Hopefully SmartLipo is Really Smart! - Roseville, CA

Sorry I keep forgetting to upload my photos to my computer. I do have several. But here is the recovery process status. Recovery was easy for me, I didn't experience bad pain like others. The leakage was the biggest annoyance.
-- Got surgery Wednesday morning
-- Worked from home Thursday and Friday. I was stiff but able to get around fine and could have gone in to the office if I had needed to, especially Friday.
-- Walked (slowly) 1 mile both Thursday and Friday and was fine. Seemed mobility made the pain lessen. The more I sat, the stiffer I was.
-- Friday night I went dancing lol. Literally, 2 days after my surgery, went out, wore heels I was fine. I was out for 3 hours and left early not because of pain, but because the leakage was bad still and the maxi pads filled so decided I better go.
-- Saturday I went to baby shower and then to dinner party, was on my feet all day. Again, the more I moved the more I leaked that was the only issue.
-- It took over a week for the leakage to stop but it was really bad for like 5 days
-- I rested most of the day Sunday then I jogged (much more slowly than usual) a 5K on Monday evening. I was pretty sore the next day, that was probably pushing it.
-- I walked/jogged another 5K on Thursday (8 days out)and I was OK that time.
-- I jogged again at day 11
-- I was back at my normal 5K pace on day 15
-- I did a 5K race this past Sunday and my time was about the same as the race I did just prior to the surgery. That was 2.5 weeks out and all the pain, stiffness, etc was totally gone.
-- I'm still wearing the garment all day, even when working out. I hate sleeping in it, it is uncomfortable, so a few times in the night I've ripped it off lol. But for the most part I wear it all the time.

I am still unsure how I feel about the results. I don't see a difference in my inner knee, which is frustrating since the Doctor added that at the last minute. My inner thigh looks the same too. My outer thighs seem to be smoothed out a bit. However, my thighs are visibly uneven. One is definitely bigger than the other which is frustrating. All the pain and swelling seems to be gone at this point, I leaked so much it seems most of the fluid made its way out of me, but still my thighs are very uneven.

I go in for my second surgery this week. I am going to talk to the doctor about the thighs. This next surgery I do Hips, Upper and Lower Abs.

I was originally supposed to do upper arms too. But then they added the inner knee at the last minute during my last surgery like I mentioned. Instead of doing arms I might just not do that at all and call it an even swap (knees for arms). For one, doing this in the summer is silly. If you do it do it in the winter when it is more comfortable to cover up. If I do arms, they won't be able to do it until July and I don't want to wear long sleeves in July. But the main thing is that so far the results are OK, but not worth what I paid. I want to wait to see how it all turns out before forking out more money.

Ok Posted THIGH pics.
-- Before pics taken about 2 weeks before Surgery (Surgery was on June 1st).

-- Pics at exactly 1 week!! My Captions lie lol, I just looked at the date those were actually Wednesday, June 8.(which makes more sense the bruising wasn't that bad after 2 weeks. Will see if I can update captions.)

-- Pics at 19 days (Monday, June 20). Plus some pics of bruising and the gory carnage u can look forward too lol.

Day after tomorrow, on to more fat sucking fun! Will see how the abs go.

Updated captions. Please note how I am wearing the same panties in the before and 1 week pics lol. Perfect for comparisons. I see a slight difference, but not 5K worth. Especially the due to the unevenness. Hopefully after the rest of my surgeries are done, and more time for the fat to settle lol, it will work out.

SECOND SURGERY AND CONSULT WITH DOC REGARDING THIGHS
Again, changed the plan. Was supposed to do Upper/Lower Abs and Hips. For various reasons went with the waist instead. I was more comfortable with this decision than the change we made last time.

Last time, I was already standing there naked, already had taken Xanax and Vicodin, already feeling a little vulnerable as the doctor (whom I had never met before this) circled my fat with her marker lol. Then she was like "Oh we really need to do inner knee if we are going to do inner thigh." I don't think I was in a state of mind to argue. I never had issue with my knee fatness . But it seemed like in her experience she would know what would produce the best results. Maybe in time I will appreciate that decision, but for now I am not super happy with my inner knee, I see no difference, would have rather done my arms as planned, so I am upset I added it. I was more concerned over my arms, and now I don’t think I am going to be able to do that. I am also not super happy with my inner thigh, which was a primary area I did want done, I just don’t see much of a difference there.

