I am about to go in for an upper bleph on Monday June 2, 2014. I have wanted to do this for well over 10 years but finally decided to follow through and get it done! I am full of anxiety wanting to be done already, but also looking forward to the results. By this time next week I will be 2 days into my recovery!! My before pics show the all hooding in my upper lids. The one with the mascara on I am lifting my eyebrows really high because I hate the way my eyelids hood my eyes in pictures (do you ever do that?). The only time I ever looked like I had upper eyelids is when I wore a lot of mascara because my lashes are long. The picture of me smiling is the one that did me in! I saw that one and booked the appointment to see the Dr the next day! Enough is enough, I want to see my eyelids again! I have already started looking at new colors of eyeshadow (which I stopped doing long ago because you could never see it on my eyes). Is 48 too old for electric blue eyeshadow? ;) I am counting my sleeps until Monday! Nervous and reaching out for support! Thanks! xoxo ^_^ Updated on 29 May 2014: I went into the office today for my pre-op packet, my prescriptions and to have my before pictures taken. I did wear makeup (mascara) .. I reckon it was so I wouldn't shudder at the sight of my before pictures when I see them again but I am excited about being able to wear and see eyeshadow on my new and improved lids! I find myself full of anxious butterflies and wish it was a week later already! Updated on 29 May 2014: Here are a few more pics of my upper lids. One of them shows how my eye makeup gets all smudged and smeared over my eye because my hooding messes it up. Another one is to demonstrate my "bitchy resting face". I get asked a lot if I am angry, I swear I am not, my eyes just make me look that way! And another shot of me opening my eyes really wide...no eyelids to be had! I swear I am going to buy every single color of eyeshadow and wear it after I am healed! Shocking Purple Passion, here I come! ;) Updated on 29 May 2014: I was given 4 prescriptions today. Two of them are for nausea. One I will take one hour before my surgery. The other is a "just in case" for post surgery if I am experiencing any nausea. I was also given a pain narcotic (which by the sounds of it most people don't need to use) and an antibiotic that I will take for 4 days post surgery. In addition to my prescriptions I was given Arnika Forte; to prevent excessive bruising (I take it today and every day until my surgery). 2 kinds of eye drops; one for day time use and a thicker one for nighttime use. It is said that you can get dry eye post surgery because the eye ducts get blocked from swelling so the drops are said to help with that. I was also given some cleansing cloths and pointy q-tips for eye goop removal. They also gave me some sunglasses and a handy travel bag too to put my meds in. My surgery is booked in the afternoon on Monday June 2nd, so no food or drink after 11pm Sunday night. I am going to get some ginger ale and crackers to munch on when I get home from my surgery. Updated on 30 May 2014: If you have hooded eyes, you have probably done this, you lift your hoods away from your eyes to see what you would look like without the hooding. So, here are pics of me lifting my hooded eye skin to create a "hopeful expectation" of what my upper eye bleph results will look like. I'd be delighted to have results that look like this! 3 more sleeps before my surgery! Updated on 30 May 2014: You are required to not do strenuous activities until you are at least 4 weeks post op. So, before your surgery there are some things you should do to make your recovery easier. 1) Clean your house: Sanitize the area you will be washing in, a clean bathroom and sanitary area for any post op care is super important while you are healing. You should NOT be doing this after your surgery. Change your sheets and pillow cases. Dust and vacuum and do all your laundry. Get everything spic and span so you can devote time to healing and not cleaning. 2) Buy 2 weeks worth of groceries. No one wants to go grocery shopping with swollen eyes and sutures. Be sure to pick up enough food and drink to last 2 weeks. You will probably feel fine enough to shop, but may not "look" presentable. Additionally, you should not be carrying heavy bags after surgery so it's best to get enough to get you through a few weeks so you can rest and heal. Also, NO SALT! If you eat a diet heavy in sodium, back way off way before your surgery and stay away from it until you are fully healed! A diet high in sodium causes excessive swelling. If you smoke, quit, smoking slows down the healing process by cutting off oxygen to the blood. 3) Pluck your eyebrows, shave and give yourself a home facial, paint your toes. A little bit of pampering is in order because you will have to be super careful with your eyes/face post surgery while you heal. Some surgery centers prefer you keep your fingernails free of polish so check before you decide on doing that manicure. The night before, wash your hair and shave. If you have long hair, be sure to bring something to tie it into a pony tail or braid it with. 4) Set up the area you will be using with your meds, eye drops and post Op supplies. If you have a hard time remembering to take your meds, set up your phone or calendar to send you alerts to remind you. 5) Have some comfy clothes at the ready. It is suggested you wear button up tops in the first week or 2 so that you do not have to pull anything over your head. 6) Remember, you won't be able to wear contacts for about a month or longer, so dig out those glasses. 7) You may not be able to see clearly right after your surgery. So surfing the net may be difficult because you can't see the text. Have some movies available or do a marathon session of your favorite TV shows. Set up your DVR to record everything so its all ready to go. 8) Make sure you have lots of pillows. It is suggested you sleep upright for the first 72 hours to help prevent excessive swelling. 