So far so good! Laser Liposuction performed 4/9/2015 - Alexandria, VA

Hello Ladies,

I am doing pretty well. I was able to attend a concert on Friday with friends, a brunch today and am back in the swing of things. I still am a bit slow moving in and out of the car and I still bend down to pick things up as opposed to bending over. My upper abs are tiny and look great. My lower abs are still tender, swollen, and prone to lumps and knots. The lymphatic massages help tremendously. I have had two so far. The expense is one I had not budgeted for but find myself making a way to do them because they feel so great. I received my new Leonisa garment in XS. This is the same size as my first garment but this Leonisa is definitely a bit smaller. I got the boy short style as I was told the thong style cuts into your lady parts and ass too much. This garment definitely looks better under clothes. The shoulder straps don't hurt as much, it doesn't give you 4 butt cheeks, and it has an open crotch. I will wear it as much as I can during the day. It definitely gives me an hour glass shape. I haven't gotten on the scale lately but can tell by how some of my clothes fit that I am much smaller. My upper waist is tiny.....woohoo! Just what I wanted was big boobs and a small waist. Hopefully soon my lower waist will improve. That is all for now. Hope you ladies are recovering nicely or getting the info you need from the posts. Please let me know if see progress in my pics. We all need encouragement during this journey. Btw, my concern about loose skin has been put to rest. Skin and stretch marks appear to be in better shape than prior to the surgery. Perhaps the laser portion really did help. My youngest child is a teenager so that loose skin and stretch marks have been there forever. My Dr. Said I definitely would not need to come back for a mini tt as this laser lipo did the trick. That made me super happy since so many Dr.s and a mean family member said I needed to have a tummy tuck and how horrible I would look with just lipo. Glad I followed my gut and found a Dr. That said let's try lipo first and if loose skin is an issue I could come back in for a nominal fee to have it cut off. Ladies do what is best for your lifestyle and don't be swayed if some thing just doesn't seem right for you! Wishing you all a speedy recovery!

I am constantly tired and feel like I should rest as much as possible. I went for a walk yesterday and to get my nails done. I was exhausted and glad to get back home. I drove for the first time since my surgery this morning. I have scheduled a lymphatic massage for $100 tomorrow. I didn't realize I should have gone right after procedure to help drain tumescent fluid faster. Oh well, hopefully tomorrow will help. I showered today and that felt great. I need help getting in and out of my garment. I don't know how anyone can do this alone. I am 10 years older from when I had my breast Aug so age has caught up with me and it is definitely a slower recovery for this lipo. I have been putting A & D ointment on my incisions and arnica gel on my entire abdomen & flanks. I haven't had any bruising as of yet. I am swollen, swollen, swollen. I have started massaging and still feel better wearing compression garment and binder at all times. I have ordered a new zip up compression garment by Leonisa and can't wait to receive it. Hopefully then I won't still require so much assistance. I won't post pics today as this might discourage someone that is considering laser lipo. I was prepared for a journey to the thin side........

I DID IT! I wrote a long post after my surgery only for my IPad to die so all was lost. My surgery was April 9, 2015. Day of surgery I arrived at 9:05 to American Lipo Center. I came in did some paperwork, went to bathroom and had my daughter finish taking off the remainder of my gel polish. You can't wear nail polish, gel, or have overly long nails so they can place the pulse ox on your finger. I was taken back at 9:30 for some pre op stuff like blood pressure reading, pre op pictures, and to be given my meds. I put on gown and nurse told me I could lay down and rest as Dr. Segev would be in about 10am. I know many people say meds make them sleepy but not ME! I was wide awake and still nervous despite the Valium. Nerves, nerves, nerves! Dr. Segev came in about 10:17am. He marked my abs and flanks and again confirmed areas being treated. They turned on music, gave me goggles and stress balls and we got started. Pricks for incisions were just a quick sting, the tumescent fluid being administered does feel weird but not painful. Weird, weird, weird. A bit uncomfortable now and then but totally tolerable. We chatted about vacation spots, family, me, etc. During entire process. Once I was numb came the laser. I didn't feel a thing with the laser. Next was the cannula. I continued to stress that I want a small waist and for my breasts to look big so do as much as you need to. Lipo on stomach areas was not bad and I often laughed through procedure. Weird feeling but not painful. Breathing exercises helped also. We moved to flanks which was definitely uncomfortable but not painful. I assured the Dr. I was fine despite whatever weird noises I might be making! I can be overly animated at times. He then stood me up checked me out and then redid some spots and he had me lay in my stomach to continue flanks from this angle which I really appreciated. He stood me up one more time and did flanks a bit as I stood. That actually felt pretty good. I told him to be certain he was happy with his work before we stopped. He said I looked great and he was pleased. All done, I had made it! Obviously, I had asked God to bless me and keep me covered and I apologized for wanting His protection for my vanity. Sheesh. This is an emotional roller coaster! The nurse cleaned me up and help me out on my XS garment. I said XS!!! I said I am usually a medium kind of girl and she said not anymore and I might have been able to pull off an XXS!!?? Unbelievable! My daughter took me home. I called the 2 people I shared I was havin the surgery with and they were glad to hear things had gone so well and that I sounded great. I wanted to stay on top of my pain management so I had a roll and took my hydrocodone and ate some veggies. This is where everything goes down hill. By 8:30pm I became violently ill and vomited three times. My abs were in no position for this many contractions. I was in awful pain. I couldn't keep anything down. I can not handle the hydrocodone. My daughter went to buy me Tylenol. I took that and a roll and eventually had a few pineapples (great for recovery). Finally I was able to sleep. I had comitted myself to seeing 2 clients for work the day after surgery. Thankfully my first wasn't until 2pm. My daughter drove me and the meeting only took 20 minutes. Woohoo. I was moving slowly and cautiously. I only took one 500mg Tylenol. My second took about 45 min. I was glad I was able to work a bit but would not recommend a full day of work especially not if you don't have a desk job. Finally when I got home I showered, washed garment, and was glad I had made it through Day 1. Shower was easy and felt great. My daughter stayed in bathroom with me to ensure I wasn't dizzy or light headed. Putting the garment back on was not so pleasant. Stomach and flanks are so tender. I have started using arnica gel and my incisions are healing nicely. That is all for now. Now you are up to speed as to where I am now. My pics don't reflect how great I looked at first because the vomiting brought on the swelling pretty quickly. It will be a process but my smaller self has been created. Anyone having lipo should look at themselves right after surgery to know this is where they will be once the swelling subsides! Good luck to anyone embarking on this journey! You can do it!