Frangipani

LOL Foofy and Becky -- you two have my number down, for sure :tt2::lol:!!! BUT being the avid hiker that I am, all you need to do is get me out on the trails and into that majestic landscape and I forget about shopping, and everything else. I absolutely love the west and the southwest and getting out into the mountains and the canyons -- nothing makes me happier. Foofy, you are a very lucky woman (even though you can keep your winters :frown::tongue:)!!!! And I hope you do come to the VI -- you're welcome anytime. It's gorgeous here too with a totally different kind of beauty and offbeat charm, but quite stunning just the same. Becky, thanks for posting all the great info you got from your Dr. -- very good to know all of this. I actually wanted to do a short, easy walk today, but fatigue hit me like a ton of bricks today and by the time I woke up it was too late to go out for a walk. I believe I slept more today than I have since my surgery. I'm not sure what that's all about, but I napped for almost the entire afternoon. Are you feeling fatigued like this Becky? I'm definitely going out for a walk tomorrow, I have to get my energy levels back up. I mean, sleeping for hours on end can't be a good thing either -- right? Jody, I agree with Becky. If you are able to get away for a few days it might do you a world of good. I need to confirm when I can make an appointment to see my Dr., but I'm thinking of traveling up to Miami from like, July 30 or 31 through August 3 or 4, but I am somewhat flexible.

Oh Jody....... I am so sorry to hear this news about your brother. There are some amazing doctors out there who can do things that defy all odds, so I'm sending my very best hopes and wishes that your brother will find an excellent physician who will be able to treat the kidney cancer successfully. Lots and lots of big hugs to you Jody. If there is anything at all that I can do to help, please let me know. You and your brother are very much in my thoughts.

Wow! How lovely to wake up to all of these wonderful compliments!! Foofy, thank you very much, I can't wait for you to have your makeover either -- it is such an awesome thing. I am simply amazed at what plastic surgeons can do!!! I honestly never believed I would come out of surgery with a flat belly and I kept asking my Dr. over and over if this was really going to happen. When I asked him about this for the umpteenth time just before surgery, he said to me very emphatically "Yes! You will have a flat belly, what do you think you're paying me for?!!!" (which made me LOL :thumbup:) BTW -- where are you in Montana? Are you anywhere near Glacier National Park? Love Montana -- what stunningly gorgeous country!!!! Cori, Thanks as always for your incredibly sweet comments. I am LOL however, at the idea of my husband drooling and panting and eyeballing. He's a wonderful man, but he's very reserved and low key (total opposite of me :crying:), and I don't see him drooling or panting anytime soon (LOL :laugh:) Salsa, thank you sweetie :smile:! You will have excellent results!!!! In fact, you'll be blown away at what your surgeon is able to do!!! Oh Becky, big hugs to you lady. I wish I could be in Dallas to make you feel better!!! But it will get better, and you look INCREDIBLE so just keep reminding yourself that the aches and pains will go away soon and that it's all so very worth it. OMG That would be so much fun if you could make it to Miami. I will come up with some dates and let you know. Hi Karey, Thank you for the wonderful compliments!!! Thanks also for the advice!!! Your feedback makes me feel so much better. I really do need to slow down. I think the first few weeks I was really numb -- now I'm becoming less so, and I'm really starting to feel everything. LuLu, thanks!!!! I've never ever been told that my "girls look great," that's a first -- Woo Hoo!!!! That would be so awesome if we could meet up in Florida, I will PM you with my dates and hopefully we can figure out a way to meet up!!! In fact, I would love to meet all of you wonderful ladies -- maybe we should have a great big get together in Miami!!!

Salsa, Congratulations!!!! WOW!!!! It sounds like you had an epic day today. AWESOME job lady :thumbup:. Next step is to have a very Happy Birthday -- right?!!!! I hope it's a good one :smile:!!!! Then get ready to get excited about your surgery -- with every passing day I am more and more happy that I had this done, and I just know you will feel the very same way -- I'm excited for you!!!

