How to Prepare for a Tummy Tuck

Posted on May 7, 2010
Filed Under pre-op, tummy tucks | Leave a Comment

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A tummy tuck produces great results getting rid of extra fat and skin leaving you with that flat stomach you’ve always wanted, but it is a serious surgery.

You want to be well prepared for your surgery. There are certain things you should do and other things you should stay away from before having a tummy tuck.

Your doctor will give you specific instructions but here are general instructions you should follow before having a tummy tuck.

First off, stay away from all NSAID over the counter pain relievers. If you need an over the counter pain reliever take acetaminophen which goes under the brand name Tylenol. Others cause your blood to thin which is something you don’t want during surgery.

Second, be sure to eat light the days before surgery. You will be instructed not to eat or drink anything for a certain amount of time before having the surgery. Usually doctors will say don’t eat or drink anything after midnight the night before the surgery. Eating too much can cause nausea and vomiting after anesthesia is given as well as bring complications. You may want to go on a liquid diet a day or two before the surgery eating nothing but soup and other liquid foods.

Don’t smoke or drink any alcohol. If you are a smoker try your best to quit. Smoking causes difficulty breathing and don’t drink any alcohol period.

Before having a tummy tuck, your doctor will give you more specific instructions that relates to you. All doctors will give everyone the same basic important instructions.

Last you want to arrange your care for when you arrive home. Make sure your home is tidy and clean because you won’t be doing any of that when you come home. See if you can get a friend or relative to bring you meals and help take care of you when you get home until the soreness wears off.

And remember not to worry. It’s always stressful having surgery, but try not to be scared or worry about it. Remember that since a tummy tuck is an elective surgery, no doctor will agree to operate on you unless he or she believes you are in good enough health to safely operate on and most surgeries go without any problems. Just concentrate on how you will look and feel after you have recovered from the surgery.

How to Get a Ton of Energy Naturally

Posted on April 3, 2010
Filed Under healthy diet | Leave a Comment

You can be more energized without any coffee, sodas, caffeine, energy drinks, energy bars, or any pill. This is getting more energy naturally, without buying anything, getting the jitters or having your heart pump too fast. A lack of energy is common in the middle of the day. You start to feel tired and feel like taking a nap. You just don’t have the energy to do anything. Many people take some kind of drug (caffeine is considered a drug) to try to stay awake, but there are healthy, natural, safe, and completely free ways to get energy.

But first off, I will list side effects and potential dangers of taking any drugs or supplements to try to get enough energy to make it until that afternoon tiredness wears off. A while back, it was common for tired people to take ephedrine. Now, it’s illegal because it caused death in some people who took it. It increased the heart rate to an unhealthy rate. In most people it cause uncomfortable jitters and in some it caused serious health problems including death.

Then there is caffeine. Caffeine is not dangerous and I’m not saying avoid it at all. In fact tea has caffeine and it one of the healthiest drinks on earth. But drinking too much caffeine, especially later in the day, can cause sleeping problems which results in a terrible cycle of trouble sleeping at night and trouble staying awake in the afternoon. If you drink too much caffeine, you might find it difficult to get to sleep at night. Then when you wake up in the morning, you find yourself tired. Doctors and nutritionists recommend not drinking caffeine after 2pm if you have trouble getting to sleep.

The first and most important way to get more energy is to stop eating processed food. It has chemicals and it’s unhealthy. It is linked to being overweight, not getting enough vitamins and nutrients, and many more serious health problems. It’s not real food, it’s chemical food. It also sucks away your energy. If you are eating fast food meals for lunch or are regularly eating chemicals for your meals and snacks, don’t be surprised if you feel tired and lacking of energy. That’s what processed food does. Processed food has become so normal and steeped in our culture, but it’s really not that hard to eat healthier meals and snacks if you want to. If you cut out all fast foods and junk foods from your diet and replace it with meals from fresh foods, you will be shocked at how much energy you now have and wish you had done this sooner.

Secondly, check for anemia. Anemia causes a lack of energy. It can get very severe where the anemic gets very weak and feels like sleeping or resting most of the time. Anemia is treated with iron and you may need to take some iron supplements if your iron levels are low.

Thirdly, fit in some exercise. Exercise is necessary, healthy, and completely free. No buying energy drinks or pills. Energy naturally gives you more energy. If you are living a sedentary life, as many are these days, you can work up your exercise level. You don’t have to start out running 3 miles a day. Just fitting 30 minutes of cardio exercise a day will help tremendously. Once you make exercise a daily activity, you will find you are more energetic.

Fourth, eat some foods that give you energy such as nuts and fresh fruits and vegetables. While turkey has been known to make people feel tired, certain foods are natural energy boosters.

Fifth, eat breakfast. It really is the most important meal of the day. If you skip breakfast, your fuel tank is running on empty. If you have nothing in your fuel tank, where do you think your energy will come from?

