Alright, here we go with the ins and outs of my first surgery (with some “ugly” pictures)

I had my first of six surgeries, technically called “lymph sparing lipectomy for lipedema” AKA lipsosuction with Dr. Marcia Byrd in Roswell, GA on Thursday, August 20th– and it was a breeze! Or at least as close to a breeze and one can expect from having fat sucked out of their body with a giant needle while wide awake! HA!

Before I tell you the details, here are the results-ish…

This is as close as I can get to before surgery and (immediately) after because I did a crappy job taking any “before” pictures. I’ll try to do better next time.

What’s important to note here, is that gravity is working in my favor. (my legs don’t actually look smooth…or thin. Keep reading for the truth.)

I thought that she was going to do from above the knee down, she only did below the knees, but still managed to remove 4.5 liters of fat and fluid. Crazy right?

She said that my fat was tough and did not want to let go. 🤷 Glad she showed it who’s boss!

Fact: my legs will look way worse before they start looking “normal”. And even then, I don’t expect them to look anywhere near “normal”. And that’s okay. My goal for surgery is not to look good.

I was awake for the procedure and totally aware of what was happening…with a million questions. 🤣

There was definitely some pain, but nothing unbearable.

After the surgery I came home, took the prescribed pain meds (Tylenol with codeine) ate some Taco Bell and went to bed around 7pm. I got up at 1am to take another dose, and went back to bed.

At 7am I was done with pain meds. That shit gives me some seriously effed up dreams, so no thank you. I took some regular Tylenol and went about my day, hanging with my kids, making meals, and going to my follow up visit with Dr. Byrd, as well as a post op Manual Lymph Drainage therapy.

That was the last dose Tylenol I took, too.

It’s not that there’s no pain, there’s definitely some discomfort, but it’s not bad.

My legs are extremely tender, and the first few of steps hurt, upon rising, but after like 10 seconds, there’s virtually no sensation. If my subsequent surgeries are like this, I’ll be thrilled. (Fingers crossed!)

This is what my legs looked like the morning after surgery…

The swelling and bruising did get worse over the following few days, which made everything a little more difficult. But I was still able to manage “normal” stuff.

I even worked out on day 7. And felt great!

Today is day 11, and I feel better every day. The swelling is starting to reduce, which means better range of motion in my ankles and knees. My legs still very tender to touch, but that’s to be expected.

I think the weirdest, most challenging part is the numbness that makes my legs feel like they’re lying on small boulders when they’re resting on a flat surface…like an ottoman or a BED! lol

But again, even that’s not bad, and once I’m settled, I don’t feel a thing.

My next surgery is in 19 days. That surgery will be the front of my upper legs. I’ve heard from others that the lowers are the hardest part, but I’m not convinced. Hopefully that will prove true, but I’m preparing myself for challenges ahead, because let’s be honest…how the hell am I going to sit or go to go to the bathroom when the back of my legs are done…or worse, when my BUTT is done?!

We’ll see! And I’ll keep you posted. 🙂

Updates to come…

CLICK HERE to read more about my lipedema experience.