NOLA in September?
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Springtime.....I just went to a craft store and bought a page that fits the scrap book and wrote up a little about myself and added a few pictures. My granddaughter decorated it for me because she is a little more up to date on scrap booking than I am. It should just slide in one of the emplty pages that are left in the book. Hope so anyway! I am taking my page when I go next Tuesday on the 16th and I will let you know if it fits and if there are pages available. If not, then a new one can be started! That is what I was going to do if there were none left!
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Hi Trainertam, just read your post and I too wondered why I have only lost about 2 lbs after having so much lipo done. I am getting into some jeans that I was not able to wear for a while but I am honestly disappointed that I am not any smaller after all of the pain and agony of lipo. In fact, my upper stomach is much bigger than I thought it would be. I was so excited about getting my new breast and also having lipo too and thought how nice it would be to have my boobs back and be slim and trim for a while before I get too old to give a crap. Oh well, that was my one and only chance because after my tatooing next Tuesday, that will be it for me. I am still happy and love my doctor and the Breast Center so much but just ready to have it all behind me.
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I'd love to hear about this lipo and why some people have great results and a few are saying they see little to no difference. Seems like a lot to go through, for what? Chimama05, when did yu have yours done?
I'll be in NOLA on the 16-23rd!
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Hi Minnesota......hope you are feeling better now. I haven't mentioned to anyone but since all of us on this discussion board are all here for the same reason, I decided to mention a few things that I am disappoined about since my last surgery. First I still have a lump of fat over my left breast that was not removed. Dr. D. knew about it before my step 2 and it was supposed to be removed but was not. Also my right breast is a little lower than my left breast and actually hangs out from the bottom of my bra at times. And last but not least, I was disappointed that my upper stomach is still as large as it is. I went through a lot of pain and torture will all of that extra lipo so I was expecting to really be a lot smalller than I am. I just thought it would be so nice to have both my breast again and have a nice slimmer body to go with it but it is not like I thought it would be. I am so happy to have my breast and Dr. D. did a great job but I am just a little disappointed in those few things. I have not even told my husband that I feel this way so I guess I just wanted to get a few things off my chest. Sorry to seem so ungrateful and I am really not but just a little disappoined. Thanks for letting me vent!
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Dragonfly1976, I had step 2 diep flap surgery done on August 26th. He did extensive lipo on me and it was so painful and a lot to go through to not see the results that I thought I would. I am going to mention it to him when I go back next week for my tatooing but I am over all of this and don't plan to have anything else done but I am a little disappointed.
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Chimama - I'm so sorry you're not completely happy. Can you talk to him or his nurse before you go back and tell them the things you are disappointed in so he can make them right next week? You've gone through so much, and deserve to be happy. I'm sure Dr D would do what he can to perfect things!
You're the 2nd or 3rd person (i think??) that has not seen the lipo results they expected. I'd love to know what causes that or happens, especially since I'm going next week for stage 2.
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Dragonfly1976.....Good luck next week! I am sure everything will go great for you! What day will you be there? I have an afternoon appointment on the 16th for my tatooing and I think it is only about an hour there in his office. I will mention my disappointments to him next week but I doubt I will go back for anything else. Just going to be happy with what I have and no one will ever know it but me! LOL!
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Well maybe one of these days you'll decide to go again but that's totally personal. We fly in on the 16th, surgery on the 18th!
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Hi everyone! Boy does this tread fly! I'm having a hard time keeping up with everybody with all these naps my bod keeps taking.
Yesterday was 2 weeks post stage 1 DIEP and tomorrow will be 3 weeks post stage 1 SGAP. Every day gets a little better. They put me on lighter pain meds yesterday so I hope my naps will become less often and shorter.
The belly drain came out yesterday so I only have the two hip drains now. From what I hear those stay in much longer. The DOM is a pain in the you know what and more but I guess it's on for a while. I have started walking around my house and am getting more mobile each day.
Kim - It's was great to meet you too. Thank you for the kind words and I hope your recovery is speedy and wonderful.
