So as if the whole world did not already know, my surgery is set for July 3 at 7:30AM. I will have to be to the surgery center at 6:30. To the dismay of many around here, this will be an outpatient surgery and is scheduled to last 6 hours. Here is what the doc said yesterday.

1. I will have 2, (possibly 3) incisions. One that runs hip to hip (about 3/4 of the way back on the hip), 1 that runs vertically from groin to breast bone, and then possibly one that is horizontal just underneath the bra line. She won't know until she sees how much puckering there will be at the top. I really don't give a CRAP about scarring. I just want to see my belly button!:sneaky:

2. She has no idea how much muscle repair I will need. She said she wouldn't know until she gets in there.

3. She may or may not move my port. It depends on how much of a fat pad there is between my port and the muscle. If there is not a lot, she will leave it. If there is a fair amount, then she will unstitch the port, remove the fat, and resecure the port to my muscle. Lovely...port pain again! :thumbup: She will not be changing the location of the port and has the complete support of my lap-band surgeon.

4. She will lipo the mons area and lift as well. This is being thrown in as a bonus. She said she is not going to charge me for the lipoing of the mons area because she didn't originally think I would need it, but now she thinks it would be better. She said it is not enough to justify recalculating the fees.

5. I will be receiving a pain pump that will last for 48 hours. She gave me the option of showing me how to remove it myself (WTH!):rolleyes2: or to move up my post-op and come in on Monday and have her remove it. I opted for the second! I am not a biologist/doctor...that is what I pay them the big bucks for!

6. She is so excited that I am running the half-marathon before surgery because it will cause great circulation and put me in the best shape of my life. She was not concerned about the weightloss because of my muscle tone. She didn't want to see me losing a lot of weight just due to low calories and poor nutrition which can be a problem for healing. But after seeing the muscle tone in my arms and legs she is EXTREMELY confident in my ability to heal quickly.

They took a bunch of pictures and I got my prescriptions for surgery. They are all liquid as this was the only thing that my lap-band surgeon suggested. I did not want to get a pill stuck and be throwing up! So I will just gag from the flavor instead.:tongue2: Liquid pain meds and liquid antibiotics. Sounds like a party. I can sit in my recliner like chair with a straw and party umbrella in my medical cocktail and feel like I am sitting on the beach...with my new "bikini body"!:rolleyes2:

And now...what everyone has been waiting for... the pictures...as hideous as they may be! I know a lot of people like to see before and after pictures and I will be posting a lot. There are not a lot of people that have the vertical incision and it has been very difficult for me to find before and afters so I am going to do the best I can to provide this information for other's searching.

Hooray!!!:thumbup::lol:

Salsa: You're funny! So glad you're doing well! Welcome to the FLATLANDS! Congratulations! So did your PS doing the vertical anchorplasty? It sounds like you have a doc that is looking out for your best interests. These 2 part surgeries are a pain, I'm still looking forward to another surgery as well, but it will all be worth it! Rest and my God bless you. Looking forward to hearing more...

Salsa, sounds like you are doing great and your doctor does sound wonderful. How appropriate that this is Independence Day - your first day of freedom from Jabba!

Keep resting and taking your meds on a regular schedule. Becky

Yes she did do the vertical incision so about 90% of my tummy is flat. there is just a small section under my breasts that is a bit poofy. But it will actually be able to be pulled underneath my bra so no one will really be able to tell. It is not something that I am concerned about greatly. I NEED a breast lift but it is going to have to wait a while as I am officially broke! So I will have to wait but I am just so happy that most of me is flat.

I did not sleep well last night at all. I would doze off for about 20 minutes and then be up for an hour. I just wasn't tired and my meds are not knocking me out like they used to. I wasn't in pain at all. In fact I got up and took my meds on my own last night. But then I had to wake up DH to have him help me with my drains.

Yes Becky I thought that it ws perfect to have my surgery so close to Independence day! I even said that to the doctor and she laughed!

glad you are doing well and YEA for getting rid of Jabba!

:thumbup:

Glad to hear you are doing so well. Remember to rest though!!

yay glad you're doing well!! Congrats

WooHoo! Congrats and well wishes for a quick recovery!

Woo-Hoo!!!! :thumbup:

Thanks for checking in. You are so brave - I hope you're still feeling good.

How many drains do you have?

I have 2 drains in. The left one is draining about 20 ml every 6 hours. The right drain is draining about 10 ml every 6 hours.

I am doing pretty well. I am a little sorer today than I was yesterday, but still not in a whole lot of pain. I hope I sleep better tonight though. I haven't slept much today. Just laid here in my chair. BTW if you are having a TT and don't have a recliner an anti-gravity lounge chair works magnificently. It is easy to get in and out and you don't have to use your tummy muscles to recline. It has been a lifesaver. I think it is easier to get in and out of than a bed would be.

