Sweet Pee

Many people post their before and after pictures and all we notice are the amazing transformations. The stories we hear are lovely and we want our bodies to look the same way. Many are having plastics without considering the long term recovery that it entails. For some it is long and hard. Although I am 6 months out, and my surgery went very well, I am still recovering. Fortunately, all of this information was clearly explained to me by Dr Victor Gutierrez before I had my surgery, and later I received several reminders afterwards about recovery and how it takes the body a long time to heal, especially after something as extensive as the surgeries we have undergone. It takes lots and LOTS of time. I am still limited in a few activities I use to do, because I have not completely healed. My endurance level is slowly coming back, but It is taking a lot of work. I agree with CGJane, please know what you are getting into before you choose to have plastic surgery, because it is not a quick easy recovery. Even thought I am not 100% fully recovered, I am happy to say I would do it all over again. Here's to wonderful happy healing in 2014!!!!!!!

Laying in the cubicle waiting for everything to get started. My body looks like a colored road map. Black line bottom cut, green line top cut, blue lines vertical guide lines.

yeah (in a sarcastic voice)….at 2 weeks light aerobic activity will mean walking around your house and light travel to the grocery store.
i wish you nothing but the best…feel free to reach out at anytime

I had excellent results also for a lot less with Dr Victor Gutierrez in Tijuana, MX. However, cost should not be the #1 determining factor in choosing a plastic surgeon. Research is important very before making a final decision.

I understand exactly what you mean. Have you ever watched that show on TV "Say Yes To The Dress"
They get emotional and start to cry when they find the perfect dress for their wedding.
I doubt if you act like that, but you will know when you find the plastic surgeon just for you. I talk about this in my story (in my profile) when I am searching for my plastic surgeon. I searched for months!!!! I am sure you will find the perfect doctor just for you just like I did.

Taylor & Taylor on eBay sell this item. I have ordered from them before, but it was sleeveless and thigh length. It is one of my favorites. The item shown also comes in long sleeves and ankle length and in various colors. The fabric is soft, yet it does compress very well. I plan on having mine custom made, because I need extra compression in my abs and butt area due to my surgery to keep everything in place while it is healing. They do have a phone number where you can call them directly to place special orders. That way you can give them your measurements and have it made just for you. They are very nice! Smile

I usually wrap one of those ab sweat exercise wraps around my waist, before I put on my shaper. It helps! I can't breath, or eat, or talk, but I'm looking sexy. Then I put on my high heels, and my toes hurt, my feet hurt and I can't walk, but hey, I'm looking sexy!

My surgery was done with twilight sedation combined with an epidural. I had no post op sickness (like I have always had with General) and since the epidural apparently had pain meds in that lasted a day or two - i really had minimal pain. I think the thing is to just discuss this stuff at your consult, all surgeons are different and we are simply not educated enough to know the pros/cons and inherent risks. I just know this worked for me.

You are not missing anything. SMILE
Everything will be OK!!!
All of us will be thinking of you and will want to know how you are as soon as you can let us know after surgery.

You are not missing anything. SMILE
Everything will be OK!!!
All of us will be thinking of you and will want to know how you are as soon as you can let us know after surgery.

I usually wrap one of those ab sweat exercise wraps around my waist, before I put on my shaper. It helps! I can't breath, or eat, or talk, but I'm looking sexy. Then I put on my high heels, and my toes hurt, my feet hurt and I can't walk, but hey, I'm looking sexy!

Thanks for all of the input and replies. I have decided to wait until summer. There isn't a rush to have the surgery, and I can wait until June

It takes a lot of hard work, determination and effort to lose weight, and successfully accomplish so much.
Congratulations and thank you for sharing your story and success. You look great.
Very Inspiring!!!
Sweetpee

One day after school was out, I was on a plane.
I had a lower body lift, breast lift, and butt lift in June. Since it is major surgery - let me Stress - MAJOR SURGERY, recovery time is a slow process and you will need time to heal. I am happy I waited until school was out. I recovered durning my summer break. I did not have any compilations following my surgery. Even then, I dreaded going back to work in the middle of August, because I was still moving kind of slow.
I needed the entire summer, and encourage you to wait till then.
Smile,
Sweetpee

One day after school was out, I was on a plane.
I had a lower body lift, breast lift, and butt lift in June. Since it is major surgery - let me Stress - MAJOR SURGERY, recovery time is a slow process and you will need time to heal. I am happy I waited until school was out. I recovered durning my summer break. I did not have any compilations following my surgery. Even then, I dreaded going back to work in the middle of August, because I was still moving kind of slow.
I needed the entire summer, and encourage you to wait till then.
Smile,
Sweetpee

Hi Kris, Hang in there. The rewards are there. Just give it a few more weeks. I am grateful I did not experience any of your level of pain. I had a LBL, breast and butt lift 6 months ago in Tijuana also, but with a different plastic surgeon, and understand what you are going through. I am sure the doctor can help with adjusting your medication to make you more comfortable. No one likes pain! Thank you for sharing your story, and please know everything will get better.

