Pretty and Petite with a Banging Physique! --6+ Weeks Post-Op - Atlanta, GA

P.S. It was very hard for me to find wish pics that I felt complemented my frame and I also had a hard time even imagining myself with a butt and hips. So I did b4 and after wish pics of myself. I didn't have a proper shot from behind to do an after pic, but u can see that I have a cute little baby booty lol. And I'm not a baby!!! Too big? For some reason I feel like that's a lot for me. I'm sure Dr. J will do a much better job than my amateur photoshop pics. Hopefully that gives him a pretty good idea although I will continue to look for other wish pics....Also, disregard my mess on the floor :-)

I am trying to prepare as much as I can upfront. I'm currently in the process of finding an after-care provider to take care for me for the first few days because I don't want my family in my business. I contacted HomeWatch Caregivers but they are a bit on the expensive side. Especially after paying so much for the surgery. Did anyone use an after-care provider in Atlanta that they can recommend? Also, for people that have used after-care what was the pricing like?

I don’t know if it’s the PMS, but lately I’ve been having moral dilemmas about getting the sx done. I’m sure it didn’t help that my bf decided he now no longer agrees with my decision. It’s funny how people r so quick to tell u how u should spend YOUR money, but have absolutely no input when it’s time to pay bills, or tuition or when u get up to drag yourself to work everyday—no one volunteers to be my financial advisor then. But let me say I want to get sx and it’s “why would someone in your career field care about having an ass, it’s not like you’re a stripper” or “do you know how many homeless people u can feed with 10k”. I’m paying cash for the sx and these people r acting like I sold my unborn child to finance it or something. When did it become wrong for a single woman with no kids to spend their own money on themselves?

I know it’s natural to have 2nd thoughts about sx, but I’m surprised that I am even taking the time to give a damn about anything but preparing for my new womanly curves—it’s something I’ve always wanted. I will chalk it up to PMS making me super emotional and vulnerable + listening to people that have no impact on my financial situation. NOTE TO SELF: Self, do not tell anyone about your plans if u have no intention of taking their unsolicited advice. #endrant

As predicted, gaining weight has not been an easy task. I don’t have a big appetite and I can’t eat a lot of food in one sitting. I stopped working out and initially I just started eating everything that was bad for me like everyone else recommended (junk food, fast food, etc.). I started gaining weight but I also started feeling sick. I am not used to eating all of that junk and my body wasn’t happy. It was hard to sustain and I literally got tired of eating, so as soon as I stopped I lost the weight again. I think you should try to choose what you eat wisely because you don’t want to end up with high cholesterol or high blood pressure in the process of gaining weight for surgery. I didn’t want to increase risk factors for surgery complications, so I decided to take a more calculated approach instead.

I bought a weight gainer protein mix (Isopure Mass) which is about 600 calories per serving. But it’s not just about the calories, it’s also about the % of those calories that come from fat. The main goal is not to gain weight, but to gain fat and the quickest way is to eat more fat dense food. So I added things to my protein mix that had a high calorie/high fat content but were not junk food (i.e. 2 tbsp olive oil, macadamia nuts, ground flaxseed, greek yogurt, whole milk, fruit). Some fats are better for you than others and junk food has a lot of trans fat. Each smoothie comes out to about 1000+ calories. I drink one for breakfast and one for dinner. For lunch I eat a normal meal with a high carb content (i.e. spaghetti w/ground turkey and garlic bread). I also have a healthy high calorie/high fat snack like sliced almonds (a lot of fat calories per small portion) or peanut butter and jelly sandwich. By doing it this way I am getting more calories and fat in but eating less and relatively healthier than the junk food binge approach. I will also throw an Ensure Plus in here and there but all of the corn syrup that they put in that stuff is not good.

