SALAMA Mommy Makeover-YAY TEAM SALAMA ALL THE WAY BAAYY BAY!! - Aventura, FL

Hey Ladies. I've been trolling this site for about the past 2 mos looking at every type of procedure, reading and commenting on reviews, and staying up til wee hours of the morning trying to figure out what PS would be the one to perform my MMO.
I'm in my early 40's and I have a 19 y.o. and a soon to be 2 y.o My last one really did a number on my belly. It's not like a prune or anything but I do have some excess skin and stretch marks I'd like to do away with and 15 y. old implants that need to be replaced. I plan on having some lypo of the flanks to hopefully give me the hourglass figure I desire and possibly some lypo of the thighs.
I am 5'7" and currently weigh around 182. When I started doing my consults a couple weeks ago I weighed in at 191.5 So I've managed to lose almost 10lbs! ZULU (can't remember the rest of her handle) has an awesome post about calorie cycling and I have been doing a bit of that along with going to the gym 4-5x's/wk. My goal is to be in the 160's by surgery day.
I started leaning towards Dr. Salama even though there were barely any MMO reviews to speak of from him on RS. His sculpting skills are remarkable and his bbl's are off the chain! I figured I at least needed to do a consult for kicks and giggles. At first Dr. Azurin was at the top of my list because he too has impeccable sculpting techniques and he shows 100's of before and after pics per procedure not just 2 or 3. That's pretty impressive.
So I scheduled a consult with another Ps on 9/4, Dr Salama 9/11 and one with Azurin on 9/16. The first dr's quote for a MMO was $18k!! Now I'm not bargain shopping but at the same time I don't want to be taken. I had sticker shock and went running for the hills. Next, I saw Salama and I left his consult very pleased. His waiting room was jammed pack with wall-to-wall patients and perspective patients. At first that kind of gave me a bad taste in my mouth because it sort of felt of a turn factory. I don't want to be just a number. And after sitting there for an 1hr 1/2 waiting for my turn I was really starting to get a little perturbed. I turned to another girl and said "If I have to sit here all this time and wind up getting a quick consult he can go F himself!!" As it turned out he was patient and thorough and addressed many if not most of my concerns an questions before I could even ask them. He also measured the area from my breast fold to my collar bone I'm assuming to see what would look best on my frame. I was so happy to finally be back there with the king of BBL's by that time I didn't think to ask why, but one of my friends said her PS (who's known for his boob jobs) did the same thing so I was happy. He's a really scientific kinda guy and he writes e'thing down. Seeing a PS during an initial consult can be sort of a daunting and intimidating thing but I felt at ease with him contrary to what so other reviewers have said about his lack of smiling. I'm not paying him to smile but he smiled with me so that's cool. In the end, his quote was close to $8k lower than my first quote and I left there feeling more confident about his overall surgical skills than My mind was pretty well made up at that point because I felt I was getting more bang for my buck. That's what you have to weigh out at the end of the day is what kind of value you're getting for your dollar not whose the cheapest. I'm getting a more than competent surgeon who's gonna rock it out!
I went home and began looking at Azurin's tt pics and BA pics and started picking them apart to see if there was any thing that made him stand head and shoulders above Salama and I couldn't find it. In fact, I started to notice that many of his tt's have this vertical gathering or lines that I just didn't want to run the risk that I would be someone who ended up with that. So on 9/12 I called to book Salama and cnxl my appt with Azurin. There it is!! My sx date is 10/22. Team Salam here it come!!

I'm starting to go from excitement to anxiety along with a little bit of self-guessing. I know I want this but part of me asks "Am I playing with God's work for the sake of vanity?" I keep going back and forth in my head. Does anyone else ask this question? I'm a deeply spiritual person so I've been feeling a little guilt ridden lately.
I justify it with thoughts like I definitely NEED muscle repair and repair of a small hernia so I might as well get rid of the stretch marks, skin folds, and blubber while I'm doing it. Lol. Not to mention that I'm having a problem with one of my old implants. This has to be done but I still feel a little guilty about it.
On top of it I feel like maybe some of my friends or so called friends are going to start hating all of a sudden I look hot. Maybe they'll think I cheated when they have to work at it. Deep down inside I don't give a hoot but I can't help thinking that some of my relationships could change. We'll see...

