Name: LADIES, THE SURGERY IS REAL, THE PAIN IS REAL, AND THE RISK IS DEFINITELY REAL!!
Item: Moises Salama, MD
Rating: 5
Author: CARAMEL_BREEZE

Hello beautiful Queens. I'm fairly new to posting...

8 Apr 2013
6 months pre

Hello beautiful Queens. I'm fairly new to posting her on RS, but I have to admit, I've been a stalker for a couple of months. I started off debating between Dr. J and Dr. S and I finally made up my mind after a trip to South Beach a couple of months ago. Everybody that I saw was Amazing and Beau-tiful and I didn't even have the thought of a BBL at that time. I had jokingly said, 'how is it possible that every woman here is beautiful, what kind of water is down here'? She told me they all had the surgery. !!!? Whoa, wait a minute! From THAT point on, it was a done deal.

So, I have been doing my research and comparing results, prices, location and the biggest bang for my buck. For me Dr. Salama gives that sexy, curvy, sultry body that I once had,.. minus the booty, of course. Never had a booty, but I want one!! This is my defining moment! I've seen his work in person and trust me ladies, everyone looked natural, sexy and amazing.

I am 41 yrs old, stand about 5'11, weigh about 192lbs and a mom of 3 girls, 4, 14 and 20. I know, I know...what was I thinking?!! But now is my chance to get ME back and ride this train with all my RS sisters. Please let me know what tips and tricks have worked for you.

For my lipo, I've decided to do the normal...

10 Apr 2013
6 months pre

For my lipo, I've decided to do the normal upper/lower back, abdomen and flanks but as you can see, I need that inner thigh done too. I'm tired of my thighs eating my jeans. If anything, I'd rather my big ole booty eating my jeans.. NOM NOM NOM! lol.

I need a June or July date. Is anyone looking to...

10 Apr 2013
6 months pre

I need a June or July date. Is anyone looking to change for a later date?

1 MONTH BEFORE SURGERY - Book airline and...

12 Apr 2013
6 months pre

1 MONTH BEFORE SURGERY
- Book airline and hotel/condo
- make sure balance paid off and all receipts in the office match your balances.
- Order extra CG and Waist Cincher
- Make sure all supplies are ordered for travel & home recovery.
- Start drinking/eating pineapple to aide in healing.

3 Weeks Before Surgery

- Stop smoking!
- Stop drinking!
- Take medical clearance test

2 weeks BEFORE until 2 weeks AFTER surgery:

- Stop All Aspirin and Ibuprofen products
- Stop Vitamin E taken orally
THESE PRODUCTS MAY CAUSE EXCESSIVE BLEEDING!

START 2 weeks BEFORE until 2 weeks AFTER surgery (Strongly Recommended)

- Start to Take a Multivitamin tablet daily.
- Take Vitamin A - twice a day.
- Take Vitamin C - twice a day.
- Take Bromelain - twice a day. (Pineapple enzyme - from a health food store) This helps to relieve the swelling associated with surgery.
-Begin taking iron supplement once daily.

One Week Before until 2 weeks after surgery

BEGIN A LOW SODIUM DIET:
Limit sodium intake daily. Lowering sodium will help you have less swelling and allow you to heal faster. (This is going to be one of the hardest things for me, since I am a saltaholic).

GET PROPER NUTRITION AND REST:
- Avoid white carbohydrates such as bread, bagels, rice, potatoes, pasta and sweets. (This is the 2nd hardest for me).
- Continue vitamins

3 Days Before Surgery

• Wash the operative area with your normal soap or cleanser once daily for three days prior to surgery.

2 Days Before Surgery

-BEGIN TAKING ARNICA MONTANA
-Continue taking Bromelain

The Day of Surgery
-bring all prescriptions
-bring small bag to carry it all in
-wear maxi dress or something easy for staff to dress you back into.

Asides from me adding my list of supplies, what am I missing?

LESS THAN 30 DAYS !!!! Help!!!

13 Sep 2013
27 days pre

Hi ladies. I've been away for a long time. I was going thru it!! All the emotions. I was going to back out, I had changed my mind because I couldn't get the funding. Then I gained weight from being depressed. I couldn't sleep because I wanted this so badly, but it was out of my control. Finally it came to me to try one more time with my credit union. Girl, they approved me within an hour. So all that stress for nothing!! Now, time to get back on track and catch up!

Ladies, where are some decent places to stay close to Dr. Salama. I've checked out the Quality Inn, Ramada Inn, Best Western and even thought about renting a house for less than a hotel stay... but that means I have to cook and/or drive to find food. I'm not risking smashing my bootay! I need help quick.