9) Have several cold packs available so that you always have one in the freezer ready to use. In the first 48 to 72 hours you will be required to ice often, so make sure you have enough ice bags or cold compresses. Freeze some cucumber slices to use on your eyes ( cucumbers are a source of vitamin C and caffeic acid which help calm skin irritations and inflammation.) Remember that regular cold packs are going to be too heavy to put on your eyes. 10) Make a list of things you are required to bring with you for your surgery (clothing, meds, etc) and stick it to the door so you are reminded before you leave the house. Often times nerves and anxious energy make you forget things, so stick that note to the door to remind you to bring everything. Pack your surgical center bag the night before so you don't have to race around looking for things the day of your surgery. Take off all your jewelry and leave it at home. Don't bring anything with you of value to the surgical center because they don't have lockers to store your things. Don't forget; NO FOOD OR WATER the night before your surgery. This is super important. You do not want to be throwing up post surgery just because you wanted to slip in a late night snack or drink. Also remember, no makeup, creams, perfumes or lotions on your body the day of your surgery! Hope this helps! :) Updated on 31 May 2014: See if the cat is awake. Go outside to see if it is still hot. Bake a pretend cake in your head, add sprinkles. See if you can throw your socks into the laundry hamper from your bed. Give yourself 10 points for getting one in! See if the cat is awake. Complain about how hot it is outside. Check email to see if Publishers Clearing House still thinks you may be a winner. Consider washing the floors, laugh at the thought, go back to baking pretend cake. Get hungry for real cake. See if cat is awake. Feel somewhat disgruntled that the cat can sleep that long. Pick cat hair off your shirt, and pants, and all the furniture in the house. Check pantry for anything resembling cake. Feel disgruntled about having no cake. Wake up cat. Updated on 2 Jun 2014: Well here I am just waiting to go in for my surgery. My stomach is full of butterflies! I will be happy when I am on the other side and healing! I'll post later when I get home! My emotions are as follows: :O :D :O :-/ :) :-P :D :) :O :) Updated on 2 Jun 2014: I'll keep this short... my fat grafting looks amazing...and the eyes...OMG YES!! here are a few pics. Thanks for the good wishes, they worked! xoxox :) Updated on 3 Jun 2014: Now that i am able to see I can write more. Yesterday went very well. I cannot say enough good things about my surgeon, Dr Robert Clement. He is absolutely marvelous. His bed side manner is 5 star all the way. When he came in to mark my eyes with a marker he sat with me and talked for 30 minutes. He had me laughing multiple times and really had me feeling positive and prepared. He was thoughtful and kind and and very compassionate. His medical staff is also kind and compassionate. This is what 5 star gold standard care feels like. I cannot say enough good things about all of them! My eyes feel fine today, the worst part was the fat grafting. When I woke up from surgery my thighs were very painful. I don't know how folks are able to do full liposuction on their body, just that small harvest area on my legs was very sore...I can't imagine having full on lipo! I was told it would feel like someone punched and slapped me multiple times in the thighs... it did feel like that. Today is not as painful, just sore. I took one pain med last night and so far today I've not needed any. My face looks lovely. He put fat in all the places that needed it to make it look fresh and youthful. I did not get a lot, just enough to take care of the areas that I thought made my face look old; slight jowl on the left and right side to which he fat grafted my jaw line and he did my nasal labial folds around my mouth and added a tad to my temples and the apples of my cheeks. There is some tenderness in those areas today but it is not painful. Since I got my own fat injected in those areas I am hopeful that those areas stay looking this pretty! I am absolutely thrilled with the results! Dr. Clement called me about 2 hours after I got home to check on me and make sure I was feeling comfortable. I iced my eyes every 20 mins when I got home. The bed was set up with many pillows and I slept sort of sitting up with my legs propped up a bit too. I woke up every 1/2 hour to 45 mins to apply ice and did so all throughout the night. I slept comfortably in short bursts and felt fine when I woke up. I applied thick drops in my eyes before bed and the daytime drops when I woke up. I will continue to ice my eyes all day and night today as well. Overall in terms of my eyes, there is no pain. It feels weird to try to look up with the tape on...I can't really ..the tape is in the way. But I can already see eyelids...OMG eyelids!! Eyelids that are screaming out to have eyeshadow put on them! hehehe :D So that is my update for day 2. I go in to see my Surgeon on Friday morning to have the sutures out! Dr Robert Clement better be ready for a giant hug from me! :D Updated on 3 Jun 2014: Just a quick picture update with my eyes closed. Post op day 2. Updated on 4 Jun 2014: Eye goop. Most people take it for granted that they can easily scoop the eye goop out of their eyes with nary a second though. Yeah, second and third thoughts and even fourth thoughts are required after eyelid surgery. So here I am on day 3 post op and wake up with what I assume is 3 days worth of eye goop in the corners of my eyes that has not been swept away in a