ok, i'm about to start the next phase of this journey.

I'm hovering around 6 pounds above my original goal (i say that because i would LOVE to lower it, but at the same time PS may bet rid of the rest of what doesn't seem to want to budge!).

My PS consult is Thursday 11/12/09. I'm not planning surgery until March of next year. I just want to know what he wants me to do...maintain, lose more...

I'm trying to get all the questions i should ask all written down so i don't forget anything!

the plan is to have a lift with implants (i'm sure i don't have enough tissue for even a C!) and a tummy tuck. would love some lipo if there is any backfat and above my belly if that isn't pulled flat!

here are things i have already.....can anyone add to this?

am i at an ok weight or should i lose more

should i work at maintaining now, or lose more

Belly buttons (i am worried about this one but hear my Dr. does great ones!)

implants what kind/size (i've hear of some called gummie. my sister in law had her saline replaced with this type last year because ONE saline busted after 5 years and she was totally lopsided...she's FLAT without the implants. The gummies are silicone, but will not leak if busted. at least from the outside it would still look normal!)

mons lift happens with tt? what exactly would that achieve?

will my port scar be hidden, if not removed? (my port scar is low, but a little bit higher than my belly button on the left side)

port moved/replaced with low profile (my port makes me look like i have some serious abs sticking out! LOL)

what does this price include? (compression garments, follow-ups, revisions?)

when do i return for a checkup?

should i stay in town for a couple of days at a hotel? (would this be better incase of emergencies, comfort, etc)

where will my scar be, how far around

what is typical healing time

how long before taking care of the kids

lifting them?

unfill (my band reacts to my hormones really bad! i get tight around my period ....really tight if i have really good restriction.)

muscle repair (i'm sure 4 kids have done a number there!)

pain pump or oral med?

exercising

I'm getting SOOOO excited!

Thanks Josie and Allie for the info i've gotten from both of your journey's!!!

I would love to be able to see your pic and its so great you are doing so well

Glad to hear you are doing well!

yesterday i called my Dr.office to let them know that for 3 days in a row, i had a low enough output in my drains (and it was going down more with each day), so they let me have them out!! OH MY GOODNESS!!! what a difference that made! it's didn't hurt, it was a big, um, STRANGE feelings, but i lived through it without screaming, or hitting the nurse! lol

Ok, i have a question. the ONLY thing i had done to my thighs is at the VERY top (right under my vajvaj)because they touched a very little bit. WELL, my thighs, which have NEVER been big, are about three times the size the normal size! is that the swelling just working it's way out or is something wrong? it does not HURT AT ALL.

I'm feeling really good, i get tired really easy, understandably though. the tape under my breast and around the nipples make me want to scratch THROUGH my skin though! under my arms are very sore too. i did have a bit of lipo done there to, so it will lay flat once the implants settle into place.

other than that, i still do not feel my boobs (from the front, only under the arms) or my tummy tuck!

i cannot wait until the swelling goes down and i see the final results!!!

Thank goodness, the swelling in my thighs are going down a little more each day!! I can still feel a little soreness when i've been sitting a while and get up. After a few steps, it's not bad at all.

the swelling under my arms is all that i still really feel. if i'm not doing anything, it don't feel it at all, but if i move them, i feel it....like i said, mostly just VERY sore feeling.

i'm watching the scale go down more and more each day....THAT is a GREAT thing considering one day (since surgery, with the compression garment, drains, and all...i saw 145!!! i about passed out!!!!

this morning, it was down to 133, with compression garment, clothes, had already eaten and all!!

i'm so impatient...i cannot wait for the swelling to go down!

I'm completely off of all my pain meds. this morning i took 2 tylenol just because i felt stiff when i woke up (i slept the ENTIRE day yesterday! my husband was so worried about me because i hadn't taken any meds, but i slept and slept and slept....then, other than an hour (i watched Ruby at 2 a.m. because he had recorded it for me) i even slept ALL NIGHT!!

today, i'm fine. don't know what that was all about other than i REALLY needed rest!

I added some new pics in swimsuits this morning to my "during album". (you have to be a 'friend' to see them).

Fantastic that you are doing so well ! Well done YOU!

So glad everything is going well. I hope this means you are happy with everything that was done. Any advice for me, my surgery is in 16 days. Preop appt tommorrow. Getting real scared!:thumbup:

I'm VERY happy!!! i cannot wait to see once the swelling goes down!

REST, eat healthy (it helps healing), drink lots of Water, REST, let others do for you.

i made sure i was VERY prepared for a month of not being able to do much. i shopped for a month, i cooked or bought things my hubby could cook easily for a month, i just wanted to make sure no matter how long it took to heal, i didn' t have to stress about it.

the only thing i forgot to do is get someone to come CLEAN for me!!!! 4 boys and a hubby....can you imagine after a 4-6 weeks what the bathrooms and such will be like?! LOL

you will be fine!!! GOOD LUCK!!!

