Surgery is Scheduled! - Florida

Well, after 2 years of "dreaming" about this, I have officially scheduled my breast reduction/ lift and tummy tuck for February 16th!! I can't believe how excited and nervous I am. I have been reading the posts here, which do make me feel better, but this is truly a HUGE step for me. I NEVER thought that this would become reality for me. I guess right now, I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed. I am mostly worried about the pain after surgery and the downtime. From the sounds of it, that is everyones biggest concern. But, don't get me wrong...I am over the moon excited!!! Can't wait to feel good about being in a bathing suit again! WOW!!! I'm looking forward to connecting with you all on here. I'm sure as the time gets closer, I will have a million questions!! Take care all!

Okay~ I have 26 days to go and am now making a list of all items I will need to buy for after the surgery. My PS does recommend silicone sheeting for scarring and I want to go ahead and purchase them now so that I will have them. Has anyone found that a certain kinds works better than another? There are a lot of brands to choose from and not sure if there is a big difference in quality?

I have a question for all of you:

What pant size were you pre-TT and then post-TT?

Well, tomorrow is the big day! I am very excited!!! And, very ready to get the recovery underway. I am surprised that I am not a basket case. Last week when I went in for my pre-op, I was a nervous wreck. But, today, so far, I'm pretty calm. Now, tonight will be a different story, I'm sure!!

I will be praying for all of you who have just had the procedures or are scheduled to have them soon. Take it one day at a time girls! I will post again as soon as I can :)

Sorry I haven't updated since my surgery, so here goes. This is my story:

One week ago today was my surgery day. I actually wasn't very nervous (even though I should have been!). I arrived at 11:00 for my 12:00 procedure. It started out pretty rough for me....inserting IV resulted in blood ALL over me, small talk with the doctor while he was marking me up resulted him not realizing that he was indeed supposed to be doing lipo that had been discussed and had been paid for (apparently, it wasn't on his directional sheet), etc. So, we worked it all out, but it didn't leave me with a warm, fuzzy feeling to say the least. Anyway, surgery started. I will say at this point that I have had many surgical procedures and I have never been sick from the anasthesia. Well, there is a first time for everything. I was in recovery 3 hours due to the fact that I had a migraine, was passing out and was very, very sick to my stomach. I think that all is because I was under for so long. All I can say now is that I'm glad that is behind me because it was HORRIBLE!! The one thing that still bothers me is this: my wonderful husband drove me home and as we arrived and he got me out of the car, he realized that I was bleeding everywhere. The white robe that I had on was covered in blood all over the back, the car seat was covered, my binder was covered and my "bra". To say the least, he was concerned. He called the doctors office and we NEVER received a call back. He was pretty confident that one of my drains had leaked, but he had never been through this before, so he was not 100% sure and he was very nervous. I was still so out of it, but I feel so terrible because of what he went through. He was very concerned, but apparently the doctor, nurses, whoever it was responsible for taking messages, they didn't care at all. So, when we went in the next day for our one day follow up, the nurses and the doctor were very surprised at how soiled everything was. So, my husband let them know that if they would have been professional enough to have returned his phone call, they would have been aware of it. Needless to say, they didn't have a response. I'm still not happy about that.

Pain: Wednesday (day of surgery), Thursday and Friday were the worst in terms of pain. However, the pain medicine definitely made it manageable. Moving around was very difficult at first, but each day got better. The 4 drains that I had made that even more difficult. By Saturday, I was feeling much more comfortable. I actually came off all pain medicine on Saturday and switched just to Tylenol at that point.

On Monday, I was able to get 3 of the 4 drains out which made a HUGE difference. I definitely felt much more like myself. I will be getting the last drain out on Thursday.

At this point, I am doing everything on my own. I do have a little soreness here and there, but I don't have any pain. I am eager to get the last drain out tomorrow. I am not the type to sit around and do nothing, so I am getting very stir crazy.

The only problem that I have at this point is sleeping. I'm having a difficult time sleeping and when I am able to sleep, I have nightmares and wake up soaking wet. So, I will be very happy for this phase to pass.

Now, on to what most people want to know...the results- so, here you go:

My breast: I think he did a great job! I was a large 38/40 D and now I am down to a C. They are back up where they are supposed to be and no longer pointing south ;). So, I am happy!

My Tummy: I am still amazed when I look at it. I had so much extra skin and two distinct rolls for so long that it is strange to not see them. But, they are gone! I do still have a good bit of swelling, but I'm not stressed about that at all. I know that it is all part of the process, so I will just be amazed daily at seeing the differences. Wearing the binder does get on my nerves, I will admit. But, I know I have to deal with it, so I just do. Now, I have not seen my belly button at this point. I will see it tomorrow. So, I will have to let you know about that part.

Overall, I will say- if anyone thinks that this will be a piece of cake, you are absolutely kidding yourself. It is not just day to day...it is minute to minute. It is a process and it will take a toll on you both physically and emotionally, so preparation is key!!!