How can I make my calves smaller?
- Thread starter kahk3000
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Is no one going to call this woman out? Okay I will. I’ve gone to Korea 3 times, two of those times I’ve gotten major surgeries. I consulted with Dr P. twice and it was just not for me. I decided to go with Dr. Jong for various reasons.
First of all, it’s not about manners or bedside etiquette. I grew up with surgeons, one would be the most blunt, impatient, stubborn person I’ve ever met in my entire life, he’s also happened to have performed unprecedented operations - he’s also made mistakes and had failures that were not particularly “his fault”. Bedside manner isn’t the end all or be all - I know it’s more than about that when I made my decision.
We each take this path for our own reasons. Just because you are happy with yours and stick by it doesn’t mean you need to consistently put the alternative down.
I’ve also gone through and read over this thread twice over before I did my surgery. Did you know that it is your own doctor who said that within the first 12-15 months, the swelling goes up and down as the body adjusts and it’s not just the swelling, the muscle itself is trying to adjust. So no, just because you can find one case you deemed is bad from Dr. Jong to support your confirmation bias, does not make it empirical evidence. As I said, I have gone through this thread at least twice now. I started researching into this nearly 7 years ago. There is an earlier patient of Dr Park named marshmallow something (first 50 pages) who had her calves reduced then they went to BIGGER than her original size within 2 years. These things happen. Do they happen often? No. When I sat down with dr Jong, he spoke without being prompted 2 of these cases that he is aware of in his entire career, since 1999.
I followed a similar case from Dr Parks patient (I have email records if you’d so like) similarly they went back up and eventually she went to dr Jong who was able to treat her sol muscle which was the main reason for the adverse effect with Dr. Park.
Also another thing, Dr Park is highly marketed to Westerners. Which is fine. My mother being American Korean, I am fine with that. But with locals, most people haven’t heard of him. One person I mentioned him to instantly said, “oh the butcher?!” Now I’m not saying he is or isn’t. But that’s what you’re doing, using one story to support your own decision to make yourself feel better and running your mouth with that. I’m not talking about one post. Look at your post history. Anytime someone come with a less than positive position from Dr Jong, even though they’re in their first few months post op which is known for fluctuating differences, you put words in their mouths to others and say “Dr Jong doesn’t take off much, just a sculpture - people who have gone to him is just trying to put on a brave face” WHAT THE F! Shut up, seriously. No one said that, you literally just made that up and spread it around to make yourself feel better.
I don’t care if I get banned for this or whatever. I see you’ve been supportive of others who have gone to Dr Park and I’m glad that those ladies had you and other companion to get through this tough time. It is a really tough time.
But don’t do that by putting other people’s choices down whether you are doing it on purpose or not, you’re doing it. So just please so kindly stop.
I have been corresponding back and forth with some of these ladies for about 3 years and the oldest is like 7 years now. Both have been with Jong and Park.
I’ll attach an example here. Let me know if you want to see more or need more support as I remember how difficult it is.
As for me, I went with Dr Jong even though i met and was going to go with Dr. Park and am glad I didn’t. But that’s not to say he’s a butcher or a sham or what have you. No, he wasn’t the right choice for me. I know he was the right choice for many others, no doubt. The reason I went with Dr. Jong is because he was able to address the sol muscle for me, Dr park told me what my measurements would be as he would not be addressing the sol. I was not satisfied. That’s my reason.
Oh and he’s called it muscle sculpting as he touches 3 muscles altogether at the same time in cohesion. It is acceptable in cosmetic surgery for that purpose. He’s not meaning like ceramic pot sculpting or whatever the hell youre making it out to be.
Anyway, if anyone reading this thread earlier is freaking out like I was, here’s my recovery road. It was bumpy and it was hard but it was full of support from a lot of people that I reached out to, no matter what doctor they went to. Please reach out to me via PM as some of you already have if you feel the need.
I was 38cm and 38.5cm. It’s been 1.5 years or so since my surgery. It went bigger around the 6 months mark for god knows why. I freaked out to be honest but thank god for SUPPORTIVE peers, most of whom went to Park but gave me encouragement and their own experiences. I was around 37cm-38 around 6-9 months post op. I was quite down thinking I was screwed. Today, 1.5 years post op, I’ve settled at 33 and 33.5 respectively. It’s been like this for about 6 months now so very happy. PM me if you’d like some support or pics or if you’re unsure how it’d be, I know it can be very dark.