YES! You have single-handedly saved many of us from having to play Twister while dressing. Thank you!

I AM CAUTIOUSLY HAPPY TO REPORT:
since the height of my swelling on New Years Eve I am down almost 17 pounds!!! That is some serious swelling!!!
As I mentioned in a previous post the remedies for me were as follows:
1. Rest with feet elevated
2. Water, Water, water which leads to pee, pee, pee
3. Clean diet (little or no sodium)
4. Compression clothing from just about head to toe (I even wore the compression socks they gave me after surgery)
5. I took an over the counter water pill also
When I weighed in I knew it was going to be high because of the swelling but follow this math:
Morning of surgery 168
Weight of skin removed 5
Net 163
New Years Eve 190 (I will admit…I almost broke down in tears because I felt defeated)
Total Gain 27
Weigh in this AM 173.8
Lost 16.2
TO GO 10.8 (I really don't need to be at that weight)
It snowed here last night but I am not budging, I am NOT pushing myself and if I could give anyone a piece of advice I would suggest you don't either. That is the easiest way to set you back. I know, I know, you feel great. Feeling great does not mean you body has healed completely and TRUST ME…..it will fight you back if you push it!!!!

Drink lots of fluids. Cut back on sodium. Keep the swollen parts elevated and wear compression garments on them. If it's your legs, do like the op did and buy some under armour compression tights that are a size too small. That should help.

The doctor I selected is in Baltimore…..it was very difficult to find a surgeon that had experience with men let alone one that specialized in male body work. Mine certainly doesn't specialize in just men but he gave me 2 references of men that he did the same operation I was looking for. One was done 3 years ago and the other was done just a month prior to when I spoke with him. Both were very helpful an obviously helped me make my selection. It certainly has been slightly inconvenient for the followup appointments but the decision you make about who is going to do this for you is largely based on trust. I am not saying its easier for women to make a decision on what surgeon to use but it was very hard for me as a man to find someone I didn't think did nothing but facelifts and boob jobs!!! lol!!!

Thank you! I am just now starting to think about plastics in the future. I had major complications after my sleeve that I am still recovering from but hoping one day I will be brave enough to get something like what you had done. I've lost over 115lbs but still want to lose 15-20 more. But I know one thing for sure- I look better with my clothes ON! Lol

You give some really great advice.
for people considering plastics, know that it is really tough on your body - and the bigger the procedure the bigger the impact. I think it is reasonable to think of it as an event you should prepare for nutritionally and even fitness wise. I really loaded up on the Protein for 30 days before and about 60 days after my surgery. Kris, thank you for the reminder about this. What people don't realize is that MANY people lose their appetites and love the idea that they can lose weight during recovery. That may not always pay off. Now, in my case, I never did lose that appetite... in fact it was a little scary how hungry I was post op, but it all worked out fine.
I did not have any wound problems, but I know they can happen after plastics. Do they think that your drains coming out so early contributed? Dr Sauceda allowed each drain to be removed based on the "output" but at some point the drains have to go if your body starts rejecting them. I think I had my last one almost 4 weeks which seemed like a lifetime (so inconvenient!) but I know it helped with swelling and stuff.
Kris, the whole over doing it/not doing enough balance has been very hard for me. I have had NO complications - just normal post plastics stuff and i have still found recovery to be tough - not painful, not scary, just tough, tiring and LONG. Much longer than I ever guessed it would be... honestly. My surgery was Oct 14th and I still have nerve tingling type stuff going on - I am told that can last up to a year!!!
I am thrilled with my results, don't get me wrong - but I think everyone should know that plastics are no joke, serious surgery. I am 50-50 on whether i would do it again and I say that as someone that got good results and no complications - to give readers an idea of how hard this is. My good friend always looks at me like I am crazy - like things have gone as well as i could have hoped and I have regrets? Well, it was just harder than I realized... not the surgery, not those first few weeks - I am talking about the really long haul here. I guess I had a dream that by 2-3 months out it would be just a distant memory... I have been too lazy to get updated photos to show my progress with you all... but I promise I will. Sorry to sound so negative especially since I have just finally turned the corner and resumed feeling mostly human again I should be a better cheerleader.
Anyway, thanks for sharing and let me know if i can be of any support to you.

6 miles today for a monthly total of 64 miles. This will be my last post for the month as I have sleeve surgery scheduled for 730am tomorrow. Hope everyone has a great Holiday! Merry Christmas! see you in Jnauary

I was looking through my camera and found a pic of me last Christmas. I knew I was overweight but seeing how round my face was is shocking! I guess I was in denial when I would look in the mirror! I had my sleeve on August 12th. Feeling so much better!!

I am feeling the same way training for my 15K after my plastic surgery. I feel I need to push myself to get back to my normal fitness level. Things are going very slow for me, but I keep trying. Smile.
I do not have enough time to train, but I will do my best even if they have to pick me up half way in a wheelchair and push me to the finish line.
I am doing it all for the free T-shirt!!! Ha ha ha!
Great job Butter!!!!