Wednesday 28th March- 2 Days In

Wednesday 28^th March- 2 days In

Success, I managed to sleep relatively well last night!

I've got the hang of going to the loo in the night- which due to your lymphatic system working over time you will need to visit a lot! It's all good though, it's your body trying to help heal you.

  

I enjoyed my shower this morning, allowing the warm water to caress my bruised and sore skin- it was a delicious massage of sorts!

While I noticed I was more swollen today and the definition I saw yesterday had (hopefully temporarily) gone, I had at least lost the 5lb I gained immediately after surgery, and also a further 3lbs for good measure!

Today is lymphatic drainage massage day and to say I'm bricking it would be a lie. I am totally petrified! I can barely touch my skin without winching, how the hell am I going to cope with a massage!?

My appointment was booked for 4pm and my dad picked me up at 1 to ensure we had plenty of time to get there (You never do know with the M25)

We got there an hour before my appointment but kindly, the lady who was massaging me, Julie Bradford saw me sooner.

I have to just say, she was wonderful! Friendly, softly spoken and best still, she promised me I wouldn't feel any pain! 

 I told her I was scared of the pain and hadn't taken any painkillers since 6am that morning as I was acutely aware of the side effects of taking too much cocodamol- constipation, which when you already have a sore, swollen tummy, is never going to end well!

The wonderful Julie!

I also told her that the painkillers weren't doing much for me in any event, at which point she asked Dr Comins to pop down and see me.

He informed me that he couldn't give me anything stronger as that would too cause constipation, and in any event I should been feeling much better within the next 48 hours.

He then examined my drains (2 in the front, 1 in the back).

 I told him the back was still leaking but very little fluid was leaking from the front two, at which point he informed me he would take them out now!

So there i am, laying 1/2 naked on this bed, war wounds out for all to see, tired, in pain and scared of what was to come when Dr Comins comes back with some tweezers and sterile looking bits and pieces.

I held Julies hand and tried to be brave as he snipped away at the stitched holding the drains in.

I won't lie, yes it hurt, though only momentarily. Let's just say, it didn't tickle.

Anyway moving on to the massage- I wish I hadn't worried about it, it was lovely, if a little odd!

Julie was hooked up to a machine via wires and she placed a pad attached to wires underneath my thigh. She put on her sterile gloves and informed me that we were creating a circuit and when she touched my body, I would feel very gentle, pulsations of energy which would help penetrate my skin and kick start my lymphatic system to help get rid of remaining, excess fluid still within my tummy and flanks.

She only very lightly touched me and I found the experience entirely relaxing and the relief I felt from being out of my prison (my garment) was heavenly for all of an hour.

I'm due back on Friday to have e last drain removed and for another session, which I'm now rather looking forward to!

At home, I noticed I needed to pee a hell of a lot more and also my unquenchable thirst had come back with a vengeance, both of which are positive signs though.

I’ve never drunk so much water in my entire life these past days!

With regards to how I look- I am aware that my body has been through a real trauma and it is now very swollen.

 I am reassured by Dr Comins who keeps telling me that the results are going to be great.

He hasn't been wrong on anything else so far so I'm inclined to believe him! 

Ciate Caviar Manicure & Giveaway

This weekend i finally received my long awaited for Ciate Caviar Manicure set.

I opted for the Rainbow set as i loved the mix of colours which reminded me of those Jazzies  chocolates from my childhood!

 Beautifully presented, i was so excited to try these out!

The were far easier to use than i thought they would be.

 

I applied 1 coat of the pretty pink polish, allowed it to dry then applied another.

While it was still wet, I gently tipped the caviar beads over the nail which I rested above the plastic packaging to catch the beads. 

I every so gently pressed the beads down into the polish to ensure they were secure and moved onto the next nail.

 The whole process must have only taken around 5 minutes, and i suddenly had a fantastic set of nails that even my husband agreed looked pretty cool.

You do have to leave them to dry and set for 15minutes, but after that your good to go!

