So Glad I Did . one year out YES! STILL GLAD I DID IT

Oh, i think you are going to get amazing results! I can't wait to see them.

Thank you. Right now I am doing rice sizers trying to figure things out PRE appointment. I like the 325 and 350 but the 2 cups (400) seem to big for me. But again I'm so clueless!!!

Hi there! I am 5.5 wks post-op from having the BL and TT done. Just thought I'd say hooray for making the decision and being brave enough to do both surgeries at once. Some honest feedback from what I went through...the process and recovery is harder, for sure. Your entire torso is out of comission. But the results are so worth it! My breasts are finally starting to "drop" to a more natural state and I am soooo happy. Just be prepared to be super patient with yourself b/c after reading all the reviews of people that did one procedure, it's easy to start thinking your recovery time is the same, but it's not. That's a lot for you body to deal with. My two biggest recommendations are 1- rent a hospital bed to keep you in that flexed position and help you get in and out instead of having to lower yourself on your own, and 2 - Do LOTS of leg work in prep. Squats, lunges, etc b/c your life will be easier if your legs can do the heavy lifting w/o having to engage your abs and arms to much for things. But again, congratulations on your decision. Stay excited and ignore those nerves heading in b/c it is soooo worth it!

p.s. - I have some pre/post pics on my review in case you want to see the double whammy since not a lot of people do the lift too. I didn't do implants b/c my PS was able to use the excess side tissue from the "batwings" to help keep my girls proportional. I need to post more recent onces to show the progress, but you'll get the idea. :)

Thank you SO much. I will an AM doing exersices LOTS of leg work. I have a few questions. 1. I cant do the hospital bed. NO WAY it could fit. SMALLLLLL house. and how long did you need 24/7 help? Getting on and off the toilet is my big worry. ALSO. how long before you felt that when you went out of the house... did you appear fine/ normal to others? I dont want to be a conversation piece at church and I'm not telling more than the 2 NEED to know people who I do know can keep it quiet. .... just trying to mentally prepare.....

OH one more question did you get a standard Tummy Tuck or the extended?

My assistance requirements and normalcy all revolved around the tummy drains. Until those bad boys were out, I was a little too helpless for my liking. I couldn't attempt to stand or walk upright until they were gone, so going out in public required strategic masking of the drain bulb under a hoodie and pants that could fit over everything (drains/binder/padding) w/o hurting. Other than that, I did look normal (once the anasthesia wore off). I didn't need bathroom help once the anasthesia wore off a day or so later. Again, the leg/glute strength makes a huuuuge difference to be able to lift and lower without crashing. When we did go out, around week 2, my husband made me use those little scooters at Target so that I didn't walk too much and we laughed b/c I would get mean stares from people since I looked perfectly normal sitting. But I showed them when I stood up and did my old lady shuffle out the door! :) From everything I've read, the windows of when they are pulled (if you even get them) varies quite a bit. My first came after about a week, but the 2nd didn't go until week 3. I'm guessing it might take longer when your body is dealing with two areas of healing? After it did, though, my recovery accelerated by leaps and bounds. I came off the pain meds (which gave me my lung capacity and focus back to actually do things for myself and also was something I needed to do before I was cleared to drive). I was cleared to wear a reg compression garment and ditch the binder if/when I felt ready (which I didn't start going out w/o it until about wk 5, but it's a personal preference). Most important, though, I felt and looked normal again. Just learn how to dress around the binder while you still need it and you're good. Your surgery is in the winter, so you'll have layers working for you, lol. Summer and this heat wave made things tricky for me. The drain and binder timing is prob worth having a conversation with your doctor about to see how he typically approaches those time frames. Also, good to know whether he's for or against showers while they're in. If he's against, get ready for sponge baths (which, of course, requires help, lol)!

I'd say the other thing that dictated the amount of help I needed was the suture dressing. Some people seem to get this tape that just stays on for a few weeks. That's pretty minimal maintenance. But if you have to clean and change the dressings every day, you will not be the one doing it. You can't bend and see much, so having someone do that for you is pretty important. Your arms also have limited motion from the lift. I mean, I'm sure you could if you had to, but it'd be pretty rough and exhausting. Depending on what pain meds you're on, might be hard to focus, lol. If you do have to change your dressings, stock up on the ABD pads, the small adhesive squares that only have adhesive on two sides (so they cover sutures but don't stick) and neosporin/hydrogen peroxide. We went through that stuff like water. So again, suture/wound maintenance is another good topic of conversation with your PS. Oh, and another protip, have a few of the zip up bras on deck. You're not going to want to be without one on, even for an hour, and you're going to want to wash them frequently, so extras are good. I recommend getting one a band size or two higher to accomodate your dressings w/o digging into your skin.

Gosh, I hope I'm not overwhelming you. I really think it's worth it and a good idea to do the two procedures together. It's just a little more to manage. I got very emotional week 2 b/c I was expecting to be feeling fabulous after everyone else's reviews and so I thought I had failed somehow. Not the case, and remind yourself of that everyday. Everyone kept asking if I was happy and if it was worth it, and I couldn't really answer b/c I was just hobbling around in nightgowns and couldn't see anything. But I did keep trusting that it would be. If you give your body the time it needs to heal in that first month or so, you'll feel amazing and well on the path to full recovery very soon after. I hinted at it before but I will be blunt here... despite REALLY wanting this, you very likely will get nervous and doubt the need to do it as you get super close. Just think of how awesome it will be to NEVER have to deal with those body issues again afterwards and let that carry you through. That's what I did. :)