So Far...so Good! - Houston, TX

Hey girl, Im a little over 4 weeks post surgery...did you still have swelling at 4 weeks..my lower back in still numb. Im just ready to be healed!

HA ha you have a sweet hubby. well since I just ended week 4 I hope my tummy goes away. I got the same areas lipoed along with my hips and thighs. I dont have numbing around my spine but my lower back is still numb and you are right it does feel weird but doesnt bother me either. Im getting my after pics taken on May 9..that a little more than 2 months after I just hope the swellimg is almost gone by then. I am going to ask my doc about the massaging..i really hope it helps with the swelling. THX!

Hi asop.

This Thurday I will make 4 weeks post op. Looking at your b4 pics reminds me so much of my body frame b4 my surgery. I too was square shape. I am 5'8 and weighed 194lbs day of surgery. I now have curves (waist) and a booty (smile) as well as hips. My doc did a great job. My butt is more rounder on top but as it falls, it's a little flatter, however, when I wear a dress or pants, you can tell I have a "shelf" I was a size 12 in pants and yesterday I went to a store and tried on a pair of size 8's and they fitted perfect! I am still swollen and sore, especially in the mornings. I still wear my compression garment and have to order a new one because the one I have on is big on me. I haven't weighed myself but am sure I lost a few pounds. I had fat removed from upper and lower abs, flanks and axilla as well. My upper abs (the first week) was so bruised (purplish) but went away in 3 days with the Arnica Gel. I don't have kids but did have a small pouch which seems to be going down (not fully though, but am happy with results).

I thought I was the only one that felt exhausted/dizzy/faint after taking my first few showers 3 days after surgery. I would come out shower and put a towel on my bed and just lay there butt-ass naked and wet because I would feel so tired/faint.

I will post pics of myself after maybe the 2nd month post op.

You look FABULOUS asop, all the best to you and the rest of you ladies.

I'm glad I avoided this Dr . His work is overpriced for box shapes. No butt shaper is better than Cortes in Texas.

Yes, I was very square. I am only 8 days out but can tell a major difference. My waist went down 6 1/2 inches and I lost 4 inches around my bra strap. It's pretty incredible. I do have narrow hips but not so much anymore, I have the curves now for sure! You can request more added in your hips, I wanted a little but I mostly was looking for projection instead of wideness. I prefer the "athletic look" on myself. I had the lipo done to my flanks, back, and axilla(highly recommend this area if you have extra there)Yes my stomach was very swollen and the most bruised area even though I didn't have any lipo there. I don't normally have a flat tummy though-2 babies myself. I will have a tummy-tuck in the future. Doing lipo on my flanks made my waste shrink and intern made my tummy look a little smaller but no work done on the tummy yet. He wouldn't do lipo there because my stretch marks are pretty bad and he said my skin would sag and get really torn up because it's too thin. I can't wait to see my new look after the swelling goes down!

In the picture that shows 6 on 1 page, the top 3 are my before pics and the bottom 3 are my computer generated after pics. The other ones are taken over the few days following surgery. I will update pics at 1 month after swelling subsides.

Here are a few tips that I found personally helpful and that I wish I would have known before my surgery. Hope this helps answer some of your questions, and again everyone is different but these are what I personally experienced. :)