simple morning ritual of rubbing my eyes while I sip on coffee and wait to wake up. The coffee is still there, albeit less of it. I have been limiting my intake of caffeine and sodium as if I am embarking on a new fitness routine. It almost feels as if I am on a fitness routine... the sides of my thighs are sore (from the fat harvesting). I mean SORE! Like I have done 24 billion squats and then had 12 large men beat me with a bat on my hips until they got tired. If I close my eyes (pun intended) I can imagine this is what it feels like to have a hardcore fitness routine. I shall use these days riding out the fantasy that I am on the road to fitness as opposed to on the road to healing! So faced with the cumulation of 3 days of undisturbed eye goop in the corners of my eyes mixed in with any dust or debris that decided to hitch a ride on my eyelashes, my morning has consisted of very carefully using my Pointy Eye goop removers to try to somehow dislodge the cumulation of sleep crusties and what I figure is 36 pounds of Texas dust that has entered my eyes and gotten comfortable. I swear if I weigh myself, I would come up 10 pounds heavier. So very meticulously I used my handy dandy pointy eye goop removers (aka pointy q-tips) and swirled them carefully in the corners. I did managed to dislodge what I ascertain to be one of my cats. The second eye yielded what I can only hope is the other cat I own, as I have not seen him since yesterday. OK, this is going to be one of those things I will remember. Those lazy hazy early days of summer when I sat around waiting to be healed enough to go back to rubbing my eyes! Ah yes, the memories. :) Updated on 4 Jun 2014: Post op day 3 Updated on 4 Jun 2014: So, my fat harvesting and grafting into my face has been another portion of my healing progress. It is quite different then the upper eye bleph. The eyes really don't hurt. Aside from swelling and blurry vision the eyes have been easy. The fat has been more of an issue in terms of pain and discomfort. My legs are sore and stiff and bruised from where the "fat was harvested" (a nicer term for lipo) but it was the same thing as lipo, only instead of throwing away the fat, they stuck it in my face. I am all about re-purposing, why throw away perfectly good fat?! LOL! :D Anyway, the healing process for this one is good and not so good. The good part is seeing that my thighs look so smooth now from where the fat was removed, it was like getting a nice freshen up on my legs to have the fat removed so I am excited about wearing shorts again. The not so good stuff if the sore, stiff and bruised part. I am certainly right in tune with the healing expectations so all in all it's a good thing. The fat in my face looks lovely. Very symmetrical and smooth. I am not sure how much of this fat will live but I am hopeful I can keep these results. I am delighted at how plump and firm my face looks and how defined my jawline and cheeks look. I reckon in a month I will know more about how much fat I was able to retain. I have been going between just resting on my bed with my legs propped up to walking gently around the house to keep the blood flowing and circulating. Its sorta a balancing act to not to get my blood pressure up but also move my body around. The eyes require rest and no blood pressure increasing activities and the lipo on my thighs and hips require more movement and stretching to keep the blood moving to prevent clotting. So I am walking around my house in a gentle but blood circulating way! hahah. I must admit, I am super happy with everything so far. If I keep healing at this rate and keep the beautiful new results, I will be dancing with glee! ....just not today...or tomorrow, or for 3 more weeks! ;) Updated on 5 Jun 2014: My eyes feel a bit more open today. I am looking forward to getting my tape off and sutures out tomorrow! Updated on 5 Jun 2014: So day 4 comes with various feelings. firstly, my eyes look tiny and squinty and weird. So small! I know I have swelling and this will change, but right now I think I look funny. Also, my face is very tight from the fat grafting and it is hard to smile. I look like a watermelon with very small eyes! haha I know my natural lid crease has been lifted over my eyes, so it is really hard for me to determine what they will look like once they are healed. I feel tucked out from the surgery and know I have a way to go before I am healed, so I am trying to not focus too much on how I look right now...even though I do look like round fruit with tiny eyes! I am sure I will look back on all of this and laugh. Right now I wonder how long it takes for the new crease line to fade? How long did your crease lines take to fade? Updated on 6 Jun 2014: I go in this morning to have my tape and sutures removed. I will post pics later when I get home! Updated on 6 Jun 2014: I am very swollen today, I think I still look like round fruit with tiny eyes! I had my sutures out today but because I am still so swollen from the fat grafting and the upper eye bleph I do not really have a super magical after picture to post. I still have tape on my eyelids, not surgical tape, just "your scars are fresh so keep this on until tomorrow tape". I took a pic so you can see. There is nothing really to show, I look the same as I did yesterday only with nude colored tape on. My eyes are very swollen and puffy and my face looks comical due to swelling. hehehe!! I am not stressing about it...I was told going in that the results I actually want to look at are 4-6 weeks away...so I have no expectations of looking any better then I do right now. :) I still feel tired too. My legs are still sore, my face is still sore and I look like round fruit with tiny eyes. *giggles* That's my update for post Op day 5! :D Updated on 7 Jun 2014: OK here are some pics of my incision. It is higher then my natural