Well as of Sunday I weighed in at 182.5 lbs. It was a 10lb weigh loss so I decided to reward myself with a "cheat day". I really should've just had a cheat treat because I went ham on some homemade pizza and chocolate chocolate chip cookies. I really didn't think I was all THAT bad cuz I made everything with whole wheat dough but when I weighed myself the next day I weighed a whopping 186.5!! Four lbs overnight. So I've been hitting the gym with a vengeance since then. I'm happy to say I'm down to 183.5 and it's only Wed. Muscle weighs more than fat, right? My guess is this is a real 183 not a water weight loss 183. So here's my progress so far...

9/2-192
9/9-187
9/15-186
9/21-182.5
9/23-186.5
9/25-183.5

I really need to get rid of the scale but it's hard to resist. I'm making myself a promise not to get back on til Mon. I'd like to be in the 170's next wk. I'll have 3 full weeks of gym time by sx day and my goal is to lose just over 3 lbs/wk til by then. It's a lofty goal but I'm determined. I think the last week I'll do a protein drink for breakfast, lunch, and "a sensible dinner" (a la slim fast style lol).

Ques for Doctors.
Present yourself to plastic surgeons with specific complaint(s)
Then find out what type of procedure(s) would best (keeping in mind
that there is more than 1 type of breast lift etc) and that 2
different surgeons may obtain similar results with different
approaches.
Then decide on a couple of safe surgeons, operating facilities and
procedures and finally then compare prices between surgeons/procedures
and the value of each i.e. what do you get for each dollar spent.
First the physician should talk to you. A physical examination
follows & then a diagnosis of the problem followed by a plan of
action. Then comes a cost quote. No one should want surgery from
someone who mixes up this order.

So far I have the following:
Arnica Montana 30x tablets-for bruising
Arnica Gel
Palmers oil-Flaky dry skin and to assist with scar healing
Scar Meassage w/Cayace- Homeopathic remedy
Bacitracin ointment
2 waist cinchers from Burlington Coat Factory for $8 ea. One Lg and one Med
2 camisoles to wear under compression garment
toilet raiser seat w/arms
leg raiser
AlliMax- Homeopathic anti-biotic
Coconut Water
Sippy straws
almonds -good protein
Whey Protein mix
Colgate wisps
cough drops
Breakfast bars
Soup
Broth
Fiber cleanse
Smooth move tea
Prunes
Prune juice

oh, and ultrasonic messager of Ebay

Turmeric
Ginger
Beta Carotene
Pro biotic
B Complex
Multi Vit
Iron
Zinc
Vit D3

I decided to chop off my hair and completely change the color so last Fri I did it! I am now a tri-color brown, red, and blonde with a pixie cut. Everyone was completely floored when the saw it. It was a surprise to both my friends and family. I thought my 2 yr old would freak out when she saw me but she acted like nothing changed. I really didn't know how to take her response but I guess it's better she didn't get scared. lol
Anyhoo...as of today I'm down to 179.5! 10 more to go and just under 3 weeks to get there. I think I'm going to take a page from another girl's blog and go on an all protein drink, one light meal per day for the last 7 days. That should hopefully help me hit my goal of being in the 160's by sx day.

Hit it hard at the gym today. I first did a 30 min mixed circuit of rowing, squats, and abs alternating exercises b/t 1min of rowing at 27-30 strokes per min. Then I hit the elliptical for 10 mins. followed by some ham curls. During the week I've been going to Orange Fitness twice a wk, spin 1-2 x's, with some Zumba thrown in to change it up. Even if I don't make my goal to be in the 160's by Sx day I feel I'll have gained some muscle tone to help me during my recovery. Failure is not an option
though. I'm determined.
I did some shopping or should I say browsing today and already I find myself being repulsed by the clothes I would normally choose to cover up my problem areas. I think frumpy is the word. Interestingly enough my eye is going for the form fitting, shapelier stuff I usually shy away from. It's liberating to know a whole other wardrobe world is gonna open up for me and I can't wait! Anybody else "window shopping"?

