Remember that cheaper doesn't always mean better!

I am a single mother of a 23 yr. old son who is my life. I am 43 yrs. old, 5’4 and I weigh 135lbs. My son moved out and started his own business at the age of 19, all without his dad in his life and I can’t be more proud of him. Well with being on my own, I thought it was time to do something for me so I decided to have a TT with inner thighs done. I had the procedure done March 2013. I told no one except my sister of my procedure since people like to be critics and like to give advice when you don’t ask for it, ladies you know what I mean. After finding the RealSelf website I learned about the fat transfer process and the BBL procedure so I got educated and of course I wanted a BBL but before knowing about it my plan was to have my boobs done next. I would have liked to get both done at the same time. I had to decide which one I wanted more the butt or the boobs. I went for the butt. I first thought of going to Yily but she didn’t rub me the right way. I emailed Yily many questions, it took forever for her to get back to me until one day I got a message and we had a conversation on Wassup. I told her my concerns and I asked her about the rumors I was hearing here on RealSelf for example the 4-6 girls a day she was doing & the bloody scrubs she wore throughout the whole day (unsanitary) and she lied to me and said that it wasn’t true she doesn’t do 4-6 girls a day. Yily flat out lied to me. I told her to cancel my date for my surgery thank god I didn’t send any deposit money. She asked if I wanted to re-schedule I told her NO. I wasn’t going to put my life in her hands. HELL NO. In the meantime, I had emailed Duran thru her office, Facebook & her personal email. Days went by and still no word from Duran. I gave up waiting for Duran, I wanted to have this done this year. Did some more reading and found Dr. Salama with great reviews but he was totally booked up so my next choice was Dr. Ghurani, his partner, he had good reviews too. I emailed my pictures, asked Nancy all my questions, filled out my paperwork, made my deposit, set my date (June 3rd) & then I received my packet in the mail so I went ahead and booked my flight & hotel. I did finally hear from Dr. Duran with a quote but it was too late I had booked my surgery with Dr. Ghurani. I really didn’t want to go out of the country for surgery I wanted my sister to be able to go with me I wanted to give her a much needed vacation. She had just got done with radiation treatments for cancer and was drained but was up to taking care of me after surgery, God love her. Anyway, Nancy told me the doctor said I was a great candidate for the BBL but I should gain 2-5 lbs. for maximum results. That sounds easy enough. I can do that. I was scared he’d say I was too skinny for the procedure. I had consulted with a surgeon here, actually the one who did my TT. I wanted to see what he said about a BBL. He told me I had no fat left after the TT. He wanted to cut my butt cheeks and sew them up higher. Are you serious? I said HELL TO THE NO!! I told Nancy this and she said he must not do BBL’s everyday. Not to worry about it. Holy [RS bleep] he wanted to cut of my ass cheeks. Can you believe it?
I had a few of the supplies already from the TT surgery so what I didn’t have I bought. I had maxi dresses but not dark colors so I bought a few of those. I got a shower curtain and some other recommended items from reading posts on here. I’m not excited yet or scared because of my concerns about not having enough fat. What if I fly out there and he turns me away? I will be so upset.

Here is my BBL experience:

May 31st- night before flying out to Florida, I'm getting a bit excited for the trip. Have everything packed at last after taking everything out 5 times and putting it back in because I’d forget something so I’d have to re-arrange everything. Have to get up early 5am because brother-in-law is taking us the airport, flight is at 7:30am and he wants to make sure he finds his way okay.