Nordy - Hope the tatts are behaving
Spring - You pee'd in your DOM? Hilarious! I almost pooped in mine but just made it in time to avoid catastrophe. Laxatives rule!
Dragonfly - Good luck with stage 2. Wishing you an awesome bod.
Pam- I hope your "shrinking" continues. My feet are back to normal size but the rest is hard to tell with so many changes and the padding and DOM.
melindastn - Thx for sharing your thoughts on the first 3 weeks after stage 1. I have had similar ones. I know it's going to get better but some days have been tough.
Sandy - You are nearly done girl! Thx for continuing to help and empower women on this thread.
Minnesota - Hope your recovery is going well and your belly is teeny weeny again. Looks like you guys had a blast at Halloween. Now I know what all the noise was about going on outside our hotel room:)
To the rest of you NOLA girls - We are all truly blessed!
Will keep you all posted on the CNN report. They called me yesterday and are working on the story this week. Air date is yet to be announced.
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I have been doing some research in preparation for my Stage 2. Most of what I have read says the lipo is in no way a weight loss solution. It doesn't remove the deep fat, just the superficial layer. And since fat is not very dense it is fairly light. On average only 3-5 pounds of fat is removed, and never more than 8 pounds. Even though that isn't much weight it takes up a lot of volume so that is why the results are typically so drastic. So I guess if you don't have a lot of superficial fat you won't have as much of a noticeable change.
But common misconceptions are that it will make you as healthy as you look, weight wise. That is just not true. If you weigh 180 going in you will still weigh very close to that. You may look like you have lost a great deal of weight but the reality is that you haven't. The dangerous fat that contributes to heart attacks, diabetes, etc is in the deeper areas of the body are is not removed with lipo. Also, it doesn't get rid of celliute. In fact, sometimes it make it worse. Lipo offers no health benefits at all other than the benefits gained from looking better.
I have also learned that you should not have lipo if your body weight has not been stable for at least six months. Otherwise you are as much as 10 times more likely to regain weight. And it will be in areas that were not your problem areas before your lipo. The lipo areas have had the fat cells removed so you won't see weight gain there. So, for example, if you have lipo everywhere but your arms, back and knees then when you gain weight that will become your new problem areas.
Don't mean to be discouraging but want everyone to be able to make educated decisions about what they want. You might want to do a little research to make sure this is something you want.
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I am popping the Champagne tonight. The last drain (hip) is gone. I thought the guy would never stop draining. Last week it turned redder and over filled the cup one night. Then all of a sudden it went back to normal 40-50cc per 24hours. This week it just petered itself out. Wow what a long 6 weeks. Started off with 6 drains and 6 weeks later I have none. Everything is feeling better.
Ann, you are so right on about the lipo. I know people that have had it for just cosmetic reasons and it takes months before they really noticed the difference.
Xfitgirt, The 5th week was hard for me. I guess I was getting tired of waiting to feel well again. It does happen but don't push yourself. I just stayed with a book in front of me in the "easy chair". I pray you continue to get well. You have been down a rough road. It will get better.
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Hi All, Just checking in on the Hope Lodge computer. Pre op was today. Dr S marked me up pretty good. He is going to have to move my big boy (large left breast) over a bit and then move them both up. He said he will add fat to the small right one and reduce the left a bit so they will match. I hope I still end up with D cups.... .I am also having ab plication and having my ovaries removed and he said I will have to wear a vest and compression outfit???? Not sure what he meant. I will be at St Charles for a day or so and then fly home on Monday. I will be so glad to have this behind me.
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Oh Lynn, we're just missing each other. We fly in Tuesday!! Can't wait to hear all about your stage 2 and how it goes. I'm so anxious and ready! Sounds like Dr S is going to make the girls just perfect, how awesome huh!
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Melinda, I mis-read your post as you were "pooping champaign" and I was furrowning by brow over that one! It's because Liz almost pooped her DOM -- I guess I have poop on the brain now!
Lynn, Good luck!!!
Has anyone heard from Elaine and Foobs?? Here's a summary of this week! 3 ladies! 2 down, Lynn to go!