Thank you so much Becky!!! Honestly, it did take a lot for me to post that before photo :redface:! I'm not even sure how long I'll be able to keep it up there -- it makes me totally cringe every time I see it!!! However now you can see why I was so very anxious to get started on PS as soon as I possibly could!!! I have always had a pooch of skin in my lower belly, but this time around, it was horrendous, and I knew it wasn't going anywhere without the help of a good surgeon. Thank you Jody!!!! A talented plastic surgeon can create beautiful breasts on almost any body type, and Dr. Masri I must say, does amazing breasts, I just so impressed with his before and after photos during my initial consult. I pretty much gave him carte blanche to do whatever he wanted as far as choosing the shape and size of the implant, etc. (not an easy thing for me, being the micro-manager that I am ), and I was not disappointed. I've never been that crazy about the overall shape of my breasts either but as you might recall, I wasn't initially that keen on having the breasts done. However, when I started consulting with surgeons and looking at before and after photos, breasts moved way high up on the priority list . I guess up until that point I had simply forgotten what nice breasts looked liked !!! BTW -- because of the breast band I've been wearing (which is a compression garment that you wear across the breasts when you have implants so that the implant doesn't settle too high on the chest) the swelling has gone down quite a bit and when I bought my bras just before I left Miami, I was a "C" cup -- which is exactly what I wanted to be ! Well, today was laundry and cleaning day. I am by no means done with everything yet, but I'm getting there. It's a good thing I did all of my own laundry at the hotel before I left to return home, otherwise I'd probably never see the bottom of the hamper again! I notice that I am rather achy at times and it sort of comes and goes -- one minute I'll be feeling fine and the next I feel achy, and sore, and somewhat hunched over. What do you think ladies, is this normal? I'm still a bit concerned that I strained my muscles from lifting too much yesterday......... Thank you so much again for the nice compliments Becky and Jody!!!!

Awww Jody, thank you so much!!! I'll be back on the mainland next month to see my Dr. and plan out phase 2 and I think you and Becky (and any of you lovely ladies who want to) should come to Miami for a few days. We can go shopping and have a riot!!!! What do you think? Okay, nervously I am posting some photos. The first one was taken 4 days pre-op and the second one is two weeks (and one day) post-op. I'm still pretty swollen and the drain is still in, but I rerouted it through the back of my panties for the photos. DH did not want me putting topless (or bottomless) post-op photos up on the Internet because we live on a small island where the core culture is rather modest and traditional -- so I have to respect that (he was okay with the topless "before" photo because that body doesn't exist anymore). I therefore, tried to show as much as I possibly could, and hopefully this will give you the idea. I didn't show my TT scar, but I can if anyone is interested in seeing it (it's still rather angry red and yuck and not very pretty right now). I had to use my bathing suit cover up for the before photos because all I ever owned pre-op were "granny panties" which my husband always loathed. I'm proud to say that one of my projects today is to throw all the granny panties right out in the garbage :thumbup:!!!! No more granny panties ever again -- Woo Hoo!!!! Anyhow, here are some pics (Bra and panties from Stein Mart of course :tt2:):

Hi Becky! Thank you so much, sweet lady!!! I was told that the swelling can last for months as well -- Oh Joy :thumbdown:! That said, just think how great we'll look when it's all over -- this is so totally worth it!!! My incisions are peeling all over the place too, breasts and tummy. I have read (and been told by my Dr.) that the scars actually will actually start to look even worse before they get better -- it's all just part of the healing process. I've talked to a few people who are several years out with their tummy tucks and they tell me that the scars fade out very nicely over time. That's funny that you have stitches near your hip, so do I. A two inch section near my left hip separated a day or so after surgery and the Dr. left it open for a few days and then stitched it up. I need to see my PCP early next week to have my stitches removed too. By the way where did your port scar end up, or was that skin removed altogether? By the time I had my PS, I had only two small scars left from my Lap Band surgery with the port scar being by far, the largest and most noticeable. That scar is now just 1/4 inch above my pubic area -- I was simply amazed at how far he pulled the skin down on my belly. Congrats on your weight loss too -- 121 pounds!!!! You have always had an amazing metabolism. I need to start using cold packs too because I also have some swelling and I'm dreading what will happen when the drain comes out. How long do you keep your cold pack on at a sitting? Karey, (the woman with all of the fabulous ideas and suggestions :smile::smile::smile:). I've been reading up on the lymphatic massage and it seems like a great thing. I also wanted to mention that your rice pudding suggestion during the recovery phase was excellent too. I bought some Jello brand sugar-free rice pudding Crème Brulee flavor, and it was yummy!!! In fact, it was one of the very few things that was actually appetizing to me during those first few days after surgery. Jody, if my drain ever comes out (note the "if" -- this thing might become a part of me ), I will definitely snap a pic of myself in my new tee!!!

