BBL + Breast Lift (No Implants), Dr Hughes, Apr-15, Age 40, 2 wks post new pics

I've finally decided that it's time for me to "give-back" and post my review now that there's less than 2 months to go.

I started this journey about a year ago when I was looking online for more information about breast lifts. Although my boobs aren't disastrous, they don't look good without bra and I've complained about them for enough years now that it's high time I took some action.

I've never had any sort of procedure before and live in a very remote part of the world where this kind of thing is alien, so I knew I had to travel. Realself.com has been godsend. I started out knowing absolutely nothing and have been able to educate myself, ask questions and read real experiences through this website. The first doctor I considered seriously was Dr Horndeski because of the longevity promised by his Ultimate Breast Lift. I had a great Skype consultation with him, but was dismayed that the price tag was a whopping $14k. Also, something about the fact that his procedure hasn't caught on more widely just didn't sit right with me. So, I carried on searching.

That's when I discovered BBL's! I have been carrying some extra weight on my extra petite frame for about 2 years now, and I haven't been able to shift it. Having said that, I think if I really commit to working out regularly and eating less, I probably could get back down to the 90lbs I have always been (I'm only 5ft tall), but my job, the climate here, and my love of food mean that I keep failing at doing this. I am now 103 lbs which is the biggest I have ever been. My clothes no longer fit me, and I hate looking in the mirror, so I figured that I may as well look to see if I can fix the belly fat as well as lifting the girls. And hey, while I'm at it, haven't I always complained about my extra flat derriere? Well, no point in wasting all that juicy fat, so...

At first I didn't want to tell my husband about this new track I was on, and researched ways of making the whole thing cost about the same as a regular mastopexy in the US, so that when I finally broke the news, at least the $$ side wouldn't cause any friction. So, I read about doctors in DR and decided I quite liked Dr. Alejandro Hernández Pizzoglio because his work looked good and he was Board Certified. I asked him November if I could reserve a date in April 2015, and he told me to get in touch with his office at the end of January because he wasn't taking bookings that far ahead. He didn't really engage with me, wasn't interested in a Skype/phone call, and in the end, the final nail was that he asked me to gain weight. That sort of thing does make me nervous. First of all, I don' want my arms, chin, face etc to get any fatter. Secondly, it's not in my best interests health wise to gain any weight, and thirdly, surely if I didn't have the weight now, I would just lose it after surgery anyway. Made no sense to me.

So then, I found Dr Campbell at Prestige in Cartagena, Columbia. He was totally wonderful. Our phone conversations were great, and I really liked the pics on his website. I also liked that he and his wife would have been working on me at the same time to reduce surgery time, and I have always wanted to visit Colombia. The problem was that Dr Campbell really thought that the best thing for me was to have implants to lift my breasts, an possibly just a donut mastopexy at the very most. I am already a 32DD. I don't want my breasts any larger. And I don't feel that the donut will lift me enough. I was sad to not continue with Dr Campbell, because he does seem lovely, and we had already both spent a good deal of time on my case, but in the end I had to go with my gut.

I found Dr Hughes. I LOVED that he was aggressive with thinner girls, and I LOVED that he had very few, if any, negative reviews. I didn't love that his quote was more than double the quote from Dr Campbell. So I finally discussed the whole thing with the husband, and we decided that the price is the very last thing I should be thinking about in all of this. It's not appropriate to bargain-hunt when it comes to my boy and health. What finally swayed me with Dr Hughes and made me pay the first instalment was that he was so responsive by email, and he assured me that this same level of response will continue post-operatively.

He also asked to me about how hard the surgeon has to work when performing aggressive lipo, and he certainly seems to be physically capable of that much hard labor. I am sure that I have annoyed him with all my questions though, and in the last reply he asked me to stop researching techniques and to trust his technique and his before/after shots. Oops. He's totally right though. It's just so easy to get obsessed with all the info and all the stuff I am reading every day.

I am having lipo on my abdomen, upper back, armpit area and inner thighs. I really don't want a huge butt, and that thought really frightens me. It's what I worry most about, so I have a good number of wish pics that I will show to the doctor when I meet him in April. I also have a problem area of fatty loose skin in my upper abdomen, and Doctor Hughes has said that he might have a solution for that which may tie in to the vertical breast lift, but he will assess when he sees me.

I will be taking three flights to get to him, and then I will stay in LA for 12 days before taking three flights home. My husband and son will accompany me for the first week.

It feels like I have written tons so I will post this and then try to add some before pics.

A massive thank you to all the ladies that post to this website. I really appreciate the time you take, and all the advice and results.

Here are some "before" pics. Is anyone else finding that they are gaining weight prior to surgery even when you aren't meaning to?

Here are some of my BBL "wish" pics. The most important things for me are that my waist is tiny and the annoying bulges around my bra line and on my belly are gone. Since my butt is so non existent, I'd like some extra roundness, but nothing out of proportion...

I have just ordered a Kindseat meditation stool to sit on afterwards. I am hoping that if I sit with it under my thighs, I might still be able to be seated for a while to get on with some work on my laptop. It wasn't cheap at $180, but definitely a price worth paying to protect my $14k investment. I will just it afterwards too.

I am also thinking about the director chair for $84. The other chairs are $thousands, so I won't be getting them, but I can dream...

Only 6 weeks to go now. Getting excited.

I have started taking Megafood Blood Builder too. I really like this product. My iron levels are already ok, but it can't harm to give them a little healthy bump.