- Nov 9 - Elaine536 - Stage 1 PBM, Dr. Massey, NOLA
- Nov 10 - foobs - Bilateral Stage 1, NOLA.
- Nov 11 - Sheridangirl - Stage 2, Dr S. St. Charles Surgical, NOLA
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Nothing quite as wonderful as getting back home and taking a shower in your own bathroom again! I see I have lots of pages to get caught up on and hope everyone is well. Have to admit that this stage 1 was pretty hard even as prepared as I was. My days in the hospital are a fuzzy memory right now. Since my DH had to come back early I had a sister in law come stay with me. We now joke that she knows more about me (any my body) than ever before. It was a good bonding time for us. Whew. I plan on going thru emails, posts, and this stack of catalogs the post man has been delivering the last 10 days tomorrow. Going to put my feet up a lot except for the needed walks. I'll post more tomorrow about my results, etc. Thank you all for your support!
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Journey - I'm glad you're home and you've got your feet up! WIshing you the speediest healing.
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Wow what a rough evening it has been! I was on IV painkillers in the hospital then on Percocet until yesterday morning. I had hallucinations so Laura (at the Center) called in a prescription for Darvocet. I started Darvocet last night and took my last one at 1pm today. It's to be taken every 6 hrs so I was due for my next one at 7pm. At 6:30pm I had what we think is a panic attack. I was home alone and freaked out with fear. I called my hubby and son but couldn't get a hold of them and I was just scared to death for no logical reason. My hubby called me back pretty quickly and came home. He stayed on the phone the whole time with me on his way home and I was a basketcase crying and hyperventilating. Once he got home I calmed down and the fears went away. I normally spend a lot of time alone and I actually enjoy it.
We looked online to check out side effects of opiates and it looks like a panic attack can mimick withdrawal of these drugs. I am now taking extra strength Tylenol. I will call the Center tomorrow to let them know what happened.
Have any of you experienced anything like this?
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Journey, Glad you are home! You are right, stage 1 is a kick your butt surgery.
Liz, OMG!! Sounds like you went crazy there for a bit! That behavior sounds totally unlike you. What happened that you needed IV pain killers? Just your NOLA surgeries? I feel like I am missing something! I have not had something like that happen from drugs. But I did have something like that after the birth of my first child! It is very uncomfortable if I remember correctly!! I hope you are better and over the hump...
Spring.
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Spring - Yes, I think I had the usual pain killers right after the surgeries. I have always been a little "sensitive" to drugs but this is a first. I am feeling much better now. Hopefully I am weaned off the heavy stuff.
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Journey, my younger sister was my at-home nurse after my DIEP (actually she probably saved my life while I was in the hospital too!). There is a large age difference between us, but having lost our mom to bc, when I was diagnosed we grew a lot closer. I hit some bumps during my recovery, once of which was an ileus (my intestines never woke up) after my 14 hour surgery. She gave me an enema when I was completely miserable after ten days of no pooping. That was pretty humiliating for me, but I still had drains, fresh incisions and felt like I was about to burst, so I wasn't feeling well enough to do it myself. Lately she's been doing laser hair removal for me, and yeah, she knows my body far better than I ever thought she would!
Liz, I'm so glad you are now okay! The only "reaction" I've had after all of my surgeries was a horrific nightmare when I was given Ambien in the hospital. I woke up at midnight shaking and sobbing, and called my DH to cry about it over the phone. It was the scariest nightmare I have ever had and I'll never take another Ambien again!
Lynn, 2tzus had a vest and compression garment after her latest surgery, so you may want to PM her.
