Body Transformation Testimonial

LET'S BEGIN
This is a testimonial of my own body transformation journey. I am writing in hopes of shedding light on some different subjects that a lot of people experience when it comes to extreme weight loss and dealing with the excess skin. I do hope that you, the reader, are able to glean some inspiration for your own weight loss/body transformation journey. I understand that not everyone is interested in reading a short novel, so for those of you that prefer to skim for specific information, I have titled the different sections for your convenience.
THE GOOD & THE BAD OF EXTREME WEIGHT LOSS
I realize that I am not a minority when it comes to childhood obesity. I grew up on an Indian reservation and in a broken home where health and nutrition never really entered the realm of my consciousness. Food as a comfort coupled with government issued commodity food and a lack of nutritional awareness is a recipe for obesity—myself, as well as most of my siblings, had been enslaved. I look back at childhood photos and see that it was around age 5 that my weight began to increase at an unhealthy rate—it never stopped. Sure, I was active, but without that nutritional component, my attempts at weight loss were futile. By the time I reached 25, I weighed in at 275lbs. wearing a women’s US size 24, I had had enough.
After coming home from extended travels abroad, I was determined to find my way to health and fitness. I adopted a whole foods diet and decided to eliminate nearly everything that my diet was comprised of at the time. No more fast-food, fried food, packaged and overly processed foods, pizza, pasta, most forms of bread, sauces, soda, juice, beer and hard alcohol. Then I set a simple goal for the gym, running a mile—I couldn’t remember ever running a mile in my life, let alone enjoying the effort. That was the goal that got me into the gym every morning. The first attempt took a full 18 minutes, it was painful, but I was determined. After about 3 weeks of going to the gym 6 days out of 7, it became a pleasure as opposed to a punishment. With weight training, cardio and the consumption of book after book on nutrition, I was able to completely redefine my relationship with food. Who would have thought, what they said was actually true—diet and exercise! It took me nearly 8 months to go from 275lbs. to 175lbs. and another couple of months working with a personal trainer to reach my personal best of 160lbs. That is a weight loss of 115lbs. I never felt so good in my life, I was strong, healthy, looking and feeling good and wearing a US size 8! Things could not have been better, after all I lost all of the weight—right?
The difficult part is dealing with what we don’t talk about, that you are going to have a skin fanny pack and probably some bat wings and a whole lot of dimples that are not the cute ones, so no matter how much weight you lose or hours you put in at the gym, you are never going to feel sexy naked, never going to wear that red form-fitted dress that you had envisioned yourself in—without the help of spanx. Sure, you can hide all of it but when you stand naked in front of the mirror all of your hard work is negated by the excess of skin. You begin to scrutinize your new body, your deflated body, and that my friends, is a hard pill to swallow.
The silver lining? My personal best for running a mile is 9 minutes and 28 seconds.
GETTING EDUCATED
The only way to remove a skin fanny pack is to, quite literally, cut it off. I remember feeling intimidated, how was I supposed to find someone that I could trust by body to? And did I really want to do it? It took me nearly 8 years to finally decide to pull the trigger and consult someone about a possible tummy tuck. Of course, part of that waiting period was to make sure that I was able to maintain my weight and nutrition—and after seeing the show Botched, I was not in a hurry. The idea of everything, from anesthesia to post-op recovery to the scar, absolutely terrified me but not for any reason other than I had not yet done my homework.
I started with a google image search of my predecessors. From that search it was clear what the hallmarks of a phenomenal surgeon were: where the scar was, how it looked and most importantly, the bellybutton. I reside in Italy but knew that I would have the procedure done in the States, that was non-negotiable, I knew I would need to rely on the support of my family to make it through this endeavor.
For me, being from San Diego, it was reasonable to assume that I would find a great surgeon in Los Angeles. Now, there are many criteria that one should consider in order to choose the right surgeon that resonates with them. I had to begin my search somewhere, so I started with a google search for a Top Plastic Surgeon in the L.A. area. After all of the TOP 10 lists, I happened upon the website of Dr. Rady Rahban and his photo gallery blew me away—super low hairline scars, bellybuttons that looked like normal bellybuttons, beautiful noses, non-exaggerated breast augmentations—my eyes were having a feast. I read everything that I could, watched every video that was offered and just intuitively knew that I had found the surgeon that I would trust my body to, the one that resonated with me. There is something to be said about a surgeon that wants to educate you, one that is willing to volunteer all of the information that you will need to make an educated decision—it is a big decision—whether you are going to be a future patient of his or not. And then, there was his technique—a very well-honed technique that would give you the best possible outcome. On his media outlets he discussed everything, in detail, that you should be looking for when searching for a surgeon. Just the fact that he took the time to volunteer all of the information, as opposed to patients having to extract it, sealed the deal. I wanted a consultation. Most people would probably have considered scheduling consultations with multiple surgeons and that is reasonable, but I am not most people.
