Surgery booked with Karidis 8th Nov

[Swarley]

Had a consultation last wednesday with Dr. Karidis.
I don't know what I was expecting, but I was really quite nervous, having never really talked to a real person about this before.
On the other hand, Karidis was totally cool and relaxed - that threw me a bit, and I wondered if he was bored or disinterested in some way.
Of course, that's because this is all in a days work for him, to him it isn't a big deal - and that's a very good thing. No-one wants a nervous surgeon any more than a nervous airline pilot.

Anyway, my head was spinning a bit, so I decided not to make a decision then & there, and I took the weekend to think it over.
Nicola, Dr. Karidis' secretary said that was fine, and that I should pop back in whenver I want to arrange things.
 
Needless to say, I made up my mind, so skived off work this afternoon, and went back in to see Nicola to book it in & get the blood tests done.
Decided to have them done there, because I hate visiting my GP. My GP's surgery has pay & display parking, and last time I was there they kept me waiting for ages, my parking ticket ran out, I got clamped and had to pay £100 to get the clamp off. Bloody pirates!

So went in and asked for Mr Kardis' secretary at reception. They took me through into the admin office, where Nicola sat down with me and we booked a date for the surgery, and I wrote a cheque for the deposit etc.
Then Nicola took me back to reception, and got them to sort out the blood tests. Paid for those on my card, and then sat down in the waiting area (which is quite nice - comfy seats, and there were some hot girls in there. Dunno what they where in for - it didn't look to me like they needed any work done!).

Less than a minute later I was called into the blood test lab, which is just off the waiting area.
I have to say, the guy who took the blood was very good - I almost didn't feel it when he put the needle in.

Had a bit of a freakout on the walk back to the tube station - thinking "oh my god what the hell am I doing", "never let anyone cut you, and definitley don't pay someone to cut you" etc etc...
But I thought about the reasons why I want to do this, and also some of the things I'd read on here (thanks guys!), and that really helped me to put things in perspective. By the time I got home I was fine.

So, just over 1 month to go. I've got some work commitments to get out of the way, and I want to drop a bit more weight - so lots to do before the big day!

[ITrecruit]

Well done mate. You won't regret it.

[Swarley]

Thanks - I hope so.
Had a few days where, out of nowhere, I found myself imagining scapals cutting into me - quite unnerving!
I guess on some level it's my mind prepparing itself for what's to come.
I wrote down a list of all the reasons why I want to have the surgery, which seems to have helped a lot.

[ITrecruit]

it will change your life, thats most improtant thing.

The OP is painless and so quick!

[jim2509]

Good luck with your Op, post up your pre & post op pics, would be beneficial to those like me still saving.

[fingerit]

Good luck with the op mate, I went with Karidis and I couldn't be happier with his work and my experience. Its a lot of money but its totally worth it IMO.

[Mickydubs]

Congrats Swarley,
now youve booked your op thats it mate, no going back.
I had my consultation on 28th sept with Karidis and am gonna book in on Monday for some time in early november with a bit of look,
just trying to juggle work around the op and some recovery time is proving extremeley difficult, but if i dont book it now
i dont suppose i evere will.

[Swarley]

Thanks guys. I'll be sure to post some pics!

Mickydubs - I hope it works out for you.
Luckily I'd saved up all my holidays (and a bunch of money) this year. I was hoping that I'd be able to get the body I wanted through working out, and once I'd done that, I planned to go to Thailand and strut around on a beach. 
So I've got 19 days that I can take off work, and I'll be using it to chill out at home while I recover (and plan a beach holiday for next year!).

[Mickydubs]

Hi swarley,
rang Karidis office today and spoke to Jacky about available op dates for early Nov,
she said they could fit me in on the 8th for a lunchtime op so took it and paid the deposit.
Realy cheery on the phone and felt more like booking in for a haircut.
No going back now, actually feel a lot better now i've actually booked in for it, did you feel the same way?
Just need to sort out return train ticket from northwest to Victoria and thats it.
I Know one thing for cert, I won't be doing anything like this ever again
Keeping it all a secret bar the mrs, hopefully !!!

Hope it all goes well for you mate, the time till op date will fly !!! 

[Swarley]

No going back now, actually feel a lot better now i've actually booked in for it, did you feel the same way?

Actually I've been on a bit of a rollercoaster about the whole thing. There was no doubt in my mind, until just after I booked it. Since then on pretty much a daily basis I've had moments of feeling angry that I'm in this situation, worried about what the results will be, worried about how long it will take to recover, stressing out about the money, stressing out about all the stuff I need to do before the surgery etc. But mostly I've just been feeling scared about the surgery - had nightmares about waking up half way through, or not waking up at all etc.

I'm really not the kind of person who makes lists, but I've found that writing stuff down really helps.
For example, I wrote a list of all the reasons why I was doing this (and I keep thinking of things to add to the list), which has been a great way to get rid of any doubts.

Also I made a list of everything I need to before the surgery. Stuff like:
- buy some extra pillows to prop me up in bed
- buy some books to read (btw second hand books on amazon are a bargain - I bought a few and paid £0.01 + £2 postage each)
- increase my lovefilm subscription so I've got lots of dvds to watch
- go shopping and fill up the fridge
- etc
Every time I cross something off the list it makes me feel a little bit more prepared.

Also on the day I plan to tell the anesthesiologist that I want to be out cold, and that he has my permission to hit me over the head with a cricket bat if that helps.

Hope it all goes well for you mate, the time till op date will fly !!! 

Cheers - you too! Be sure to post some pics - we'll have a race to see who can heal up fastest!

[sylen]

Your last post summed up exactly how i feel, and i havent even booked myself in for a consultation yet. But to be fair, the stories on here ease my mind so much, especially those that had karidis do the business. I think the sheer number of this procedure he performs instils me with confidence.

I have to say though i am scared of the whole operation process, like general anaesthetic because iv never been under before, though i have a friend who works in surgery, and somethings he said to be always makes me feel better about it all, he said 'your in a hospital, if anything goes wrong its the one place equipped to deal with it', which is so true haha!

[ITrecruit]

Guys,

You wont be bed-ridden after the operation, I got on the train and walked 20mins home from my local straight after the OP....this is not major surgery, it's a 1hour OP....you will be able to walk around fine a few hours after surgery.

Don't worry, it will go fine, they really looked after you in the hospital, the team is 1st class.

[Mickydubs]

Hi swarley,
I do intend to start up up something myself just to help others thinking of doing the same as us,i e photos etc, work is hectic at mo so struggling to post.
Don't forget this is something that you are doing for yourself and that you have thought about and wanted to do for numerous years and have now finally had the bottle to do !!! Like myself
Roll on 9th nov and we will both have what we want, moob free!!!!

[Mickydubs]

Not long now mate, how you feeling ?

I'm off for a spa day at a posh health club with the wife on Monday, would feel a lot better ( more relaxed )if i was gyne free, roll on 12mths and these kind of worries will be a thing of the past for us !!!! 

[Swarley]

Yep - the worst thing now is waiting!

Day spa sounds like a great idea. I have to go to work unfortunatley
Best of luck for Tuesday - I'm sure it'll all go fine.

I'm doing pretty good thanks. I've been working out lots, and in the last month I think it's really started to have an effect. Hopefully that will mean less lypo, and hopefully that will mean faster recovery.

Here's where I was a year ago (I'd packed on a lot of weight after previously giving up trying to loose the moobs):


And here's now:


Here's a slightly better shot in the mirror:


I'm getting the flanks lypo'd as well - figured it was worth the extra money to make sure I'll be happy to take my shirt off next summer!