26 Years Old & Two Kids Later. - Dominican Republic

Hello
I am 26 years old, I have had two children and ever since my body hasnt been the same. I have tried many ways to try to return to my original weight as well as appearance but i have been unsuccessful. Before pregnancy, I stood at 113lbs, 5ft tall (which is normal BMI). Two babies later, I was still the same height, but now weighted 175lbs... quite a difference. I worked really hard and lost a good amount of weight, I was able to get down to 131lbs. Right away i noticed my skin was not bouncing back .. it was actually looking worse! the more weight i lost the more wrinkled my skin looked, my belly button wasnt round anymore now it was a wrinkled diamond shape! My belly looked hollow with a loose shell. I worked very hard but looked in the mirror and realized nothing was going to get better. I decided to get a tummy tuck! After years of waiting for this to happen, I am finally able to say im on my way to getting this done! :) Im so excited! My procedure is scheduled to be done on March 20th 2014 with Dr. Asmin Aquino in Dominican Republic! :) Wish me Luck!!

okay so results from my labwork came back.. everything is good. i am healthy and in good conditions to have the procedure done. I spoke with Katherine today and she is the sweetest kindest person Ive had to deal with. She is very patient with all my questions and answers them all clearly and efficiently. I am feeling pretty great about this whole thing right now.

I spoke to the airlines yesterday and i confirmed with them that i do not need a Visa to travel to DR .. which i knew but just wanted to double check. There will be a $10 Tourist card for each of us upon arrival. Ive already packed everything and my nerves are setting in... 1 week left! .. im panicking and wondering if this will be worth it.. my mom keeps freaking me out with the constant reminders of people dying in DR over surgeries (as well as other places)... grr.. im so afraid but i know its going to be worth it in the end. Anyone been to Dr. Aquino that can share an experience?? Id appreciate it.. thanks.

All good news except...

I AM GETTING SICK!! The weather is changing like crazy here and i believe i am catching a cold. my throat feels a bit funny and my nose is runny. nothing serious but i am FREAKING THE HELL OUT because i read i cannot have surgery if am sick!?! OMG this CANNOT happen! Ive spent money on the plane ticket and this cannot be all for nothing! IF someone out there has had this experience and knows what i should do/be doing.. please give me some advice.? Can i still go through with the surgery?? please let me know. Thanks.

hello there,

so i arrived at Dominican Republic on March 20th as planned. I got to meet Dr. Aquino the same day, and let me say he is so nice! He patiently answered all my questions and i didnt feel rushed.

I arrived at 12pm to Dominican Republic airport, once i arrived our driver was waiting for us. He was really nice and talked to us about the area, the doctor and all the patients he has seen come and go. He mentioned he really recommends Dr Aquino because he has seen the most unpleasant looking women arrive and leave completely transformed. Everyone i came across in the clinic assured me the same thing, my doctor is amazing. So i was feeling pretty confident by that point, afraid but confident.

Once i got to the office, my bags were brought in and i met Cynthia, who was very sweet and nice. She took my information and remaining paperwork that needed to be signed. However, i was a bit upset that my labwork (which i had done in the US) was lost. So she had me call my doctor in the US to have them re-fax it. Thankfully i was able to reach them..

Once everything was filled out, i got to meet Dr Aquino. He is the sweetest man!! His assistant was very helpful filling in words and clearing things up for me that i didnt understand. I speak Spanish, it was my first language, but ive lost a bit of the words. His assistant, speaks perfect English and aided me in my confusion. The doctor asked me questions and took down some information. Then he asked me what exactly i wanted, he mentioned my buttocks were good and didnt really need much help. However, he was going to perform lipo of the back etc. I explained to him exactly what i wanted and he understood it perfectly. He then proceeded to mark me up and i got re-dressed.

I waited for a room to become available in the clinic and around 7pm my surgery was underway. A nurse came and gave me a blue pill, which she explained would not make me sleep, just relax me. So i took the pill, and fell asleep... lol. My husband, who was with me, says that when they came to get me i went on and on to the nurse talking about how i wanted my butt to look lol...

When i woke up, i threw up a few times.. which i didnt feel at all because i was still so numb from surgery. Everyone at the clinic was super nice and helpful and even funny.. which was NOT cool with painful abs lollll .. but i loved my stay there.

I am now in the recovery house, since Friday morning. The nurses here are super nice and helpful and the food is INCREDIBLE! I am especially fond of Anna and Mirna, they are extremely sweet and go out of their way to make me feel comfortable and taken care of. I am definetely going to miss them when its time to go!

Now, the surgery itself.. I had tummy tuck, lipo of the back, flanks, arms, and inner thighs, as well as fat transfer to my hips and buttocks (very minor). I have been with a compression garment since the day of the surgery. I have only one drain in the front right side of my abdomen. My scar looks incredible so far! its super thin and barely visible on my sides! i have not seen it too much being that im constantly in this garment.. The garment has an opening on the bottom which allows me to pee.. when i have to do #2 i need to take it off.. which sucked the first few days..

The first few days i was feeling short of breath! i could not breathe! i swore it was the garment but then googled and saw that many girls have been sewn too tight in the abs and cause shortness of breath! which completely scared me!! thankfully so far.. i still have shortness of breath but i really think its the garment, since when i take it off now to use the bathroom, i feel okay.

Sleeping is THE WORST!!! its so uncomfortable!! i have atleast 10 pillows under and around me at all times and still feel like a paralyzed and compressed chihuahua! My lower back/flanks are swollen like crazy!! it hurts to lay down sometimes.. and im really fair skinned so im bruised everywhere lipo was done.

Im super afraid of leaving this country and going back to my own with seroma or hematoma or infection! i mean so far im okay! i think ive been healing pretty okay.. i even walk daily a couple of mins and im straightening out day after day.. but i am a VERY paranoid person!! so any advice, words, experience, especially coming from someone who has seen someone in a foreign country and has had a similar expeience would be very helpful!!

Also, ive read that if you come back to your home town/state/country.. after a surgery and you want to follow up with someone, they will NOT SEE YOU in fear of negligence !! this has me sooo freaked out! what if i need to be drained in any way!?

Thanks so much and I will be updating soon!
My first doctors appointment is Wednesday and hopefully my drain will be removed then. I was also told that swelling will go down after massages?? (thats what the nurse told me) That the excess liquid will be expelled through massage?? idk anyone share experience? thanks.