I think I might order some arnica oil and some natural laxatives. Does anyone know if I need to buy any tank tops or other specific clothing?

Also, I wonder if I need to buy some bedding protectors so I don't ruin the sheets/mattress at the apartment I am renting. I'd love some advice.

Thanks, ladies x

Don't know why these didn't upload with my post...

When I first started scouring this site for more information (I became obsessed pretty early on), I definitely didn't want to look at wish pics. I was just interested in the before and after. Now that my turn is imminent, I am finding other people's wish pics really useful to hone in on what I want. I like comparing the wishes to the afters too.

So, in case this helps any of you, here are my wish boobs.

Oh, and I had NO IDEA that my left boobs was SO MUCH bigger than the right. I knew it was bigger but damn!

So I have definitely noticed women complaining about getting even fatter than before post-lipo and in really bad cases, the fat is deposited in such odd places that they look like a freak show.

I am inclined to believe that the body holds a certain amount of fat for a reason, and that diet and exercise are the only way to alter the overall amount. Given as I don't expect to change these factors significantly post-sx, it would not surprise me if my weight/total fat composition returned to pre-sx levels.

That's partly why I don't just want the fat sucked away and gone. If my body wants me to have this much fat, then I should choose where it goes and I choose my butt and my boobs. I am very worried about the fat coming back and surrounding my internal organs and my face and my arms. That would be bad, very bad.

I want to hear about women who have lost fat and kept it off after surgery. I am desperate to hear from them. I don't want a flat tummy only to end up with a thick waist and kidney disease from all the deep fat that can't be sucked away.

Only 12 days to go. Yikes!!

So, three flights later and I've made it to Venice Beach. So glad I chose to rent this cute apartment (20 steps from the beach) even though it's 2 stores up. So many great little walks around here that will help me to move around during recovery. Also amazing healthy local eateries. I'm very lucky to be here. Gorgeous sunny day today. We rented bikes and rode up to Santa Monica and back, drank fresh lemonade, ate fresh oysters for breakfast and passed a few amusing hours with the street performers.

Tomorrow morning I am going in for my pre-op tests. I am a little nervous. Hope it all goes well. I have been taking my iron and Vit C. I still haven't bought a garment, urinal, medical supplies. I guess it's all available not far from here when I need it. Feeling relaxed in that regard.

My son is dismayed by my putting myself through this and my husband is supportive but thinks it's all a big waste of time and money. Still, I'm happy that they are here.

Looking forward to buying and wearing those cute belly tops I saw for sale at the stalls on the beach today :)

So I finally got to meet the great Dr Hughes and see the Boris facility today. I signed reams of paperwork when I first got there while waiting to be seen by the nurses. I. had my blood work done by a lovely girl called Debby. She was great. Didn't expect to see Dr Hughes at all today, but while I was waiting for Debby to come back and tell me what I had to do next (expected more tests), he popped into the little pre-op room and we had a chat.

I must have come off as a little disorganized and flustered because I didn't have my questions ready (I didn't expect to see him) so my queries were all a bit out of order and random. I wish I had taken my wish pics, but hopefully I can show them to him tomorrow.

I talked to him about being concerned with getting flat, squarish boobs like you sometimes see after mastopexy, and he told me that I had nothing to worry about - that I will have round perky breasts, no problem.

We talked about the trouble area on my upper abdomen which has always been uneven and unfortunately he told me that it was mainly loose skin and not a lot of fat so it wouldn't be much improved. He said that it really doesn't look as bad to others as it probably looks to me, but he will get it a bit flatter.

One of the first things he said after we talked about the breast lift was that he will not be able to give me a huge butt, which is a massive relief. I told him that it's one of my fears, and he said that he couldn't even if I wanted it because I don't have enough fat. Phew! So so glad about that. He's going to scoop out some fat from the love handle area and make what I have more rounded. Perfect!!

Another little disappointment was that he said the flabby armpit/bra line area is some fat but also a good amount of skin, so I won't have perfect results there either. :( I'm so glad he was honest and real with me though. Better that way for sure.

I asked him about arm lipo and he said that there's so little fat there, really not much point. Maybe I will think about arm and chin for another time, although I don't think I will have another done in future and confirm my husband's fears about women who go down this line...

He came across as quiet, a little introverted, but very certain of his abilities and my limitations. Dispute being very unprepared, I am so glad I got to see him today.

After that, I saw Adam. He have me some information in a binder, told me that my appointment had changed from 7am to 10:30am to give them time to get my bloodwork back, and then he walked with me to the pharmacy next door to pick up my antibiotics and pain meds. They cost $75. And that was it.

I spent the afternoon grocery shopping at Whole Foods. That place is a DREAM!! We do to have any stores like that at home. I stared at the shelves for 3 hours and spent $300 on gorgeous, healthy food and drinks. I have things like nut cheese, nut butters, probiotic kefir drinks, fruit & berries, soothing teas, high protein snacks, coconut water... I could have bought even more except I was getting so hungry and wanted to go home to eat! Amazing place! I will use Instacart to top up on anything I run out of in the next 10 days.

I still don't have a stage 2 garment. I thought about driving to a faja store today to find something, but Dr Hughes says that Spanx is fine, so I'll just order some and maybe have them delivered there for me to pick up at a post op appointment.

I also went by the piercing place to see if they had plastic retainers for my piercings (nose and belly) but they don't. I will take the belly out tomorrow and hope that it goes back in eventually. I will risk leaving the nose in because I don't think I can get it out anyway. Dr Hughes said that I run the risk of being burnt with it in place. I'll see how I feel about it tomorrow I guess.