Closing in on 3 Weeks before getting Salamafied on Oct 11th!!!

16 Sep 2013
24 days pre

I've been planning and reading posts and researching and I can finally start crossing off my days on the calendar. Yaaay!! I'm so excited and nervous at the same time. Still have a couple of things to finalize like my airline ticket and my EKG tomorrow. Everything else is in place... I think. Once it gets down to the final 2 weeks, my thoughts are going to be everywhere.
-Rental House booked
-Grocery list made
-Vitamins started
-Paperwork for work faxed in
-Essentials in suitcase already
Should I order my Faja now or wait until after? I'm scared to order the wrong size and then I'm stuck with it or that I will need it and it takes too long to deliver.

Airline ticket and house rental booked

17 Sep 2013
23 days pre

It's confirmed, I'm officially booked for 11 days. I started off looking for a place to stay at the nearby hotels, but realized I will go stir crazy in that room for 11 days and no car. I found that you can rent a whole house on Airbnb.com and pay the same, if not less than a hotel stay. So breakfast was included in the hotel stay... but its not worth paying $400-$500 more. PASS.

Airline tickets went on sale the night before, so I ended up getting a ticket for under $170 round trip. Yes! Now that will go back in the budget towards groceries and extras that I know I will forget. I can't focus now because I have so much going thru my head, kinda preplanning.

I started writing my grocery list, so when I get there I'm not roaming the isles and picking up unnecessary stuff. So since I have the house, I'm going to need all my foods to be double duty as lunch and dinner staples. So far my food list has:
Eggs (protein)
wheat tortillas (for breakfast burritos and lunch)
Turkey bacon
Salad
Salad dressing
turkey lunchmeat
Brown rice
Chicken broth
2 rotisserie chicken (pull skin off and use for soup, in salad, for wraps)
broccoli
frozen shrimp (shrimp and veggie stir fry)
bananas
fresh pineapple
sticks of margarine (for seasoning and stir fry)
and water water water.

I'm so tired of looking at bootys. I can't wait till My day comes.

18 Sep 2013
22 days pre

This is one of the hardest parts....sitting and waiting for my day to come. I'm tired of looking at booty. I catch myself sizing up people to see if I can tell if they have had surgery or not. This is terrible. lol.

My kids are immune to me looking online at different pics. They will just come in and say " You still shopping for Bootys"? SMH. Even my friend will call on the phone and say... 'You're looking at Bootys, again"? He says, 'Poor baby, you must really want a booty'. See, no love. They all got jokes .... just wait!!!

I'm just going to add some wish pictures that I have collected during my months of researching and wishing for my time to come.

My nerves have kicked in... I can't stop stress eating.

24 Sep 2013
16 days pre

I was already debating if I should start trying to lose some weight so I would have maximum bootage (yup, I made that up). I even called Nancy and reminded her that I'm 5'11 and I weigh 195ish and wear a size 12. She said I was fine and not to lose it because Dr. S will find it. But she then said, if I wanted to, I could lose 10-15lbs. Wuuut???!!! In 2 weeks?! I can't even lose 2lbs.
So here I go, low carb and low sodium and its killing me. I would die for some french fries and a hot fudge sundae. If I'm going to cheat, then I'm going all in.
I think another reason that I'm stressing is my mom is coming down to watch my kids while I'm getting FABULOUS, and she DOES NOT approve of this at all. She is throwing all kinds of salt and attitude. She even said she is not cooking for the kids, that I need to cook and freeze everything before I leave. This is crazy! On the positive side, at least she wasn't going to be my caretaker in FL... I would have never gotten any rest.

So I had to go shopping at least to have something to wear once I come back home. The hardest thing is finding something that is going to fit over my new baby. So I guess I will be in leggings and dresses until my swelling goes down and I can judge what size I really am going to be. I even tried ordering some stretch jeans off the internet that were made for big booty girls, but they were too short. :-( My daughter is happy. she gets new clothes and being that she already has the perfect shape, I'm jealous. lol Back to leggings and sundresses for me. I need some help ladies. What stores or websites have you had any luck on finding jeans that fit?

Ready to start taking my MAKE ME HEAL packets!!

25 Sep 2013
15 days pre

I'm ready to start taking my MAKE ME HEAL packets and now that I'm looking at the ingredients, I'm thinking this might have been a waste of money. I was already taking these pills separately. Heck, I might have added more to my already nauseating daily amount of pills. I always feel sick after taking them, and I take them with food. I still have to add Bromelain, more vitamin C, Vitamin A and Iron. UGH, I hate taking pills!!!

