11 Weeks out...life goes on

Ladies, I know I have not said much in quite some time. I am going to make this quick and add more when I can dedicate a bit more effort. I will say take my silence as a good sign, if I had complaints I would be much more vocal, but I healed without a glitch and life has moved forward. I am back to working crazy hours and having very little time for anything. I sit, dance, sleep, move any damn way I please. I hear some people say they are still not sitting or lying down on the booty this far out, I feel at this point it is healed and if you have loss nothing can stop it.
I quit messing with garments and corsets and have committed myself to a healthier lifestyle. I did quite a bit of research and waist training only last for as long as your committed to wearing the garments and corsets. Even Cathie Jung who has worn corsets for decades and arguably has the smallest adult waist in the world says if she leaves her corset off to long she begins to gain the inches back! This is after decades of wearing a corset for 24 hours a day. I feel that while it was great for compression after lipo, I sure the hell will not wear a damn thing in my daily life. My man cannot stand walking up and grabbing me and feeling that [RS bleep]! I want to look naked, not stuffed into stuff!
Trust me this long recovery can be a mental challenge, but if you heal well you have to move on!
Am I happy? So far so good… We do not see what others see; when he saw me he went crazy (he is deployed). On New Year’s people kept asking to take pictures and telling me I have a body like Coco. I am very satisfied. Do I look like Buffy? No, but I am currently 36H 29 45 and I feel wonderful. My clothes look great. Do I have some minor issues-of course I am a woman- I feel that my lower back still has some fat, and I want more fullness in my lower butt, but my man said I am a loon.
I will try to email you ladies some pics. Hang in there on your journey. Remind yourself life does go on. Happy new Year to each of you ?

Good morning Beauties,
After this I will not update for a month or more, unless I run into a problem, or big change. I am/will be available for questions.
Today is my four week mark. I will tell you it gets better each week (the healing progress). The first seven days you will probably be weak, tired, uncomfortable, and feeling trapped-if you wanted a huge booty, you will love the swelling. Week one is challenging, but it will pass. Week two you will begin getting antsy, you are still very swollen and that ass is probably fat. You are stiff and even more uncomfortable because you have been slithering around on your belly like a python. Try to take it easy, don’t be in such a rush to enjoy the new you that you start breaking post op rules. You may have a very hard time sleeping; you did a lot of sleeping during that first week. You will probably be off antibiotics on week two, you will be grateful, my doctor’s protocol is three different antibiotics for two weeks, I was very pleased with this combination as the bases were covered as far as bacteria goes. The third week you are up and about more, you are actually getting dressed and feeling like a human. This week for me I was very critical, I noticed flaws I had not noticed before, I made myself look at my post op pics, yes many of those flaws were already there, I just had not been looking that closely. I was very swollen on my back and tummy during week threw and the butt was growing softer. You may feel like you lost major ass, most likely you have lost major swelling and inflammation. At week four you are most likely back to full activities. I would suggest if possible you take four weeks off work; it will take a huge load of stress off you. I had to start working and driving at week two, every time I sat down, yes with a pillow, I felt like I was on a murder spree on fat cells. Like I said before this is a relatively new procedure, doctors really do not know exactly when your fat will connect to its much needed blood supply; they just got off trial and error and what they have observed. Each person’s body and metabolism is different, it is easier mentally to err on the side of caution.
