It's My Turn!

I'm finally ready for my Mommy Makeover! I'm 34, 5'5" and I weigh 200lbs. I've suffered from infertility and I have had five losses. I've decided that I'm going to concentrate on me this year and be grateful for the children that I have. I have 17 month old twins and a 13 yr old. I'm having a tummy tuck, liposuction of the abdomen, full back, armpits, flanks and waist, a Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) via fat grafting to the buttock and Breast Lift. My quote doesn't include implants, which I want.

My husband and I booked our flight this morning! My surgery date is Oct. 14th. We leave Oct 12th and stay until the 24th. I also started my vitamins today. It's two weeks away! I can't believe that just last week I was thinking about doing it and in two weeks it will be done!

I need help booking a recovery house that will take my husband and I. How much should I expect to spend and will it include meals for him? Will they take us for the two days that we are there before my surgery or just beginning the day after. We are fine with looking for other accommodations prior to the surgery but I'm curious. Does anyone have any advice? I appreciate it!

So here's what will soon be my old body.

I scheduled my Pre Check up appointment with my primary care physician tomorrow. I'll request the bloodwork and a referral for an EKG. I also filled an old prescription of pain pills to take with me just in case. I've arranged for a sitter for my twins and now I'm working on my shopping list of things to bring with me. It's starting to get real!

I went in to my family doctor for an EKG today and all is great! The nurse couldn't find a good vein so I have to go to the lab for my bloodwork, but by the end of the week I'll have all my results. Now I can concentrate on my packing/shopping list.

Yesterday I called a couple of recovery houses that Dr. Yilly's office recommended and the lady who answered the phone thought that I was calling to speak to a patient and gave her the phone. It turned out that she was a patient of Yilly's and had just had her surgery 3 days before. She said that she was in a lot of pain, loved the RH she was staying at (Wilson's: 809-273-7071), and that she had a bad hospital stay experience. She said that everything that you read about how awful the nurse care is real. She said that it's best to have someone with you there so that they can go and fetch a nurse if you need something. It makes me glad that my husband will be with me. She said that the recovery home more than made up for it though. She also said that Yilly does not take that many patients anymore since she's pregnant and that she does perform the surgeries. She does not put your faja on you or anything like that because that's what the assistants are for. I totally get that. It would be no different here in the US. It was good to actually speak to someone who went to the same doc and give me some perspective. She said not to pack a lot of clothes and that some of the items on the recommended packing lists are overkill. She's going to a resort a week after her surgery for some relaxing time but will still go to her appt's. I'm thinking of doing something similar.
I did have my bloodwork done yesterday so I'm waiting on the results. I don't expect my iron to be low but I have been taking iron supplements and the vitamins that Yilly recommended just in case.

I'm excited! I still haven't done all of my shopping for the trip, but everything is coming together nicely. I'm a bit irritated with my doc's office who closed early today without returning my call today for my blood test results. I'm also having trouble booking Real Recovery Armonia as a RH, but I'm not panicked yet. Ten days and no anxiety is a good thing right?

So I FINALLY got my bloodwork back and my hemoglobin is great! My vitamin D levels were low, but nothing that some vitamin d supplements can't help. It feels good to get confirmation that I'm healthy and cleared for surgery!

Now I'm packing and washing clothes for my little ones who'll be with a family friend. I don't feel prepared at all. In fact I'm overwhelmed by my To Do list! I'm still excited, I can't believe I'll be in the DR in five days!!! When will the nerves start?

That is all.

I'm pretty sure that my cycle is going to start the day of or after surgery. It's going to be an extra thing to worry about. Ugh.

A RS member recommended Dominga to me and I was able to book with her as well. So excited to be recovering with another RS member. I've got all my cleaning and laundry done at home so that life will be easy when I return home and now all that's left is to place all my clothing in the suitcases!

I'll be in the DR in a few hours! I'm so excited! My husband and I will have a day and a half of fun before shit gets real! About to enjoy some much needed couple time without the kids interrupting!

