Pug-Mom-Patti

Statistics
Cost: $16,000 for BREAST LIFT AND FLEUR DE LIS STYLED Tummy Tuck (saved up and self paid)
Date: January 21, 2020 surgery date
Surgeon: Dr. Dana Goldberg, Jupiter, Florida
Three days before surgery Hibiclens antispetic showers and application of Mupirocin ointment. I ate my regular routine and variety of high quality salads, fresh fruits, nuts, veggies, baked seeded crackers (Firehook brand) with cheese nibbles along with hot tea/1% milk + 80 -100 oz. Water per day.
Day One
Surgery 9:00am - 3:30pm yesterday. Was administered Experal, Valium (if needed) and Enoxaparin. Recovery time until 6:00 pm. Hubby takes me home and I'm in bed by 8:00 pm until 5:00am to empty pressurize drains (3) + urinate. Off balance a bit and slumped to the floor. Puppy to the rescue! Not a fall - just loopy and off balance a bit. Walked around the house with my walker device twice. Surgeon does not want me bent over but standing straight up.
Day Two
Today follow-up appointment at surgeons office 9:15am. Everything looked great and they were amazed with my healthy appearance. I believe this is attributable to clean and simple eating, water, no sugar or salt or little processed products. 5 pounds of skin was removed and I feel so much lighter! That puts me at 124! - Of course, after swelling and settling in the next weeks and months to follow maybe more.... I had them take a picture of the removed flesh. I see it fascinating, not morbid. After all, it was a part of me once. Got a glimpse of the girls aka. breasts today and I love them!!! Perky and pretty. No longer the inherited elongated missels downward from my mother and Aunt! Haha.
Other supplements to help with pain + wound healing are daily Juven drink, Arnica, stool softener, Oxycodone graduating to Tylenol as needed. In other knee surgeries - I found keeping ahead of the pain was better than when in pain.
Overall, so far, this whole process has been intriguing AND not as bad as I thought. Sensing a good premise of what's to follow. My compression garments and socks actually feel really good - stabilizing me + fit well. They placed pads between the stitches and garment. So far feeling not pinching or discomfort. We are having crispy cool whether and enjoyed a walk down the block with hubby and puppy this afternoon. Tonight Hubby's making our favorite navy bean Soup with loads of veggies, cloves + baked ham cubes for flavor. He also made Chia pudding to die for made with vanilla, pear, orange, macadamia nuts, cacao powder... Nice winter recipes.
Very excited and feel most fortunate to take this next step to what will become another game changer. I want my 60's to be a fabulous decade!
Do hope all the ladies in our winterized plastics group continued best wishes and quality healing. Addie ;]