crease line. Is this normal? Will it tuck up under my brow bone? Also, my inner eyes are very swollen, should I put warm compresses on it? I am worried about how high the incision is, although I was told it will tuck up. I feel anxious ..I probably shouldn't because I am only 6 days post op, but I promised myself I would be honest about my progress and this is one of the feelings I am having. Any suggestions, thoughts etc would be awesome. Thx Updated on 7 Jun 2014: One thing I know for sure is there is no substitute for a good support system. So let me take a minute to thank the lovely ladies on this site who have supported me and reassured me and calmed my fears. Y'all are absolutely amazing and there are no words to express my gratitude for your kindness and support. I am taking some great advice and "chillaxing" and resting. There is no point in over-evaluating how I look right now when I am not even one week post op! Healing is not easy but you will not make it easier on yourself by focusing on every little thing as you do it! Great advice and now I am redirecting my healing focus on rest and relaxation and giving myself the proper time to heal. This is a learning experience, there really is no way to know what healing will be like until you get there! Thank you so much ladies for keeping me on track, y'all are so wonderful! xxoxoxo :) Updated on 10 Jun 2014: Well I tell ya, what a huge difference a few days make! This is MY lesson in patience! I am doing so much better and looking so much better! A lot of the swelling is going down. Today is the first day my legs do not feel super sore. I still have bruising under my eyes and on my legs, but everything is starting to settle in nicely. My hubby even said to me "wow, your eyes are really looking beautiful!" YAY!! I have not been putting anything on my eyes, I was told to let them heal. So aside from washing my face, I am being very careful with them. I still haven't worn makeup but I can as soon as Monday next week. The fat grafted areas of my face is settling in well. It is still sore to the touch, but I can actually feel my face and I am able to make a small smile. My eyebrows and temples still feel stiff, and my overly animated expressions are not available to me right now! haha But all in all, I am very happy with how everything looks so far!! I can't believe I freaked myself out so unnecessarily last week! My Surgeon was so kind to me when I called him in a panic. What a lovely man. He assured me everything was OK and I was just experiencing swelling. What an absolutely wonderful and thoughtful man! So yes, I have learned my lesson well. DO NOT freak out when you are less then a week into healing! UGH, patience is not my strong suit, can you tell? hahahah! Again, a great support system is key when you do something like this and this site and the fabulous ladies on it has been a source of laughter and support and has kept me on track. If you are considering having surgery, sign up for an account here first, believe me, you will thank me later! Being able to share with others who have gone through the same thing as you is priceless! I usually tackle hard things with a lot of humor, but I tell you, this wasn't something I could just laugh off, I really really needed the encouragement and support of others to keep me on track! The ladies on this site are some of the nicest and kindest and supportive you will find! So, I am still almost 3 weeks away from being a month post OP therefore, I am NOW not stressing or worried about the outcome. I am giving myself permission to just sit and wait, to let my body heal, and I am staying away from over analyzing my face in a mirror! Oh, if you are like me and have one of those light up mirrors that magnifies things up to 5 times, put it away! You can go back to using it to put your eye makeup on AFTER you heal, you do not need to see what your bruised, sutured and swollen eyes or face looks like that close, it will only make you crazy! *grins* I will post pics later so you can see my beautiful new eyes! xoxoxoxox :) Updated on 10 Jun 2014: Post Op Day 9 Still some yellow bruising under my eyes, but things are healing nicely, and oh look, I have eyelids!! woo hooo!! :D -- PS: please excuse my wonky eyebrows, I over-plucked in my 20's ;) Updated on 10 Jun 2014: Before and 9 days after pic! :D Updated on 12 Jun 2014: I have a Minor Setback today. I must have scratched at my eye in my sleep, the left one had some blood on it this morning. So I put some arnica suave on it and will keep doing so until I know it is completely closed. Ugh. Bummed me out all day that I did this. Think I will cover the eye area with a mask when I sleep so I don't do this again. Onward and upward! Updated on 12 Jun 2014: Here is my scar... :( Updated on 13 Jun 2014: Yesterdays setback doesn't look as bad today. I am keeping the area covered in arnica suave and it is already healing. Today was my first venture out in terms of shopping. Walked around the mall for about an hour. I put makeup on my face but not my eyes. I wore sunglasses that are very light but gave enough coverage as to not show my incisions. It felt good to be out and feeling like I am on the other side of healing. I still have yellow bruising under my eyes but it covered right up with some mineral makeup. I can't wait to do the whole sha-bang and do my eye makeup! I have already started scouting out some new colors of eyeshadow! I am going to give things another full week before I wear eye makeup. I used a eye mask last night when I slept and it keep my hands away from my eyes so no scratching! I will continue to use the night mask until I am sure I am fully healed. The fat grafting swelling in my face doesn't look so comical so I was actually able to go out without thinking I looked goofy. Things are settling in very nicely. Updated on 14 Jun 2014: