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.Helvetica18 { font-family: Arial, Helvetica, adobe-helvetica, Arial Narrow; font-size: 24px; } My Advice to You What to expect ~ REALLY EXPECT! What to expect ~

REALLY EXPECT! Helpful Links Before and After Photos Home thoughts . . . Charlene's Lipo Journey

From thought to action. . . actions . . . Home Before and After Photos My journey to liposuction began in 2000. Though I had successfully lost 80 pounds over a 14 month period in 1995, I had that pouch all women know and dread. For years, I worked out, ate right, drank gallons of water daily, did Tae Bo, Jane Fonda, ran, walked, even thought about getting a personal trainer.....to get rid of that pouch. NOT!

I have never been a skinny woman - always considered voluptuous or bootylicious. That was fine with me! I loved that my body was curvy, delicious and sexy. In 2000 I knew of a few women in my office that were rumored to have had liposuction. These were beautiful women - thin, petite even! What could they possibly be doing to themselves??? These were not women I had constant contact with so I didn't really pay attention - until I saw one of them walking down a hallway - she was downright thin! That was when I decided to begin research into Liposuction and to find out if it was right for me. I didn't jump right into the research. Life continued for me and being the divorced, single mother of an amazing 10 year old at the time, Lipo was just not a priority or focus for me. Eventually, I pretty much forgot about it. That is......until one day, some months later, that girl at my office and I happened to be chatting and she asked me to close her office door and she admitted that she had had Lipo. I had basically forgotten about it, just figured she had worked her ass off and that was what I should do. I couldn't get over how amazing she looked - she felt bad accepting my compliment and decided to come clean. I appreciated her candor and thought maybe Lipo could work for me and my pouch.

I asked her if I could talk to her doctor and she gladly shared his information with me. I called, chatted with the receptionist, promised to call back and never did. What the hell was I thinking? Lipo? Me? No way. I should get my butt in the gym and work harder. I was a softball player so I played on 3 teams per week instead of 1 - added the batting cage and conditioning to my work out regimen. Modified my diet a bit (already ate pretty healthy meals) and spoke to a personal trainer about specific work outs for my abs. Cut to six months later - felt great, lots of energy, STILL HAD THE POUCH. As the Sopranos so famously said "fuhgedaboutit." I had to consider Lipo!

Life continued to happen and time moved on - it was now early 2002. I had been doing very well at work, my daughter continued to be an amazing child - now 12. I had done enough research to know I should be saving my pennies. I diligently saved for the day I had the nerve to go through with it. It is now 2003 - I have the money, i've done the research, now was time to have consultations. I made appointments with three doctors, one in Santa Barbara, one in San Diego, one in Marina del Rey. I quickly learned that my perception of what I needed done and reality were two different things. I thought I only needed to get rid of my pouch. I could deal with the rest. NOT! All three doctors agreed - upper and lower abs, back, flanks, arms, inner thighs, knees, hips. In short - the works! Wow - I thought, and I only wanted to get rid of the pouch. Seeing my photos, with paper panties on and black magic marker like circles ALL OVER MY BODY was depressing. I saw my body differently after that moment - I had serious work to do and it was clear to me liposuction was the only way to do it.

In my quest to get as much information about liposuction, of course, I used the internet. I found Liposite.com - it was like most other liposuction information sites, with one big exception. Liposite.com had a message board. On this board were postings from hundreds of women and some men who had either already had, were considering, and curious about liposuction, or some form of body improvement. I lurked in the background for weeks before having the courage to write "Newbie here . . need info." The next day there were 10 messages from absolute strangers welcoming me and inviting me to ask questions, read the site, or just read the posts. It was encouraging and helpful.

