X-post: Everything I wished I had known, and everything I learned, from my LBL and BL

So the purpose of this post is threefold. 1. I promised a friend on OH who is planning for an LBL and BL that I would tell her EVERYTHING 2. There are likely people investigating/thinking about/scheduled for LBL and BLs that could benefit from this 3. A year from now I will have zero recollection and this can serve as my memory.  (I'm only 37 but I swear I have no brain storage left.

I will preface this by saying that EVERYONE'S experience is different.  Every doctor is different.  Recovery times are all over the place.  Actual procedures vary greatly.  So this is my story.  I am also only one week post-op so a definite plastic surgery newbie.

After losing 210 lbs, my body needed some work.  Although my bat wings are quite prominent and literally flap in the wind when I run, my main concerns were a breast lift (my once 42DDDDs turned into sagging, empty tube socks) and a tummy tuck (I didn't have the tummy apron that hung to my knees but it sorta hung over my lady bits and was mushy and really unsexy).

I went to a plastic surgeon near DC who specializes in weight loss patients and as he pulled and prodded my skin it became clear that if he did a tummy tuck, it would make my saggy backside that much more pronounced and I realized I needed an entire lower body lift.

This freaked me out to no end - I would be cut in half!  I would look like Frankenstein!  I would be in serious pain!  I would walk like a hunchback!  I might die!  I would be under anesthesia for 10 hours!  I had a million scared and anxious thoughts that ran through my mind in the months leading up to surgery.

In actuality, I had two terrible and painful days, and have been great since.  I was back working (from home) on day 4 post op.  Surgery was Friday and I was online answering emails Tuesday afternoon and worked all day Wednesday.  I took a total of 2.5 days off.  I do have a flexible job where I can take a nap between meetings, so if you have a physical job or have to get dressed and commute to a job, you will likely need more time.

I did not have my arms done and thank god, since the abdominal tightening makes it so hard to do something basic like sit up.  I have to use my arms to push my body to a sitting position (the first few days I had to hug someone while they lifted me to a sitting position).  However, I think an arm lift is likely in my future.

Things I needed:

• A wedge pillow (I don't have a recliner, the wedge pillow has been perfect).  I got this one online http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009HHLBKK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
• A stepstool next to my bed to put a water bottle on, my cell phone, my OxyCodone for the middle of the night, a magazine, chapstick, etc.
• Someone to stay with me for a week, to help fetch me food and drinks and pills, to empty my drains, to just sit next to me while I felt crappy
• Pantiliners, to put over your incisions before you put a tank top on and then a binder over that
• A crappy tank top or t-shirt that can get bloody to wear under the binder and unsexy bra
• The abdominal binder that the doc sent me home from the hospital with
• The weird front closure non-underwire bra that the doc sent me home from the hospital with
• All of my prescriptions filled and ready BEFORE surgery (I had zofran for nausea, OxyCodone for pain, Valium for muscle spasms, an antibiotic to fend off infection, Lovanox to thin my blood)
• Non-prescription meds like Tylenol (I had a few headaches), Colace (stool softener), Senno (laxative)
• Neosporin or bacatracin for your belly button and any random skin rubs you have
• Gentle lotion like Eucerin because your skin (the skin without incisions) gets itchy being all wrapped up tightly.
• A lanyard to wear around your neck and hook your drains to while you are in the shower.
• A clean apartment and clean sheets on the bed and clean towels.  You don't want to have to worry about that after surgery, and you don't want to get infections either!
• Protein, protein, protein.  Some bars, some chicken, some fish...whatever your favorite protein is...protein helps you heal so have your fridge and freezer stocked.

Things I wish I had known:

• I felt like I couldn't breathe the first few nights.  The binder is tight but also if your doc tightens your abdominal muscles, it literally leaves you breathless.
• The importance of butt augmentation.  Some docs do it, some don't.  Mine does and thank god.  Rather than have that flat "I have been pulled up and pulled down and then sewn together" look, I could be a distant Kardashian cousin.  I am LOVING it.
• The LBL helps the outer thigh sag, but not the inner thigh sag.  I sort of knew this, but now I really know this.
• I am swollen.  I am also up 10 lbs.  As WLS patients, we are trained to have a good day when the scale is down and a bad day when the scale is up.  Well my scale is up 10 lbs.  Kind of demoralizing.  But I know it's swelling and water weight so I am forcing myself to not obsess over this.  Don't be shocked!
• There is definitely an emotional component to this.  Night 2 I was hyperventilating from the pain and super regretful.  I got into a thought pattern of "why am I here?  Why did I get so fat that I needed surgery to get normal, and then now I am not even normal, I had to have another surgery to cut skin off my body, I can't believe I did this to myself, I'm such an asshole".  Luckily this was short-lived.  But I definitely had some self-hating moments!

  Would I do this again? Twice today, and twice tomorrow.  Even despite the pain and regret on the second night, the pain is greatly diminished and managed well with painkillers.  My body looks amazing, even with incisions and bruising.  If I look this good now, well then a month from now I will be unstoppable!   I know I am only a week out and no expert on PS.  I just know that if I don't put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) I will forget everything that was necessary/important and be no help to anyone considering plastics.

