4 month postop - BBL to Improve Overall Shape! - Culver City, CA

Omg, I can't believe it's been 2 months since last time I posted. Time is flying by and I am happy to report that I am loving my curves! :) It's so nice to not have to worry about my hips and ass or fret over my shape!

I want to thank you for all your kind comments, I definitely needed time to get accustomed to my changes. I feel much more confident and it's kinda weird to read my previous posts because I sound super emotional (prolly bc I was lol, it is not easy!). But yeah, at the 4 month mark looking back on all the crazy, definitely worth it :)

It’s been awhile ladies and I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season! I’ve gotten quite a few private messages asking for updates and I apologize for the delayed responses. Also, I wanted to thank all of you for all your support, ya’ll have been awesome. :) This may be a long, rambling post (as are most my of my posts), so here is my short-version update. I’m over 2 months post op and feeling much better (though still sore/bumpy/tight in various areas). Many asked whether I LOVED my results which I've avoided answering because its like been a bit of a love/hate relationship which I’ve been giving some time to settle. Basically, it’s complicated. :P

Coming from someone who’s had poor body image since what seems forever, yoyo-ing between conflicting emotions with anything-less-than-perfect results was pretty much bound to happen. And if you read my previous posts about the dimples and other things, you may have sensed the inner turmoil. It’s funny because I repeatedly set expectations with myself to be realistic about not expecting “perfect results.” But old habits definitely die hard because I would nitpick on the daily - despite the obvious improvement - and it was really stressing me out and having me question my decision. For sanity’s sake, I decided to stop analyzing/worrying over every little change and just (impatiently) wait 6 months to allow any changes/healing run its full course and THEN I’d decide whether I liked it.

Although it hasn’t been 6 months, I’ll still weigh in. I'm hesitant to call it true love (which sounds corny but I can’t think of a better phrase), but here’s how I know that I ultimately really like my results:

Before, looking at myself in the mirror was avoided at all costs but when it did happen, I could only find criticism. Now, even with the critic still alive and thriving, I can’t help but feel excited. There’s this sense of empowerment that I can change things about myself that I thought were permanent. I think I’ve already talked about this in a previous post, but I’ve kinda let myself go appearance-wise since I knew no matter how light/heavy my weight or how fit I was, I didn’t like my body. So I put on 10-15 pounds in recent years, which on my 5’2 frame makes a big difference. The re-distribution of fat on my body is really quite amazing since I weigh the same but the fat is more so in places I want them. I wear the same size pants as before, but I’ve taken them to the tailor to get the waist taken in a bit. I still eat everything I did before but I’ve also added a lot more nutritious food to accompany the not-so-healthy ones. And I started working out again. But what’s the craziest is that I look forward to working out. I don’t know what impact working out will have on my body (fingers crossed for that stubborn arm fat to go down!) but I have a lot more energy in my day-to-day living.

I think the procedure inadvertently jumpstarted me to live a healthier lifestyle and I’ve been feeling a lot better about myself. There’s been surprising struggles like re-learning what looks best on my different-but-not-dramatically-so frame (Clothing Struggle #1: what-the-heck I got a bbl but my butt is in the same pants as before. Clothing Struggle #2: why are all my tops not flattering anymore).

Anyways, that’s all for now. I never know what to write in my updates and I’m not sure if posts like this one are really actually helpful for others since I'm past the initial healing stage, so feel free to send me a message or suggestions and I hope I can help. I’m still going through my messages so please be patient and, if I don’t write an official update anytime soon, I hope you have a happy holiday and new year!

Hi ladies, it's been awhile! I don't even know where to begin, the (almost) 4 weeks have been all over the place for me but I guess I'll just start off where I last posted.



2 Weeks Post-Op:

At 2 weeks, I had another follow-up appointment to make sure I didn't have any more liquid buildup. I went in very apprehensive because the area that had been drained the previous week still looked like it had liquid, I noticed some dimpling in one of my hips, AND I had hard, painful lumps on my sides. It turns out there wasn't any liquid and I was assured that the dimpling would go away when all the swelling went down. The nurse was genuinely surprised when she saw that I was only 2 weeks post-op (she initially wanted to see me next in Feb but when she saw that I just had surgery, she changed it to December). She mentioned I was healing very well and I think it's because most of my bruises had vanished at this point. For the lumpiness, she instructed my bf and I on how to perform daily 30min home massages (in addition to professional massages) to help the swelling go down and to soften the lumps and areas that had been lipo'd/fat injected. She asked whether I had brought in a second stage garment for her to look at but I didn't know I was supposed bring one so she showed me what to look for in a garment and said that whatever garment I buy should be an XS.

During the second week, I was really worried and paranoid about my butt. My butt had already decreased a lot in volume and I was scared that the de-swelling meant that it would get even smaller. I knew prior to getting the surgery that I would lose about 40% from the initial post-op size but it's already decreased so much so early on that I'm scared of what it will look like 6 weeks out. But the nurse assured me that my butt was going to stay and that, if anything, my waist would get smaller. Once I got my new garment, I worried about its tightness on my butt so I asked Dr Hughes and he told me to cut out the bottoms and that bottomless garments were also fine.


3 Weeks Post-Op:

The dimpling in my hip that I saw last week has become more pronounced. :( I really hope that's not there to stay. The hip indentations was honestly my primary concern for getting this and I've been painstakingly following the post-care instructions to a T. I'm literally either laying on my stomach or standing up. I've only sat down during the 10min car ride to my follow-up appointments. I also haven't been sleeping on my sides because I want all the hip fat to stay put! When I emailed my PS about it, he said that it was way too early to tell and to wait 6 months. I'm trying to be optimistic and patient but it's really hard and I can't help but focus on it. I feel like it's affecting my overall view of my outcome. Have any of you ladies (or men) experienced this too? Did it get better? I'm trying to not be upset because I know its still early but I can't help but feel discouraged.