I planned a trip home to visit family, something that I do twice a year, and scheduled my consultation accordingly. I knew that at that point I was not yet ready for the procedure, I still needed to make peace with my body, but I at least wanted to have a consultation to see if I was a good candidate and which procedure he would recommend. In that time, between scheduling my appointment and making the journey home, Dr. Rahban came out with a Podcast called Plastic Surgery Uncensored, in which he offered so much desperately needed information, debunked myths, and gave the opportunity for anyone to ask questions—I drank it up. What I appreciate most about his podcast (and his Instagram Livestreams during quarantine) is that he repeatedly answered the same questions with the same amount of vigor and enthusiasm as the first time, no question was too ridiculous and he never made anyone feel daft for asking a question that may have been obvious. All of this solidified the decision to have a consultation with this Board Certified Plastic Surgeon. Once I arrived for the consultation, I was excited to learn that I was a good candidate for an extended tummy tuck or better yet, a 2/3 tummy tuck. Everything was explained in incredible detail, all of my questions answered before I could ask them. The confidence with which he spoke made me feel reassured, relieved and at ease (as much as one could when discussing elective surgery)—then came the price tag. Bottomline, you get what you pay for and I was paying for the surgeon, his expertise and the reassurance of getting the best results possible.
PLANNING
There was a lot of it, especially coming from a different country. I had everything precisely planned: Flight, hotel reservation, pre-op appointments, bloodwork appointment, Airbnb reservation for the 2-week post-op recovery period, caregiver lined-up, surgery, both post-op appointments and all of the other usual tasks that need to be completed during every trip home. Cue pandemic. All I can say is that things happen for a reason, everything needed to be rescheduled but there was a large amount of uncertainty. Considering all of the other factors in my life, the time was now or never so having to wait a couple of months was acceptable as long as I could still go through with it. In that time, during quarantine, I was able to tone, build muscle and shed some more inches, it gave me the opportunity to present Dr. Rahban with the best canvas possible and I was finally able to make peace with my body, something that was paramount for me before going under the knife. I was able to reschedule everything, added a Covid-!9 screening test to the list, and decided that being flexible for uncertain times was a necessity.
After my in-person pre-op appointment, I learned that I was now a better candidate for a full-body lift (circumferential lipectomy) as opposed to the previously discussed 2/3 tummy tuck. I was terrified, something about the thought of being cut open all the way around my body just did not sit well with me. Of course, I could have said “No, I want to do what we originally discussed” but then I would not have had the amazing results that I did. There were a series of irrational thoughts floating through my mind but Dr. Rahban put me at ease, it was the difference between great results and the best results. I asked him point blank, money not being a factor, what would you do? To which he replied, “You are the perfect candidate for a full-body lift” and he explained why and what the difference would be. He told me that it is the difference between calling it a haircut and a trim—pretty much the same thing. Ultimately, the decision was mine because obviously that meant a steep increase in price as well. I highly recommend that you have the funds available to achieve the procedure needed, if that isn’t possible then wait, you will be so happy you did! I went with the best results; I was going to do it right the first time. It was a hefty sum but worth every penny.
PRE-OP
This brings us to the day before surgery. All I can say is that Dr. Rahban is a personal tailor, he marked out a custom fit body for my frame. He spent about an hour marking, measuring, marking, measuring and then photographing, as a tailor would to achieve the perfect fit. To my surprise, this is not something that is common, again reinforcing that I made the right decision.
As I waited in a room in the surgery center on the day of surgery—in all of the pre-op garb—I was neither anxious nor nervous, I was actually exhausted, 9 months of debating, deciding, planning, dreaming and waiting were about to bring the last leg of my journey to fruition, everything was done and I could let go and allow Dr. Rahban to do his thing—after all, he was the one doing the heavy lifting. I believe that a trust needs to be formed between a patient and their surgeon and Dr. Rahban is an expert at facilitating that, enough to where I felt relaxed and reassured knowing that I was in more than capable hands.
