About to Have Lipo of my lower stomach, hips, and back fat! Ontario, CA

It was last Thursday when I had my surgery. I'm happy to report that I feel better each day! Today I'm not in any pain at all, just swollen and bloated, which I hate of course. Oh, and the bruises, oh my god. If I had to show up at the hospital for any reason they'd think I had been hit by a truck, haha. They don't hurt at all, just look terrible.

The day I showed up for the surgery I was happy that the nurse who prepped me told me to make sure that after the doctor came in and marked me up, to make sure I was 'marked' where I expected to be, and no area I had been expecting to be done had been left unmarked. That made total sense of course. Just before I went into the surgical room, I went to the bathroom and checked all the markings in the mirror. As expected, he did exactly what we had discussed, of course. But still, the nurse was right to suggest I check. That way, I'll never wonder if he 'missed' an area later if I feel the fat looks the 'same' to me.

He removed almost 4 litres in the end. When I woke up, my only complaint, if anything, was a severe case of shivers I couldn't stop for a short period of time until the nurse bundled me up in a pile of warm blankets. But even that wasn't a huge deal of course. No pain, no discomfort, only a tiny bit of nausea, which I had expected. The nurse gave me something for that right away.

I want to mention how wonderful the anesthesiologist was. I liked how warm and caring he seemed, so very reassuring, answering all questions and carefully asking me about my medical history, making sure everything was covered. He really radiated professionalism and genuine caring. Exactly what you want of course from the guy who is going to be holding your life in his hands :) Seriously, though, he was really great. I assume his expertise also contributed to how good I felt afterwards, none of that usual feelings of wanting to throw up for a day or more after being put to sleep. Just a few minutes right after I woke up, but otherwise, it was fine. I normally get sick after surgery so I was so happy not to this time.

The nurses were also amazing. Kind and patient and professional. They loaded me up with extra pads to use in my hotel so I wouldn't mess up the hotel linens, and also gave me a baggie with a sweet note (signed by all of them) with a couple of chocolates and suckers! So thoughtful and kind.

I haven't taken off my garment yet (will later today for a shower, thank god!) but I have peeked at stuff and so far, so good. I know I"m still swollen and weigh more (as my doctor predicted) after the surgery than I did that morning just before, but I know it's all fluid retention.

I'll upload some more pictures soon. I took a ton the night before so I would have a lot of 'before' pictures to compare my new shape to :)

Yesterday the doctor's office called and we did the 'pre-op' over the phone since I'll be making a five hour drive to my appointment on the 3rd. I appreciate that they were willing to do it over the phone. The patient coordinator just mainly wanted to ensure I actually had read the information package they gave me at my appointment when I met with the doctor. She even asked me what "two fruits are randomly inserted in the text?" Wasn't sure if I thought that was insulting or funny. I remember having read the information stuff (who wouldn't?) and thinking they were typos, lol.

I feel nervous and excited, though. Today is August 26, I actually have the surgery on September 3rd! Like a lot of the other people on here whose journey's I've also read about and followed, I'm now in the stage of wondering if I'm an idiot to be spending this much money ($12,000 Canadian, plus tax!) to have lipo. I'm secretly worried I'm going to be majorly disappointed and feel like I wasted my money. I keep thinking about him saying he'll be able to remove about 70% of the fat in my rolls, and wondering why only 70%? Why not 80 or 95%? And wishing I had asked when I was with him.

I'll be driving down the night before (on the 2nd) and then seeing him the day after the surgery (on the 4th) before driving back home. Well, I won't be driving, my husband will. I'm going to try and upload some of my 'before' pictures now. Thanks to anyone who is reading this :)

I'm 5"7 and weigh about 225 pounds. At my highest I was 328 but have managed to slowly over the past 12 years or so, (going up and down a bit at different times in my life) lose the weight through a better diet and being more active. Plus, I finally stopped having babies, haha!

I've often wondered if I shouldn't explore the idea of liposuction, maybe just as a bit of a boost to help encourage me for the last part of the weight loss journey, though I knew from everything I read that lip is not a 'weight-loss' surgery, just a way to sculpture the body, blah, blah, blah. I actually found this site after googling "Large volume lipo" and reading tons of reports by the doctors on here about not expecting to use it as a weight loss procedure, etc, then started reading other people's experiences and seeing some of their amazing results. Then I found one doctor (I'll share more about who he is later) that said something about knowing it wouldn't be a way to lose any significant amount of weight, but he also believes it can be a boost for some larger patients on their weight loss journey. Or something to that effect. I'll share his name and link eventually. I think if I post his name right now, before I've had the procedure, knowing he or his staff could read this might affect what I share. And like all of you other amazing people on here, I want to be as blunt and honest about everything as possible, and not worry about how my doctor might view my 'review' since he's not my intended audience, other potential patients are :) But after my procedure on September 3rd, I'd be happy to share his name if anyone is interested.