Hi Karen, I wanted to wait until I got home and was able to weigh myself on my own scale before I responded to this. My Dr. removed 4 pounds of fat and skin during my tummy tuck, but I have lost a total of 9 pounds since my surgery. The Dr. told me that after surgery, your metabolism is super-charged because all of your body's energy goes into healing itself. This certainly seems to be the case with me because I haven't worked out in over two weeks. Congrats on your upcoming LBL -- we'll be looking forward to following your progress!!!!

I didn't even realize how long it had been since I have last updated. Wow everyone! Look at us and we're not even at the 11 month mark yet!!!! Woo Hoo for us :thumbup:!!! Name: Frangipani Weight loss from day of surgery: 110 lbs Total weight loss: 116 lbs Name: Candle Weight loss from day of surgery: 102 lbs Total weight loss: 116 lbs Name: Salsa Weight loss from day of surgery: 100 lbs Total weight loss: 100 lbs Name: Pammycakes Weight loss from day of surgery: 94 lbs Total weight loss: 96 lbs Name: Ceradad Weight loss from day of surgery: 102 Total weight loss: 122 Name: KarenG. Weight loss from day of surgery: 85 Total weight loss: 85 Name: NanaRenan Weight loss from day of surgery: 52 Total weight loss: 72 Name: TexasBecky Weight loss from day of surgery: 111 Total weight loss: 121 Name: SPEBSQSAlady Weight loss from day of surgery: 57.8 Total weight loss: 57.8 Name: Brandottie01 Weight loss from day of surgery: 32 lbs Total weight loss: 32 lbs Name: Bergdorfblonde Weight loss from day of surgery: 32 lbs Total weight loss: 32 lbs Name: Gometros Weight loss from day of surgery: 52.9 lbs Total weight loss: 74.9 Name: Pizzicato66 Weight loss from day of surgery: 71.5 Total weight loss: 83.5 Name: Valstar Weight loss from day of surgery: 52 lbs Total weight loss: 57 lbs Name:Gweniper weight loss from day of surgery: 57 total weight loss: 91 Name: purplegirl1818 weightloss from day of surgery: 73.5lbs total weight loss: 90.5lbs Name: LessNLess weightloss from day of surgery: 63lbs total weight loss: 69lbs Name: JudiM weightloss from day of surgery: 62lbs total weight loss: ?? Name: hf2havefun Weight loss from day of surgery: 41 lbs Total weight loss: 56 lbs Name: Nikki S Weight loss from day of surgery: 102 Total weight loss: 102 __________________