Swollen but smoother than ever 😍
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Whaaaaaaaat? Me too? That's right 😅
I decided to go ahead and (silently) have plastics done. This mommy had a makeover yesterday and is very happy with the results so far. Still very early in my recovery but I wanted to document as much as I could before I forgot.
Procedures: Mommy Makeover (breast lift w/o implants and extended Tummy Tuck with Lipo of sides)
Where: Miami baby! Southbeach body here I come 😜
Why: the usual reasons... I've been thinking about it forever and finally took the plunge
When: Jan 03, 2020
Still early out and I'm pretty laid up so ill update when I can!
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Get comfortable, this is a long one...
So here is the additional backstory info to my PS journey:
So I ended up getting a last-minute Tummy Tuck two days ago (Dec 18), along with my arm and breast lift. Back in June 2019, when I initially scheduled my procedures, I was going to get an arm lift, a breast lift (to address side boob skin), and a tummy tuck. The tummy tuck was actually partially covered by provincial insurance. Basically the panniculectomy part was covered and I we only need to pay out of pocket for muscle tightening or any required Lipo.
But sometime around August or September, I decided to forego the tummy tuck because I thought that I could live with the state my stomach was in, and I didn't want to have more surgery if I didn't really need to. So I called my surgeons office and let them know.
Fast forward four months later and I'm at the registration desk at the hospital on surgery day. I'm signing all the papers, and one of them is a confirmation surgery procedure form and lo and behold the tummy tuck is still on there. Apparently, the fact that the tummy tuck was removed was not properly communicated to the hospital. (As an aside, this is a perfect example of why confirmation of surgeries is necessary at registration!!)
I had a discussion with my surgeon: he said the OR is already booked and set up for all three procedures including the tummy tuck. So if I wanted to, we could go ahead as originally planned back in June, or not. Whatever I decided was fine with him. If I didn't want the tummy tuck, there would be some paperwork to do beforehand, but it was doable since the OR was booked for all 3 procedures, and there was time to do the paperwork/system corrections and still complete the arm and breast lifts in that time. So now I had a discussion with Mr.: It wouldn't really cost much more, and they were all set up for it already anyway, so why not? It's funny because the decision making process felt like when you're in a grocery store line and decide to buy that pack of gum at the checkout.
It's been almost 48 hours since the completion of my surgeries...here's what's happened so far:
Day 0:
Got to hospital at 7am and all the above happened. I got on the operating table at 9:30am, and don't know what time I woke up at recovery. The surgery was supposed to be 4 hours. All I remember was that it was 4pm when I got rolled into my room. That first night after the surgeries was relatively pain-free as I was drugged up and in bed the entire time. I slept a lot but not for very long periods of time. They put these leg type massagers on my legs that work kind of like a blood pressure cuff. Each one inflates a chamber with air starting from ankle to thigh, to squeeze my leg nicely and then deflates. Then the other one on the other leg does the same thing. Its to promote circulation and prevent blood clots. I've had them on the entire time (except when going to bathroom or taking a short walk) and I LOVE THEM. I want to buy one of these contraptions for home! The nurse said that I am the first patient she's met that likes these things. Which I find hard to believe because these things are awesome.
Didn't eat anything all day, other than Water, a cup of tea and 1/2 an unsweetened apple juice box.
Day 1:
Now the next day I felt the pain for the first time when my drugs wore off and I had to get out of bed to go to the washroom (they took my catheter out). Oh. My. God. When I twisted my body and put my foot on the ground, I felt like I was being stabbed in my hip with a large knife. It was so painful that when I walked I couldn't put my heel down. I had to do I sort of walk–tiptoe shuffle to the toilet. So first lesson: do not twist your body.
Because of the tummy tuck, I have to walk hunched over and this quickly puts a strain on your back. So second lesson: walk with the help of your IV pole/cane/walker/buddy.
I have 2 drains in my tummy, which are mildly annoying. I forgot about them once when I got out of bed and pulled on one a bit which caused some bleeding. Boo.
I was surprised that I could move my arms relatively freely and pain free. I could even put weight on my arms to lift myself out of bed, type on my laptop, feed myself, and go to the washroom by myself. I may not have been very efficient, but I could do it. Also, I could brush my teeth but not my hair. Nor could i adjust my head pillows. Basically anything where I have to raise my arms above shoulder height is a no-go.
My boobs didn't/don't hurt at all. As if nothing was even done there.
I got to see all the work done when the nurse changed my dressings. My arms are tiny. My boobs are nice and perky with matching nipples (my previous breast reduction had one of the nipples wrinkle/fold over at the outer edge and my guy fixed it). My tummy is wrinkle free and my new belly button looks better than the old one. My inner thighs from the front has been smoothed out! This was an unexpected bonus My va-jay-jay, however, is quite "perky". When I look down sitting in bed it stares right up at me. My nurse said she noticed it was swollen. She said it is a combination of being yanked up and the use of the stomach binder. Didn't show it to surgeon this first day, but will remember to bring i up when I see him before I leave.
Today I had a cup of coffee, 1/2 a chicken breast and some beef Jerky.
Day 2:
Now today I feel exponentially better. I got an a good seven hours of continuous sleep. When I woke up I could feel that my pain meds had worn off but I was able to get out of bed and walk to the washroom just fine. I can tell I'm walking much faster now and am much less hunched over. I could probably skip the pain meds from now on but I think based on @sillykitty's comments, i'll take them for another day or so. Mr. has already filled my prescriptions, so I may as well take them. I'll play it by ear.
I find that the only real pain I get is from twisting my torso. I can easily do a sit up or leg lift motion pain free, but if I twist in any way, I get a sharp pain. Everything else is bearable. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd say my pain level is about 1.5. Compare this to the pain of WLS recovery, which I would have given an 8 at its worst.
They took the IV out this morning because my swollen hands were basically embedding that entry thing into my flesh and it was starting to hurt. They tried to put a new one in twice but couldn't find a vein because I'm too swollen. They asked if I was OK with them trying a third time, and I was all, No Thanks. IV insertion hurts, man! So they are off finding an alternate antibiotic to administer without an IV.
I'm supposed to be discharged sometime today but honestly I'd rather stay because I love these leg massager things. Plus I like the adjustable hospital bed!
Anyway just hanging around now waiting for my surgeon and next instructions.
P.S. I ate 1/2 an omelette & a peach yogurt cup so far today.

