Category Archives: Tummy Tuck

10 days post-op and I gotta say, I’m feeling good. I barely have that hunched over look anymore, my bruises from the lipo are fading (although those areas still hurt like a bitch!) and the drain holes are closing up. I still have the Steri-strips in my belly button and my incision still has the skin glue over it and I have to keep large, gauze like pads over it. Getting up and down from a sitting position is easier and getting out of bed is almost not a chore anymore. Granted, I’m super stiff in the morning because I’m still stuck sleeping on my back at night (which I hate), so getting up can be kinda funny if you were watch me.

Wednesday, I began getting stir-crazy in the house. I decided to get dressed and drive for the first time since Easter to the grocery store. (I know, I lead an exciting life). Getting dressed was a tad tricky since I’m still pretty swollen and none of my pants can button yet. I HATE wearing sweats outside of the house unless I’m headed to the fitness trail, but it was cool out, so a summer dress wasn’t an option and I couldn’t go outside pantless…meh.

I got behind the wheel of my truck and headed out. At first it felt weird and it wasn’t very comfortable to drive, but I adjusted quickly and it felt good to get some fresh air. I knew I couldn’t grab a lot of things at the store because I can’t lift much, so I just walked up and down a few aisles, grabbed a few items for dinner and headed home. I was out for less than hour and I felt exhausted. I decided to relax for a little while and woke up 3 hours later. Oops!

For the second night in row, I also prepared dinner. I love cooking and controlling the ingredients that go into my body. It’s also a big part of my daily routine so it felt good to have a little bit of normalcy back in my day.

Later that evening, I received a phone call from a  co-worker and then one from my new boss. As many of you know, I work at Cold Stone Creamery as a cake decorator. Our location also has a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory inside and I have been responsible for making all of our caramel apples. They have been having issues making the apples since I’ve been out on surgical leave. They had some questions and I was feeling restless again so I offered to go in for a bit, sit and guide them in the process. I know my husband wasn’t happy with this decision because he knows I’m a doer and he feared me trying to do too much and hurting myself, but I was good and listened to my body. As soon as I started feeling tired, I made sure they were OK and I headed home. I was sure I had over did it for the day and expected to begin swelling but I didn’t. I actually felt great and that made me happy.

Yesterday my husband was off from work and we ran a few errands, had lunch together and sorted through our son’s wardrobe to see what he needed for the summer. Today I’m trying my hand at some laundry. Don’t worry, I’m not lifting any baskets or anything, it was all already in there.

I find that I fatigue pretty quickly, but I’m happy that I am slowly easing back into my routine. I am still resting as needed and listening to my body. It’s actually been nice to take little naps here and there.

Oh…and in case you were wondering, I still have a love/hate relationship with my compression garment ;)

Yesterday marked the one week milestone of my surgery and my second post-op visit with the surgeon.

I’m happy to report that everything is going well. My swelling is beginning to go down and the compression garment and I have figured out how to be friends (for now).

At my appointment yesterday, I had my fingers crossed that they would be able to remove the drains, and thankfully they did. It is such a relief to no longer have those tubes coming out at my hips. I was always afraid of accidentally getting them caught on something and pulling them. I also feel like I could go out in public now without having to try and hide the grenade like bulbs that were pinned to me.

While at the appointment, I also had the stitches removed  from my belly button which was a weird feeling. I have no feeling in my belly button at this time, but a numb sensation in the area around it. It’s really freaky and I hope feeling returns sooner than later. The surgeon did mention that I may not have feeling between the belly button and the center of my incision for about a year. That completely freaked me out but I’m staying hopefully that that won’t be the case.

I’m allowed to walk and do small things around the house now. I have to go back to the surgeons office on May 1st for another follow up appointment, to make sure no fluid is collecting since the drains were removed.

I’ll be happy when more of the swelling goes down so I can fit into my clothes. It was a little disheartening when I tried to put a pair of shorts on yesterday and they wouldn’t button. I have to remember this was a major surgery and things take time to heal. Until the healing happens, I’ll have to hope for sundress weather or chilly days so I can wear sweatpants.

I had my first post-op visit on Friday and it went pretty well.

I arrived for my appointment and the nurses where impressed by how easily I was able to get up and down from the waiting room chair. They went over my drain log, took my blood pressure and opened up my compression garment after laying me back with my knees up to prevent any pulling in my abdomen.

Having the garment opened was a weird feeling since it had been squeezing me to death since Monday. The surgeon noticed how tightly it was squeezing me and gave me permission to unzip the side and open the top hook if needed. While he was talking to me, he removed the catheters from the pain pump and I was able to look down to see my new stomach. It was very flat and the incision is very low which I’m thinking is a good thing. The drains were not removed since I still had a decent amount of fluid draining from me. I have another appointment on Monday to have the stitches removed from my belly button so they should come out then.

While the garment was open, I was showed how to change the dressing over the incision and drain site. I was also told that I could shower if I’d like to even though I still had the drains in. (If I could have, I would done a happy dance at this news) My husband and I were instructed on how to wash and dry the garment, I was given a new prescription for Percocet and we were on our way home.