Hi Ladies, I'm back home!!! The trip back went very well, two flights, no delays. The only downside was that I ended up handling my heavy luggage WAY more than I should have -- I hope I didn't do any damage to my newly repaired muscles, but I never felt any pain or strain, so hopefully everything is okay. The trip did take a bit more out of me than I thought it would and I am quite fatigued right now. I will definitely be taking a little nap very soon. It's good to be home. The weather is really nice here -- so different from Miami. Perfect temps and breezes today, just lovely......... Whoa! The house is trashed!!!! But I can't tell DH this because he was beaming with pride at how nicely he kept the house while I was gone. So I had to be a good actress and coo about how great everything looked (NOT :thumbs_up:). The minute he left to go back to work, the broom and the cleaning supplies came out!!! I have my work cut out for me the next few days -- for sure!!! Stepped on the scale and good news -- nine pounds gone!!!! I had no idea whether I would show a loss or not. The Dr. removed only 4 pounds during surgery and I figured the swelling could potentially add that much -- so I was fairly surprised to see such a dramatic movement. However, the Dr. did tell me that the recovery period from surgery will turbo-charge your metabolism because all of your body's engery goes into healing itself. Kat! Great to hear from you -- how are you doing? Well, I will check back in later. I'm going to take that little nap I talked about and then try to make some sort of a dent in this house..... Have a great day :thumbs_up::smile::w00t:!!!

Hi Karey, Thanks! Yes, I'm very glad I made the decision I did and honestly if the fibroids grow back, I plan on just having another myomectomy. If anyone else reading out there ever faces this decision, the key is to find a good Dr. who is comfortable with operating on (not removing) the uterus. I chose a gynecologic oncologist because A) I figured such a person would do a great many complicated surgeries on a regular basis and :party: just by virtue of his chosen profession he would not be the type to take the "easy route." It turned out that my instincts were right about this. So my advice to anyone out there is to not give up! Becky, thanks for the well wishes. It feels like phase one of our journey is now officially over, but it was quite and adventure for us both -- wasn't it girlfriend :blushing::smile::hurray:? I'm so glad to hear that you are feeling better -- keep up with that ice and we will look forward to photos soon. I will also try to post some photos as soon as I can. I ended up seeing my Dr. today after all (drain still in though). He is supposed to be on vacation BUT he made a special trip in to his office to make sure everything was okay with my incisions before I went home. He is an unbelievably talented, caring and thorough Dr. -- I am SO happy I found him. Well, my flight leaves at 6:00 AM which means I need to be on the road by 4:00 AM, so I better sign off. I have a short layover in Puerto Rico and if all goes well I should be home by 10:00 AM. I will check back in tomorrow!

Hi Ladies, Real quick note because I'm on the run today getting ready to go home. Becky, thank you as always for your nice thoughts. I agree that drains are a real hassle BUT, I've decided that I would rather deal with that than excessive swelling. As it is now, I have noticeably more swelling after removing the one drain and I am hesitant to remove the second one until the time is just right. So, after talking all of this over with the Dr. I've decided to return home with one drain still in. Hopefully it will only need to stay in for just a few more days, but even if it ends up being a little longer than that, I'm okay with it. New Sho. WOW!!! I was SO happy to read your uplifting message regarding your myomectomy. Thank you so much for posting, I have not talked to very many women who have actually had a myomectomy. Do you realize how hard it is to get a Dr. to willingly even do this procedure??? I had to consult with 5 Dr.'s before I could find one 100% on board with what I wanted to do. For whatever reason (excessive caution probably, and let's face it money, among other things......), most GYNs prefer to do a hysterectomy rather than a myomectomy. I am just so happy that I stood my ground because for me, the myomectomy was a total piece of cake, and I had the added bonus of keeping my uterus. BoSteph, hang in there you're doing great! My word of wisdom is as Becky said, to take your pain meds for as long as you need to. Your Dr. prescribed them for good reason and your body will tell you when you no longer need them. Well as I said, I'm on the run today. Lots to do -- will check in later. Have a great day!!!!