Today my huusband and I got to be tourists. This is a beautiful country rich in culture and history. I wish that there were more of that in America. It's beautiful here. Make sure you have at least a day to sightsee, I it's worth it.

So much to say but I'm still really tired. But I'm ok and should be starting massages today.

Sorry it's taken me so long to update!

Okay, so here's the scoop. We arrived in the DR on a Saturday and spent Saturday and Sunday exploring the area and it was quite interesting. Monday morning we caught a taxi to Cipla and we filled out some simple paperwork (a couple of signatures, nothing to in depth) and we paid. My husband decided to have some lipo of the back, stomach and thighs. Then we went downstairs for some bloodwork and xray. I'm a hard stick but the lady got me on one try. We then went back upstairs and met with the cardiologist. He ran an EKG and he immediately tells you the results. Then we were brought to a waiting room and we waited and waited and waited. We were then brought back to the first floor where we were weighed and measured and somewhat examined. I was told that my hemoglobin was a 12.5. We were then brought to our recovery room where we undressed and waited and waited and waited again. We didn't mind the waiting much because it was some time for us to rest and just be near each other. Yilly and her assistant came in and I took off my gown to be marked up. Yilly said that she could not do my breast lift because my hemo was too low and that I could bleed out. I asked if I could skip the BBL (because that was just a bonus for me) and she said no. She gave me the choice of my back or my boobs. I chose my back and decided that I could get a good bra. She marked me up including my breasts, saying that if my bleeding wasn't too bad that she'd do them. She was a bit rough with the marker. She did ask what my goal was and my husband explained to her that I didn't want a super big butt, just a natural curve, which she nodded immediately that she understood. Then she marked up my husband. She said that she didn't want to go in through the back because he'd look like a girl. My husband's military and has been on leave for about three months and he hasn't worked out or watched his diet. He didn't have much fat, IMO, but sort of joked that he wanted to do it too, and when we got there she didn't have anyone else scheduled, so she jumped on it and said she'd do us both.

I took the blue pill and a little while after being marked up they came and got me and rolled me down to the OR. It was about 1:45pm and we arrived at Cipla around 7am. I honestly don't remember much about being prepped for surgery. I don't remember my epidural at all.

I did wake up during the last 20-45 minutes of my surgery and yes, I could feel what was going on and yes, it hurt. It wasn't a scream like crazy cause I'm dying type of pain, but it was uncomfortable and enough for me to get antsy. I kept asking when it was going to be over and the cardiologist came over and held my hand and kept telling me how to breathe (deep breaths). I'm honestly not sure if they woke me up on purpose because of my breathing, because he seemed really concerned that I breathe deep breaths. The pain was in my upper belly (I'm assuming that they were lipo'ing my upper stomach because I kept thinking, yay, I'm getting my boobs done). I was awake when they finished up and wheeled me out. I could see my husband in the OR next to mine. As far as Yilly performing the surgery, I didn't see her or hear her because I was so out of it before the surgery started. But I have no doubt that she worked on me. I know that she also has assistants and it doesn't bother me one bit that she allowed them to finish me up. I believe that she 'sculpted' me and did my TT and BBL and then allowed them to finish up my lipo. I think that this happens with doctors in the US, so it's not a DR thing. When my husband and I spoke about this later, he said that Yilly told him that they'd just finished me up and that she was sitting next to him until he passed out. Also, he doesn't have a epidural scar and he doesn't think that they gave him one. He thinks that they put him under via his IV.

I was wheeled into my recovery room and a little while later my husband was wheeled in.

