I am 33 year old female and over the past year I...
I am 33 year old female and over the past year I have lost 80 lbs. I was obese from 7 to 15 years old; at 15 to 21 I went to the other extreme to lose weight but eventually gained it all back and then some. Now at the ripe old age of 33 :) I have finally done it the right way and I want to be able to get rid of the loose skin and see what my body should have been like from the start.
The decision to do plastic surgery is not something I took lightly (I pine over having to fly let alone undergoing elective surgery). After reading tons of reviews on all the sites: realself, health grades, vitals, ratemds, school rankings, hospital rating, us news and even yelp I booked my consults based on research and the doctors before & after gallery. I went to 3 consults which felt like the Goldilocks and the Three Bears story: one was arrogant, one was old fashion and one was perfect.
Consult One: The first wanted to put me under for 8 hours, do a full lower body lift, fat grafting on my butt, lipo and BA/BL. His work looked very impressive but his attitude stunk. I was very worried about the surgery and asked if he every lost anyone and he flippantly say - where in the hospital?(add snicker here). He also brought up and bragged that I had to wait a hour to see him because he was being praised by the patent before me. In the end I couldn't go with him - even though his work looked good his attitude was horrible, I wouldn't trust him and hospital affiliation wasn't so good.
Consult Two: This guy was very sweet and conservative. He recommended a TT, BA and BL. He wanted to keep the surgery under 6 hours and wouldn't even include lipo for fear it might but it over 6 hours. He seemed very nice but just not for me.
Consult Three: Dr Glatt was very straight forward and caring from beginning to end. He took my concerns seriously and takes extra precautions which I appreciate. Based on his recommendation I have booked my surgery (TT, BL/BA and lipo) for Dec 14th and will hopefully be able to sleep a few nights before then :).
Can I still back-out?
Ok guys I’m officially freaking out. I was doing so well in the nerves department until I started reading this consent package. I know it’s probably normal protocol but having to sign off on all the risks in writing is making me have second thoughts. I’m really afraid of the surgery itself, so I’ve been telling myself it’s no big deal but the consent forms make it WAY too official.
Also I was away at a conference all last week and when I got home Saturday morning I had a huge bruise on the back of my calf. I went to the nurse at my work and she thinks it’s just a spider bite but might need to put me on antibiotics - Just another thing to amp up my stress level. Sorry for the rant :)
Ok, Game face...
Ok, I'm officially one month out and going back to the gym tomorrow. So here are my pics, I will try to post weekly to see the changes.
I have my pre-op next week and still need to settle on implant size - Any suggestions?
(I am 5'7" )
Here are a few more..
here are a few more self pics, along with a few implants pics I'm thinking about taking with me to the pre-op.. Any thoughts?( Note that I'm wearing a VS padded bra in the pics)
Nervous
I had my pre-op which went well, I paid for everything and now I'm super nervous. I was excited but the closer it gets the more I obsess about the surgery. I'm trying to focus on Christmas to keep my mind off it but it's not helping much.
My doctor is a firm believer in not discussing implant size which logically I total understand but being OCD I'm totally obsessing about.
Holiday Season
I am still trying to figure out if having the procedures done in the holiday season is a good or bad thing. On the one hand there is a lot going on to distract you but on the other hand most of those distractions are centered around food. Thanksgiving was hard, I went in determined to eat clean but I caved and had wine - so of course I am now in the beating myself up mode.
I have 2 weeks until surgery - I bought pretty much everything I will need. I have the recliner, heating pads, sports bras, Tylenol, ExLax, Anti-Bac soaps, Smooth move tea, ointments, bandages - I think I'm set. I'm planning to take advantage of the Cyber Monday sales and pick up some VS PJ sets and bikini bottom(maybe).
Hope everyone is doing well.
Pre-Op Check up
Not sure if everyone has this but my doctor had me go to a pre-surgery check up with the hospital. They check your temp, blood pressure, oxygen, pulse and draw blood. Everything went well.
