hi,

i've been reading everyone's journey on their plastic surgeries and have gotten alot of good information for use in mine.

since i've gotten so much great help from everyone, i've decided to journey my own upcoming process.

i'm scared to death but will not let it stop me. my biggest fear is developing blood clots. this has been my fear since my lapband surgery which was minimal compared to the one i have coming up.

just 2 days ago my boyfriend's aunt passed away as a result of one....she was old and had lots of health issues which caused it....but i was spooked a bit by it...was it a sign?

luckily dr schulman just posted about this subject and it made me feel better.

since being banded, i wanted to avoid PS. the first year i worked out like crazy but in the end i have extra skin on my belly that looks ok with clothes on...and "not so much" with clothes off. i want to complete this journey so decided to have PS.

i figured while under the knife i might as well get the "girls lifted" ..... gravity is taking them south.

my preop is next tuesday 4/28. i figure i will get alot of answers then. i am looking to rent one of those recliners that lift you up. i cant find one yet but will keep trying.

my sister in law is a nurse and will stay with me 3 days. she is normally a sweetheart but turns into "nurse ratchett" when it comes to recovery. so i know i'm in good hands with her.

then my cousin is flying in from NYC to babysit me for a week.

i'm a baby when it comes to pain...

my surgery is 5/11.....the doctor said it will be a 7 hour operation. it is outpatient...so i will go home that day with my sister in law.

anyway....just wanted to start this up and any suggestions are completely appreciated....

what was the best advice you got? best products you used? etc.

thank you ahead of time

josie

mrgrta: you really have helped me by sharing your journey.....you are also making me to think getting off my butt to exercise might be a good idea. at least starting my arms which really need toning

thanks again for your help

openag: thanks for your well wishes

josie

Josiebies,

Congrats on your great weight loss, surgery, and engagement. Thanks for being so open in providing the details of the surgery - both emotionally and physically. I wonder if part of the emotional swings aren't due to the estrogen changes that come after removing a large amount of fat tissue. Fat cells supply estrogen; so, for those of us that are no longer in our prime estrogen producing years, a sudden removal of an estrogen source could make your emotions swing.

Just a thought. I am sure that your emotions will level out once your body totally recovers from the surgery.

Again, thanks so much for sharing! Great job!

thanks foofy for the insight. on top of this i am on estrogen and had to stop it for the surgery due to potential for blood to clot. i went back on estrogen last week and feel much better

thanks again

josie

Mood swings and emotional crying, yeah I can tell you all about those with this last round of PS. My Dr also said my hormones got all out of whack from cutting off so much skin from the tummy. Well I am so over being on this roller coaster, I just want to be normal again,,,, wait, normal, whats that,,,hehehe

My daughter is checking in in Houston (she lives in NYC) as I write this for her lower body lift and breast reduction. I just had lapband on Monday so can't be there with her (was not how we planned it). I am so nervous for her. Those who have had a lower body lift, how tough were your first couple of weeks? I think the unknown is what's more nervewracking, how much pain she will be in (hopefully not much since he sends her home with a pain pump).

Trisha

pennreporter

hi shalee,

thanks so much for sharing your experience re: the roller coaster. on tuesday i hit another lull. and when i feel like that i think "it will be forever" i feel better today.....wow...what we do for the sake of beauty ha!!!

thanks again

trisha,

it seems like everyone recovers differently. there were 3 people on here including myself that had similar surgeries at similar times and we had 3 different experiences. if you read through some of the threads you can see what they are.

physically my recovery has been pretty easy. i followed all the rules to the letter of the law. but i went into the operation pretty fit. before the operation i worked out about 4 times a week plus cycle. so my doctor said that has something to do with it.

emotionally i didnt fair as well. i've had some "post-op" blues.

is your daughter having surgery down here or just investigating doctors???

i'm actually from NYC and moved here 3 years ago. i have to say i used to think the doctors in NY were the best. since being in houston...the healthcare here is amazing. if that can afford you comfort....

good luck with your band....

josie

josie, I agree on the Houston, Tx doctors. She lives in NYC and had her lap done by Dr. Spivak, who is also one of the original 14 member team to introduce it to the U.S. and Dr. LoMonaco, from Big Medicine, is doing her surgery. She's in surgery as we speak. And he's just arrogant enough that I know he will do a good job. She may not have been in the best physical shape, did yoga once in a while, but absolutely has no other health issues like BP. So hopefully she will do fine. I am going to search through here and read what everyone's experiences have been.

Thanks

Trisha

hi trisha

that's funny about dr loMonaco. i actually had scheduled my surgery with him and then found Dr Adam. if i didnt use Dr. Adam i definitely would have proceeded with dr LoMonaco. she is in great hands. he reminds me of an artist/sculptor and i think plastic surgeons need to be on the creative side.

i also used spivak for my lapband...small world right?

how long is she staying down here?

hope your banding is going well......

josie

she consulted with several plastic surgeons down there, not sure who else, but was pleased with his work. Right now she's scheduled to stay for two weeks after surgery but that's all flexible. It really depends on when her drains come out.