June 3rd- Brother-in-law came extra early 3am. Good thing I was up couldn’t sleep. I was getting dressed already. We left and we were on are way to the Philly airport. Got to the airport and I haven’t flown since I was 25. All these new rules for flying, taking your shoes off and laying all your belongings on the belt was a pain the ass. Finally got through all that and we waited 2 hours for our flight. We boarded the plane and we had to wait some more because all the planes decided to take off at the same time because we had rain and all the flights had to wait until the rain slowed up to take off & we had to wait our turn to take off. I don’t know what time we landed in Florida but it was later than the normal arrival time & I was to have my consult with Dr. Ghurani when I arrived. Miriam picked us up at the airport and took us straight over to the office. I never seen the doctor because he was in surgery but I did see Naomi. Nancy was on vacation. Naomi was nice but she never smiled and I felt like she was looking at me the wrong way. I mentioned this to Miriam after my appointment and she said she thought that too when she first started working there but she said that Naomi is very sweet she just comes off that way. Anyway, I was told I would see Dr. Ghurani before my surgery on June 4th. I was given my boppy pillow and pills. Miriam was outside waiting for us (me, my sister & niece) she then took us to Walmart to get some stuff so we had food & Gatorade at the Condo we were staying at. She drove us to the Condo in South Beach which was a distance from Dr. Ghurani’ s office but when I booked it I checked on Google map first and it said it was only 20 minutes away. That wasn’t true. I called the landlord to the condo to let him know we were on our way like he told me to so we can meet to get the key and he said we would have to let ourselves in because he wouldn’t be able to meet us there until later so he gave me the combo to the lock on the door so I could get the key. Got to the condo and it was very small. The view was nice. That was it. Not much room to move though. Around 7pm or so, the owner of the condo stopped in to collect the balance of the rental. We showed him some things wrong with the place so we don’t get blamed for them and he left. My niece who is 6 yrs. old wanted to go down to the pool the minute we got there so we took her down. We spent some time at the pool until it started to rain then we came back up to the room had something to eat and went to bed. I had a big day tomorrow.

June 4th- Surgery day-First thing this morning the landlord’s wife knocks wanting the mattress to the cot in the closet. Now what if we had 5 people staying there? And we needed the cot. WTF? Miriam picked me up at 12:30 for surgery. I got to the office and it was a building that had other offices. There was a bank, a real estate office, and some other medical offices. I went up to the 3rd floor, rang the bell and was let in. I was asked my name and was taken back to put on gown, hat and socks. The nurse asked if I was excited, told her no and why. She told me not to worry I’d be fine. Met with the anesthesiologist and he was good looking. I let him know before anything that I have problem veins. I always get stuck more than once trying to find a vein for IV. He said they will use a small one and there shouldn’t be a problem. He was right, no problem one try and he got it. I was thinking to myself, “why am I going through all this I haven’t seen the doctor yet for a consult what if I don’t have enough fat? I have IV in and I’m getting stuck for nothing”. I had lost a lot of weight from the tummy tuck and Nancy told me to gain 2-5 lbs. and I did but I wasn’t so sure that was enough. I got asked a bunch of questions I’m sure they were routine questions and after that was told to lay down on one of the beds and wait for the doctor. Time went by and I waited I figured someone was ahead of me in surgery so I wasn’t in a hurry. It was a bit loud in that office music playing, the nurses singing aloud, yelling across the room nothing like you would see back at home at any of our hospitals. I still wasn’t excited and I wasn’t scared. I just kept thinking about how it will look if I do get a butt.
Finally they brought out the patient that was in before me and she was out cold and she was breathing very heavy. Still that didn’t scare me hearing her breath so heavy. Nurse came to get me and told me it was my turn. She took me in to see Dr. Ghurani for my consult, he introduced himself. His Spanish wasn’t so good. Told him it was okay he could talk to me in English. He was awesome, very tall. Explained the procedure, the dangers, complications, etc. he asked if I had any questions, I said yes, just one, I have a concern that I may not have enough fat to transfer. He said “it’s not about how much fat you have to transfer it’s about how I am going to sculpt you and graft you to give you those curves & the hourglass shape trust me you will be happy with your results”. He took a lot of pictures & complimented me on my TT and how good my belly button turned out said some doctors do a lousy job with belly buttons. He told me what he planned to do and I said let’s go for it. Off to the operating room I went with my IV pole intact. I remember walking into the operating room and getting up on the table face up and stretching out my arms on the two arm extensions on the table and that’s it I was out. Then I remember waking up being put in a wheel chair, was handed my bag and some papers and was taken downstairs to Miriam who was waiting to pick me up. In her car, she has a 4runner; you lay in the back seat. She has it set up with blankets & a pillow. I get down there and I remember telling her “Miriam my butt hurts” and she told me, “BEAUTY IS PAIN GIRL” with that Jamaican accent of hers. I loved hearing her talk because of her accent. I will remember that always. I wasn’t nausea I felt a little dizzy when I would stand. I walked up to my room on my own which was on the 7th floor. I called my sister in advance and she was waiting with 3 Percocet’s for the discomfort and some soup. The garment was riding the front & back something awful and it was so tight. I put a maxi pad in between that helped. The hardness in my stomach & back from the lipo bothered me too. After I ate, I was looking at the papers I was given. It had on the sheet how many cc’s I was given. I got 880cc’s in each cheek. Wow I can’t believe I got that much or that he got that much out of me. For me that is a lot. I went in weighing 145lbs. I gained the extra pounds. I was excited. I read the care instructions which the nurse had already gone over with me beforehand. [RS bleep], Damn these drains again. I have 1 in the front and 1 at the top of my butt crack, that one is really annoying. Especially going to the bathroom. Not only is the butt hard but you have this annoying drain at your butt crack in the way, LOL. I bought one of those female funnels and I got the soft one not the hard one and that was a mess, I pissed all over myself so I had my sister cut a Gatorade bottle and that worked a hell of a lot better. I get up and walk back and forth in the room. Drink a lot of Gatorade that’s all I drink at home too. I had a tuna fish sandwich & then I went to sleep. When I wake up I get up and walk back and forth in the room.