After dinner, I decided I needed to shower! I hobbled my way to the bathroom, removed the compression garment and looked at my new stomach for the first time in the mirror. I had mixed feelings while doing this. I was amazed at how flat my stomach now was but the drains were kind of disturbing to look at. When I turned to the side I saw how bruised I was from the little bit of lipo he had to do to even out my flanks and I saw how swollen I was. I tried to shake it off and shower as quickly as I could. While in the shower I could feel my abdomen swelling and I knew I needed to finish up and lay down. I quickly made my way into my room, had my husband lay down some towels and I laid down to relieve the pressure and wait for the garment to finish drying. While laying there I could feel my stomach puffing up, I began to have chills and an aching pain across the whole surgical area. I started to panic that I did something wrong.

As soon as the garment was dry, my husband brought it upstairs and we got it closed up around me. Unfortunately, it wasn’t easy to line up with me laying down so there was a little pulling and discomfort in the process. I felt how tight the garment was as soon as it was closed up, so I knew how much I swelled in such a short period of time. I also began to run a low temp that started to freak me out but after taking some meds, it quickly went down and was gone by the morning.

Yesterday and today have been ok days. I’m still very swollen which has me a little frustrated, but I know it is going to take time to heal. I guess I’m hitting that stir-crazy point since I’m not one to just lay around doing nothing all day. I have watched more Netflix, movies and cooking shows in then past few days then I have in the past few months. The highlight of my day this past week is moving from the recliner in the living room to my bed for a change of scenery.

Tomorrow is my next post-op appointment and hopefully the drains will be coming out so I won’t have to deal with them anymore. It’s also supposed to be in the upper 80’s so I’m hoping to even sit outside in my yard for a little. I’m sure the fresh air will help my mood.

Monday was the big day! I woke up at 6am and I was full of excitement which was a relief because the night before, I was full of anxiety. I went over all of my “day of” instructions, dressed comfortably and tried not to think about how badly I wanted a cup of coffee. By 7am, hubs and I were off to the surgeons office. One of the things that I find pretty cool about these procedures now, is that many plastic surgeons have “surgical suites” within their office, so you don’t have to go the hospital.

When we arrived at the office we were greeted by the nurses and we were taken back to a prep room.  I once again had to wear the oh so sexy pink gown and horrific paper string bikini bottoms. This time they added some knee-high compression socks, teal non-skid slippers and a hair net thingy. (Yes, thingy is a word to me). I really should have had the hubs take a photo of me but I was starting to get nervous at this point. The nurse went over all of my consent forms again, placed a warming blanket over me and then hooked my up to an IV which wasn’t very comfy at all. Shortly after, the surgeon came in and I became his canvas. He had me stand up and he began marking my abdomen for symmetry and incision lines. When he was done doing his best Picasso impersonation on me, the anesthesiologist came in and went over what he would be doing. Before I knew it, I had to say goodbye to my husband and make my way into the surgical suite.

As we walked down the hall, I began to get nervous. The room looked very similar to a standard operating room but a little more cozy. They had me lay down on the table and I guess the anesthesiologist started the sedative because I felt woozy and out of it when I had to sit up so he could start the spinal block for the procedure. I don’t remember laying back down or anything, next thing I knew I was in a recovery room and in a lot of pain. It seems I was having muscle spasms due to the muscle repair that was done so they gave me a shot of demerol and it knocked me out a little longer. I can’t recall much of what happened while in recovery. I just know I was very uncomfortable from the muscle spasms and I was very groggy from the demerol. I don’t even recall being moved from the bed to the wheelchair. I just remember an awful muscle spasm at that time, getting nauseous and vomiting, which was the most painful thing I ever felt.

I was grateful to see my husband and happy to be on my way home. Getting in and out of my truck was not fun, but once I was home, he was able to give me a muscle relaxer and I was able to just pass out and rest. Monday is really just a blur since I had so many meds in my system and we didn’t get home until 6pm. Tuesday was a little better but trying to get up so I could use the bathroom was not an easy task. I remember thinking “Why did I do this?” many times throughout the day. It’s amazing how much you take your core strength for granted. Wednesday I was able to get up on my own and I didn’t need help in the bathroom anymore. I did however start to have issues with the compression garment. It seems I have “stranger rib anatomy” so the garment was bunching up and squeezing me under the rib cage. I was allowed to unzip the garment a little for some relief and they had me take two Percocet every 4 hours to help with pain relief.

Today I am pretty zombie-like from taking so many Percocets but I was able to get some good sleep last night. I even made it upstairs so I could change my sweatpants, tank top and wash up a bit.

Tomorrow is my first post-op appointment and the surgeon should be removing the two drains as well as the pain pump from me. I’m looking forward to this because 24 hours after they are removed, I’m allowed to shower. I think once I’m able to shower I’ll feel more human again. I’m also looking forward to this because the compression garment should come off briefly and I’ll be able to see what was actually done.

Sorry if this I’m rambling in this blog post or if it has typos or unfinished thoughts. I’m as high as a kite on pain meds right now but I wanted to give everyone some form of an update.