Case in point: everyone is different and just chill. Don’t shat on other peoples decision just because they might differ from yours. I don’t care if I get banned or downvoted for this, I’ve been in the Asian cosmetic surgical game for far too long to care, if no one was gonna say something I will lol. How would you like it if you’re going through recovery and you open this thread which is supposed to be your source of comfort and being said “well yeah, Park is a butcher, look at this one woman he butchered”. I could say that because I have evidence of people going to park and Not being successful. I also can gather that for every doctor probably. I certainly have enough in with Dr Jong to make my informed decision. He also showed me all the possibilities in his case. So just stop. Please and thank you.
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^ umm thanks. How can I get in touch with you?
I am at Dr Jongs clinic now. I am supposed to be dispensed today but he’s keeping me for another night (3 nights now!) because he took out a lot and theres a lot of blood! I was 42.5cm in both legs maybe 42cm on the lesser one. I had my surgery on Monday.
There’s a lot of pain and honestly, been feeling so down and crap. Reading this forum really didn’t put me in a better mood so thanks for the encouraging thought. Surgery was about 2 days ago and he measured me this morning and said 38cm, I know it’s too early but it’s hard! My SO gets here tomorrow so hopefully things will be better. Can you PM me please? I don’t know how. Thank you
I am at Dr Jongs clinic now. I am supposed to be dispensed today but he’s keeping me for another night (3 nights now!) because he took out a lot and theres a lot of blood! I was 42.5cm in both legs maybe 42cm on the lesser one. I had my surgery on Monday.
There’s a lot of pain and honestly, been feeling so down and crap. Reading this forum really didn’t put me in a better mood so thanks for the encouraging thought. Surgery was about 2 days ago and he measured me this morning and said 38cm, I know it’s too early but it’s hard! My SO gets here tomorrow so hopefully things will be better. Can you PM me please? I don’t know how. Thank you
I created an account to post my experience here but since this place basically shut down anyone who went to Dr Jong I just left it and recovered on my own. It’s ok, what doesn’t kill you make you stronger haha. And last night was painful as hell but today is better already
Ok ladies, i just got a really detailed reply from Dr. Park and i think some of you might be interested as well:
"The recovery process of calf reduction is more complex than you think. I'll try to explain as easy as possible.
For the first 1-3 month, there is enormous swelling and the contour of muscle itself is hided.
The muscle is paralyzed and is shrunken in size.
There is ongoing wound healing process beneath skin and all the tissues are contracted and draw surrounding structures inward.
The incision wound becomes red, hard and raised in this period.
So, the maximal decrease in calf circumference is observed between 2 and 4 months usually.
At 4 to 6 months, swelling at skin subsides and the contour of muscle is revealed more obviously.
So, irregularity can be observed in this period.
The remained upper muscle start to regain its power and the size can be increased a little bit, which can be ignored.
Because there is little remained muscle in lower portion, the shape of calf becomes more balanced.
The contraction process which was observed between 1 to 3 months stops and the relaxation process begins.
The incision wound becomes white and faded in this period.
So, the calf circumference can be increased a little bit in this period.
After 6 months, the skin, muscle will be redistributed and the calf can become smoother.
The tendon portion can be shrunken due to weakened Gastrocnemius muscle and the shape of calf can be improved and the size can be decreased also.
Like this, the healing process of calf reduction can be classified in three stages and your calf will change in shape and size further.
You don't have to be frightened at the little increase in calf circumference.
After surgery, the circulation around Gastrocnemius muscle can be deteriorated a little bit, which causes pain in exercise and sitting for a long time.
The circulation can be improved by itself and the pain will be disappeared.
Light exercise and stretching can fasten this recovery."
I guess even though I'm 6.5 months post-op now, my calves seems to be still in the second stage... but my incisions are still red (not white and faded yet).
This in turn means: in case there will be a third stage soon, my calves should get smoother!? (i hope so)
You girls who already had the surgery a year ago or so, could you experience this three stages as well?
Hey!