Ann, I've had quite a lot of lipo with Dr. D, given all of the revisions I've had done. I agree that lipo cannot be considered a weight loss solution. However, for me it was a psychological headstart on losing the weight I had gained due to suffering a major depression and PTSD after I had botched lasik at age 40. Looking better gave me the kick in the pants I needed to get exercising again---walking just isn't enough anymore. I may not be the norm, but the cellulite in my thighs is pretty much gone after my lipo. Dr. D told me that many women gain weight after lipo because they think they can get away with eating more, but I was determined to do just the opposite. I lost about 20 pounds and then hit a bump in the road after having my hysterectomy two years ago. I gained about 12 pounds back and it was all in my upper abdomen, which is the typical place for post-menopausal women. No matter what I did on my own to lose weight, nothing worked. I finally hired a nutritionist and a personal trainer just under a year ago, and have taken off about 20 pounds. It has been very slow going, but it's working and I've also built up my muscles. I learned that I was not eating enough, and not frequently enough---my body was in starvation mode and that was killing my metabolism. Now I eat mini-meals every couple of hours at work, and try to always combine a protein with carbs, to slow down the rush of insulin that occurs with carbs alone. The visceral fat is a big concern to me, and I am determined to lose that fat as well, but I see now that it will be a life-long effort to stay active and maintain the way I am eating now.
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Xfit - I have odd responses to meds, but somehow I'm able to manage a little bit of vicodin, for reasons I'll never know. Meds and me are not friends. Last week I had a reaction to the antibiotic I was desensitized to prior to going to NOLA, which really should not happen. So, after surgery, I was on antibiotics for only 2 full days - yikes. Then my nose and lips swelled, and I got welts all over. Sullivan thinks the 2 day's is ok, since I had 3 days before surgery. We just never know how we'll respond. I have a friend who "sleep cooks" when she takes Ambien - her family finds her cooking in the kitchen in the middle of the night, and she has no memory of it. I've heard of others sleep driving -scary. I'm glad you figured out that you are not doing well on the " -cets", so you can have different options next time.
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Sandy, I believe it will be just what I need to motivate myself as well. Let's put it this way... if it doesn't then nothing ever will. I am so ready to feel good about myself for a change. I hope I become a fanatic about taking better care of myself altogether. I kind of look at it as being rewarded up front. I hope I didn't come across as being negative. I was trying to go the other way and encourage all of us to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity we are being offered by the doctors in NOLA. I just can't help but think they must have a special place waiting for them in heaven after all they have done to make women feel whole again! But we have to do our part to guard the gift they give us. I hope that makes sense. We all know how hard it is to deal with cancer and all the crap it brings with it. But I believe the journey makes each of us stronger and more appreciative of what we have. Go NOLA girls!!!
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Kim - I feel really horrible that I don't think I asked how you were doing since I saw you in NOLA. My brain is mush. My memory sucks. I'm a horrible person. I have a photo of us that Gary took (remember when he had to go back to the hotel for the camera?). If you PM me your e-mail address, I'll send it to you. You look really good in it. I look like crap!
XFit - There are lots of things that can trigger a panic attack, and you've been thru a lot of them. I'm so sorry you had to go thru that! It sure does sound like a good part of it may well have been drug withdrawal. I hate thinking of you going thru that alone, but good you had your husband there on the phone with you. You are one tough chick, indeed. I'm so excited to see you on CNN!
Pam - Hang in there!
Spring - Just hi! How ya doin'?
Oddball - And how YA doin'?
(In my mind, I'm going thru each hospital room in my mind, and every get-together, trying not to miss anyone, but I kmow I will! If I do, please forgive me - I better start taking notes again when I read this thread. What was I thinking?!)
Nordy - How are your nips doing now?
Sallym - What was that you told us about Wellsville again? We were out with the guy who grew up there and could not remember what you had said about it. Par for the course.
Just4Ann - you didn't come across as negative at all - just realistic.
Lynn - good luck tomorrow!!! I hope your girls come out exactly as you want them to!
Congrats Melinda and Journey!
Chimama - I'm so sorry you're disappointed with your results so far! But don't give up all hope yet. Really, I felt like the last week before I went back for my stage 2B, I saw a lot of that fat come off. I've noticed this before, too. Like three months is some kind of magical mark - you're almost, but not quite there yet. There could very well still be some swelling, and that can persist even past 3 months sometimes. I think you should definitely talk to the doc about it, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you will yet see more improvement!
Sandy - Hope you keep feeling better.
Laughlines - it's great to see your smiling face on this thread again!
