Breast implants and lipo

I really want to document how my process went and why I chose Minneapolis Plastic Surgery! I want to document because I searched and searched for recovery progress with some luck and I want to add more! My process started by doing several consults. I did several because I wanted to get a feel for what was normal, if a certain surgeon pointed out things another didn't and it's just sort of fun. I found a couple huge NOs in Minnesota, and a couple of surgeons that I was like YESYES! There were two that I specifically was like I could go either way, I didn't feel particularly strongly except one had my sense of humor and the other was just plain nice. While finding an exceptional surgeon is certainly important I definitely urge you to make sure you're comfortable with the practice as well. The initial surgeon I thought I would go with came from a relatively large well known practice. I felt comfortable with him and he seemed to be highly knowledgeable, where things got a little "annoying" was the poor communication within the practice as a whole. It's no secret that when you're a potential patient and one that's looking to book, you are a slightly higher priority than those already paid in full on the schedule. This makes sense from not only a business standpoint but also a logistical standpoint where they want to get people who want surgery slotted in with a reasonable amount of time to obtain physicals, secure the funds, take time off work etc., oh also they are spending lots of money. So when I was like hey I'm ready to book here's my money and no one would return my calls I was really turned off. Like I said, I liked the surgeon a lot but from a standpoint of knowledge, integrity and skill, I liked the Minneapolis Plastic Surgery surgeon just as much. So I made a mental note on a Friday evening that I was going to go with Minneapolis Plastic Surgery, and I'm not even exaggerating, Monday morning I got an email from Dr Gervais following up that I had done a consult in May and he recalled I wanted surgery in the fall so was I still interested? What an excellent utilization of the Outlook Calendar lol, now certainly Dr Gervais is a busy, successful guy and he didn't just think to himself gee I wonder how that girl is, but the key is whoever is in charge of their follow up program deserves a raise because that got their practice a customer. Not only this but they also followed up after my initial consult in May with a note thanking me for seeing them and were super prompt in sending pre op info. It definitely made me feel like I was a priority and they were planning for me. So that's how we got to the decision and I urge any of you looking into plastic surgery to not sell yourself short and consider the many facets that go into choosing a surgeon. It's not just the skill and fancy waiting room it's how the office staff, nursing and anesthesia treats you. After all, you're paying literal tens of thousands of dollars for this procedure you deserve to be treated a little like a Princess, there's a difference between entitlement and self advocacy. Even if it's not an elective out of pocket procedure, your entire surgical team should make you feel like your procedure is important from consultation to pre op to recovery to years down the road, they're not doing you any favors you're paying them, advocate for yourself! (But also be nice) sorry this got so long, I'm 1. Clearly very passionate about this 2. On Vicodin and muscle relaxers

This is how pre op went:
Had a full physical and labs done a couple weeks prior and a COVID swab on Monday for a Thursday surgery. Obviously all was good. NPO for 8 hours prior to surgery but I'm sort of type A so I did 12 hours. Ya girl didn't want to puke. Showed up at 0700, did some paperwork and only waited briefly. It was so nice not waiting around forever. Then the surgery nurse did photos, slightly awkward but not bad, she was so laid back but also gorgeous so I was like don't mind me loose skin, saggy boobs and all. LOL. Then I went and did a pregnancy test, obvi negative. Then I went and got marked up by Dr Gervais, lots of marking, I wish I had pictures of that! Then anesthesia came and started my IV and consented me, all was good, great down to earth guy! Then I got brought to the OR where I did a standing prep because I had lipo where they flipped me on my belly, they scrub you down with betadine, the nurses were so incredible. Very kind and just you could tell knew what they were doing. The pretty nurse again, scrubbing all the rolls and sags LOL. Then anesthesia came in and I started mildly thinking omg what am I doing but he assured me that this was so normal and if I wasn't nervous he would be nervous and that so many of them had even had surgery at some point and they felt the same. That's the last thing I remember!
This is all honest, I just want that to be clear and that's why I'm putting in this next part
I woke up in recovery like what in the actual F did I just do. KEEP READING DONT BACK OUT IT GETS BETTER! My thighs burned, it was honestly like I left a cold pack on way to long. I couldn't get comfortable and the amazing nurse was like this is so normal you did so great. She wasn't the least bit annoyed with my whining it was so nice because I know how annoying I sounded. She was like take your time you can stay as long as you want and I was like hard pass take me home to my bed, my kids and some chicken noodle soup. She was like yes alright let's do this, my husband was ready to go and she wheeled me out which I hardly remember. The 40 minute drive home was sore. I also want to say that this was sore type of pain not like omg something is NOT OK pain, my body was like you're dumb this is going to hurt but you're not dying sort of pain, I'm pretty sure I told the nurse it was 6/10. So then I got home, by the grace of Jesus Christ himself I got up the steps and laid in bed. Now, about 3 hours later, my scheduled dose of Vicodin and muscle relaxers I feel ok, probably like a 3/10 if I'm just sitting here, getting up is a 4-6 depending what I'm doing. Oh also the boobs don't hurt at all, it's the lipo, the part I'm most excited about. Also, also, I peed on my compression garment so that's gross but here we are. My husband is incredibly helpful and my kids like to help as well. So that's been great. My husband claims he can see a difference but I think he's just being nice, there's so much foam and swelling I don't believe there's much of a difference but I know this takes time!!!

Feeling a little better as the day goes on. Not “fine” definitely sore but not bad at all when I just sit. I’ve been trying to get up and walking every hour or so to prevent blood clots. The breast surgery doesn’t seem to hurt too bad just when I need to get up and use those muscles. The legs are pretty sore, again mostly with movement. The pain pills (Vicodin) seem to make me more irritable than anything but help with the pain, I try to space them out to every 6 hours instead of 4, I know it’s unlikely but I hate the idea of becoming dependent on something. I had my kids do some really mild “massage” that was more like gentle touch to keep the blood flowing and fluid from building up. Definitely could slowly care for myself but much easier with the help of my husband. I feel like my breasts are higher today and a little tighter but I sort of expected this, hopefully that goes down in the next few days and gets better each day.