Recooping from Plastics

Hi all, I have been a lurker but have faithfully followed everyone for 18 months. Thought I would post my plastics update. I had my plastics on January 10 - Inner thigh lift, TT, breast aug, lipo on inner knees, outer thighs, hips and flanks and also fat injections in my lips just for fun. I was really a little suprised at the pain involved. I don't want to scare anyone but it did hurt a little more than I thought it would. Having the thighs and breasts done together made things a little more difficult. The natural thing to do when you can't use your legs is to compensate by using your arms. Well, when you have breast implants you can't use your arms a lot because it hurts your chest. I felt a little confined at first. The TT was really not bad. The worst part was just a really tight muscle at the top of my stomach that wouldn't let me stand up all the way straitght. I had some back pain from hunching. It loosened up after about a week and a half and I can stand straight now. It is healing nicely and I am thrilled to see a flat stomach for the first time since I was a kid. The chest muscles were really sore for about a week but the incisions healed really quickly and the pain deminished quickly. The lipo was strange. At first it didn't seem to hurt a lot. Then a few days later it just itched like crazy. Now all of the sites are bruised and sore to the touch. I am just beginning to be able to lie on my side. The hips and flanks (rib area) are tender to lay on or put any pressure on. Now the thighs ... they are not much fun. I just had a mini inner thigh lift. My incisions go a little below mid-thigh and then make an L shape at my groin area. My surgeon said that 70% of people who have inner thigh lifts experience incisions that come open. He fully prepared me for this .. thank goodness. The first week and a half they were fine. I thought "wow, I will be in that 30% that gets away with no opening". Hmmm .. well .. then mine opened on both sides right at the angle in the "L". One side just opened a little and has pretty much closed and healed. The other side is still open and there is a hole. My surgeon doesn't stitch them back together. He says they will heal from the inside out and eventually close. I am ready for it to close .. NOW! It is painful to sit down and to stand up. I feel very fortunate to have found a surgeon who is very caring and has a very caring staff. I had trouble with pain management for about the first 48 hours and the staff was right there to answer my questions and get my meds changed. I have run across so many good doctors with uncaring staff and having a good staff really made a difference. I am happy that it is all over now and will be even happier once I am back to being 100% normal. I think it will have all been worth it. I know everyone is getting to the PS stage. Please feel free to message me with any questions anytime. I am always happy to give the nitty gritty details! Good luck all, Shellie

Thanks for the update Shellie- I am grappling with the plastic surgery question-- both the cost nd the timing, so it was helpful!

Happy Healing Shellie... I just printed out your 'menu' of Plastic's. Now the trick is getting my insurance to pay for any of that.. I'm working on it.. peace Mo

wow...and i thought a tummy tuck was hard. I didn't know that about the thighs.I have my arms and breasts next. I wonder if you lose feeling in them..that would be a bummer. lol I just got my walking papers from my hubby ..now I will have to explain these scars to a new man ...yikes. ...well if i get a new one.

Hi Brandi We had several Plastic surgeons come to our Support group. No insurance company covers arms and a boob lift. Most will cover a tummy tuck and its very difficult to get your legs covered. someone I know took three years of fighting and skin documentation of getting her legs covered. At the first sign of rash and problems, gotta go to the docs for all documentation and pictures. It sucks. They try to tell you that its all cosmetic but sometimes it a health problem. They don't care Marie

Yeah..my insurance let me pick one surgery. I picked the tummy tuck . The rest I will have to pay for. My doc office said they will finance me so no worries there. i was just curious. I had a hernia and rash problems so that helped it along but my insurance would have paid anyway cause it covers one. Besides anything esle i do will be cosmetic....I am dating again so that already makes me nervous...lol but i would have done everything the same anyway. Its good that you have a support group to attend all the info you get. thanks brandi

Girl you have really been through the ringer. I am glad it is getting easier day by day, please take it easy, pop them drugs and keep us posted. Sue HIJACK: Brandi - WALKING PAPERS???????????

Hi Shellie Was there any of your procedures covered and what did you have to pay out of pocket? Who is your insurance? I have BC/BC PPO and they paid for everything of the surgery but will only pay for a tummy tuck and I don't need a tummy tuck. SUCKS.... MArie

Hi Marie, My insurance would only pay for the TT. I have Aetna. I believe that if I would have tried harder I might have been able to get the thighs covered. After denials and appeals I believe that they want to see that the excess skin impairs mobility. I approached it from a rash stand point and I don't think that is what they were looking for. My costs were as follows: Tummy Tuck $4500.00 ........... Covered by insuarnce Thigh Plasty (inner) $6000.00 Breast Implants/No lift $4000.00 Liposuction (inner knees, outer thighs, hips & flanks) $1500.00 These prices do not include the surgery center fees or anestesia. Including the tummy tuck these totaled $2931.00. I only had to pay $2339.00 because the different was covered under the tummy tuck. I paid part cash and financed the rest with Captial One medical financing. I was really pleased with how easy Capital One was to work with. They work directly with the doctor and all I had to do was sign the papers. They paid the surgeon directly. Thanks, Shellie

Hi Shellie, I would like to thank you for sharing your plastic surgery story. I know we are all looking forward to it so much (I can't *imagine* not having this stupid gut in my way or boobs that I trip over...) and it's so awesome to hear from someone who has been there. I have to tell ya I was rivited reading about it. Thanks for posting! Having an incision open up on me & then having it have to heal from the inside out scares the crud right outta me let me tell ya! I'm impressed you're dealing with it so well! And that's awesome the surgeon prepared you for it so well. The whole process sounds pretty hard! It's really good to hear the bad with the good though. Best to make an informed decision listening to someone who has been there! Anyway, I wanted to thank you for posting. It's hard to come out of lurkdom and I appreciate that you did. Take care and don't be a stranger! Hugs, Lisa