Since I had been seriously considering going to that clinic in Nevada that DOES do large volume lipo (a bit over 5litres for really large patients) I thought before going that route (since I live in Canada and it would mean travelling out of the country, even if just to the States) I'd make sure there wasn't someone in Canada willing to do the same thing, but also a board certified plastic surgeon. And sure enough, I found the doctor on this site.

I went and met with him a couple of weeks ago and instantly liked him. His waiting room had those books plastic surgeons often have of their patients' Before and After pictures. I've had a tummy tuck, breast lift, eye lift, and a few other minor procedures (Botox and lip injections) with another surgeon a few years ago, spread over four years) and his pictures are all of these gorgeous hot young women who have, what seems to me, teeny little adjustments to their near-perfect already (to my old eyes, lol) bodies. But this new guy? His books were filled with women like me. Older, lax skin, lumps and bumps and certainly not even close to perfect before OR after! Some of his patients were extremely large and looked like they had had weight-loss surgery and their before and after pictures almost moved me to tears, as I sat in the waiting room. It was obvious to me how life-changing it would have been for them.

His experience with larger patients was reassuring to me, but even more important perhaps was this obvious sense of respect and kind regard he seems to have towards the larger patient. Like me :)

I still remember the sting when my other doctor said to me a few years ago, after my breast lift, "You know, I have a dietitian I could send you to. She's really great!" Then handed me her card. I know he meant well, he really did. But I had never said anything about wishing I could learn more about nutrition or wishing I had an 'expert' to explain to me how or what to eat, etc. In fact, I had lost over 100 pounds when I saw this guy, so why would he assume (as he did) that I needed some kind of an intervention or 'help,' when I hadn't even asked for it? He meant well and he seems like a nice person, but I did feel judged in his practice whenever I'd go after that, thinking he thought my weight was the cause of some kind of ignorance about nutrition. As if anything is that simple.

Sorry this is so long!

Anyway, I went to see the new guy and told him I wanted to get rid as much of my gut as possible and instead of spreading that maximum amount he can remove to all of the areas I have fat, which in my opinion wouldn't result in enough of a change for me to justify the cost, I'd love to have just one area done as much as possible, like my stomach. And I'd keep on working (and losing) on the other areas as I have been now for years. But getting rid of my gut would be a powerful incentive for me to maybe finally make that extra effort and get rid of as much of this extra weight now, as possible!

He took some 'before' pictures of my front and back and then sat with me at his desk (not across from me, either, but right next to me on the same side) and really went over what he could do for me. It didn't feel like a sale's pitch at all, as he pointed out that he could actually do several other areas (love handles, and back fat) at the same time, while I was under. According to him (and I hope he's right of course and that I wasn't being 'sold' so I would agree to more areas since of course it means more money for him) I have about a litre of fat for him to suction out of my stomach, which leaves me with up to four more to take out of other areas. He examined my stomach: had me lie flat, flex the muscles by leaning my chin towards my chest, etc, and agreed my muscles are intact from the hernia repair and tummy tuck I had done through OHIP (which in Canada means I didn't have to pay for it- it was done in a hospital) so he felt he could easily remove the excess fat from that area, my lower abdomen. Then he said he could remove the back rolls (there are three) and also deal with my 'dog ears' and the extra roll just below my hips.

He said he could do my stomach for $3,000 and said, "I'm not trying to up-sell anything here- you could come and have that done and test drive me as a surgeon and we could always do the rest next time." But the fact that I could have most of my mid-drift done, at the same time, was immediately appealing to me of course. So before I left, I made a $2,500 deposit on the $12,000 and set a date for September 3rd.

So of course now I go back and forth between thinking I'm thrilled to death and can't wait, to thinking I'm an idiot who is paying way too much money for something I should just try and lose on my own, and that I'll probably be all disappointed in the end, anyway, with my fears about it meaning just a minor adjustment over a larger area, than a major change in one area coming true. I also now have a few things I wish I had asked him more about at the time. For instance, he said he'd be able to take away 70% of the back fat. Why 70%? If I was doing only my back, does he mean he could have done closer to %100?

I will post Before pictures later today. Sorry this has been so long! If anyone has read this far, thanks :)