37yo, No Kids, Tall 5'9 and Slender 148lbs, Gaining Weight, sx 10/31/16

I wasn't going to post, but i owed it to anyone this may help. There aren't a lot of posts from tall slender girls so i felt i should contribute.

I started this journey not knowing if I'd have enough fat. Met with both Dr. Salhouzer and Dr. Salama. Both suggested I gain 5-8lbs. I wasn't sure if that would be enough so I went up to 160lbs. I ended up going with Dr. Salama for personal reasons. I can't really describe why, bc on the initial consult I had to wait 45mins just for him to come in. I was ready to get up and leave but something said stay. He was cool, matter of fact, very informative and to the point. No bs. No false hopes. He gave me time for questions but I didn't have very many bc I'd done a lot of research. I just needed him to say I was a candidate. And he did.

I booked surgery the next day with Cynthia (his whole staff has been amazing). I have absolutely no complaints with them. They are all very professional and caring. I had 5 months to gain the weight.

I know this is a struggle area for some women so this is what I did. I wanted a heathy weight gain, no honeybuns and sugary stuff. So I drank a lot of slim fast high protein shakes (ensure, boost, etc) WITH my meals, those definitely helped pack on the protein. I ate more frequently. I would never miss a meal and my stomach never growled. I ate peanut butter sandwiches and a apple as my daily fill in snack (again, more protein). I quit swimming, no stairs, no exercise. My stomach became an issue for me. It was big and all over the place. It was disgusting. But necessary.

I sometimes have an issue with bleeding so I opted for the Cell Saver option. It was more money, but I truly feel like it was well worth the $500 extra. They said it helps with recovery bc your body doesn't have to work overtime trying to reproduce so much of the lost blood. Cell Saver is simply replenishing all the blood you lost by putting it back in you (instead of throwing it away). I'm glad I did it. The day after surgery when I went back to the surgical center for Dr. S to check me, my mom said a girl had to get her sx canceled bc Dr. S ran into an issue from a previous girl where she bled more than normal ( no fault of Dr. S, I guess she didn't know she was a bleeder or didn't inform him) so he had to send her to the ER in an ambulance. I'm sure that had to be scary, and it made me even more thankful for the extra money I spent.

I'll update about my surgery day on the next post. But here's my stats:
5'9 and 160lbs
Lipo: arms, thighs, abd, back, flanks
Total out: 3500
Total in: 2000 (1000 each cheek)
expectations: I did not want a shelf, a kim k, a black chyna, or anyhing outrageous, just an enhancement, but not a clown behind. Even at 1000ccs, I think its too much, but I'm hoping it goes down more after fluffing. I know this is a process. And I'm happy overall.

I never wanted to go too big. Just enough to make a difference. Dr Salama doesn't care too much for pictures that are unrealistic. So when I showed him these he said "ok, that's something I can work from." So just make sure you research girls that share your same body structure so you and your doctor can be on the same page. Communication is essential!

My talk with Dr. Salama the morning of surgery was uneventful. He asked what I wanted, I showed him pics, we had small talk, laughed a bit and then my anesthesiologist Alex came in. Since he has his own surgical facility it was small and quiet. I was the only patient there. So it was all about me. I was always confident in my selection of him as my doctor, but this solidified my confidence.

I woke up from sx shivering uncontrollably and teeth chattering. Nothing they can do, it's just an automatic body response. I was irritated by everything as my mother drove me home (5 miles from the center). I was in pain and nauseated. I have a high pain tolerance but this became unbearable. I took Percocet soon as I got home but I spent the first 2hrs in SEVERE pain. I couldn't get comfortable and everything hurt, especially my hips. The pain finally subsided and I slept off and on for the rest of the day and most of my second day. I kept my pain under control by taking Percocet about every 6hrs. Adding Tylenol helped a lot too.

Today, DAY 3 has been amazing. I felt great. I went to the doctors this morning, then drove around town running errands with my mother. We stayed gone for about 8hrs, in and out of the car. Now, I wouldn't recommend that for anybody, but this is how my day has gone. I need to take it easier, but I believe the Cell Saver has probably helped in my superior healing process. I really do feel good, I keep forgetting it's only been 3 days!

My 1st massage was today. Good God it hurt. Again, I have a high pain tolerance, but this is insane. I haven't been wearing a garment bc of a spot on my side that Dr. S was worried about so he wanted to keep the friction of a garment off of me for the time being. I've been swelling a bit so I thought there'd be a lot of fluid to get off, but surprisingly there was almost none Eileen said. But the massage hurt like crap. I took Percocet prior to my office visit, but that didn't seem to do a thing! It hurts ladies!! Please be prepared for this.

I started feeling good at day 3 and each day from that point has gotten better and better. Now that I'm a little more than 2 wks po I feel AMAZING. I don't feel like I've had surgery. I have a hard time sleeping comfortably but I sleep thru the night. I'm just sore and tight in the abdomen area.

Speaking of abdomen, I had my 3rd massage today. After the first 2 I wanted to quit. The pain was simply unbearable. I thought I could just say forget it but after seeing Dr. S a couple days ago, he gave me that look and I knew I was in trouble so I'm back on track now. They don't hurt as bad but they are still painful. The only comfort is knowing that it's helping. My stomach is hard in spots so we're working on those areas.

I'm in a smaller garment now (medium) and I got the ab board today.

Some days I feel like my butt is too small and way too natural, which is what I asked for, and then other days I can try on certain clothing and I think yeh! this is just right. So we'll see how it ends up.