wannabthinagain

ok, i'm about to start the next phase of this journey. I'm hovering around 6 pounds above my original goal (i say that because i would LOVE to lower it, but at the same time PS may bet rid of the rest of what doesn't seem to want to budge!). My PS consult is Thursday 11/12/09. I'm not planning surgery until March of next year. I just want to know what he wants me to do...maintain, lose more... I'm trying to get all the questions i should ask all written down so i don't forget anything! the plan is to have a lift with implants (i'm sure i don't have enough tissue for even a C!) and a tummy tuck. would love some lipo if there is any backfat and above my belly if that isn't pulled flat! here are things i have already.....can anyone add to this? am i at an ok weight or should i lose more should i work at maintaining now, or lose more Belly buttons (i am worried about this one but hear my Dr. does great ones!) implants what kind/size (i've hear of some called gummie. my sister in law had her saline replaced with this type last year because ONE saline busted after 5 years and she was totally lopsided...she's FLAT without the implants. The gummies are silicone, but will not leak if busted. at least from the outside it would still look normal!) mons lift happens with tt? what exactly would that achieve? will my port scar be hidden, if not removed? (my port scar is low, but a little bit higher than my belly button on the left side) port moved/replaced with low profile (my port makes me look like i have some serious abs sticking out! LOL) what does this price include? (compression garments, follow-ups, revisions?) when do i return for a checkup? should i stay in town for a couple of days at a hotel? (would this be better incase of emergencies, comfort, etc) where will my scar be, how far around what is typical healing time how long before taking care of the kids lifting them? unfill (my band reacts to my hormones really bad! i get tight around my period ....really tight if i have really good restriction.) muscle repair (i'm sure 4 kids have done a number there!) pain pump or oral med? exercising I'm getting SOOOO excited! Thanks Josie and Allie for the info i've gotten from both of your journey's!!!

Hi all i have had some issues with the dissolvable stitches, and thank goodness it seems to be resolving itself! OH MY GOODNESS....under my left breast, it started to swell, turn red and OH MY...HURT. deep inside hurt, like a razor cut. every time my arms moves or my chest stretched...so even a deep breath would make me feel it! i was ready to go have it cut out! i even went work out one day(it was only 3 days after the pain had stopped)...but that night, i felt the stitches again, so decided to wait a week longer. i have been able to wear a underwire bra for part of the day with no problem. I go back in 2 weeks for a follow up. I will be 8 weeks out. he wants to look at my belly button since it was a little goopy at 2 weeks. it's looking MUCH better now. it's so tiny now! WOW he also wants to take a look at the area that the stitches were giving me trouble. I have been bouncing from 124-127. i wanted to get down to 120 before going back to my follow up but eating doughnuts, candy, and anything else i feel the urge to, is NOT going to get me there!!! I SOOOOO need another fill! my last one didn't do a THING! i ate a HAMBURGER WITH THE BUN the other day! i go in on June 2nd for another. they are making me wait a MONTH from the last one. i was doing SO good until this past week. i need to gain control!! I don't want to see 130 anything ever again!!! i added some pics to my during folder.

no, he didn't tell me to massage them. He did give me a bottle on Scargaurd. it's an expensive but suppose to be a WONDERFUL product to help the red and raised scars heal better. If i massaged the scars, it would rub the scargaurd off. I'm going to send them an email next week with some questions and i'm going to ask if that is something i should be doing or should i start after i'm finished with the scargaurd. thank you for all the compliments. I'm SOOOOO pleased with my results, i'm AMAZED everytime i look in the mirror or see my reflection in a window or somethig...WOW...

exercise will cause swelling and can for MONTHS after surgery. My dr. also only suggest walking for the first 4-6 weeks, NO ABDOMINAL exercise for at least 6 weeks. I had surgery on april 7th and just from being on my feet, going to the park walking around with my kids in the hot sun for 3 hours i had a lot of swelling yesterday. drinking a LOT of Water will help with the swelling, low salt diet, and your compression garments will help also. if your legs and feet start to swell, elevate them higher than your heart and REST! I'm a size smaller than i was (was a 6, can now fit my 4's...i don't have size 2's to try on, cause they may actually fit now!) but even though they fit, and look fine on, they FEEL tight, but it's actually my skin that feels so tight...i don't know how to explain. i can pull my 4's out about 3" but they feel tight on but it's not the pants, it's my mucsles and skin that are so taught. i'm sure everyone's healing is at different stages and the swelling is surely different in everyone. My surgeon said i would continue to see results for months. give it some time. I'm sure you will see the results you were hoping for soon. it sounds like you are doing a bit much for 3 weeks out.