They are so different and so striking, but at £18 for the set id be inclined to only use them for special occasions.

Taking them off was also equally easy, just soak a pad in nail polish remover, press onto the top of the nail, leave it a few seconds then wipe away. Easy Peasy.

You can get your hands on these now along with the two other shades Black Pearl and Mother of Pearl on the Ciate website now for £18 each.

Alternatively, you can enter my competition to win the gorgeous Rainbow set!

To enter, simply do the following;

·         Follow I am Fabulicious via Google Friend connect and leave a comment below with your contact details.

·          Head over to Twitter and tweet:

#Win a Ciate Caviar Manicure set in @Sarah_berryman1 's  #competition Head here to enter: http://tinyurl.com/cd65lve

The competition is open internationally and closes on Monday 28^th May

Good luck!

Pure Coconut Oil

Before you say anything, i know that this doesn’t look quite as exciting, pretty or fabulous as some of the products I’ve reviewed before, but bare with me.

Allow me to introduce you to something called Pure Coconut Oil from Holland and Barrett.

 I mentioned this multi purpose item a few months back when it came to light that supermodel Miranda Kerr eats 4 tablespoon's of this oil every day to help maintain her glossy hair and luminous skin.

But, did you know this item can be used in other ways?

 

For example, it makes an incredible, 100% pure and natural moisturiser.

Granted it’s not much to look at and when stored in a cool place, the oil actually becomes fairly solid. It is white and pearly in colour, hard to touch and looks neither like it would make a decent moisturiser or a tasty supplement.

The oil in semi solid form

When warmed between the palms of your hand however, it is transformed in to a warm, oily liquid which is perfect for moisturing dry skin.

I love warming the oil up in my hands, massaging it into my skin and enjoying the delicate, sweet aroma of coconut that envelops you as it skins into your skin leaving it silky smooth.

See how it melts into a gorgeous oil

The oily texture quickly melts away leaving your skin supple and smooth without a hint of grease.

Im still not sold on the concept of ingesting it, but it has now become a much loved staple in my beauty regime.

Pure Coconut Oil is available from Holland and Barrett and costs £14.99 for a big tub.

M.A.C Hey Sailor!

Available for 8 weeks from 3^rd May 2012 is M.A.C.’s new collection called Hey, Sailor! 

Get ready to set sail this summer with a colour and bronzing collection that is designed to drop anchor in the most sophisticated Port of Call. 

 Decked out in stylishly sailor-striped packaging you will find a huge range of products, from Eye Shadows to Lipsticks, Blushers to Eye Pencils, Nail Lacquers to Lip Pencils.

Hey, Sailor! Lipstick in Salute

 Get sun dipped with Bronzing Powders, To The Beach Body Oil, Suntints SPF 20 Liquid Lip Balms and a 167SH Face Blender Brush. 

Hey, Sailor! Eyeshadow in Nautical Navy

M·A·C invites you to experience the jauntiest, yacht-iest collection of the season!

Colour Swatch from the Hey,Sailor! Collection

 

I LOVE the packaging and the array of colours in this collection, I don’t know about you but it makes me think of sunny holidays!

Tuesday 27th March- 1 Day Post Op

Tuesday 27th March- 1 Day Post Op


I got all of about one hour’s sleep last night, what with tossing and turning and being unable to move. On top of that, what with the issues with going to the loo, my night was nothing short of farcical!

I woke up at 6am when my Mr’s alarm clock went off (he’s off to work today) and i decided that i needed to get up. I simply couldn’t just lay there any longer.

My god was i stiff! It hurt like hell, but I slowly hobbled my way out of bed and dragged myself downstairs, plonking myself on the sofa before immediately taking my painkillers.

I was so desperately uncomfortable in all my padding that i took the terrifying decision to change my dressings.

I let my painkillers kick in, then gingerly made my way to the bathroom.

What the hell was i going to be confronted with? Swollen, bloody, bruised flesh oozing liquid everywhere? Huge drains stitched into me that looked revolting?