So now the calm before the storm. My son is worried so I'm trying to down play the whole thing. I don't think I will be sleeping much tonight.

Oh damn, I forgot to ask the doc about how I was going to sleep!

It's done! Boy what a day! I have so much to tell you all, but I am having to stand while I type this, so I don't know how much I will be able to say right now...

First thing to happen was that I had to pee into a cup to test for pregnancy. Then I was taken to another room where I stripped down and had pictures taken. Then the lady put in a gown, hair net and foot covers. She explained to me what was to happen and talked a little about recovery. I met the anaestheologist - Dr Lebowitz. I was surprised that it was Dr May, because that's the only one I had heard of on RS, but apparently there are 2 registed anaesthesiologists at Boris Cosmetic. He asked me some questions about what I was having done, allergies, worries etc. And then Dr Hughes came in. I had spoken to him about possibly getting my arms lipo'd the day before, so I wanted to know what I had decided. I decided to leave the arms alone because they aren't very big and the results will be minimal, but I did add medial thighs which cost me another $1500.

Again, I felt like I didn't really have a lot of time to talk with Dr Hughes, but I did show him my wish pics. Most of the boobs I like have implants, so I won't end up looking like them, but I showed him a couple of lifts with no implants that I really like, and he said that my result will be close to that.

With the BBL, he stressed once again that he won't be able to give me a huge butt, and I stressed back that I definitely don't want one. He said that my wish pics were all achievable.

Right after Dr Hughes left, I was taken into the OR where I was swabbed down with cold iodine and then asked to lay on the bed while the nurses prepared me for surgery. Dr Lebowitz came in and attached an IV to the back of my hand, and then explained the anesthetic to me - they would add it to the IV. He gave me a standard dose, but it didn't knock me out - not even close. He was also surprised by that and said that I must be one of those people who is not sensitive to anesthetic at all. It must have taken at least 10 minutes for me to go down.

I don't remember the recovery room at all, but my husband told me that I was complaining about pain so they injected something which knocked me out again fro another 45 mins. He said that they were also commenting on the fact that my surgery took much longer than anticipated. I don't know why, I've emailed the doc to ask him about that. It probably started at 11am and I Didn't get out until sometime between 5-6pm.

When I got home, my husband helped me into to bed and I was in a lot of pain. I have a very high tolerance to pain, but I described it still as 10/10 pain. It was mainly all in my right hip, which didn't make sense to me at all. As far as I know, I didn't have any work done there, so it's a bit of a mystery. I was also FREEZING cold. I couldn't stop shaking, and my skin was so cold. My husband got in beside him so we could spoon to warm me up. It took a couple of hours.

Another thing that surprised me was that I didn't need to pee. After all that IV fluid, you'd think I would need to pee! So I forced myself to go before going to bed that night, and I filled two large plastic cups with pee! I guess I just was numb down there so I couldn't feel it. I wasn't hungry at all either. I took a sip of smoothie and immediately felt nauseous and threw it up. I had a little nausea when I was climbing the stairs to the apartment too.

In the night, I got up 5 times to go pee, and to have a drink of water. My mouth was so dry that my tongue was sticking itself to the roof of my mouth. I laid on my sides and on my belly a lot. I am still a little worried about laying on my side in cast there was a little fat transferred there, about I also worry about squishing my newly lifted boobs. There is still zero pain in my boobs though.

I had crazy heartburn from 4am onwards too. Just couldn't get rid of it even after I forced down some milk and yoghurt.

Today, there is a moderate amount of pain. The painkillers are working really well, I am walking easily, but I cant bend and getting in and out of bed is very hard. I'm already bored because I can't go out or do anything but read.

I go back in tomorrow morning for a follow up. I'll try to get some pics when I get the dressings changed. Oh, speaking of dressings, they were pretty soaked with blood and fluid, but no leakage onto the binder or anywhere else. The compression shorts are really tight and I am worried they are squishing the fat too much. Did anyone else experience this?

Ok, that's all for now. Off to lay down again...

I had no idea that it would be this tricky to get in and out of bed and to bend. I cannot reach anything that is loved than about 2ft off the ground. Wish I had bought one of those grabber things.

Just snuck a quick look at the boobs while everyone is out. Sooooo gorgeous! They look so small too, but I don't mind that.

Dr Hughes emailed back and told me not to lay on my side. I laid on my side all night last night!! Also, he managed to get 900cc into each butt cheek. That's a lot more than I expected. Hope I don't look out of proportion when it's all settled!

So definitely the most difficult thing about this procedure is getting in and out of bed or laying on a sofa. It feels like my ab muscles have been beaten to a pulp and no longer work.

But here's some good news - the meditation bencheorks a treat. It's amazing!! I have the seat under my thighs and I'm knew long on the ground. I don't need to lean back on anything because the binder is providing all the back support I need.

I really do not like the tight spandex shorts. They are horrible and I can't get them up fully. They have left deep grooves on the outside of my thighs. It's handy that they have an open crotch though so that I can push a cup into the opening to pee. I got up 3 times last. Ight to pee.

My husband leaves tomorrow, so I'm nervous about how I will do when he's gone. I may need to hire a nurse. I am hoping for a miraculous improvement between now and tomorrow night.

Still haven't seen what I look like under the binder. Maybe I will get to see during my post-op today. I will keep you posted...

My face is fat.