I went to the Salvation Army today and I got a power lift recliner and I'm so excited. It's starting to feel real now. That's just one more thing off my checklist and it feels good. The way I look at it is I'll come out ahead in the end because it was much cheaper than renting from Rent-a-Center for a month and I can turn around and sell it when I'm done. Some of them are going for $600 on craigslist! This thing is like brand new. So stoked. Hey if anyone in South FL is reading this and wants one in a month or two hit me up for a good deal.

I'm "test driving" some percocets tonight so I'm a little foggy. I had an allergic reaction once where I broke out in a rash all over after taking percs for another procedure so my primary care MD suggested trying them before hand to see if that last one could have been something else. I'm happy to report I'm feeling "good" and not having any side effects. I was really nervous about not being able to have some real pain relief after such a major surgery so I guess I can put that fear aside thankfully.
Today I crossed some more items off my list. I purchased a walker and a shower seat off craigslist. I'm trying to do anything I can to lessen the burden on my poor hubby during my recovery because I know he's going to have to deal with "surgeryzilla" for much of the time. As much as I try to keep the mean me at bay when I'm feeling bad he usually gets my wrath. I'm really praying that I don't lose my temper bcuz I know I can't do this without him. Y'all pray for me too.

The nerves are really kicking in..

I have a lot of lingering questions. At first I wasn't suppose to see Salama again til surgery day as he doesn't usually visit with you again unless YOU request it so I did. I'll let you guys know how it went tmrw!
The percocet test worked out great! I'm so happy...no allergic reaction this time. It's nice to know I'll get to have a nice pain cocktail post surgery. TeeHee
Anyways...nitey folks!

As I mentioned yesterday I had a lot of outstanding questions and I'm happy to say that Dr Salama spent the better part of an hour going through each and every one. Given his jam packed waiting room that is commendable.
I was concerned about that BA/BL bcuz right now I'm like a DD or higher and it's really tough sometimes trying to find bras that fit well. Given the fact that when a BL is performed you still retain much of your breast tissue it was important for me to clarify that I needed a smaller new implant so that once it was it combined with my own breast tissue I won't wind up with the same sizer or even bigger. At the same time, I don't want to go too small either. I want to look somewhere between natural and fake. He said that we'll go with a 390cc moderate profile smooth saline implant. I currently have 375cc implants but because some skin gets removed I want end up bigger than I am now. Confusing, right? I guess I have to trust his professional expertise. The man is a perfectionist so I trust what he's telling me.
On the flip side I wasn't so elated to hear that I need an incision under my breasts. I didn't have one with my first BL/BA but he said because of the lateral shift out to the sides and because of how far they've dropped since my first surgery 15+ yrs ago I need it this time. Sucks! I'm sure there's probably a doc out there somewhere who could perform it without but at this point I'm all in and it's not that much of a deal breaker. It's more like 6 one way, half a dozen blah, blah. Someone else might give me no scar underneath but not give me the hourglass contouring that I sooooo desire so I have to weigh my priorities. Oh well...
We also went over the TT procedure again. He pulls in and tight instead of down unlike a lot of other surgeons to give you some serious curves so that's good to know. He also mentioned that he's going to put my incision low down where my c-sec scar is so I really liked the sound of that.
In addition, I'm having lipo of the flanks (which he includes in his fee) and on top of that I've decided to have lipo of the inner thighs. He said he's very aggressive with his lipo procedure. PLUS, PLUS!!
I really like the fact that they provide you with a compression bra, a garment, binder, compression socks, and a breast strap thingy. Who does that??!! It's a gigantic savings and it's extra stuff I don't have to burden myself with. Another PLUS, PLUS.
Finally, after filling out the mountain of ppr wk and paying my balance in full I was delighted to hear that they are providing my with 30 days of add'l cosmetic insurance at no cost in case there's some unforeseen complication that arises.
So that's it! The count down begins ladies. 12 more days...Hoot hoot!

