Things to remember

As we read reviews and talk to others things I have to remember are....

• freeze gym member ship
• inform bank and CC of my trip
• purchase travel card in advance to save time when i get to the DR
• wear the faja for at least 3 months for the prescribed # of hours
• have adequate time to regain great circulation to avoid embolisms
• Request wheelchair assistance for the trip home preferably in advance when I check in online. 
• Get gifts for Dr. and RH staff
• 
  
• 
  
• Register with the U.S. Embassy -done 4/25
• Register with STEP-done 4/2015
• 
  

Interesting websites
http://www.makemeheal.com/

Expenses

What I spent so far (updated 4/25/2015)
175 Passport
  10 Vitamins
325 Surgery Deposit
100 Recovery House Deposit
  25 Visit with PCP and bloodwork & EKG (2/20)
 20 Snacks & more vitamins (2/27)
 40 clothes for post op and beyond (2/28)
 25 Visit with PCP and bloodwork (3/26)
135 R/T Plane Ticket (I had a $500 voucher-4/22)
  50 CBC @ anylabtest

Total:  $905

What I left to spend/buy

• PCP visit and blood work-had 2 visit and need some follow up visits (estimated $50-$75)
• Recovery House (Balance $800)
• Surgery (Balance $4650)
• Surgery Supplies -Faja ($150-$200)
• Massages Post-op ($250)
• Transportation (estimated $100)
• Post-op Gifts (estimated $75)

Outstanding Total: $6150

Disclaimer: I like numbers that end in either 5 or 0. So I will round up.  

Tracking my body changes

So many thoughts go through my mind and I am so glad that I am blogging and can update, add, and subtract info out there about myself and this journey.

I want  to get to at least 170# before my surgery. This accountability will keep me on track.

Update 3/14/15
I scale is moving down, now I need to keep being consistent. I am training for Climb Atlanta, which is in 1 month. I also bought a groupon for 1 month of unlimited CrossFit classes. I feel like I am making the right moves. Time will tell.

Having High Hemo

We all know the importance of having a high hemoglobin level before surgery.

Here is what I have researched and found to be ways to raise and/or keep your hemo level high.



My hemo level was....9.3 and that was very upsetting.But I am moving forward to get my levels up.

Here is a chart of the multivitamins and minerals I have started taking to get my hemo levels up. I am possibly going to switch of the Iron tabs for a prescription form my PP.

mid-February Check in

My oh my... I have made great progress in my journey. My deposit has been sent to my doctor and my recovery house. I also went to my primary care physician(PCP) and had an EKG and a complete blood work up. My PCP is not fully supportive of my trip to the Dominican Republic(DR) for surgery(sx). However, she is not refusing to help me prepare for the journey.

I got my blood work back and it is not where I want it to be. I need to be above 13 and it is currently at 9.3.

My Dr. has suggested an iron supplementation and I am open to taking it. I am also going to take my multi-vitamin, folic acid, and b12.




This diagnosis has opened my eyes to why I feel the way I do.  I read an article from Women's Health magazine.

The symptoms they listed in the 

10 Signs You Have an Iron Deficiency

article include:

• Fatigue
• Difficulty focusing
• Apathy
• Breathlessness
• Pale skin
• TRouble doing your workout
• Crazy sore muscles
• Brittle nails
• Frequent infections
• Pink or red urine

I can easily identify with 8 of 10 of these. The most surprising symptom was apathy. It has to do with the nuerotransmitters... Crazy right.

My weight loss isn't happening and it is my own fault. I have to be so much more diligent when it comes to what and how i eat. I also need to amp up my physical fitness.

What to pack

I have been thinking a lot lately about what all I need to purchase and pack for my DREAM Trip.  I am using the email from the quotes from the doctors as well as what I read on RealSelf.com and advice from the SX gal pals.

Update... 2/16/2015
I have removed a few items from my list as Serenity RH has them for me. :-)
I am also going to resort this list into categories.

Clothes

• Robe
• Shower shoes/flip flops
• Loose clothing: maxi dresses((PM)), sweats, pajamas
• Towel & wash cloths
• Under garments ((PM))
• Wife Beaters preferably t-shirts(6 minimum)- fajas dig into your skin.

Hygienic Items

• Alcohol pads
• Antibacterial soap
• Antibacterial wipes
• Baby wipes/Feminine Wipes (4 packs0f 60) unscented ((PM))
• Bandaids **
• Blanket ((PM)) 
• Compression socks (Dr. FG to provide...?)
• GoGirl or P E-z *
• Hand sanitizer **
• Heating pad *
• Hibiclens *
• Mederma *
• Mouthwash **
• Neosporin **
• Pads
• Thick maxi pads**
• Tooth paste and tooth brush **

Medicines

• Arnica gel...? *
• Benadryl pills**
• Diurex **
• Ducolax **
• Iron Pills **
• Multivitamin **
• Stool softener **
• Tylenol ES and PM **

Miscellaneous

• Extension Cords/Surge Protector
• iPad
• Lanyard **
• MasterLock *
• Neck Pillow   *
• Passport
• Snacks
• Water bottle with filter

Provided by the RH

• Boppy pillow ((CBI))
• Chux Bed Liners(20+)
• Gauze & tape

((PM))- PLASTIMEDIC surgery bag item
* added to amazon.com wish list
** gonna get locally

Links from Real Self
http://www.realself.com/guide/brazilian-butt-lift-preparation-guide

Pre-op Guidelines

Yay for me.

