Bbl with Dr. Fisher Dec 4, 2015 - Miami, FL

The procedure is very painful. Although I did it without pain medication, I cannot lie and say that it wasnt painful. The pain is bearable for ME, but everyone is different. I met with Dr. Fisher right before the procedure. Due to finals, I was unable to arrive the day before. He's very easy to talk to and nice. Everything went so fast and I did not have to wait. My original procedure time was 2pm but was asked to come earlier since they had an opening. I got there at 1 pm and didnt have to wait; they took me straight to the back. I was fitted for the garment and filled all the paperwork. The anesthesiologist was very nice as well. I remember him pushing propofol in my iv and I was out. When I woke up, I felt like I was hit by a truck and all the weight was on my back. The post op nurse was very nice, gave me gatorade and asked me to get on all 4s. (Note!: Do upper body exercises! Having upper body strength is a must! ). It was the hardest and most painful thing I have ever done. I finally made it back to the room and they tell you to drink 2 gallons of water a day. (Note! Peeing a lot puts you at risk for losing potassium). First night was hard. I went to the bathroom every hour to 1.5 hr. I had a jackson-pratt (jp) drain which filled up like in 20 min. Dumping all that blood makes you realize how much is being lost. I couldn't stand for more than a few seconds all day Saturday and I think it may had to do with anesthesia. I tried to walk as much as possible but only did when I had to use the bathroom. Sunday was a lot better. Walked a lot and stayed out of hed for at least an hour three times that day.

So my procedure was on a Fri and on Sun evening I started having some slight chest pain. I attributed it to lying on my stomach for so long so I just repositioned myself. On Monday evening, I got the chest pain again and a friend convinced me to go to the ER just to make sure it wasn't a clot or anything, so I did. Well, before surgery my Hgb was 12.1 and at the ER it was 9. Ok, to be expected, I just had surgery and my drain did put out alot the first couple days but it had slowed down a bunch by then. Testing was done and no clot was found! But, my potassium level was 3.0 (needs to be above 3.9) and my WBCs were 14 (needs to be below 10). A potassium level less than 3 is usually critical and an imbalance in potassium can cause cardiac dysrythmias and even cardiac arrest. They gave 3 tablets of potassium to correct that. My CK was elevated in which they gave me 3 liters of fluid to correct. CK is a marker for mucle damage and helps identify heart attacks but I just had lipo and so I had some skeletal muscle irritation/inflammation. Also, since I just had the surgery, my WBCs should be elevated because an elevation in WBCs not only means a sign of infection but is also a sign of inflammation. So they decided to keep me overnight just to rule out infection. Tues morning, I met the hospitalist and told me he doubts its an infection and that he wanted me to stay til Wednesday, receive IV fluids and some antibiotics, just to be sure. I obliged. The infectious disease Dr. visited later that evening and took a look at my drain and incision sites. He said everything looks great and also doubted it was an infection. Wenesday comes, my blood is drawn early in the morning. Bad news!! My Hgb dropped from 9 to 7! Transfusions are typically given when its 8 or below. The dr ordered 2 units (bags) to be transfused and said I can leave afterwards. So, an hour after the blood was finished, they redrew me, and I can't remember my results but I was able to leave. A low Hgb can cause you to go in to cardiac arrest. Also, my heart rate the entire time I was there sustained in the 130s and it could've very well been the low Hgb.
What concerns me is that other women may ignore these signs and eventually die when these issues could be easily corrected.
Also, peeing a lot can cause you to lose potassium so it's important to eat potassium rich foods.