And last, get a good nights sleep. If you are only getting 4 or 5 hours of sleep, you will probably feel drained around 2pm. Trouble getting to sleep is another topic so work on getting a healthy amount of sleep if you aren’t now. Getting 7 or 8 hours of good sleep is ideal. Good sleep meaning you aren’t waking up several times a night tossing and turning.

Following these 6 tips will dramatically boost your energy and get rid of that mid afternoon tiredness.

Tumescent Liposuction

Posted on March 28, 2010
Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Liposuction is the number one cosmetic surgery in America. While all liposuction removes excess fat in a particular area, there are different techniques of liposuction. The most common technique currently used is called tumescent.

Using the tumescent method, fluids are placed into the area to be worked on making the fat tumesce or swell and firm up which makes it easier for the surgeon to remove. The surgeon makes small incisions then inserts a cannula and removes the excess fat. The extra fluid drains from the body in days or weeks after the surgery.

The tumescent method was first introduced in the 1980’s and there have been newer liposuction techniques introduced since then including the use of laser. However the tumescent method is still the most popular. Different surgeons prefer different methods. Some will prefer a newer method while others prefer to stick with the tumescent method.

While looking for a cosmetic surgeon to perform liposuction on you, ask him or her which method of liposuction they use.

A $25 Investment Saves Big Bucks on Beauty Creams

Posted on July 6, 2009
Filed Under skin | Leave a Comment

For the millions of women who want younger, fresher looking skin and are freaking out at their new wrinkles, a $25 investment on nearly lost knowledge of homemade, natural skin treatments will save several hundreds of dollars on beauty creams in the long run.

Anti wrinkle creams can be very expensive. Some are well over $100 per bottle. But there are natural and home made methods that work much better and faster than these expensive creams. Would you invest $25 if you knew it would save you hundreds of dollars in the long run and make your skin look younger and fresher?

Sally Taylor has been using these natural methods for years and has been told countless times she looks 15 years younger. If you saw her picture could you guess her age? Most people can’t.

She created an ebook which reveals quick touch up methods to touch up your skin fast as well as ways to keep your skin looking good longer and to slow down the aging process. She hasn’t had to spend a dime on anti wrinkle creams at the store.

Some of the ingredients you may already have in your home. If not, you can easily purchase them cheaply. Then follow the instructions and see for yourself how better your skin will look and feel.

You can go to Sal’s website here for more info on how to have younger looking skin:

http://bit.ly/331AeU

Cosmetic Surgery Tell All

Posted on April 29, 2009
Filed Under Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Are you thinking about some sort of cosmetic surgery? Do you want cosmetic surgery?

It can make you look better, feel better, and have better self esteem. You will definitely feel better about yourself after an improved body that diet, exercise, or anything else won’t fix. Whether it be breast augmentation, liposuction or a nose job, you want to know what you’re doing before you make this important decision.

I recommend Cosmetic Surgery Tell All, so you can know all about the procedures, have less anxiety and confustion about the procedures and can make an informed decision.

To go to the Cosmetic Surgery Tell All website, CLICK HERE

LASIK eye surgery

Posted on March 17, 2009
Filed Under lasik | Leave a Comment

Problems such as astigmatism, nearsightedness (myopia), and farsightedness (hypermetropia) are related to refractive errors of the eye. Such errors are certainly not incorrigible. While wearing glasses or lenses are options to correct such errors, there is another way to do so. This process involves a surgery of the eye and is termed as LASIK.LASIK is an acronym for Laser-Assisted In-Situ Keratomileusis. By reshaping the cornea with the use of lasers, these refractive errors can be corrected.

LASIK is considered to be a variation of PRK (Photo Reactive Keretectomy) which is an older procedure for carrying out such surgeries of the eyes. LASIK differs from PRK in the sense that LASIK is done by creating a thin flap of cornea and performing the laser treatment under this flap after folding it. Recovery after LASIK is also known to be faster. In the United Sates and India, LASIK is the most performed eye surgery to remove refractive errors.

Having this surgery done permanently affects the eyes. What it does is that it improves your visual capacity when you aren’t wearing lenses, that is, it improves your natural vision. It does not guarantee you perfect vision, but almost all patients are expected to have 20/40 vision and many patients can get 20/20 vision too. These effects are found to be stable for longer periods if the surgery is performed after the age of 18. So, it is not recommended for kids because their eyes are subject to internal changes. Also, the eyes of the patient need to be in a stable condition for at least two years prior to the surgery.

The surgery requires a great deal of preoperative, inter-operative and postoperative care. Prior to the surgery, you need to stop wearing your soft contact lenses a good two to three weeks before the operation is scheduled. This period increases to six weeks or more for people using hard contact lenses. In addition, patients are prescribed to take antibiotics to avoid the risk of infections once the surgery is done. The surgery is then performed in three steps, starting from creating a flap of corneal tissue, to remodeling the cornea underneath the flap with the laser, to finally repositioning the flap.