The nurse came in with the paperwork, I signed everything. Dr. Rahban came in and reinforced the markings that he had made the day before. The anesthesiologist then entered the room and inserted the IV, through which he gave me “the goodies”. I walked from the prep room to the surgery room, observed the space, laid down on the table, looked to my left arm as it was being strapped in, then looked to my right as they were about to do the same thing, then I woke up in recovery. There was no mask, no counting backward from 10, no chance for anxiety to build. They are that good.
POST-OP
Let’s talk post-op recovery and the misconceptions about the pain. I will be the first to admit that I have a very low pain threshold and that I bruise like a peach. I psyched myself out watching all of the Youtube testimonials and listening to how much pain people experienced. Well, I am here to tell you that it is not painful, uncomfortable, yes, absolutely, but not painful—and we are talking about a full body lift! I will note that I did not have the muscle repair, so I cannot speak to that.
It is mandatory that Dr.Rahban’s full-body lift patients stay in an aftercare facility. The one that he recommends is called Serenity and at $1,025 a night for a standard room, I did not want to stay for longer than what was necessary—this was my thinking before putting my body through an incredible amount of trauma. To my relief, the doctor’s office organized everything.
As I woke up from anesthesia, feeling incredibly discombobulated, and experiencing a burning sensation on my back-right side which was remedied by a nurse or the anesthesiologist—I am not quite sure, the Serenity aftercare nurses arrived to take me to the aftercare facility. I had to have been awake for no more than 10 minutes before they arrived. I slid off of the chair and into a wheelchair, was handed my urine bag and IV and was wheeled off to a black car with tinted windows. Once inside it only took about 10 to 15 minutes to arrive to our final destination. I was then wheeled into my room and was helped into the bed, a big, comfortable, adjustable bed. The nurses were very accommodating and polite. I was out of it and slept for a majority of the day after the procedure. The nurses administered my pain medication and measured the fluid in the drains, I did not have to do anything, it was lovely—until we realized I was having an allergic reaction to the pain medication. I began to itch all over. They recommended that I discontinue the use of the Norco, I was hesitant, due to the riots, all of the pharmacies had closed, and it was impossible to receive a different pain medication. But the nurses had a plan to keep me pain free and the next morning they brought me a new prescription. They took care of everything. The next day I was not ready to move, I was a bit nervous, I still had to walk so I decided to stay another night, $1,025 is nothing when you think about what you just put your body through. I am so glad I made that decision; it was the best thing I could have done for myself.
Walking and moving was not as bad as I thought it would be, as long as you do it slowly. For the next 2 weeks, after the aftercare facility, I was in an Airbnb with my caregiver. There is no way around it, you need help for the first 2 weeks. I was completely and utterly dependent on her. She helped me in and out of bed, adjusted my pillows, cooked every meal, sponge bathed me and provided moral support. For the first week I slept a lot, about 9 to 10 hours in the evening and about a 3-hour nap in the middle of the day. I moved from the bed to the couch to the bathroom and back to the bed, that was it. The end of the first week was when I was feeling the most pain but that was only in my hips due to being in the bent position for a whole week. As soon as I was told to stand straight up at the first post-op appointment, that pain went away.
At the first post-op appointment Dr. Rahban removed the stitches and the drains, I was numb and did not feel a thing. He then cleaned and taped the entire wound, no pain. Then there was the application of the dreaded binder, the first day was uncomfortable to say the least. The discomfort subsided after the first day and the binder was much appreciated after that, the pressure is needed.
Ah yes, there is the constipation too. That was not pleasant. In order not to force anything I just waited until the urge was strong, then I took up stead on the porcelain throne and prayed to the gods to make it swift—it wasn’t, it is something that you just have to push through.
At the second post-op appointment the entire wound was cleaned again, I was also taught how I should be taping the incision to prevent an unsightly scar. At this point, the time spent with the Dr. was approaching 5 hours and that was not including the 6-hour surgery. I don’t know of any other doctor that spends as much time with their patients. It was definitely reassuring.