Thank you, to both of you! this morning, i was at my lowest weight yet...124! anything after this will be extra! I got a fill yesterday, i think i still need more, but i'm going to wait a month before deciding. I was able to eat a scary amount of food when it was something i really liked or wanted, but at the same time, i don't want to be so tight that i'm having to limit way too many things that i can eat. I'm hardly ever hungry, and when i do eat, the muscle repair has my belly so tight that i feel full quickly, but since my band only had a little, i was able to push it way too far! what was everyone elses Dr. orders concerning compression garments? today, i went to the park with my little ones and didn't wear mine because i knew i would sweat like crazy (90 degree weather)and then the itching would start. my belly felt sore until i put it back on and had it on for a while. it's hard to believe it's 4 weeks today that i had my surgery! one breast is still higher than the other by a tiny bit, i wake up feeling pretty swollen/stiff/sore, but after walking around for a couple of minutes, i usually feel better than the previous day. my TT is doing fabulous...i have a few places that the scar is so tiny and faint that you can barely see it. it still feels lumpy to me, but not nearly as noticable as it was. I feel like the very bottom of my belly/top of the pubic area still looks really swollen, evenings are even worse. (i'd still take the way it looks now than how it did before ANY DAY! when i sit, not a stitch of skin touches my legs! WOO HOO!! THAT is AMAZING!) Still treating the belly button, but loving the way it looks! the 'girls' are healing nicely. i'm still swollen on the sides of my breast going back to under my arms. i had planned to try to do a light work out today, but after 3 hours of walking around in the park with my little ones, i decided THAT was enough and i'll probably be too tired tomorrow (when i do a lot one day, they next day i feel worn out). Hubby is on Midnight shift, so i may just wait until next week to start.

I'm now 24 days PO. i added some pics that i just took (so you will see the evening swelling...which is not bad, but i LOOOOOVE the morning when it's even flatter!!) If i haven't added you as a friend, just send a request and i'll add you. the album in private. They are in the during folder. Tummy tuck has being looking better with each passing day. still no problems and no pain. the swelling under my arms around to my back is still there. i hope it goes away SOON! Have i said how much i LOVE my belly button? i'm still having to clean it out and cover it but it's looking better everyday! my PS does such GREAT BB's! my breast are feeling better each day too, slower pace (the sides...nothing else really hurt other than the extreme ITCHING!) they still feel high and tight, can't wait until they are settled! around the areola has some places that i'm a little concerned about, but will call the dr. on monday if it continues to do this. (it has little spots that look like puss under the skin, several of the spots have popped and drained and have a little bit of blood under the skin now. my concern is that my port scar did something simular 4 months out and it left a darker spot on the scar in that one place. I don't want this to look like that. i tried on some size 4's i had in my closet and they FIT!!! no muffin top or anything! i even wore them out the other day when we went shopping. it's weird, the feel tight because the muscle repair makes you feel like you have a corset on.... but they weren't, i could put my compression garment on under them! i still get tired really easy but i'm sure it doesn't help that i've had 2 kids sick for the past 2 weeks. The little one is waking up ALL NIGHT LONG, so i've not had more than a couple of hours of sleep at a time. I'm planning to go back to working out (lightly) next week. I NEED it.....it's getting to me that i haven't done exercise in 4 weeks! I cannot wait for a few months to pass to see what the results are going to look like after all the swelling and settling finishes!!!

thank you!!!

I'm VERY happy!!! i cannot wait to see once the swelling goes down! REST, eat healthy (it helps healing), drink lots of Water, REST, let others do for you. i made sure i was VERY prepared for a month of not being able to do much. i shopped for a month, i cooked or bought things my hubby could cook easily for a month, i just wanted to make sure no matter how long it took to heal, i didn' t have to stress about it. the only thing i forgot to do is get someone to come CLEAN for me!!!! 4 boys and a hubby....can you imagine after a 4-6 weeks what the bathrooms and such will be like?! LOL you will be fine!!! GOOD LUCK!!!