The nurse that took my blood actually had the same procedure done and she was super supportive and excited for me. But then I had to meet with a second nurse that went over my medical information and surgical risks. She said being that I have never had surgery before we don't know how I will react to anesthesia - I'm sure this is all protocol but it freaked me out. I wish the first nurse did the whole appointment!
Excited-ish
So I'm oscillating between terrified and excited. My doctor gave me Valium and said it would be ok to take it the night before and the morning of - Has anyone done this? I'm afraid to give it a test run in case its not strong enough, right now it's my safety net :)
As far as prep goes I think I'm set. I have all my meds, supplies, sports bras and PJs packed. One thing weighing heavy on my mind is my implant size. My doctor is very big on using pictures and not discussing cc or final cup size. So I keep freaking out that they will come out smaller looking on me then the picture. I'm OCD what can I say - it's hard not to know final size going into it. I'm including my wish pic - These look D cup right?
I'm also a true coffee junkie and I've been debating about quitting for the surgery. The doctor said its ok to drink coffee up to the day before surgery so I guess its not really needed, and I'm guessing caffeine withdrawal would be managed via the pain killers anyway no?
Thanks for the support, hope everyone is doing good.
Excited
Ok, So two days to the big day and mentally in a lot better shape then I thought I would be – sleeping thru the night is hard though. Today I spent the day food shopping/cleaning. Tomorrow I will finish cleaning, set up the recliner and prep food for the week.
I will take measurements and before pictures tomorrow morning. I go to the hospital at 6 am on Saturday.
Crazy Nervous
Wow – I can’t let that it’s the day before surgery sink in or I’ll freak out. Yesterday I straightened the house, washed the dog and went food shopping. Today I cleaned the house, set up the recovery areas and cooked for the week.
As previously dwelled on my doctor doesn’t tell you cup size/ccs so I have been getting up nervous, which is stupid because I totally trust my doctor. I hope I have time with the doctor tomorrow to talk about the implants and lipo areas when he’s doing the markings.
I uploaded before pics from this morning. In the last month I lost 8lbs but I was really hoping for 10lb. Maybe a good night’s sleep with the help of valium will drop the last 2 lbs? :)
Surgery is tomorrow at 6 am and we are due for a snow storm (4-8 inches). I’m not too concerned being I live really close to the hospital and I’m staying overnight. Fresh snow = Fresh start – right?
Thank you everyone for your well wishes and support!!! ::hugs::
Flat side
My surgery was yesterday at 6, Here is my first pic...
Home
I'm home but in a lot of pain.I'm taking Vicodin and Valium. The doctor must have sewed all my muscles - it kills. Also i'm completely grossed out about my belly button - it hurts and feels SO weird.
The binder keeps riding up , not sure if thats normal
Healing
Hope everyone is doing well. I'm starting to feel a little better today, at least less pain. I Still haven't had a BM so I'm a little concerned about that - I took some smooth move tea last night and some prunes this morning. I think I'll have my normal meals today (including coffee) so hopefully that'll do the trick.
I have this weird squishing sound near my left breast when I move my left arm - Anyone else get that?
Also I'm afraid my implants are too small. I'm 5'7, size 6, 34 in rib cage and I was a empty B. The doctor put 460 cc silicone gel in under the muscle. Do the implants get bigger looking? Right now I feel like they are small.
Sorry I have been in too much pain to post - I will try to get some pics after today's's shower
MIA
I feel like its been a while. My healing is going well- I think the biggest problem is me. It's really hard for me to lay around all day and not do anything. Yesterday I was feeling good so I decided to clean the house and wash clothes(in the basement) - which I paid for last night. I really need to relax.
I am also trying to get on my normal diet. I have been living on soups, ice tea and half sandwiches. It's not like I have been eating junk but because its not my normal diet I feel like a pig. So today I'm trying to go back to my normal diet. Breakfast was very filling.
As for my tummy - it feels SO weird. I am hoping that once these drains come out the discomfort in my belly goes away. Right now I really can't go any period of time without my CG. When I don't have it on I feel like my stomach can't support itself or something - it's uncomfortable and a bit painful. Again I am hoping that going on my normal diet today and getting the drains out on Monday will help me. Right now I feel pretty messed up in the tummy department (I'm taking Valium and Tylenol for pain).