I could feel my heart racing.

I took a moment to give myself a talking to and closed the door, plastic bin bag, towels and clean padding and wadding in hand.

I slowly and nervously undid the hook and eyes on my garment, sick to my stomach at the thought of what possible sight may await me underneath.

I breathed a sigh of relief as i finally released the garment and saw myself packed with dressings.

Layer by layer i slowly removed the heavy, fluid soaked pads until there was nothing left but me and my body.

I held my breath as i looked up at the mirror, bracing myself for the worst.

I needn’t have be so scared. Far from it being some horrific, bloody scene, i was merely confronted by me. Granted a somewhat dirty, stained and pen-covered me, but it was just me.

There were no horrendous bruises, no blood stained marks, nothing. Just me, albeit a far slimmer version me.

(As always, please see my designated Vaser Lipo Diary Tab if you wish to see more graphic photos)

My waist was slim and my flanks now formed a delicate smooth curve as opposed to the lumpy heap which only yesterday had sat on top of my hips.

My 1st Before/After Photo! Left: Pre surgery Right: 1 day post surgery.  See more HERE

 I'm not ashamed to admit I may have shed a little tear of relief and happiness.

I felt overwhelmed by the feeling of comfort and freedom from being released from the tight constraints of the garment.

This feeling didn't last long however, as I knew I had to put it back on.

I dressed my open wounds and covered my drains with more dressing and found it infinitely easier to put my garment back on now without so much padding.

While the garment is still very tight, the absence of the extra pressure from all the layers of padding and dressings was definitely a welcome relief.

I had been told that it is really important to ensure that after this procedure you drink lots of fluids to help flush out the toxins in your system and aid recovery.

Consequently, I'm spending the majority of my day undoing and doing up my garment to visit the loo.

In-between one of my toilet trips I received a call from Dr Comins , which took me rather by suprise.

He was calling to see how i was, not one of his nurses, him, personally, which i found really nice and extremely reassuring.

I told him that I was in a lot of pain, to which he replied that he wasn't surprised.

I asked why that was, at which point he told me that during the procedure, while I was under sedation, I kept waking up and saying ‘’ouch’’.  

He told me that they had had to pump me with enough morphine for a man twice my size to keep me under.

He told me that there was the possibility that the painkillers he had prescribed me (cocodamol) may be ineffective in controlling my pain levels due to my liver metabolising the drugs quickly and my ‘’obvious strong constitution!" 

I did giggle and text my husband to tell him he was basically married to an ox!

I was somewhat disheartened by this news as i really did need some pain relief. My body felt heavy, sore and bruised, but i hoped to sleep most of the day to avoid the pain i felt while conscious.

I’m not up to writing much, but I'm back at the clinic tomorrow to have my first lymphatic drainage massage, something which seems impossible for me to comprehend as i can barely tolerate my body being touched let alone massaged!

Once again, i find myself scared...

Still, i only have to look back at the photos of me on the day of my surgery and the ones i took this morning to be reassured that it’s going to be all worth it.

Monday 26th March- Procedure Day Part 2

 Monday 26th March- Procedure Day Part 2

The next thing I remember is laying on the table and looking at the clock on the wall.

Two hours has passed in what felt like minutes.

I had two nurses wrapping padding and what seemed like endless amounts of wadding around me then strapping me down into my compression garment. It took two of them to do the tiny claps up over all the bulging padding.

At this moment, I'm in no pain and feel fine, just a little woozy. I’m surprised, i thought id be in agony right about now.

I’m sent back out to the bathroom to put my dark, loose fitting clothes on that i bought with me.

 

 I opted for these comfy pyjama bottoms and floaty top from Elle Macpherson Initmates from Simply Beach. 

 May i also recommend that you wear flip flops too, as it’s unlikely you’ll be able to bend down to get your shoes on!

I come and sit on the sofa and call my husband who is at that point, doubtlessly browsing the golf section of Harrods.

