July 10, 2016
I am so excited!! I can finally stand-up straight!! No more walking like a hunched-backed-grandma. As much as I have complained about my life-sucking-tummy-binder, this tight-itchy-contraption has been my solution to standing 100% erect (yes I typed erect … hehe. Forgive me as I am sex deprived for 6 weeks during the recovery period). But seriously, when I’m not wearing my arch-nemesis-stomach-compression I find myself walking hunched over; this stupid thing does give me the back support I need to stand up straight without feeling too much tension in my stomach. Don’t get me wrong, my skin and muscles always feel like someone is pulling them in two vertically opposite directions, but the tightness doesn’t bother me as much when I’m wearing the compression.
In regards to my slight complication last week, my surgeon said that I technically didn’t rip open my tummy tuck incision. Apparently, my body was rejecting some of the internal stitches and the stitches were popping out of my skin – which caused that small opening. He said that this is completely normal and it should heal in a matter of weeks without leaving a thicker scar. He also said to not be surprised if more internal stitches begin to pop out in other spots. So yey !!! It wasn’t my fault !!!
Unfortunately, as fast as I am healing, I am still uncomfortable sleeping in my bed; so I am forced to continue sleeping in my reclining chair. Last night I tried for the first time to sleep in my bed, and that did not go so well. If I turn on my side, or stretched out my legs, my stomach muscles would spasm and strain. I needed so many pillows behind me head, under my knees, and on my sides for me to even feel somewhat comfortable; so around 4:00 A.M. I gave up and had my husband help me back into my recliner. Maybe in a few more days I’ll give it another try.
Some other interesting changes this week:
- The skin on my breasts are shiny!When I signed-up for a shiny-new-body, I didn’t think it was literally going to be shiny. Why are my boobs so shiny you ask? Well, the skin on my breasts is pealing and flaking off. If I scratch the skin around my breasts (which I do a lot because it itches so badly), it literally looks like snow is falling from my boobs. Apparently, this is a normal reaction from surgery and possibly the paper tape I use to cover my incisions (and yes, I am already using the sensitive tape & lotion and it doesn’t make a difference).
- The scars on my blisters are looking much better!! Look at the difference between week 1, week 2, and week 3 !!!
- I’m losing my muscle!!Since February of this year, I have been working-out really hard. If I wasn’t running 3 – 4 miles in the evening, then I was doing the Insanity max interval training videos or the P90X DVD’s. Aside from visibly achieving zero results on my stomach area … my arms, legs, and butt were looking great – very sexy and toned. But now I’m losing the muscle I worked so hard for because my doctor doesn’t want me to do any exercise for 6 weeks. It amazing how quickly you can lose something you worked so hard to gain. NOT FAIR!!! But that’s life.
- Although I’ve lost my muscle tone, I feel much stronger in my core!!On a few occasions I had to lift my 16 month old daughter (21 lbs). Normally, I have help in my home 100% of the time because my surgeon told me that I am not allowed to lift anything heavier than a gallon on milk for 6 weeks – so I have organized help between my family, friends, and nanny for this time period. Unfortunately, there have been a few instances this week when no one was around to help me (everyone was occupied doing something else). You see, my little Amy is a climber!! She climbs everything imaginable!!! I always joke with my husband that Amy will be the boy he’s always wanted. Anyways, on a few occasions this week, I’ve had to lift Amy off of some of the things that she climbed onto. I swear my little Amy is going to give me gray hairs one day. But when I picked her up, I felt no strain at all!!! My core felt solid !!! So I guess that’s a good thing.
At my next post-op appointment on Thursday 7/14, I plan on asking my doctor if I can do a few more things now that I’m feeling stronger and standing completely straight.
- I want to lift my baby – but only when necessary (in & out of the crib, up & down from her high chair, in & out of her car seat, etc.)
- I want to start walking/jogging. I have become addicted to exercise since I began in February, and I cannot stand sitting around the house doing nothing. And walking is too boring.
I want to take my kids swimming. Hopefully my incisions will be healed enough for me to go into a pool. And then that gives me an excuse to shop for my first bikini in 5 yrs !!!!
- I want to wear a normal bra. I want to feel sexy again – and not like some chopped-up-put-back-together-raggedy-woman who looks like she ran away from the medial supplies factory. I’m also interested to see what bra size I am.
Thank you all for your support thus far. Y’all have been amazing. Keep looking out for the next update. See ya!
Well, maybe I shouldn’t have pushed myself too hard with the chores and trying to stand up straight because it seems that I have opened up my tummy tuck incision. Luckily, it isn’t a big opening; luckily it started bleeding when it first opened. You are probably wondering: Why is it lucky to bleed if an incision gets reopened? Well, bleeding is a sign of good blood flow to the area, which is important so that the tissues and skin can heal properly. If you don’t have decent blood flow to the area – which happens a lot to the lowest area of the tummy tuck – then you are at risk for necrosis (dying skin that turns leathery-black).
In addition to my re-opened tummy tuck incision, I am also experiencing a lot of swelling below my belly button. Usually adding a few pads under my binder for added pressure to the area will do the trick – but not this time. Again, it’s probably a result of me pushing myself too hard. I’m just hoping I don’t get scolded by Dr. Soto on Wednesday. So in the meantime, I will be tightening my tummy binder even more, drinking extra water, doing gentle circular massages to the area, and continuing to stay off my feet as much as possible.
On a good note, my blisters are healing wonderfully !!! I am surprised at how quickly they healed !!! So yey for that !!
If you think the scars look great now, they are only going to get better. Dr. Soto has an amazing wrinkle cream that he likes to use for scar treatment! I know what you are thinking …. Why a wrinkle cream? Well, as the scar heals (and wrinkles-up) the wrinkle cream helps smooth-out the scars and the dark color that usually accompanies a new scar. Unfortunately, this wrinkle cream comes with a pretty price tag; but if it yields the scars that I’ve seen on his before/after photos, then I believe that it’s worth the money. And at this point, I’ve already invested in getting my pre-baby-body back, I might as well finish the final look with light-beautiful-scars.
The tummy binder has been rubbing so tightly on my hips that I’ve developed a few blisters. And the bra that I’m required to wear after my breast lift / implant has given me another blister on the underside of my breast. This is soooo annoying…. and painful. So far, 3 of my 4 blisters have popped and are oozing. Hopefully the big-ole-blood-blister won’t pop and will heal on its own. So in in the meantime, I have excessive medical padding and 3 layers of cloth on my hip blisters all compressed under my tummy binder.