Two Weeks out from LBL

WOW.  There are so so many ups and downs so far, but here is the headline: "I have a butt and no DAMN apron!".  

So the first thing first - thanks to everyone that supported me here and a special call out to my local friend Jennifer who helped my wife with me and is sharing my journey first hand.  Guys, you have no idea how important you have been to me.  I mean for real.

Next up - I will post pics, but probably not for a couple of weeks.  Just not quite ready for it, but I'm documenting my progress to share as that was important to me to support my journey.

I’ll be honest, I was damn nervous.  This is a big deal and I was still weighing the benefit vs the recovery all the way up to the morning of the procedure.  Since I had lost so much weight and felt so damn fit, I was having trouble understanding how I could feel any better than I did at this time.  That feeling stuck with me during the early days after recovery too.  I know this is normal, or at least not unusual, but it surprised me how strong the feeling was.  Ultimately I knew that I would never consider my journey done with all of the excess skin though, so I bit the bullet and went through with it.  Time will tell how it works out and I’ll check back in after my healing completes to report on how I ultimately feel about the result.

Now then, the surgery itself.  I was first up scheduled for 7:30 start of procedure.  Surgery was about 5 hours and done through outpatient.  Prep was pretty straight forward.  I shaved the area with an electric body shaver the night before and took an antibiotic shower before I left for the hospital.  I was pre-admitted and so when I got there I just had to go through a couple of rounds of “repeat your history” which seems the norm for any procedure these days.  About a half hour before I was scheduled for the OR, I was led to an area to change into the surgical gown.  I was provided with heated antibiotic wipes and a pair of sock/booties and a bag for my clothes.  My wife Hannah (bless her for putting up me with me) was with me all the way through and knowing she would be there when I woke up was a real comfort to me. 

I was led to a prep bed and the check-in nurse worked on getting me ready with an IV.  The Doctor arrived about 20 mins before surgery and we went through the mark up.  We had a little trouble with my veins and I ended up having to have about 3 tries for the IV.  However, I was pretty focused on what was to come and the staff worked to keep my stress level down.  Seeing the Dr. and his team interact really helped with that too as it was clear they were all familiar with each other and got along well.  I met the anesthesia pro and she gave me something to relax…..which was the very last thing I remember before waking up in outpatient surgical recovery.

The recovery nurses were the best.  Really worked to make me comfortable.  We talked all the time I was in the bed and getting prepped before being moved up to a reclining chair where my wife met me.  We had decided to hire a nursing service for a few hours and they were also at the recovery center to get the follow up instructions directly at the hospital.  My immediate recovery was, frankly, not that good.  I was having trouble with temperature regulation (still do off and on) and had some major chill/hot flash swings.  After a few hours I decided that I might feel better if I went to the bathroom and I was offered an arm, a walker, or a wheelchair.  I chose walker.  I made it the 25 steps to the bathroom and then experienced a big drop in bp and associated nausea and dizziness.  They immediately got me into a wheel chair and I relaxed for a while and started to really feel better.  We decided while I was in good shape to go ahead and get me to the car to go home.  I did very well getting into the car (thank you modern pain killers). 

During the ride home, I was in and out.  Thankfully Traffic was good and Hannah and I had prepped the house and had everything ready for my arrival.  Once home (45 min drive) the nurse assistant helped Hannah get me into the house and into my recliner.  My friend Jen came later that evening and stayed with Hannah overnight.  My hot flashes and cold chills started again and were pretty frequent and extreme (teeth chattering one min, wet with sweat the next).  I wasn’t running a fever though and so far so good on that front.  Never broke 100 so the antibiotics did their job.  I won’t kid you, this was a rough recovery and the first 6 days were particularly hard.  Now two weeks out, I can see light at the end of the tunnel, but I was not a happy camper for the first week and a half.  The drains (4) were removed at day 13.  I was VERY happy to have them gone, but they were productive when removed, so that adds to the water retention right now.  It seems these surgeries have a lot of almost cute terms that aren’t cute in reality.  For example: Swelling.  Oh, so I’ll have some small amount of fluid retention.. BS.  It should be called something like “Swell until it is hard to breath and you feel like you are about to pop”, but I guess that’s too long.  I’m really doing pretty well right now.  I walked 2000 steps yesterday.  I do still get dizzy when I take off my compression garments and stand still for a time.  Its getting better but my first and second shower was very bad.  I don’t know how people without some sort of live in support get by during the first weeks of recovery.  If you’ve done it on your own, my hat is off to you.

I told the Doctor (Dr. Zinsser, St. Mary’s, Richmond, VA), as he was marking me up, that my wife requested the “Clooney”.  One of the reasons I picked Dr. Z was his bedside manner and sense of humor.  Apparently, my joke paid off. When he briefed my wife after surgery he told her he really took his time on my butt auto augmentation and folks, for the first time in my life, I have a butt.  I’m quite anxious to get through enough healing to test it out in jeans, but when I’ve seen it during shower prep, he did an excellent job there.  My surgeon said the removal was about 15 pounds of skin.  Let me tell you, when I look at my body in the mirror I can believe every single pound of that estimate.  The scale doesn’t fully reflect it as I’m retaining water in a big way.  I’m sure I won’t know the full result for a few months, but it is now feeling like I’m on the better side of recovery and every day is looking up and I’m looking better.  My surgeon didn’t recommend a fleur de lis cut for me.  We had agreed to allow him to make a call during surgery if it appeared it would make the outcome much better.  As it turns out, he was able to get me pretty tight without the vertical cut, so that’s great.   

I’m due for another follow up visit in two weeks and I’ll post more at that time.  What an adventure this has been!

Sounds like all is going according to plan. No, it's not the easiest recovery, but the results will justify the pain. 

Swelling sucks. And I totally get what you mean by having difficulty breathing. There were a few days when I'd be in the middle of a phone call and have to get off quickly to go get horizontal - couldn't catch my breath from the swelling. That only lasted a few days. 

Congratulations and happy healing!

Thanks Emelar.  I really hope that the worst is behind me.  Every day is better.

Wow! I am after TT (8/08/11) and BL/BR 31/07/12 but I still get inspiration from others' journey. And yours is quite detailed and an enjoyable read.
Israel works on Socialized Medicine. There is also private but I had what my HMO will pay. That being said, I was in hospital 10 days with my TT so many initial difficulties others had, I did not. I did eventually go home and I live alone. And developed complication.
Swelling on this board has been referred to as Swell Hell.
To "avoid" low BP or the drop in BP, try to go from laying to sitting with a short break and the same from sitting to standing. On Israel in hospital the showers are recommended in a plastic chair sitting and not standing to help or prevent dizziness, faintness or falling.
Pain meds can cause constipation which is a real b*tch so drink. Eating or drinking protein helps with muscle repair. Some PS advise pain meds every four hours so pain will never be unbearable. But you are already past those initial freak-out pain days.
Drink rest protein move.
Mikimi in Israel

Good advice Mikimi. I can't wait for the end of swell hell!

Congratulation your plastic and yes, the first week and a half are usually  tough. Don't forget to start or keep taking probiotic.

Every day does get better. I'm now past the depression thank goodness. Good call on the probiotic. 

Congratulations!!! I hope you get everything you've hoped for.

Try using the term "swell hell." LOL!

BTW I traveled out of state for my surgery and stayed 2-weeks alone after having 4 procedures :-)

I was wondering how you were doing. Congrats on the butt! :)

Holy cow. I could never have done that. Quite the journey you have documented. I'm a big old wuss compared to you.