By the second week I was able to get myself in and out of bed, there were bars I could grab onto to pull myself up, and I was able to move around a little faster although I was still not quite able to stand completely straight with my shoulders back—that came at around week 4. The occasional cough was unpleasant, not excruciating, just unwelcomed. I was still heavily dependent on my caregiver and could not have done it without her help and support. By the end of week 2 I was no longer taking any form of pain medication.
On week 3 I returned to my brother’s home to convalesce. I went grocery shopping and that was a bad idea. I reckon I exaggerated a bit that week and really had to scale it back. Taking it as easy as possible is highly recommended and limiting your time in the standing position is beneficial. Week 3 was also when the wound became really itchy.
By week 4 things became a lot easier, moving around, standing up straight, getting in and out of bed. Although, I did realize that I fatigued rather quickly so limiting things such as grocery shopping or cooking lavish meals is a good idea. I also remember having the idea that if I had to travel back to Italy at that point, I would postpone the flight, I still wasn’t ready for that journey.
Now I am into week 5 and feeling great, I have not yet tried sleeping in the supine position, I am still using my wedge pillow and one pillow under my knees. By week 6 I will be ready to make the journey back to Italy and I hope to be comfortable enough to sleep without the wedge.
Was It Worth It?
Absolutely! The realization came when I took my first shower after nearly 10 days, I can’t believe how emotional it was. I stared at my body in the mirror before getting into the shower but it didn’t hit me just then—it was when I was in the shower and looked down—that is when it hit—that I was staring at my body, that I could finally see my figure that had been hiding under all of that skin—words just can’t express that feeling. I cried for a good 5 minutes. Then I got out of the shower and was overcome again by my emotions. As I dried myself off, I no longer had to lift a flap of skin to dry thoroughly underneath. As I looked into the mirror at my new body, the part of myself that I scrutinized everyday was no longer there, that voice that would tell me “Look at what you did to yourself, to your skin”, had been silenced. It was cathartic, an emotional release that cannot be expressed in words. Dr. Rahban is truly a master of his craft and I can’t thank him enough for helping me over the finish line of this marathon.
I am so grateful and so thankful to everyone that made it possible. It is only week 5 so I have yet to really enjoy the fruits of Dr. Rahban’s labor, but I am already loving it and looking forward to that red-fitted dress.
SUPPLIES I FOUND USEFUL
As Dr. Rahban said, a recliner was not necessary. I used a wedge support pillow that had a headrest pillow included, this made it to where I did not have to fuss over pillows to find the right amount of support and comfort for my back. For the first week I placed a pillow underneath to increase the incline. Under my knees, I used 2 normal pillows. Using this combination I was able to maintain that “L” position. By the second week I removed the pillow that was under the wedge and another that was under my knees. This worked wonderfully for me especially because a recliner was not an option.
I also had reusable bed pads that I had placed down in order to prevent a possible spill from the drains.
Clothing. For the first two weeks I believe loose fitting mumu style dresses are really all that is needed. Or even oversized shirts, I did not want to be fussing with shorts when I went to the bathroom. I was not going out, so I didn’t really have to worry about being presentable. I found that I did not use pants until after the second week. Underwear is superfluous. Camisoles for under your binder are a life saver but be sure to remove any tags that may be hiding inside. Slip-on shoes are a must.
Hygiene. Seeing as how we do not have bidets in the States, wet wipes are an absolute necessity. Washcloths for sponge bathing. I do not have an oily scalp so I did not need a dry shampoo, although it wouldn’t hurt to include that.
IN CONCLUSION
I see how, during a pandemic, a procedure like mine can be construed as folly to someone who doesn’t quite understand the plight of being morbidly obese, and then having to deal with the repercussions of extreme weight loss. Dr. Rahban knows it, sees it, understands it, and was miraculously able to open his doors and offer me the opportunity to close a chapter in my life, even during a pandemic.
Due to many factors in my life, the time was now or never. Having to postpone once was already closing my window of opportunity. Usually I heed signs that are given by the universe but a pandemic, cancelled flights, cancelled Airbnb reservations, riots, curfews and test results coming in at the 11th hour were not enough to detour me, as long as Dr. Rahban was willing to help get me over the finish line, nothing was going to stop me. He really understands the importance of what he does and how life changing it can be for people like me. Thank you to you and your wonderful team!