We took the binder off to look at my tummy but it was totally covered in a bandage so I couldn't see anything. I was hoping to post pictures but you really can't see anything. We are going to have to wait to post until after my post op on Monday. I am assuming she will take off the bandage and we will make sure to get pictures.

Well that is all I have to report right now. Really the pain isn't too bad. It feels like I have done about 300 too many situps but that is about it. I have a bit of gas that is causing some pressure but otherwise it really isn't too uncomfortable. I am not getting in very many calories though. I just don't have much of an appetite. We are going to try and get me above 1000 today, but it could be a stretch. I had about 500 yesterday. She would really like me at 1800, but that is going to be tough. I am making sure that everything I eat is really high in Protein so I am at least getting in that nutrient.

Good morning Salsa! I'm glad to read that you're doing so well. I hope you were able to get some rest last night. If not maybe you should ask the doctor for something to help with that.

I didn't want much to eat the first few days either, but forced myself to drink Protein supplements at least. My doctor is fanatical about the importance of protein to proper healing.

Still wishing you a speedy recovery, Becky

Hi Salsa,

I was like Becky -- almost no appetite those first few days. My plastic surgeon is also really big on getting the proper nutrients and ordered regular meals, but you might recall that I had two Dr.'s and the GYN wanted me to be on "clears," so it was pretty hilarious the way my menu plan kept getting changed back and forth for three days. However, for one meal when I was on the plastic surgeon's plan, they brought me chocolate cake and it was Yummy!!!! My band was so tight (I opted not to be unfilled) that I was only able to have a few bites, but it was a heavenly few bites -- it made my day!

My advice is to try to eat some foods you enjoy to entice yourself to eat a bit. During that first week after surgery I ate all kinds of things that I love but have been avoiding since being banded such as pizza, reuben sandwich, and potato Soup, among other things. I was only able to eat very small portions, so it was absolutely fine, and this way I managed to get some badly needed calories in my body. My Dr. thought it was a great idea too.

The other thing I had and enjoyed was Jello Brand, sugar-free rice pudding (thank you Karey :thumbup:), crème brulee flavor. It's very, very tasty and only 70 calories -- it's very easy for us bandsters to eat too!!!

When you first see your incision, remember that it will look very rough, but that it will go through many, many changes as you heal. When I first saw my incisions, I would have probably freaked out had I not been on morphine at the time (LOL :tt2:), because it looked absolutely awful. I cannot even describe it, it was just so puckery and gross.

If I hadn't been 1000% confident that I had a wonderful Dr. who did beautiful work, I would have been very concerned that something was seriously wrong. Now at three weeks post-op things seem to be settling down and I can see that eventually my incision will heal quite nicely, as will yours.

You're doing great, Salsa! Have a wonderful and restful day :smile::cool2:!

Edited July 5, 200818 yr by Frangipani

Salsa: Yes those tummy muscles do hurt! Glad you have the recliner and I'm glad that you're resting during the day. Especially since you aren't sleeping well at night. Hope you have some good movies to help you chill and relax. Whose helping you?

My husband is not working right now so he is home all the time with me. He is the greatest! Doesn't even flinch when helping me with the drains. Actually he does all the work with the drains. He says there is no point in having me do it when he can do it for me.

I did sleep a little bit better last night...and I feel better today. My muscles are not as sore this morning. My neck is really hurting though. How long did you have to walk hunched over? My back is pretty stiff. My post-op is on Monday so I figure I would stay pretty hunched over until then, but I just wondered how long you all stayed bent over. I did make sure that I got over 100 grams of Protein yesterday. I just kind of force myself to eat and only eat Proteins. I think I got to 1200 calories yesterday.

Thanks for the heads up about the incisions. I will see them in the doc's office on Monday and I wouldn't want to break down in tears. I can't wait to see my flat tummy.

Well I am going to try and sleep a little bit more.

Good afternoon. Not much to post. We are going to take out the pain pump later today. I am in a lot less pain today. I was able to lie down in my own bed this afternoon and get some sleep. I still am not able to sleep for more than about an hour at a time. If it doesn't get better by Monday I am going to ask her for some sleeping pills.

I am still draining quite a bit from the left side, but not a whole lot from the right. Still don't have much of an appetite. DH went to the store to get a rotissarie chicken as there was nothing in the house that I wanted to eat. I am at 53 grams of Protein right now so I will get higher with the chicken. I will then eat a Protein Bar or a sandwich tonight when I take my antibiotic so I should be close to 100 grams again. I am trying to eat more...I am just NOT hungry.