Hey I'm getting my plastics in exactly two weeks and I'm getting very anxious I'm wondering how to prepare what I will need and what should I expect? I'm having a full tummy tuck and breast lift with small implant. So excited but so nervous!

Good for you! I had this procedure last August- the TT, lift, and augment, and recovery is not bad at all. The only thing that takes a little while to get used to is the fact that you can't do any sit-up motion, so getting up in bed is a little weird for a few weeks, and you don't realize what you all use your pectoral muscles for (like vacuuming) so it takes a bit to get accustomed to that.

The first week or so you have to walk around hunched over so that you don't rip open your stomach sutures, so before surgery it's good to have everything you need at around shoulder height because you can't really reach up into upper cabinets very well at first. Also, when you're laying down, you'll want to be in lawnchair position, which is basically just with your shoulders propped up and a pillow under your knees. I bought a bed wedge, which was a waste of money...a pile of pillows under my head and shoulders and one under my knees and I was very comfortable. Also, the first few days you're a little drugged and groggy feeling, so I put a press-on nightlight by my bed so I could just reach over, smack it, and see what I needed to be doing without worrying about finding the bedside lamp switch.

My doctor told me I only needed to wear a binder, but I was MUCH more comfortable in a compression garment. Mine went from my knees to just under my ribcage and it zips and snaps up. Much as it is a huge pia to get into the first few days, it keeps everything nice and tight, especially while you sleep, and you tend to get less swollen. I've used that garment for all three of my surgeries, partly because it minimizes swelling and partly because at night everything is kept nice and tight, so if you roll over accidentally or twist wrong, it doesn't seem to feel as awful as when you don't have it on.

I was expecting excruciating pain and I was very happy to find that there was almost none. Compared to sleeve surgery where you're not only miserable, but you can't eat anything so you're weak, plastic surgery you get to be high for a few days usually on Percocet and you can eat and drink enough to feel just fine. I started walking on day 7 about 2 miles at a time, which at first takes awhile because you're walking with a hunched over posture. They will tell you to "walk as much as you want" which for most people means around their house and the grocery store. I took this literally and by week 2 I was up to 10 miles a day and I ended up with a seroma that took an extra month to heal. So, if you're at all like me, you will feel completely fine after the first week and ready to get back to normal- resist the urge and enjoy being lazy for a bit.

Good luck with your surgery- you will LOVE the results! This was by far my favorite of the plastics procedures I had done and there is nothing quite like having a perfectly flat stomach. It's been 8 months now and I still love my new tummy!

My recovery was nothing like AvaFern's experience! I had an extended tummy tuck with muscle repair, breast lift with augmentation, all over lipo, and far grafting to the top of my butt. I spent 2 full weeks in a recover house with 24/7 nursing care and the surgeon coming to check on me every single day (this was in Mexico). I had to wear a surgical bra and a compression garment that went from just under my breasts all the way to my ankles. Only time I was allowed to take any of that off was when I was showering. I had two drains, one at each hip.

While I was in the recovery house I was in a hospital bed, which I wasn't able to get in and out of on my own for the first couple of days. My nurses helped me get to the bathroom, helped me in the shower, and helped me walk around a little inside the house with a walker a little more each day. By the end of my second week there, I was walking without the walker and I even did a day trip with two of my nurses to the beach! I walked a fair amount that day and it was pretty exhausting, but I did it.

I had my drains removed on the day I flew home. Once home I did VERY short little walks around a cul-de-sac in my neighborhood. I laid on the couch, propped up with a wedge pillow most of the time. And I slept with the wedge pillow in my bed.

I returned to work at 4 weeks post-op, but swelling in my lower back kept me from being able to comfortably sit in a chair for a prolonged period of time and I have a desk job. I worked half days for the most part in those early weeks/months. I got a kneeling chair for my desk at work, which was a little easier for me to sit on, but the swelling in my back lasted a good 6 months or so total. It caused me a lot of pain and made daily life pretty hard. I couldn't sit in a chair (car seat was the ABSOLUTE WORST) or lie on my back. The only really comfortable position for me was lying on my side. It was tough. I also couldn't do any intense exercise for month.

However, all that being said, I'm now 3.5 years out from my plastics and am THRILLED that I had them. Well worth the hardships I endured early on.

I had reduction/lift done 15 yrs ago. I had been 40/42 DD for many many yrs even when I was smaller and the morning after my surgery still admitted I was scared to look! I was a few days before I could stomach looking. the pain for me was minimum and I stayed numb on the incisions for many yrs. I was soo happy to get it done. was such a relief. I'm really shocked after 100 pd weight loss to date that I mine have NOT deflated yet! lol...will see how or what happens to mine when I get another 30 to 40 off! My tummy will be next myself. Even after 32 yrs and 2 kids my tummy never went back to pre pregnancy form. that I am looking forward to!

Im hoping & waiting on approval for breast reduction i was a 42dddbut since wls im currently a 34ddd if approved im going to a size ( cup.

I just got approval for reduction & surgery is next Tuesday now im 1 happy girl/wife. .. it only took 7 days to get approved.

I just got approval for reduction & surgery is next Tuesday now im 1 happy girl/wife. .. it only took 7 days to get approved.

Wow! Congrats!