Let the Make over Begin! - Riverside, CA

I was always really active. Loved the outdoors and sports. I was also an early bloomer. I was wearing a bra at 9, not because I wanted to but because I had too and started my period 10 days before my 11th birthday. But rarely had one. That's when the trouble started. I have Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome. My hormones are a mess ^.^
In my teens I remained active but was tired most of the time. I just never felt the way I used too. I worked out at the gym and had to to keep my weight under control. This worked until I was 20 when my thyroid shut down and I gained 100 lbs in a single year, while still working out.
The next 9 years I would try just about everything trying to take back control of my body and find one more thing that wouldn't work. In 2009, I had a gastric bypass and got my life back! 3 years post-op, I feel better than I ever have in my whole life. I'm active like I was in my teens, I play sports and dance. I love life.
Because I was still active even when I was heavy I didn't have that much loose skin. But I still had some. My breasts had been 34 C's in my teens. When I got heavy they became 38 D's. Though to be fair, I never had perky boobs. not even in my early teens, they always hung low. But, I still had some. Mostly my lower tummy was saggy, my butt sagged a bit, and my breasts were now deflated to saggy B's. My arms and thighs have a little too but not that bad.
I knew going in I'd need plastics afterwards. How much I had no idea, but I knew the "girls" were going to need to be fixed!
So now 3 years later, I'm 2 weeks post op from an extended TT, BL, and BA. My body looks soo much better already. When I figure out how to do pictures I'll post before and afters.
I saw 3 surgeons in the past 2 years while I was saving up and doing research on it. I also wanted to be sure my weight was stabilized before having anything done.
Surgeon 1: I was not impressed with. He'd come highly recommended but he didn't seem confident. I wanted someone who was going to be as excited about remaking my breasts as I was! And that just wasn't him. He didn't want me going any bigger than a large B or small C because he said my frame was too small. Hello, I was bigger than that naturally?! So I thanked him for his time and didn't go back.
Surgeon 2: I really liked him. he was confident, he explained everything very thoroughly, and I felt really good about him. He did my friend's boob job. His pricing seemed a bit higher than everyone else's and he wouldn't do the TT and BA, BL at the same time. I agreed with his reasoning on it, but really did not want to have to be out of work twice.
Surgeon 3: I was pretty well set to go with surgeon 2 when my friend said I should go see her surgeon, he just did a mommy make over for her and I'd seen his work on her and it was great. I figured one more consultation couldn't hurt. I loved him from the first meeting. He was very confident and blunt about what to expect, what he could do, and even about what the costs of the surgery and how to negotiate a better price.
I went with surgeon 3, Dr John Walker. He's been nothing but amazing. Any questions I can call or email him. He explains everything and really has worked with me. He also did the best IV I have ever had! The nurse was having trouble getting the line started and he did it in one stick with less pain than a blood draw.
With all the work I was having done I expected to be in A LOT of pain. I'm a powder puff when it comes to pain, so I was expecting to be in misery. When I woke up I was really groggy, but wasn't really hurting, just sore, more uncomfortable than anything. I was able to walk to the car (like a 90 year old woman). My friend's car was a bit more bumpy than I would have liked. We got starbucks on the way home (herbal tea for me, dear god was I thirsty) and the starbucks cup became my adult sippy cup for the next few days. My new boobs were in the way and I couldn't drink! Thank god for straws.
The night of, I had more pain from my breasts than I did from the tummy tuck. The tummy tuck incision had more of this burning sensation in the area above my pubic bone. My breasts had more of a throbbing pain, like really bad PMS, and the first two nights I kind felt like they were suffocating me. If I took my vicodin every 6 hours I felt pretty good really. Just mild discomfort, pain at like a 2. When it wore off more like a 5-6.
Problem with the vicodin though is it made it very hard to pee. So about every 90 minutes my bladder felt like it was going to burst and then I'd sit there for 20 minutes trying to pee and getting very very nauseous. I had more issues with nausea than pain really. My dr told me it was most likely the vicodin causing the issues and to try and switch to Tylenol as soon as I could. With the Tylenol, the pain wasn't bad if I took 1000mg every 6 hours but that's max dose and I didn't want to keep doing that. I mainly just got really uncomfortable. I didn't sleep well the first few nights either. I kept having to get up to pee!
By day 4 I could get out of bed on my own and was down to 500mg of Tylenol every 5 hours. And day 7 I was off of it completely. I started taking Arnica montana and that worked wonders. Soon as I started on it I didn't need the Tylenol anymore. Drains were annoying but not bad, and even having them removed was nothing. I had a big bruise on my lower back from lipo, but that's about it. My implants are still sitting really high and I have a flattish looking spot on the right one on the bottom side. I have a couple small bruises on my breasts too, but nothing like what I've seen from other people's post ops.
All and all the surgery was not bad at all! The boredom of not being able to do anything is far worse. I could not stand up straight until day 8 when my drains came out. And I found it was more mental than anything. I still have to make a conscience effort to do it, but every day I'm a bit more mobile. Around the house I actually get around pretty well. Soon as I go outside though I get tense and have a lot more trouble walking. My stomach muscles get all tight again and its an effort to stand up straight. So now I'm going to go on a little field trip daily to get over the nerves ^.^
Other than my breasts having not D&F'd yet, things all look really good. Incisions are healing up really nice. Odd thing is I don't feel sexy. Everyone is raving about my body but I don't "feel" it. Last night I finally decided its because my body can't move the way I'm used to moving so it doesn't feel like my body right now. I need to grow into this new one it seems I know it looks soooo much better than it did with all the loose skin. I just need a chance to get to know this new me, and come to love it too. I looked good with clothes on before, so I don't really have that wow factor when looking in the mirror. I guess I just need to buy some new tummy showing shirts so I can appreciate the difference. Same with my breasts, I wore bras that made me look bigger so clothed my breasts look the same ^.^
Size wise, I went with 533 silicone, under the muscle. Currently I'm a 34D or 34DD depending on the bra. I tried a few of mine on just to see what still fits. Hoping I'll be a bouncy, perky, 34D when D&F is done.

