Quinceañera in Spanish is a 15 yrs old girl. It...
Quinceañera in Spanish is a 15 yrs old girl. It is a tradition in Mexico that parents throw a big party to celebrate her daughter's 15th birthday. Well... even when my profile name is Quinceañera, I am not a 15 yrs old girl but a 39 yrs old women who is celebrating 15 years of motherhood. My oldest son just turned 15 and on his birthday I scheduled my surgery date for November 28th; I will fix those damages that two pregnancies, breast feeding and weight gain/lose made on my body. I am having a tummy tuck and breast lift with implants.
I had been thinking about it since about 14 yrs ago, but due to the cost it was impossible to me. Then, when our economical situation improved I started to feel afraid of the risks and the recovery process; but now I am ready. Healthy eating habits and workout made me go from 198 to 132 lbs in the last 4 yrs and have taken me from size 18 to 4 which I had never ever wore before. You can imagine how great I feel except for that loose skin all over my body. I have made some improvements with constant workout but I know that my breast and belly will not go any better.
I have found a surgeon that made me feel very comfortable and I totally trust on him; I have scheduled 18 days off at work, arranged care for my kids and have read as many tips and stories as I could in the last month at realself.com.
My lovely husband will take care of me during recovery; he also arranged time off at work. He is not very happy with this procedure but I know he will love the results.
I will post some pictures later.
Less than a week...
OMG, my surgery date is in less than a week and I have little concern... my period is two days late :(... it just can't happen to me, I can't get pregnant a few days before my tubal ligation and the surgeries that I have been dreaming about since more than a decade ago.
Day of treatment...
I had my procedures done 3 days ago (breast lift with implants, tummy tuck with lipo and tubal ligation); my ps expected them to last 8 hrs total but it took him 9.5 hrs. I blooded more than normal so this extended the surgery time. Fortunately I didn’t need a blood transfusion, but I ended up with low blood pressure after surgery and some anemia; nothing to worry about, I will just need to follow an appropriate diet and an iron treatment.
1st day after surgery
I spent the first night at the hospital with no pain at all due to the medications and since I had a catheter I didn’t have to wake up even to pee. Before noon I got my ps visit and he was surprised that I was not in pain at all; he removed the breasts’ drains which he normally do not place on his patients but he did it in my case because of the excessive bleeding but he didn’t want to keep them anymore because of the infection risk. He also ordered a nurse to remove the urine catheter and closed the pain pump medication to measure my pain tolerance as well to recover some strength to leave my bed for the very first time; so about 2 hrs after the pump was closed a nurse helped me to stand up. The pain was not awful, it was just muscle pain like if I had done too many crunches and pectoral exercises. The incisions didn’t hurt; I felt also some lower abdomen pain but it was just like menstrual cramps.
Once stand up I walked some steps to the restroom to pee and had no issues; it was until I washed my hands that I started to feel nauseous and dizzy, the nurse helped me to sit down and then I felt the need to puke for a while but I didn’t (fortunately), I also had difficulties to breath so I had to lay down on bed again to recover. The second time I waked up I also had some nauseas and difficulties breathing but not as bad as the first one. At about 3PM the ps came to my room again and asked me if I wanted to stay one more night at the hospital (depending on how I was feeling); I talked to my husband and we decided that we wanted to leave so the ps proceeded to put the compression garments on me and gave me the prescriptions and instructions to follow during my recovery time.
I did not take any picture yet... I was afraid to see.
2nd day after surgery
I slept very well and I spent the day lying on the recliner chair, I only woke up to pee several times (I am drinking lots of water) and to take a shower; no bm yet. The ps came to my hotel room for follow up and brought a nurse to help me to clean my incisions and to shower during the week that I will be here (we had to drive 4 hrs to have my procedure done). I saw myself but didn’t take any picture because I didn’t like what I saw… TOO MUCH SWELLING!!!
First pictures after sugery
More than my incisions is my back which is hurting the most; I will apply some patches tonight to see if it helps. I took some pictures this morning after shower. There is still too much swelling but not as bad as yesterday. I am starting to like the results but I have a little concern about the wraps above the incision. My ps says they will disappear through the time but I have no see them on other realself members; has any of you had this issue?
I hadn’t seen my bb since my childhood; it is nice to see it again! Lol… and the girls… wow! they had never ever been that perky. My hubby is scared about the nipples but I told him that this is not the final result.