Good morning everyone! Becky, panty shopping sounds like a lot of fun. I haven't done it yet, but I really need to. I'm sure that I don't look as good as you do though, because at this point I am only half done -- I hate my backside right now, even more so than before. I bet you are looking really awesome now -- especially since you are so tall. I have shopped for bras, but I am holding off for a while longer before I do it in earnest because I know that I'm still very swollen. That said, later on today I really need to go out shopping for some things to take home. As you can probably imagine lingerie is very expensive and the selection is not that great back at home. Can you believe it? I forgot to ask the Dr. how much longer I need to wear my bra, but I will touch base with him regarding this in the next day or so. Right now I have to wear a special strap across the top of my bust which was a new instruction that I just got on Monday. Thanks Jody! Have you been over to Stein Mart yet? What did you think? Jody, LOL :lol:! And you watch, this time next year (or even sooner) we will be posting on your thread!!! I'm still planning on returning home on Friday, but I might not be able to wear my new outfit. I'm still draining more than would be allowed to have the drain removed. In fact, I am draining even a bit more now since the other drain was taken out. The other thing is that there has been a noticeable difference in my swelling since the one drain was take out. My Dr. told me that if need be, my PCP could remove the drain and there is really no need to delay my trip home because of this. I would very much like to have that last drain removed, but I don't want to push and will live with the drain for as long as it takes.

Hi Steph, So glad to hear that all went so well with the surgery and you are on the road to recovery. Sounds like everything is turning out beautifully -- SO worth it, right? I hope you are resting comfortably -- big hugs to you!!!

Becky thank you for the encouraging words. You are such a sweetheart always. How are you doing today? Thank you so much for the nice comments Foofy and thanks for the information about the pill. If I ever need to do this again (God forbid), I will definitely be looking into this new pill. I see my GYN today and I am going to ask about this new pill just for the heck of it. I understand the need for a bowel cleanse, but Good Grief! Why make people go through such an ordeal the day before surgery? I could handle the running to the bathroom every 10 minutes for a few hours, but drinking that God Awful stuff (two vials plus 32 ounces of water) was pure torture!!!! There has got to be a better way, and apparently there is. Hi Karey, Great to hear from you! How was your trip to Montreal? My original plan was to have a full circumferential tuck (or LBL) first and then the breast lift with augmentation later, but when it became apparent that I needed to do something about my fibroid tumor(s), the game plan changed. My Dr. would not consider doing the circumferential tuck along with the myomectomy and as it was, I had to lobby fairly hard to have the breasts done at the same time (an excellent decision in retrospect considering how well I seem to tolerate surgery). I carried the majority of my weight in my lower belly and upper thighs and I seriously need the full circumferential tuck, and I will not be fully satisfied until it is complete. As I expected, my saddlebags and buttocks are driving me crazy now, and I am very eager to finish this whole thing out. I don't know if anyone remembers me mentioning that wearing a tight tee was one of my the first things I wanted to do after my tummy tuck BUT I found the cutest tee shirt at Stein Mart yesterday (50% off too Yes!!!!:thumbup::thumbup::cool2:). It's a mossy green (my color being a redhead) with a cute little flower pin on one side. I love it! Anyhow, I tried my new tee with my fitted capris, and with the breasts and the flat tummy it looks pretty good (even if I do say so myself :smile:). I can't wear this outfit until my last drain comes out, but I plan to wear it home on the plane. I think my husband will be fairly shocked at my tranformation when he sees me because I have never been able to wear this sort of thing before.

Thank you very much Cori. That is truly one of the nicest compliments I have ever received. You made my day with that one :smile::smile::smile:! I'm glad that others are learning from us because we learned so much from the ladies who have gone through this before us and so generously shared their experiences. Another incredibly lovely compliment. Thank you so much LuLu!!! I miss you guys on the exercise thread too, but I still keep up with it, and I know that you are having another rockin' month. Great job :tongue::thumbup::cursing:! I can't wait to rejoin you guys over there either. The Dr. tells me that I can return to light aerobic activity around the second week of July -- although I will probably start taking some walks before that. Hi Becky, You're doing wonderfully with your recovery. With as much as you had done at once, I'm sure being a bit achy is quite normal. Just keep reminding yourself that's it's all worth it because from your pics it most obviously is plus a whole lot more!!!! Well, the Dr. only removed one drain because the other one was still draining. He hopes to remove the second one on Wednesday or Thursday. I would have liked to have them both out, but I will say that one drain is still much better than two. WOW!!! What a major ouch when the drain came out!!! It only hurt for a few seconds, but man!!! Did you have pain when yours came out Becky? For me it was a rather intense burning sensation. I told my Dr. that the two worst parts of the surgery were having drains and the "bowel cleanse" that the GYN's office had me do the day before surgery (which nearly killed me I kid you not -- I would rather drink cyanide than Fleets Phospho-Soda, and probably will, if asked to do a "bowel cleanse" ever again). Everything else went really well. I actually tried to schedule my second surgery today (I know, I truly am crazy :tongue:), but my Dr. wouldn't hear of it. He told me to come see him toward the end of July or early August and he will take a look at how everything is healing and will tell me then when we can proceed with the second surgery. I also asked him about a few other things I wanted done and he said no, no, no! I knew this before about him, but he is really into doing the minimum amount of surgery possible and according to his staff, he frequently tells patients no. I guess that's another thing I really like about him -- he's incredibly honest in that way. I think you will all be happy to hear that I have been resting and taking it very easy the past few days -- listening to books on my iPod, watching movies and napping. I have gone out but only for a few hours at a time. All of this R & R really feels good, I just hope I don't turn into a lazy slug by the time I get home ! Well, that's my update for now. I will check in a little later or tomorrow. Have a great evening everyone!!!

