POSTED UNDER Liposuction REVIEWS
35 Year Old Female, Vaser Liposuction, Stomach & Back
ORIGINAL POST
Last week I had abdominal lipo (upper & lower...
vaser2017June 25, 2017
WORTH IT$10,018
Last week I had abdominal lipo (upper & lower stomach, flanks, upper & lower back) at Cosmos Clinic in Double Bay. Originally I wasn't going to document my journey - but I really valued the insight RealSelf reviews provided when investigating this option, so thought I'd do my bit and document my experience.
Wasn't sure where to start... I guess some background helps put this in context.
I’m a 35yo single female from WA. I have always been a bigger girl, hitting my height of 5’9 when I was still in primary school. This was great for netball, not so much for my dancing career ;) I was never really overweight in primary school & was very active, however being that tall and towering over everyone definitely led to me being self-conscious about my size.
When I hit high school my self-consciousness exploded! I remember all the other girls being so little and wearing their school skirts so short…. Whereas I had chunky thighs and just always felt like a bit of a giant. This pervaded through much of my life right through school and into uni, with episodes of eating disorders and extremely excessive exercising. I was definitely an all or nothing girl.
When the structured exercise petered out after uni, the nothing definitely came into play, and I yo-yo dieted for over 10 years without any continuous exercise. At my slightest I would have been a size 10, at my largest an 18. I loved socialising, eating out and drinking with friends, and that lifestyle was really my main source of socialising. Combined with a hectic career that often saw me working 50-60 hour weeks. Exercise fell away completely with the exception of a few times I would get a PT for a couple of months, and then let work get in the way again. Restricting food was how I managed my weight, which inevitably led me to rebounding to a higher weight than what I’d previously been.
My highest weight was in December 2013, I had returned home after 6 years in London, gone on a strict VLCD and got down to under 80kg for the first time in about 4 years. It felt great, but was completely unsustainable. As soon as I started eating & exercising "normally" it came back plus some, and I ended up over 100kg for the first time in my life. I've stayed at that weight now, fluctuating between 100-105kg for over 3 years.
In that time I've put a lot of effort into myself from an emotional & psychological perspective. I've been actively working through a raft of issues including my body, and really focussed on trying to find the right balance in my life. I want to eat well caus I function better when fuelling my body with healthy food. And move my body because I enjoy it, not as punishment.
One area I've just not been able to get to terms with is my tummy. I've realised I've babbled far more than needed already! So won't go into it too much. Except to say it held me back (mentally) from a lot of things.... dancing classes, getting back to the gym, going for a swim, going dating. So I figured it was time to try something different. Something a bit drastic. And something that maybe could change my life.
Pre-op:
I went to several consultations and Cosmos Clinic was by far the clear pick. Dr Ajaka and the whole team were so lovely, professional, helpful, and in no way pushy or sales-y. I had LOTS of queries and the team never hesitated to help me through them. I actually decided against the op originally, primarily due to financial reasons, and then 9 months later got back in touch, had a second consultation and decided from there to progress. All the pre-op was simple, efficient & professional. Only one pre-opp apt was required to get my compression garment fitted, and issue all the prescriptions.
Will document the procedure and follow up in the next posts.
Wasn't sure where to start... I guess some background helps put this in context.
I’m a 35yo single female from WA. I have always been a bigger girl, hitting my height of 5’9 when I was still in primary school. This was great for netball, not so much for my dancing career ;) I was never really overweight in primary school & was very active, however being that tall and towering over everyone definitely led to me being self-conscious about my size.
When I hit high school my self-consciousness exploded! I remember all the other girls being so little and wearing their school skirts so short…. Whereas I had chunky thighs and just always felt like a bit of a giant. This pervaded through much of my life right through school and into uni, with episodes of eating disorders and extremely excessive exercising. I was definitely an all or nothing girl.
When the structured exercise petered out after uni, the nothing definitely came into play, and I yo-yo dieted for over 10 years without any continuous exercise. At my slightest I would have been a size 10, at my largest an 18. I loved socialising, eating out and drinking with friends, and that lifestyle was really my main source of socialising. Combined with a hectic career that often saw me working 50-60 hour weeks. Exercise fell away completely with the exception of a few times I would get a PT for a couple of months, and then let work get in the way again. Restricting food was how I managed my weight, which inevitably led me to rebounding to a higher weight than what I’d previously been.
My highest weight was in December 2013, I had returned home after 6 years in London, gone on a strict VLCD and got down to under 80kg for the first time in about 4 years. It felt great, but was completely unsustainable. As soon as I started eating & exercising "normally" it came back plus some, and I ended up over 100kg for the first time in my life. I've stayed at that weight now, fluctuating between 100-105kg for over 3 years.
In that time I've put a lot of effort into myself from an emotional & psychological perspective. I've been actively working through a raft of issues including my body, and really focussed on trying to find the right balance in my life. I want to eat well caus I function better when fuelling my body with healthy food. And move my body because I enjoy it, not as punishment.