Thanks for sharing. I'd like to have your BEFORE arms, they look GREAT!

photos from today    

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Hahaha! Steal away! BDG Goal. It's a thing.
And I'm 57 and on a drug for breast cancer remission that shuts down my hormones into super-menopause. I still have lost about 155lbs. You can do this!

Holy crap that’s amazing I can only wish to be as successful as you are at 8 months out. First month I have lost 30 pounds and I’m sure the Plato will happen but man you got this!! We all got this tbh

Anytime that you get discouraged, click on fluffychics profile and read her posts.
She is truly amazing with how far she has come and what she went through to get here. Her story will inspire you.
Btw- according to her profile, she is 55 years old. So, age did not deter her from coming as far as she has

Congratulations on you success! 😊

I feel the same way! I’m a few weeks ahead of you (surgery was March 8th). I started to slow down in September, then had a 6 week stall and now I’m starting to lose a few here and there. My surgeon predicted I would get down to 184 and I’ve set a goal of 178. The doc at my weight loss center said that might be difficult considering my age (I’m 47) but I WILL DO IT!
I freaked out because I gained 2.5 lbs from Thanksgiving but added a few extra workout sessions and today, those suckers are gone. I’m terrified that I’ve hit the end of the losing cycle, but am determined to do everything I can to keep going.

it is reassuring to read similar posts and know others feel the same way, it keeps me going.
@FluffyChix I love the Barbie Dream Girl Goal, is it ok if I steal that?? 🤣
@comingupmilhouse You’ve got this!! 💪🏻💪🏻

Congratulations on you success! 😊

I feel the same way! I’m a few weeks ahead of you (surgery was March 8th). I started to slow down in September, then had a 6 week stall and now I’m starting to lose a few here and there. My surgeon predicted I would get down to 184 and I’ve set a goal of 178. The doc at my weight loss center said that might be difficult considering my age (I’m 47) but I WILL DO IT!
I freaked out because I gained 2.5 lbs from Thanksgiving but added a few extra workout sessions and today, those suckers are gone. I’m terrified that I’ve hit the end of the losing cycle, but am determined to do everything I can to keep going.

it is reassuring to read similar posts and know others feel the same way, it keeps me going.
@FluffyChix I love the Barbie Dream Girl Goal, is it ok if I steal that?? 🤣
@comingupmilhouse You’ve got this!! 💪🏻💪🏻

Hey. Well I'm only a month out and I'm having doubts on whether this would work because I gained 2 lbs at my 4 week doc appt this week. My first appt I was down 27 lbs. We did just have Thanksgiving but I can relate to the fear and panic. You've come so far in your journey it's inspiring and your just 8 months out. I started at about 334 before surgery and currently I'm at 305. In your case I don't think it's the end. Just stick with setting goals and you'll find a way to reach them like you've been doing.

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it's doable - I'm 60 - so even older than you!

Congratulations on you success! 😊

I feel the same way! I’m a few weeks ahead of you (surgery was March 8th). I started to slow down in September, then had a 6 week stall and now I’m starting to lose a few here and there. My surgeon predicted I would get down to 184 and I’ve set a goal of 178. The doc at my weight loss center said that might be difficult considering my age (I’m 47) but I WILL DO IT!
I freaked out because I gained 2.5 lbs from Thanksgiving but added a few extra workout sessions and today, those suckers are gone. I’m terrified that I’ve hit the end of the losing cycle, but am determined to do everything I can to keep going.

it is reassuring to read similar posts and know others feel the same way, it keeps me going.
@FluffyChix I love the Barbie Dream Girl Goal, is it ok if I steal that?? 🤣
@comingupmilhouse You’ve got this!! 💪🏻💪🏻

Got my pit staples out today. One was bent so that was pinchy. I have some separation at my belly button but it's internal so the scar won't be visible. It isn't infected... just where they reattached it on one of the four spots pulled away a bit so it's a little thicker scar. Need to coat with Aquaphor and gauze for a little while.