As for my progress…my butt is now soft and jiggly. I of course have my critiques, but it is minor issues and nothing major. Remember in real life we are not photo shopped. My friend recently showed me a photo of lolo angel that was on MTO. Everyone loves that big booty, but damn I was shocked, the cellulite was awful (we are so used to seeing her after editing that flaws are heightened because of our previously height expectations of her and other famous females). Her booty was very saggy, and very wrinkly at the bottom. My advice is google chicks you want as wish bodies and try to find unedited results. Remember even I phone apps now have skin smoothers ect, but untouched photos still float around. This realist expectation may help you. Ok, back to me ? I would have liked more fullness at the bottom, he put a lot of fullness up top, I also feel like the back could be sculpted a bit more. However there is a lipo limit in Florida and the doctor cannot always predict what will happen once he starts. That is again why I say be closer to your ideal weight. However my before and afters tell a great story. I am just picky. I am also still swollen, at first my back rolls seemed very dominate, but I see an improvement as time goes on. Give yourself time. I was cleared to work out, and started yesterday, I am active duty and staying fit is part of my job. I am expected to be able to easily pass my frequent physical fitness tests. I was told no more than 30 minutes of cardio (try to be around 300 calories) a day, plus unlimited strength training. I did the stair stepper for 30 minutes and worked upper body, I was sore, but it felt good. If you did not pound out the gym before do not start now, take it easy. Remember if you lose weight your fat cells will shrink all over, so your butt may go down, but the fat cells are not gone they are just smaller, what is yours is yours. Fat cells are permanent, when you lose weight they get smaller, but they do not die. Also you will shrink fat cells as your normally do, so it will be overall sculpting, not just your booty. I have gotten used to the size of my butt, at times I think it is very small, but the reaction I get is insane. Men and women approach me and tell me I am beautiful, at the gym they asked if I was a trainer. I have not posted the best photos. My man is deployed and I am not asking my kids to take pics, that is just ratchet. So I am always doing those funny mirror photos. I would have liked more volume at the bottom, but not by sacrificing the volume up top. I also feel like the better we look, the better we want to look. My doctor is very receptive and responsive, the one big complaint I have is his office, I just do not feel like the women working there have a professional approach nor a strong attention to detail, but I am also harder on them because I am a nurse. There are several women there who are great, but if you run into one that irks you, try to look past her. So with that said, I email the doctor directly, he always responds within 24 hours. He makes himself available before and after, that to me is a miracle, I know many doctors who will not contact patients directly, they go through the nurse. I sent him photos, he highlighted what he liked and also…wait for it…what could be better! I am only four week out, he wants monthly photos, right now it is still early, but he has never once blown me off, I hope it continues to be that way. Will I go back, that will be for me and my doctor to decide, I want to see where I am at in six months. As I said I would like lower fullness and a smoother back, but it is too early to make any decisions. I still have major swelling. This doctor does not utilize drains for BBL and lipo procedures, I really liked this, he lets your body do the work and get rid of fluid, this may contribute to a longer period of swelling, but I do not know, what I do know is drains are hard to deal with, they seem to contribute to seroma and infection. I had a puffy spot by my belly button, you could see it in my pics, I thought perhaps I was starting to get a seroma, I wasn’t too worried, I stuck a needle in there to see if it would drain, not a drop, it was just a spot with swelling. Yes, nurses make the worst patients. I have not had any complications thus far besides insomnia and that is not really a complication. Moral of that story, your body is healing; certain areas will be more swollen than others, that tummy swelling is already going down. I wear a squeem most of the day and sometimes to sleep in. I also ordered a steel boned corset, I am going to begin a light waist training. After kids my waist has always been large, before surgery it was about 38 inches today it is about 30.5, through a healthy lifestyle and a waist training regimen I would like to each 27 inches by this time next year, I feel like that will happen sooner though. I was complaining yesterday to my BBL sister Reesyvaugn that I feel like my butt was smaller this week, I measured and it is still holding at 44 inches.
Happy Journey ladies. Remember you will read and hear a lot. There is not a doctor in the world with 100% satisfaction rate. It seems like doctor popularity comes in waves on this site, do not hope on the band wagon, think for yourself. Do not become a herd of BBL sheep. Use this site as a research tool, check other sites, and be sure to check the board of plastic surgery for any serious events or complaints. Look at pre and post pics from docs, if you still see a bandage, that post of pic is not worth a damn, because the first few weeks there is major swelling, ask to see more photos of that same person 4 months out, six months out, a year out. My ass was crazy big the first few weeks, but swelling goes away. You really have to choose a doctor that fits you; there are plenty of wonderful doctors out there. Voice any concerns you may have, have no shame telling a doctor what you have heard and what you want to avoid. If you trust someone with your life, then tell them “docs please do not rush my case” “docs this is my goals, is this realistic”? Doctors are people. I still have a unsure rating, I will probably not change that until six months at, at this point was it worth it to me, hell yes, but this procedure is volatile and I want to see where I am at in a few months.
Happy holidays ladies and gents. I wish you all a very safe and happy journey. Remember this review is my story only and does not represent the BBL community as a whole. Support each other, when someone shares, they are taking their time out of a busy life to do so. Blessings to all.

