Plastic Surgery FAQ's

So tomorrow is week 2 of my plastic surgery. I had a tummy tuck, lipo of the hips, flanks and arms and a breast reduction and lift. I think my surgeon was fabulous! His name is Philip Dahan and his # is 775-826-4477. When I finally decided to do the surgery and I started mentioning his name to people I got overwhelming response as to how great he is. Even the nurses at the S. Meadows Washoe Med gushed about his attention to detail as a surgeon. I had a friend who did a consult with him but decided not to go to him because she thought he was too arrogant. Heck yeah he's arrogant! BUT I don't see us going to the movies with each other or going to each other's houses for dinner. I wanted the best surgeon money could buy and I think I got him.

So how much did all of it cost?
I originally took out a loan for $19,000 but later reduced it to $18,000. The surgery itself cost like almost $13,000 but include into that the hospital stay (I stayed two nights) the anesthesiologist etc.

When did you have it done?
I had it done on Friday, July the 14th.

How long will it be before you are back to work?
I'll be back on this Monday, July 31st.

Did insurance cover any of it??
Not even remotely. My boobs weren't big enough to be covered. Even though they were causing me excruiating pain, they weren't big enough.

Has there been a lot of pain and did you get really, really, good drugs for it????
At this point the worst pain is my back. I have arthritis in my back and that's where I'm bending from and it is soooo painful at times. They gave me a morphine drip at first but I couldn't stop hitting it (I was hitting the button exactly every 8 minutes). They switched me to Percocet and that was nice too. That's what I brought home with me. I also had an anti-biotic called Keflex and a suppository in the event I had nausea.

How long did the surgery take?
The surgery was originally scheduled for noon until 4:30 but it didn't start until 1pm and I think it went until like 6pm. The nurses told me it would run late because he's very particular about how things are done. My recovery room period was horrible and I can't remember a time in my life where my body has felt worse. I didn't get into my room until like 9pm. I can't believe that some women do it as an outpatient surgery! I decided to stay an additional night just for pain management and so I could have the nurses help me get up and walk. I asked for no visitors so I could deal with my pain on my own. When my friends are around I tend to want to take care of their needs rather than my own.

Was it worth it?
Yes. I am already delighted by what I see. I still can't stand up straight all the way but I can see big changes.

Did everything turn out the way you thought it would?
No. My arms arm still kind of funky looking. It may be one of those things that I revisit in the future. My sides along where my breasts are look kind of funky too. I was hoping that the lift would take some of that away but it's actually a separate procedure. Perhaps someday I'll revisit that too. My boobs look really really small (I was a large D and a large C before). Once they recover then gravity will round them out. Right now they look like cones.

There were some scary moments for me. During my first night they wanted to do something with my binder for my waist and as soon as they removed it, soooo much pain and swelling came rushing at me that I panicked and hyperventilated. I was crying because I couldn't catch my breath but crying was preventing me from breathing. The nurse totally talked me down. Also, my arms and hands swelled up to immense proportions. I had a few nicks on my hands and they looked like they had turned inside out from the swelling. It's only been in the last few days that the swelling has gone down.

I have a blood clotting disorder called Factor 5 Leiden but have only one genetic marker for it (meaning only one parent has it). I don't take medication for it and so far the only time it's reared its very ugly head was during a pregnancy that terminated at 24 weeks. However, my surgeon never neglected a single detail and I had sequential stockings the whole time I was in the hospital, I went home with embolism stockings, I had a bilateral scan of my calves before I even went to the surgical room and I had 14 days of lovenox shots (a blood thinner). Since I am hysterical when it comes to needles, my husband had to give me my shots every morning and every night.

Right now I have taken off all my ace bandages and my binder just to rest for a second (they're in the dryer now). It feels nice but I better not tempt fate. I just spent a whole lotta money for it and better take care of it.

Feel free to ask questions if you like : )

Addiction

I have a new addiction. Some people are addicted to drugs, cigarettes or alcohol. Some are addicted to reality game shows. I'm addicted to this show called, "The World Series of Pop Culture." What a FUN show!!! I love game shows like this!

http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/wsopc/series.jhtml

Watch it!

My boys

My husband has decided to take a father/son bonding trip to California in a few weeks. He and my son are going to do a marathon tour of Universal Studios, Disneyland, California Adventure, Sea World, The San Diego Zoo and Legoland.

Both my husband and I come from broken homes and are the product of being raised by a single mother. Taking a trip like this would have never occured to either of our fathers. It is going to be such a fabulous trip for them and both are extremely excited.

Sybil

I fell asleep on the couch and woke up watching "Sybil". Now Sybil is one of those movies that I've always wanted to watch but just never got around to. I just happen to wake up during a scene where Sybil (Sally Fields) has been hypnotized by her therapist and is remembering her mother torturing her first in the house then the barn (yanking her up to the second floor of the barn on a hook with her hands tied). I was instantly sick to my stomach and watched the scene play out like some violent train wreck. I thought to change the channel but left it alone. What a draining movie! I honestly don't know if I could sit through the whole thing. Or at least sit through it without feeling like I just ran a marathon. It breaks my heart knowing that there are people in the world who treat their children like that.

I'm coming up on 10 years

This September will mark 10 years of belly dance. WOW! Ten years! It really does seem like the time when I was a "baby dancer" was just yesterday and now our little troupe has become a professional non-profit entity with 7 members.
I have to give kudos to my husband for being my groupie through all these years. It hasn't been easy being a by stander while your wife keeps coming and going from gig to gig to competition to showcase.

I'm off for the week

So I am posting my guts out to make up for the times I won't have time to post. I'm sitting here loading CD's onto the IPod I gave my husband for his birthday (which is today). When I gave it to him yesterday he looked at me like "This is a Homer gift isn't it" (you have to watch "The Simpsons"). As the day progressed and more people called to wish him well, the more he talked about his IPod and the more (I think) he got excited about it. Now I see that he took it with him to work.

Score one for me for knowing what he wanted before he did.

Doesn't that just figure

When my daughter was very young (she's only 2 mind you) I decided that I was going to paint her room with cute little bugs and flowers and make her a "things with wings" themed bedroom. So I went out and bought wallpaper flowers and tons of rubber stamps and cute little paint kits to decorate her room with. I have ladybugs, bees, dragonflies and other assorted little buggies all set to go.

So what is the problem you ask? SHE'S AFRAID OF BUGS! Her daycare had a temporary bug problem this past semester and whenever the kids saw bugs on the floor they'd scream and started stomping. I found this out the day I like to refer to as the Great Rollie Pollie Slaughter of 2006. Hundreds of rollie pollies decided to congregate by the front door. *cue "Isn't it ironic" by Alanis Morrisette* Those bugs crawled from all their little homes in our big front yard. Who knows how long it took them(hours, days) but they arrived for their family reunion by my front door only to be greeted by a high pitched "BUUUUUUUUUUUG!!!" and then their brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles were wiped out with a pink Stride Rite sandal.

While trying to explain to her that Rollie Pollies were "good bugs" she was all squatted down looking at her devestation. For a brief moment I thought maybe she was feeling remorseful but it became apparent that she was looking for survivors.

So maybe I will go with a Princess themed room. Any suggestions?

What doesn't she do?

I say that because my co-worker always says that to me. She tells me I have four jobs. 1) Full time worker 2) husband and two children (7 and 2 years) 3) I teach belly dance at the local community college 4) I dance professional in a belly dance troupe (for 9 years now in September).

Whew! But then again I don't knit, spin wool, dye fibers, bead or make soap like my mother. I feel as if I am behind. Maybe I can squeeze some beading in around 2am.