So glad I went in to see Olga today, because my binder was all wrong and therefore I had a massive fluid build up which she had to syringe and massage out. It's because the nurses that discharged me two days ago hadn't put the binder and compression shorts on properly. I'm a little bummed about that, because it will likely mean that I am stuck in this binder for longer. Really wanted to travel home in Stage 2 garment.

The syringing was a little uncomfortable, but not too bad. Apart from the huge fluid shelf over my pubic region in the front, everything else looks awesome. Dr Hughes came in to see me too, and he said that he was very pleased with his work, and that I am going to look amazing. He said that I don't have a waist left at all, it's all gone :) My butt is juicy, but in proportion, and my breasts are high, perky and lots of upper pole fullness. Still no pain or discomfort from the bobos even though I lay on them.

I now need to be really careful with the binder not riding up. I read a million times how Olga always wants the binder lower, and I still managed to screw this bit up. Olga is wonderful, by the way. Very reassuring. She was surprised that I was only 2 days post op.

I'll try to post pics tomorrow. I'm super pleased so far.

Here are a couple of photos I took after my shower this morning. Apologies for the quality, the room was kind of dark and I crop out a lot because I don't want my tattoos in the pictures. I'll post better ones when I can.

I guess I ended up partaking in the Chinese food last night because I was feeling so good. Bad move. I woke up extremely swollen part way through the night and the worst thing was that it made my nose run all night, which is a real pain when you are laying on your stomach. Will be more careful to eat less salty food now.

The other thing I have to report is that I have a largish hard white patch on the outer right butt cheek. I am going in today to have the doc check it out.

Also my right boob has a lot more fullness outside of the nipple and is flatter on the cleavage side of the nipple, so I'd like to talk to the doc about whether I can wear anything that will persuade the tissue to even out. I am so pleased with all of it so far though. Even with the imperfections, I love how it all looks and feels. I cannot get over how high my boobs are and how comfortable it had been to sleep on them.

I got a pill stuck in my chest this morning and it was nothing short of agony for about 30 mins. It's happened before but this time was the worst. I am still taking arnica, bromelain, Vit C, Juice Plus, pai. Meds, antibiotics and natural coconut laxative. Oh, I had a hard vowel movement last night and another this morning. Had to get fully undressed which was a hassle, but no probs with wiping or anything.

One last thing - I really like the Vega Protien powder which I drink in the mornings. Not cheap, but really great. Having already paid several thousands, I'm not going to skimp on nutrition at this stage.

I am LOVING living in this little apartment at Venice, especially during the days when the boys go out and I have the place to myself. So indulgent to be able to lounge around and watch netflix :). And Uber to Boris is only $5. At that price there's no point at all in staying in a hotel in Culver City, unless you really like Culver City...

Anyway, will update later after seeing Dr Hughes...

Since I'm up anyway, though I would post an update. So both Olga and the doc told me the white patch is nothing to worry about - just normal swelling. Just one day after being syringed, Olga said I'm doing really great and that u likely only need the binder another few days - woohoo!!! Probably can't ditch it at night altogether on Tuesday. Very happy about that. I don't "hate" the binder, but my clothes don't fit with it on - it's like a fat suit. I dislike it at night. Actually I just got up for an impromptu bm and decided to treat myself to 30 mins without it :). Was blissful.

So Olga says I can just wear these compression shorts, but I would like to get another garment that is more comfy when this one is being washed.

Do any of you ladies know of a faja store I could visit in a taxi from Venice?

I'm reluctant to buy online because my size is not normal. Pre lipo my waist was 25 and hips 34.

Thanks so much for any advice.

Will try to sleep again now. Missing my boys (they went home last night)...

Spent the day roaming all over LA visiting vintage stores with my girlfriend. Had such a wonderful, exhausting day. I will post a pic of one of the dresses tomorrow. My butter is so huge it's scaring me a little, but I know (and hope) it will deflate some. I weigh 100.5lbs which is 9.5lbs more than sx day, so still lots of swelling.

My waist is already a tiny 24" though. I am super curvy.

I am now able to get in and out of bed easily, bathroom visits are no problem. Still in some pain when I don't take meds and my nipples are SO sensitive!! On the whole I'm very happy. I don't even mind the binder that makes me look like I'm wearing a fat suit :)

I will try to post better pics at some point. I just looked at the ones I posted, and they really don't even come close. My friend has gone home now, and I'm alone, so I won't move the binder until I really need to since I can't get it anywhere near as tight as she could, but when I next take it all off, I'll take better pics. You're going to love them!

I couldn't fit into ANY of the jeans I tried on yesterday. Probably too soon with swelling. GOing to have to google jeans for tiny waist and big booty - what a dream!

Yesterday was pretty good. I walked about a mile along Venice Pier, bought some jewellery and some cute bellydance pants. Then I chilled out for a couple of hours with a movie and a book before going back out to the beach for the Sunday sunset drumming circle. I was wearing a long skirt tucked into the bottom of my binder, and a black sweater that finished half way down the binder, so it was very much on show, but it was fine. People were very sweet, and the drumming was soothing. I went back after an hour because I was cold.

Last night I could barely keep my eyes open at 9pm, and I awoke this morning at 9:30am without!! I only woke once in the night, when I was irritated by the binder because I felt like my skin couldn't breathe so I took it off. I can't believe I slept for 12.5 hours! I guess I needed it!

