Plastic Surgery After Weight Loss – Surgery Day

I made it! I can’t believe I made it! It seems like this day would never come. I have worked so hard for the last 4 years and then I scheduled this surgery back in February. Time seemed to fly by after planning, but it also seemed like it crawled. It seemed so surreal going into the weekend before. I knew I would want to do all the little things around the house…cleaning the floors, laundry, dishes… My major concern was packing up Payton and her things to spend most of the week at Grandma’s house. When Sunday rolled around and we finally dropped Payton off with Grandma it began to feel a little more real.

I actually slept really well the night before surgery. I woke up a few times with that anxious “Oh no, I’m going to miss it” feeling. I still remained pretty calm. We got to the surgery center around 6am and did some paperwork and finished paying… handing over that wad of money I’d worked so hard for stung a little. It was just a few minutes and I was whisked away to the back where a wonderful nurse helped me change into a gown and hair net and hooked me up to some leg massagers to help prevent clots.

Dr Mills came in to do all the markings and that’s when things got real exciting… One of my friends who previously had some plastic surgery procedures told me she got light headed during the markings. I kinda laughed it off. But I shouldn’t have. I guess me not trying to think about it and not making a big deal about it caught up to me. He started a few of the markings and all of a sudden the room got hot and stuffy. I began to feel lightheaded and had to sit down. I ended up getting sick and thought after that I’d be fine. So I stood up again to finish the markings. and again I got woosy and had to lay down. This time I actually blacked out for a second. I got sick again. I guess the nerves caught up to me after all!

Finally we finished the markings and I got to lay down in the bed. They let Chris come back in before I got taken to the OR. It was nice to have him there after my little fainting spells. A few minutes later and I was off to the OR. They wheeled me in, put me on to the operating table, and the anesthesiologist told me to take a few deep breaths…

Next thing I know I woke up in the recovery room.

I felt pretty good when I woke up, a little groggy of course, but mostly coherent. According to the hubs I kept asking the same questions over and over again. My biggest question was “How Much did they take off?!” lol. It turns out they took off just over 5lbs from the front of my stomach and then just around 3lbs from the sides. That is 8 freaking pounds of skin/fat they removed!

I spent a little time in recovery before heading home. It was technically an outpatient procedure. Some people stay in aftercare facilities and some places have you stay overnight in a hospital. I was able to move around enough to get in and out of the car and spent the majority of the day sleeping in my beloved recliner.

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I wasn’t able to really eat much, I munched on graham crackers and a protein bar. I kept up with my meds thanks to my amazing husband. I could still feel the effects of being under so I was really groggy for a lot of the day. We moved up to the bedroom and I slept there for a few hours but I realized I needed a bigger wedge type pillow because I can’t get up very easily from laying that far back. I moved back to the recliner around 3:30am and also took more pain meds. Lesson learned, don’t wait for them to wear off! It’s hard at night but I may set an alarm or something tonight to help me stay on top of it.

Overall I feel really blessed. The experience has been mostly positive and I’ve received so much support. I was able to catch a glimpse of the work at my follow up appointment this morning with a small hand mirror and I am just in complete awe. I’ll try to get some pictures in the next few days. The difference is amazing. I’m going to have to keep my drains until Friday or Tuesday depending on how much they are draining, but once those are gone and I can shower I know I’ll feel a lot better. I was able to move around quite a bit better this morning and it felt good!

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I don’t want to paint it as all roses over here, because I still am in quite a bit of pain and discomfort, but I know I chose this so I don’t feel like I have a right to complain. I know it is painful, but I know it will be worth it. This is just another chapter in my journey. The journey to my best self hasn’t always been easy. Weight loss isn’t easy. And neither is excess skin removal. But it will pay off in the end!

Follow me on instagram, @courtnorm , to keep up with my updates and progress! I’ll post here as much as I can. Any questions you have leave them in the comments and I’ll try to answer! I want you to have the best information possible if you are thinking about doing this for yourself!