As of yesterday I stopped all supplements with the exception of Vit C, D, B complex, Qucertain with Bromelain, Iron, and Zinc. You have to really be careful with taking alot of stuff within 2 wks of surgery so it doesn't interfere with the anesthesia. Just a lil FYI

I have failed to post update regarding weigh loss or lack of because the scale is playing games with me. I'm not sure what's real anymore. I've been eating a strict diet, watching my calories and going to the gym 4-5 x's/wk and not much is changing. I can see a definite change in my body. I'm leaner and more muscular and my clothes are fitting very lose but the scale is another issue. I do intend on seeing my endocrinologist nxt wk to see if I may need a change in my thyroid meds. I have a slow thyroid and sometimes the meds have to be tweaked so I'm hoping that's it.
I will post pics a couple days before surgery so you guys can compare the first befores to the new befores.

Just checking in. Almost officially one week to GO!! I'm really starting to get into full on nesting mode. I'm gonna be planning my meals to cook for the family tmrw to freeze and store and hopefully start cooking tmrw, Wed, Thurs and through the weekend (yeah, right!) This all sounds good on paper but let's see how it plans out. I admire you girls who can put a plan into action and follow through. I always have great ideas but have trouble with the implementation of them therefore, I end up in full on stress/panic mode when the time comes. Oh well, I'm a good person damn it! Lol. I've got some last minute stuff to order from Amazon and I'll keep my f'sxd they'll get here by next Tues.
I had a great weekend celebrating my little one's 2nd Bday. It was a cheat day I had been looking forward to for a while. I made homemade vanilla cupcakes with white chocolate icing and of course cheat day #1 turned into cheat day#2 but today I was back on my grind. This week is pretty much a liquid diet with one salad per day. I'll also have a couple of two-a-days at the gym thrown in. Monday will be a rest day and then it's off to surgery 7:30 am Tues morn. That's right I'm numero uno! I'm really happy about that of course. Well hope all of you all are doing well with your respective journeys...tata

Getting REAL close ppl!

Going back and forth about lipo on my inner thighs and it's down to the wire. I've read on here that bcuz the skin is so thin there and not very elastic the results sometimes can be less than desirable. Many times girls are left with sagging skin therefore they would have been better off leaving things the way they were. Anyone out there have experience on this matter?

New b4 photos post weight loss one day before SX. New weight...174lbs!! Didn't hit my goal but came close and I feel so fit.

It's over but the pain...lemme tell YOU!!! And the blood. There's blood everywhere. That's all I have for now. I'm perc'd out at the moment. Here's pics