Hi BBK, I'm so glad that you are making some progress with your Dr. So basically his communication style created a lot of misunderstandings, but he will take care of this for you. GOOD!!! Because I simply could not believe what was happening to you. Your Dr. did a fabulous job on your tummy tuck and I have every reason to believe that the revision on your breasts will turn out just beautifully once he gets back to using his tried-and-true techniques. I'm sorry that you have to go through this additional step, but I'm sure you will love the results of the revision surgery. I agree with your decision to not go through with the interview and I can totally relate to your wanting to "move on" from the whole obesity experience, as this is exactly how I feel. I will always be very happy to talk about the Lap Band and to offer advice and support, but just as I never wanted my life to be about being fat, I don't want my life to be about being "formerly fat" either. Therefore I think your decision to focus on your future, rather than your past, is very wise.

Thank you so much Cori!!! And thank you for all of your kind comments and support. The delightful thing about all of this has been connecting with such incredibly nice people (like you :smile:) through this thread!!! Becky LOL re the champagne comments!!! You are just to damn funny -- you silly girl :lol: I'm glad to hear that you slept well last night. I can only sleep on my back, how about you? I tried sleeping on my side and the breasts would not tolerate it. It's really tough being large-busted I'll tell ya :redface::tongue:!!! Well I did get some rest today and also went out for a bit. I lounged around in the hotel room until around 1:00 and then went out to find myself a comfortable bra. The bra that they gave me at the hospital had to go -- it was starting to seriously chafe my skin. Anyhow, now I know what size I am currently, I am a solid D cup. I assume that I will be closer to my preferred size (C cup) when the swelling goes down, but even if I were to remain in the D cup range, it wouldn't be the end of the world as it doesn't look as disproportionate with my body as I thought it would. Right now my big issue is wanting to go to bed without a bra on. As you can imagine, sleeping with bra on is not very comfortable and I am going to ask the Dr. on Monday when I can quit wearing it to bed. As far as the size 10 issue. I'm certain its just swelling. Before you know it you will be swimming in your size tens -- so don't fret. Hi Notsotinydancer, Congratulations on losing 22 pounds so far -- you're doing great!!!! My word of wisdom is to exercise hard and often. Not only will you turbo-charge your weight loss, you will feel great!!!! Well you wonderful ladies, the back is starting to hurt again, but the night is still young. You might very well hear from me yet again tonight, but if not, enjoy your Saturday night everyone!!!! :smile::smile::smile:

Hi Salsa, Wow! The date is closing in fast!!!! You'll do beautifully and will be SO happy that you did this. Good luck with both the surgery and the big race :redface:!