Im sure both are great doctors, but I guess I felt Dr Park may be better option for me as Dr Jong said he only does about 10 of these surgerys a year in an email, and not many caucasian people. Whereas I believe Dr Park has done about 1000 now? Its hard making this decision. My legs are at 40 cm and want this surgery bad but still want them to be shapely not just straight up and down xxx
Im sure both are great doctors, but I guess I felt Dr Park may be better option for me as Dr Jong said he only does about 10 of these surgerys a year in an email, and not many caucasian people. Whereas I believe Dr Park has done about 1000 now? Its hard making this decision. My legs are at 40 cm and want this surgery bad but still want them to be shapely not just straight up and down xxx
Good luck with whatever you choose. I’m third day post op now in Taiwan with Dr Jong. It is so damn hard, honestly. Reading over this thread actually made it worse for me cos it made me feel like I made a ****ty mistake in choosing my doctor. Luckily in the past day, someone reached out to me and through her I was referred to even more people who have been through it and it helped so much. Especially the ones that have been past this more than 1-2 years and even longer. Really showed me there was light at the end of the tunnel and why I chose to do this in the first place.
And I heard from girls who went to both doctors. You just gotta find the right person for me. I had my doubts to be honest because when you’re down and depressed and someone keeps reinforcing the same thing in you, it becomes your insecurity as well? Anyway, I’m glad I got out of that and over it. I know it’s just hard now but I am sure again I chose the right doctor for me!
I chose dr Jong cos he could address an area that I had concerns with. Doctor park can take more off but does it matter if it’s not from where I want to take it off? So it’s up to you, don’t let anyone else stir you
It’s only been 3 days since I was on the operating table. It’s so hard coz I’m alone especially. But I look down now and I’m so happy already. Like I see how he has changed the shape of it so much even if the size don’t go down that much, I love the shape my legs look as compared to before. So unless my legs get larger and regrow the exact same shape as before he cut it. At this point, I’d probably just give up haha.
Right now it’s a lot smaller but I’m going to stress as little as I can over every mm for now as it’s going to drive me crazy. I checked my legs and measured it a bit and I asked, “it’s still swelling, right?” He looked at me and said “of course” in the nicest “well duh” way that I just bursted out laughing at how dumb my question is. Which shows my mental state. Getting in touch with women who are nearly 10 years post op now is amazing!!! And I’ve already been told about the bad cases before my operation, I just chose to focus on them and this forum did too so in my head, it was “common”.
Anyway, mentally I am much better now. Thank you get those reaching out to me if you did. If anyone reads this in the future, don’t be afraid! The person who helped me said this to me “well - it’s up to you. You can be afraid of random crap on the internet or your mental state, what your legs are going through and what your body will be going through in the future.” That’s true. I don’t care anymore - not more than how much my legs hurt so damn much from surgery!
Anyway my legs were 42.5cm on both or 43cm on the other. They don’t actually that big and every doctor (including Park) has told me they must be much smaller before measuring and confirming themselves it is that big. It is now 38cm to 39 but will expect to bounce up and down for the ages. Trying not to worry to death about cm every day.
I love the shape already. He took out the part that bulged out and was the main problem. Without that problem, I am already very happy and they look a lot slimmer than their actual size.
Have faith and don’t be too emo like I was dwelling on all the negativity.
Dr J is not a sculptor, he was my surgeon. Who said they put on a brave face? Or did you think of that yourself? Don’t you mean we are all putting on a brave face? Well I am. I’m just going through a surgery to remove part of my calves. Even Dr Park himself said that sometimes calves get bigger after surgery, it usually doesn’t last. One or two cases it was unsuccessful. This isn’t just for park or Jong but both.
My legs were huge. Like bigger than anyone’s here and I knew this and chose dr Jong. I’m glad I did. I’m glad you are happy with your surgeon but the view you have put across on the board here is completely biased and misleading. It isn’t helpful to others, it was acually harmful until another member who has done this gave me help with reason not just bad mouthing. So I’m going to do what she did and tell you to stop too.