Thank goodness, the swelling in my thighs are going down a little more each day!! I can still feel a little soreness when i've been sitting a while and get up. After a few steps, it's not bad at all. the swelling under my arms is all that i still really feel. if i'm not doing anything, it don't feel it at all, but if i move them, i feel it....like i said, mostly just VERY sore feeling. i'm watching the scale go down more and more each day....THAT is a GREAT thing considering one day (since surgery, with the compression garment, drains, and all...i saw 145!!! i about passed out!!!! this morning, it was down to 133, with compression garment, clothes, had already eaten and all!! i'm so impatient...i cannot wait for the swelling to go down! I'm completely off of all my pain meds. this morning i took 2 tylenol just because i felt stiff when i woke up (i slept the ENTIRE day yesterday! my husband was so worried about me because i hadn't taken any meds, but i slept and slept and slept....then, other than an hour (i watched Ruby at 2 a.m. because he had recorded it for me) i even slept ALL NIGHT!! today, i'm fine. don't know what that was all about other than i REALLY needed rest! I added some new pics in swimsuits this morning to my "during album". (you have to be a 'friend' to see them).

yesterday i called my Dr.office to let them know that for 3 days in a row, i had a low enough output in my drains (and it was going down more with each day), so they let me have them out!! OH MY GOODNESS!!! what a difference that made! it's didn't hurt, it was a big, um, STRANGE feelings, but i lived through it without screaming, or hitting the nurse! lol Ok, i have a question. the ONLY thing i had done to my thighs is at the VERY top (right under my vajvaj)because they touched a very little bit. WELL, my thighs, which have NEVER been big, are about three times the size the normal size! is that the swelling just working it's way out or is something wrong? it does not HURT AT ALL. I'm feeling really good, i get tired really easy, understandably though. the tape under my breast and around the nipples make me want to scratch THROUGH my skin though! under my arms are very sore too. i did have a bit of lipo done there to, so it will lay flat once the implants settle into place. other than that, i still do not feel my boobs (from the front, only under the arms) or my tummy tuck! i cannot wait until the swelling goes down and i see the final results!!!

I just had an extended TT with a little lipo, a breast lift with implants and lipo and let me say, if i had more done around my arms and or legs, i cannot imagine how in the world i would have been able to get up and down!!! good luck with your decision!!!

I cannot WAIT for the swelling to go down to see the contouring of my waist due to to the muscles being pulled in!! I JUST added one after pic, you have to be a friend to view it, and it's in the during folder. as for the pain, the TT and the Breast do not hurt...the lipo area's....OUCH! I can only imagine had i had a LOT of lipo done! oh, and the fat injections into the but, that hurt since i have had to sit/lay down so much. it was like laying on golf balls! LOL i'm SURE it will be worth every bit of pain though!!! i have always had tailbone problems because my tailbone must have been fractured as a child and didn't heal correctly. even when overweight, it hurt to sit, without the weight, it was SO MUCH WORSE! i'm hoping the fat injections helps even just a little! yes, the littles are still at my moms ane we are going to play it be ear as for when they are coming back. the original plan was for them to come back this weekend, but she said they can stay until Wed, possibly thursday, so we will see how i'm feeling by the weekend and go from there. i'm missing them like crazy, but i have to admit, i'm really taking advantage of taking my meds every hour i can, and getting as much rest as I can while they are gone. each day, i feel a tiny bit better. by the end of the day, i'm totally DONE. my BACK KILLS me from walking haunched over all day. but i would do it over again to have the results!!! i cannot wait to see what a month or 2 will look like if now looks as good as it makes me FEEL!!! good luck to everyone that has just had surgery or about to. sorry i've not been around. Between resting A LOT from the meds and my computer went out (i'm on hubby's now....he just went buy me a new one, but it will probably be a week or 2 before it's all set up since the screen went out and he doesn't go back to work until next week. The IT at work is going to help him transfer everything. thanks again for all the well wishes and i can't wait to keep sending updates!!!