So at this stage of my healing process I have noticed that the right eye is almost fully healed and the scar is not even red or pink. But the left eye (the one that had the bleed from scratching the other day) still has a visible red scar. I know I read that the eyes heal at different stages. I am hopeful that in 2 more weeks both eyes will be fully healed and I can resume life. Funny how when you are busy how fast time goes by, but when you are in "wait and heal" mode, things go by at such a super slow pace it's almost unbelievable! I can't wait til July 1st! :) Updated on 17 Jun 2014: My left eye is almost healed from the scratch. There is a tiny scab on it that I am waiting for to fall off. I am NOT picking at it or touching it in any way. I do not want to cause any issues. I reckon it will dry up and fall off when it is good and ready. I am in no hurry. My right eye is fully healed and the incision is beautifully faded and flat. You can hardly see it. Both incisions (aside from the scratched area) have healed really well and are hardly noticeable already. I am very happy with my results. I have some leftover discoloration under my eyes from the bruising but it is easy to cover with mineral makeup. I have not put on any makeup on my eyes and will not until I am at 1 full month post op. I am also going to buy all new eye makeup to ensure I do not introduce any bacteria to my fresh eyelids. My fat grafting has settled down and I am able to smile and move my face. I am really delighted by the placement of the fat, it really addressed the areas I though looked deflated. My legs are still sore but most of the bruises are gone. I get some pinching and achy feeling in them and can honestly say they were the worst part of the healing process. I am massaging the areas that the fat was harvested from both in the shower with a loofa sponge and manually with lotion. It seems to help with the soreness and stiffness. I won't post any pics today as they seem redundant at this point until I can wear makeup. I will, however, post another picture once the scab from the scratched part of my incision falls off. I am still wearing my eye mask at bedtime to keep my dang hands away from my eyes! It is now less then 2 weeks until my next follow up appointment! My eyes are settling in beautifully and I continue to marvel in how much younger and fresher I look. I am eternally grateful I chose Dr Clement for my surgery! :-) Updated on 20 Jun 2014: My flanks are sore and sometimes burn and feel stiff. Because I didn't really think about the healing that is involved for the fat grafting, I was less prepared to consider the healing aspects of actual liposuction. I didn't really think it would be this uncomfortable because it was only one area of my upper thighs. I was more concerned about how my face would look with the fat in it then I was with where he was getting the fat from and that actual procedure. Thankfully the resources here are fabulous and I have been able to speak to another gal who assured me that this level of discomfort is expected even 3 weeks post op. She suggested I wear some sort of compression garment to help with the tenderness. I have now been wrapping my upper thighs with sport bandages and it does help a lot. I do not own any spanx but think I shall invest in a pair of their shorts to hug my thighs for me while I heal. So those of you getting facial fat grafting done, be prepared to be uncomfortable in the area to which is used for the fat harvest. It does hurt and IS uncomfortable way longer then it takes for your upper bleph to heal! Oh, and on a good note, my face looks incredible with the added fat! I am completely delighted with the results!! Updated on 20 Jun 2014: The small area to which I scratched the other day has finally healed up and the little scab fell off and all is good. The incisions on both sides have already started to fade and though they still feel tender and I am treating the area with a very gentle touch, I am already more then delighted with the results of my upper bleph thus far. I know I will continue to heal for several more months as things fade and settle, but the difference I see in the mirror just blows me away! My husband keeps complimenting me and telling me how pretty my eyes look. While he was always a very kind man and never told me the "old eyelids" made me look old, (he is also a smart man hehe!) he has been very vocal about telling me how gorgeous my eyes look now! We both see a huge difference!! My "bitchy resting face" is at least 80% less bitchy now! heheheh! :D I have not put on any eye makeup yet so I am excited about the possibilities when I do! I posted a quick shot of my lids, as you can see, the area I scratched healed up quite nicely. I will start using the scar therapy pads on my incisions once I go for my 4 week follow up. Updated on 7 Jul 2014: I haven't been paying attention to my eyes because I was released back into the wild with my follow up. No more restrictions so I have been back to my active lifestyle and loving my eyes! I haven't even done full makeup yet. But here are a few pics...one without mascara and one with mascara.
