Feeling better than ever..So Worth It!! ...but Possible Scar Revision? -Chicago, IL

Hello All!

I'm 23, 5 ft 3 in, athletic and weigh 140 pounds( hoping to lose 10 though, you know us ladies..ever satisfied lol), pants size 6 and top used to be a medium or large ( 34 G). I went with Dr. Robert Galiano and I must say he is an artist!! He spent an hour with me each appointment and really made me feel comfortable. Submitting to insurance was easy, his office did everything, I was approved in less than 2 weeks! ( BCBS) I'm looking like a full B, small C and perky! My surgery took about 4 hours, I had the vertical short scar, which I wanted, but he did explain that I was borderline for this type of scar and might have to do the anchor if my results were going to be compromised so I'm so thankful he was able to to the short scar.

Recovery has really been a breeze, I'm not in much pain I even came out of surgery saying I was at a 2/10 and the worst it's been is a 3/10 so far. I'm mostly just sore, from the underarm lipo but I've been able to walk by myself to the bathroom and I was even able to make tea yesterday. Overall so worth it and Dr. Galiano is a dream, he really listed to what I wanted and made sure I was comfortable and understood exactly what was happening. If you are on the fence GO FOR IT and if you're in Chicago seek him out! I felt so respected the entire time and cared for, more like family and less like a patient.

My life has already changed and it's been a little over 24 hours. The first time I stood up yesterday I immediately cried tears of joy, my back and shoulders hadn't felt that weightless since i was 12. The improvement to your health and self esteem is immediate! You won't regret this. I'll post more later with pictures after I shower!

I'm getting so so sick of sleeping on my back!! And I'm starting to get anxioius for the magical 6 week mark. It's frustrating constantly having to think about hurting myself or what I can and cannot lift. Not to mention, the constipation, make sure you have laxatives ladies! I haven't had any complications so far and minimal bruising which I'm happy about!

But I feel really great. I'm still really sore from the side lipo and I don't have a ton of energy,but I'm feeling really positive and my breasts really don't hurt too badly at all. I'm still swollen, but I can already tell the shape is going to be really natural and pretty. I haven't left the house yet, yesterday I attempted to got to dinner, but the thought of a shower and getting out of bed seemed like too much and I knew I wasn't going to enjoy myself. We ordered takeout and watched a movie instead and it was perfect!

I've also been able to reduce my pain medicine intake. I've been taking 1-3 a day instead of 1-2 every 4-6 hours which is nice because it makes me feel fuzzy and hallucinate a bit. Also, I'll finally add some pictures, I still haven't gotten around to showering so there's no time like the present! I've only included one breast because I'm participating in a research study in which one of my breasts is bandaged with the oxygen pump so there's nothing really to see until I get the bandage off on Monday!

So, It's been awhile!! Things have gotten hectic...I moved, started graduate school and I'm still working full time so it's been busy busy busy! But I like life at this pace, I guess I'm just crazy haha. Anyway, the ladies are healing really well! I'll try to give a recap!

Week 2
I was pretty sore and tired and really frustrated. So tired of sleeping on my back, it's driving me nuts (still!) and causing me to really lose out on my beauty sleep!! Also I was slightly freaking out about the size, I felt like they were so huge with all the swelling, then I would have to look in the mirror and look at old pictures of myself and see the difference to calm down. That little exercise really helped keep my sanity. They were also just starting to drop a little which is leads me into my current freak out...

Week 3
My doc wasn't really specific about the type of sports bra I should be wearing or even how often I should wear it, just nothing too tight. I've been wearing bralettes with no underwire and I for sure I wear them to sleep because the support is nice! I did go braless one day to wear this halter which has been hanging in my closet since January! It was a crazy, crazy feeling I haven't been able to do that...well I never have lol. But I am nervous about sagging, I know many other people have been told to wear a sports bra 24-7 which helps maintain lift, so I do wonder about my lift in the future.
They are however, perky and natural looking just like I asked, I just am uncertain about this sports bra issue, what do you ladies think?

I've been told I'm a fast healer and honestly I feel lucky and grateful. My boobs are looking more like week 4-5 ( based off the pictures I've seen) than week three so I think this is a good sign. ( I hope) I have very, very minimal bruising and the wrinkles are smoothing out (I had the vertical short scar) What worries me about that is the sag factor, does that mean they will sag faster too? Now that I'm not obsessing about how big they are I'm obsessing about the drop and the fluff. How did you ladies deal with that? I honestly think by week 5-6 my drop and fluff will be complete, did anyone have that experience?

Scars
I just started scar therapy, I'm using the silicone strips at night and kelocote during the day. I've been slacking this week though with the move and grad school. whoops! I do highly recommend these products, you can get them from amazon for pretty cheap and I saw improvement after only a week of use! the top part of my scars are already starting to fade a bit and they are so skinny! I have heard that the scars get worse before they get better, so I'm trying to prepare myself for that just in case that is the case with my body.

I have my final appointment for the research experiment soon and I do think it made a slight difference. I have WAY less pain on the side that had the oxygen pump ( right), but I do have more swelling on that side so it's kinda 50/50.

Oh and before I forget...the dreaded dog ear! I have one on the left side it's gone down a lot and if it hasn't completely smoothed out by the three month mark Galiano will get rid of it for me, thank goodness.I feel like I have a third boob! ( albeit a tiny, tiny, tiny one) On the plus side my swelling has gone down dramatically and I think I only have a bit more to go yay! I can't wait to go bra shopping!!

Pics coming soon!!!
Last but certainly not least!!
Thanks so much for all your support and kind words!! It's so awesome to have people to share this with,I know my roommate is tired of hearing it and it's hard for her to understand..she contemplated implants, so we're on opposite ends of the spectrum haha.