Day 17:
Today, it all feels worth it. Self Esteem is UP! Today was my first time seeing my body as a whole since the surgery. It was the first time out of the compression garment, and my first shower in 2 weeks (ewww! thank god for baby wipes).
I stood there looking in the mirror and just started crying. I called my Surgeon and just couldn't stop thanking him..or crying. He laughed and said I was very welcome and just wait till the implants drop and fluff, that it will look even better! Even now just thinking about it I start tearing up. This coming from someone who does not cry easily.
I think eventually I want to get a thigh lift also, but everything already looks sooo much better!
Now getting back into the compression garment was another matter. I only have the one and it says to let dry on its own. So I was out of it for about 3 hours total. Getting back in was not as easy as getting out of it ^.^ And now its bugging me since I know what it feels like NOT to have it on. Although I feel lot more protected in it.

Day 18:
Yesterday my Doctor gave me the green light to sleep however I want! *does happy dance*.
So last night ditched the wedge and the extra pillows and settled happily into bed. I'm a side sleeper, but since I've been sleeping on my back for 2 weeks figured I could still do that. Well it felt all wrong. And it felt like my breasts were trying to suffocate me. So I grabbed a body pillow and rolled to the side. Ok, little tightness in the breasts, little pulling in the hip...but got comfy, went to sleep. Woke up a little while later with my stomach pulling on one side and one boob hurting arg!. So rolled the other way. Same thing. Ok, fine, I'll sleep on my back I think, but it feels funny still so I throw a pillow under my knees. Settle in, go back to sleep. This time I wake up with my back killing me!! I got up and walked around a little bit and grabbed another pillow. I slept the rest of the night on 2 pillows with my legs up on one and still not all that well, but better.
Tonight the wedge is coming back and I'll keep my knees up on the one pillow. I'll try again in a week to ditch the wedge lol.