Almost 2 weeks post op Tummy Tuck

I think this past week was my worst and my best. Technically, this coming Wednesday will be my 2 week mark. Since my last update, I had some pretty painful times. I tried to cut back on my pain medicine some. One reason was I wanted to spend time with my family. Another reason is, I didn't want to run out of my pain meds and still be in horrible pain, so I cut back to see how it was. I found out that it wasn't so great! I went back up on frequency. I was still trying to sleep in the living room, which was not comfortable. Add in the kids being noisy and waking me up while trying to sleep, I was getting fed up with everything!

I decided to go downstairs to my bedroom. OH, MY WONDERFUL BED! Oh, how I had missed my bed. I have a latex foam mattress and it's wonderful! I wasn't sure if I could lay in it, on my side. I did, and it wasn't too bad. It's still hard to sleep on my right side where I have 2 tubes coming out. It's more sore on that side. So, I started getting more restful sleep. I stayed up on my pain meds, which are really almost gone, and slept so many hours of good sleep.

I really started getting stir crazy and restless during this past week. I like to be up and doing something. The doc's instructions said to walk at least 5 times a day. Just getting up to go to the bathroom, and sitting up for a while after my shower, made my stomach swell until it was so uncomfortable (yes, I do keep my binders on, but still!) I was just at the end of my rope at one point and tears welling up in my eyes. That's when I decided I just had to keep taking that pain medicine around the clock. Anyway, I find it very confusing and aggravating that you need to walk, but the more you are "up", the more you swell.

So, the closer I've gotten to this second week, it's gotten a bit better each day. I'm not swelling AS bad, and not hurting AS bad. The swelling is still uncomfortable, but not like it was. Bruising is still minimal. All in all, I think things are improving (as they should be). I can tell this is going to be slower than what I'm use to. I still don't have any of the skin pulling apart like happens sometimes. My drains are still in, but getting close to coming out. I'm down to 35 mL of drainage in a 24 hr. period. I have to get down to 25 mL to get my drains out. None of my stitches have started coming out yet. Not sure when they are suppose to, but they are self dissolving. That's about it for now. I'll try to do a video to update here in the next couple of days.

I'm 1 week post tummy tuck

I'm on the other side of the surgery now. It's sometimes hard to get comfortable. I'm still sore, but doing really good. I've never felt like it was "pain". It just feels sore and bruised to me. I have had the brief sharp pains where the nerves try to regenerate. I have medicine for that, too, so it hasn't been bad. I had a lot of medicines for this surgery. Now, I said I wasn't in pain, but I bet if I didn't use my pain meds, I'd be in a LOT of pain!

I've got an anchor in my torso now. The cut is from just under my breast bone, down to my pubic bone, and past my hips on each side. My surgeon did a great job! I've seen people who have a wad of skin at the end of the incisions on their hips where the surgeon bunched it up when sewing them back together. I don't have that. My stomach is still really swollen. It has went down quite a bit, but has a lot more to go. I'm anxious to see what my belly button looks like. Right now, it doesn't look like a belly button at all. It's too swollen. I feel like I have a lot of bruising that I'm not seeing on the skin yet.

I'm walking around well. I can sit straight up in a chair, or couch, but I cannot stand straight up yet. Sleeping is still hard. I sleep a lot with my pain pills. They knock me out and I take them every 4 hrs., except when I skip them so I can actually be awake enough to talk to the family. Usually I sleep 2 or 3 hrs., and the last hr. before the next pain pill, I spend going to the bathroom, readjusting my sitting/laying place, draining my drain bulbs and stuff like that. I was sitting up in a chair, making 2 birthday cards for my daughter. That made me swell really bad! So then I was laying flat on my back with legs elevated, to get the fluids moving out again. This meant I was up and down every hour on the hour, all night long, going to the bathroom!

I have lost a little bit of the water weight. The Dr. took off 15 lbs. of skin/fat. I can't believe it was only that much. It looked like it would weigh at least 30-40 lbs. So, since I still have swelling, my measurements are just temporary. At this point, while measuring my lower stomach/hips, (keep in mind I've got 2 binders on as well, and padding from gauze) I've lost 6 inches. The waist and upper stomach under breasts are still swollen bigger than they were when I went into surgery. I'm so anxious to see the actual results. This gives me a pretty good idea, but the swelling makes it hard to imagine the final shape. To be continued....

Plan for TT

As usual, I forget to update my blog. My surgeon decided to cut me from just under the breast bone down, and across from hip to hip or somewhere in that area. I have so much skin side to side he will do the vertical cut to pull all of that in. Then he will also do the horizontal cut to pull all of it down.

On another note, I got my 3rd CPAP mask. It's the Sleepweaver Elan. It's cloth, but a different shape than the original Sleepweaver. The original one was too big for my face and blew air straight into my eyes. This one works much better. I liked the other masks, but whatever is in that plastic/rubber seal makes my face break out into a solid rash and it burns.

I will post pictures of the before and after on the tummy tuck, after the surgery. Maybe in about a week or so.

Tummy tuck plan

Some tummy tucks only require skin removal horizontally and then stretched down and sewed together. Sometimes, there is so much skin, it also needs sewed up the center to pull in the sides. I have the last problem, so I will have a vertical scar as well. Guess I will have an anchor on my stomach. LOL! I'm getting excited!

Countdown to Tummy Tuck!

Counting down until surgery to get rid of this baggy stomach! Can't wait! I go see the surgeon again today, for final decisions. I need to find out if he will cut me up the middle and pull the sides in (tightening my back as well) or if I need to get a belt lipectomy (more expense and more pain.

I'm not excited about being in pain, but that part is only temporary! More updates after talking to the surgeon!