Thank you so much BBK. Being called a Rock Star from a Super Rock Star is a real compliment I must say!!!! OMG Becky -- you know me too well!!!! Scary!!! I did run up north to Boca (and Stein Mart) today. I also went to a fantastic wine store in downtown Fort Lauderdale and picked up a bottle of fancy french champagne for each of my doctors. I wasn't sure what to get them, but I wanted to do something nice and you can't go wrong with a nice bottle of champagne right? They were both SO wonderful. The plastic surgeon came to see me twice a day and the GYN Dr. actually went out of his way to do my surgery at a hospital he doesn't usually use -- so I figure they both deserved a nice gift. I researched it quite a bit online and found something very highly rated, but just a little bit unusual and not found everywhere -- so I hope they enjoy it. I made a few other stops as well so yeah, I've been around today. Tomorrow I promise to take it a little easier. Karey, I took your suggestion and bought a $30 DVD player at Best Buy before my surgery and it has been wonderful!!! I brought some movies with me that I've been meaning watch for sometime, and have been thoroughly enjoying myself. Thanks again for the wonderful suggestion!!!! Becky I am SO JEALOUS that you had your drains removed. These drains are starting to annoy the hell out of me!!! I hope mine will be removed on Monday. Well, my back is starting to hurt again from sitting in this chair so I will sign off for now. I plan to watch the end of my movie and then go to bed. Have a great night everyone!!!!

Hello everyone! Still working on getting caught up on my postings!...... Jody, Thank you so much for doing the updates for me while I was in the hospital. I also really enjoyed our phone conversations. You are a delightful and very funny lady!!! :smile::smile::smile: Thanks Legs! And thanks for posting!!!! My aim is actually starting to get a little better now and a little less food is going down the bra with each passing day -- although I must say that this a great way to save on calories :biggrin:! Okay, I don't want to blither on about my chest yet again, but I am SO happy with it. I actually tried to take a few photos to post, but I will have to wait until I get home because when you're taking a photos of yourself, and holding the camera there isn't really a good way (that I know of) to get a good, clear shot of the chest. Also the flash in the mirror obscures things as well (I am not a photographer as you can see). Anyhow, I will try to put some photos up when I get home in a week or so. Laurend and Becky regarding the garments, Right now I'm wearing a bra that looks like a sport bra, but velcros in the front. I'm also wearing a binder that is just a large band that wraps around the waist and tummy. My drains (I have two and I hope to have at least one removed on Monday) safety pin to the binder. My Dr. does believe in compression, but not too much. He doesn't seem to stress it as much as some Dr.'s. Once the drains come out I have a wonderful compression garment that I bought several weeks ago from a great company called Nouvelle. Here is the link to the garment I purchased. Nouvelle - Compression Garments & Post Operative Recovery Mine is the sleeveless version of the full body contour and it stops at mid-thigh -- as opposed to the one pictured which goes nearly to the ankle. Dawn at Nouvelle is great to deal with, the prices are reasonable (as these things go), and I received my order in the Virgin Islands within three days. Great company, I highly recommend them! As far as what I'm wearing out and about. I am primarily wearing linen slacks with a drawstring waist and various types of loose fitting linen blouses. This is working out well for me. The linen is cool and comfortable, but heavy enough to conceal all of the drains and plumbing that I'm wearing. Hi Candle, Congratulations on hitting goal!!! That is SO awesome!!!! You did an amazing job :thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:!!! I will be traveling home alone. DH has a very busy and stressful job and he spent about as much time with me as he possibly could. As it was, something unexpected came up with his work and I had to change his flight two hours before I went into surgery on Friday (he would have done it, but I wanted to get it done so that I knew that everything was set and in place before I went into surgery). I'll be just fine though, I'm getting around great. The only thing I will need a lot of help with is my luggage that day, but I will figure that out as I go along. I am going to try to mail as much back home to myself as I possibly can. Becky, I feel great. Much better than I ever expected to, that's for sure. I probably have to thank genes somewhat for my stamina. My maternal Grandmother (who I strongly resemble) is 85 years old and still teaches an exercise class that she has taught for decades. I have been running all over town and I was bad again today. I went out shopping for several hours, but I need to cool it a bit. Since I'm not home, I feel like I'm on vacation, and I feel this "pressure" to do things. But it's not good. I took a nap earlier this evening and when I woke up I was in "swell hell" -- probably from doing too much. I am really going to try hard to take it easy tomorrow (she says :smile:). Feel free to give me hell about this anytime -- I need it!!! Well, another novel. I still have some more postings to catch up on, but will work keep plugging away at this tomorrow. Talk to you soon everyone!!!

