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| Life After Lipo |
| by Valerie Lee |
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Some days, I feel like Stuart Smalley, the self-actualized guru from Saturday Night Live: "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough…" and doggone it, wouldn't it be nice to have nice legs! Since I was little, I have hid my lumpy, bumpy, tree-stump legs in flowing pants and long skirts. I could have worse problems than lumpy legs, I know. Nonetheless, I always found my saddlebags pesky – especially since I spend almost no time near horses. In my jeans, you could see my funny saddlebag bundles. When I wore mid-length skirts, I felt awkward because I had those same funny bundles of fat around my knees.
I visited one of the area's most reputable plastic surgeons. His suggestion? That I maintain a regular exercise program to lower my overall percentage of body fat and improve my overall health. Of course. No use denying it: Sometimes I workout. Most of the time, I manage to find other things to do with my leisure time.
With this in mind, I began a workout program and did slim down. Three months later, with pudgy knees and saddlebags still in place, I visited the doctor again and scheduled a liposuction procedure. Even after just a few months, it was clear to me that no amount of exercise in the world would eradicate an idiosyncratic condition like pudgy knees.
Going under the knife is a serious thing, I know. But I also know that zillions of people have plastic surgery every day with great success. I decided that liposuction would make me feel better in my jeans.Three thousand dollars seemed a fair price for happiness!
To prepare for surgery I loaded up on vitamin C to aid in the healing process. My doctor cautioned me that there would be some bruising. I would need to take at least a week off work, and possibly two. Since I scheduled my surgery over the holidays, that was not a problem; I typically take that time off anyway.
I met the doctor bright and early at a surgical center. I disrobed. He took a black permanent marking pen and made markings on my trouble spots. Shortly after, I was wheeled in to surgery and began counting from 99 backward for my deep sleep.
The rest is lipo-history. When I awoke three hours later, my legs were tightly wrapped, yet comfortable. Previous surgeries had often left me feeling nauseated, but this time I felt fine. In fact, I felt very chipper as they wheeled me off to a charming overnight cottage nearby, where nurses attended to me in a place that felt like home.
Once I returned to my real home, the week that followed was less than comfortable. Bruising was right! Wow! I haven't seen that many bruises since Mohammed Ali's Rumble in the Jungle.
Prior to surgery, I was instructed to buy a saddlebag girdle that came to just below my knees. For about a month following surgery, I wore the girdle under my clothing. I could not drive for almost a week after surgery because my legs were so stiff. After the first few days, when my legs weren’t as sensitive, I gently massaged them to improve circulation to ease the bruising and swelling. It seemed to help. After a month, when the girdle and bandages were finally off for good, it was time for the true test. How would I look in shorts? How would I look in my jeans? It didn’t take long to get an answer: Much, much better! I can now wear more slimming, more flattering pants I could never wear before. I can now actually feel the bones on the sides of my knees! My friends didn't notice a profound change in my appearance post-surgery, but I knew how I looked in clothes. I felt better.
I had liposuction three years ago. Since then, my fitness regime has fallen by the wayside once again. Once again, I am re-motivating myself to hit the gym! I know that after committing to surgical treatment like liposuction, I owe it to myself to keep myself in tip-top shape. Just the other day I started to notice the saddlebags returning close to their original spot. They weren’t as large as they had been before, but they were there.
The moral of my story is an oft-told tale. Eat right. Exercise. And if you have a trouble spot that will not respond to eating right and exercising, liposuction is a wonderful option with a real reward. But beware: Without an ongoing healthful lifestyle and fitness program, fat will return … somewhere!
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