Dr Jong cut out about 400g off each calf of mine. Is that still too little for you? I don’t even think his bed side manner is that nice to be honest. It’s normal? Anyway, I was introduced to someone and Skyped them yesterday which made me feel so much better now because she showed me her legs and they were so nice. And her initial size wasn’t that big like 37 and he managed to it down to her ideal proportion which is 32 or something can’t remember. But it looks so good omg. She showed me old photos of her legs which was so kind of her cos she didn’t need to I think because vanitygirl told her how depressed I was. Haha omg. Anyway, the muscle she had was bulging out and unflattering like mine were pre op. Even though she was much smaller than me to begin with, I am so so relieved to see he addressed that problem for her perfectly. I don’t even wish mine is that small, I just want it to look like how I wanted it to look which is why i came in for this surgery.
This isn about sharing different opinion. You are putting things out there that are simply untrue. If this is your opinion, fine. I can say worse things about dr Park too.
Anyway, anyone else reading this. I just found a private chat group of about a dozen people who have done it before. They are all very nice and kind and supportive no matter what choice you make and I’m newest member they all are well recovered. Even the girl who had to get revision surgery as she wasn’t happy with dr park isn’t talking down on dr park. I don’t want to speak too much for her but I can ask if she wants to reach out when members could use the support.
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These are pre op photos of my legs before and after weight gain. I gained about 15kg from medication I recently went on. I plan to stop taking the medication when I get back/switch to an alternative once my body has adjusted to the surgery. In the past, I’ve been able to drop the weight gain about 2-3 weeks after stopping medication.
Anyway, my pre op measurements are significant higher than most others. I don’t even care that much as the rest of my body is quite curvy in the typical hourglass shape so I don’t want to have skinny legs as the ideal circumference. What I absolutely hated is how manly they look in their shape - where they bulge out and has no femininity whatsoever to their shape. With the rest of my body, I feel that they are terribly mismatched. If I wear something to cover my legs calves down, I feel great. I have D cup boobs so with these huge calves, I just look frumpy and fat. At least that’s how I feel.
In saying that, because oh how big the measurements are, id still want maximum reduction possible as then it’d still be considered not skinny. After long conversations with Dr Park, I decided against him as I feel that he didn’t appreciate or understand my ideals of beauty for myself and body. I decided that I’d risk the supposed less reduction with Dr Jong who would give me a better shape, even if he didn’t take off as much, I felt like he would take it off where it would look better and slender than taking more off where I don’t care. Then I found out that Dr Park had no plan to tough the sol area so it was an obvious choice thereon.
I’ve spoken others and both doctors have many successful cases and both have some less successful and a few unsuccessful ones. I thought about what I wanted and what was right for me and with Dr Jong in Taipei.
To my surprise, Dr Jong has taken more off than how much Dr Park estimated for me. He didn’t promise me anything when I consulted with him, that really worried me and I considered in the last minute of switching to fly to Seoul haha. That was a bit scary and depressing.
I didn’t look at my legs at all the first two days. I knew it was futile and pointless at that time anyway.
The first day post op (day of surgery) there was no pain at all. I guess my body was in shock.
The second day onwards was different. In saying this, the mental and emotional battle started on day -2 and was pretty bad the first few days. I don’t know why I told my BF to fly in a couple of days later (today) lol. At least now I’m well enough to spend time with him and enjoy Taipei.
Dr measured my legs today before discharging me from his clinic. 38cm on both legs. He said I have a lot of swelling which is expected - my body reacts by swelling and then some to everything. Even having the catheter in my vein for the drip and medicine made my hand swell. So I can’t wait to see how it would be in a few months then finally the next year.
I’m so pleased with the shape! Even if it stays at 38 or 39, I’d choose that over less than 35 with the shape I hated. Obviously, hopefully I get the best of both worlds but so far, so good.
I stayed a total 3 nights cos I didn’t want to be alone (usually it’s like 2 nights stay). I paid an extra $60 or something for it. Since it was full service and all inclusive, I thought that was a great deal especially as I was so upset and lonely by myself, etc.
Anyway, my pre op measurements are significant higher than most others. I don’t even care that much as the rest of my body is quite curvy in the typical hourglass shape so I don’t want to have skinny legs as the ideal circumference. What I absolutely hated is how manly they look in their shape - where they bulge out and has no femininity whatsoever to their shape. With the rest of my body, I feel that they are terribly mismatched. If I wear something to cover my legs calves down, I feel great. I have D cup boobs so with these huge calves, I just look frumpy and fat. At least that’s how I feel.
