Surgery with Dr. Sauceda in Monterrey, Mexico. Planned procedures today include lower body lift, inner thigh lift, breast lift and augmentation, brachioplasty. Facelift andd neck lift will happen on Friday.

Today is the day! I woke up before the alarm went off and already was saying goodbye to feeling good for a few weeks. Those of you who have been through it know what it's like: Partly feeling like it's surreal, partly wondering what the outcome will look like. Will I be happy with the results? Will I be disappointed? Will I be crazy happy? And the pain/discomfort that is awaiting. Wondering what the 7 drains will be like (I know: uncomfortable as hell). Do I have enough to keep me entertained for the duration of my stay in the clinic? What clothes, if any, will I wear over the compression garment? I did some yoga this morning, the last time I'll be doing any form of activity for a long time. Surprised that I'm sad that I won't be able to exercise. That shows what a long way I've come since pre-bariatric surgery. It started to become real at the marking session last night.

How's that for random thoughts in no particular order! Wish me luck, everyone, and thanks for reading my post! See you on the other side.

Blessings to you hon! I hope your surgeries go seamlessly well!!! Here's to a new you!!!

Yay!! Congrats! Let us know how it went!

I found the drains disconcerting, but not particularly uncomfortable until they came out

I had most of the surgeries you’re having (no face/neck or thighs and had tummy tuck instead of lower body lift) and I can say it was truly life changing! I hope your experience is the same!

And I missed yoga and running as well! But they will be waiting when you’re ready!

Omg that’s a lot! Prayers and best wishes for an uneventful recovery!

So here I am at day 2 postop. I’d love to say it’s been a breeze but it hasn’t been a nightmare either... mostly. The surgical prep process in the clinic ran like clockwork and literally everyone is incredibly friendly and kind. I was scheduled for a vertical thigh lift, fleur de lys abdominoplasty, lower body lift, breast lift and augmentation, and brachioplasty. Included was fat grafting to the butt to give my deflated booty more definition. The surgeon estimated it would be a 12-hour procedure but said that if there were any indications that surgery needed to be interrupted, they would not hesitate to do so. I wake up from surgery and am told that because of blood loss, they were able to perform all procedures but stopped at the boob job. I don’t know how you would react to this, but I’m so grateful that I was warned this might happen and they indeed showed they have my best interest at heart. I’m scheduled for face lift and neck lift on Friday and was told they’d do the boob job then.

Recovery the next day (yesterday) was absolutely brutal. I felt that no amount of pain meds was managing the pain, had not a single position in which I was even moderately comfortable, and couldn’t sleep. They tried to have me walk in the evening but the pain was so intense I couldn’t make it out of bed. Tried for quite a while but nothing going. My inner thighs and pubis by late evening were on fire. I called the nurse who took my temp and it was elevated. For the rest of the night she brought fresh cool compresses to place on pubis and thighs every 3 hours and they added morphine to the pain regimen and gave me a sleeping pill. Finally slept in fits and starts. I was MISERABLE and in tears.

Today has been just the opposite. I managed to get out of bed on my own and walked around with nursing assistance at first then just on my own. After lunch the nurse came in and I had my first shower. It felt so wonderful. It took a long time and redressing the wounds and putting me back in the compression garment also took time so by the end I was exhausted and slept like a baby until dinner time. Now I feel like a new woman. Astonishing to see such a difference in just 24 hours.

Because it was so rough yesterday, I told my surgeon this morning that I wasn’t ready for round 2 tomorrow. He rescheduled it for the middle of next week. How amazing and flexible is that! He has also been in constant contact with me and the nurses so I feel exceedingly well monitored.

More later! Thanks for following my progress and for the encouragement and good wishes. They really do help!

Here I am right after my shower. 7 drains, 3 of which are hanging off of my pubis which is totally weird but kind of comical. I haven’t been able to stand up straight since then. Maybe tomorrow.

WoW! I'm cringing thinking of the pain...but hey, women are strong creatures right!? We can take it...hope your recovery goes super quick for round 2 and even after that round, even quicker!!! Have a blessed day hon!

I had a royal lower body lift and included seven procedures and pain was extremely minimal and I’m a huge baby. I’m sorry it’s been a rough recovery for you. Prayers for your continued pain control and for a speedy healing process!!

Wow, that's crazy... I'm proud of you! I hope your recovery is quick! Do you mind me asking how much all that cost? I know I'll need to do all of that in the future. Keep us posted!!

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Hang in there! Keep us updated!

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Wow, that's crazy... I'm proud of you! I hope your recovery is quick! Do you mind me asking how much all that cost? I know I'll need to do all of that in the future. Keep us posted!!

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Thanks for the encouragement!

The entire package when done in one go was a little over 21,000. This includes the cost of the procedures, stay in the surgical clinic, multi-day stay in a hotel afterwards with daily nursing visits to help with bathing and dressing. Surgery-relayed meds are also included. Frequent (daily so far) visits from the PS.

Hope this helps and I wish you all the best as you continue your weight loss journey.

Wow, that's crazy... I'm proud of you! I hope your recovery is quick! Do you mind me asking how much all that cost? I know I'll need to do all of that in the future. Keep us posted!!

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Thanks for the encouragement!

The entire package when done in one go was a little over 21,000. This includes the cost of the procedures, stay in the surgical clinic, multi-day stay in a hotel afterwards with daily nursing visits to help with bathing and dressing. Surgery-relayed meds are also included. Frequent (daily so far) visits from the PS.

Hope this helps and I wish you all the best as you continue your weight loss journey.

Second phase of surgery begins in 7 hours! I’m so excited to see what these changes will look like. Have taken lots of selfies so I can compare before and afters once the swelling has gone down. Because of my difficulties with pain control in round 1, I’m of course dreading the next couple of days even though the PS has been very attentive to my pain management concerns. Chalk it up to pre-surgery jitters!

will be thinking of you and wishing you a speedy recovery!!!

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You are strong! Hang in there!

I'm about 24 hours past the final round of surgeries (breast lift and augmentation, neck lift, face lift with upper eyelid work. It went smoothly. The pain this morning was definitely there but nothing like the brutal first round of procedures. This evening I'm back at the hotel and had enough energy to go down and have a cup of tea with another patient staying in the hotel. Last night was very emotional in the clinic. I had finally finished all the surgeries I wanted and this marked the end of my long weight loss journey. There were lots of happy tears and just relief that this is now done. I'm giving myself some time to process all this while I heal, then will look for the next adventure to embark on. But what a roller coaster ride this journey has been! Another patient told me to expect a bit of depression after all this is done, so if I come across it I'll understand where it's coming from. What have you folks experienced at this stage of the journey?

So glad to hear it all went well!