My Journey to Find my Real Self - Atlanta, GA

It has taken me a really long time to get to this point. I have scheduled my TT for December and I am really at peace with my decision but a little about myself and how I got here. I am 5'11" and weigh 165 lbs. My weight has fluctuated between 150 and 210 which was during my pregnancy. My first pregnancy the doctor told me he only wanted me to gain 25 lbs. I looked at him like he was crazy and proceeded to gain 50 pounds. The second go around I managed to keep it down to 40 but the damage was done with my 10 lb. baby all hope was lost on getting my tummy back, both kids were c-sections. Ever since then I have struggled to keep my weight around 165 without much exercise but just by watching my diet. I have done Jenny Craig, twice and Weight Watchers (multiple times until I hit lifetime) but no matter how much weight I lost I still had my "happy face" c-section incision and this roll of belly fat with stretch marks. I grew up near the beach and wearing bikinis but I haven't worn one in about 25 years and don't know if I will even after my procedure. I have toyed with the idea of "plastic surgery" for many years but at the time I thought it would send the wrong message to my impressionable teenagers. With all the peer pressure out there I wanted to teach them to love their bodies as they were originally designed. As the years have gone by and they have matured into well adjusted girls with positive self body images I have realized that self acceptance is sometimes not realized until you take every opportunity to better yourself. I try to better myself every day in some way, whether it is mind, body or spirit and feel that now is the time to do this for myself. I have chosen my PS and paid a deposit and my family, the ones I have told, are fully supportive. If I am going to pay my PS thousands of dollars to correct the features that I dislike the most I feel like I must get my body into the best shape possible so my surgeon has the best possible canvas to work on. So... despite how much I really hate exercise I am trying to make myself go to the gym at least 3 times per week and I will continue to eat healthfully and make good decisions. I know this will be hard but hopefully it will make my recovery much easier and in the end I will find my REAL self.

Arrived 10:50 saw Dr. at appt time of 11am. No consultation fee, 10 % discount for booking within 10 days of consultation. He spent a little over an hour with me. First he did the exam, standing, sitting, do a crunch, look at your back, stick tummy out. I got dressed and he came back in to talk. He asked what I hoped to accomplish. I told him I want to get rid of all the loose skin below my belly button and the bulge by my c section scar. He explained that the scar bulges like that because the ob/gyn just cuts and lifts the muscle and pulls the baby out and stitches you up. He did not think I would need muscle repair but he routinely stitches the piece that holds the muscles together. He would also do upper back and lower back lipo with a full TT and is included in the price which is set based on the number of hours he thinks surgery will take. He said all my stretch marks would be gone. (yea!) He makes his own pain pump and I would have to fill the prescription for the numbing medicine at SAMs or Costco. My DH will have to inject me with an anti coagulant to prevent blood clots for 7 days. Wants me to stop birth control 2-3 weeks prior to surgery. Surgery is three hours and most patients leave within one hour of surgery. Can give me a prescription for behind the ear anti nausea medicine. Vitamin b important, ginger for nausea, no codeine products. He determines where the scar is by asking the pt to pull up on their loose skin as tight as they can and he draws a line 6 cm above your labia or 2.5 inches. Seems like your vjj would be very tight if you did that. He makes his own sprinkler type pain pump to administer the numbing medication. I asked him if drains were necessary and he said no, he does quilting stitches in addition to drains because he has fewer complications with seromas and the fluid has to go somewhere and they really aren't that big of a deal. He usually takes them out 4-5 days after surgery.

Surgical center is accredited, everything included in the price except prescriptions. Benefit of using the surgical center is 1)cheaper 2) he can pick the anesthesiologist 3) they don't have to stick a tube down my throat like at the hospital, they can use a mask. One week is just laying around. Could go back to work in second week he said and by the Third week is piece of cake. Includes an insurance policy to cover any complications. If you get a blood clot it will pay for all the testing and treatment. Since I am at my ideal weight any further weight loss wouldn't really matter. Calls the night of surgery to check on you. If surgery is on Friday he would see me the following wed and perhaps take out one or both drains. Then early the next week for stitches out. Then four weeks, three months, six months and one year post op.

So I found out today that my inlaws are coming for Christmas and they want to stay with us a few days! I wasn't planning to tell them (or anyone really) that I am having surgery. On top of that my husband starts a new job on the 1st of December so now he might not be home during my first 3 days of recovery. So now I not only have to complete all the Christmas shopping, wrapping, decorating, cleaning, baking and preparing for guests but I also have to get ready for surgery. I was so looking forward to handing the kids gift cards and skipping all the rest this holiday season. Well, I better get to shopping.