Although the last 3 weeks have been rough I am doing so much better. Still slight swelling in flanks and abdomen when I am up too much or don't wear compression garment all day, but I'm walking upright most of the time and not hurting-need info on tape to put on scars-3M won't stick and stay! Can anyone recommend better scar tape? Updated on 18 Jul 2013: So happy with my scar and swelling just get a little impatient waiting on complete recovery Updated on 19 Jul 2013: I do not understand why I am so swollen and hurting today-drinking water, wearing CG, spanks, not much salt and I feel awful! Anyone else feel icky like this? I emailed nurse but it was after hours today so I'm praying this will get better tomorrow. Updated on 22 Sep 2013: It has almost been 3 months since surgery and I feel so great! Best decision I ever made!!! Updated on 27 Sep 2013: This is my constant reminder... Updated on 27 Sep 2013: This is my new outfit to work outside Updated on 23 Dec 2013: Since my last update, so much has changed-I finally hit a milestone that has taken 14 years and Dr. Clement's help to achieve. I now weigh the same as when I was married. 16 years of marriage and I look better now than when we got married!!!!! Well, I do have more wrinkles, but I am working out daily, eating right and since March 2, 2013, I have gone from 243 to 156!!!!!! Yay!!! More pics to come soon... Updated on 30 Dec 2013: Well, I survived the Christmas and Thanksgiving holidays. I'm still working out at least 4 days a week, but I did take the last two weeks off to take care of my mother in law who came to visit and then hubby and daughter got the tummy bug. It's the least I can do to take care of them since they were such great nurses for me after surgery!!!! Still love my new tummy. For the first time in 14 years, I ordered clothes online and EVERYTHING fit when it came in!!!! I have gone from size 18/20 in March 2013 to size Medium shirts and dresses and an 8 or 10 jean!!!!!! So thankful to ADVOCARE and Dr. Clement for helping me get back to the old me!!!!! Updated on 30 Dec 2013: So excited-this belt is my old -pre marriage and baby size 28, and a size Medium dress!!!!!! Woo Hoo!!!! Updated on 8 Jul 2014: Having so much fun buying and wearing swimsuits! I love the fact that I can buy clothes without even trying them on!!!! This is the best summer EVER! The pain was soooooo worth it.
Right after the first surgery, I noticed little problem areas. I waited a year to see if they would resolve. But they never did. A funny lump under my ear, two sunken areas on the right side. The scar on the right side was large and visible. The scar under my chin had moved over and a bit of skin sagged down on one side. Dr. Clement was very kind and happy to do the fixes whenever I was ready. I just went in a week ago. He fixed my complaints as best he could, and I think I look better.
After years of indescribable back pain and self consciousness I finally getting what I've always wanted, a breast reduction! :) I went to my consultation today, which went great. I feel so taken care of by Dr. Robert Clement and his team and they've made this whole process so easy. It's great to feel in good hands and I can't wait for my surgery in two weeks. I'm going to be posting my experience every step of the way. Updated on 4 Mar 2013: Wow, it's exactly one week until my surgery date. Everyone asks me if I'm scared. Not at all! I'm extatic and happy! Everything is going to go to smoothly, I can't wait to wake up and finally be the way I've always wanted. Sometimes I wonder when my nerves will finally kick in. Am I really going to feel this breezy easy all the way up until my surgery? Everything is so surreal. Updated on 10 Mar 2013: Tomorrow is the day! Finally my surgery date is here :) by this time tomorrow ill be on my way to the hospital. I'm so excited! I have one question for y'all ladies...how are everyone's scars healing up? I'm really curious as to what y'all's scars look like around 6 months or a year. I'd like to know that for the most part they're hardly noticeable with the right care? Any tips before my surgery tomorrow? :) wish me luck! The nerves still haven't kicked in :) Updated on 11 Mar 2013: Surgery went amazing!! :) I'm finally home now and laying in bed. Pain level from one to ten is seriously only a one at the moment. The percosets they gave me before discharging me are working sooo well. I love my new boobies, they're not too small and so perky and round :) my back doesn't hurt one bit and I love it! Surgery seemed to fly by, one minute I was sayig bye to my parents and the next thing I knew it I was sitting by a nurse who gave me graham crackers. I'm SO glad I decided to do this surgery, life is about to get so much easier :) I'm wearing my surgical bra right now so I can't take a good picture but ill try to post some up tomorrow. :) goodnight everyone! Updated on 13 Mar 2013: This healing thing has really been a piece of cake so far. I kept up with my pain meds through out the night and I slept like a rock. Waking up this morning I'm feeling pretty good. The only sore part of me is my neck from having to sit up all night. Pain level from 10-1 is a 1. I'm just taking it easy on my body and lounging, and it's definetly helping. I also think me being extremely athletic before going into surgery has really benefited me. Updated on 14 Mar 2013: So I just went the doctor to get my drains takens out. This was the first time I got a good look at them without my surgical bra on and I LOVE THEM!! I'm soooo happy with the shape and how they turned out! I can't stop smiling, I feel so beautiful now :) my doctor did an amazing job. Updated on 15 Mar 2013: Healing has been such an easy breezy journey! Today is day 5, and I went to a 2 and a half hour sushi making class. I felt great through the whole thing. Seriously ladies, A WORD OF GREAT ADVICE: If you're expecting surgery in a month or so, try and get into the best shape you can and feed your body plenty of clean healthy nutrients before you go to have your procedure done. For the past 3 months, I've been constantly working out to prepare for this surgery and after reading other women's healing processes; I feel like my experience has been significantly different. I'm in extreme shape and I eat super clean, so obviously my body is very strong and healthy(I've also been taking Vitamin C supplements since December). My pain level for the past 5 days (even day 2) has been extremely low. Yes of course the pain meds has helped but my body barely feels weak. I don't feel