After being on real self for about 6 months and deciding against going to DR for the surgery I found Dr. Mel Ortega in Miami. I like that he works on women with curves and after reading his reviews I feel I will be in great hands. I leave for surgery in 3 days and I am excited. I live in Florida so I will be driving there on Dec.2 to pick up my prescription and get information about where the recovery house will be in order to prepare for surgery on Dec. 3 . I will upload before pictures when I get to the recovery house to help keep me busy and my review of everything so far. Anyone going to MIAMI around that time? Wish me luck!
32 Yrs 2 C-sections - Miami, FL
After being on real self for about 6 months and...
I'm in Miami b!@#!
Today I drove down from Orlando to the surgery center. If anyone is like me and wanted emails and phone calls returned immediately....please know they are just busy and it's not intentional. When I arrived there were many people in the waiting room . I waited for about 15- 20 minutes and I met with finance to pay the balance and another hour to see the nurse to take my pictures and go over the medication, post op care instructions and my surgery time for the morning. I think the staff is nice, just overly busy. After driving hours I finally ate and took my time exploring a little bit of the area. I'm just pulling up to the recovery house. The nurse left to fill prescriptions so I'm in my truck waiting on his return. When I get settled in the house I will finally upload my pics. The only part that sucked today was the parking. Its a small area. Maybe a car could have found parking but i wasnt so lucky in a SUV. I quickly found a nice spot on another side street. Not a big deal.
Day of surgery
Ok... so I I got to the recovery house last night. It's a nice home. However, I thought it actually nurses taking care of you. Its just a way that people traveling alone can still have their surgery and have someone pick them up. It's about 8 girls staying in the house. Everyone is super nice and helps each out. I have my mm at 9 so I am leaving here around 7. I'm a little nervous but I'm just happy to finally getting this done....im sure I will post more when I get to the surgery center if there is a wait.
Post op
Ok..ladies...its done! Ive been back to top recovery home for a few hours. The staff and the Doctor were all nice and explained everything to me. I still am waiting for on my meds...but I brought extra strength Tylenol with me to take until my meds are ready. The pain is tolerable, I'm just taking my time. I am still bent over walking very similar to a c section. I won't be sleeping in a bed, I have to sleep in a recliner due to my boobs...its easier to get up from. I will post pictures later on.
1 day post op
Okay, it's been 24 hours since my surgery. I'm still sore, but the pain is manageable. I take them on time so I am not hurting. I was able to shower today, the recovery house has chair in the shower to sit, it's easier than trying to stand without falling all while slightly bent over. I have my follow up appointment tomorrow to check my healing progress. I have pictures , I will upload them soon.
3 days post op
I'm almost able to stand up all the way. I have a lot of gas building up so I try to stand or walk around to help relieve the pressure.
4 days post op
Ok. I am taking my pain meds less often and moving around the house more because I am building up has in my stomach. I have showered every day after the first 24 hrs were over. I had my post op appt with the nurse, and everything is healing fine. I'm still sore and taking miralax to help with the constipation from taking iron and the pain pills.
Day 7 post op
Ok, so I am back home and still pretty sore. Initially I was going to write a review telling everyone to be patient and about getting calls and emails returned because they are extremely busy at all times. But the day before I left, I had my final appointment. It was scheduled for 11am, I was the absolute last person to leave out of the surgery center after 5 pm. They dont communicate well and didnt know I was waiting on Dr. Ortega. He is really nice but way overbooked. They need to hire more surgeons and relocate to a bigger office. They are clean and polite, but a little too busy to function properly. The work that Dr. Ortega did was great and the lady that does the drain massages was really nice, even though she is seriously thorough with the message, you feel better once it's over with. I still have my drains in, so I have to see if my primary doctor, who is local, will remove my drains after next Saturday so I can begin the faja stage. Right now I'm just trying to stay away from the sodium because my belly has been swollen for the last few days. I have been eating too much turkey which is high in sodium. Soon more fruits and veggies it is
I will add more photos later.
I will add more photos later.
11 days post op
Ok..so I'm still swollen but I'm making progress. Yesterday was the last day of pain meds. I made an appointment with my primary doctor to pull my drains out on Monday. Ladies please don't forget to get your Faja on your last visit with your surgeon. That was another issue I had prior to leaving Miami. It is included in the price that most people are paying. I'm sore and still having to clean my bandages. I'm hoping by Monday when I am wearing my faja I will have a little more back support. I'm walking faster now but still a tad bit bent over.
