Surgery Scheduled! Counting Down! - Hinsdale, IL

The surgery date is just around the corner... 10 days and counting. This is something I've wanted for a very long time!

I had my first child at 16 - prior to that I was physically fit (ran distance in track) but the toll on my body was life changing to say the least. My daughter was born at a whopping 9lbs 12 oz and I went from 115 to 184lbs during that pregnancy. Since then I've had 3 other kids, each an additional blessing in my life, but also an additional sacrifice of my figure and confidence. I'm now 35 and can only vaguely remember wearing a bathing suit the summer before my first child.. 20 years ago!

I'm feeling so many different emotions - elated, excited, nervous, scared...
I've done so much research and seen more boobies in the last couple of months than I've seen in my entire life! I've looked at silicone vs saline, different incisions and submuscular vs subglandular. I've even watched videos of actual TT procedures. I've talked to other girls to find out what to expect, but in reality, I don't think I will ever be able to get ALL the answers and have to be willing to leave some of it to the unknown... for 10 more days at least!

I can't wait to be on the other side of this, working through recovery and able to share my experiences with the girls on here that are wondering and feeling the same things I have. I will post pictures of the before and after and details on the process as I go!

Tomorrow is the day! I'm excited and nervous but SOOO ready! I'm taking my final pre-op pictures for posting tomorrow morning and hope to be able to provide some updates within a few days.. depending on how I'm feeling.

Just finished surgery. Making the 2.5 hr drive home. Am pleased with the results, just a little sore. Am trying to add this photo, but having trouble.

Post op day 2: Not getting much sleep in this recliner, so I'm tired. I've been waking up every few hours, which is good in the sense that I am able to take pain meds that way. But getting repositioned and moving is very difficult. The longer I sleep, the stiffer I am when I wake up. The TT incision doesn't hurt - the drains are uncomfortable and the muscle spasms can be intense.
My breasts are have been going thru changes.. starting to soften, but appear to be rising higher on my chest. I know that its going to take a while to see the complete results, but its hard not to worry about complications.
I think Dr Katsaros did an amazing job though!

3 days po: Last night was by far the worst night. I had a very hard time getting to sleep. Wasn't in any pain, was just wide awake.
The shape of my breasts seem to change by the hour, they are still high, but aren't as hard. The bruising between and under them is definitely more noticeable than before. The drains are starting to be irritating. Follow up appt with the dr today, so we will see how everything is progressing!

Four days post op: Follow up appt yesterday, resulted in checking the drains and pulling them to make sure they were working properly sincde I didnt have as much fluid collection as he thought I should. Omg, did it ever burn! Felt like my left side was on fire! When the dr was finished and my binder tightened back around me, it felt like it only aggravated that "burn" sensation. We repositioned it, and it felt fine for 10 minutes or so, but then it would hurt again. Once Igot home, I found that when standing, I didn't have the burning. Of course, that can't last forever.. and would sit when I couldn't stand anymore.. positioning and repositioning in an attempt to find anything that would help. Long story short, I didn't end up getting any sleep and called the dr this morning requesting removal of the drain on my left side. After an hour & 1/2 drive, it was removed and I feel so much better! Have to make the trip again tomorrow to have the other side removed, but at this point, I don't even care - will be super happy to get some sleep!!

6 days post op: Another follow up appt with Dr Katsaros yesterday to remove the second drain. He took out the staples from my incision and informed me that he wouldn't take out the 2nd drain until I bought a compression garment to wear out of his office. I left, bought one, brought it back, finished my appt and went home feeling super! He made comments about being impressed with how well my recovery is going.
I'm getting around on my own (and have been for days now), standing up straight (will be slightly bent and stiff after periods of sitting or sleeping).

I cant believe its been almost a year since my surgery. I never posted pictures of my before and after, so I thought I should do that now...better late than never. :)