sick, miserable, or anything really. My body has accepted this surgery really well, and I really believe being so healthy has given me a step up for preparing. So ladies, do your body a favor and really prepare for your surgery. Your body is a temple and it will love you so much more when it begins to feel good. :) best of luck to you all out there. Updated on 23 Mar 2013: Some sides of my tapes are losing their stickiness, while the others stay secure. When should I put on new silicon sheets, and when it's time do I just gently pull them off? Does anybody else have big scabs? I don't want to rip them off Updated on 10 Apr 2013: I've tried silicone sheets and I just bought paper tape. The silicone sheets SUCK at stockin after a week and I woke up w/ paper tape all over my body besides my scars. I'm really trying to take care of my insicions but nothing is sticking :( what have y'all used?? Any suggestions? Updated on 13 Oct 2013: So it's been 7 months since my wonderful breast reduction and I couldn't be happier!! I'm so much more active now, because my back doesnt hurt constantly and I love the way clothes fit me now: ) I've also noticed I've been able to sleep more throughout the night. If anybody is having second thoughtsplease contact me. This ssurgery was such a blessing, and I'd never have it any other way. Updated on 27 Jun 2014: It's been a year & 3 months since my surgery and I'm happier than ever!! I'm so glad I went through w/ my surgery. I workout 4 times a week bc I CAN w/o any pain, no more double sports bras to keep the tatas down. I've never felt so confident in my entire life. Im so happy with my results and my new outlook and attitude on life. I'm always happy, & I feel like I finally stepped out of a very dark shadow that was weighing me down in life...literally!
I was diagnosed with lupus mid September and immediately knew I wanted my implants removed. I decided to go with Dr. Clement in Austin, TX and had them removed with a capsulectomy and lift yesterday, October 26th. I am relieved they are out, but I'm in more pain than I expected. The most painful part is the capsulectomy. I can feel underneath my muscle and it is painful. I'm also really struggling with nausea. I can't wait for that to go away. I'm excited and nervous to see the doctor on Monday. I have a harder spot under my right areola and I'm hoping it's normal. Even though I'm in pain I am so happy with my decision. I feel so foolish for having gotten implants in the first place. Updated on 28 Oct 2012: Last night I had to call the after hours line because I couldn't keep anything down. They gave me a prescription for zofran which helped slightly. I decided I would be better off eliminating the pain pills if it meant I could eat... I was starving! Fortunately the pain isn't that bad and I'm able to manage it with Tylenol. I've been able to keep some food down today so I'm starting to feel much better. I'm looking forward to my post-op visit tomorrow. I haven't dared to look at them with my stomach being so weak. I'm also feeling a lot of pressure on my incisions when I stand up. I'm wondering when that feeling will go away. Updated on 29 Oct 2012: I'm 3 days post op and I'm starting to feel good this afternoon! I'm just on Tylenol, but I may stop that tomorrow. I also go back to work tomorrow so I don't want to push it. I had my post op visit and they took the big dressings off so at least I won't look lumpy with clothes on. I still haven't looked at everything - I'm too scared. :-) I haven't told anyone at work what all I had done, but I think it's pretty noticeable that my boobs are significantly smaller. My doctor told me to only wear the compression bra until I hit 2 weeks. I'll look forward to wearing normal bras, but I'll have to figure out away until then to make it not so obvious. I'm curious how much cup size I can expect to lose. I'm guessing I'm about a full B right now. I hope I can stay this size, but I'm sure a lot of my size is due to swelling.
I started out with a complicated situation. I had moderate asymmetry in my breasts(2 different sized breasts). My nipples were at different heights and not pointing in the same direction. I spent two months on this site collecting data, reading reviews and even posting prep pictures to try to find a consensus amongst doctors as to whether I needed a breast lift. The time I spent on this site was helpful. I learned many things. Asking doctors for an opinion on whether I needed a lift or not really confused me. Doctors are viewed as subject matter experts, not to be questioned and extremely intelligent by most folks (patients) who are not from the medical field. We expect and look for consistency, after all they are all doctors, speak with such authority and confidence that why shouldn't they be the expert? Well here's what happened to me after my thorough research: I carefully read through the responses to my post and noticed it was about 50/50 as to whether I need a breast lift. I didn't want the scar,loss of sensation,and added cost if I didn't need it so naturally I looked for a Doctor that said I wouldn't need it. I had 4 different doctors I narrowed it down to. I had one in person consult and several over the phone/skpe consults. This resulted in a careful review of the doctors internet presence: Websites,reviews on "Yelp",Googe searches about them etc.... I did as much homework as I could. I mean I spent hundreds of hours looking into this. I ended up finding a Doctor clear across the country who had incredible photo's, she had been on the news as a subject matter expert, her website was amazing. I could only find a couple of customer reviews in obscure places bad mouthing her, that seemed reasonable, you will always have a few sour grapes right? So I had my Breast Augmentation with her. Immediately following the surgery I noticed I was still