(Check with your Dr for the recommended amounts that they require. Each Dr is different.)
START 2 weeks BEFORE until 2 weeks AFTER surgery (Strongly Recommended)

- Start to Take a Multivitamin tablet daily.
- Take Vitamin A - twice a day.
- Take Vitamin C - twice a day.
- Take Bromelain - twice a day. (Pineapple enzyme - from a health food store) This helps to relieve the swelling associated with surgery.
-Begin taking iron supplement once daily.

How the heck am I supposed to fly with all these pills? I can't take them out of their original container, can I? That means I have to bring the suitcase. Thank goodness I booked a wheelchair. I'll let them deal with the bags at the airport on my return. Yup, I booked a wheelchair. Why try to rush for a flight and fight the crowd? Wheelchair persons get taken on 1st and taken off 1st, and get 1st choice of seats if you are not preassigned!!! Need I say more? Must protect the bootay at all times. Conserve energy and enjoy the pampering while you can.

My stomach is not liking the vitamin cocktail.

28 Sep 2013
12 days pre

I know I have to take my vitamins to prepare for surgery, but my stomach is not liking this at all. I'm taking my pills with food and it was ok at first, till I found out my iron level is slightly lower than it should be. Yup, so nowi have to take 4 iron pills a day and I think that'what is making me sick. I'm going to try to find some liquid iron tomorrow. I think Geritol has the only brand. I would go to GNC but I need to keep my costs under control.... at least pend it on massages and garments. Ugh. Give me strength or at least a stronger stomach.

The countdown has begun!!

2 Oct 2013
8 days pre

Its official, 1 more week to go. I'm excited and actually really calm...for now. My best friend said he was not going to miss this, for the world. He is trying to get his 7 laughs in while I'm laying around being a baby. Lol. I say he's trying to be the one who had a say so in how big to make my new bootay.

So now I'm at crunch time, which means low sodium an avoid white carbs. Ugh. Super hard for me.

One Week Before until 2 weeks after surgery
BEGIN A LOW SODIUM DIET:
Limit sodium intake daily. Lowering sodium will help you have less swelling and allow you to heal faster. (This is going to be one of the hardest things for me, since I am a saltaholic).

GET PROPER NUTRITION AND REST:
- Avoid white carbohydrates such as bread, bagels, rice, potatoes, pasta and sweets. (This is the 2nd hardest for me).
- Continue vitamins
- Eat 2 fruits and 3 green veggies daily.

I need to confirm all appointments, housing, Justin the driver and my massages before I get back home need to be lined up.

Bad news--- my FMLA was declined. Damn, now I have to go unpaid once my vacation time runs out. Of course it was all in the wording of the paperwork because elective surgery is not approved. Now I need a sponsor!! Minor set back... I will not let that throw off my focus.

So I have an update on my pill ordeal. Remember, I could not get past the nausea because I was taking 4 iron pills a day? Well I substituted 2 tbsp of liquid iron for 2 pills. Geritol makes liquid iron and it was right in Walmart, so I figured I would try it. So now I had to choose between taking 4 pills and having the nausea or taking what looks like diarrhea in a cup. I poured it into my V8 juice and forced it down. No nausea but I did Shudder a little. Lol. I think I may alternate closer to my due date.

So I have a question: Did you all take your wish pics into surgery with you or did you just email it to your doctor? I need to know if I need to make a collage of booty for the doctor. I already have them on my phone and tablet, but not bringing them to surgery.

Got my list and I'm checking it twice.

4 Oct 2013
6 days pre

I've started packing and I realize...I'm gonna need a bigger suitcase. I'm trying to bring all my supplies with me, instead of me having to run around looking for things at the last minute. I thought I could get away with a small suitcase for the supplies and a carryon for my clothes personal items, but I may have extra stuff to bring back home. I'm glad Southwest has their free baggage rule.
My best friend is starting to get nervous. He keeps asking, Are you going to be in a lot of pain? So why do you have to have drains? Are you going to have the drains hook up to the pole? O_o This is not an I.V !!! Poor thing, I'm going to have to point him to some of my review notes and let him read while I'm in surgery. So ladies if you see a guy in the waiting room reading tons and tons of papers and notes, just know I had to get him caught up to help. LOL. Wish me luck.

on my way.

10 Oct 2013
1 day pre

I'm on my way. Getting nervous at the airport. I will be doing all my pre labwork at Dr Salamas superstar factory today. Hope to meet some of you ladies soon. Cross your fingers my iron levels have returned to normal. Here. Come.

pre op visit done ... im ready

10 Oct 2013
1 day pre

Made it to the office and filled out what seemed to be more than 30 pages of paperwork and consent forms, got my boppy pillow and my prescription for percocet....this was the hardest thing to fill here. CVS didn't carry ehm and neither did, walmart. I called Nomi and she called in a different prescription. All is back on track.