Good Morning Ladies,
Today is day 21 post-op for me, so week 3. I have been giving the recovery process for the BBL procedure a lot of thought, more so for myself, but I will share my thoughts with you. I have had C/Sections, a breast reduction, and a tummy tuck in the past; with the exception of the C/Sect the other surgeries were of course elective. I wondered to myself…Why does this procedure and its recovery feel so mentally draining. Here is what I came up with: This procedure is relatively new, you may argue that it has been around for almost two decades, well that is new as for as medical procedures. Plastic surgery is not an exact science, it is trial and error with years and years of combined evidence based practice. I know we want to think of our surgeons as all knowing, but they will be the first to admit that despite their knowledge and skill, plastic surgery is not concrete. So back to the BBL…the part that I find challenging is the realm of not knowing, yes my doctor put in 2400CC however I do not know how much will reabsorb, how much of what I am seeing is swelling and I have no way to anticipate where I will be in 6 months. Now think of this compared to breast implants, they are contained-You know the CC size put in is what you will have at the end, yes perhaps there will be swelling and shape change, but not to the extent you see with BBL. This is not complaint, only observation and refection of my own journey. When I researched my breast reduction, I did the research and picked a surgeon and was done, I never found myself updating a blog, or comparing other breast reduction photos to mine, I had the procedure, I healed and I was done. After BBL I find myself on this site almost as much and it truly is a mentally challenging recovery (at least for me). I just thought I would share these thoughts, I had someone text me and she stated she felt like she would go crazy looking at this site, I wanted to let you know these feelings are shared by others and are natural.
As for me…All is going well. I have not had any major complications so far. My bruising is gone, but I am still very swollen. My biggest hurdle was insomnia. I had the worst time trying to sleep. I asked my surgeon for an Ambien prescription, I was well aware of the possible side effects. I took it for a few days and it was great, knocked me out almost like anesthesia would! I mean one second I was awake, next thing I knew I was waking up 10 hours later. Well one day I woke up wearing a big rosary that usually hangs on my wall; I looked in the mirror and was like “WTF”. Well apparently I jumped out of bed, running through the house punching and kicking like a ninja on meth and screaming bloody murder about a shadow man, I do not remember this, but family does! They are traumatized. It makes me laugh like crazy, and I am happy no one was hurt during this craziness, now out of the many nights I took this, it only happened once. Did I take it again after that, yes I did, but be aware with any substance you ingest there can be side effects.
I am still in a nit-picky stage, which is driving everyone around me crazy. I have been compliant with my post op instructions. I had to start driving and working at two weeks, I know some people like to push this to 4-6 weeks, but this was not possible. I have worn my garment religiously with a squeem garment (waist cincher) over the top of it. My surgeon provides the butt covered garment, initially I was swayed by different reviews and almost switched to a butt out garment, but if I trust my doctor with my life, I figure I need to trust his experience with this and listen to his post op instructions. Surgeons vary slightly in their techniques and recommendations, I would advise you listen to your doctor and not a layman.
This recovery is not easy, it is a challenge to not sit, not sleep in any position you want, and to lay low for so many weeks. However it can be and has been successfully done. I am feeling better each day. I am swollen and stiff, but not in pain. I have mentioned it before and will mention it again; thus far my biggest regret is not being at a more ideal weight. I went into surgery at 170 ish. I am 5’5 ½. I do not blamed my doctor recommendation to be this weight as it is extremely challenging to do a consult via skype and not in person, but I was not willing to fly there for a consult. I recommend you look at yourself, do not just be focused on a big butt, because a big butt means very little if you are not happy with the frame it is on. I plan on losing 15 pounds and I am fully aware this may affect my results. Some days I am thrilled and other days I am like eh. I think that is a part of the healing process. Having surgery makes you inspect yourself much closer. Remind yourself the human body is not symmetrical, no surgeon can completely make it so, and in the OR things may look a certain way and then change as you heal.
I get messages asking about my doctor: I highly recommend Dr. Salzhauer. I think he is highly skilled, knowledgeable, and responsive. He was available via skype, phone, and email before my surgery and has remained so. Do I look like Santiago? No! Will you look like me? Nope! We are all shaped differently. However you can see the big difference in my before and after’s, and I am still healing. I have not had any issues thus far. That does not mean someone else that follows me will not have infection or seroma. There will be people unhappy with him, just like there are with other doctors, it is how he responds to complaints and critiques that matters. I do not hesitate to recommend him. It really is hard when something happens we do not expect. I went through a really bad recovery for my TT, so I know how that feels, but read each review and meet with doctors and pick the surgeon for you. You are not going to find a surgeon that every single patient has been happy with, but do the research!
I hope I continue to heal well. If I develop any issues I will be sure to post it. I appreciate all the compliments, but I do not mind positive critiques either. You do not have to be impressed with everyone’s results.
If you celebrate Thanksgiving, I wish you a very happy and safe holiday. I will update again at four weeks and I am always available for questions.