very uneven, the implant was riding up to my collar bone on one side. I was concerned most about the breasts remaining uneven. The Doctor told me Post Op Day 1 this was normal, they would settle and even out. I questioned implant size as my breast started out very uneven and she wasn't sure if she had certain larger sized implants in stock but assured me they could get them if they needed them. So here I am across the country Post Op day 5 and the breasts are completely uneven, one is all the way up to my collar bone, the other remains dramatically smaller. The surgeon gets defensive when I ask questions, they have assistants in the room documenting our conversation, they order a sonogram, they deny any possible wrong doing, things are going bad quickly. I have the sonogram to see if any fluid is causing the implant to ride high. I made sure I asked for the report from the Radiologist, "no fluid present". Back to meet with the surgeon. She suggests 3 things: 1) I fly home clear across the country and then come back in a few months for a revision. 2) I continue to stay in the area indefinitely to allow her time to watch for the implants to drop. 3)Terminate our relationship. Naturally I wasn't going home with this mess, it would have been so embarrassing not to mention the expense of coming back latter. Hanging around indefinitely could get real expensive real quick and my work would never allow for it. Terminating the relationship in my mind was the best route since I had lost all trust in this women. She was cold, totally "Clinical" and I was starting to see all kinds of red flags that lined up with her bad reviews. I was devastated after all the work I had put into this, traveling this far, spending this much money and now I would have to go home butchered. I used my anger to do something constructive. I terminated the relationship,got a partial refund,ONLY AFTER I had to sign a legal agreement protecting her from any negative reference about her, (So I can't tell you who she is). Next I got busy quick, I found an incredible man to correct the problem 7 days after this first Doctors butcher job. The NEW doctor had over 30 years experience, he had accolades "Top Surgeon 2011,2009,190 etc.... all over his walls. He was genuine,sincere,honest, frank and understanding. He gave me a straight talk about the risks of fixing this problem so early, he explained what had gone wrong and what would have to be done. Now, Post Op Day 1 my breasts look amazing! They look real right now. No "Frankenboob" riding high, they are completely even side for side, they have fullness below the nipple and above. Unbelievable how different the outcome. What I learned: 1) Don't be fooled by great marketing. The internet is great for Doctors to promote themselves. The best Doctors probably have less need and therefore spend less time on marketing. 2) Doctors work very hard at insuring unhappy customers are silenced. They learn ways to remove negative feedback off websites. They offer refunds for silence. etc... 3) Doctors should be trusted no more then anyone else. They are not gods, they are motivated by money and they make mistakes but are taught to avoid taking responsibility or admitting to a mistake. 4) Becoming a Doctor means you are: Willing to work hard, you learn to test well consistently and you are willing to stay in school a little longer then your average student so you can get paid ridiculous money to "Practice" on people. Don't put a Doctor on a pedestal just because they are a Doctor! 5) Remember if your considering a Breast Augmentation and you are looking for a consensus from Doctors on a particular approach, you likely won't get one. The reason is a Breast Augmentation is more about ART then about medicine. Artists have many different techniques to arrive at a masterpiece, if creating a work of art with a breast augmentation was simply painting by numbers then every surgeons approach would be similar. 6) If you want a work of Art when you are through then you need to really look into the canvas you are starting with (your PreOp state) and then you need to find the Monet of Doctors. You need a master sculptor with a 3 dimensional eye. This is something that you can't be taught in Med School or in Practicing on people. You either have the artists eye or you don't. Find a Artist by word of mouth. Look for women with similar breasts as yours. Look at the outcome they had and if you like meet with their Doctor and trust your gut after you meet with them. If they tell you they have to do something like a lift then accept it and don't search for a different answer that is easier to swallow. Find a Artist, place highest value on years of experience not great marketing,look for other breast photo's similar to yours and the finished results,don't treat a Doctor like anyone other then what they are,trust your gut!
I had mine done about 2 years ago and I had an excellent doctor. The result was good, I can definitely see a difference when I look at myself now and at some pictures from a few years ago. Yet, the result was not that dramatic that people asked "Did you have a nose job done?" They may have noticed a difference back then but couldn't tell what it was, I think this is exactly how plastic surgery should be. A positive subtle outcome that doesn't change your overall appearance.It took me long to recover though. I was never in any real pain after the surgery but felt a great amount of discomfort for about 2 weeks, because of the way I looked (bruised) and because of the fact I couldn't breath through my nose. It took almost one year for me to gain my full capability of breathing through my nose back. One side seemed always stuffy. But I am really really happy now.It is a big surgery yes, a big decision and it costs a lot of enough. I would do it again though. I am really happy with the outcome.