Cipla was a tough experience for me. There's a phone on the wall behind your bed, but you can't possibly reach it after having all that work done to call someone for help. The nurses rarely check up on you and the medicine they give you feels like nothing more than your OTC pain relievers. So here's my advice. Bring your own meds and place them in the nightstand next to your bed with a bottle of water so that you can take them yourself (if you're alone) or ask your person to give it to you. My husband was supposed to be my person, but since he had lipo he couldn't help me. The nurses weren't rude, but I really think that they have a "don't bother patients" attitude. They were more like, let you rest, rather than coming in every five minutes to check something or another like they do in America. They came in and changed my drain and gave me meds every now and then. I was in A LOT of pain. At one point I was crying and by coincidence the nurses came in and gave me some meds which calmed me down, but didn't take the pain completely away. It was honestly one of the longest nights of my life. I couldn't wait to get out of there.

I spent a long time pondering over which RH to stay at. I contacted Real Recovery Armonia via FB and just didn't get a good response from them. When I asked a specific question I was given the same cut and paste answer and there was no real confirmation with them.

I had "met" a surgery buddy on RS who was having surgery at the same time with Dr. Baez and she was staying at Dominga's RH. So I contacted Dominga to see if I could stay there as well. She had space available for my DH and I and I was excited! However, I got a call from another RH who suggested that I not go there and listed several reasons why I shouldn't. It concerned me a great deal. Not only because of me, but because my buddy was going there and I wasn't sure how to deliver the news to her because I didn't want her going to a bad place. I talked it over with my DH and he suggested that I ask Dominga directly about the concerns that the other lady brought up. So I did. I sent Dominga a FB message and my concerns were addressed immediately. I appreciated the professionalism that Dominga had when addressing my concerns and the honesty that she displayed that I actually felt really comfortable about my decision to stay there. So here's a rundown of the concerns that the lady from the other RH had.
1. Dominga's neighbors have children who were loud and playing and making a bunch of noise which is disturbing when you're trying to recover.
2. Dominga's neighbors have a dog that constantly barks.
3. Dominga's house has stairs which isn't good when recovering from a TT.
4. Dominga's masseuse was not qualified and/or performing the right type of massages. And Dominga watched while the massages were taken place.
5. Dominga's didn't feed you the three meals a day (you had to nearly beg for food).
6. Dominga's prices kept changing.
7. Dominga has a special needs son who would strip naked and run around the house/pool.

Here's Dominga's response and my explanation from my experience. First of all, I HIGHLY recommend staying at Dominga's. But there are a couple of things to keep in mind, should you choose to go here. First being that this is Dominga's home. She has neighbors. Her neighbors have children. If you were at your own home, you can't control what your neighbors do or don't do. In fact, if you recovered at your own home, you probably wouldn't get the around the clock service and care that I received while staying at Dominga's. If you're objective enough to keep this in mind, you'll be just find staying there.

Dominga's response to my concerns are below.

Hola

We have the best prices with the best attention to your needs.

Yes, we have neighbors in home with children that can be heard playing or shouting when they aren't to school. Also, have a chihuahua dog which tends to bark at times.

Before we had a masseuse which was not sufficiently prepared. Now we are very happy because we have an masseuse which is more specialized and the massages are more complete. The price you see here is what you will pay in the end.

1. At times, we did here children playing. It was nothing that lasted so long that it was bothersome. It was sort of refreshing to have a connection to the outside world. It did not disturb me or my husband in our recovery, sleeping, watching television, etc.

2. We did here dogs barking from time to time. It was not constant, it was probably no different than something you would experience at your own home with your own neighbors. It was not so bothersome that I would have even notice if not for paying close attention to it because someone else had brought it to my attention. Also, most of the dogs were stray dogs, not the neighbor's dogs.

3. Dominga's house is three levels. The first level is her living room, dining room, and kitchen. The second level is the three RH rooms with a balcony that has a great view of the ocean. One of the rooms has a private balcony with a view of the ocean. There are stairs to get to the second level which with assistance was no issue at all going up. Once you're upstairs, there's really no reason to come down unless you want to eat in the dining room or access the kitchen. A simple call to the cook or nurse and they will come up and address your needs. Walking helps in the recovery and your able to walk outside on the balcony for fresh air.

