Liposuction of Full Abdomen, Flanks & Back - 27 Yrs Old, 5' 11, 176 Lbs, Healthy Male - Chicago, IL

This is my original post: http://www.realself.com/question/27-yrs-11-172-lbs-healthy-male-liposuction-the-choice-for-my-love-handles-the
Firstly, I would like to thank all the surgeons who were kind enough to address my concerns.I am now scheduled for a Liposuction surgery on July 28th, that is 3 weeks from now. After consulting with 3 different surgeons in the Chicago area, I've finally decided to go with Dr. David Shifrin who I felt most comfortable discussing my needs with. I also learned that Dr. Shifrin performed Liposuctions on a regular basis and particularly liked his follow-up policies, which required meeting up with him almost 5 times post surgery. At my initial consultation with him, he suggested Liposuction for my Full Abdomen, Flanks and Back to treat my love handles that I've had for over 7 years now (see attached pictures for my current self). The total cost has come up to $6,750 which they were courteous enough to lower to $6,250 - $3,000 for Operating Room/Anesthesia fees and $3,250 for Surgeon fees - which is actually still over my budget. Overall, I am quite satisfied with these costs and I am really hoping to see significant results.These are the post-operative instructions I've received so far:
- You will have Steri-Strips on your incisions, along with dressings to cover them. You may have a binder on, depending on the location of our procedure.
- J-P drains will remain in place until your drainage output is less than 30 cc in a 24-hour period.
- Wear your binder as much as possible for best results.
- You may shower after 24 hours. Replace your binder after showering. You may wash your binder as needed. A new soft binder will be provided after your drains are removed.
- Use ice packs over surgical areas, intermittently.
- No driving for 1-2 weeks, while you are still on your pain medication and/or having significant discomfort.
- Anticipated time off work will be 1-2 weeks.
- No out-of-town travel for 2 weeks.
- Restricted exercise and lifting limit of 15 pounds for four weeks. Immediate walking is highly encouraged.My surgery date falls on a Monday and I have made plans to take off that week, so that way I have time until Sunday for my recovery. I will also have my brother at home for this whole time to keep me company and take care of me. Other than that, I am fairly new to everything else involved in a surgery whatsoever, as I have never even been hospitalized in my life.I am now visiting their office again on July 11th to complete my balance payment and have also requested another appointment with Dr. Shifrin for further questions. What are some of the questions I can ask to better prepare myself for the pre-op as well as the post-op days? I've thought about the following so far:- Diet, multi-vitamin restrictions? Can I continue taking protein supplements if I work out?
- How to look for signs of infection?
- What are all the possible complications and how to differentiate them from the typical post-op swelling?
- How much pain is normal?
- Anything I can/should buy beforehand?
- How often to take a walk initially during the day to keep the blood circulation flowing?
- Exercise routine to follow, week-after-week, other than walking?
- Even something as simple as any particular sleeping position that is recommended?- Anything else you can think of that I can ask my Doctor??I would really appreciate any additional feedback/suggestions to keep in mind, in general. I look forward to submitting my next post after my July 11th visit. Thank you.