June 5th-post-op with doctor today. Dr. Ghurani looked me over quickly since he was in surgery and said I looked real good. The nurse had asked if I had looked at myself and I told her “No” so she took a picture of the back for me. She said I looked really, really good. She said when my swelling goes down I will be very curvaceous. She gave me clean stockings since mine were all bloody, and she changed my dressing. Got picked up and went back to the condo to sleep I get so exhausted after putting on the garment. When I woke up, I took a quick shower. That felt good but took a lot out of me so again I took a nap. Later on in the evening I got the urge to go the bathroom and it wasn’t to pee. OMG! That was not nice. It was so nasty. I didn’t get my garment off in time but I managed not to get anything on my garment believe it or not. It wasn’t a lot just a little bit. Thank God I had brought those baby wipes because toilet paper was too rough for the new ass, LOL. My sister & niece were laughing at me. It wasn’t funny.

June 6th-first massage-after reading so many ladies on RealSelf and their experience with that 1st & 2nd massage I kind of knew what to expect so I took 2 Percocet’s 2 hours before leaving for my massage. Miriam picked me up and dropped me off & I wasn’t looking forward to it. I met Eileen. She was very sweet. Not sure if I spelled her name right. She commented her English wasn’t so great but I understood her but I told her she could talk to me in Spanish I am Puerto Rican I understand both. Okay she had me lay face down first. She did this machine first which I thought was the massage; I was like wow this is simple but that was just the half of it. After the machine shut off came the real deal. She started pushing down and moving the liquid down towards the crack of my butt so it comes out the tube but it wasn’t that bad. It was tolerable I did breathe a bit harder but no crying or screaming and she was shocked. She said people usually scream or cry. She also thought I wasn’t breathing since I was face down in the pillow and she couldn’t see my face so she stopped a couple times to make sure I was still breathing. That was funny we both laughed. She got scared. Then it was time for the front, same procedure. She put the boppy pillow up had me sit on it and did the same thing except the front hurt more than the back so she seen me make me faces but no screaming or crying. She said I did great. After the massage she asked if I wanted a juice or water. I asked for a juice. When she came back in the room, I was fit into another garment with foam and that was a [RS bleep]. Foam on the sides, the back and the front. I couldn’t breathe, but again, BEAUTY IS PAIN. I have my 2nd massage on the 11th & I signed up for a 3rd massage, the day before my flight so I hope my drains are removed that day because I don’t want to travel with these damn things. Miriam picked up took me back to the condo. My sister & niece were down at the pool. I called her when I got in to let her know I got back okay and she came up to make me something to eat and help me get a shower since I got a little dizzy when I got a shower last night and I had to call my sister in for help. Trouble sleeping trying to find a comfy way to sleep.