This morning I am still very swollen, especially in my thighs. They are sore wear the garment ends and along the seams, and VERY bruised. I weight 108lbs today, so 7 lbs more than sx day. Dr Hughes said that he managed find a full 5 litres of fat to remove from me. I read that human 1 litre of human fat weighs 1.9lbs, so that means that I should weigh 9.5lbs less with the lipo, and then he put 1.8 litres back in to my butt, so that equates to 3.4lbs, so I should finish up at 6lbs lighter. That means that I am holding 13lbs of swelling right now! Yikes! That is 13% of my body weight!

That also means that I am going to look completely INCREDIBLE when all this swelling goes down!!

My current measurements are

Bust 34.5"
Waist 24.5" (26 pre sx)
Hips 36" (35 pre sx)

I'm very happy with that considering the 13lbs that are yet to fall away. Also, I've been eating so well. I can even contemplate putting anything unhealthy into my body at the moment. I was so hungry last night when I walked past the pizza place, but it disgusted me. So, I kinda feel like 13lbs is the minimum that will come off in the next few months.

The inside thighs are still numb, which Dr Hughes says is totally normal.

I would like to go out an buy another garment tomorrow after my post op with Olga. I am hoping she gives me the green light to move to garment only, and then I will go get fitted for one.

Today, I will take another trip to Whole Foods to top up on food for the next 3 days (only for 3 more nights!). If I could change anything right now, I would move this apartment closer to Abbot Kinney so I can easily walk to the coffee shops to get more healthy green juices, and broth. I might take myself to the sushi place tonight if I feel up to it.

I'm adding some pics that I took after this morning's shower. Bear in mind the swelling, and expecially in my back scoop. When that is done, the curves will be insane! My butt is no longer flat and it's still too big for me right now, so I know I'll love it when the swelling subsides!

I'm enjoying spoiling myself like this - I don't know if I'll ever get the chance again (I certainly have never focused on ME for this many days straight before), so I'm making the most of it. I must be the luckiest woman alive :)

instead of Abbot Kinney. I just went in to top up the food and had to estimate what I will need for the next 3 nights and I've managed to spend $240!! I think I may have bought too much, but it was so hard to choose with all that good yummy food!! Couple that with the fact that my stomach is the size of a walnut right now, so I don't eat much anyway, and I'm afraid I've been rather wasteful. I hope the landlord makes use of all the stuff I leave behind...

Olga is VERY pleased, and I don't have to wear the white binder any more!! To tell you the truth, I was a little sad to give it back - I've not minded wearing it at all, but onwards and upwards :)

She snipped my stitches in my boobs which was a little sore, and now the right one has some open read and yellow areas which make me feel a little lightheaded if I look at them too long. Dr Hughes says it's fine and not to apply any ointment or anything. Well, ok then.

She showed me how my hubbie should massage me (ouch!), and took some after pics. I look awesome. Dr Hughes came in and proclaimed himself a genius, so that's a good sign, I guess :)

Olga also asked me what size implants I had!! Haha!! She was so shocked when I told her that all that perky boob was all me!

She put me in the Xess girdle/shorts that they sell in the office. A real pain to get in and out of, and even though they are XS, they will likely be too big for me in a week or so. Soooo, I really need your help ladies on where I can go to buy another garment. I leave on Thursday, so I only have 2 more days to go find something. I don't know if Spanx will do it because my waist will likely go down to 20-22 inches.

The Faja store in Culver City is closed down, as is Fajas Y Mas in Huntington Park. Does anyone know of anywhere else I can get an Uber to today or tomorrow?

Thank you so much!

isn't big enough!! I just peed all over my brand new Faja!! Damn it. Will have to work up a sweat taking it off to launder now.

Although the zippers hurt on the original shorts, I really liked that I could pee and No2 without removing the garment. I need another one like that, I think!

These still don't do the body justice, but this is all I have for now (before pics were taken on morning of sx)

Can't believe I leave tomorrow night! Where has the time gone!

So last night I didn't have the white binder and was sleeping in my new Xess girdle. I was so uncomfortable! When I went to bed I had a lot of swelling low down around the pubic region, like that area was full the whole way across without any indentations for my hips - I don't know if I'm making sense. If you're familiar with the term "gunt", you could say that it looked like I was growing one!!

I woke in the night several times and felt that the garment was too tight on my ribs, and that my skin was too hot. I even got up at 2am to take pain meds which I haven't had to take in days!

I was determined to go back to Boris to get the binder back today, but when I woke this morning I realized that the swelling felt a lot worse than it looked, and upon further research in the Q&A section of Realself, I realized that it's probably entirely normal one week out. So, panic over. Back to enjoying my last day of doing absolutely nothing (when will I EVER get one again??)

I got bored at about 3pm so I decided to go get a mani/pedi. My nails are very appreciative. The technician scowled when she saw how dry my feet were. I then managed to stop in the store next door any buy myself the world's most expensive swim suite (for $160). What is wrong with me?? No more shopping for me for another 6 months.

I'm going to enjoy a movie and a virgin coconut-kefir cocktail tonight.

My landlord is so sweet. The agreement is that I vacate by 10am tomorrow so the cleaner can come in, but he says that if I can just pile my stuff in one corner, I can stay all day. Tomorrow I have my free massage and facial at Boris Spa, but then nothing till 7pm when I have to leave for the airport. So glad he's letting me stay here :)

Well, that was a random post with nothing useful at all for anyone - sorry. Maybe useful to say that with enough cushions under my thighs and behind my back, the mani/pedi is a good one-week-out way to celebrate :)

My mini facial at Boris was so-so. Lasted 25 mins and my face was much cleaner for it, but that's about it. The massage, on the other hand, was absolutely superb! When you ladies book yours, ask for Caroline (and please let her know I recommended her because I want her to know she is appreciated). It was only supposed to be 25 mins also, but she kept going until she had covered everything. She was gentle where she needed to be, tougher when necessary, and in short, completely wonderful. I have NO bruises left on large parts of my thighs where she massaged me.