Once the operation is successfully performed, patients need to take antibiotics and eye drops. They are advised to sleep a lot more than usual and wear a darkened pair of shields as protection from bright light. Various surveys on patients who have undergone LASIK eye surgery reveal a satisfaction percentage of over 90 percent. If proper care is taken as recommended, LASIK surgery is an extremely efficient technique to reduce and remove vision defects arising due to refractory errors.

Improve your Eye Sight with LASIK eye surgery

Posted on March 15, 2009
Filed Under lasik | Leave a Comment

If you are wearing glasses or contact lenses all your life, there is one effective way on how you can get rid of these eye nuisances permanently. If you have unclear and blurred vision, you can rely on LASIK eye surgery as a lifetime solution.

What it can do

LASIK eye surgery is used to align refractive errors. It reshapes the cornea of the eye so that the patient would have a better and clearer vision. Some of the corneal tissue would be removed to give the eye more focusing power and improve sight acuity. It can effectively treat myopia or nearsightedness. It can also treat hyperopia/ farsightedness and astigmatism. If done successfully, there would be no need for glasses or contact lenses anymore, or at least- its usage is minimized.

Is LASIK eye surgery for you?

There are certain requirements if you want to undergo LASIK eye surgery. You must be at least 18 years old. Your eyes should experience no refraction for a year. Patients who suffer from eye infection or eye injury is advised not to undergo such procedure. Talk to your ophthalmologist and he would discuss with you what you should expect out of your LASIK treatment. As like in any other kind of surgery, results may vary according to the patient’s specific case.

LASIK eye surgery procedure
A patient who would undergo LASIK eye surgery would have to go through a pre-LASIK eye examination. The procedure would start by creating a hinged corneal flap. The flap is created with Microkeratome. Your eye would then be given anesthesia and the surgeon would use the flap to expose the cornea. The cornea would be reshaped and then the flap would be replaced via excimer laser. A lot of patients would experience immediate results after the procedure but some would take until six months for eye sight to stabilize.

Risks and Benefits
A lot of patients enjoy the benefits of LASIK eye surgery which included improved eyesight and freedom from wearing contact lenses or glasses. Such improvement open new doors for them such as new career opportunities and a general feeling of convenience and self confidence. One can get into the sports that they like and are not limited to certain activities.

LASIK eye surgery also poses some risks to a few people. Some of these risks include irregular astigmatism, light sensitivity, glared vision, dry eyes and loss of visual acuity. But because of today’s technology, these risks are minimized and complications are solved before or after the treatment.

What Is Abdominoplasty?

Posted on March 14, 2009
Filed Under tummy tucks | Leave a Comment

No one would turn down firm abs and a taut abdomen, but oftentimes we just don’t get the results we’d like from the exercises and diets we try. Conditions like loose skin and sagging abdomens can afflict even people who aren’t overweight, because of pregnancy, C-sections, weight loss, heredity, aging, and other factors.

Abdominoplasty, while it sounds like something that kids do with numbered plastic squares, is actually the medical term for tummy tucks. Tummy tucks remove excess fat and skin from the abdomen, and restore weak abdominal muscles. The final result is the ever-sought-after smooth, firm abdomen.

Despite the innocent-sounding name, a tummy tuck is major surgery, similar in recovery time to a caesarian section. Be careful to plan for things like time off of work and a respite from normal activities for a least a couple of weeks. The doctor will give you instructions to ensure a smooth recovery – follow them!

For a few days after surgery, you will have to deal with some hurting along with bruises and swelling that will go down slowly. Your doctor may prescribe some medications to dull the post-operation pain. Sometimes a mild but permanent scar will result; usually the scar can be hidden by clothing; often even a bikini. It shouldn’t be a cause of too much stress.
orry about.

Abdominoplasty is performed under either general anesthesia or local anesthesia. You’ll be awake for the procedure if you choose local anesthesia, but under general anesthesia, it’ll be done while you are out cold. The operation starts with a hip-bone-to-hip-bone cut across your tummy, followed by another which parts the skin from the navel muscle. That muscle is then sutured to make it tighter and harder – that’s the major purpose of the operation. Finally, any extra skin is taken off, and the skin that’s left is put back. Despite many people’s concerns, the belly button is unaffected by a tummy tuck: all the work is done around it, not to it.

Abdominoplasty is a permanent operation, but the hard, tight tummy that it brings isn’t always that permanent. Gain too much weight, or lose too much muscle tone, and you may find your ‘old tummy’ starting to make a reappearance. The key is to remember that diet and exercise are the keys to keeping a good figure – surgery will never replace them. You’ll still need to exercise regularly and maintain good nutrition after the surgery.

