Okay, so i am day 1 post.Had my inner and outer thighs and saddlebags. Wow last night i was in A LOT of pain - and i have a very high pain threshold. I took 3 lots of the co-codamine painkillers. But i have woken up today, virtually pain free. It is just a bit painful to sit and generate big movements (I'm staying in a BnB, and have to climb a thousand stairs to get to my room damnit!).
I arrived at the Manchester clinic yesterday to get started around lunchtime (they were running behing scheduale, as it was meant to be 10.30). I wasn't nervous at all. Really calm. But i remember some people on the forum saying to take the diazapam if you could - i just took half the dosage. Looking back, i dont feel it even kicked in? Weird.
So then you get dressed down into a paper G-string and gown, and the surgeon draws on you -I had Dr Johnson, who is really lovely. Then you get swabbed down with anti-bacterial wash by the nurse, and jump up onto the operating table. She did my outer thighs and saddlebags first - one leg at time. Then i flipped over and she did my inner thighs. The worst part was by far the anasthetic and insertion of fluid injections. It feels like your skin is being peeled away as the fluid goes in, and it is very tight. Not very nice. Then they hit the lights and laser the fat. The lights come back on, and they start sucking it out (gross noise). This goes on and on - was in there for over 3 hours, and she removed almost 2 litres of fat. You can see it at the end - it's a mixture of red and yellow. The other thing was i was really cold - you are just wearing the g-string and you are lying in a pool of wet liquid for most of it. They also had the aircon on as the Dr was hot! Agh.
So then the surgeon leaves and I had 2 nurses come and 'milk' me lol. They compress your skin to get out the fluid (over 4 litres goes in!). Then they bandage the incision sites (i have 8 i think - a fair few). Then they squeeze you into your garment.When you have had something to eat n drink you are free to go.
I got to the BnB and took some painkillers, but really started to feel where the incisions were, and they were throbbing like mad. The pads soaked through very quickly. I kept changing them from 4pm until 12pm last night, then got up at 3 am to take more painkillers and change them again. There was ALOT of blood. I know the difference between watery soloution with blood, and blood. I was freaking out, but decided to stay calm n wait til the morning. I think i just bleed easily.
Anyhow, much better today. The two incisions at the back of my legs are still bleeding a bit, but i will chat to my nurse when she calls today. I have gone through all the bandages already! Looks like a blood bath. But i can see my shape and it is definately smaller! It will all be worth it in the end!!
Sorry for the essay, but hope this helps anyone unsure of what to expect. It's not a pretty picture, and i may have had a worse reaction than others, but i think it is important to know what to expect. It isn't a 'pop in over your lunch break' procedure at all.
XOX