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Low Pain Tolerance, Anemic, 34 Lipo on Abs, Flanks, and Back
So I am writing this 15 days post-op. I wanted to write a review starting the day after surgery, but quite honestly, would have been extremely difficult. My story is unlike some of the stories I have come across, I feel I had a very hard recovery, and I am still healing. I want to write my story for those who are looking to do this, to really think about it and understand the consequences after the fact.
Let's start at the beginning, the day of surgery. I was given an Oxy and some anxiety medication. My blood was done and showed I am very low on iron. So I have been taking Iron meds ever since. This may cause complications for surgery and recovery, which I was not aware of until the day of surgery. So, I suggest you get bloodwork done well before your procedure to ensure you are good to go or if there is any nutrition you should work on, so you have plenty of time. I wish I had at least a month to get my iron back up instead of having to try to do it during recovery.
My surgeon had the PRO-NOX laughing gas type of thing available during the surgery that you hold yourself and dispense yourself for comfort. The beginning of surgery was fine, it felt like cramping and then the numbing happened and I could just feel pressure and hear noises. I suffer with anxiety, so if you are similar, this surgery will probably be the most intense you will ever endure in your life. All the lipo websites and customers say its "easy" and not bad at all. NOPE. NOPE. Don't believe it. It is painful. If I would have JUST done my abdomen, I think maybe I would have tolerated it better. I feel I did way too many parts of my body, and by the time it was time to flip for them to do back and hips, the numbing didn't work, or something.
I was in agony. I was sucking on the pro-nox the entire time, I never stopped. For almost 4 hours. I cried in pain several times. There was a nurse there who was watching me from afar, I had do wear a mask, and she had to stay 6 feet away as much as possible, but she would adjust the mask for me and asked me q's, but for the most part she just sat in the corner of the room watching me cry.
I remember my hands being very tensed up in fists, even though I was pretty drugged up. I wish I would have found a surgeon who gave the option to go under, most lipo is done "awake" so you reduce complications. However, I would have been better -pain-wise- completely under.
Then after the procedure, 2 nurses got me into a binder and compression garment. The doctor was talking to me for sometime, I don't really remember what it was, I remember nodding my head, but to be honest I was SO OUT OF IT, I have no recollection of what the conversation was, Im sure it was about how the surgery went, and what was to be expected, maybe?I wish they would have had my husband come in during that time, but they couldn't due to COVID-19. I had my husband pick me up outside at the car, they wheeled me out. They gave my husband some dosing schedules of the pain meds and sent us on our way, this was out of state.
Went back to the hotel, I'm still on pain meds, so I eat some food. By nighttime, I am drenched in the fluids coming out of my body. You have a Jackson-Pratt drain on, but the fluids are so much, you are supposed to sleep on something waterproof to protect the bed. I was at a hotel, and the blanket I brought didn't hold up and we ended up drenching the hotel mattress. So my husband got the shower curtain and I slept over that for 2 nights. I once tried taking off the garment the first day to wash it, because it was SOAKED in the fluid - which is like a pinky color - and I almost passed out, was still high on drugs, and insisted my husband call the doctor to make sure that I was ok, but I thought I had to go to the emergency room or something, I was just so doped up plus my anxiety, not a good combo - plus lack of understanding what was to be expected.
My husband had to walk me everywhere, had to help me sit and stand on the toilet, had to help me get on the bed, move my feet into position, etch me up. I had no control of my body, I was in so much pain. Even on Oxycontin.
I slept on and off, at night I would get more meds but I mostly stared at the ceiling wondering what the hell I got myself into and just wanted some relief. I was supposed to have a lymp massage the next day, but when I woke up it was like a bus hit me and I could not move or get out of bed. I could not sit up - I was just helpless, I had to call them and cancel because I could not imagine anyone touching the area, because I could hardly touch it, it was SO TENDER and sore. It was unbearable.
We decided to stay one extra day at the hotel because my husband thought I would not be able to handle the drive of 6 hours back home road trip in the condition I was in. The first week after surgery is horrible. I will do a week by week in my next posts.
Let's start at the beginning, the day of surgery. I was given an Oxy and some anxiety medication. My blood was done and showed I am very low on iron. So I have been taking Iron meds ever since. This may cause complications for surgery and recovery, which I was not aware of until the day of surgery. So, I suggest you get bloodwork done well before your procedure to ensure you are good to go or if there is any nutrition you should work on, so you have plenty of time. I wish I had at least a month to get my iron back up instead of having to try to do it during recovery.
My surgeon had the PRO-NOX laughing gas type of thing available during the surgery that you hold yourself and dispense yourself for comfort. The beginning of surgery was fine, it felt like cramping and then the numbing happened and I could just feel pressure and hear noises. I suffer with anxiety, so if you are similar, this surgery will probably be the most intense you will ever endure in your life. All the lipo websites and customers say its "easy" and not bad at all. NOPE. NOPE. Don't believe it. It is painful. If I would have JUST done my abdomen, I think maybe I would have tolerated it better. I feel I did way too many parts of my body, and by the time it was time to flip for them to do back and hips, the numbing didn't work, or something.
I was in agony. I was sucking on the pro-nox the entire time, I never stopped. For almost 4 hours. I cried in pain several times. There was a nurse there who was watching me from afar, I had do wear a mask, and she had to stay 6 feet away as much as possible, but she would adjust the mask for me and asked me q's, but for the most part she just sat in the corner of the room watching me cry.
I remember my hands being very tensed up in fists, even though I was pretty drugged up. I wish I would have found a surgeon who gave the option to go under, most lipo is done "awake" so you reduce complications. However, I would have been better -pain-wise- completely under.
Then after the procedure, 2 nurses got me into a binder and compression garment. The doctor was talking to me for sometime, I don't really remember what it was, I remember nodding my head, but to be honest I was SO OUT OF IT, I have no recollection of what the conversation was, Im sure it was about how the surgery went, and what was to be expected, maybe?I wish they would have had my husband come in during that time, but they couldn't due to COVID-19. I had my husband pick me up outside at the car, they wheeled me out. They gave my husband some dosing schedules of the pain meds and sent us on our way, this was out of state.
Went back to the hotel, I'm still on pain meds, so I eat some food. By nighttime, I am drenched in the fluids coming out of my body. You have a Jackson-Pratt drain on, but the fluids are so much, you are supposed to sleep on something waterproof to protect the bed. I was at a hotel, and the blanket I brought didn't hold up and we ended up drenching the hotel mattress. So my husband got the shower curtain and I slept over that for 2 nights. I once tried taking off the garment the first day to wash it, because it was SOAKED in the fluid - which is like a pinky color - and I almost passed out, was still high on drugs, and insisted my husband call the doctor to make sure that I was ok, but I thought I had to go to the emergency room or something, I was just so doped up plus my anxiety, not a good combo - plus lack of understanding what was to be expected.
My husband had to walk me everywhere, had to help me sit and stand on the toilet, had to help me get on the bed, move my feet into position, etch me up. I had no control of my body, I was in so much pain. Even on Oxycontin.
I slept on and off, at night I would get more meds but I mostly stared at the ceiling wondering what the hell I got myself into and just wanted some relief. I was supposed to have a lymp massage the next day, but when I woke up it was like a bus hit me and I could not move or get out of bed. I could not sit up - I was just helpless, I had to call them and cancel because I could not imagine anyone touching the area, because I could hardly touch it, it was SO TENDER and sore. It was unbearable.
We decided to stay one extra day at the hotel because my husband thought I would not be able to handle the drive of 6 hours back home road trip in the condition I was in. The first week after surgery is horrible. I will do a week by week in my next posts.