Yesterday started out in a panic despite my efforts. I said my prayers and meditated but I didn't really sleep the night before as u might imagined. I got up at 5:30 to take my shower but realized that I forgot to take off my toenail polish. I was wearing a dark berry plum and it was bitch getting off. I finally finished at 6:17 keeping in mind I had to be out the door by 6:45! To compound matters I took mag citrate at around 7pm the night before to cleanse my system. That "crap" is suppose to move your bowels anywhere from a 1/2 an hour to 6 hrs. Well of course it didn't work for me until close to 12 hrs later as I'm walking it the door and dear daughter 2 yr old wasn't cooperating either. Argh! I literally had to run back in from the car to poo. This is a nightmare. We made it out by 7 to go 45mins away. Not good. Traffic was shit too as we hit one accident and TWO school zones! Now I'm in full panic mode. We ended up arriving at 7:50. This was the one time I wanted to be punctual and they didn't seem so thrilled when I got there all late. Oh well smile and lighten the mood I tried.
So first I changed into my paper surgical clothing then went in for the doc to mark me up and take photos. I decided against lipo on the inner thighs and went for some lower back lipo instead. Boy am I glad I did. I can see some hips too. I wonder if he injected me with fat there cuz it sure looks like it. ;)
Next, the CRNA asked me a buch of ques about my medical history and it was off to the surgery room. I was put on the operating table and asked God to guide my surgeons hands and send his angels to watch over me. By the time I finished that little prayer I was out. I woke up in recovery at 3 ( we probably got going at abot 9-9:30). The nurse said I was there for 2 hours in recovery before I woke up...so we're talking 4-5 hours for Sx. I was in soooooo much pain and it took FOREVER for the nurse to give me morphine. I was pretty perturbed about that. My girlfriend, who is an RN came in to recovery, asked some really good questions of the nurse like was was my last BP because you to a frame of reference as you monitor throughout the first 24 hrs. ladies definitely invest in a BP machine if your are not at some type of recovery center. Your blood pressure is one of the best indicator of what's happening within your body as u recover.
I decided to stay in a hotel the first three days for some piece and quiet and so my baby doesn't see me like this. She went with us to drop me off and she was sort of traumatized. Unfortunately, my hubby barged into the room as I'm standing there in this "get up" they have me in while the doc was seated in front of my naked body drawing on me. Ugh! I told him to wait in the lobby. Men! And the only thing he wanted was to tell me he needed to change her diaper...so freakin typical. He said that's all she's talked about all day so she's a little freaked.
So lemme tell u...hit the gyms girls. My upper and especially lower body strength is definitely helping get me up and down cuz it's hard not using your core.
The drains aren't bad at all. My worst pain at this point is in my back where he lipoed me cuz uptime reclining on it. I started out with two percs every 4 hours but quickly switched to 1 every two hours. This has made a HUGE difference in my pain mgmt. at this point I haven't had a pill in 5 hours so the pain is already subsiding. I've been walking every couple hrs and getting up to pee. Please walk it's important.
The place I'm staying on the beach is sooo nice. It's a boutique hotel and it's completely renovated. I'm on the first flr of a two story building. It's basically a one bdrm condo with a full kitchen, living room with pull out and I'm 36 steps from the ocean. NYYYYYCCCEEE!
Well that's it for now. I'm off to my post op appt later today so I'll let u know how it goes...toodles.

Sorry about the long windedness. Lol

I'm doing surprisingly well. I managed with 1 Percocet from 8 am to 4pm, so 12 hrs. U r suppose to take 2 every 4 hrs. I only did that right after surgery and I didn't find that effective for pain mgmt the first hours p.o. My advice is 1 tab every 2 hrs so the pain never catches u. It also helps to remind u to get up and walk which I did. My 5 hours of surgery plus the heavy sedation on Percocets is probably the most sleep I've had since I started coming on Real Self. Lol I can finally relax the worst is behind me.
When I woke up this morn and looked in the mirror I could swear he injected my hips cuz I've got curves for days, but at my po appt he said no, just swelling. Shucks! He also told me he ended up going with 420 and I think 410 cc salines instead of the 390 we spoke about bcuz he said they didn't look right. Typical man everything has to be bigger. Lol I think he did it for my hubby. They look smaller though and he even admitted that today himself. I guess I'm happy he made an executive decision bcuz if they'd been smaller I would have been disappointed. I read a quote somewhere saying nobody ever woke up saying " dang, I wish I'd gone smaller". It's usually the opposite that ppl regret not going bigger. I like my size though.
Well today has been interesting...I popped a stitch on one of my lipo incisions and I bled all over my hotel room. It looked like a murder scene happened in my hotel room. Lol ladies no one tells u not even the doc...purchase chux to line ur bed with so u don't destroy ur mattress or linens, buy drain gauze to fit around drain tubes, and get latex gloves to stay sterile you will need them for sure.
This binder thingy has a franklin vice grip on me. I think this is the worst part.