Becky, WOW!!!! :biggrin::tt1: You look AWESOME!!!! Totally worth it I would say -- you have the legs of a 30 year old now!!! Congratulations!!!!

Hi Steph, Just wanted to check in, say Hi and let you know that I'm sending quick healing vibes your way! Don't worry, you'll do just fine. Just last Friday (June 13) I underwent 8 hours of surgery. I had an "open" myomectomy in which the Dr. opened up my uterus and removed five fibroid tumors plus an ovarian cyst -- and at the same time I also had a full tummy tuck plus a breast lift with augmentation. Just six days later I'm doing fine and feeling great. I was in intense pain for not more than an hour immediately after surgery, as it took just a little time for my pain medication to "get ahead" of the actual pain, but after that I rested quite comfortably with almost no pain. On Friday I was pretty zonked out, but as I said comfortable. Saturday I was able to get out of bed and into a chair and by Saturday night I was walking. Good luck and try not to worry -- you will sail through this and will be SO happy that you did this!!!! We will be eagerly awaiting your update -- talk to you soon :thumbup::smile::smile2:!!!!

BBK, I need to keep this short because sitting at the computer for long periods of time is uncomfortable for me right now, but I must say that your Dr.'s attitude is absolutely infuriating. What an arrogant jerk!!! However, I am a U of M alum, and I know the type very well -- one reason why I ran screaming out of Ann Arbor :rolleyes2:!!! I think Karey had some great suggestions. Unfortunately there probably will be a bit of a confrontation with this knucklehead, but I think Karey's idea about getting his insurance company (or U of M) to pay for your revision surgery with another Dr. is a good one. At the very least you deserve some sort of an answer now as to when and how this matter will be resolved. The Dr. is handling this whole thing very very badly and you might need to shake him up a bit, as he obviously just doesn't "get it" at this point. More later, but big hugs and good luck with all of this. Never forget though Darling, you still look Smoking Hot!!!! :thumbup::tt1::smile2:

Good Morning Everyone! I'm back and feeling 1000% better. I'm having a nice big cup of coffee as I write this -- Ahhhhh the joys of caffeine!!! I just returned from (yet another) trip to the Miami airport to get DH off for his flight. He just called and it looks as if this flight will be taking off at 7:30 AM as expected. Anyhow, it might take me a day or two, but I will get caught up on all of the threads and postings that I want to respond to. It is a bit hard for me to sit for long periods of time -- how about you Becky? I'm much better standing or lounging luxuriously in my very comfy bed with my amazing wedge pillow (thank you Karey for the suggestion, I love my wedge pillow, it's the perfect thing.) Becky, of course you are going to have days that you want to whine. You had an amazing amount of surgery just seven short days ago. So please, whine away. I am however, wondering if you are being a bit premature in weaning yourself off of the pain meds. If you still have pain, it seems to me that you should still be taking your pain meds. After all the Dr. did prescribe them for a reason -- to keep you comfortable while you are recuperating. I also think Karey gave us some great insight into what might be happening to us right now (Thank you again Karey :rolleyes2:). I never thought of it, but this surgery might very well be wreaking havoc with our hormones. I don't know about you, but general anesthesia always puts me into a major funk -- less so this time, but I do find myself getting very annoyed and short-tempered at times. So no worries, this will pass quickly. I wish I recuperating closer to you because I think a little trip to Stein Mart would do us both a world of good. Can DH at least take you someplace for a little while today? Well, I think I need to sign off for now, my back is a bit stiff from sitting at the computer (and in not-a-very-comfortable chair either) so I need to give it a little rest, but I will return in a few hours. Talk to you soon :thumbup::smile::smile2:!