This time, I requested to consult with the doctor before all the surgery prep and before my drugs were taken. I discussed with her my issues with my thighs and their unevenness, where I see pouchy pockets of fat, how I see no difference in inner knee etc, and how I was a little frustrated with everything. She said they could not do anything that day to fix the thighs (they were already 1 HOUR late with my appointment, I arrived at 12:30pm and was not seen until 1:30pm, had 3 areas to do, and doc had another appointment at 5pm - ARRRRRRRG.)
Plus the doctor says that it really takes a couple of months for everything to settle and even out, it’s not an instant fix, they can't do revisions this early on.

This place does do FREE revisions at 6 months if you are not happy with the results. That is actually one primary reason I picked them. But what a bummer to spend this much money, have to deal with uneven thighs with lumps for the time being, and then go thru all this drainage and stiffness and mayhem again in 6 months. I am like 99% positive I am going to need a revision, they say it is too soon to tell, but whatever, we will see. Hopefully they will be able to fix what I am frustrated with, but certainly the added inner knee is money out the door I think I should not have added that. I didn't like how that was thrown at me in that state. I wish I had met with the doctor prior to the surgery.

IN ANY CASE - ON TO MY SECOND SURGERY
UPPER/LOWER ABS AND WAIST
Was supposed to do Hips/Upper and Lower Abs. But after more understanding on how all this goes, and now that my hips were more fluid with my outer thigh from previous surgery we decided to exchange hips for waist.

SURGERY: I felt this surgery was a little more uncomfortable than the thighs. Filling up with lidocain I felt more poking pain this time. Plus the sensation of getting filled up was much more, I can't describe it, just more uncomfortable. I was also on my period this time, which apparently makes you more sensitive. I just had to close my eyes and breathe a little deeply and kind of meditate to relax a bit. I almost asked for more xanax but it wasn't that bad so just stuck through it. The laser, this time was easier. Last time I felt the heat several times and it hurt, but this time I felt nothing at all from the laser.
The actual suction seemed much worse than the thighs. Just like last time there was some pain when she got near sensitive spots, or when she was at the edges of the lidocain. That was similar to last time. It was not bad pain, just quick jabs that made me go "Ahhhh" for a second then was over. But the vibration of the suction made my whole tummy feel just gross and weird. Again, it was just way more uncomfortable, overall I felt just more icky this time. Still, I would not call the process painful per se, it was just not pleasant (the thighs were not like a fun walk in the park either, but the tummy was just more sensitive and a bit harder to take). Overall, it is not bad.
They took WAY LESS FAT this time. I was already not super happy with the results on my thighs, and she removed much less fat from my abs/waist. So we will just have to see how it turns out.


PAIN: I got my surgery yesterday from 1:30-5:30. Pain has not been bad. It is 11am. Walking I feel no pain, laying down I feel no pain, it is slow/stiff to sit or bend over. Might take some time to kick in. I've also been utilizing my Vicodin this time :). I took one when I woke so that might be why but I am getting around fine, took a shower on my own early this morning (Mom came to help a bit), am now doing my work and getting laundry done etc. I feel OK.

DRAINAGE: Luckily the doctor put a port hole in the center of my lower abs just above my pubic hair line. I was terrified of the idea of getting "utters" which I have read on here from others - basically where the drainage seeps down into your va-jay-jay and your lips get giant like utters lol. That has not happened (yet lol). I did drain a lot. I used the same process. I bought an extra compression garment at the doctor this time. I put shower liner/towels on my bed (Yes, Needed). Slept for a couple hours. Took shower at around 8pm. Had to wash first garment and towels I was sleeping on, put new maxi pads, new garment, this time I get to wear a lovely diaper to help with the drainage from the hole at the pubic line (see the lovely pics ha ha).
I found the drainage was harder to push out in the shower than the legs. But it seems to be seeping into my maxipads/diaper just fine. I am pretty swollen/bloated today, but for some reason in the shower it is not working as well to push the fluids out. I have my post-op appointment today I will ask them about that.

I feel better today then I did the day after my legs. However, due to diaper I look funny it would be hard to hide under clothes. Again, luckily I can work from home. I would not want to have to go to work this way.

I don't feel super optimistic at this point which is a bummer. They barely removed any fat yesterday, half as much as from thighs in previous surgery. $10K for all of this, that is a TON of money. I did not expect to look like a super model. But I am in good shape, just flabby from getting older and losing weight that I had gained previously. I wanted to get rid of this flab that my running/yoga hasn't gotten rid of. I guess only time will tell.