One area I've just not been able to get to terms with is my tummy. I've realised I've babbled far more than needed already! So won't go into it too much. Except to say it held me back (mentally) from a lot of things.... dancing classes, getting back to the gym, going for a swim, going dating. So I figured it was time to try something different. Something a bit drastic. And something that maybe could change my life.
Pre-op:
I went to several consultations and Cosmos Clinic was by far the clear pick. Dr Ajaka and the whole team were so lovely, professional, helpful, and in no way pushy or sales-y. I had LOTS of queries and the team never hesitated to help me through them. I actually decided against the op originally, primarily due to financial reasons, and then 9 months later got back in touch, had a second consultation and decided from there to progress. All the pre-op was simple, efficient & professional. Only one pre-opp apt was required to get my compression garment fitted, and issue all the prescriptions.
Will document the procedure and follow up in the next posts.
vaser2017's provider
UPDATED FROM vaser2017
11 days post
The op #1 Wednesday 14th June
vaser2017June 25, 2017
I had my upper & lower stomach done on Wednesday 14th June. I was soooooo nervous!! And the team were nothing short of amazing!! I was first in at 8.30am which was great, as it meant that I simply didn't eat or drink from the night before. Chloe sat me down and went through all the paperwork, and then Dr Francesco Fascetti marked me up. I hadn't met Dr Fascetti before, as I had my consultations with Dr Ajaka. However he was absolutely lovely, very personable and completely put me at ease.
Then it was into the operating room and the procedure started. In all honesty I don't remember much. It felt like I was in there for about 15 minutes, just flew by! Dr Fascetti & Dr Ajaka both performed my op, and advised it actually went for around 2.5 hours. I was lucid through the procedure, but obviously a bit out of it. I don't remember any pain, just a nice lie down.
Then I was in recovery for another few hours. Just had a sleep. No real pain, and I woke up feeling great. Obviously I was a bit tender & uncomfortable... but (at this point) no pain. The nursing staff were so helpful, and both Dr Fascetti & Dr Ajaka came in to see how I was going while I was in recovery. Was so nice that they didn't just forget about me once the lipo was done. The personal and caring approach at Cosmos is definitely what sets them apart in my mind, combined with their amazing talent!
I live on my own, so caught a cab home, wrapped in several layers of padding to make sure I didn't leak. Got home fine, and then just spent the afternoon watching TV & snoozing. I had two drains in my lower abdomen, so kept the padding on overnight, as I leaked A LOT of fluid. Having the extra pads really helped, even though I looked like the Michelin man, I felt better having that extra layer to capture most of the leakage over the first and second day.
Then it was into the operating room and the procedure started. In all honesty I don't remember much. It felt like I was in there for about 15 minutes, just flew by! Dr Fascetti & Dr Ajaka both performed my op, and advised it actually went for around 2.5 hours. I was lucid through the procedure, but obviously a bit out of it. I don't remember any pain, just a nice lie down.
Then I was in recovery for another few hours. Just had a sleep. No real pain, and I woke up feeling great. Obviously I was a bit tender & uncomfortable... but (at this point) no pain. The nursing staff were so helpful, and both Dr Fascetti & Dr Ajaka came in to see how I was going while I was in recovery. Was so nice that they didn't just forget about me once the lipo was done. The personal and caring approach at Cosmos is definitely what sets them apart in my mind, combined with their amazing talent!
I live on my own, so caught a cab home, wrapped in several layers of padding to make sure I didn't leak. Got home fine, and then just spent the afternoon watching TV & snoozing. I had two drains in my lower abdomen, so kept the padding on overnight, as I leaked A LOT of fluid. Having the extra pads really helped, even though I looked like the Michelin man, I felt better having that extra layer to capture most of the leakage over the first and second day.
Replies (0)
UPDATED FROM vaser2017
11 days post
Day +1 Thursday 15th June
vaser2017June 25, 2017
I literally couldn't get over how well I felt. I spent the day pottering around the house, watching TV and snoozing. I definitely found it most comfortable to be standing or lying down, sitting wasn't so great, but doable. I ate pretty normally. Didn't feel super hungry, but wanted to ensure I was nourishing my body with good food to assist in recovery. And drank lots of water. Which combined with the compression garment, corset & what I've nicknamed the fatsuit (an extra padded layer over the corset for additional support & compression) meant a lot of trips to the loo!
I also had my first massage appointment with Fernanda. Fernanda has got to be one of the most lovely people I've ever met!! One of those girls that all the girls want to be friends with and all the guys want to date hahaha. And her massages are amazing. I left feeling more comfortable about what my new body needed, how best to self-massage and help my body in this pretty extreme recovery. Until then I'd only really considered the procedure itself, not really thought about how I can best care for myself in these next weeks to ensure a speedy recovery, and the best results possible.
I also had my first massage appointment with Fernanda. Fernanda has got to be one of the most lovely people I've ever met!! One of those girls that all the girls want to be friends with and all the guys want to date hahaha. And her massages are amazing. I left feeling more comfortable about what my new body needed, how best to self-massage and help my body in this pretty extreme recovery. Until then I'd only really considered the procedure itself, not really thought about how I can best care for myself in these next weeks to ensure a speedy recovery, and the best results possible.
Replies (3)