My mouth feels dry and i ask for some water. My husband appears and the nurses come and ask me how im feeling.

Im more interested in hearing how much fat they got from me! They tell me in litres, but that means nothing to me so I ask them politely if they could weigh it.

 I'm told they removed 7lbs of fat and other liquid from me which I'm pretty chuffed about! I poke my head around to see the result of the 2 hour procedure, and it’s pretty gross. I can’t believe all that stuff has come from me!

Suddenly I feel over come with sickness and ask for a bowl as I think I'm going to be sick.

As if out of nowhere the anaesthetist is suddenly at my side and tells me to lie down while he proceeds to inject an anti sickness drug directly into the muscle in my arm. Yes, this did hurt.

Sure enough, within 10 minutes I feel ok.

It was at that point that Dr Comins told me they had had to use an awful lot of morphine to keep me in my sedated state- Enough for a man twice my size. More than once i had apparently woken up, screeching ‘ouch’!

I of course don’t remember any of this, and Dr Comins was surprised to learn that im not a hardened drinker, and perhaps, my liver is just rather quick at metabolising the drugs they used!

As i began to feel more lucid, i started to feel sore, bruised and a little battered, but ultimately O.K.

I'm given an appointment to come back 2 days later for a lymphatic drainage massage at their clinic in Knightsbridge then another one to have my drains taken out and for another massage on Friday. 

Woah! I think. ‘Drains?’

Then i remembered Dr Comins telling me about having drains stitched in to the holes left by the Vaser incisions  to help with draining the excess fluid out of my tummy and hips.

Granted its not a great photo, but this is what the drains looked like- small, plastic like flaps

I wasn’t going to think about these drains too much for now, I’d deal with that later!

I left the clinic around 30-40 minutes after coming round and hobbled to the car.

The car journey home was bearable but my garment felt outrageously tight. I knew this was to be expected, but the sensation was not one i had prepared for.

I had brought with me a black towel to sit on, as i had read on the net that some people leak quite profusely in the first 24/24 hours (hence the dark clothes to go home in), so I thought a towel would be quite necessary to prevent unfortunate stains on our car seat.

Turns out i didn’t need it (thankfully!)

Once home I was in a lot of pain as the sedative had clearly worn off. I took some of the painkillers I had been prescribed and tried to get comfy, which needless to say, I couldn't.

I managed a few mouthfuls of dinner and went to bed, laying on a dark coloured spare sheet and absorbent sheet provided to me by the clinic in case of ‘seepage’ again.

At about 10pm I realised I needed a wee, and let me tell you,  what a Palarva this was!

I waddled down the stairs and into the toilet, my hubby waiting outside. 

I undid the gusset part of the garment to be confronted by what can only be described as a giant, adult nappy. I couldn’t help but giggle.

I pulled my ’nappy’ down to go for a wee, but in doing so my garment began to ride  half way up my body and over the plentiful rolls of padding.

My GORGEOUS, skin tight compression garment- note, this photo was taken after removing all of the initial padding
the following day- I was too out of it to think to take photos on the day of the procedure!

 It had to be pulled back down over the padding and secured again. I’m not going to lie, this was simply agony and I ended up needing my Mr to help me tug it down as I couldn't get through it on my own.

Later on in the night I needed another wee (Yes i have the bladder of a small child) but decided not to wake my Mr and so i tried to go to the loo by myself.

The  though I of having to go through all that again made me shudder, so this time i simply undid the garment and while standing,  (I’m so sorry mum!) peed in a pot.

 I know i know, but it was much easier and much more painless!

The rest of the night was spent sleeping sporadically when I could and waking each time i tried to move positions in my sleep.

Clinique Limited Edition Runway Coral Lipstick

 Words cannot express how much I’m in love with my new Clinique lippie. 

The fab new shade, Runway Coral  was Inspired by Clinique’s  new Global Colour Artist, Jenna Menard, and her makeup for the S/S12 Karen Walker show.

