Scheduled for plastics! Advice?

[Elode 8,093]

Hi everyone! After weeks of overwhelming research and headaches I finally found a PS I'm thrilled with and am scheduled for surgery April 6th!!!! I'm excited and down right terrified. Terrified because like a moron I repeatedly watch TT YouTube videos and trust me when I say they are horrendous looking, and I work in healthcare. So I'm scheduled for a full Tummy Tuck with muscle repair. My surgeon says I have about 3 inches of muscle separation. Also a breast augmentation. I'm going big but I'm Italian and have the large Italian boobs complements of my Nonna! Well deflated boobs now. We decided on 750cc as of now. We are hoping to avoid a lift by using a larger implant to fill the space. I originally had a 40 DDD bust so the size is not a factor for me. I prefer it. Any advice about either procedure would be greatly appreciated. Anything....maybe what you feel was necessary to have at home to help with recovery? Any tips or tricks. I know it's going to be painful. "I think I'm going to die" (see already prepared) I've had 3 c-sections and of course VSG so my stomach has been through it! She's also taking out all 3 of my c-sections scars. I'm not worried about the TT scar. I can't believe it's time for all of this already! Thank you for any and all help you can provide!

[Elode 8,093]

Oh and NSV. My surgeon said not to lose any more weight! She said she makes her TT tight so I will be really small in the waist after. Never thought I'd hear that!

[Kathy812 794]

I have no suggestions, just wanted to wish you only the best outcome. Very happy for you.

I'm planning on a tummy tuck WHENEVER I get to goal, so I'll follow this thread.

[HeatherSchwartz 43]

I'm having TT, BL, BA, and Lipo on the 10th of March in Tijuana with Dr Pantoja. I'm scared to death..lol..I've had vsg in Mexico at OCC. I am excited. I'm going to stay in a motel for a week after with my husband. Keep in touch we can compare.. I'm 41, 5'8 157 lbs . I want at least 500 cc silicone overs but won't know for sure til day of surgery. Boo!! Good luck!!

[Elode 8,093]

@@Kathy812 Thank you! I'll try to keep it updated once it's done.

[Elode 8,093]

@@HeatherSchwartz You are going before me! You'll have to update me on your progress! We did a fitting and as of now we are going 750cc silicone over the muscle. I've been researching everything and I like how they look on other people so we shall see. The ultimate decision will be up to her once she's in there. I'm trusting her. That sounds big to some but it's really not for me. I have a larger rib cage too. I've always had a small waist compared to the rest of me so this should really enhance everything.....hopefully!

[MichiganChic 3,262]

Congratulations on making a decision and moving forward! It's a very exciting time!

I had more extensive work done (had a 360 with auto flap augmentation) and brachioplasty in one procedure, and the thing that I was really glad I had was a recliner. I don't think I was able to get into bed for about 2 weeks. I had my family around to help a lot at first, and I really did need them. I also used a shower chair just to make sure I didn't get weak and slip or fall.

Also, try to be prepared for looking heavier than when you went in for a while. You can see a pretty immediate result or change, but it doesn't come close to what you'll look like in a few months!

Takes lots of before pictures, so you'll have lots of comparison. I really didn't have many good befores, and I wish I had.

I also recommend lots of narcotics

[Elode 8,093]

@@MichiganChic yay! I have a recliner and shower chair. I guess I need a walker too apparently. I have a bunch of before pictures since I was sending them to different surgeons while on the hunt for one. I want them off my iPad but I'll keep them for awhile : ) what's a "auto flap" augmentation? I've never heard of that?

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

Size is a very personal thing....My implants are 240cc. I have a big ribcage too, just make sure you will be happy with clothes sizes. If I had big implants I'd need a large. I have noticed that I seem big busted compared to other fit women. Big breasts tend to make you look bigger overall. Another consideration for me is that I ride horses, hike etc and I wanted a size that suited an athletic lifestyle. As long as you have factored all that - go for it!!!