Got lots of hugs from the lovely girls at Boris when they packed me off in my taxi. Turns out that I did need to be out of the apartment by 2pm because the next guest was arriving earlier than originally planned so I went straight to the airport from the spa. That means that I got to the airport at 3pm but don't fly till 10pm.

So, I bought myself access to the Admirals lounge and now here I am, laying on my belly on the lounger/footstool with plenty of time to try out the various contraptions I had delivered yesterday for the flight home. I figure that between all of these items I should be able to change position enough times to keep the blood flowing in the booty, and hopefully get some sleep too. I also packed a pashmina and a bamboo blanket in case anything needs more padding.

Got 3 flights till I get home tomorrow afternoon. Wish me luck!!

Well, I made it. Had a 6 hour wait in the airport followed by a 6 hour flight followed by a one hour layover followed by a 3 hour flight followed by a 2 hour layover followed by a one hour flight, a 30 minute ferry ride and a 5 minute car ride. Phew!!!

The flights were damn hard - so difficult to not sit on your butt. I had so much under my thighs and behind my back, and I kept readjusting and standing and trying to sleep.

I didn't want to rely on the under-thigh support too much because losing fat cells is bad but dying from DVT or a pulmonary embolism is worse! I didn't stand as much as I perhaps should have because it was a red-eye and I had to try to sleep so that I didn't tax my immune system even more than it's already being taxed by recovering from surgery, me doing too much physical stuff, and all those airplane germs!

If I had to choose my favorite device out of the many that I bought and lugged onto the plane with me, I think it would be the lean forward tray-table cushion thing, plus thermarest combo. Although it definitely needed a blanket under the thighs and a cushion in my low back to work.

If I did it all again, I would stay in LA longer and then try to book first class with flat seats, but I've already spent several thousand.

My thighs got VERY swollen over the journey, and they are big and hard now. My back is sore, and my tummy hurts. I am getting a canker sore on my tongue, which means that my immune system is really struggling.

I need to respect that and really rest for a couple of days. It's 30 degrees C outside (86 degrees F), which means it's very warm in my air-con-free villa. That might contribute to the swelling, but it's lovely to be back in the heat. I wish I could go float in the ocean, but not for another 4.5 weeks! That's going to be hard!!!

My hubbie is washing my black zipper compression shorts/girdle, so I spent about 20 mins squeezing myself into the Xess. That's a real work out!! Feels good to be zipper free for now though.

I only ate fruit and granola while I travelled, and managed a BM at an airport :) Drank a lot of water, but didn't pee much - I think it's all still in my thighs.

I definitely think that I would have stood more if I had kept the white binder, and I would have had more automatic sympathy/help from airline staff.

Anyway, can't type more now.

Bye for now

I was so tired from all the travelling and lack of sleep. I rested all day when I got home and had a little nap. Drank lots of water because it's sweltering here and then slept like a comatose log for 12 hours straight on my tummy :)

Today I'm still pretty swollen, esp my inner thighs where I had lipo. They are ROCK hard, left side more than the right, but they were like that a day before I left too.

I lounged around all day today with the family. TV and reading, frequently getting up to get more water although I'm not peeing tons, so still swelling. Tonight I went out with a bunch of friends for the evening to a local event and had a glass of champagne. Felt great to be out and aboutI was so tired from all the travelling and pack of sleep. I rested all day when I got home and had a little nap. Drank lots of water because it's sweltering here and then slept like a comatose log for 12 hours straight on my tummy :)

Today I'm still pretty swollen, esp in my inner thighs where I had lipo. They are ROCK hard, left more than right, but they were like that a day before I left too.

I rested all day today with the family. TV and reading, frequently getting up to get more water although I'm not peeing tons, so still swelling. Tonight I went out with a bunch of friends for the evening and had a glass of champagne. Felt great to be out and about as normal, but came home at a sensible hour to rest these thunder thighs of mine. Husband has rubbed arnica oil into me, and all is well.

I am so looking forward to seeing how teeny tiny my waist will be without the swelling. I am still not planning on wearing any cincher type device since I want to be comfortable to live my life and I think that the results from those devices only last as long as you wear them plus a few hours. There's no way I'll be wearing one forever. I like my freedom too much, but more power to those women that can do all that.

I am also thanking my lucky stars that i went to Dr Hughes and not some bargain basement doc in cheaper parts of the world. The post op symptoms would be freaking me out if I was feeling insecure about the standards and hygeine practices in other parts of the world. What I have just done to my body is very extreme but I believe that I have done what I can to mitigate the risks to my life. Still doesn't stop my husband from shaking his head and declaring again that he doesn't understand women :) I can't say as I blame him, it's hardly rational, is it. Keeps him on his toes though :D

Going to avoid the normal Sunday beach thing tomorrow, much as it pains me. Will try to post more pics too. Happy healing/prep everyone! X

I am officially on Day 14 so thought I'd provide a quick update. I am still very swollen (holding 16lbs of extra swelling on my normally 101lb frame, but I'm feeling good. I know this is normal for 2 weeks, and the heat out here doesn't help. Also, I am fairly active at the moment and when I have busy, physical day the swelling g is much worse in the evenings. I go back to work in a couple of days, and I'm sure I'll be extremely swollen each evening after work.

