No Regrets but Lots of Tips and Insights!

Long post but these are all the things I wish I knew because my doctor didn’t prepare me very much for post care.

I opted for a local surgeon in NYC instead of traveling to get a cheaper surgery. I did the math and with flights, housing, food, pet care and unexpected expenses i would be paying about the same. So I decided to heal at home.

I am single and live alone with two pets. I rented a car for a few days for my sister to use to pick me up after surgery and in case anything urgent came up right after the surgery. She stayed with me about a week and a friend of mine drove last minute to spent another week with me to help me.

Everything was pretty clear and easy leading up to the surgery day. I waxed and shaved because I knew I wouldn’t be able to for a while after surgery and I wanted to shave instead of having them do it last minute in the operating room.

The hard part was post surgery…

When I first got home I was super dehydrated and nauseous. Drank Gatorade with ice out of a straw and ate some crackers while on my belly in bed because I couldn’t stand. I think it gave me acid reflux so I recommend antacids.

Was in a lot of pain the first 36 hours probably because my fat was very fibrous and difficult to lipo. Took Percocet every 6 hours. Doc recommended taking Advil after a day and a half because it’s better than taking narcotics. After 36 hours I was just taking Tylenol extra strength and ibuprofen.

First shower was hard. I had bruising over a lot of my body. I think the sudden release of pressure on my wounds made me lightheaded. Highly recommend having someone nearby when you take your first shower. Also Recommend someone helping to remove dressing around drain because you can’t see it. Took tepid shower. Cool water felt good on bruises. Slight sting at first on wounds but fine after. Held drain in one hand as I used soap with other hand. Dressed drain on my own and put light wound cover over the couple incisions on back. I put Band aids on incisions on bikini line.

Bowel movements are messy and difficult because you can’t sit. I used a walker to help hold myself up. It’s messy though. You’ll need lots of large body or baby wipes. For the first week showers and bowel movements made me light headed. But they got easier after that.

My butt was really swollen so I used medical pads around the open area of the fans as padding between my butt cheeks and the opening of the faja. The swelling in my butt went down after a couple weeks.

I basically took 2 weeks off work. The surgery triggered a massive migraine that wouldn’t go away for about 10 days. I was tired, nauseous, irritable and there were moments where I was like ‘what did I do to myself!’ because the recovery was so difficult. Recommend having someone stay with you for 10-14 days after surgery to help. I live alone with two pets so my sister and friend took care of the pets. They did dishes, helped me get in and out of my faja, warmed up food, did light cleaning, etc. but I hired a cleaner to clean the apartment and deep clean the bathroom about a week in or so. I usually do this but couldn’t.

The first two weeks are the worst but it eventually gets better. Three months later i was still feeling numbness in my back (where I got

Lipo) and had some minimal swelling.

I reduced pressure on my butt even though my doctor said I could sit after 2 weeks. I basically stayed off of it for about 4 months until I felt no discomfort. Until then i used pillows or rolled towels to keep pressure off my butt when I was sitting or laying down or laying on my side. I never got a bbl pillow. Throw pillows seemed to work on the couch and in bed and a rolled beach towel was fine for me in the car. I mostly used a standing desk when working.

I Stopped using faja everyday at 3 months.

BIG WARNING: a BBL (AND REALLY ANY SURGERY) will NOT treat your body dysmorphia. I still feel insecure about my body. I am so much happier now that I’m more proportional but i still have to work on appreciating my body as it is. You still have to work on loving yourself even after having a major procedure like this.

Here is a list of things I got:

Did food prep for meals over 10 days (made a pot of bland veggie soup for the first day after surgery and meals high in healthy fats, fiber and protein for the rest of the week. No alcohol, fast food or junk food. You want to feed your fat and help your body heal!)

- extra faja so i had two to use

- pet pee pads to lay on bed or in car so you don’t get fluid stains

- mattress cover to prevent fluid stains

- unscented antibacterial soap

- band aids

- medical tape

- gauze

- loose pajama pants and button up pajama tops

- a walker to help you get around that first week

- warm socks

- antacids

- extra strength tylenol

- stand up desk so I could work from home

- ice packs for swelling

- body wipes

- Gatorade or pedialyte

Overall I am happy with my experience with Dr. Francis. He listened to me and what I wanted, which honestly is rare. I wanted a larger butt size for my BBL because I'm taller and I'm kind of a larger person. But I didn't want to look like Kim Kardashian. He totally listened even though he suggested a smaller size for me. I feel like my butt fits my body really well. Honestly no one has even noticed I got anything done, which is what I wanted! It really helped my self esteem. I no longer cry when I have to go pants shopping.

His team is super nice and attentive. I do wish they had prepared me more for the surgery. I think they downplay the challenge of recovery maybe to not scare us, but I would prefer just honest preparation. I did a lot of things that they didn't suggest that other people here suggested like prepping food for a couple weeks, getting a walker to help me walk, getting ice packs, a plastic cover for my mattress, dog pee pads to catch any fluids, etc.

The operating room is in the back of their office. Everything was fine, but when I woke up from the surgery they quickly scooted me off the operating bed right away and out the door. I was so disoriented and clearly still high off the anesthesia. I was also in intense pain. It felt like I got in a car accident. It was around 6pm so I know they were all trying to get home, but wish they had a recovery room where I could rest for a bit until I was more alert and able to walk to the car where my sister was waiting to drive me home.

They said people can go back to work within a few days, but I was out for about 10 days. I was in intense pain for the first 36 hours but just took percocet and I was fine. After the first 36 hours, I just took extra strength tylenol. I didn't realize that withdrawing from percocet can cause migraines so I got a HUGE migraine. The doctor wrote a letter for me excusing me from work. I wish I had known to ask for that earlier!

Overall I'm really happy with my results. My butt is a good size for my figure, its symmetrical and my shape is totally transformed. Would work with Dr. Francis again and be more prepared next time!