Thanks for all the well wishes! I'm back at home resting. I don't really feel the tummy tuck incision or the breast insicisions. I mostly feel the lipo. under my arms where the bra fits and the back area. my back is very sore from not being able to stand up straight too. he ended up doing a tiny bit of lipo at the very top of my inner thighs. he originally thought if he had done that, i would be left with extra skin, but he decided just a little bit should be ok. he pulled the tummy muscles in tight, moved my port over a bit (when he tightened the muscles it moved my port to the middle of my belly, so he put it back to where it was at. all my belly stretch marks are GONE! my port scare isn't completely gone, but it is RIGHT above my TT scar, so it's not visible with a swimsuit or panties on. I went with 275 cc gel implants which should put me at a 34 D. right now, i feel like i have breast up to my collar bones! LOL i KNOW they will settle down and the swelling will reduce, but for now, it's actually funny to see them THAT large! i haven't taken any after pics yet. i can't stand up straight and everything is still covered with steri strips, so it's hard to tell anyhow. i cannot believe i didn't do this, but i did NOT take ANY before pics! They did take some the day before my surgery and she said she can email me those, so i figured i would use those. The Dr. said he took off 4.7 pounds of skin off of my belly and 4 something of fat. he said i didn't have much fat at all. What he did take out, he injected back into my bootie to help contour my FLAT butt. THAT, i felt. it feels like i'm sitting on golf balls! it's not AS bad today, but I was told today i can start doing massages to help with that. I'm sure i have left some things out (thanks to the medicine!) I'm sleeping a LOT, which until my little ones come home is a good thing....helps the time pass quicker. as soon as i can get some pics up, i will post them. I'm SOOOOO thirlled to be on THIS side of the flatlands!!! I cannot wait to see what it will look like when all the swelling goes down!!!

Quick update...everything went well with the surgery, back at the hotel and resting somewhat comfortably. Signed, wannab's husband

TODAY is the day that i have my surgery! I have been waking up every hour since 1:30! Finally at 4:30 i got up and took a shower! i have to be at the surgery center for 6:15, surgery is suppose to start around 7. Someone is suppose to call hubby about half way through to let him know how things are going. he said he SHOULD finish around 2:30. I'll be in Recovery for about an hour or so, then they will get me back to the hotel and settled in. The Dr. will come to the hotel tomorrow morning to check on me. i will have another Dr. appointment Friday morning. Saturday morning we will check out and go back home. The nerves have finally kicked in!!

This time next week, i should be all done and resting in recovery!! The nurse just called to tell me i have to be there at 6:15 next wednesday! I hope i can sleep between now and then...i don't know how with all the excitement! I need to take some before pics. A friend of mine said, 'take really good before pics and it will remind you WHY you did this when you start thinking, 'WHY THE HELL DID I DO THIS TO MYSELF?'" LOL

where is your port? Is that where is was placed by your band Dr? if you have had your PS already, how bad does it show? If you haven't had surgery, do you plan to have it replaced with a low profile port, or have it moved? If you are having it moved, where is it being moved to? if you are having it moved, were you told it would NOT show in the new spot? I'm so afraid mine will show if i leave it, but i don't know where i should have it placed that it won't show. also, my band Dr. really doesn't want the PS to move it for risk of infection. I REALLY trust my PS that he would be very careful, and i know he has done this before. I'm just not sure of where he wants to put it because someone else says their's shows in that place. i don't want it to end up showing really bad if i leave it, then wanting to have it moved or replaced with a low profile port AFTER PS because i don't want SCARS! my PS SHOULD take away all of my stretch marks and my port scar! the other little scars from my band surgery are barely visible, so those don't bother me at all. YES, i'm stressing over everything now! can i just be knocked out from now until the surgery is DONE! LOL

