5'8", 155 Lb, Doing 4 Tomorrow Sono Bello

I have my pre-op today, surgery tomorrow. Scared of recovery as I have three kids at home including a toddler, and husband works far from home. Having upper and lower abs, waist, hips and outer thighs done. Really excited but also so nervous! Hoping recovery isn't terrible; they assured me that because my BMI is lower, I'll recover better. I sure hope so! I'll post pics from pre-op.

So I had surgery yesterday. WOW did I worry for nothing. It wasn't a total piece of cake but it was way easier than I thought it would be. Mine was late in the day and of course we are having a blizzard so I was really keyed up by the time I checked in, worrying about how the drive home would be and my kids and the surgery and everything else. I had made dinner in the crock pot and gotten everything ready for nighttime (laid out Jammies, ironed clothes for church the next morning, breakfast options set out) figuring I'd be in excruciating pain. But when we got home I was literally fine. I would have posted here last night but wound up doing laundry and making something different for dinner because chili didn't sound good anymore haha! This morning, I am fine and feel really totally able to do anything I need to. But back to the actual surgery... I checked in, they weighed me and did vitals. Changed into a paper bikini and they gave me half a Xanax and a shot of Demerol. Put an IV in, Doctor wrote all over me and did a bunch of calculations, I took a pregnancy test and then it was time to go! They took me to the operating room, and laid me on a table with lots of drapes and so on, and it was time to numb the first area. I should say that the doctor felt like doing the outer thighs was going to be too much, so we decided to only do my upper and, lower abs, waist and hips. I was disappointed but they'll do my thighs at a later date. So! He did a little injection into my tummy and whatever it is works FAST, and he made a little incision with some little tool. Then he started injecting the solution in a starburst pattern from that little incision. He had to get aggressive in a couple of spots because he said my fat was fibrous, so that was a little unsettling. But it was not painful at all. When he switched to the actual liposuction, I did have some truly painful moments there, especially around my ribs. The nurse said that sometimes the tumescent fluid doesn't hit all the pockets when you've got fibrous fat so that"'s why it hurt there. But for the other 90% of the surgery, I didn't really feel any pain. I liked being able to watch the fat go by in the tube and see it adding up!! They didn't get as much out of me as I would have liked, but they told me that because my BMI is lowish (23) it's just harder to achieve that. My biggest worry is my actual tummy, where I have stretch marks terribly, and my skin is a little loose. The surgeon told me that the laser can't really cause retraction or improvement to that area. So disappointed. But at least they took the "pooch" from my tummy and when I am all healed, hopefully it will be flat under clothes. So anyway, he did all the lipo around my midsection (gonna be so glad not to have those love handles!!!) and then did a real quick treatment with the laser, and then it was done. The nurse taped pads over all the incisions, helped me get into this compression garment, applied a belly binder and that was it! We drove home fine, I didn't leak any fluid anywhere; either in the car or in bed last night. I haven't showered yet and I am a little worried about water hitting those incisions; I can feel each and every one under the compression garment, and I never take showers (only baths) so I'm not really looking forward to that. So here are some quick photos yesterday morning pre-op, and one of the fat they took out.

5'8" 155 pounds, 4 kids and 45 years old. Getting upper and, lower abs, waist, and hips done. Note! "Hips" only includes the area along your side, from your natural waist down to your hip bone.

Woke up today feeling less sore than yesterday, decided to change dressings because I am so ITCHY hahaha! I woke up several times itching and I know not to scratch, so it's really distracting. Once I got the dressings off (no small feat) I could see some pretty big changes even with the swelling. I'm so excited!! But the itching is making me crazy. Doc said I could use a hydrocortisone cream, which I applied really gingerly because my skin is sore to the touch. Like bruised sort of but worse. I also have big areas that are numb which is weird too, but totally to be expected, they told me. So, I'll try the day with dressings off and see if I leak any fluid-- I had really no leakage at all after the surgery, none that escaped the dressing anyway. I've got a big day today so hoping my energy holds, I do really feel great (except for being so itchy). Compression garment back on, but no belly binder, no ugly stockings. Yaaaayyyyy!

So today I can sit up without making a face, hahaha. What I mean is, I'm not so sore that I twist my face up in pain when I sit up. My skin all around my trunk is still sore but it's not terrible. The bruising is staring to get yellow around the edges and I'm still so ITCHY. I'm worried the compression garment isn't compressing that much, and thinking about buying a Medium online (they put me in a Large the day of surgery). The nice thing is, despite it having hooks and eyes and zippers and looking like it's made of cast iron, it really doesn't show under clothes, whew! Here is me in the same jeans as my pre-op pics, in the compression garment and street clothes, getting ready to take my kids to their play group. Worrying a little about the trampoline, gonna have to come up with some excuse not to get on today!

Same jeans as my pre-op pic. I pulled my shirt up and you can see the black compression garment there... But also a total lack of muffin top too.

Feeling so good!! Bruising is nearly gone, lumpiness is way better and soreness is almost gone too. I'm still a pound up from my pre-op, so I must be retaining fluid still, but I feel a difference in my midsection even so! I was really lumpy a couple days ago, but read that massage can help, so I've been trying to do that every day (it hurts some!!) and it has really helped. I go in for my inner/outer thighs next week, and I'm really hoping they can take more off than was removed from my abs. My thighs are truly my "problem" area and are my biggest dimension, ugh. But I'm hoping for a similar recovery as this ab lipo has been!

Had the next phase of surgery today. Rights now I'm in a surprising amount of pain; only about four hours post-op. I'm sure part of it is, Sono Bello has decided not to administer Demerol beforehand. Bummer! A pain pill of some kind instead. But the procedure wasn't too painful this time. Just sort of awkward laying there while the doctor did my inner thighs but it was quite short (only about two hours) to get both legs done. The fat they pulled out was again about 1,000 cc overall, so I'm pretty hopeful it will make a difference, especially in how my clothes fit!!! I snapped a couple quickies in the mirror right before we went into surgery.... Here you go (don't be too envious of my total lack of anything LIKE a thought gap, haha).

Two days Post-Op, I look like a crime scene photo haha! It's ok though, pain is a little better and i feel better when I'm up and around. Legs looks scary, I hope my skin retracts ok, seems loose and jiggly and crepey right now. But I'm so excited about my tummy (done 3 weeks ago) that it's giving me hope for my legs!

I measured my own waist myself the day before surgery (33.5 inches)just so I would have proof too, and so did they. They confirmed it yesterday, sure enough at my post-op yesterday, my waist is a full four inches smaller (29.5). And they tell me I'm still swollen; more improvement to come! My lower hip circumference is only about a half inch smaller; but I'm still significantly swollen and only ten days out from having that area done. But each thigh down a full inch. Right now I feel a little lopsided with my waist so much smaller than anywhere else, but they said the lower body takes longer to heal. It will, in time, be patient. I can feel my jeans sliding up better and can button them easily with no strain. My skin is retracting pretty well; looks a little saggy around my belly button and my stretch marks are pretty baggy but running my hands over my tummy is pretty shockingly flat. Never thought I'd feel like this again. I do have one "dent" that may take a little touch up, but still so early to tell. Definitely inspiring me to eat light and move around more!! Bruising on my legs is finally starting to get better; tender around my whole trunk, a bit. But zipped up a very "bodycon" size 8 dress this morning that I couldn't zip just a month ago, no compression garment, no girdle. And it looks good!!