So I opted to use driver.

ok my tablet is not cooperating.

10 Oct 2013
1 day pre

So chose to use justin the driver. He is awesome and very patient. I did tell him that I was kinda expecting a driver in a suit and holding a sign with my name on it. No luck!!! Oh well, I was hoping. I'll keep you posted on the surgery. Its been a very long day.

Good night my lovlies

MAKE SURE YOU ARE PREPARED.

22 Nov 2013
1 month post

First I want to apologize for not updating sooner. I think with all that happened, I was a little depressed and distant. So I'm going to fill you in on my journey from the time I arrived, to now. I'm going to be as real with you as I can.

I arrived w/ my best friend and we met Justin the driver. I think this was THE BEST DECISION, to have a driver. He will take you to all of your appointments, surgery, grocery store and to get meds. You don't have to worry about parking, (cuz there isn't any at the surgery center, unless you use the parking garage). You are not going to want to do all that walking and/or waiting for someone to get the car. He will drop you to the door and wait for you. After surgery, you lay down in the back seat, that he lets down and has a air mattress like set up for comfort. After a while, I told him that he was slacking because I didnt have any entertainment but to stare at the mattress pad, since I couldn't see out the window. lol. He is awesome.

Ok. Moving on. Day 1- go straight to the office for my consultation from the airport. I meet Nomi and we go over what to expect during surgery in the am. I fill out like 40 pages of sign here, initial here...basically the risks, warnings and rules to follow papers. You don't meet Dr. Salama until the morning of your surgery.

Morning of surgery. You get dropped off and your companion will have to stay home bcuz there is not a waiting room there. Change into your paper panties and then you go into the office to see Dr S. This is the time to express your concerns, ask questions, questions, questions. You are standing in your paper panties in front of the blue wall... picture day and he will do all the markings on your body. I also found out that I am very ticklish.. TEHEHE. Next you go into the surgery room, and its onto the table and when you wake up, you are a brand new you. They already have your garment on you. I dont remember my clothes, but I remember getting into the wheelchair.

Now this is where things got real for me! I had been taking iron pills and eating iron rich and even taking geritol liquid iron.. but my levels must have dropped again. Any time I stood up, I would pass out. I made it to Justin the driver and he got me back to the house. He said he tried to get me out of the truck and I passed out on him. This is the story he told me... He had to get me back into the truck, so he could get help.... but with my body limp and him trying to get me back into the truck... anyone driving past would have thought he was kidnapping me or they need to call CSI bcuz they just witnessed something. lol.

In the house finally. laying down I have my gatorade, my pain pills and portable fan. Must have the portable fan!! Trust me. I tried to sleep it off but again, anytime I tried to get up to go to the bathroom or walk... I would blackout. I called dr s and we initially thought it was coming off the anesthesia cuz I was fine laying. I could talk, laugh, eat and drink... but stand me up and I blackout everytime!!! Finally, I called dr s again and we agreed to go to the Aventura hospital.

Ladies, my situation might be very different from yours, but I can tell you that when I was in triage, my friend said he saw another girl .. face down, butt up on the gurney down the hall. The risk is real!!

Emergency room here I come.

22 Nov 2013
1 month post

When you have your pre-op visit, you are given medical insurance that last for 30days after surgery. Never thought I would need it, but baby, make sure you treat this like gold. I had mine highlighted and flagged and made sure my friend knew exactly where it was, BEFORE I went to surgery.

The medical insurance papers were the 1st thing I grabbed on the way to the emergency room. Again, laying down, I'm wide awake, laughing, trash talking at the orderlies crashing my gurney into the wall.... all while I'm laying face down, big pink butt up in the air. Trust me, I didnt care who saw my butt, and after being in triage and everybody wanted to come in the room and ask me questions and touch my butt, I should have charged admission. O_o

The test came back, my hemoglobin levels dropped to 5, remember we need to be 12-13... and I was a 5!! So that means... blood transfusion. I cried, I tried to fight it, but no choice but to accept it....4 bags and an overnight visit. My friend was only staying for 4 days and we never expected this... but at least I'm still on this side of the dirt. I have to say, even though this was really, really scary, my nurse team at Adventura hospital ( 9North Team), were awesome. Carlos was my lead nurse and he was so funny, not to mention cute. and he knew I was a trash talker, so he and everyone on the floor kept me going. lol I love them!! Although I could only see everyone from their waist down, unless I actually tried to turn over, I started recognizing voices and shoes. Carlos even gave me a special bracelet... A "FALL RISK" bracelet, in bright yellow. This is just as bad as giving me a helmet and knee pads. WTH!! This bracelet was my ticket to everything... you know I milked it right?? lol. I rocked my bracelet and my fuzzy slippers everywhere while there. Before I was released, my friend had to leave and catch his flight... now I'm all alone and when I get back to my rental, its going to be even tougher. I can do this!! Hell, I had no choice.