My target for each day is 3000 calories, which is double my recommended intake, and I am gaining the weight back again. So far I have gained about 9lbs in 2-3 weeks. I also use the MyFitnessPal app(free) to estimate my caloric/fat intake for foods when I eat out and to keep a food diary. It’s supposed to be for weight loss, but I use it for weight gain. I enter everything I ate that day and when I submit it, it adds up all of the calories and nutritional info and tells me how much I would weigh in 5 weeks. After a few days of eating similar things you can pretty much guestimate what you need to eat to get to your goal caloric intake and it’s prob better to plan your meals in advance and stick to it. I also take whole food vitamins to compensate for the fact that I haven’t been eating a lot of vegetables, in addition to mixing spinach or carrots or other vegetables into my smoothies (can’t really taste it). I started off at 111 lbs and am at about 120 (unfortunately most went to my thighs and arms). Hopefully I can get to 125-130 b4 the surgery date without acquiring any new stretch marks. Funny thing is I weighed 133 lbs this time last year (school) and was trying to lose weight. Oh, the irony of it all.

IN-PERSON CONSULT :

I went to see Dr. J. on 11/2 for an in-person consult. I couldn’t make my original appt on 10/30 because of Sandy, but I called and they were able to squeeze me in. Everyone in the office was cool and down-to-earth. They were a little boughetto, but I expect nothing less from ATL and they seemed to enjoy their work which is great. FYI: For those paying with a checkcard, I had to call the bank to get them to temporarily increase my debit card transaction before making my payment. The man asked “do u mind me asking what you are buying ma’am.” I simply said “a service.” Whenever someone prefaces their question with ‘do u mind me asking’ I instantly get annoyed because if u have to ask if I mind that means you already know you’re being too damn nosey. Buy Anyway…

I spoke with Aziza while waiting for Dr. J. to get out of surgery. She was very down-to-earth and easy to talk to. She took pre-op photos, made suggestions for implant sizes and gave me input on my desired results. Dr. J. came in about 10 min later and looked at me to see if I was making enough progress with my weight. I showed him my latest wish pics and inspiration, Vida Guerra, who is a Cuban fitness model (thanks to a lovely petite BBL sister for the suggestion). I like her body because it’s more athletic than video vixen but still very sexy and feminine—that’s the look I want. She is also very petite like me. So I told him I wanted to look like her but with a slightly bigger butt. He told me with my frame he would have no problem achieving those results but that he would more than likely have to take some fat from my inner thighs. I knew this would prob be the case because most of my new weight is going there. At this point I am looking forward to it because my thighs are getting a little too acquainted with each other and I hate the way I have to walk now lol. He also said he will get as much fat out of my arms as he could but that it is more muscle than fat. Grrrrrrrr. I hate my arms!!! As of now, I have also decided to get my BA done at the same time but that may change again…for the 3rd time :-)

PRE-OP CLEARANCE:

I was going to go to my PCP to get my clearance done, but Aziza recommended a Dr. around the corner from their office. Their office opens 7day a week from 9am-9pm and they will do all of the required tests for $175 flat fee. The appt was about 35 min after I waited for another 30 min in the waiting area. Since it was on a walk-in basis and there were 3 people ahead of me there was a little wait. But overall it was great service and I am happy I got it out of the way. The Dr and staff were super nice. They asked questions about my history and I had my blood drawn and tested on the spot. My blood count was very slightly low and he said it’s prob due to me having 2 menstrual cycles last month. He said Dr. J. is very strict on this but that he thinks it’s fine. FYI: HE ALSO SAID IT TAKES 3 MONTHS FOR IRON TO AFFECT YOUR BLOOD LEVEL for those taking iron supps. My blood pressure was elevated so they did an EKG and it was fine. He also did a breast check. So I’M CLEARED (pending thyroid results)!!! Time is moving so fast now! Only 16 days left.

I know it's super short notice and if I have to cancel I will definitely be pissed. But if I do and anyone is prepared for Dr. J. on such short notice and wants to take it, let me know. It would be even better if I could switch with someone with a Dec. date rather than cancel. I am so not happy right now but too mad to talk about it. Just wanted to give you guys a heads up in case someone was looking.

