. I feel I could do it again I would get them smaller abd go to a doctor I felt listened to me. Updated on 18 Apr 2017: Okay I've lived with them for what a year now? I've given the benefit of the doubt. [RS bleep], I gave more money to make my boobs semi-match. Never was the possipibility of lowering my crease(es) ever discussed, nor possible complications, such as double bubble, which I have. No more than ten minutes, and I'm being generous here, was spent with me by the doctor. My breasts were even and he let down only one crease? So basically he ran out of time and said [RS bleep] it, let her pay to have her breasts match. I feel SO self conscious about my large breasts that I don't even like my husband to touch them anymore. Oh yeah he left ugly messy scars too. It's awful to feel people staring at you, or looking you in the chest instead of the eye. My mother in law is the worst at hiding it. So humiliating! Now I have bad credit, no employment as a stay at home mom, and I'm going to not have an easy or cheap fix. I'm sorry, dr Buchanan was amazing at lipo, I would go to him again in a heartbeat, but with the breasts, I just feel like he really didn't listen to me, I KNOW he did not spend time with me assessing goals or obstacles or anything really Updated on 26 Apr 2017: I had a consultation today with dr Neal Handel and his practice manager Lori Stapp. They were so kind and knowledgeable, and dr Handel was basically 100% certain he can help me. I just have to come up with the money, and then convince my husband to let me spend money on myself again ???? I don't want to waste money on this, but I want to feel good about myself while I'm still young!
I have had three children in four years. My oldest is 5, then 3, then my youngest is just two. When my youngest was 10 weeks old I had a breast augmentation because I knew that my 32 A's would never look like human breasts again. I had had my tubes tied and knew there would be no more children to cause further damage. I truly believed that with enough diet and exercise I would be able to have a half way decent tummy again. I am now hovering around 140 and it is just huge and awful. I will post pictures later today. I am turning 40 in May and I want to give this gift to myself. I feel nervous and a little guilty but, I am going to do it any way. Thank goodness for this sight.
While the FDA recommends saline implants for women under 22, that's just a recommendation, and the final recommendation is up to the physician and the patient. It can be difficult to open the constricted base of the breast in a case like yours, but it can be done. Silicone implants are generally more natural feeling and saline have issues with valve compromise and deflation. Look for board certification and great results.
