Frangipani

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:!

Hi Everyone! Thanks again for all of your kindness! WOW!!!! You ladies are wonderful!!! I will post more tomorrow because this time, I am truly "done in" for the day -- and it has turned out to be quite the hectic day. Well let's see.... since I've posted, I have driven back and forth to my Dr.'s office, and back and forth to the Miami Airport. I also had lightning strike not more than 20 feet behind me as I was caught in a Miami traffic jam. That was quite the experience -- bright intense flash of light, sparks the works. Whew! It feels good to be back at the hotel finally. Here are my updates, Fatigue: Lack of caffeine probably. I had a few cups of strong caffeinated tea and I perked right up. Thank goodness it was something as simple as that! I guess the moral of the story is that if you are a coffee drinker, it helps to put some caffeine back in your diet :cursing:! Fever: The Dr. says to watch it, but that it was probably as you said Kat, being caused by "stuff" backing up in my lungs. He encouraged me to keep moving and keep doing those breathing exercises, and to feel free to call him anytime. Thanks for the reminder Kat. I still have my breathing machine and I plan to use it faithfully until this passes. Airport: After sitting at the Miami airport for several hours, my husband's flight was completely canceled. How frustrating is that? Furthermore he was supposed to be at a big meeting at 9:00 AM tomorrow morning -- but what can he do? There is just absolutely no way to get back to home tonight. They put him on a 7:30 AM flight tomorrow and hopefully that will go smoothly. Lightning: Totally weird experience -- I've never had that happen before. Thank goodness no one was hurt. All it did was create a bright light and lot of sparks for a few moments. (Oh yeah, and it got the fire truck rolling too) Driving: No, I'm not really supposed to be driving, but I have to, so I am. Today was my first day and it went well, but I did make sure that I was completely "drug free" before I hit the road. Tomorrow, I hope to stay in all or most of the day. Well as I said, I'm really tired and I'm walking very hunched over at this point. Will post more tomorrow, and thank you so much ladies. I simply cannot believe how wonderful everyone has been!!!

Hi, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to be much help today Becky -- except to send you big hugs and hope that it gets better for you. I wanted to respond to everyone's lovely messages individually and I will, but just not right now. In fact, I am only going to be able to stay online for just a few minutes. I had a slight fever last night (101.9), but manged to bring it down to 99 when I took some Percocet. Today I'm feeling very tired and dragged out. I'm not in pain, I'm just tired, BUT when I lie down I cannot sleep-- which is very frustrating. I will be seeing the Dr. at 4:30 today and will try to update later. If not, I will update tomorrow. Thank you for the compliments and lovely messages everyone. Talk to you soon :drool:!

Hi Everyone, I'm back and feeling great -- much, much better than I ever expected to at this point. I just caught up on all of your posts and Jody kept me up to date as well. I simply cannot tell you how much I appreciated all of your kindness and support. Thank you SO much!!! Becky, I'm sorry to hear that you got off to a rocky start with the pain but am very glad to see that things are getting better for you each day and that you are very pleased with the results. My surgery went much better than I ever expected, despite the fact that the GYN part of the surgery turned out to be far more extensive than we thought. We knew that I had one very large fibroid tumor, but when the Dr. opened me up, he discovered 4 other tumors plus an ovarian cyst, all of which he removed. I was in surgery for about 8 hours. As far as the drug questions that have come up. I had lots and lots of good drugs at my disposal -- more than I actually ended up needing. My doctors did a great job of making sure that good pain medication was there and available any time I needed it or asked for it. For the first 36 hours or so after surgery I was on a PCA machine that allowed me to push a button to have morphine injected into my IV line every 6 minutes. Considering all that had been done to my uterus, I think that the the PCA was invaluable in keeping me comfortable, and I was in almost no pain. In fact, I was surprisingly quite comfortable that first night, which was such a huge relief for me. On Saturday night they switched me over to Percocet taken by mouth and I would take a quantity of 2 (sorry don't know the strength) every four hours. One of the things I have learned from all you wonderful ladies is to "stay ahead" of the pain (i.e., don't wait for the pain to hit before taking medication), so that's what I have done. Yesterday I was discharged from the hospital and I have been taking my perscription pain medication (Percocet 5mg quantity of 1) every three hours. So far, (knock on wood) this seems to be taking care of the pain just fine. In fact today, I will try to cut back on the pain meds even more. Anyhow, overall I had an A+++++ experience with everything. The hospital was very nice, friendly, clean and comfortable and my Doctors were awesome. Now for the fun stuff :smile:. Breasts! I have them :woot:! No more B cup!!! We (well, he) used a 400cc silicone implant, which I was concerned would be too big BUT they are just the right size. They are very swollen right now, but I can tell that they will settle into a perfect size. I love the shape too, which is alway the thing I have disliked most about my breats. I love, love, love the breasts, so far so good :tongue:! I also wanted to mention that I had virtually no pain from the breast surgery. The first day I was a bit sore and stiff in the chest area, but that went away quickly and the only problem I'm having now is that I keep dropping food down my bra because I forget how far the breast are protruding from my chest when I eat :thumbup: Tummy -- I never would have believed this in a million years, but the tummy is flat! Woo hoo!!!! I like the tummy a lot so far, but am not loving it just yet because the incisions are so raw an icky looking. I hope this clears up soon, but I am going to be visiting my Dr. tomorrow to get his feedback on all of this. That said, he seems to have pulled me very tight, which I assume is standard practice. He also did a fabulous job on the mons area, as well. Well, this post seems to have turned into a novel at this point, so I will stop here and post again later. Thanks again and big hugs to everyone -- you have all been just fabulous!!!! Becky my dear girlfriend, big hugs and lots of love headed over to Dallas for you. :smile::smile::smile: We made it Woo Hoo!!!:tt1:

Woo Hoo!!! That's what I wanted to hear. This is a dancing banana event :Banane42::rolleyes2::Banane52::biggrin::Banane17: I hope you are resting comfortably tonight Becky -- and thank you so much for updating us Sis!!! Have a great time Karey! We'll miss you -- thanks again for all of your excellent advice and support!!! :smile::smile::smile: Thank you so much Go J :thumbup:!!! Thanks Jody, I will be in touch as soon as I possibly can :smile::smile::smile:! Well, I have just a few things left to do, but I am (more or less) set for the big day. Surgery is scheduled for tomorrow at 7:30 AM and the Dr. thinks that it will take approximately 5 - 6 hours. I will be in the hospital until Monday, but LadyBugRed (aka Jody) will post an update for me. Thanks again everyone for all of the wonderful support and well wishes. Talk to you soon!

Hi Everyone! Wow, I just signed on and saw all the lovely messages!!! Thanks everyone!!! You're wonderful!!! Shalee you have a great vacation too!!! I am a bit pressed for time today and will respond to everyone in more detail later. I didn't get to my hotel until 4:00 AM. I will spare you the details, but everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong on the way here. However, I finally made it and everything is fine now. I visited with the Dr. this morning morning and went over the final details of everything (my questions, signing consents, talking about the size of the implants, blah, blah, blah) and I feel really good about everything. I'm also happy to announce that the worst part of the surgery is now over (paying for it :w00t:). Other than that, I have spent the rest of the day trying to gather up all the things you wonderful ladies suggested. I still have a bit more shopping to do, but I'm sure that I will have everything I need by Friday. The only really bad news I got today is that Stein Mart is having a big sale this weekend. Can you believe it??? What kind of rotten luck is that???? Why can't they hold off until next weekend???? Didn't they know I was going to be in the hospital???:incazzato::cool2: I've already told the ladies that if they see someone rolling in with an IV line trailing behind them, that will be me :Banane11:! Anyhow... Becky, I have been thinking of you all day and will be thinking of you all day again tomorrow. I wish you the very very best tomorrow. I know you will sail right through this surgery, and I am very much looking forward to hearing from your sister or LJM as to how it all went. Great big huge hugs to you lady!!!! Talk to you soon :thumbup:!!!

Thank you so much for your support and kind words Go J :smile::smile: !!!! Keep sending those vibes, I'm sure that by the end of the week we'll be needing them!!! Becky, it sounds like your Dr. did a good job making sure you're covered after you are released from the hospital. I'm sure it's great to have everything you might need on hand just in case........... Thank you so much for the excellent suggestions Salsa :thumbup:! Well everyone, I'm headed up to Miami later on this afternoon. I still have some things to do before I leave so I'm not sure if I will be checking back in today or not, but if not, I will check in tomorrow. Thanks again everyone for all the wonderful encouragement and advice!!!