3 months and I love it! - Fort Collins, CO

4 days before surgery and I wanted to share what I learned from my pre-op.

First - I ran through my list of questions gathered from a month of reading these posts and his comments was that sometimes people are missing the big picture by getting hung up on the details. The most important thing you can do to have a successful surgery and recovery is BE HEALTHY. He said healthy, fit people at a good weight and with the right attitude recovery faster than people who are not in the best of health. I like that message! I've been a vegetarian for 20 years and I'm very picky about my food. I also have great bloodwork so I hope this helps...

Some notes that may be helpful to others:
- My doctor does not use drains. I've only seen a couple of other posts like this. He quilts the skin down from the top. He said sometimes doctors use drains because its faster.
- He makes the pain pump optional. The key to controlling pain is to take the pain killers regularly - don't miss a pill. He said its much easier to prevent the pain than to deal with it if you go too long without a pill.
- He will lipo my waist and love handles from inside the other incision so no additional stitches from lipo.
- He doesn't use a binder, but instead something like Spanx. He provided the kind that are like really tall underwear but I was concerned about having to take them off to pee so I bought a one piece body shaper that has snaps at the crotch. He advised that I wear these for 4 to 6 weeks but that I'll really want to wear them cuz they will feel good.
- He said I'll live in yoga pants and shirts that button in front for awhile. Luckily I have a healthy stock of yoga pants.
- The scar will be very low - just above the pubic hair. Oh, I also asked about shaving because it looks in some pictures like the pubic area is shaved. He said its optional but don't do it the day of the surgery.
- I can shower in 24 hours. He said the incision seals in 24 hours and that bathing is helpful to keep the wounds clean.
- I've read a variety of things about the ride home - pillows, crackers, slippers, the response was to do whatever makes you feel comfortable.
- Movement - he said movement is good, but do what feels comfortable. Overall he pretty much said he doesn't give firm time frames for getting back to your normal life. We need to listen to our bodies and see what feels good or what results in swelling. Wise council. Everyone is different so the time frames would differ as well.
- Supplements - I ran through a list I've collected from your posts. He said there is limited evidence in most cases but that they can't hurt and may help. He does believe in Arnica Montana and gave me a bottle that dissolve under my tong.
- Antibiotics - they will give me a major dose during the surgery but he said the modern recommendations are not to give antibiotics after the surgery due to concerns that medical professional are overdosing people with antibiotics. And I'm insanely healthy.
- He recommends a natural, bulk laxative like Miralax over the chemical ones. I have some herbal laxatives from doing cleanses in the past so I think I'm set.
- Same prep as most of you - no food or drink midnight before surgery. I'm set to go into OR at 11am MT on Friday the 22nd.
- He didn't give me any instructions like don't drink wine in the weeks before the surgery. He did say to stick with a soft food, clear liquid diet for a few days after the surgery and that white wine doesn't count as a clear liquid...
- I'm not worrying about the recliner, walker thing that some of you are doing. Maybe its just my way of looking at life but I don't think this will be a big deal. I have a handy husband to help me get around the first week anyway.
- Overall - starting HEALTHY is the key. A healthy weight, good eating habits, exercise, being fit to start, that's the way to get through this most effectively.
- I'll add photos later this week. Just been too busy trying to get work under control before I take 2 weeks off. BTW, I work from home so my plan is to stay on top of email throughout the 2 weeks. Easy these days since you only need your smart phone. Then I'll work as much as I can take the 3rd week. I blocked off some sections of my calendar so people can't over book me during my return week!

More to come as I get ready for surgery. I love reading all the posts and I'm happy that I can finally add some data/information that could be helpful to others.

Its the day before and I'm not sure how I'm feeling. I'm anxious (and unfortunately have been stress eating all week) but I'm excited and I feel fully prepared. I can't think of any additional research I could do. Thanks to all of you I have a pretty good feeling of what to expect. The only thing I haven't done is watch the YouTube videos of the actual surgery and frankly I don't want to see that...

Last workout this morning. It was back, triceps and abs. I think I'll miss my workouts even more than I'll miss riding my horses. That's really saying something. Its going to be a long month or so. However, today I worked out with 2 bulked up men and I did the same weights on all the abs machines (even more on one machine) than they did. It frustrates me that my abs are so strong yet all I see is fat that won't go away no matter how hard I try, saggy skin and a muffin top even with yoga pants. It's not fair. So that brings me to why I'm excited for tomorrow. I have a long list of fitted clothes that I'm looking forward to wearing!

Trying to wrap up activities at work, clean, organize, get a little last minute horse/barn time, and get a good night sleep. I have to check in at 9:50am tomorrow, surgery at 10:50. Whew... I'll post more tomorrow if I'm up to it.