Day 14 post op
Ok, so honestly the last 2 weeks have flown by. I'm not in any pain. My stomach is still pretty swollen but my breast are softening up . I have a follow up appointment on Monday to get by drains taken out. I'm only drains 5-10 ml a day. I have to remind myself to stand up straight. My stomach is still so tight and it's almost easier to walk bent over. I'm not walking 100% straight, I'm 90%. I've been reading other people post who've had tt and still drinking orange and pineapple juice, of course water. I massage my stomach and sides daily. Since being back home im trying to not pick up my little one. He is under one so its challenging at times. I will post pictures in the morning. I just want to say that this process has been real! In my opinion my pain was tolerable because I took my medicine on time. I set alarms on my phone for reminders, even overnight. Just like having a c section, you have to move around to keep the gas down and eat the right food.In the recovery house i stayed in only one other lady got a tt. Everyone else was their getting a bbl. It seemed that Dr. Ortega specializes in tt. The other docs specialized in bbl.
15 days post op
Hey yall!!! So I'm super bloated today...im sure you can guess why, but I'm glad she's hear or all of this pain and discomfort would have been destroyed! My tape has come off of my nipples area from showering. They are sensitive so I'm glad I can feel both nipples. Most of my discomfort of my breast is at the incision underneath my breast. So I don't sleep in a bra. I have these weird tank tops that are tight and stretchy almost like a sports bra. I won't attempt to waist train until I heal more. My drain sights are super sensitive still so I keep them covered up. I'm hoping my appointment with my primary doctor goes well and I return home without these drains so I can put on clothes without sweaters. Wish me luck....sorry I almost forgot to mention my stretch marks. They were worse than this, but the are swollen and painfully off and on. I've rubbed arnica gel to ease the burning sensation.
16 days post op
Okay ladies..I went to my doctor's appointment and she refused to take my drains out. I understood 100% because she didn't do the surgery and it's a liability for her. So, I called spectrum to make an appointment to have the drains removed. They advised me to take them out myself. So I pulled my big girl panties up and I did it myself. I cleaned a pair of small scissors and tweezers and cut my stitches and pulled the drains out. I was so scared to do it and it didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. So just as a word of advice if they tell you to get your stitches taken out by your doctor, 9 times out of 10 they won't do it. It wasn't bad, I am just the least medical type of person. I finished up like I performed open heart surgery! I have my faja on and the support is 100% better. Hopefully this compression helps with my swelling. I will keep you all updated with pictures soon.
30 days post op!
Well hello ladies. It has been a month since I've gotten my mm of. The time has gone by so fast. I am happy with my results. I've lost 10 lbs just by eating light. However with the holidays I gained a few back. I have been walking more and more as the weeks went past. I even went bike riding the other day for a few miles. I will be reaching out to Dr. Ortega to see if he wants me to come in for my slow healing right breast. I'm blaming myself not them. I don't know if I mentioned that I have a baby that's not 1 yet. So yes I picked him up before I was suppose to. I feel that may have contributed to my breast not healing properly. I m not in any pain, it's sensitive. I am back at work now , yes I took 30 days off just so I would be ready and healed. I will keep you all updated. Good luck to the women who have their surgery coming up. It was worth every cent.
2 months post op
Hello!! First day back in the gym due to the right breast healing slower than the left. It healed on its own so I can't complain! My stomach is still super tight. With a light diet alone I'm 168....so I plan on losing at least 20 more pounds or down to 25% body fat. The lighting in the gym suck but my scar on my waist is healing good. Im only putting cocoa butter on twice a day. I will keep updating my gym progress also.
2 months and a week
Hello. I just want to mention a few things...my booty is finally back to normal. I felt so flat after sitting for so long. Underneath my breast are still sensitive so I run with as much support as I can get. I just started back doing setups and ab workouts.. .my stomach is still really tight. My core isn't strong so I'm rebuilding my strength back up. I have the scars on my hips towards my booty where the tunes were. They arent flat yet so I try to wear a garment that will include compression for that area. My scars are healing good, but some areas are harder than others. The faja isn't tight enough alone so I wear a waist trainer on top of that. Aside from the fact that I hate wearing it because it makes going to the bathroom such a task. Until next month!!