A lot of people who desire a better figure figure that a tummy tuck is the obvious choice, but it’s not a decision that should be approached rashly. Make sure you understand the risks and realities of surgery before you decide on an abdominoplasty. It won’t ever turn you into a perfect human Barbie doll, but it can certainly help with a problematic tummy. Just make sure that you are familiar – and comfortable – with this very personal decision.

Risks and Dangers of Liposuction

Posted on March 13, 2009
Filed Under liposuction | 1 Comment

While Liposuction is safe in almost every single case, and few complications arise, there are the possible complications you need to be aware of.

Liposuction is a surgery in which accumulated fats are removed from different body parts. As it is a surgical procedure, it has risks and dangers that may be mild or life threatening in nature.

Some complications and hazards to one’s health and body due to liposuction are discussed below:

Excess skin and need for a lift: Removing a large amount of fat at once may result in loose skin, depending skin’s elasticity. Older patients or those with stretch marks on their skins, having liposuction have loose skin and probably need to have extra skin removed.

Lidocaine overdose: Lidocaine may be injected during liposuction and large amounts of lidocaine may result in toxicity. This may present as lightheadedness, drowsiness, ringing in the ears, slurred speech, numbness of the lips and tongue, shivering, muscle twitching, cardiac arrest etc.

Fluid imbalance: Tumescent liposuction results in large amounts of fluid injection. At the same time, some fluid is removed in the fat tissue. This may result in a fluid imbalance which, if not recognized and treated may result in serious conditions such as fluid in the lungs, or heart or kidney dysfunction.

Infection after liposuction: Infection may result, and may be mild or severe. Many doctors prescribe oral antibiotics to take after surgery to prevent infection before it starts or if it does occur. Symptoms of infection are redness, increasing tenderness, red streaks visible on the skin, vomiting, fevers and chills.

Burns from ultrasonic liposuction: During ultrasound assisted liposuction (UAL), the ultrasound probe may become very hot and can cause burns.

Organ damage from injury: It is possible to puncture internal organs such as the intestines, because the surgeon is operating under the skin through a small incision and is unable to see where the cannula is probing. As organs are damaged, infection may result and surgery may be required to repair them.

Contour irregularities: Lumps and bumps, asymmetry, and irregular contours are common unwanted results of liposuction surgery. Liposuction contour irregularities may necessitate further surgical revisions.

Pulmonary embolism: Small pieces of fat may become dislodged during liposuction and travel to the lungs. Such a situation may result in difficult breathing, and may require emergency treatment.

Swelling after liposuction: Swelling may persist for weeks or months after liposuction, causing pressure on nerves, and resulting in numbness and tingling. Wearing an appropriate compression garment will reduce swelling, increase comfort, and speed healing.

Lap Band Surgery Is It Right For You?

Posted on February 26, 2009
Filed Under lap band | 2 Comments

Lap Band Surgery is considered to be the answer to a lot of obese person’s prayers. It is always easy to gain weight and become obese but it will take a lot of time and effort to lose what we have gained. Lap Band Surgery had just brought back the hope that a lot of us seemed to lose. Thanks to this innovation of losing weight.

Lap Band Surgery is the laparoscopic placement of adjustable gastric band on the stomach which will help us lose all the weight that we want to get rid of. In Lap Band Surgery a band in the form of silicone is placed on the stomach specifically on the upper area. Lap Band Surgery will help lose weight by limiting the food intake of the person.

Lap Band Surgery is different from other obesity surgery because with the Lap Band Surgery there will is no need to make a cut on the stomach and staple it afterwards. The pouch and the stoma or the size of the opening can be adjusted according to the patient’s needs and conveniently requires only a short hospital stay.

Lap Band Surgery is considered to be safer compared to other forms of obesity surgery but comes at an extra cost. The cost will depend on the state where the surgery will be performed. But then again not because we can afford it we can simply submit ourselves to a Lap Band Surgery. There are certain criteria to consider when choosing the best and most appropriate obesity surgery to undertake.

Factors such as BMI or Body Mass Index, age, the period of time that we have been obese, unsuccessful diet and drug therapy for more than a year, the willingness to take the risks and our ability for compliance are important considerations with Lap Band Surgery.

Before we can submit ourselves into a Lap Band Surgery, we have to undergo a thorough work-up to find out if Lap Band Surgery is safe and suitable to our needs. Undergoing a Lap Band Surgery entails a series of procedures to undertake such as going through laboratory tests and consultation with medical professionals specializing from various fields.

After the work up the health professionals will assess if you are a good candidate for a Lap Band Surgery. It is then followed with painstaking procedures for pre and post surgical process. Post surgical procedures are imminent since it helps the patient with their recovery and progress.
The decision to undergo Lap Band Surgery provides a good alternative for losing weight. However one should always take into account important considerations before going through the procedure.