PRE-SURGERY APPT/CANCELLATION:

I know I’ve been M.I.A. for a while but I haven’t forgotten about RS. It’s funny how life happens sometimes but I am more convinced than ever that everything happens for a reason. My sx was originally scheduled for Nov 21st and was cancelled during my pre-surgery appt. the day b4. I ended up with what may have been a mild case of shingles (couldn’t be confirmed) a week b4 my sx and although I was subsequently cleared, Dr. J. was not willing to take a chance on my health. He told me that as much as he hates cancelling surgeries, he doesn’t think it’s worth the risk to me or himself. He instead had me rescheduled for Dec 5th (although his schedule was pretty much full) to make sure that I was fully healed and to reduce any risks of infection. I think I was both pissed and relieved at the same time. I wanted the sx over and done but I didn’t feel 100% like myself. Maybe 80%. So I prayed to God right b4 Dr. J. came in and said “God, if u don’t think I should get this surgery then please give me a clear sign right now because this is my last chance.” And so I was sent home and relegated to another 2 weeks of asslessness lol.

The moral of my story is this: DON’T MAKE YOURSELF SICK WITH ANXIETY!!! That is exactly what I did. Since a month before my sx I have diagnosed myself with everything from skin cancer to a possible heart attack, because I became hypersensitive to every little change that happened to me. Even after being medically cleared I was so afraid that something would go wrong during sx that I think I was subconsciously looking for a way out. And by constantly worrying about every little mole that I noticed on my skin or every little pain I felt in my body, I allowed my anxiety to overtake me. If I did have shingles, it was likely because all of the unnecessary stress and worry that I put myself through. Which brings me to another point: STAY OFF OF WEDMD! Lol. I can guarantee u that u will find some crazy disease to match any symptom u experience. I also had to stay away from RS because reading about seromas and blood transfusions only elevated my fears. I’m thankful that God put brought me to a much calmer place (mentally) and I am truly at peace with my decision. Now I just have to stay locked up in this apt because there is a horrible bug going around and my friends and family are all getting sick. They can have that ish…

I took my other pre-op pics down and decided to consolidate them into a collage. This is what I will be giving Dr. J. for inspiration. I want the curvy but athletic look.

POST-OP:

My BBL was finally done on Dec 5th, after having to cancel it due to a possible shingles scare. Dr. J. was nothing less than professional (yet brutally honest) throughout my entire process. It seems like people are having different experiences with him, which sucks. I would be pissed if I didn't get to talk to Dr. J. or if I felt I was being treated as a number. As for my experience, I spoke with him on the phone during my initial consult and then 3 times after that in person. I never had to request to speak with him either time. He was attentive and did not hesitate to state his professional opinion. I gave him my little wish collage right b4 i went under and the last thing I remember telling him is that I don't want to look wide lol. Then the anesthesiologist asked me how I felt during recovery and all I remember saying is "I'm Alive!" I was so happy to make it to the other side. Thank you God!!!

Speaking of brutally honest, Dr. J. recommended against me getting a BA unless I also got a breast lift. I thought we had put this little issue to rest last month. But because of the weight gain in my boobs, they are gravitating even more to the ground than they were b4. He said that I would have 'droopy dog breasts" and did a google search to show me images while I was sitting there, so I decided against the BA. I was not happy about that, but if a Dr. suggests against something, to me that means they do not want to do it because they don't think it will turn out well. I'm sure his expert opinion as a former Chief of Plastic Surgery is more informed than mine. He could've taken my $4800 for the BA and did it anyway, but he instead chose to tell me the truth. I would rather keep my saggy little B-cups as opposed to having perky C-cups with that nasty breast lift scar or droppy dog breasts (implants sitting noticeably higher than real breasts). I don't have kids yet so it's not worth it for me. I may seek a 2nd and 3rd opinion from other Dr.'s that specialize more in BA.