I think my doctor did a amazing job I just wish the swelling would go down. I also need to get some cardio in ASAP. Right now I don't even feel like going out for Christmas :(
Surgery Experience
Ok, given that my biggest fear was the surgery itself it's only fair I actually write about it...
The night before surgery I took a Valium and I was actually able to sleep the night. I was scheduled to be at the hospital at 6 am so I got up at 4:45 am and took another Valium, took a shower using Dial and Hibicleans and got dressed. I wore lulu and sneakers in, and brought VS PJs to wear out.
I should mention that my surgery was on a Saturday AND we had a snow storm, so the hospital was pretty quiet when we got there at 6 am. We waited about 30-40 mins to get checked in and then they took me into the back to change.
I wasn't nearly as out of it as I'd hope a Valium would make me but I handled everything very well. When they brought me back they had me put all my clothes in a plastic bag and I changed into a heated gown and booties which were super nice because I get cold really quick. After I was changed and in bed they let my husband back to stay with me. The nurse came in and placed the IV line and they gave me some meds and a Heprin shot.
The doctor came in shortly after that and marked me up – which I didn’t even look at – I just told him to go as low as possible. He was very professional and I trusted him throughout the entire process. After I was marked the doctor took a few pics, then introduced me to the anesthesiologist, which happened to be the previous Head of Anesthesiology for the Hospital – which put my mind at ease. He was very nice, we talked briefly and he gave me a cocktail to relax me. Before I knew it I was being wheeled into the OR (this was the part I had been worried about weeks in the making). When I got into the OR they adjusted my arms and asked if they were comfortable before they secured them. After that they set up briefly, I remember looking ahead of me and seeing the two OR clocks – it was 8 am. The anesthesiologist told me he was going to give me some medicine and to think of something nice - I had enough time to tell him what I was going to think about and I was asleep. The next thing I remember was being in my room. The surgery was 6 hours and they removed 2 lbs of skin. I had a pain pump and remained catheterized until I left the next day.
My surgery experience was excellent. The procedure was performed at Morristown Memorial Hospital in NJ – both the staff and the hospital exceeded my expectations. A big thanks to everyone involved!
Drains Are Out!!!
So today the drains came out!!! I was really nervous but I didn’t even feel them come out. In fact I felt so good that I thought I didn’t need pain medication anymore, which is not the case – I just took some Tylenol. :) The doctor also took off the tape on my TT incision which wasn’t the best feeling but having the drains out and the binder on nice and low feels great.
The doctor said he is very happy with the results and I can start to chest massages and scar cream.
I am a little nervous about how I’m going to feel Christmas Eve/Christmas day. We have a lot of family gatherings and today was my first adventure outside the house. But I can stand up pretty straight and hopefully with the right meds I’ll be able to hangout.
Happy Healing!
Update
So the recovery has had a lot of ups and downs. I thought I was doing great until I got PMS/Period. My first cycle was 3 weeks after the surgery and it completely kicked my butt. Thankfully I was cleared for Advil but I was still hunched and bloated - I hope this is just a first time back type of thing.
I can now stand 90% straight - I am not sure if its the TT or BA that still has me a little bent. I don't want to force it and stretch anything I'm not supposed to.
BA/BL Update: Still wearing my sports bras - I haven't been cleared for a "real" bra yet but excited to see what that'll look like. Now in hindsight I'm glad my doctor took control of the implant sizing. I ended up with a 460cc gel and I think any bigger would have been too much. I was taking measurements and I think I'm a 34DDD which sounds crazy but need to go try bras on and wait for all the swelling to go down.
TT Update: I am still wearing my binder, which is my security blanket. I got the ok to wear it half the time and SPANX the other but still hesitant to try the SPANX. I go back to work on Monday and SPANX would be easier under clothes but I feel weird sitting without my binder.
Overall recovery has been good, largely do to my husband. He has really been wonderful, between giving my shots for 10 days and being at my beck and call since day one I can't say thank you enough.
Happy Healing!