4. Dominga has hired one of the best massage therapists in the DR. Gianna Columbo is amazing and knowledgeable and very serious about her work. She massaged both my husband and I at the same time (he would do paraffin treatments while she massaged me and vice versa). She is an excellent masseuse and even if you don't stay at Dominga's I recommend her, she's worth it! Dominga did come in once or twice while I was being massaged. I guess it didn't bother me too much. But I can see how some would be affected by this. I think Dominga was curious about how Gianna did our massages and she asked how she could make our experience more comfortable. But if you don't want her in there, just say so, she's very easy to deal with.

5. We received fresh juice every morning with fresh fruit and a wide array of breakfast items. We were fed every day unless we went out or we were sleeping. Lunch was the biggest meal and always great and dinner was good as well. I think that the lady that cooks (Dominga's sister) had surgery during the time that the lady who was dissatisfied with her stay, was there. I sympathize with that, but I gotta say, the food was so good that my husband demanded that the cook write all of her recipes down so that he could take them home with us.

6.Dominga's price did change for me. But that's because the price that I was originally quoted didn't include my husband as a patient, only as a guest. My quote from Dominga is below.

Your stay for nine days the total to pay is $ 750 with service of All inclusive more include 7 massages
• Private bedroom with free air conditioning, daily cleaning with change of linen, clean towels every two days, Internet wireless at high speed (Wi-Fi) and possibility to have one or two beds • A nurse for daily personal care, injections, laundry and change and washing of surgical clothes • Breakfast special with freshly squeezed vegetable and fruit juices, lunch and dinner served in room or dining-room • Delivery and pick up from the doctor's office • 7 sections of post-surgery massages • Transportation for shopping or sightseeing in Santo Domingo.

The total that my husband and I paid with him as a patient was $880. It also included his massages and so forth.

7. Dominga does have an autistic son who does not speak, he does grunt a bit and pretty much ignores you. He is an older guy, but clearly on about a five year old level. He watches cartoons downstairs in the living room from time to time and was otherwise out of sight. Honestly, I never had an issue with him or felt uncomfortable in his presence.

Overall, my stay there was pleasant and comfortable. But there area couple of things to keep in mind. Dominga works with her two sisters to run the RH. Dominga is the one who will drive you to your appt's, take you sightseeing or to the mall, she will pick up your prescriptions, and items from the grocery store. Dominga is the most serious of the three sisters. Ceasar (pronounced Saysar), is the cook. She's very happy go lucky and will ask you what you'd like to eat. She cooks everything from scratch and uses all natural and organic products. She's an AWESOME cook and very playful and easy to get along with. Virgina is the nurse. She will give you your meds and your injections. And will just make sure that you're overall ok. She also cleans and will wash your clothes for you.

If you ask Dominga to cook, she will tell you that it's not her job, but will send Caesar to you. They will give you three meals a day with a snack, but you can request more or less if you like. My husband and I did IVF to get our twins so we are accustomed to giving injections, so we didn't need Virgina's assistance as much as others may. Most of our interaction was with Caesar. The house was clean and the sheets were changed every two days or as needed. I had an incident with my drain spilling everywhere right after she had changed the sheets and it was not a problem for her to change them again. They never made me feel uncomfortable or that I had asked for too much. But I'm really a low maintenance type of person. Their English is minimal so a translator app is a must have. The power does go out once or twice a day which is common to all of DR, but Dominga has a generator so we were never without lights, television or Internet. But we were without the ac from time to time. She has a ceiling fan which works very well and if/when it got stuffy, we just took a walk on the patio. The rooms stay pretty cool from the ac being on during the time that the power goes out.

My SX buddy spoke Spanish would helped us a great deal. When I spoke with Dominga about the lady who recommended that I not stay there, Dominga was very gracious. She only said that she wished that when people came to the DR and started their own RH's that they didn't have to speak badly about the RH's that were already there. I agree. But in the defense of that person, she had a bad experience, it doesn't mean that everyone would have a bad experience or that everyone would have a good one. She spoke to be honestly about what her situation was and I appreciate that. But I'm glad that I gave Dominga the benefit of the doubt because I truly feel as if I met a friend for life in Dominga and her sisters and I plan to go back with my children and stay at Dominga's. I highly recommend this RH.