As for my BBL, I was afraid that I didn't gain enough weight. He suggested 10 lbs and I think I gained about 12. But most of it went to my thighs and arms. I knew this would happen so I added on arm lipo and he took fat from my inner thigh at no additional charge. I'm not sure how much he took out because I was too out of it to ask. But I do remember asking him after the sx if I had enough fat and he said yes. He put 700CC in each cheek and 200CC in each hip. My butt looks huge right now due to the swelling so hopefully it will be a decent size when the swelling subsides because I didn't want a big butt. Just a round and shapely one. I have been in and out of sleep so I will update with pics soon.

1-WEEK POST-OP:

It’s been a week since my sx. I know that it’s much too early to judge the end result, but my initial feelings are mixed.

BUTT:

As of now I am somewhat unhappy with my results. Mainly because I feel that one of my hips and butt cheeks are noticeably fuller than the other. I know that there will always be some asymmetries with the body, as no 2 things are exactly alike. However, if I pay an extra 1k for hips then I expect to have hips on both sides, not just one. I informed the nurse of my complaint when I went to get my drain out and she says that I should wait a little longer until all of the swelling goes down. I will do that, but judging from the pics I took 2 days post-op vs. 7 days post-op, it will not matter. Each side will be less swollen but they will still be uneven. I’m not sure what Dr. J. does n these cases, but I know that I will not be coughing up any more money. In the meantime, I am trying to mitigate the situation by using the towel to press my waist in more on one side, so that my hip appears bigger and matches the other hip.

WAIST/ABS:

On a brighter note, I am very pleased with the contouring of my waistline and the indention that I have in my back. The triangle and little towel wrap that they give to put under the garment makes a huge difference and I basically have zero fat around my lower back and flanks. Not that I started off with much, but I have never seen those areas this flat. My abs are also pretty flat and I can tell that in the end, my waist and abs will be tiny. I started off with a 26” waist b4 my weight gain. Prob went up to a 28”. I would not be surprised if I ended up with a 24” waist. I can’t wait to get back in the gym to develop my 6 pack!

THIGHS:

I also had my inner thighs done and they have been the biggest pain throughout this process, aside from that damn garment. My left thigh in particular is very swollen and they are both VERY bruised. It’s hard to walk because they are so heavy and close together. The nurse suggested that I wrap the top of my thighs in ACE bandages so that they don’t scrub so much. I will try that. I have started doing self-lymphatic massages thanks to YouTube, but I definitely need to go to a professional. I also did a rolling pin massage last night to break up the hardness and scar tissue and it seems to have worked. So I will also get some professional deep tissue massages now that I am not as sore as I was b4.

ARMS:

My arms were added in for an extra $900. Do I think it was worth it? So far I do not. I am sure that my arms were not aggressively lipoed. I have zero bruising and not really any swelling that I can see. I have been using my arms and upper body since post-op day 1 to pull myself out of bed. They are minimally sore and I often forget that they were done. They also still look the same size. The arm compression garment Dr. J. gave me was a size M. It wasn’t really compressing anything and was way too lose, so I bought a size XS the other day. Maybe that will make a difference, but at this point I’m skeptical.

HOMECARE ASSISTANCE:

DISCLAIMER: I am not being incentivized to advertise for anyone. I was just so pleased with my experience that I wanted to spread the word.

I don’t think I could’ve done it without the help of the homecare assistant that I used. Since my initial sx date was rescheduled, I had to scramble at the last min to find help. A fellow RS member referred her to me. She was great and her prices were VERY reasonable compared to going through an agency. She made sure I took my meds on time and that I walked around every 2-3 hrs to prevent blood clots, got me food, changed garment, helped me go potty, kept me company, ran errands (i.e. followed me 45 min to the airport so I could turn my rental car in, took stuff back to Wal-Mart that I didn’t want, went to buy extra garments for me, took me to get my broken iPhone fixed)…anything that I needed without a hint of frustration. And I’m sure there were times where I was super grumpy and prob should’ve been popped in the mouth. It was well worth it and in hindsight I prefer her to having any of my friends/family take care of me, mostly because she does this for a living so she is not grossed out by anything. She is very patient, professional and is an overall sweet girl. She also took care of another RS member who got her sx around the same time as I did and I’m sure that she feels the same way I do. If anyone is getting sx in Atlanta and needs assistance, I am happy to give u her info.