Other than that, all is awesome. I went clubbing Saturday and danced for 3 hours - no pain. I told the surgeon and he just laughed and said moving is great just don't do it if it swells or hurts... but nothing about this has hurt. Great experience so far!

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here's some random pics since I have all my compression binders off. I am 4 days post-op.    

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Got my arms drains out in a record 4 days! Everything looks great! Here is my tummy today! Before and after.  

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Burning Questions:
1) are you not taking any pain meds?
2) did you get a traditional or extended Tummy Tuck?
3) I know you got a recliner, are you sleeping in it? do you think you would be able to pull off sleeping in your bed?
4) How high can you lift your arms comfortably? Can you brush your teeth? your hair?
5) What about going to the washroom? Can you manage the "after clean-up" for both pees and poops?
INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW.

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and feelings and experiences, @Darktowerdream! You are very brave. For a minute I was wondering how you got into my head, LOL! I don't know that I could be that brave to show all my emotions and thoughts and such. While I don't have the same struggles that you do, I know we all have our own paths to walk, and I wish you all the best!
You said, We just can’t give up when the going gets rough. That hits me where I live because life is rough a lot of the time. I figure if it is calm I'm not growing. Since I love to learn and am a permanent student, I don't mind stretching a little here and a little there. It's when the stretching is like pulling a rubber band to the breaking point that I mind.
You have done an awesome job with your weight loss with your challenges. I will look back on your post when I need a pick-me-up and refocus. You are an inspiration, keep up the great work. ((HUGS))

Congratulations on your NSV.
Your lucky you had that whole closet of clothes to fall back on.
I know thinking about your weight can play on your mind without having any neurological or psychiatric issues to exacerbate it.
Recently I have been going a little nuts. about dieting. I am trying to lose from a weight regain. So far I have lost 25 lbs but that took two and 1/2 years.
I took a day not to think to hard about stuff and now I am back on track.
Maybe you could take a mental vacation from it like me.
Good luck!

Can’t quite say how much I appreciate the response. I will be back around tomorrow. My surgery wasnt normal I was bed bound And couldn’t move. but we all need to know it’s ok and why we take the first step in our journey. And for what reason. We just can’t give up when the going gets rough. Especially with the holidays approaching and emotions tend to be very raw. Takes all my energy to do small tasks. Including writing messages. But we also need to support each other no matter how different our personal journey.

Thank you for finding courage to put your message in beautiful words! Your weightloss is impressive. Congrats on your success.

Confession time:
I took my teens to a trampoline park recently and overheard them whispering that I dress young. They have never really cared what I looked liked until recently with the last 10ish lbs lost when people mistaken me for their peer not Mum.
This has been bothering me ever since. Really bothering me. I didn't think i was doing it on purpose. I thought i was a mere victim of my height and new size (no decent mature clothes in the juniors section for moms 😬) but now that you have put these words to paper (digitally) I can't help but wonder if subconsciously im trying to return to Neverland... I need to think 😔
I think you did a great job and people can take what they need to from your post. Thanks for sharing with us 💙

Wow so much great stuff in this post! Thank you for sharing a part of yourself and sharing your journey with us. This is a safe space to do that and we have a caring group of friends here.
This quote really resonates with me. There are so many people who share this feeling!!! We all need to band together when the holidays (and family) get too much to bear and come here to share and support!!!
Glad you're here hon and glad you are processing the new you. It's not easy doing the head work. It really isn't. And huge proppahs on the size 6 Levis! Wooot!

I just want to say that I think you did a great job posting your thoughts, feelings and experiences!

I relate to many of the things you wrote, but this is my absolute favorite part:
Do this for you and no one else, do this because you are ready even when you feel you aren’t. Do this for your health but also your wellbeing. Do this knowing that you need to still put in the work. Do this knowing each persons experience is different but yours is yours and as important as anyone else’s.

Thank you for putting yourself out here and congratulations on all of your current and future successes!
😊😊