Released: Back to the rental house, Gatorade, phone, pain pills and fan. (Again, I say, you may want a portable fan). All I could do all day was lay in the bed or shuffle, shuffle, step around the table and back and forth to the bathroom. The rental was not big at all, but it had tile floors and when I was hot or feeling faint, I would stand barefoot on the tile. Ahhhh!

Recovering and I'm doing this all alone.

22 Nov 2013
1 month post

I came home from the hospital to a empty house and me trying to figure out how to manage for the rest of my time. I still had 6 more days to go, before I could fly home. The appointments were the easiest to deal with, I had my trusty maxi dresses, my fuzzy slippers, my "Fall Risk" action bracelet and my driver. I made the most of it. Justin the driver, kept me laughing when we were out, so I didn't feel bad.
I did have to go on a hunt for red meat, to get/keep my iron up. I don't like red meat and to force me to eat it is worse. Yuck. I tried to get him to just get me Burger King, but he would not. He strongly suggested some restaurant burger and then I went to Walmart to get some meat to cook. All I can say is the package said Beef something in spanish. It looked like hamburger meat, chopped up. It was easy to portion out a small portion at a time to cook and I ate salad and brown rice with it. I never googled the meat to see "exactly what" I was eating, for fear it might be beef nuts or something, so I just mixed it up with the rice and drank a whole lot of gatorade.

When I was in the house, the one thing I wish I had there, that I use at my house now is this grabber. Don't judge me, lol. But when you are wrapped up like a padded mummy and you can't bend to pick up anything, this would have been perfect. Since I didn't have it with me, I kicked everything into a nice pile in the corner, till I could manage a wall lean or pick it up with my foot. Sad, but true.

I had to go home with my drain still in.

29 Nov 2013
1 month post

I was able to get 3 massages w/ Celia before I left. OMG! I cried like a baby, those hurt like hell! I knew it was gonna hurt but damn it, that last one was no joke. She asked me if it was hurting and if it felt like it was burning, I said yes... she said "Good, that's the fluid coming out". That means I get to go home with a present... a drain. Who the heck is gonna take this thing out? How am I gonna fly with this thing coming out of me? WTH?!

I have my Stage 2 Garment with my waist cincher from the Dr.'s office. I don't know which one's you ladies are ordering, but the one from the doctor's office is sooo tight, it took 2 people to get it closed. Both Nomi and Celia were pulling to get it closed. Now my question, how am I supposed to do this alone? My Cincher is a XL and Baby, this thing is so tight, I cry at night and snatch it off. It feels like my body is being crushed. I can't do a whole night. I would definitely recommend using the one from the office and then maybe getting your own for sleeping. My waist now measures at 31 inch and I started at 36in. Loving this!!!

My flight home:
Time to be creative... My "Fall Risk" bracelet, my fuzzy leopard slippers, some legging, my boppy pillow and wheelchair at the airport. I kindly tucked in my drain, and rode thru the airport, patient style...lol. Ladies, you will not smash your new booty, trust me.
I was super early for my flight and I couldn't sit the whole time I waited, so I found some seats and laid across them on top of my sweater and pillow. Picture me laying on the seat, this big ole booty in the air and I'm causing all kind of commotion. LOL. Someone brought me something to drink cuz he thought I wasn't feeling well, he offered to buy me breakfast but I didn't trust that...but when it was time to board, he came back with a single rose and said he wanted me to feel better. AWWW!!!! I see me and this new booty are gonna get into a lot of trouble. lol
When you are in a wheelchair, you get on the flights 1st. I got the bulkhead seat (1st row, with all the leg room). Honestly, I wish I just got a regular seat. I sat trying to push up with my feet so I was hovering over my pillow and not full pressure. That only lasted so long. So I sat on my hip and then shifted to the other hip and looked out the window.

Nomi said I had to keep my drain in for 5 more days. Ok, but again, how am I going to get this thing out? She said I had to remove the stitches and pull it out myself. UUUUGH! I took my pain pill, cut the stiches and tried to pull it out. Nobody said this had to be long, swift pulling action, cuz I didn't do that and it retracted back in. OK, I gripped the side of the sink with one hand, closed my eyes and pulled and pulled. I got it!!!!