In saying that, because oh how big the measurements are, id still want maximum reduction possible as then it’d still be considered not skinny. After long conversations with Dr Park, I decided against him as I feel that he didn’t appreciate or understand my ideals of beauty for myself and body. I decided that I’d risk the supposed less reduction with Dr Jong who would give me a better shape, even if he didn’t take off as much, I felt like he would take it off where it would look better and slender than taking more off where I don’t care. Then I found out that Dr Park had no plan to tough the sol area so it was an obvious choice thereon.
I’ve spoken others and both doctors have many successful cases and both have some less successful and a few unsuccessful ones. I thought about what I wanted and what was right for me and with Dr Jong in Taipei.
To my surprise, Dr Jong has taken more off than how much Dr Park estimated for me. He didn’t promise me anything when I consulted with him, that really worried me and I considered in the last minute of switching to fly to Seoul haha. That was a bit scary and depressing.
I didn’t look at my legs at all the first two days. I knew it was futile and pointless at that time anyway.
The first day post op (day of surgery) there was no pain at all. I guess my body was in shock.
The second day onwards was different. In saying this, the mental and emotional battle started on day -2 and was pretty bad the first few days. I don’t know why I told my BF to fly in a couple of days later (today) lol. At least now I’m well enough to spend time with him and enjoy Taipei.
Dr measured my legs today before discharging me from his clinic. 38cm on both legs. He said I have a lot of swelling which is expected - my body reacts by swelling and then some to everything. Even having the catheter in my vein for the drip and medicine made my hand swell. So I can’t wait to see how it would be in a few months then finally the next year.
I’m so pleased with the shape! Even if it stays at 38 or 39, I’d choose that over less than 35 with the shape I hated. Obviously, hopefully I get the best of both worlds but so far, so good.
I stayed a total 3 nights cos I didn’t want to be alone (usually it’s like 2 nights stay). I paid an extra $60 or something for it. Since it was full service and all inclusive, I thought that was a great deal especially as I was so upset and lonely by myself, etc.
@PrincessAF Hi! I think your legs look great. For me, I didn't have to decide between Dr. Park or Jong. I chose Dr. Park because I'm more familiar with South korea than Taipei plastic surgery. Odd reason, but I needed to feel safe and familiar with a big surgery like this. Also I'm surprised you say no pain day 1! I know from reading posts from here over and over that many report the same, but I can't imagine that because day 1 was my worst lol. I totally get your mental and emotional hardship also, I experienced the same and have been very vocal about that here. I wish you a speedy recovery!
Hey there!
I don’t think it’s a weird or bad reason at all. It is a huge ordeal IMO to go and do this especially if you don’t have all of your support system. So familiarity definitely makes sense. If I had a viable option closer and more familiar for me, that would go to one of the top swaying factor. Korea and Taiwan are same same for me otherwise it might very much be a different story. And I’m glad you were able to do the surgery with an option that made you feel more at ease in this trying time [emoji4]
Thank you for your well wishes! I feel much better and today is post op day 5. I would say it peaked around day 3-4 for me in terms of pain and discomfort and about 30 hours after coming out of the surgery.
I have read that also and used to think that’s quite strange. I had my face contoured in Korea before with jaw reduction and coming out of the surgery room and the following 48 hours felt like my head had been slammed against a concrete wall. But I woke up from this extremely tired just like I was sleep deprived and slept through the first day. After this time, I woke up completely refreshed [emoji15]
Then the dull, aching pain start set in the night of Day 2.
I saw your results and your reduction is substantial. Congrats! I think coming out of that immediate window ought to be celebrated regardless of the result and moreso when you see the immediate difference. I can’t believe we did it!
This is something I’ve always wanted to do for so long but before had too many reasons if, this, but, that, etc.
But now it’s done! Go us!
@amici1992
I’ve been following your posts as well and you got me thinking of going back to my life in Sydney. My BF lives in NYC and I have worked there myself. I don’t know how you are fighting the subway game considering I had struggles when I was fully able and mobile.
Congrats on coming out of the wood works btw
I’ve been following your posts as well and you got me thinking of going back to my life in Sydney. My BF lives in NYC and I have worked there myself. I don’t know how you are fighting the subway game considering I had struggles when I was fully able and mobile.