"Franklin" lol.
Oh, I forget to mention that I still have sensation in my nipples-yay! And almost all of my entire trunk. Some placed are a little funky feeling but at least there's feeling.

Well today was not as good as yesterday. I woke up feeling like id been run over by a Mack truck and I have definitely entered swell hell. My girlfriend told me I looked like a Kardashian- tiny, tiny waist and a big ass. Lol u might think I'm crazy but that is Not music to my ears. I hate big asses and so does my hubby. I feel like my PS forgot he was doing a MMO and gave me a BBL. If I didn't have the TT scar I'd swear I got a BBL.
I took my first shower today and between that, drying off with a hair dryer, and changing the dressings it took me about an hour 1/2 to go through this crazy ritual. I head back to my house tmrw and I don't think my hubby will have the stamina to do this routine. We'll see. I'm dreading what my house must look like as well.
I had my first solids today. It was roasted chk and a baked potato. I didn't even eat it all and none of it had salt but I am EXPLODING outta this binder.
On a better note, I walked down to the beach today and it was absolutely gorgeous mid-70's weather. If u are coming to dr Salama for surgery from outta twn I highly recommend this cute little boutique hotel in Hollywood Beach, FL. There's also a board walk with lots of quaint bars, boutiques, and restaurants. Alright, well I'm starting to hallucinate so I gotta run. Toodles!

I'm happy to see the castle didn't collapse without me. Hubby a fantastic job holding things down but he's exhausted. Hopefully he'll get an appreciation for what I do.
My baby girl was extremely happy to see me, I she had her way she would be climbing all over me and pulling me around from place to place. I really wish I could pick up.
As for me I'm mostly just tired and hating the crap outta this binder. Can anyone tell me how long you have to get up every hr or two to walk? Is it just the fist couple of days or longer?

Let the itching begin. I guess it's a good sign. The places I'm itching are the places where I have limited sensitivity so hopefully it's a sign that my nerve endings are reattaching. It's just weird bcuz when I go to scratch I can't get relief cuz I can't feel myself scratching.mim afraid I'll scratch off my skin there. I'm gonna try some anti-itch cream and see if that helps.

I don't think it has to be part of the deal to have constipation following a procedure like this. I decided to take a preemptive strike and drink smooth move tea and a colace pill last night and BAM! I ran like it was the NY marathon. Lol I know it might be TMI but hopefully this info helps some of y'all.

This is first morn pic. Sorry for the lighting guys but u get the idea. I'm extra swollen bcuz I did a bad thing during the night and took off the binder. It was killing my circulation and I think it's just as important to have blood flow to the affected area as it is to be bound up tight to reduce swelling.

Doc said bcuz of my short torso there wasn't a whole lot of extra skin above my BB just below so in order to bring the top portion down to meet my low incision he had to do a small vertical incision below my BB so that's what that scar is. I was always prepared for that possibility so I'm totally ok with it. My wish was always for a low TT scar which is what. I got.

Compression garment torture chamber. OMG! My PS provided me with a really nice one but HOLY MOLY it friggin took three ppl to get me in it and it's an XXL!! Madness! I went from binder hell to CG torture. It's the worse. The only saving grace is that it's giving me some serious curvature. PPL always say "the pic doesn't do it justice" but it's the truth. I really don't know how I'll sleep in this? Every night I was already undoing my binder half way through. SMH
I had my one wk f/u and sadly my drains are still in...sigh. I also had to be sent to ER adjacent to the medical plaza to check if I had a blood clot in my leg but luckily the ultrasound was negative.
I'm still really really sore in my lipoed areas and still have minimal bruising but all-in-all things are coming along. My boobies have dropped a little and I'm no longer hunching unless I've been sitting too long. When I go to stand up at first I hunch. I'm ready to resell my walker but not my shower seat. It's kinda nice to sit bcuz u get winded going thru the entire shower redressing wounds ritual but I'm almost independently doing it all myself.