I had my first bm today, it was very difficult and spent about an hour at the restroom but it finally went out, I was afraid but what a relief!
One week after surgery... I am cleared to travel back home!
I am 1 wk po now; I had the stitches and the drain removed today (I only had one). I was afraid of pain when the drain was removed but I only felt tickling; what it really hurt was when the stitches from my areolas where removed… ouch!!! My ps said I am healing very well. So far this first week was not as bad as I expected; pain has been minimal, I have been with just Tylenol since day 4 and starting tonight I will take it just as needed.
Since the cg is unevenly compressing my waist (because of the zipper in the left side), my ps gave me a special foam to wrap around my waist under the cg, this way the compression will be evenly distributed and my shape will be balanced. However, I have already ordered a new cg with the hooks at the front so I hope it will give me a better shape.
I have been cleared to travel back home! He wanted me to be close to him during the first week just in case an urgent checkup was needed; fortunately everything went fine. We will leave tomorrow morning, it is about a 4 hrs drive. We will be back for my next appointment in one month.
Before & After (1 month)
Tomorrow it will be 5 weeks after my surgery… what a new experience!
I have been following my ps instructions religiously:
1 – Do not drive until after 15 days PO
2 – Total rest during the first two weeks po
3 – Walk straight until after 15 days po
4 – Do not do household shores, lift heavy objects or exercise during the first month
5 – From day 30 to 60 the only exercise I can do is walking; I can go back to my Zumba classes after day 60.
6 - Keep wearing my cg 24/7 for at least 2 months
I went back to work at day 18 (I work at an office) and I had no issues at all. I can walk totally straight now and jumped on the treadmill as soon as I reached the 30 days mark. I have been drinking lots of water and following a low sodium diet to help with swelling, however it has not get any better in my low abdomen… I am not flat yet!! This worried me at the beginning but now that I have read lots of reviews at RS I understand that it will go away some day, I just have to be patient. I also understand that the folds in my scar will flatten sooner or later, I can currently see a little improvement… my ps told me since the beginning that I had to expect to see the final result until 6 months after surgery. So, at this point, even when I am not there yet, I can say that I LOVE my current body, this is the BEST looking body I have had in my life; I can’t wait for my ps to release me to resume my workouts and make it even better.
This is the best $9000 dlls I have ever spent!! I would recommend this to any person that asks me for advice. It was totally worth the money, time, pain, swelling, and any other inconvenience.
5 weeks post op
Today, at my five weeks post op mark, I wore the smallest pair of jeans I used to wear before the surgery... OMG this is just getting better every day... I can't imagine how it will be once I am cleared to work out as I used to. Summer here I go!!
I have a follow-up appointment with my ps on Saturday, I will update my review after that.
Happy New Year!
TT incision progress (2 months)
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12 Feb 2014
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3 months post
The very first time I saw my TT incision, I worried because it looked like a mess; there were too many folds and bumps that I thought they will never flatten, even when my PS had told me since the beginning (in fact before I saw my incision) that it would flatten and shouldn’t worry about it.
So, if you RS sister, have just had the procedure done and your incision looks like mine, don’t worry! Look at the pictures I took at two months after surgery and see the difference. It is just two months so it will get even better!!
Before & After (3 months)
On 2/28 it was 3 months that I had my mommy makeover done; I must admit that I am not 100% satisfied with my results but still the transformation has been AMAZING! I feel so confident and sexy; I love to try outfits that I never thought I could ever wear. Thanks GOD for giving me this opportunity!
The MR still hurts when I sneeze and swelling is still there. I still can’t do abs nor chest exercises. My PS told me to use the CG during 2 months but I still wear it day and night; I still have loose skin and the CG makes me feel better. Probably I will stop using it after my 6 months PO visit, once my PS confirms that my skin will not tighten any more. Meanwhile I will keep enjoying my new body!!
Some numbers:
Height= 5' 2"
Weight= 132 lbs prior to surgery, 128 lbs 3 months after surgery
Waist= 29 in prior to surgery, 27 in 3 months after surgery
Before & After (1 year)
Having my mommy makeover has been one of best decisions I have taken in my life!!
Close up of my scar and belly button
Kristie9901, here are the close ups you requested... and an additional image :)
Summer 2015
Showing off my results; I am still exercising and following my healthy eating habits... that is very important to maintain surgery's results.
I had never before felt this confident with my body.
