5'11", 173 Lbs, Married, One Child, and a Lot of Hope for the New Me - Tummy and Flank Liposuction - 2 Hours - Auburn, CA

Following the birth of my daughter nearly seven years ago, I began a running ritual that burnt of baby weight + 10 lbs of additional baggage. I was in the best shape of my life by the time my daughter was a year old at a size 6 with minimal body fat. Fast forward five years, in 2015, I started off the year breaking my left ankle while working out. Then three months after I got out of my cast, I broke my right foot. I ended up with a bad cause of Myofascial pain syndrome after spending much of the year in my cast. Top it off with new birth control and I had gained 13 pounds in one year!

EEEEEK! Going from 166 with 19% body fat to 179 with 27% body fat was a shock to my system. I slowly reintroduced exercise and healthy eating habits, losing about 6 pounds on my own. But this tummy, it's just not going away this time.

I finally got fed up. I searched out multiple doctors obsessively reviewing social media, healthgrade, realself, and Yelp! to find the right fit for me. The first doctor's office never sent any mail or appointment reminders - really? How is that supposed to make a prospective client feel? The second doctor's office was anxiety provoking. The doctor gave me his speel for five minutes, left for 10 minutes, and then came back for another five minutes, then his receptionist handed me a quote for $6,500.

The third doctor was just right. He's mild-mannered, answered questions I didn't even know I had, and to me I am a simple and straightforward procedure with good skin tone and elasticity. The patient coordinator took me in her office offering hot coffee and tea, then she gave me a quote that I felt was absolutely suitable for the procedure I want/need. I called the next morning to schedule all of my pre-op, surgery, and post-op appointments.

I'm excited and can hardly wait to have a good 3500 ccs of fat sucked out of my tummy and flanks!

Well, today I passed the 48 hour mark. Today is definitely harder than the day of and the day after. So far the things I know are:

1. My waist with swelling is down 2.5", my hips are down 2", and thighs (minus the bruising) look like they did in my early 20s. I haven't taken measurements on my thighs.

2. About 10 lbs of fat was removed from my tummy, flanks, bra roll, and inner thighs in a two hour time frame.

3. I'm experiencing hypotension - low blood pressure, blurred vision, and passing out whenever I take of my compression gear. I've been drinking lots of fluids, but now I'm limiting myself to gator-aid and water. I've increased my fluid intake since apparently my body used to count on my stores of fat for hydration.

4. Even with Meta-Mucel and some homeopathic supplement, my bowels aren't moving which is most likely due to the lack of movement, dehydration, and pain killers.

I called my doctor today and to my delight, he answered the phone on the weekend. He talked me through some of the issues in his mild manner. I like him a lot - probably even more each time I speak to him. I found that some of the other doctors I interviewed appeared high strung and stressed out. Dr. Freed always has a very relaxed demeanor and presence. I'm grateful I chose him to be my surgeon.

Can I just take a minute to tell you all how absolutely wonderful it is to take a shower after two days of sponge baths?

After the phone call yesterday, I put my doctor's advice in action. I updated my juice intake, water intake, and also removed the compression garment at a very slow pace over 30 minutes moving my body from a laying to sitting position to allow for blood flow. Today I was finally able to take a shower without passing out on the toilet as I prepared to enter the shower as I had done on day 1 and day 2.

I was greeted by an unexpected call from my doctor this morning. He was concerned about the signs of hypotension I had exhibited within the 48 hours after surgery. He invited me back into his office for an early post-op appointment tomorrow around 12 pm. This was all before I actually succeeded in taking my shower. Needless to say, I'm still taking the pre-caution and visiting prior to my originally scheduled post-op appointment.

Today is an interesting one for my body. I look like a zombie from the boobs down. Scary! However, I can see the contouring in my stomach. It's looking pretty darn good. The tattoo I got when I was 23 is finally back in it's original pre-pregnancy placement. YAY! I'm a little worried that we weren't aggressive enough with my love handles, but I realize that I've been laying on my back 90% of the day and there is probably a lot of swelling from fluid build up.

One last thing, last night I researched the recommended time frame for the corset-like compression garment. It seems like most experts agree on six weeks, therefore I will be wearing this for the full six weeks. I've also been researching other compression garments that I can take on and off myself to wear for three months post-surgery. I see no reason to cheat myself out of the best results possible.