I have sent my deposit and it has been received. My surgery is scheduled with Dr. Fernandez-Goico on June 12th. I am beyond excited. I am now going to secure a recovery house and shop for my tickets. So excited.


I got my email confirmation of my surgery date, my account summery, and  a medical history form. I love how professional his office is.

Update on 2/08/2015
I have sent my deposit to Serenity RH. I am excited to have the behind me. I feel great about choosing them They have been very easy to reach and the reviews I have read on RS and FB have been very promising. They also come recommended by Dr. FG.


Next update: I took a trip out of town for work. They overbooked the flight so I volunteered to take a later flight in exchange for a flight voucher. So now I have $500 flight cash. That makes my roundtrip ticket range from $50-80. How cool is that...?

2/16/2015
I am currently taking a daily vitamin, Vitamin C, an Iron pill, with a stool softener. I go to my PCP on Thursday and I plan on getting blood work to get a baseline on my numbers.

Recovery Houses

Some recovery houses I have heard of and need to research

• the Doll House
• Family RH--Great website. Read RS review on Jan. 2015 and they were very positive. In addition as FB friend went there and loved it. 
• Healing Haven-They are very helpful on FB. PPl seem to like them a lot.
• Kindness RH
• Luxury RH-Recommend by Yily.
• Queen Recovery House
• Serenity RH---Great reviews from ppl on RS.
• Silhoutte
• Tropical RH

1/4/15---Narrowing down the list...via RS reviews and other peoples testimony on FB. Making a spread sheet to keep info straight.

1/14/15--Just read a FB post about the Real Recovery hous. They were not on my list. Yay for me, LOL.

1/30/2015
I have been thinking a lot lately about the questions I want to pose to the RH I am interested in?

• Do you give group discounts?
• Do you have aback up generator?
• Do clients get bottled water?
• How secure is the neighborhood?
• Have you ever had clients/patients have things stolen? 
• it is normal that I stay 2 night then go and stay one night at the clinic when i have my surgery...?

Eliminated and why: TBA

• Armonia---alot of negative comments on social media. Not feeling comfortable with what I am hearing.
• Daisy's recovery house--Not finding many positive reviews. So this is being moved to the no-bno list . (1/19/15)

Questions

As  Review the quotes from the doctors I will list my questions for each/any/ all doctors that I have.

I will update this post as I get answers...


Robles (emailed questions on 12/22) As of Jan 19... I did not get a response...? I am going to resend and add a few questions

• How many surgeries do you schedule in one day? How can I be the first one of the day?
• Which RH do you work in conjunction with?
• If I have a history of epidural headaches, can I request general anesthesia...?
• How is the breast lift different from the breast augmentation?

Yily (emailed questions on 12/22) Responses sent on 12/23.

• The quote states that I must have someone to stay the night with the night of surgery. Can that person be a nurse from the RH? Or do I need to come with a friend? Or can myself and a fellow surgery patient be each other stay person?You can hire a nurse from the Recovery House, it can't be another patient because that person won't be able to help you through the night
• Which RH do you work in conjunction with? I recommend Luxury Recovery House in first place, and some other 2 when that one doesn't have spots available.
• If I chose the RH package and get the meds from my own doctor does that change the quote...?It doesn't change because it's a package offer.
• How many surgeries do you schedule in one day? How can I be the first one of the day? I do up to 4 surgeries. To be the first patient you just have to arrive the day prior surgery to get lab work done. We're open until 5 pm.
• If I have a history of epidural headaches, can I request general anesthesia...? Unfortunately, that's not an option, epidural is the best type of anesthesia we can use for this procedures. The epidural  headaches actually depend on the technique that is used by the anesthesiologist, i have a very good one, by the way.

Choosing a Doctor

I sent my pictures and stats out to 3 doctors....Dr. Walkiris Robles, Dr. Fatima Almonte, and Dr. Yily de los Santos.

I have received quotes back from all three and the price range was from 5200-6700. However, some of the doctors are suggesting a 2nd trip at a later date. I know for me that would be a near impossibility.

Some of the factors I am using to select my doctor are:

• reviewing pictures of their work
• assessing what 'work' areas they seem to do best
• reviewing blogs and review of realself.com
• assessing the thoroughness of their quote, plus
• my own intuition

I am not using the cost as a factor at all. I think that this type of surgery is too important  to base it on price.

Some things I noticed when i got my quotes. Some quotes are more thorough than others. The lack of thoroughness was/is a concern for me. When I compare the quotes seeing the huge difference from one doctor quote to another has given me cuase to pause. It also helps me to think of the questions I want/need to ask 

Vivid's Checklist

Things to do

• Get under 175#
• Annual physical including fasting blood work
• Get Passport---submitted passport application Dec. 2014-received and being processed 12/25
• Get 6 month quote--- not totally necessary as once the deposit is paid the quote should be locked in.
• Select Doctor
• Pick date
• Secure spot via deposit
• Begin buying supplies
• Confirm  date with Dr.
• Book ticket
• Arrange daycare for visit