Congrats on coming out of the wood works btw
Day 17, 18, 19, 20 - Post-op, updates on walking
So if you are wondering why it seems like I am tracking my progress on walking instead of the circumference of my calves, well my reason is this: I am already very happy with shape. Right now its still imperfect as you guys saw so much swelling in my ankles that its hard to see myself in shorts, skirts and dresses just yet. However, I already know BY HEART what my old calves look like and it is already a 1000% improvement. It's amazing how much it has helped my self-esteem, which apparently cost ~7,500 USD to regain lol.
Anyway, so I am more concerned with recovering with the walking because I'm an active person and I would love to go back to my active life. I'm a regular at my gym and people are looking for me lol. My next mission is to go on a healthy diet and workout plan so I can lose maybe 5-10lbs. The difference this time is it will be easier to commit because I will not feel hopeless seeing my stomach shrink but my calves still the same! Before, I was so obsessed with working out and running (I used to do 4-6 miles A DAY) to feel good about myself, and I did, but I still hated my body because of my calves. I just felt fat.
NOW FOR THE REAL UPDATE:
Monday morning (day 17) something changed with my stride. Before, my limp forced me to carry my weight on my heels which is why I had narrated how painful it was to stand prolonged or walk prolonged. Maybe it was because I rested well during the weekend but in any case, it was a GOOD change. See when you walk normally usually it is on the ball of your foot (between arch and toes) that will hit ground first then it stretches out every step. I took advantage and trained myself again to walk that way which is the proper way. I feel my calves activate every step. Going downstairs is still hard but much better now. I would love to switch to flat shoes (it is recommended) but none fit me??? My feet have reduced swelling but sides are still tender and some parts numb. Like tingling numb, as if sleeping. If you backread you will find this is very common, even up to many months. Bruises have faded on thigh, but the area around knees are still a darker color. Of course more bruising is concentrated there.
However, I still get pain mostly at night. On Day 18, I woke up from pain and in my half-asleep state I apparently unwrapped my bandages because they were bothering me that much. So the next day I vowed to up my stretching game. Even though post-op instructions say reduce stretching after 2 weeks, I felt like I needed to stretch more. I must admit, I wasn't that religious in the last 2 weeks just because stretching was PAINFUL. Yes it is a hurts-so-good pain, with instant gratification in the form of smoother stride walking, but in the 3 minutes of the stretch itself it is painful and I always "oof" back to my chair after. So now I have an app that pings every 25minutes and I do a good 3-5minute stretch no matter how painful. I know for a fact my right leg will recover slower because putting feet flat on the floor is still difficult and more painful than the left one. I knew this since day 1 if you backread my post, this is the calf that I forced nurse to unbandage because it was electrifying numb and tight right after surgery.
Day 19, I tried yet again to aspirate but no luck. I am now convinced I am doing it wrong since I'm scared of blood and flesh and poking. I will ask my mom to do it.
I also want to say I am starting to believe I recover slower than other posters here, which doesn't surprise me. I had 39cm calves on a 5'0 frame and it was a lot. I read some posts and many mention having just "tightness" but I can't say the same. I still have pain, night cramps sometimes. Not a constant, debilitating pain but enough pain to make walking still not ok. Walking normally is my priority because it will allow me to really resume more activities such as GOING OUT, walking a lot, going to gym, riding subway, etc.
Day 21 - Post-op, three weeks! One more week to a month!
Wow time flies. It's almost a month since I flew to Seoul alone, had surgery and went through a depressing couple of days lol. I feel accomplished but also I know recovery is a long road ahead. Remembering Day 1, or even my 20+ hr flight back home makes me want to hug myself for going through all that discomfort. I have a favorite line from this thread about recovery: "THIS AIN'T NO INSTANT PUDDING!" I want to frame it or tattoo it lol. It's very important I keep my mental state at 100% while my physical state is still around 70%.
I wish to fit in my old shoes and I miss my ankles so much. No regrets though. So I reinstate my advice since the beginning: it is so important to keep a healthy mental and psychological outlook before and more importantly after the surgery. I don't see it a lot in the posts here maybe because most girls are good by 2 weeks, but some have slower recoveries like me. This weekend I plan on giving my ugly feet a pedicure and waxing the bandaged area just to lift my spirits lol. If they are swollen might as well make them look pretty so that I don't feel too weird.
Ciao update again next week.