Dominga Diaz
Teléfonos: 829 5960126 Móvil : 829 556 1190

Here's a list of things that were helpful for me.

BE PATIENT.
Remember that DR time is not the same as US time. It may take a long time for things to get rolling. Just be patient. My husband and I went to a restaurant and ordered drinks. It took about 15 minutes before we were served water. This happened a few times. There wasn't anyone else in the restaurant, they weren't busy, it was just slow service. The food was so delicious, we went back for dinner.

BE HEALTHY.
My hemoglobin was a 14.2 in America. A week later, in the DR it was a 12.5. Dr. Yilly would not do my breast lift. She said that my health was far more important than the procedure, which I appreciated. I was very disappointed. I had been taking iron supplements. She told me that in the US it's typical that the iron can be up to two points lower in DR standards. So take your vitamins and do your best to stay in good health. Make sure that your BMI is in order. They will weigh and measure you.

DON'T RUSH RECOVERY.
If your doctor suggests that you stay 14 days, listen to him/her. Recovery was PAINFUL for me. If you're one of those super women who thinks lipo, TT, and BBL are a cakewalk, then you're admired, but if you're a realistic, normal, every day person like myself, the pain DOES exist. While I was disappointed that I could not get a breast lift (hemo was too low), I am actually relieved that I didn't, looking back on things. I'm not sure that I could have handled any more pain. Think your recovery through. I didn't realize that when I was thinking of my after care how long it would take before I was able to do normal things, like walk, lay down on the bed, get up out of bed, pee, shower, etc. I am still unable to pick up my kids or bend over to pick a toy off the floor. My husband goes back to work soon and I'm unsure how I'm going to care for our twins by myself. I really didn't consider how long it would take for me to 'enjoy' my new body.

HAVE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS.
I didn't see my body for a while after surgery, and with the pain, I wasn't interested. But when I did see my body I was very impressed with the TT. My scar was nearly non existent. My butt was bigger and hips more rounded, but not too much so. I didn't want a super big butt, just not a flat one. I wanted to be more curvy, but not huge. I think my butt is perfect now. My back/flanks lipo were noticeably different, but not completely how I imagined them to be in my head. They will reach what I wanted for myself, but I need to give it time to heal. I've already noticed a huge difference from when I first saw it to today and I'm pleased.

SHOWERS IN THE DR
You will not be able to shower post op in the DR. The water is not non-potable. It was recommended that I not shower post op. But you can't get your wounds wet for 14 days after sx anyway and most people leave after that amount of time.

FAJA
Peeing in the faja was difficult for me, but my sx buddy was fine with it. The pee funnel or ezpee that I had was a Godsend for me. The faja is meant to be tight, which can be uncomfortable. Having wifebeaters (preferably white ones), is necessary. You will be in your faja pretty much all day long other than when you get your massage and usually that's your 45 mins without it. Learn to love it, because it's your new best friend and helps bring the swelling down. My appetite changed a lot while in the DR and I think it had a lot to do with how tight my faja was. I couldn't finish a meal to save my life. I almost felt bad about how much food I left on my plate when someone else was taking so much time and attention to make it for me.

(I'll add more as I think of them)

Here are a few photos. I'll try and take some more recent ones soon.

I go for my second lymphatic massage tomorrow and they help so much. I definitely recommend finding a masseuse who specializes in lymphatic massages in your area. Mine are $80, but I will gladly pay it. I'm still very swollen and the lipo itches a lot. But overall, I'm healing well. It's just a very slow process.

I can finally say that I'm not in any pain. I still get random shockwave type pains through my back, but other than that and a little soreness here and there, and some itchiness, I'm feeling so much better. Recovery is truly a long process. If you don't have the proper time to recover, I'd reconsider doing this.