  

The long last lipstick is designed to treats lips to hours of creamy, comfortable coverage that won't dry out, feather, crease or cake.

 

This is due to the advanced, moisturising ingredients and pigments that cling to the lips for an incredibly smooth, even colour that stays true and stays put.

 

What I Loved: I absolutely loved the texture of this lippie- It was creamy, moisturising and not at all drying on my lips, and I'm the kind of girl that has to reapply lip balm regularly! I also loved the fact that I’ve finally found a coral shade that really does suit my pale skin! 

 

What I didn’t love: I know it says it won’t crease and is meant to stay put, but i found this not entirely true. I had to apply the lippie several times to get the desired shade and coverage i needed. That said, I’d happily suffer that to keep my lips soft and moisturised rather than dry!

Clinique’s Runway Coral Long Last Lipstick is available exclusively online  from Clinique’s website and costs £16.

Monday 26th March- Procedure Day Part 1

Monday 26th March- Procedure Day

 Part 1

D-day has arrived and I'm excited and scared, but honestly, I’m  mostly scared.

My appointment isn't until 12pm, which leaves me with plenty of time to fret all morning!

I'm hungry and thirsty (as you can't eat or drink for 6 hours before the procedure), so I’m left chewing ferociously on gum to stop my mouth feeling so dry.

I may have also had a cheeky ½ cup of tea, to steady my nerves, naturally...

We leave at 9am to give us (what we thought would be) plenty of time, but London being London ensured we hit tonnes of traffic  but thankfully we made it to the NCP Carpark and had time for a relatively leisurely stroll to the clinic in Knightsbridge.

With my heart pounding hard in my chest, we arrive and are greeted by the friendly faces of the nurses who tell me they will be looking after me- I feel reassured and in safe hands!

Dr Comins is there, not in his usual attire but in surgical scrubs and greets me before introducing me to my anesthetist.

He asks me when i last ate or drank and I'm forced to confess to my small cup of tea, at which point I’m informed that i shouldn’t have had that and consequently I’m only just on the cusp of being able to be sedated because of that.

Whoops!

Thankfully I’m good to continue and I'm taken into a room where I read through the consent form and sign it.

 My nurse asks me general  health related questions, such as if I'm on any other medication while taking my blood pressure.

I'm weighed (to enable the anesthetist to determine how much sedative he can use) and I’m sent into the bathroom to change into a really fetching gown, socks, paper pants and hair net.

Sexy it is not!

I can see the door to the procedure room open as i walk out and in the words of Olly Murs, my heart skips a beat.  I walk over to my hubby reclining on the comfy sofa in the waiting area, leave him my bag and kiss him goodbye.

I turn around to walk into the theatre and try my hardest not to cry.

 Im petrified.

Inside, Dr Comins does a fab job of helping to lighten the mood.

I remove my gown, leaving me in just my fetching, big, white paper pants and prepare for him to take photos of me to use as reference for my before and after photos.

(I've put these photos in this post within my dedicated Vaser Lipo Diary tab at the top of my blog which you can reach by clicking HERE. I've done this in case you don't wish to see a 1/2 naked, podgy person whilst your eating your brekkie, lunch or dinner and will do the same with all my photos for the same reason. Plus, some of them are quite graphic. You've been warned!)

‘’Do you have breast implants?’’ he asks. ‘’No’’, I giggle, ‘’They’re all me!’’.

I feel far more relaxed now as he gets out a sharpie pen and begins to mark my tummy and flanks.

I’m then asked to lay down on the theatre table, where he gets me to do a stomach crunch so he can mark out the location of my muscles to help with the sculpting and definition side of the Vaser.

I’m then aware of the anesthetist sat next to me who puts me at ease and distracts me by talking to me about anything and everything as he inserts the cannula into my hand.

He tells me that I may remember some of the procedure afterwards or alternatively, I may remember nothing.

It turns out that for me, it was the latter and from that moment on I remember nothing until i wake, 2 hours later.