25, No Kids, Never Happy with my Body - Phoenix, AZ

Hello Realselfers!
I have been stalking this site for nearly a decade and have decided it's my turn to finally take care of myself.

Here's my back story...
I've been uncomfortable with my body for as long as I can remember. I remember attempting my first "diet" when I was in the 1st grade.I have the dreaded "hip dip" AKA violin hips. I also have a weird fat pocket on my upper abdomen, and a large fat deposit in my lower as well. I struggled with eating disorders for YEARS because of these stupid fat pockets. There was no escaping them; even at my lowest weight of 105 (I'm 5'6"), they were STILL there!

I thankfully was able to pull myself out of the eating disorder cycle and have been completely eating disorder free for about 4 years now.

When I was 20 (2011), I had scheduled myself to have Vasper lipo with a Phoenix plastic surgeon. I was 128 pounds, and so excited to finally start my journey to higher self-esteem. I paid my $1,000 deposit, and everything was set to go.

About a month before my surgery, I had a lot of "life" hit me all at once. I was struggling to focus on my Bachelor's degree, I was coming close to closing on my first home, lost a family member, etc. Because of all of this, I decided it would be best to re-schedule my surgery.

I called the office, and the office manager was incredibly unsympathetic. She made me feel terrible about my choice to reschedule, even ridiculing me. After this situation transpired, I decided to cancel the surgery entirely. If this is how the staff treated me when I requested to reschedule, how would they treat me if I had concerns or complications with my surgery? I did not feel comfortable going through the procedure with this surgeon. In the end, I lost my deposit, and did not seek consultations elsewhere...Until now.

I am now 25 (almost 26), and fluctuate in weight between 145 and 150 pounds. I am in a more stable place in my career and schooling (Master's now!), so now is the time to finally get the lipo I've been dreaming about since I was a teenager. I have had one consult so far (will post about experience in separate post), and have another one in a couple days. I hope to be detailed in my journey to help my the Realself community, as you have helped me over the years.

As promised, I'm going to write about my experiences with my consults.

My first consult was last week with a very reputable doctor in Scottsdale. His office was beautiful and his staff was very friendly. I filled out my paperwork and was taken back shortly. The doctor was very friendly and soft spoken. VERY handsome as well, haha. During the consult, he advised that if I wanted the results I was looking for, I would need liposuction of my upper and lower abs, flanks, outer thighs, and a fat transfer to my butt. The fat transfer caught me off guard because I've always liked my butt. He said I would look "boxy" like Spongebob if I didn't get the fat transfer.

I DO NOT want to look like Spongebob!

So... I agreed to let him quote the procedure with the fat transfer. The whole consult was very short - 10 minutes max. Once we were done, one of the office managers came in to discuss price. I was quoted $17,000 for the whole procedure.

Cue jaw drop.

In my previous consult I had years ago, I was quoted $6,500, so I was really shocked with the number. I immediately ruled this doctor out as there was no possible way for me to come up with 17k!

My second consult was 2 days ago with my original first choice: Dr. William Hall at Infini Cosmetics. I've been stalking him for about a year, but not in a creepy way, promise! The results I've seen on his social media pages and RS reviews were stunning! The only reason I didn't originally book a consult with him was because I was debating a breast augmentation as well, which Dr. Hall does not preform. He specializes on liposuction and BBL's only. I later decided against the BA, so Dr. Hall was back in the running.

The staff at Infini was extremely friendly and the lobby was neat and well kept. During the first portion of the consult, I watched a video of Dr. Hall explaining the techniques he uses for liposuction and basic information about the procedure itself. Once it completed, I was brought into a private room for my face-to-face consultation. I waited under a minute before Dr. Hall came in. He was very personable and I instantly felt as comfortable as possible before having to bare all to a stranger, haha.

During the consultation, Dr. Hall asked me what I was uncomfortable with. I stated my obvious areas: hips, flanks, upper/lower abs, and inner thighs. I asked about the fat transfer that the previous Dr. told me I needed. He advised that I didn't absolutely NEED to have it, however the fat transfer would fill in a flat spot I have on my booty. The fat transfer, paired with the lipo, would create a better transition from hips to thighs. He showed me what he was talking about and it completely made sense the way he explained it and showed me the flat spot. I felt he was very thorough with me and wouldn't have left the room until I had all the answers I needed.

After meeting with Dr. Hall, I was then led into a small office to talk about money with the office manager, Shannon. She was great! They were kind enough to quote with the fat transfer and without, taking off a lot of the pressure the previous Dr. made me feel about NEEDING to have the fat transfer.

If you're still reading this review, I'm sure you can tell by now who I decided to go with. I called this morning and paid my deposit to have my surgery with Dr. Hall! I also decided to go with the fat transfer. I felt Dr. Hall's explanation of why it should be considered made a lot more sense than just saying "you'll look like Spongebob."

I'm booked for October 13th and I'm a ball of emotions. Excited, scared, nervous. You, know, all the normal emotions someone should feel about plunking down THOUSANDS of dollars for someone to suck your insides out though a straw-like tube.

I'll be uploading pictures soon!

I had my labs done last week. I've never had blood drawn before, so I didn't know how I would react.

I passed out in the chair. :-\

Did anyone else pass out when they had their blood drawn? Makes me nervous for my actual surgery. I know I'll be on drugs an all, but I don't want to pass out on the table!

Today is October 2nd, meaning my surgery is only 11 days away! I haven't even gone shopping for my supplies yet. Any suggestions on must haves?