She loved Spivak. You can really tell the difference in doctors that have done the band 4k times as compared to my guys who are under 200 times.

The friend of hers that knows lomonaco claims he's too arrogant for his work not to look good. I hope that's true. I just care that she has no major complications but she's a pretty fast healer. She leaves the hospital with a pain pump and wants her to get in about 1500 grams of Protein a day, luckily she was unfilled yesterday.

My banding is going fine. I had the Realize band. So far it feels like I'm sipping all day long trying to get the protein down. One ounce at a time takes a while...lol but no pain and no expansion gas pain. But I'm sure my blood pressure is through the roof today worrying about Lisa. This was so not the way we had it planned.

Thanks for all your input. Did go back and read but it didn't appear that anyone had the lower body lift, just the TT, so not sure what the difference in recovery time will be.

Thanks again

Trisha

hey trish,

if you need any help while she's down here...dont hesitate to ask.

i see you are from tobyhana.

i think we used to go camping there when i was a kid. i'm trying to remember. but i remember going there.

keep us posted on both yours and your daughter's progress.

good luck with your band...best decision i've ever made.

josie

thank you so much. You don't know how much I appreciate the offer. She's staying with a very long time friend, that between he and his partner, the neighbor across the street, the one around the corner and a teenage girl they're going to have babysit on days no one else can be there, I think they've got almost all time the time covered. he lives 15 mins away from University General Hospital plus they have a pull out bed in the room with the patient so he'll be staying with her overnight in the hospital.

I'm waiting as I write fro the doctor to call (around 5:00 p.m. my time, which will be 8 hours).

Yes, Tobyhanna is a big camping area, although I don't think summer is ever going to get here. I moved here from Vegas and sworn I never wanted to live in heat like that again...well, I got my wish. But I didn't care for the humidity in Houston either, although I do miss Texas food (what little I'll be able to eat of it.) They have some of the best barbeque around. I have lots of family still down around there but they're all jackasses and could care less that lisa's having surgery. Thank god she has some wonderful lifelong friends down there. One of her friends down there has had the lower body lift and assured her that when it's all said and done and she looks back at the before pictures, she would do it again.

Again, thanks so much for the offer. It's reassuring she's with a good surgeon at a good hospital...doesn't mean I haven't been in tears all day worrying about her.

I will keep you updated

Thanks

Trisha

hi

well it's 4 weeks today since my surgery. i am doing much better with my emotions. i also am less tired then i was last week.

physically i feel great. i still take tylenol here and there when i get a little achey.....but it is so minimal.

it's weird. my torso is a little numb still. i feel like i'm feeling someone else's body.

i bought a bikini yesterday to take "after pics". While i wont wear it in public... I may wear it in my yard. it looks pretty good. i havent worn one since my 20's.

i just wanted to update everyone. i am finally glad i did this.

i am also glad i did everything i wanted to do in the one surgery as i dont think i would go back for a second one....i'm too much of a baby. the emotional roller coaster was toughest part.

i'm satisfied now with how i look. i am going to take 6 more lbs off and then i'm done losing weight

anyway.....i will post photo's as soon as i figure how to do it

josie

Josie:

Glad to hear that you are feeling so well.

I am with you on that weird numb tummy feeling. It does feel like I'm touching someone else's tummy when I touch mine. I'm sure it's because the nerves were cut when they cut off all of the excess skin. I can already tell that some of it is coming back to life because the numb area was alot bigger before.

I look forward to seeing your pics.

Take care.

Sue

Josie,

Good to hear you're happy you had the surgery. It took me a full 8 weeks to utter those words.

I didn't think I was a baby either...but we are all wired differently.

I actually thought about buying a bikini too. But I don't see it happening. My tankinis work just fine.

XO

J

Thanks for sharing so much, Josie--I am pre-banding, but already planning PS. Your experience has been really helpful and reassuring for me. I don't live in Houston anymore, but will be heading down there when it's time. (Well, maybe to Pittsburgh---but Houston's in the lead, if only because my daughter's at Rice, lives off campus, and can baby ME for a change!)

It sounds like you came through with flying colors! A word about the weepiness (your doctor may have told you this, but others reading may not know--if I'm repeating something elementary that you know, please don't be offended): body fat is estrogenic, and when a hunk is removed (along with skin), it really can throw things out of whack, kind of like it would if you abruptly stopped taking female hormones. It's kind of like prolonged PMS. But the ovaries soon pick up the slack, thanks to the body's pretty darn miraculous feedback system. I'm sorry you suffered before things started to even out. (I wonder if any PSs have considered applying estrogen Patches, and tapering the dose over time, to avoid this problem...)

Anyway, it sounds, though, like you've emerged amazingly well. I can't wait to see your pictures, if you're generous enough to share.