Sorry it took me so long to upload my pics but here they are. As I said b4 I have mixed feelings about my results. I am 5' with a small frame, so I did not want drastic results. I prefer the petite and athletic look but I wanted to be curvier. I guess now I am--somewhat. However, I wanted a little more curvaceousness than what I was given, being that I paid an extra 1k for hips! Ugh!!! Anyway, it is what it is until after week 6. At which point, if I am still unsatisfied I will respectfully raise hell.

6+ WEEKS POST-OP:

It's been almost 7 weeks and I am continuing to heal. This sx is an ongoing and tedious process, even long after the actual operation. At times it really pisses me off but I have no regrets.

My thighs (particularly the left one) still swell and there is still some accumulation of fluid. This is likely because I haven't gotten anymore lymphatic drainage massages since the first one. I just haven't had the motivation to lay still for that long lol. Sitting is annoying and I hate the tingly/burning feeling that I get. My thighs also stiffen up when I have been sitting for a period of time and there is still numbness. I'm not sure how much of a difference getting my inner thighs made because there is some swelling, But so far, it doesn't look like it was too detrimental to my figure (I didn't really want my thighs done, but needed more fat). I do appreciate the fact that they don't rub at the top...PRICELESS!

I have concluded that I should've kept the extra $900 I spent on my arms because I do not think it was worth it in the end. Most of the women in my family have the same arms and I have always hated mine, especially in strapless/spaghetti strap tops. Although I hoped I could somewhat defy genetics with arm lipo, it didn't help much. Dr. J. told me in advance that my arms were mostly muscle (I can't tell) and that he would do the best he could, but at the end of the day I'm prob destined to have these arms forever. I guess I'll do some pushups to try to tone them more :-(

I'm still satisfied with my overall shape and am happy that I had the sx. I definitely get more attention from men, but I still have my days when I wish my hips were a teenie bit wider or my butt was a teenie bit fuller. I like the right side better than the left and wish they were both like the right side. I wish my waist was just a bit more tailored. I think it's normal to want perfection but at some point a line has to be drawn. If I maintain my current figure, I will def not be going back for a round 2, despite my urge to continue 'tweaking' the imperfections. I'll just have to get over the perfectionism and booty greed because this healing process does not lend itself to double takes--at least not for me.

I still haven't went back to the gym but I plan to next week. I think that weight training will help to further improve my shape and I look forward to wearing my cute little gym clothes even more now. Speaking of working out...WARNING: Do not think that u r back to normal after 1 month of sx just because the tequila told u that u were. I made this mistake while dancing at the club and learned the hard way that just because I could drop it like it's hot, didn't mean that I could get back up LOL. Umm yeah. Definitely not a good look. I used to have very strong legs (from running) but after u have had agressive thigh lipo, your muscles will not be as strong as they were b4 and it will likely take months for them to rebuild strength. I also have to keep this in mind when I go back to the gym.

Anywho, I'll prob update again after a few months. Here are some new pics. I got the flu at about 1 month post-op and lost some weight. I think it def led to decreased volume and hopefully I will gain it back in the right place. Good luck to everyone else on their journeys!

Hi ladies! I just came to make 1 quick update as nothing major has changed with me. I'm not sure if the caregiver I used is still providing her services. She was definitely great at her job and there are others who can vouch for that, but after receiving a few disturbing emails from people on this site whom I referred to her, I am led to believe that she no longer wishes to be contacted. Therefore, although my review of her still stands, I will not refer anyone else to her. I wish u all the best in your journeys!