Liposuction: Info, Prices, Photos, Reviews, Q&A

Hi! I am 29, 5’2″, petite-build, and just had my inner and outer thighs done today. I have always been small, but man oh man, did I have some saddlebags! I have been able to control them before with extreme dieting and exercise, but that wasn’t healthy and I finally got to a point where enough was enough. I’m getting married in November and do not want to lose anymore sleep over whether or not my hips are going to protrude in a less than ideal fashion from the sides of my dress if I don’t starve myself for months before.

Anyway, it has been about 14 hours now since the procedure concluded, and I am honestly feeling just fine. I was of course sore upon first awakening from general anesthesia, but a couple of percocet and a 3 hour nap later, I woke up feeling great (well as great as someone just having surgery could feel).

I went in at 6:30am this morning for a 7:30am surgery. I was beyond nervous. When I was called back by the nurse, I had a moment when I was changing out of my clothes where I thought “What am I doing to myself? It hasn’t happened yet, I still have time to tell the nurse that I just want go home.” I kept that thought quiet though and continued to change out my attire and into the surgical smock, compression leggings, and socks that I was given.

I sat on my bed and listened as the nurse and anesthesiologist went through my medical history, hooked me up to an IV (ouch), and described all of the medications that they were going to put in my body. Sidenote: if you have frequent heartburn or any issues with acid reflux, tell the anesthesiologist so that they can give you an antacid/acid reflux medication as a precaution.

I originally didn’t think it was a big enough deal to bring up as I usually just treat my [about once a week] heartburn with antacid tablets, but it can cause issues with general anesthesia. The surgeon came by, looked at my charts, and then had me stand-up so that he could draw markings on my body where the lipo would be performed.

I laid back in bed and was administered the anesthesia. I felt dizzy at first, but was coherent enough to have a 2-3 sentence conversation with the nurses that were rolling me into the operating room.

The next thing I remember is waking up feeling relaxed and comforted from a pleasant dream I had just had (okay and from the meds). I commented to my nurses and finace (that they had just brought in) about how lovely my dream was. I think that I was just so relieved to be free from the anxiety that I felt pre-operation, that I had to tell everyone how much better I was feeling!

Anyway, the pain was manageable once awake, but I definitely felt an uncomfortable burning sensation all over my thighs. Not necessarily painful, just very uncomfortable. I let the nurse know though, and she gave me some more meds that would allow me to make it out to the car more comfortably. We had an hours drive back home, so my fiance and I created a bed in the backseat for me to lie on. I took 1.5 percocets and dozed in and out, feeling good overall.

Once we arrived home, I took the last half of my second percocet, bromelain and arnica montanta supplements, and then both myself and my fiance passed out for about 3 hours. When I woke up, I actually felt great- nice and cozy in the bed (pillows under my knees and feet to keep my legs elevated). I was sore when I moved, but sitting still, I could barely feel any pain or discomfort.

I was feeling brave and needed to use the bathroom, so I went on my own to give it a go. This was a bad idea. I wore myself out trying to figure out how to comfortably sit on the toilet seat. It just wasn’t happening. The anesthesia and percocet also made it hard to pee (just FYI- this is normal and lasts a looong time). I went back to bed defeated, and needed to catch my breath and relax my legs for a bit before moving again. I decided I would attempt to pee standing up somehow after another quick nap. I won’t go into the details, but I eventually figured it out and was thrilled. Felt much better! On that note, I HIGHLY recommend purchasing the Go Girl Urination Device. It’s a contraption that allows you to pee standing up, and standing up is all that I can manage since my thighs are too sore to sit directly on them.

My swelling wasn’t bad until about 4pm after I had been moving a bit from my bathroom adventures. It’s noticeable, but I don’t look like a freak or anything- my leg isn’t double its size, but puffy for sure. My appetite also resumed as normal around that same time and I was able to eat a full meal for dinner.

Overall, the pain was very manageable and somewhat nonexistent while sitting still. I actually started taking Tylenol (instead of the percocet) this afternoon to help with the bathroom issues and it has been enough really. Since then I haven’t had any trouble using the bathroom and have been able to rehydrate! I am also able to walk around- tough to get up or down, but once I am up, I can walk around the house alright.

UPD: I definitely will in a few weeks once I can see the results! Wanted to give another update as well.. It’s day 4 and I can tell that I’m on the upswing now (woohoo!).

Day 2 felt similar to day 1; slow moving and achey – not much change. And when I woke up day 3, I’ll admit that I actually felt a little bit worse than days 1 and 2, because the swelling had peaked and I could feel the pressure built up in my legs. Once I took a couple of tylenol and got up for the day though, I felt better. By the end of day 3 this had improved, and I was able to get up and down and walk around with a bit more ease. When I woke up this morning (day 4), my legs were noticeably less swollen (my compression garment is starting to become slightly loose in some places toward my knees) and I have been able to walk around with even more ease. I’m still pretty sore, and will probably limp when I walk for another week, but am feeling hopeful that with the continued decrease in swelling, I will feel better (and more mobile) each day 🙂

UPD: Wanted to add one last update. I’m currently on day 11 and I feel pretty much normal. The swelling is almost completely gone, but the bruising is still clearing up. My bruising went all the way down to my knees. I switched from the surgical compression garment to a nude color full body garment on day 7 and it fits a lot more snug and is much more comfortable because there are no zippers. Overall, the healing process was pretty quick. I was walking normally by about day 6 and could really see the results by day 7, although the swelling is supposed to keep going down. I am so happy I pulled the trigger and got this done. I am no longer tormented by the thought of tight skirts and leggings. Was definitely worth the week of taking it easy 🙂