All my adult life I have been overweight and just...
All my adult life I have been overweight and just in the last 2 years I changed my lifestyle and lost over 70lbs. I did it by cutting out the sugars and just walking and taking a Zumba class a 3 times week. So I will say to those who have been trying all the latest diets and fads, losing weight is not hard you just have to start really paying attention to the grams of sugar in your diet and keep it sensible. I myself just set a maximum of 40 grams of sugars a day and really started watching my calorie intake.
I found the weight just falling off of me sometimes as much as 5 or 6 pounds per week at first then I learned to manage my weight and now I am ready for the next phase which is to get rid of the extra skin.
So now I am going to go to surgery for a lower body lift and tummy tuck @ 05:30 tomorrow morning the 22 of April 2014. I am excited but nervous about the whole thing but I do plan on feeling much better about myself after this is finally done.
Surgery day!
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22 Apr 2014
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Day of treatment
Arrived at hospital 05:30 am immediately back to pre-op. Made peace with the nasty nurse who stuck me with IV signed 100 pages of crap and off to be sliced. Left Husband in charge from that point. Will update when my brain is fully functioning.
Here's some before pics
Day after (wtf) was I thinking!
My doctor said this would be a butt whopping and boy oh boy this butt is whooped. I'm able to move in small grandma steps and the trip to the restroom even though in reality is small seems forever. My doctor does not use drains (thank goodness) so I'm not lugging around bags of slime. But he did lipo my girl parts and it's swollen like it belongs on a jersey milk cow. It's hard to judge the results yet but did see my tummy and it's flat as can be ;-). In total I had 4 lbs. of fat and excess skin removed. He did an auto augmentation of my buttocks lipo to my knees my thighs and back. With tummy tuck then small amounts of fat was used to fill in my face which was deflated due to the lost weight. Basically I feel like the train ran over me then backed up to make sure it didn't kill me. But I look forward to seeing my new body under the wraps I will try to snap a picture or two soon.
Day 2 PO still in hospital :-(
Well due to blood complications I'm still in the hospital. My red blood count was very low so they are treating that now. Still very very sore but moving is somewhat better today. Swelling like a puffer fish but the girl parts are the worst part. OMG I was not ready for that to happen but they are giving me fluid reduction shots so it might help. Other than that I'm still plugging along, I will have my husband snap a pic of my tummy next time we have the compression belt off.
Day 3 n 4 misery loves company
Ok so I have been kinda out of the update thingy for few days. Well I can say now that swelling has just made me miserable. My girl parts are so tender that it hurts to even think! Today it's receded somewhat but hydrocodone has been my best friend and I hate taking pain meds.......
If not for my husband who has been by my side tirelessly I couldn't do anything for myself. He's been amazing (thank you honey for being my support).
Ok so now to the update I was able to take a brief shower on day 3 but even that was like a clown show. My husband got a milk crate covered it with towels and made a seat in the tub. I was able to sit and wash my hair or I should say he was able to wash my hair. My incisions are looking great with very little draining. My legs are a mess of swelling and bruising but again I think things will get better with them as I heal. Overall I'm feeling better but this damn swelling is the worst. I was able to get a couple of pics with my side and front views.
I will try to get more each day as things return to normal hopefully
Continuation of days 3 and 4
Well I can only say today is just swelling and misery. I had to go to my cancer doctor so my husband and I dressed me into the most comfortable clothes we could (not very fashionable I may add.
My blood work was good so all I'm doing is resting and hoping the swelling from hell goes away. So I will end this update and hope that next time I can report lower swelling :-)
Light at end of tunnel.
Ok so today I finally may have turned the corner. The swelling in my girl parts has finally gone down (thank The Lord). I'm still having pain in my abdomen and getting up and down is a chore but today is the first day that swelling has been lower on my list of discomfort.
I'm hoping that each day finds me getting more and more strength and better mobility. I'm going to close with a couple of pictures from today. I'm still wide as can be from swelling but you can see there is a improvement already.
Like a Beatles song (it's getting better all the time)
Ok so we went to see the PS on Monday and he was thrilled with my progress. Also I was fitted into full compression suit so I'm squeezing everything back where it's supposed to be. I am still stooped over but each day things are getting better for all. My Butt is starting to resemble human shapes again and getting up and down are easier. I hope this continues this rate of improvement.
I gained 10 pounds immediately after surgery and have lost 5 in the last week. So fluid is finally going away and right now all is looking positive.
Here are a few new pictures.
Light at end of tunnel #2
Nearly a month out now I've lost all the weight gain from surgery. I can take care of myself on my own now and it feels so good to have my independence back.
Next Monday I go back to PS for 2nd compression garment and then I will try to return to work for half day.
I am so tired of being stuck inside my house I could scream. The swelling is still very pronounced at times mostly in my upper legs. However now slowly I am starting to see just how skilled my surgeon is with a sharp knife and some bondo.
My incisions look great only on my hips is there any hint of inflamed tissues. And my new butt is starting to take shape.
I have a few new photos of my progress so as things change I will pass it along.
Take care all!
Meet the new me!
Now it has been a bit of time since I have posted here and I just wanted to update my surgery. Its been nearly 12 weeks now and I am nearly 100% back to full strength. I started back to work this past week, so after a long sabbatical its nice to get back into the routine.
I am still suffering from swelling at the end of the day and my stamina is not back to previous levels but the surgery is but a distant memory. I am so happy that I did this and my results are getting better each week:-) . The scar is healing up great, its a small thin red line now and feeling is returning to my butt. My surgeon may want to revise the spot on my left side where it got infected from the compression garment. But its not really bothering me so I will not push for this to happen.
Overall everything is going good and healing as expected, I have taken a few pictures of the new me in a item of clothing that I could never wear before:-) . As always thanks for all your support and as I continue to improve I will update you on my new developments. Take care and feel free to ask questions or make comments.
photos of my new real self.....
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19 Jul 2014
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3 months post
Photos wouldn't post the last time I attached so here they are again. I couldn't be more happy with my result except for the legs they are bothersome to me. Maybe they need more attention with the next visit to the PS for 100,000 mile check up :-) :-)
Anyway if anyone has questions or wants to talk about my journey just let me know.
Take care all