June 7th- Still in discomfort but walking helps. I feel myself walking funny because of the swelling in my butt cheeks I wonder if anyone else can tell. I don’t wake up stiff like some ladies have complained about on RealSelf. I do have to get up slow or I get dizzy. I haven’t taken my normal meds because I have a lot of pills to take on top of that and that is just way too many pills and that would upset my stomach. I take my iron pill & amica pill that’s it. Percocet as needed. I take it usually at night to help me sleep. I don’t take the antibiotics either. My sister & niece have been going down to the pool & beach every morning so I take naps until they come up. I only call my sister if I need something. Today there was a knock at the door, I’m lying in bed butt out only in my garment, my sister was down at the pool, I’m moving like a turtle so I am trying to get up slowly to answer the door well apparently I didn’t get to the door in time the landlord lets himself in just to show another guy the tub the landlord wanted him to paint, seriously? Can’t that wait until I leave? I told him about it and he didn’t even apologize. I listed the address & his name in the forum titled “Condo Rental in Florida-Don’t”. No privacy.
Sleeping on my stomach is starting to get to me. My neck hurts. I’m having trouble falling asleep at night. Percocet isn’t working. I toss & turn trying to get comfortable and I’m homesick. I miss my girls. I have 2 yorkie toy dogs and I miss them terribly. Especially the smaller one of the two her name is Bella because she sleeps with me. Bella is very attached to her Mama. My nephew who is watching them sends me pictures

June 8th- Starting to get really bored. I have my IPAD and I watch movies but I still get bored. I can only watch the movie for so long until my neck starts hurting. My sister & niece are enjoying this vacation more than me. I knew they would. I’m not complaining I came for my butt they came to enjoy the beach & the sun. Discomfort level is about a 5. It’s been raining every day

June 11th-2nd massage-I started up my regular meds today. I take meds for depression & migraines and I think not taken them was starting to have an effect on me. Having my 2nd massage with Eileen today and it wasn’t as bad as the first one. It is storming outside and I mean storming. I didn’t think of Hurricane Season down here in Florida when booking my flight or surgery. My drains have been just about empty the last 2 days so I’m hoping I get them removed today. After my massage, Eileen said that Dr. Ghurani was in the office today doing consults so she would have him come in and check on me. She gave me a gown to put on, gave me my juice and went out to let Dr. Ghurani know I was ready for him. Eileen came back in and said he would be a bit so she told me to lay down and he’d come in when he was done. I wasn’t waiting long when he came in and asked me to stand up and do the same poses I did when I had my pictures taken for the consultation. He said I looked really, really good. He wanted me to keep him updated on my progress so he gave me his personal email address to send him pictures. I felt good about that. He wanted me to keep him updated on my progress wow. I left with a smile on my face. I also left with the freakin’ drain’s still in [RS bleep]. He said for me to keep an eye on the one drain which was the back one if it stays under 25cc’s then both will come out next visit. The front one has been empty and the back one has been very, very low way under 25 cc’s but I have to follow doctor’s orders. I went downstairs to the lobby to wait for Miriam at this point it was really blowing outside and pouring. Everyone was running to the car garage. The elderly were waiting in the lobby until it past. I waited about 2-3 hours for Miriam maybe longer. When I finally got picked up, there was flooding everywhere. Traffic was moving very slow, bumper to bumper no one was moving I’m thinking “[RS bleep] I’m never going to get to the condo”. On the way down South Beach there were cars just stuck in the water. If you didn’t have a high vehicle like an SUV your car wasn’t going anywhere. The water too was high. There were many cars in the middle of the street stuck and we had to go around them, it was like a maze. It was crazy. It took about 2 hours or more for me to get to the condo. I hated this day. I felt like [RS bleep]. I had to wait for my ride. It took too long to get home. It was pouring. I was hunger. I was uncomfortable. I could go on. When I finally made it to the condo, my sister was worried. I told her what had happened. I got a shower, had something to eat and then took a nap.

