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.

Karey - the showers were awful. I got the shakes really bad.

In fact today I am feeling a little ugh. I am not in pain but all I have done all day is sleep. I don't think it is necessarily a bad thing seeing that I haven't been sleeping well for about the last week (even before the TT) but I am feeling really light headed today. If it doesn't go away I will call the doctor tomorrow. When I get up I get the whole body tingling feeling and my vision narrows and gets blurry. I start sweating and have to hold on to something.

My apetite is slowly coming back though not as much as the doctor would like. She really wants me eating at presurgery levels but I am just not that hungry. She said at minimum I had to get 100 grams of protein a day. I seem to be able to manage that with careful eating and protein bars.

I took the binder off for about 20 minutes today so that I could look at my tummy again. I still cant believe what it looks like. I feel like a paper doll and that someone has cast an illusion over my belly. I am waiting to wake up and see it back to normal. The whole weightloss/PS thing does crazy things to your mind!

Tonight we are going for a walk around the block. I have been given permission to walk 15 minutes a day at a pace that is just slower than comfortable. She doesn't want me to push myself. she said that when the body is forming new blood vessels through the muscle that any extensive activity can sheer them like what would happen if you were to fall and skin your knees. Everytime that happens then it takes longer for the blood vessels to reform. So I am listening to her!

Thank you for all the comments. I do believe that she did a wonderful job!!!

Salsa: It sounds like you really need to rest! Hope tomorrow is a better day!

Salsa, I was exhausted for about the first 4 weeks at least. You really need to take it easy and heal. If you are dizzy I would definitely call your PS. You may also be low on iron since you have lost so much blood. Take it easy. It is 3 weeks to heal with 6 months afterwards to see the main differences.

Salsa- you are TINY! congrats! I'm sorry you are feeling so bad however- try to increase the amount of fluids you are drinking and GO SLOW- sitting to standing; standing to walking and that may help with the dizziness.

Salsa, Karey posted some very good info a couple of weeks ago about the hormonal changes your body goes through after plastic surgery. I'd never considered that, but it may be a factor for you too. Listen to your body. If you feel like sleeping then sleep. You must need it. Check with your doctor if you have any concerns. You've been through a huge trauma and you need to watch for anything odd.

Hope you feel better soon. Becky

I agree with Becky. People often ignore their body's need for sleep - especially after a traumatic event. You are NOT a slacker if you are taking naps through the day. You are giving your body the tools it needs to make all those repairs. Catch some ZZZZZZZs.

Hi Salsa,

Ditto to the other great advice everyone has already given you.

Just remember that you will have energetic days and not-so-energetic days, and this process is different for everyone, so take things one day at a time.

Week 3 hit me like a ton of bricks and it is unbelievable how much I slept that week, but sleep is a very restorative thing and the experts say that most of us don't get nearly enough of it. So relax and sleep as much as you can, as it will only make your results that much better.

Hope you are having a great and restful day :smile:!

Week 3 is also hitting me like a ton of bricks. :redface:

If sleep is what you need nothing else will make it better. There will be many times when sleep won't come so take advantage of it when it's easy. :smile2:

Good luck and keep up the good work!

So I had the scariest moment of my life about 2 hours ago. I went in to take a shower and DH was in there with me until I sent him out to get a clean towel from the cabinet. In the 20 seconds he was gone I passed out in the shower. I have a nice bruise on my left shoulder and the middle of my back from hitting the faucet. As soon as he heard me hit the tub he rushed in and I was sitting in the tub. I don't remember anything between the time he left and the time he came back in. Then as he was turning off the water and holding my head...I passed out again. I guess I was only out for a split second that time but when I came too I felt like I was in a tunnel. My vision was blurred with starry images and my hearing was very distant. Seriously scared. Then I was afraid to look down. I feared that I was going to be sitting in a red bath tub...but alas I was not. I didn't split a single stitch but I think I almost pulled out my drains. My stomach doesn't hurt at all but my drains hurt like a B!TCH. I called the doctor but she hasn't called me back yet.

I was feel really good today. A little tired because we went to the store to get some Kashi cereal that was on sale today, but we walked slowly and it wasn't very long. When we came home I laid in my chair and listened to my book because I was kind of tired. I got up, took some pictures and then went to take a shower. I felt great. The whole passing out thing was kind of a shock!

I am feeling better now except for my sore butt and back. Plus I have gained an extra shadow. DH won't let me go anywhere or do anything without him being a shadow. I guess it is a good thing. He is making dinner right now and telling me that I have to eat, eat, eat. He is convinced that I am not eating enough. He could be right considerng that after eating today I stepped on the scale and I was down 5.5 pounds. They only removed 4 pounds of skin so I have lost weight since surgery. So between now and Sunday I am going to eat whatever he feeds me and not ask about calories.

Doc still hasn't called so I will have DH call here on her cell phone. I want to make sure that there is nothing that I could have done internally.

Most likely on the drains you just pulled the incisions around them. You have NO IDEA how far those things go inside you until you see them being pulled out by the doctor!!! :smile2::eek::thumbup:

I agree that you need to get your calorie intake up a bit.

Keep us posted on what the doc thinks. I'll keep my fingers crossed for ya! :redface:

If the doc doesn't call you back you REALLY need to consider going to an ER or urgent care. Really. Syncope can be a sign of many things, none of them should be ignored. There is a good possibility that your labs are off and you could be hypo/hyper on many levels. Be careful!!!!!!

The doctor did call me back and I am going into see here in the morning. She believes that it is a combination of heat and low sugar levels. I haven't been eating much cause I haven't been hungry so everything that I have been eating has been HIGH protein. So she things that what happened is that the heat (it was 100+ here today and we dont have AC), being wrapped in the binder and the lack of carbs/sugar in my diet was a bad combo. So I am ordered to eat a VERY high calorie diet. She doesn't want me below 2500 calories for the rest of the week. I have to have a fan on me at all times and I have to put a cool cloth on my forehead and wrists every hour.

We are going into see her tomorrow morning and she will do a reevaluation then. She said that if I pass out again or I get shortness of breath or start throwing up that I have to go to the ER immediately. We live MAYBE 2 minutes from the hospital so we are good on that front. I will keep you all up to date tomorrow.

Salsa,

that is scary. sorry that happened.

keep us posted on what the doctor says. is there a juice place near you (like Jamba Juice?) those are quite high in cals and you can have protein added.

Holy Crap Salsa. I'm so glad you didn't break something or bust your head open. It sounds like you need a shower bench or even bring in one of those plastic lawn chairs so you can sit in the shower.

Do everything your doctor advises and eat, eat, eat. Your body burns a lot of calories when it is healing. Take advantage of this time to eat some of your old favorites.

I hope today is a better day. Let us know what the doctor says. Becky

Hee hee. It sounds like the prescription for you is milkshakes and naps. Glorious!!! I know you are used to being Superwoman, but now's the time to relax and be spoiled. Your body is VERY busy without any added activities. Think good thoughts. We're all pulling for you.

Becky - plastic lawn chair - stellar idea!