So glad everything is going well. I hope this means you are happy with everything that was done. Any advice for me, my surgery is in 16 days. Preop appt tommorrow. Getting real scared!:ohmy:

fantastic that you are doing so well ! Well done you!

thank you!!!

Thanks wannabe! I have 3 boys and a hubby i know EXACTLY what you mean!LOL!!!

I'm now 24 days PO.

i added some pics that i just took (so you will see the evening swelling...which is not bad, but i LOOOOOVE the morning when it's even flatter!!) If i haven't added you as a friend, just send a request and i'll add you. the album in private. They are in the during folder.

Tummy tuck has being looking better with each passing day. still no problems and no pain.

the swelling under my arms around to my back is still there. i hope it goes away SOON!

Have i said how much i LOVE my belly button? i'm still having to clean it out and cover it but it's looking better everyday! my PS does such GREAT BB's!

my breast are feeling better each day too, slower pace (the sides...nothing else really hurt other than the extreme ITCHING!) they still feel high and tight, can't wait until they are settled!

around the areola has some places that i'm a little concerned about, but will call the dr. on monday if it continues to do this. (it has little spots that look like puss under the skin, several of the spots have popped and drained and have a little bit of blood under the skin now. my concern is that my port scar did something simular 4 months out and it left a darker spot on the scar in that one place. I don't want this to look like that.

i tried on some size 4's i had in my closet and they FIT!!!

no muffin top or anything!

i even wore them out the other day when we went shopping.

it's weird, the feel tight because the muscle repair makes you feel like you have a corset on.... but they weren't, i could put my compression garment on under them!

i still get tired really easy but i'm sure it doesn't help that i've had 2 kids sick for the past 2 weeks. The little one is waking up ALL NIGHT LONG, so i've not had more than a couple of hours of sleep at a time.

I'm planning to go back to working out (lightly) next week. I NEED it.....it's getting to me that i haven't done exercise in 4 weeks!

I cannot wait for a few months to pass to see what the results are going to look like after all the swelling and settling finishes!!!

You are looking FANTASTIC!

I loved your newsy post!!!! You are doing so well.....and a LOOSE size 4 is incredible. You are awsome!!!! And Beautiful!!!

Mimi

Thank you, to both of you!

this morning, i was at my lowest weight yet...124! anything after this will be extra!

I got a fill yesterday, i think i still need more, but i'm going to wait a month before deciding. I was able to eat a scary amount of food when it was something i really liked or wanted, but at the same time, i don't want to be so tight that i'm having to limit way too many things that i can eat.

I'm hardly ever hungry, and when i do eat, the muscle repair has my belly so tight that i feel full quickly, but since my band only had a little, i was able to push it way too far!

what was everyone elses Dr. orders concerning compression garments? today, i went to the park with my little ones and didn't wear mine because i knew i would sweat like crazy (90 degree weather)and then the itching would start.

my belly felt sore until i put it back on and had it on for a while.

it's hard to believe it's 4 weeks today that i had my surgery!

one breast is still higher than the other by a tiny bit, i wake up feeling pretty swollen/stiff/sore, but after walking around for a couple of minutes, i usually feel better than the previous day.

my TT is doing fabulous...i have a few places that the scar is so tiny and faint that you can barely see it. it still feels lumpy to me, but not nearly as noticable as it was. I feel like the very bottom of my belly/top of the pubic area still looks really swollen, evenings are even worse. (i'd still take the way it looks now than how it did before ANY DAY! when i sit, not a stitch of skin touches my legs! WOO HOO!! THAT is AMAZING!)

Still treating the belly button, but loving the way it looks!

the 'girls' are healing nicely. i'm still swollen on the sides of my breast going back to under my arms.

i had planned to try to do a light work out today, but after 3 hours of walking around in the park with my little ones, i decided THAT was enough and i'll probably be too tired tomorrow (when i do a lot one day, they next day i feel worn out). Hubby is on Midnight shift, so i may just wait until next week to start.

Sounds like you are doing great!

Did your PS tell you to masage the scars?

Mine told me when I see him next Monday (2weeks 4 days post op) I hafta start massaging my scars so they dont heal lumpy or something...

I think it is fantastic that you are doing so well :-)

no, he didn't tell me to massage them. He did give me a bottle on Scargaurd. it's an expensive but suppose to be a WONDERFUL product to help the red and raised scars heal better. If i massaged the scars, it would rub the scargaurd off.

I'm going to send them an email next week with some questions and i'm going to ask if that is something i should be doing or should i start after i'm finished with the scargaurd.

thank you for all the compliments.

I'm SOOOOO pleased with my results, i'm AMAZED everytime i look in the mirror or see my reflection in a window or somethig...WOW...