I didn't experience much pain. I had lower body lift, breast and arms...wow what a difference! It was a big surgery so recovery was slow, but text book. 2 years later I had thigh lift, had a complication which became an infection and kicked my butt and hurt like heck. So my advice ( to myself!!) Is to be more aware of worst case scenario and have a backup plan. If my sons didn't live with me I would have had a lot of trouble keeping the farm going for that unplanned extra recovery time.

Good luck - very exciting!!!

[Elode 8,093]

@@CowgirlJane Thank you! That's another reason why I decided against Mexico. I'm afraid something could go wrong and I want to be able to drive a few miles and see her if it does, or if something needs to be fixed I want the person responsible to be there to fix it. Hopefully it will all be ok though. I don't know how accurate the try on bra is with the implants in it is but when I put the 750 on and on top of my boobs mind you I loved it! Maybe it's because while I have a small waist I have nice hips that give me an hour glass figure and these really helped enhance that since I lost mine. I asked her if that was the biggest and she said it would be big enough! Lol! I will try it on again but I'm a fan of the big boobs! I think that's why it bothers me more than any other body part. I just miss them so much!!

[Elode 8,093]

I think it's big until I see pictures of the tiny girls with 1200-2000 and I'm like ok now that's big! Not a fan of that look but to each his own I suppose.

[Queen of Crop 1,104]

Hi ladies....I am 3 weeks out and my tummy is bigger than when I went in!!! So I really appreciate Michiganchic's post about that...apparently it is all normal with the swelling...but sadly I developed something called seroma....which means that blood and Fluid is collecting near my tummy area...it feels very hard and lumpy and I feel like I have a 8lb bowling ball in there...or an alien...not sure which! I went back to the dr last week and he drained some, but have to go back again and have it done next week and maybe the week after too. He says about 30% of the patients develop it. Having said that, I love the tightness in my torso (not the feel just yet, but the look) and I can see my vagina for the first time in many years when I look in the mirror. Lots of bruising still but I know that will go away...and the scar is ok, it's just then damn bloating...and I'm tired. BUT, I have never been in pain and I'm sleeping pretty well. I know in a month or two I will be very happy but give yourself time to recover. I bounced right back from the sleeve and my breast lift so I expected to on this as well. But we are all doing this so we will feel better in the end, right?

[Dub 9,922]

Hell yes !!!

Very happy for you.

You have already hit home run after home run and are about to do it again.

[MichiganChic 3,262]

I didn't need a walker. My gait was not unsteady at all, and I wasn't too weak to ambulate.

As for the auto flap, it's when the surgeon removes just the skin on your backside but leaves all other attached tissue and fat, and pulls it down to give you less of a flat butt. Even after weight loss, I still had a bit of a shelf looking butt, and that procedure helped round it out a little.

Regarding breast size, I really struggled with it. In the end I chose the bigger size of my range, because everyone says no one ever comes back and said they wish they'd gone smaller. I do love my results, but wish they were slightly smaller. I ended up in a VS DD bra, and wanted to be a D. I have 400 cc under muscles mentor round implants. All in all, they are quite pretty in and out of clothes, so I don't regret them, but probably would have gone 350 or 375 if I could have tried them on for real. They tend to cause some shirts to gape a little. I'm truly an hour glass now, where I used to be pear shaped, so I love that! I've always had a small waist and big hips, and thanks to a very skillful plastic surgeon, I look like I was born this way (in clothes )

One other thing, I also considered and ruled out Mexico because I didn't want to get home and have complications that needed intervention. As it turned out, that was one of the best decisions I could have made. I had a small incision evisceration on the back with my first surgery, and a very nasty seroma with my thigh lift on the second surgery. I just know my luck, and I was right! Even with that, the pain, misery (and it was miserable for me), and cost, I'd do it all again in a heart beat!

I had pretty reasonable expectations, and I think that's really important, too.

I am excited for you!!

@@MichiganChic yay! I have a recliner and shower chair. I guess I need a walker too apparently. I have a bunch of before pictures since I was sending them to different surgeons while on the hunt for one. I want them off my iPad but I'll keep them for awhile : ) what's a "auto flap" augmentation? I've never heard of that?

[Queen of Crop 1,104]

@ Michiganchic: how long did your seroma last and is there any advice you can give to help it go away?