I have padding in the front to protect my incision from being irritated so I look waaaaaay bloated. Also, FYI that cut off bottle to pee in totally works!

Word of advice...if u r buying a post surgical CG and ur having a TT with MR stay away from ones that hook up the front...in my opinion. If u really have a high compression piece it's very painful to button up and cinch in over a fleshy incision and the painful MR a portion of ur abs. Luckily, my back up was one that zips up the back. It's waaaaaayyyyy more comfortable and easy to get on. This is the pic...

I just wanted to update and say I'm starting to feel a lot like the old me (sort of). I mean the energy is coming bk and I'm pretty independent again. At first I had to be helped with every aspect of daily life from wiping my ass, to making me a bowl of cereal, and putting on my underwear. Now I'm doing much of it myself. I've already done away with the walker and shower seat and my mobility is pretty quick again. At first u move around like an old woman- which I'm pretty sure my hubby was scared he would be stuck with that as his "new" wife. Lol. I know different ppl heal at different rates but I have to admit when I saw some girls still being in tremendous pain and hunched over at 19 days I got a little worried. I don't think it has to be that way. I honestly feel 3 mos of clean living, eating and working out religiously will set u up for a speedy recovery. On the other hand if u eat like crap, are severely overweight, (and I'm not talking 25-30 lbs that can be shed in that time) and party like a rock star buyer beware! You will definitely have a long road ahead and probably not be happy with the outcome. This pain is not worth wasting ur time or ur money. Just my two cents...

My 2 y.o. daughter wants me to hold her and pick her up sooooo bad. She keeps asking me to get up and run around with her, and tonight when she was horsing around with her daddy she said "mommy join us". My heart just sank. I keep telling her "I can't, Mommy's tummy hurts" and she looks at me like "what the heck is wrong with ur tummy for so long". The only way I can get close to her is to put a pillow over me but I just wanna pick her up and squeeze her. Ugh! Sigh...I can't wait for the next month to go by. I just adore her. Okay, thanks for listening.

Here's some close up mrng shots sans CG...lol

Down five L.B.'s since SX day. Original doc said he only got like 1 liter so around 2 lbs of lipo suction. He didn't tell me how skin. I know it wasn't much. I weighed myself the day after SX and I was 172.5 including swelling and excess fluids so I'm thinking the end result was about 5 lbs removed. I'm still very swollen obviously so I think there is some post SX weight loss in there. I'll be monitoring of course. ;)

9/2-192
9/9-187
9/15-186
9/21-182.5
9/23-186.5
9/25-183.5
10/3-179.5
10/21-174
10/22-SX
10/23-172.5
11/2-169

Thank you a God! I'm not kidding. I'm so happy to get rid of my "jugs" (as hubby calls 'em). I call them my ball n chainz. It wasn't as bad as some ppl say. One of them I didn't eve feel and the other one so-so. Some ppl have said they feel like worms coming out and I would say that's fairly accurate. It's nothing u can't handle though.

I have developed some serious fire crotch. I have come down with the female equivalent of jock itch...not even joking. I'm writing this because there's probably not anywhere else on RS where someone wrote about it and maybe if this ever happens to anyone else they'll have a resource. I actually had to google female jock itch even though I sort of suspected it was what I have. Basically, the warm environment in inside my compression garment created the perfect petri dish. (I have hated these things from day 1!!) At first, I thought it might be a yeast infection but I wasn't itching INSIDE my lady parts just in the crease area in between my groin and crotch and some on the outside of my vagina labia. So I ignored (sort of) it for a couple of days and even took a diflucan so that if it was a yeast infection I would nip it right in the bud. Well, flash forward four days to today and when I got up from itching all night I just couldn't take it. I got a mirror and looked down there and saw and noticed a grayish raised rash of pealing, irritated, itchy skin on both sides. It looked like ringworm in a way so I knew immediately what it was. It's important to know your body because jock itch usually isn't associated with women, hence the name "JOCK", however, a call to my gyno and she recognized it too and called me in a prescription strength lotrimin cream. UGH! The itch...I can't even begin to tell ya. So now I'm without my CG for some time and I'm a little worried about compromising my fantastic results. If it ain't one thing...