Hubbie and I had gentle early this morning (was fabulous) and then I went back to sleep without my garment on. After about 30 mins I could feel myself growing and swelling so I put the garment back on. It does seem to make a big difference at this stage.

My lower tummy is not perfectly flat and when I feel around there, I know there is no fat left, just swelling. I don't mind the shape even if it stays that was. It looks feminine and natural to me.

My booty still measures 36" and my waist 24". I know they will both decrease and that's cool with me.

My breasts are healing fast. Still not using scar cream until 4 weeks, but the scabs are falling off, no sign of any issues at all. Not the neatest nipples in the world, but a vast improvement and hey look amazing in clothes. My left is bigger than right still. They are completely soft now, so probably not far off final shape. The nipples are so high that there are lots of corset type tops and bikinis that I won't be able to wear now (poor me - lol).

I have no pain at all, but I do take a pain pill once every 3-4 nights so I can get a good fidget free night. It's so hot with the garment on at night!

My left inner thigh is still rock hard and swollen, but all bruising is gone.

Skin hasn't started tightening yet, but it's still early days.

If the booty stays his size, it will be a little bigger than I had in mind, but I will be happy. Ideally it will be a little smaller when swelling goes down and that will be perfection. It is so much softer today, but not completely soft.

I've attached some detailed pics. Happy to answer any questions, as always. Thank you all so much for the support - it's unexpected and wonderful. X

Finally got a little time to write an update. I've been crazy busy at work so I apologize for my absence.

So I read that the 3 week mark is when some women experience the most swelling and it is definitely true for me. I am have been a bit better yesterday and today, but right on cue on Day 21 I swelled up like a balloon. By the time I got home my feet were gigantic and my belly was wide. Only laying down eases it. I am still eating very well and drink at least 12 glasses of water per day, so I guess this is just my body going through the WFT!! stages.

I did measure myself this morning though and I am very happy to report that the booty is still at 36" and the waist at 24". Can't complain about those statistics!

The giant lump in my left inner thigh has massively reduced and now the hard bit is only a couple of inches wide and a bit softer than the melon sized rock that was there before.

My belly, sides and low back are lumpy with swelling. It's easy to see where some areas are more swollen than others, but I am beginning to be able to visualize what the end result will look like and I like it a lot.

My butt is EXACTLY the size I had hoped for. I isn't as big as it was during the first week, and although I got used to those goods, I am glad that they didn't hang around. I was so paranoid going into this that the doc would make it too big, and he told me to chill out. And then when it was giant in week one I was worried about how I would hide it when I needed to look professional and how it would look when I was older, but what I have right now is perfect. It looks like a normal lovely natural luscious ass. Not a pancake.

I'm also surprised, looking back, at all the hype surrounding the garments and binders and such. The binder and I parted ways early, and after that I alternated between the stage one girdle that I was in right after sx and the Xess girdle that Olga gave me. It depended on what I was wearing that day. I toyed with buying other girdles, but I now realize that unless I want to wear them as shapewear, they really only serve to contain the swelling at this stage. I'm glad I didn't shell out $$ for more garments.

Last night I went to bed garment-less. It was wonderful :) And this morning my body felt the same as it has done all the other mornings when I have worn garments. I just felt it was important for my skin to be able to breathe now, just to help detox a bit and allow some oxygen to get through. Since I'm not allowed to exercise, I'm not really sweating out any toxins. I have been keeping up with my dry skin brushing in the mornings and massaging with Weleda arnica oil every other night.

The big lump on my right outer cheek is going down. It really bothered me for a while there. I emailed the doc about it and he suggested some lipo foam under the garment on the lump, but I don't have any. He then replied that it'll be ok and to stop worrying.

While we were trading emails, I also took the opportunity to ask him how much of the 5 litres that he sucked out of me was fat (and not just tumescent fluid) and he said that 2 litres were good pure fat. Not bad at all for a girl who went in at 101lbs! It's no wonder I'm swelling up now - he must have been as aggressive as I had hoped and paid for!

Photos still don't do the booty justice at all, especially when they are taken at dusk from shoulder height. I should ask the hubby to snap one of me to post, but for now this is all I have. This pic makes my butt look long, but I assure you that it isn't. It is gloriously perky and getting nice and soft now, although firmer than pre-op still.

The boobs are doing well btw. Scabs are falling off, and although they aren't the neatest incisions I have ever seen, I can't believe how low maintenance they have been!! All those ladies treating their cut up boobs with kid gloves and there's me squishing them by sleeping on my tummy every night! Gotta love that! ;)

I thought I'd post some pics of what hill things look like one month post on a "small butt day". The behind seems to change size on a daily basis now, and the pants I bought one week after sx (size 2) are way too big for me now. My scales broke so I can't tell you how much swelling weight I am still holding, but I know I am still swollen.

The butt is softening up, but it is still pretty firm and it lets me know it's there when I roll over on it. It's a gorgeous shape. Exactly what I wanted. I know the doc out some fat in the hips but I don't notice a change there. Maybe because I laid on it on the first night because I didn't know he out fat there. I still do lay on my sides, but more in a ¾ prone position. The lump is still there but getting smaller, probably at the same rate as the booty itself. I don't obsess about it anymore.