I told my surgeon that I want to be his best ever before and after picture.  At my one week post-op appointment today he said I am a model patient and well on my way.  I will keep updating if there is anything to update, and of course anyone can PM me with questions.  I know we should all use the magnifying glass to search on OH but sometimes it's nice to just ask someone something :)

Good luck to everyone considering these drastic yet amazing and life-changing procedures!  Here are my before and afters!

 

 

Thank you so much for all the info. You look 

awesome and will only get more beautiful 

from here. I have my ps in June so excited only a lil scared lol

thanks again

You are doing amazingly well! Congrats

Thank you so much for this, DCgirl. I am going in on April 10th with Dr. Lickstein here in Baltimore, and I'm sort of nervous but mostly excited. I'm getting a LBL and BL. (I am sort of debating implants but not sure.) I'm getting everything ready now, so I also picked up that wedge pillow. Great idea!

 

They're giving me Exparel for the first 2 days. I'm really hoping that I can work from home after a couple of days too. They said take off 3 weeks but that's SO much time. I only get 3 weeks off a year and I want to get my thighs done this summer... I'm glad you are saying you were able to work from home earlier than 3 weeks. That's encouraging to hear. I recovered quickly from the DS, just stayed home due to drains really.

 

We seem to have very similar before-bodies, so thank you so much for sharing your experiences. Your thighs look so smooth and tight now! I know you said you can notice your inner thighs and stuff more, but seriously, you look so amazing in your photos! I am super encouraged to see how much the LBL affects the thighs! Wow!

I am so excited for you!  I am telling you, Friday was the surgery and Saturday night was ultra painful and terrible and since then, smooth sailing.  I was back to work (from home) as of Tuesday all last week, and I could go into an office today if I needed to.  My drains are coming out today too.  My outer thighs look so awesome and smooth.  My inner thighs are a little wrinkly but I can deal with that.  They don't bother me at all.  I am likely going to do my arms at some point but my surgeon said he can do that outpatient - do them in the morning and go home that night.  I can't imagine having them done at the same time as my LBL and breast lift.  My arms were the only way to hoist myself up!

My surgeon won't do implants until a year has passed.  I am an "athletic B" and curious how they will look once they are settled.  It might be kind of nice to have breasts that don't require a bra and fit into every shirt.  I may not do implants.  Implants also need replacing every 10 or 15 years I believe.  

I might not be the norm, but I cannot imagine taking 3 weeks off.  Maybe one week, or if you are lucky and can work from home like me, do it! I am happy to share my experiences - PM me any time and I obviously have no qualms about sharing pics and info ha ha.  I joke that I am an over sharer :)

I love what I see when I look in the mirror naked, which is very new and different for me.  I will cross my fingers you have the same experience!  It's amazing what PS can do to our confidence!  

The only pain has been the abdominal muscle tightening.  Work your core as much as you can for the next 10 days.  Crunches, sit-ups, etc.  Google ab workouts and get it strong.  That has been the worst part of this and I had a strong core going in.

Good luck!  I am excited for you!  And in DC - just down the road from you :)

I bought the wedge pillow on your recommendation - this would have been nice after my DS! I started working the core, but wow. I have not used these muscles clearly in a long time! Haha.. yikes. :P

 

My surgery is next Friday. I do not want to spend all of my 15 yearly vacation days because I also want to get my thighs done this summer... and of course, I want to make sure I have days in case I get sick. I'm so nervous about it. I can apply for short-term disability through my employer's insurance company but they want to know the specific surgery that I'm getting done and I just don't want to give out that information to my employer. Sigh!

I'm hoping that I can do Friday - Tuesday and work from home starting on Wednesday, and back in the office the minute that the drains are out... but we'll see. Tough talk now, but I might wimp out with the pain. I do get Exparel though, so that's cool. But then it's Vicodin, and that stuff didn't help me after my gall bladder surgery at all.

Mandi - I truly believe in mind over matter! My surgery was Friday and I was back working from home Tuesday afternoon. I napped on Wed and Thurs afternoon because my OxyCodone made me sleepy but honestly I was totally fine working at home, being online, on calls, answering emails. Just prop yourself up on the wedge and you can do it :) do you have help? My mom was here so she would fetch me water, pills, yogurt, etc. that was a HUGE help! My bad days were Friday and Saturday and Sat night at home was really bad, and then starting Sunday I was on the mend!

Believe you can be back to work quickly and I think you will be. Good luck!!! The good thing for me was that I have literally only had pain in my stomach muscles. Not a second of pain in my breasts or circumferential incision!

Keep me posted!

Thanks again! I have a bunch of help, thankfully! Sister and brother-in-law will be with me 24/7, my parents (who are RNs) will be with me when they're not at work. Plus some friends and my boyfriend who will be with me when they're not working. Wedge is ready and I have a recliner now, too. I'm so excited! Only 4 days!

Thank you SOOOOOOOO much for sharing.  And the pictures are awesome!  You look GREAT!  I was wondering about surgery, what it would be like, etc.  I can't thank you enough for being brave enough to share this with us.  

My pleasure!  I am kind of an over sharer :)  But I know I was SO freaked out and the posts on here (particularly Nikke's) helped me SO much!