The real dilemma with the moisture issue in the CB is that you can't wear underwear inside without having to pull it dwn everytime you go potty and getting it back on is a MF'r for real. You can go commando but it feels awkward against clothing. What I will do when I go back to wearing mines is put powder inside the CG and in my underwear to prevent my garment from retaining moisture in that area. We'll see...If anyone else out there has any recommendations PLEASE feel free.

Ladies we spend so much time preparing and counting the days that seem to drag by with so much anxiety and anticipation, but I'm here to tell u the post op period flies! It seems like yesterday I was be marked up for surgery and being led to what felt like the executioner's gallows. Lol. So don't fret your time will come and go before u know it. It's crazy his quick it went. Right now I'm in a period of adjustment...I'm mourning the loss of my old body- no matter how imperfect I thought it was it was still MINE- and starting to accept and appreciate my new one. I just pray I don't become as judgmental and self critical about my new body. I have to learn to accept my flaws. Anyhoo...

Yesterday was the first time since the sx 2wks ago that I drove and did a few errands. After I left the doc I went to Whole Foods thinking "I'll be pushing the cart around so it shouldn't be THAT bad". It was. By the time I got home I was super swollen and achy. I also ran out to the drug store in the evening. After being cooped up for so long you just want an excuse to get out and do anything. So I really have to slow down and allow my body the time it needs to fully recover. Today I'm felling more numb then I ever have and I think it's a result over doing it. I'm also not wearing a CG. I'm really concerned now about my healing. Take it easy girls.

So Thur night I went out to dinner for the first time in weeks and I felt great. It was so nice to get out of the house for once besides a doc visit. Having a false sense of well being I decided y not go to the movies the next day? I paid for it dearly last night went I got home. I was so swollen and in pain. I have to remind myself I'm only 2.5 wks po. My message therapist didn't helps matters either. I had my first po lymphatic message and my therapist told me I was doing amazing. She said her other ps patient was still walking hunched over and moving slowly and that compared to her I looked like a champ. I guess hearing that stroked my ego a little and gave me an even bigger false sense of well being. They say listen to ur body and I guess I'm getting mixed signals. Taking it easy for a whie.

I had my first post surgery messages over the weekend and lemme tell YOU it's like reliving the first few days of lipo pain all over again but it's soooo necessary. I already have a lot of scar tissue that's trying to solidify itself under different places and if you don't perform messages to help spread it out and move it out it will stagnate. It's definitely not cute. One thing I noticed is that I've become more swollen since the messages and my belly looks bloated like I have a gut. UGH! I don't like it. I was a lot flatter right after surgery. I'm hoping this is from the messages and not that I've reversed my muscle repair or ripped some stitches. Anybody else experience this??

Just thought I'd post a couple new shots. There's a lot of tape still on so u really don't get to see much of the incisions yet.

9/2-192
9/9-187
9/15-186
9/21-182.5
9/23-186.5
9/25-183.5
10/3-179.5
10/21-174
10/22-SX
10/23-172.5
11/2-169
11/12-167.5

More pics...

Down this mrng to 166.5! I should've weighed myself before I posted the previous weight update. Last time I weighed was a couple of days ago and I didn't think I'd lost any more since I've been eating a lot mor lately. I know they say stay away from the scale for 6 wks but darn it I just can't help myself! ;)

9/2-192
9/9-187
9/15-186
9/21-182.5
9/23-186.5
9/25-183.5
10/3-179.5
10/21-174
10/22-SX
10/23-172.5
11/2-169
11/12-166.5

I have 2 wounds that formed. One on my BB and one on my boonies incision. I had to be given a prescription antibiotic cream to help them heal. I guess it's just one of those things.

*boobies. Lol

My first time seeing too...sans tape. Ta Da!