Once I made my choice of doctor and had contacted several of his patients for their stories, I felt excited and nervous about my decision and shared it with the message board. My doctor had given me detailed instructions for before, during and after my procedure and what to expect with recovery but the women on this board each had a special message or helpful hint they offered as well. I was prepared and counting down the days to my appointment: March 13, 2003. Now that I have made the decision to go forward with the surgery, I am obsessed with the procedure. I am voracious about information and knowing about the different procedures, results, complaints, costs. I research Ultrasonic Assisted Liposuction, Tumescent Liposuction, SuperWet Liposuction - - Superwet??? man that sounds scary! I search on google.com using key words 'liposuction' or 'plastic surgery & liposuction' or 'liposuction & personal stories' produced pages and pages and pages of information. There are websites and newspaper stores, studies and articles having to do with everything lipo. If you want to know the answer - just ask the question. I also became obsessed with looking at photos of BEFORE and AFTER liposuction patients. I wanted to see if I could get an idea of what I might look like after my procedure. Completely ignoring what my doctor said "everyone is different" - I was on a quest - - - and became disappointed quickly. A lot of the photos were of really young, beautiful women whose bodies looked just fine to me. Or, there were senior ladies who really needed help with gravity. I didn't find a lot of black women to look at or larger women - not obese - but bigger girls. I kept running into photos of small, young, white women who hadn't had babies yet or even reached 30 yet! I really believe you should wait to have certain liposuction procedures until after you have had babies - but that's just me!

The week before my procedure I told my boss and several people at my office what I was doing. Not one to really care what others think, I wanted people to hear it directly from me - not though water cooler gossip. I requested and was granted vacation for about 8 days and had the full support and encouragement of my co-workers. I was excited and nervous and scared all at the same time. I called my sister and told her what I was doing and where to find my life insurance policies, will and beneficiary information - just in case

. I made arrangements for my daughter to stay with a classmate the the night before and of my procedure. I had explained, in detail, what I was having done so that my daughter would understand and not be afraid. She had no concept of anesthesia or the risks involved and I wasn't going to worry her. I had to be positive and upbeat so that she could be too! She was happy that I was doing something I had been considering for years - but she didn't think I had a problem. To my daughter, my body was perfect! God bless her!! My daughter looked at my belly like her former residence. From the time she was born to right now - she would lay on my belly and talk and I would rub her back or play with her ponytails while we talked or read books or watched movies - my pouch was her friend and she did not want to see it go. I assured her that she would enjoy laying on my flat tummy once it was gone and if she just had to have a pouch - she could lay a pillow on my tummy first! I was bound and determined that this pouch had seen its last week of life!! March 11, 2003. Now just days to my appointment, I post to Liposite.com. I tell the board "2 days to go" - and received dozens of reply posts from women offering words of encouragement, helpful hints, telling me what to expect. From these posts, I knew that I needed to run out to the local Rite-Aid and pick up some things (sanitary pads in case my incisions leak, Lifesavers for a dry mouth on the way home, disposable wash cloths (Lever 2000) in case I was unable to get in the shower or tub, Arnica Montana from GNC (a homeopatic remedy for bruising and swelling), crackers. Thanks to these were perfect strangers who reached out as if they knew me - to share their stories with me; good, bad and ugly, I was ready for my big day. I knew I would post to that board once I was done with my surgery and share with them my journey. May 12, 2003. One day to go - I am packed - only taking a pair of jammies - low shoes - a doll my daughter put in the bag for luck - toiletries - and a big old house dress to wear home. At work everyone is excited for me, hugs all around. When I leave the office that day I feel as if I am embarking on a life changing event. My surgery is in Mexico (more on that later) and one of my co-workers, who is a former patient of my doctor, has generously offered to drive me, stay with me, hold my hand and drive me home. She and I touch bases at the office one last time and she let's me know she will pick me up from my house at 7:30 p.m. I get home from the office around 5:30 p.m. and fidget until my friend calls me to say "I'm outside." With those two words - my journey began. My journey begins! Helpful Links What to expect ~

REALLY EXPECT! What to expect ~ REALLY EXPECT! My Advice to You