60 days till Lower Body Lift.... HELP

Having lower body lift in Toronto in 60 days!! Can't believe its coming so fast. Would love some suggestions on what to have at home for post-op to help with recovery. What foods were easy to get down? lift chair? dressings? extra pillows? any advice would be greatly appreciated :)

Here's the post I made with my list of things --

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/plasticsurgery/6022653/24- days-post-op-and-quotThe-Shopping-Listquot/

I did protein shakes a lot post-op because even though my stomach wasn't operated on, the muscle tightening caused reduced space in my stomach and I needed to get 100g+ of protein a day per doctors' orders.

Who is your surgeon? Dr. Nandagopal did mine. High toilet seat with bars was great. Lots of pillows and premiere protein dr8nls

So excited dr nan is doing mine in April. Are you happy with your results?

Very happy with my results and after care. I don't scar well so have been having laser treatments. Everyone at the office has been great. Very professional and supportive. Love the fact I can call anytime to get help post op. Care at the clinic is marvellous.

Thanks! Did you have drains? If yes, for how long?

Easy to eat protein foods are important. Face it after any surgery it is hard to eat. Yes to 100+ grams of protein. My surgeon wanted 100g+ one month pre-surgery and post surgery. Lots of fluids too.

I did not have a lift chair, but did use one of those outdoor anti-gravity recliners as a substitute recliner. Threw a fuzzy blanket over it.

I had a footstool next to my bed, it gave me something to land my feet on on as well as to push off from, especially as your abs will hurt. I also had a medical cane I used to just give me leverage getting out of bed and off the toilet. Didn't really need it to walk, but probably used it for that as well for a day or two.

I alternated between bed and my 'recliner'. Needed lots of pillows to get comfortable and prop myself properly in the bed.

I had long thin camilsoles/tanks for wearing over my sutures and under the compression garment. The compression garment is not soft material. It really helped create a soft buffer.

thin sanitary pads/panty liners work well for covering your suture line as needed.

My Doc's pain management protocol was valium and Oxy not percocet (which is oxy and Tylenol) This way you could take something to stay ahead of the pain every 2 hours. Oxy-valium-tylenol-repeat. :)

A Lanyard for clipping your drains onto when you take a shower.

Oh! This reminds me that one of the things that I've needed to do is wear undergarments inside out (like long tank tops or panties, things that have gone under compression garments) and that this keeps the seams from pressing into incisions. And, hey, it's not like anyone's going to be able to tell that my undies are inside out, heh.

I knew I would forget as time went on so I made a Word document for just this reason. I have posted it below. I hope you have an easy recovery as I did, and are thrilled with your results as I am! (even 2 years out). Good luck!

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 chose to work with Dr. Michaels since he specializes in not just plastic surgery, but plastic surgery and body contouring after massive weight loss. A body after significant weight loss needs much different surgery than a "normal" body so I decided to go with the best.

I had RNY at 350 lbs (I am 5'4"). I lost to 165 lbs and have been maintaining for about two years. After losing almost 200 lbs, my body needed some work. Although my bat wings were quite prominent and literally flapped 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).

So I went to Dr. Michaels with the intent to have a tummy tuck and breast lift. 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 was great as of day 3. Although some people take off weeks and weeks, 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 at the same time as the LBL and thank god, since the abdominal tightening made it so hard to do something basic like sit up. I had 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 opted to have an arm lift six months after my LBL and BL.

Now, there are people *****nt reclining chairs and shop for 100 new things for after surgery, but it's really not necessary. Here is my comprehensive list.

Things I needed:

• A wedge pillow (I don't have a recliner, the wedge pillow was 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 Dr. Michaels 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 still 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 was swollen. I was 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 was up 10 lbs right after surgery. Kind of demoralizing. But I knew it was swelling and water weight so I forced 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 greatly diminished within the first week and I managed well with painkillers. Almost two years after my LBL, my body looks amazing. Dr. Michaels' techniques are hands-down, the best I have come across while researching plastics. He is Type A about stitching, and my scars are so minimal. The buttock augmentation looks amazing. And he did such a good job with the abdominal muscle tightening that I still have semi-defined abs (I do go to the gym 4+ days a week so I contribute to that, but he formed them for me!).

I told Dr. Michaels that I want to be his best ever before and after picture. I plan to keep up his great work!

ETA: And this is my most recent post where I shared recent pics. I always loved seeing before and after pics so I could imagine the possibilities... http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/plasticsurgery/6022374/Pic s-2-years-post-op-lower-body-lift-breast-lift-and-1-5/