So if you are wondering why it seems like I am tracking my progress on walking instead of the circumference of my calves, well my reason is this: I am already very happy with shape. Right now its still imperfect as you guys saw so much swelling in my ankles that its hard to see myself in shorts, skirts and dresses just yet. However, I already know BY HEART what my old calves look like and it is already a 1000% improvement. It's amazing how much it has helped my self-esteem, which apparently cost ~7,500 USD to regain lol.
Anyway, so I am more concerned with recovering with the walking because I'm an active person and I would love to go back to my active life. I'm a regular at my gym and people are looking for me lol. My next mission is to go on a healthy diet and workout plan so I can lose maybe 5-10lbs. The difference this time is it will be easier to commit because I will not feel hopeless seeing my stomach shrink but my calves still the same! Before, I was so obsessed with working out and running (I used to do 4-6 miles A DAY) to feel good about myself, and I did, but I still hated my body because of my calves. I just felt fat.
NOW FOR THE REAL UPDATE:
Monday morning (day 17) something changed with my stride. Before, my limp forced me to carry my weight on my heels which is why I had narrated how painful it was to stand prolonged or walk prolonged. Maybe it was because I rested well during the weekend but in any case, it was a GOOD change. See when you walk normally usually it is on the ball of your foot (between arch and toes) that will hit ground first then it stretches out every step. I took advantage and trained myself again to walk that way which is the proper way. I feel my calves activate every step. Going downstairs is still hard but much better now. I would love to switch to flat shoes (it is recommended) but none fit me??? My feet have reduced swelling but sides are still tender and some parts numb. Like tingling numb, as if sleeping. If you backread you will find this is very common, even up to many months. Bruises have faded on thigh, but the area around knees are still a darker color. Of course more bruising is concentrated there.
However, I still get pain mostly at night. On Day 18, I woke up from pain and in my half-asleep state I apparently unwrapped my bandages because they were bothering me that much. So the next day I vowed to up my stretching game. Even though post-op instructions say reduce stretching after 2 weeks, I felt like I needed to stretch more. I must admit, I wasn't that religious in the last 2 weeks just because stretching was PAINFUL. Yes it is a hurts-so-good pain, with instant gratification in the form of smoother stride walking, but in the 3 minutes of the stretch itself it is painful and I always "oof" back to my chair after. So now I have an app that pings every 25minutes and I do a good 3-5minute stretch no matter how painful. I know for a fact my right leg will recover slower because putting feet flat on the floor is still difficult and more painful than the left one. I knew this since day 1 if you backread my post, this is the calf that I forced nurse to unbandage because it was electrifying numb and tight right after surgery.
Day 19, I tried yet again to aspirate but no luck. I am now convinced I am doing it wrong since I'm scared of blood and flesh and poking. I will ask my mom to do it.
I also want to say I am starting to believe I recover slower than other posters here, which doesn't surprise me. I had 39cm calves on a 5'0 frame and it was a lot. I read some posts and many mention having just "tightness" but I can't say the same. I still have pain, night cramps sometimes. Not a constant, debilitating pain but enough pain to make walking still not ok. Walking normally is my priority because it will allow me to really resume more activities such as GOING OUT, walking a lot, going to gym, riding subway, etc.
Day 21 - Post-op, three weeks! One more week to a month!
Wow time flies. It's almost a month since I flew to Seoul alone, had surgery and went through a depressing couple of days lol. I feel accomplished but also I know recovery is a long road ahead. Remembering Day 1, or even my 20+ hr flight back home makes me want to hug myself for going through all that discomfort. I have a favorite line from this thread about recovery: "THIS AIN'T NO INSTANT PUDDING!" I want to frame it or tattoo it lol. It's very important I keep my mental state at 100% while my physical state is still around 70%.
I wish to fit in my old shoes and I miss my ankles so much. No regrets though. So I reinstate my advice since the beginning: it is so important to keep a healthy mental and psychological outlook before and more importantly after the surgery. I don't see it a lot in the posts here maybe because most girls are good by 2 weeks, but some have slower recoveries like me. This weekend I plan on giving my ugly feet a pedicure and waxing the bandaged area just to lift my spirits lol. If they are swollen might as well make them look pretty so that I don't feel too weird.
Ciao update again next week.