-itching is intense so have benadryl on hand-it helps alot, buy some beforehand
-buy extra maxi pads, gauze pads and tape to tape them on your body if you will have open drainage
-most draining was over after day 3-4 but then the intense swelling started which is suppose to subside after 2 weeks or so
-you will have no appetite so have crackers and jello(already made) on hand
-take your sleeping pills at night even after surgery to help you sleep and be comfortable
-have to get up and pee like 3-5 times a night from the fluid/swelling drainage
-you should have someone there to help you atleast for 3-4 days is my personal recommendation-my husband said this is the main thing-you will need someone to help you up and down out of bed to use the bathroom and they like you to walk around every few hours to prevent blood clots from forming
-hurts a little to sit and pee for the first 5 days or so so you have to hold yourself up a little
-have alot of anti-bacterial soap on hand and use it often so you dont get an infection
-the swelling can cause little pockets of fluid under the skin which you may hear a swooshing sound when you rub your hand across it, weird but normal-ask doc to be sure but mine were small, goes away in a day or 2 and will happen at different spots over different days.
-day of surgery sucked, day 2 was great as I was on major pain meds, day 3-7 I felt like I had the flu and felt like crap from all the swelling, day 8 is definitely a new beginning...much better!!! I think you could easily be sitting back in class and driving 2 weeks after surgery
-day 1-day 5 I slept about 16 hours a day cause I was so weak
-have your bed ready before you leave, I used a beach towel and the pee-pad the doc gave me to put ontop of my sheets, extra set of clean sheets and old clean towels you can lay on in bed and on the couch
-have alot of bottled water and juice on hand. try to avoid sprite/sodas unless the sprite is for nausea(i didnt experience much nausea) because sodas have alot of salt and salt will make you swell more
-take before pictures
-for me taking a shower was exhausting, I would be faint/dizzy/just wanted to lay down every time I took a shower for the first few days. I was so tired I didn't even want to stand up for my husband to put on new bandages or to get dressed. I found that turning the water to cool before you get out helps alot

And YES...i'd do it all again in a heartbeat!

Wow thanks for the advice!! Its funny you say you itched alot because I have had 4 c sections and after everyone... I start itching like I have fleas!!! lol it has to be a side effect from the medicine used to put me to sleep. Honey your doctor did his thing on that waist you are gonna look so banging when your all healed.. I'm excited for you!! Rest up and get your strength back... and when you have time can you update me on some advice on how to avoid sitting... Thanks doll!

Funny you say that about the itching after having a baby. I had no epidural with my first baby but with my second one I did and it's exactly like the itching you experience after having an epidural! Exactly! You just want to take a wire brush to your whole body. lol The benadryl helps sooo much though. Not sitting actually hasn't been that bad for me so far. It sucks but it's not really bothering me, guess because I slept alot. I would stand to eat or visit with my husband and kids for like 20 minutes but then I would get tired and go lay down and sleep. I have just mostly been laying in bed turned to the side watching TV or laying on the couch watching TV or on the computer. I also kneel on a pillow at the coffee table to eat and play with the baby. This week will be the test though since my husband is going back to work and I have a 10 year old to get off to school and do homework with and I also have a 10 Month old baby that I have to chase after. This weekend I have pretty much been handling the baby on my own to see how i'd do and it's about like before I had the surgery. I will have to give her a bath in the sink or have my husband do it because it still hurts a little to bend all the way over but it's possible. I can tell each day is getting better now and the swelling is slowly subsiding. I even tried on my pants and swimsuit which was SUPER cool to see my new booty. My mother in law came by and said "oh my, you have lost so much weight from the surgery!" through my tummy/waist area. I said nope, still weigh the same(because of swelling) but she thought i'd lost like 20 pounds. I loved that!!!

Wow!! I too have a 10 & 8 year old that I will be having to take back and forth to school and I have a 4 year old and a 1 yr old they both are gonna be home with me! LOL I wil have help the first week and after that I'm on my own... I'm agreeing with your mother in law you look great.. honey wait until your all healed... tell your husband to get ready cause your gonna turn a few heads! Keep me posted on how things go this upcoming week with being home alone

Looking good your new butt looks really good on you... I noticed prior you had more of a square shape from the waist down with narrow hips... with the BBL do you now have hips? I'm really square too and hoping that the BBL will give me curvy hips. Where was the fat harvested from? Is your stomach swollen... I have a pouch at the bottom of my tummy (I have had 4 c-sections) so I'm wondering if you saw an improvement in your lower tummy from the lipo...