June 12th- We decided to do breakfast downstairs today. I took my boppy down with me. We made plans last night to take the bus to the shopping mall if I was feeling up to it and there was no rain. It’s where all the stores are but it’s not really a mall, it’s more of a strip of stores. After breakfast, my sister took my boppy back up to the room and she had forgotten her wallet so she had to go up & get it. Crossing the street to get the bus was crazy & a [RS bleep]. It was like that video game Frogger for those of you that have ever played it or who have kids. It’s a three car lane and the cars just kept coming and the light for us was taking forever to turn green. Think of us as the frog. We would have gotten smashed. There was no way we would have gotten across the street without a light there. Finally we walk across and we got there just in time to catch the bus. The bus ride was awful. If it wasn’t for this man who caught me I would have fallen on my new ass. My sister & niece sat while I stood at the pole at the handicap section of the bus. It was a long bumpy ride and it was very hot out, thank god the bus had a/c. We got to the strip and I think it was even hotter down there. No shade anywhere. We would go in stores just to get out of the sun. We were drinking a lot. It wasn’t fun still having these damn drains in either and walking. The garment was bothering me too all up my ass. I couldn’t wait to get back to take it off. It felt like we were out there all day but when we headed back it was only 2pm. I was exhausted but I felt good having walked. We got back to the condo and I got a shower right away to cool off and to get out of that garment for a bit. After my sister rested, she took my niece down to the beach & the pool. I stayed in the room. When my sister came up with my niece, we ordered Domino’s and that didn’t taste the same as it does here. I love Pizza and I had been craving it, so that was a bummer. Come to think of it Subway didn’t taste the same either. We got Subway on Day 1 when we did our Walmart run. Why is that

June 13th- 3rd & last massage with Eileen. These damn drains should come out today. I go home tomorrow. Yes! It’s a surprise for those back home. We aren’t due back until the 17th but like I said I am homesick but that isn’t the only reason I changed my flight. We watched the news and they were calling for a tropical storm. We don’t want to be stuck out here in Florida. My sister’s husband & my niece’s dad think they will be spending Father’s day all alone. They will be surprised. Miriam picked me up for my massage. I got there and the 3rd massage wasn’t bad at all. No pain no discomfort. I had no fluid at all so when Eileen was done and gave me my juice she went to get Naomi so she could remove my drains. You know I was happy. Naomi came in and started with the front one, that felt weird, I thought that tube was never ending, LOL. She explained to me how to care for the holes so they don’t get infected. She then did the back drain. Eileen helped me get back into my garment with all the foam and asked me if she had given me a board, I asked “what’s a board”? She went and got a board for me. Showed me how to use it after 2 weeks post-op. It was easy enough. I thanked Eileen for everything and gave her a big hug, she was great. I said my good-byes to everyone else and left. Miriam picked me up and was kind enough to swing by McDonald’s drive thru so I could get something to eat. Got dropped off at the condo, I ate, called my sister told her I was back. I was going to go down to meet her down at the pool but it sucks when you have to go down fully clothed and I can’t sit on ass and the temptation kicks in to want to jump in the pool. I just stayed where I was. I fought it. I kicked the lil’ devil off my shoulder. I don’t want to go backwards I want to go forwards especially with me going home tomorrow. When my sister came up, we made sure the condo was cleaned up and the sheets were washed. My suitcase was already packed up, LOL. I was ready to go.

June 14th- Going home today! Miriam picked us up at 11:30am. Our flight is at 2:00pm. I thanked Miriam for everything when she dropped us off and gave her a big hug and she gave my sister a hug. The Florida airport is different from the Philly airport, more security. I had to go through this machine, put my hands up and spread em’. I didn’t have to do that in Philly. In Philly, they just wave a wand over you. After going thru all that [RS bleep], we got goodies this time around for the plane and we sat and waited for our flight. OMG this flight was so crowded totally booked up. I didn’t use my note that I got at the office. I sat the whole time & I did use my boppy pillow. Our seats weren’t together either. They had my 6 yr old niece sitting across in another area. I took her seat so she could sit with my sister. We waited to see who was sitting with my sister & niece and asked to switch with that person so I could sit over with them. He agreed. There was this elder lady from Paris sitting in the back near us that wouldn’t shut the hell up and she was loud. Everyone was looking her. She talked the entire flight. I don’t know if she came on the flight drunk or what. I was already irritated my back hurt, my ass hurt and my Percocet wasn’t doing [RS bleep]. When we take off, we had terrible turbulence that I think I [RS bleep] myself, LOL. I don’t like that. We started going up & down. Seriously, I asked my sister “what the hell is that are we going down?” she said “no, it’s just bad turbulence”. I didn’t like that at all. It happened like 3 times during the flight and that is why folks I don’t fly. Finally we arrive at Philly airport. My dad was there to pick us up.