THANK YOU!! i just wish i could sleep and that i would stop having a migraine! thank goodness the nurse called and said my meds for it is OK to take (i was told I wasn't allowed anything more than Tylenol for 2 weeks prior to surgery, including NO ALCOHOL). I should be starting my period any day, which is the cause of the migraine, and i'm happy to get it over with BEFORE surgery, but still....it's been going on 6 days of it and still no sign of TOM! anyone else couldn't sleep this far out? i'm hoping it the migraine and that when it's over, i will sleep better. we just got a new bed and the first night i slept WONDERFUL....the next day is when my head started and it has gotten worse every night! i woke up at least 8 times last night! anyhow....everything is paid for, not backing out now! LOL i had my 2 week pre-op (we did it over the phone so i didn't have to drive 2 1/2 hours just to 'go over' all the paper work i've been having for a few weeks already) I should get my prescriptions in the mail any day now. my next appointment is April 6th, the day before surgery at 3:45. They will schedule all my follow up visits and tell me what time to be at the surgery center. we are staying at a hotel near the office. too bad i can't start the valium the night before! that would help me sleep better! LOL

it helps when the surgery is not done in a hospital, but rather in a surgery center, usually owned by the surgeon. You aren't paying the ridiculous amounts for the use of the operating room. I am getting extended TT, lift w/silicone gel implants, lipo and fat transfer to the bum for $16,500. I'm having it done in Houston, TX if that makes a difference.

This is an OLD post, her surgery date was 2/15/08... i wish it was from this year, i'd love to know what she did!! Nurse Niki, first, thank you for answering my questions, i'll have to go back and see if there were more! where was your port to begin with and where did you have it moved? did it show before, and does it show now? I thought i was decided on what to do with mine, but i'm SO afraid it's going to stick WAY out there and i don't want to have to have it moved AFTER my PS!! my PS is going to be able to get rid of my port scar (or at least have it close to my TT scar, hiden under anything anyone else would ever see) and i don't want to end up with another scar AFTER having PS!

Thanks Niki! i know i rambled...guess i'm getting super excited about the results i will see...since the day is getting closer! you need to slow it down!!! take it easy and let your body heal! I bet you wouldn't tell your patients to go shopping for 8 hours less than 2 weeks out from surgery now would you?! LOL Hummmm...i wonder if i'll turn into a shopper after surgery? i've never liked to shop! have you taken any more pics?

sorry to steal your thread for a second! i haven't had surgery yet, but we have a recliner, i bought a wedge, we have TONS of extra pillows....i just want to be prepared for whatever make me confortable! as for clothes, i found at JCpenny, a zippered robe that looks like a day dress that has pockets. I will either slit the seams to the pockets to slide the drains through, or will pin them to the inside of the robe before zipping up. i bought 3 of them, different colors for $8 each! (they were regular something like $26!)

Mimi, where is your port? where will you have it moved so it won't show? My PS will move mine, my lapband Dr. doesn't want him to touch it for fear of infection. My PS said he would put it between the breast bone, but i have had someone tell me thiers sticks out there. i will admit, i plan to wear a bikini in our boat this summer and i don't want questions as to what it that sticking out! I'm a closet bander...no one besides my hubby and mom know about it! i had decided to just leave it in it's place, but you saying it sticks out like a gold ball...that's what i'm thinking mine will look like! it already looks like serious abs sticking out on one side of my belly right now! any one else? what did you do, how much does it show?

WOWZERS! i THOUGHT i was short! heehee that is AWESOME! the ONLY way my insurance pays for plastics is if it is a birth defect (i'm pretty sure that's the way i read it). they gave me NO problems paying for the band. no pre -op kinda stuff at all, but absolutely NO plastics. All i can say is thank goodness for TAXES! LOL hubby claims 0 on his checks through the year, and when we do taxes at the end of the year, because we have 4 kids and are married, we get a TON back. we usually put it back into our house, but a few years ago, he got a boat. i said the next year was MINE...yeah, that didn't work. so, i got the band, and this year it IS mine and i cannot wait!! for my BMI to be normal, i have to be 124 (that's the very highest number, 92, i think is the lowest! LOL) The PS told me at my consult that even at 124 i didn't not need to lose anymore that what he would take off would give me the results i am looking for. He said what was left wouldn't come off with losing more because i can't PICK where i will lose it from. i have actually gone back up to 129-130 and my body seems to like that place. I think if i ate strict ALL THE TIME, it wouldn't be a struggle to get it back off, but then, i feel like i want to bindge at times, and i said i'm NOT dieting.... i'm eating like a normal person eats! maybe after the PS, i will feel the need to work harder to get a few more pounds off, but if i don't, i'm still THRILLED to be the size i am!!! good luck with your surgery! can't wait to hear about it!