Melonie’s Blog: The Consultation
October 6th, 2009
When I arrived for my consultation, I felt a bit nervous but was immediately put at ease by Becky at the front desk. She collected my information and it was just a few minutes before I met the nurse and other staff. They were all very friendly, upbeat and informative. When it was time for me to meet Dr. Bashioum, I actually felt relaxed, having already met his staff first. As part of my research, I had read his patient blogs and I could see now that they were accurate about the staff. So I thought, this is going to go just like the other patients had described. My time with him was professional and comfortable. He asked a few questions, gave me a lot of information and took a very quick look at my breasts. Nothing at all uncomfortable or embarrassing. I was most impressed with his utmost concern being for my health, peace of mind and well-being. That is when I really decided he was the right doctor for me.
After we were finished the consultation, I was instructed to try on different size implants with the help of the nurse, to determine my new size. She did not offer any opinion and I felt comfortable choosing the size I thought looked best for me. She told me I could come back and re-size anytime I wanted before surgery, if I chose to do so. That day I chose the 475 cc, but felt I may want to go a little larger. I came back a week later with my boyfriend to re-size. I then chose the 500 cc and asked my boyfriend if he thought it looked right on me. He felt it looked good but said that it was most important that I was comfortable. I felt that I would most likely need time to adjust to whatever size I chose, but I liked the look of the 500 cc. So as of now, this is where I am at. My surgery is scheduled in 2 ½ weeks and I am feeling a mix of nervousness and excitement.
The surgery will be filmed for the blog, so check back to see how I’m feeling the morning of my surgery and hear what final decision I make regarding implant size.
Gina’s Blog: 2 Weeks After Surgery
August 11th, 2009
Training with Kettle Bells
So far, so good. I’m two and a half weeks into my recovery and I feel amazing! Actually, I feel too amazing. I really thought I’d feel crappy and sore for at least a few weeks, as I did with my previous surgery. Clearly, the breast reduction was less traumatic to my body than the liposuction. The next day after surgery, I woke up feeling great… tired, but feeling great. I am on a three-week restriction, or what I like to refer to it as a little “time out.â€
The first week I couldn’t raise my heart rate at all, period. That meant no cardio, no working out whatsoever. That sucked, I mean really sucked. But week two hasn’t been too bad, because I was allowed the addition of some forms of my cardio workouts, although I still can’t lift anything more than five pounds. I’ve been doing fast walking and some super light jogging because I tried to run and I felt some aching in my breast. I put a stop to that real quick. When I saw Dr. Bashioum at his office for my post-surgery exam, he said that I could increase my activity level slowly, as long as it did not cause any pain. I’ve also been doing some Kettle Bell exercises with a 5lb dumb bell… I have to keep the groove! I’m surprised and happy that I feel as great as I do but, on the flipside, because I feel so good; it’s making it really difficult for me to adhere to my restrictions. I was naughty only twice. The first offense was putting my 51.8-pound foster dog, Dexter, on his back for a time when he misbehaved.
Dexter
He’s definitely over my weight restriction I know, but it was just a spontaneous reaction. The second offense was my poor decision to go on the zip line at the playground with my 12 yr. old nephew. I was really disappointed in myself for giving in to my impatience. Sandy, Dr. Bashioum’s Patient Care Coordinator said I might have to be on “time out” longer now since I didn’t follow my recovery guidelines. If she said it to scare me into being rigid with the recovery guidelines, it worked! I definitely don’t want a longer restriction period, so I’m really trying to be good.
Gina with 2 Kettle Bells
I already notice a nice change and I know it will take at least 6 months to a year to see the full outcome. I can’t wait and I certainly don’t want to do anything to ruin my chances for a great result!
Check back to see if I can follow my own advice…
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