Breast Reduction & Tummy Tuck - Calgary, AB

Finally going for a much-needed and long awaited breast reduction and OMG I'm excited! I'm 39 and have 4 kids between 13-20. Thank you to everyone who posts on here and especially for your pics. It was really a huge help in deciding on surgery plus helped in finding a doctor so I really appreciate everything you share.
Ok so I hate boobs...they make me miserable. I've had migraines for 13 years and now my neck, sholders and back are so sore all the time...I just want them gone. Some days (a lot of days) I dread putting a bra on because I know I'm going to be in pain and can't wait to take it off. Really wanted a reduction for quite a few years but was worried about hubby's opinion so kept putting it off. Now I don't care what anyone thinks cause I need it for me and hubby realized how miserable I am so he's ok with it (because really my happiness is his happiness! Lol)...So thanks to RealSelf I started researching some of the doctors mentioned and found one with excellent reviews. While checking out his website site there was a spot to book an appointment so I did and his office staff emailed me back within hours. That was around July 10th and she set up an appointment for me for Aug 8th. Consult went great and
my breast reduction is covered under Alberta Health. I also asked about a tummy tuck and found out that my abdominal muscles are really separated (worse than I thought) after having 4 kids which is probably causing some of my lower back pain. Dr was surprised how much loose hangy skin I have so a tummy tuck with muscle repair would do wonders. So if I do the breast reduction the wait time is about a year for surgery but if I have a tummy tuck/muscle repair at the same time I could be in for surgery in as little as 6 weeks! That is so not what I was expecting after reading so many wait times other people had. Because of my job September just wasn't possible but I am booked in for Oct 24th and can't wait!

My husband works out of town all the time so he wasn't at the consult with my surgeon. Although I told him all about the doctor he apparently blanked everything out and asks "So this guy isn't some hack and he knows what he's doing right?"... Ummm no but thanks honey!...
I spent quite a bit of time checking out reviews on different surgeons before deciding I wanted surgery. I live a few hours away from Calgary but one thing I didn't even consider was a plastic surgeon close to home instead (had too many issues with the hospital and doctors here so I would never have surgery here again). Although I had my initial consultation already booked I thought I may need a recommendation from my family doctor. When I met with him, he was going to refer me to a surgeon here and I said no...Out of curiosity I checked out reviews on the local surgeon and wow am I glad I'm going to Calgary!! There was only one good review on him and the rest were terrible...so bad that other doctors don't even want to touch those poor ladies to fix it...Really made me happy with my decision to drive a few hours away and extremely glad I did some research beforehand!!

I can't believe that its only 1 month from tomorrow that I go for surgery!! Its coming so quick but at the same time this wait is brutal... My husband will be out of town working when I go for surgery so my best friend is coming with me instead. I think this is a good thing because he'll probably make me feel more stressed than relaxed. I have a pre-op appt in 2 weeks and started making a list of questions to ask the dr or I'll totally forget when I'm there. The one thing thats been hard is keeping quiet about my surgery. Some close friends know but I haven't been telling family. My grandma was going for surgery and if she knew she'd just be stressed and worried about me rather than her. The other part I hate is people think I have these spectacular boobs for some reason and wonder why I'd want to get rid of them....ummm cause they cause me a great deal of pain, major cause of my migraines I'm sure, its hard to buy clothes, I despise bra shopping, they literally make me tired from the weight of them, I can keep going...then people are like Oh! I would love to buy a swim top that fits nice without killing my neck since usually the only ones I find that fit are halters. I'm excited to go shopping and not have to find stuff to cover my gross stomach or try to squeeze my roll into something.

So over the next few weeks I have a lot to do...wrap up work stuff so I don't have to worry about that after surgery, get my house back to normal and clean (renos), kids are big enough to fend for themselves for a bit (and maybe cater to Mommy for a change) as long as there's food in the house...

If anyone has suggestions on what I should buy or what I need for after surgery please let me know!