Dragonfly - I think that arnica really does work! I was stupid not to start it before this last surgery. I started soon after, tho, and my bruising has gotten soooo much less and soooo soon!
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Ann, that's exactly how I feel! What gifts I've been given....I have to do my best to preserve them and improve upon them. I remember after my first surgery in NOLA, Dr. D said he'd gotten lots of rest the night before so he'd have lots of energy to tackle the lipo. We wouldn't want all of his generosity and hard work going to waste!!!
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Minn, we were posting at the same time! I hope you are improving as well. I'm doing better each day, but I've been doing too much and I need to slow down. I have one drain now, but it's still at about 45-50 cc. It will be at least several more days before I get to pull it. Thankfully, it doesn't hurt....that is huge because I've had some darned painful drains in the past. I was checking out my new belly button today. Sometimes, it's the little things that make all the difference and I have to say that having had that ugly first belly button from my first surgeon, and then being much happier with the "hybrid" belly button after Dr. D worked on it and made it look a lot better three years ago...... but now having a genuine NOLA belly button....you gals who get the designer navel from the beginning are way ahead of the game!
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XFit, I too had a terrible time with pain killers in the hospital. I had a hard time sleeping and then when I did I had horrible nightmares. I tried getting off them as soon as possible and after I got home I found I still needed them. I took 1/2 of my hydrocodone at a time when I really needed it and that seemed to work the best for me. I felt bad at times reading that others recuperated so much sooner than what I seemed to be doing. Cried almost daily thinking I had really screwed up trying to rid myself of pain and ugly implants. Now that I am over 6 weeks I can finally say that I am starting to feel better. It just takes a long time for some of us.
Last night after I pulled my last drain I called my sister that took care of me in NOLA to tell her that the Short Truck Junk Show had closed for good. We laughed so hard thinking of the memories from NOLA.
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Okay you guys have me really interested in pursuing this Arnica stuff. Stage 1 surgery scheduled for next Tuesday, so I should get started taking it? I don't have to check with NOLA before taking it? Is it something I would get at our health food co-op?
It's hard to read the "good, bad and ugly" before my first NOLA experience but on the other hand, I'm glad to know the possible outcomes. Having an on-line support group is a huge plus -- sometimes we don't want to voice our disappointments/concerns outloud for whatever reason but this group allows us to "bare out chests". (sorry, couldn't help myself) Glad you shared your feelings Chimama05, but also sorry the results haven't yet matched your expectations. I'm crossing my fingers that it's still to come!! You deserve it all -- we all do!
Good news -- My pre-op appts have been rescheduled! Instead of mid day Monday, they are first thing Monday morning which means my husband and I will have the whole rest of the day to enjoy New Orleans!!
My current mantra: Don't worry, be happy!
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Whoops! Meant to ask: given that we just have one day to enjoy New Orleans, do you have any suggestions? Is it easy to walk from the Center to shops or cafes or what's do you suggest? Any great place to eat?
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Ann said everything I was going to about arnica. You got to lose that visceral fat, gals, and that takes hard work. Diet and exercise. Lots of healthy monounsaturated fatty acids. Lipo isn't the miracle for most of us.
Spring, I sent you a PM. Go ahead and take me off the list for now. I gotts get this nerve root healed before surgery. MRI today,so we know what we're dealing with. Hopefully my epdural injection or selective neve root injection tomorrow. Not sure how musch longer I can go on like this. Valium 10 mg and double strength Percocet are my new BFFs. and Tim's TENS unit. I always thought I had a high pain tolerance, but this makes me cry like a baby.
Well, so it goes. Hard to type doped up with a cat on your lap. Getting a nice littel snow here...
Anne
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dbdaze, We had several great dinners on the two trip I have made to NOLA but the one restaurant I am waiting to go back to is HerbSaint. It is walking distance from LePavillion Hotel. It is a neighborhood type restaurant that a local told us about. Wow, it was great. There are so many great restaurants in New Orleans.
I think we all agree that Stage 1 was a Bi---. With a lot of rest, drugs, prayers and love it was worth it for me. It does get better.
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