July 9th- today I am 5 weeks post-up. I have curves and I have a butt. I’m very happy with my results so far. I think I lost what I was going to lose at the beginning which wasn’t much. I have been getting massages 2x’s a week. My front is softening up more than my back but my back is getting there. I also use a hand massager here at home and I do that 2-3 times a day and I massage myself after showers. I didn’t measure my butt at the start and I wish I would have. My measurements now are 43-28-36. I still wear my Squeem with foam size Small I did purchase a size XS Squeem but sent it back it was just too tight. I wear a size Small in shirts which is unbelievable. I was in a size Medium after my TT but now I’m down to a Small and I’m saying that with a big smile on my face. In pants I’m down to a size 8/10 from a size 14. Now with this ass I’m having trouble finding pants, I’m sure I’m not the only one with this problem. I have found a few pairs of pants/jeans that make my butt POP. I send Dr. Ghurani weekly photos and keep him updated to my progress like he wanted me to. He says I look great. He did mention to me that my body is still changing. Results take up to 3-6 months. My butt isn’t outrageously big like some of the girls on here. I’m only 5’4, 135lbs. I didn’t want something that would get the attention of men or will get me any stares, though I have gotten a few, I wanted something for me for my pleasure. I especially love the curve above the butt I can’t stop looking at that. I guess now I’m waiting for that fluffing stage. I sleep on my sides and I use my boppy to drive. I try not to sit for long periods of time. After my showers I always to look to make sure my butt is still there, LOL. It’s stupid but when you didn’t have one to begin with you want to make sure you keep it, LOL. Sure I would have liked it a bit bigger but I can’t complain since I wasn’t sure it could even happen in the first place. I love my new ass and I can’t wait to see it jiggle.

Had another massage this morning. My upper back still seems hard though. I use a handheld too at home 2-3 times a day. When have you vets started seeing the softness come back? Also, when will I see the fluffness in the butt that the ladies are talking about? I've been reading posts and I think my roundness will come later, I hope. It looks round from the sides, if you see in the pics, but if you look at it from the back when I'm naked it looks flat in the middle where it should be round and that bothers me. I wanted a rounded butt. You don't see it in clothes. I've told Dr Ghurani about it and of course he says it's too soon to tell. Results vary 3-6 months. He says it could still round out. Has anyone else experience this? I read one post yesterday where she rounded out at 3 months only after doing exercises: squats, etc. I don' t get it. Why is it that a lot of women come right of surgery with the butt already rounded? I know all women are different but damn I'd say 99.9% of the women on here come out with a rounded butt. In my pic above in my garment that was taken the day after surgery you can see I didn't have the roundness. WTF? Does that mean I'll need a round 2? which I didn't want to do. I don't think I have any fat left for a round 2. LOL. I love my curves love everything else but I WANT A ROUNDED OUT BOOTIE is that too much to ask for? Sorry had to let that out. I'm going to try the squats & protein drinks to see what that does. Any advice is greatly appreciated Thanks.

It has been 8 weeks since my BBL and to keep my mind off the butt I think I will start looking into getting my breasts done. I did want Dr. Ghurani to do them but when I priced everything out it made sense just to stay here in my hometown since I am only 45 minutes away from Baltimore and I can come home to recover. I already have a surgeon in mind. Dr. Ricardo in Maryland. He did a friend of mine and she looks awesome and she recommended him. He is running a special too. I already did a virtual consult with him back in April but then I decided to get my BBL done first. I'm going to ask him about the roundness in my butt because that truly bothers me. I'm gonna ask him if he can take some fat, if I have any left, and put it in my butt to see if that will give me the roundness I'm looking for. If you are wandering, yes he does BBL's too. He just charges an arm & a leg to them, LOL. He is really cool I like him. My butt looks good in clothing but when I'm naked side view looks round but front view looks flat I don't know if anyone else experienced this. Dr. Ghurani told me it's still too soon to tell and that it can still round out but I'm now 8 weeks. I don't feel it's going to happen if it hasn't already. If I get everything done now, I can take a trip with my sister and her family to Puerto Rico in October and show off my new assets, LOL.