The thighs are looking good. The left still has a smaller hard area. The right has been totally soft for weeks. I have a nice gap between my thighs now :)

The belly is not smooth yet and I'm very impatient for this to get better because I'm a belly top kinda gal, always have been, and it want to go back to that. I hope to God that the unevenness is just swelling and not lipo mistakes. I haven't heard of this happening with Hughes, so fingers crossed.

I found out yesterday that there is an incision in my belly button, so I probably shouldn't have been poking around in there trying to get my piercing back in! I stuck a q-tip in there to clean it yesterday and it was so stinky!! Ew! I'm not good with stinky..

The boobs look freaking amazing if you don't mind messy nipples. The shape and position are insane! Unfortunately my right has been spitting stitches. I can pull most of the out with tweezers when I see them, but one is festering and had made an area sore and weepy. I am taking antibiotics in case it is infected, and I will try to get it out again in a couple of days. I didn't work last time and hurt like hell. Other than that one stitch, the boobs have caused no issues at all.

The other incisions sites are all healed up. The doc wants me to wait till 8 weeks before using Mederma. I am almost at 5 weeks.

Posting a few pics of today's small but perfectly proportioned booth as well as my bumpy belly...

Still swollen, but you can start to see what the final shape will be like. This is in the morning. Didn't wear a garment at night, and i don't use a cincher or binder so I'm not totally flat in the belly.

Tuesday marked 6 weeks post op for me. It's crazy how fast it's arrived, but also seems like the sx was months ago. I've been playing with what it feels like to place weight on my butt cheeks over the last week or so, just for a moment here and there, and I don't think I am ready to be sitting or laying on my back just yet. It's hard to describe the feeling but it feels vaguely tender or pressurized when I put weight on my upper butt cheeks, and I'm taking that to mean that they don't appreciate the squeezing. It's ok. I can handle another little while. It's nice to know that I can lean on them for a bit if I need to.

The all important question is: have I lost volume? It's odd how the answer to that question changes daily, but as of the last 4 days or so, the answer is a resounding "no". I have measured 36" across the hips same as I did right after sx, and it looks shapely. The pale lump is still there on my right hip although less noticeable and the good doc says that it will disappear when I've finished healing. He's confident.

My left inside thigh is still numb and hard in one small area, and the left feels thinner than the right but impossible to tell if this is just because the right is more jiggly because it's not as swollen. It's funny how each side of your body heals a little differently and nothing is ever really that symmetrical (or maybe that's just me - I was born wonky).

My waist is still at 24 - 24.5 inches and is still swollen. I know the doc was aggressive here and that my skin isn't as tight as it could be since I've had a baby and I'm not young, so I know that it will take time for the "redrape" and the swollen lumpiness to go away, but I'm very impatient with this part of my healing. My belly is not fit for public display. I've never had a belly that's too ugly for a crop top before, and half my wardrobe and personal style is based on this fact, so this is frustrating. I wish I knew how to hurry it along. It doesn't seem to make a big difference to the swelling whether I wear the garment or not. I start the day looking ok (and butt is smaller) and by the end of the day my belly is puffy but the booty is bigger. I look freakin INCREDIBLE in clothing!

Of course, I have discussed this with the doc who tells me I must be patient and I still have another 4 months of healing to go. He assures me, in his no-nonsense way, that there is no chance of him having missed any spots or over lipo'd anything, and that I will be smooth in the end. Patience then.

My waist is still a little sore (no pain, just tender, numb, and feels tight, if that makes sense). I have the most ridiculous coke bottle curves. He's reduced the love handle area to nothing and I love it!! Not much swelling at all in my back either so I have a very pretty scoop.

I'm in love with my boobs. They are a 32DD/30E depending on the bra, no implant, no sag, all me and all good. Like the rest of me, each boob has healed differently with the right one spitting stitches and generally less neat than the left. I pulled out 1" of undissolved suture from from the right today, and there are still another 6 or so sites where I will need to pull stitches from in the near future. But despite this, the scarring on the right is almost non-existent, whereas the left had the normal lollipop lines that you would expect. I am rubbing oil into the boobs every other night to help with scarring. I have the odd period of sharp pain every so often, and one stubborn scab is sore.

The 2 incision sites on my back have faded to near obscurity. The 2 groin sites from thigh lipo are visible as 2 hair-thin slits half an inch long. You wouldn't know they were there if you weren't looking for them. The doc placed another 2 incisions for belly lipo in my c section scar which has had the effect of darkening both ends of the scar a little. I am experimenting with Mederma on one side and a combination of oils on the other. Intuitively I feel that just the action of massaging in the gel/oil will be what makes the difference in breaking up scar tissue, but I'll keep you posted on the experiment.

Has my first proper 1 hour work out this week which felt great. I resume my 3 x 1 mile swims per week from this week so I can get back in shape and fit. Might give weight lifting or go too.

It still doesn't feel right to sit, so I am not doing it very much. I do wish my butt was as big as it was when it was swollen. I'm reading reviews from girls that are less than 2 weeks out who are all thrilled with their new projection and I feel like warning them that a lot of it is swelling, but I don't want to ruin their moments in the sun.

I won't be doing a round 2. I don't have enough fat to make a difference; I have better things to spend $10k; I know this surgery thing can be a slippery slope; I have ended up with what I originally wanted (I just want more because I got to wear the J-Lo suit for a few weeks). Now I just need to heal, work out and rock what I got.

I've really enjoyed the journey. It has been totally worth it. I feel like I've made real connections with some ladies through RS. I will keep posting periodic updates if it helps. It's all about the long term game for me. I'm counting on this investment giving me at least 10 years on dancing on the tables - haha!