Month-by-Month Diary Post Tummy Tuck

I recorded my month by month feelings, thoughts and experiences which I lived through the first eight months post op. Not all pretty, but truthful.

Month one:

1. Oh hell what did I do? Why did I do this to myself????

2. Wish I could poop already…..and this gas is killing me. Come on, poop already… 

3. This really hurts. When will it end? 

4. Is all of this swelling normal? And will it ever end?

5. My tummy is so flat and I love it.

6. I can’t take a deep breath. I am stitched up so tight that it scares me. Having panic attacks here.

7. My tummy and hips are so swollen ☹

8. My pubic area looks a little freaky. So puffy and not normal.

9. Rollercoaster of emotions. I am up one minute and crying the next.

10. I wonder if my jeans fit yet…NOT!

11. Started using the Palmers Oil at two weeks post OP. It feels wonderful and smells amazing.

12. The hospital bed that I rented had to go back at two weeks. So I had to try and get comfy on our bed. What a nightmare; I had so many pillows in the bed that I almost didn’t have room for the hubby. And we have a king size bed. Poor man was hanging on the edge. And then to top it all off our 85-pound lab wanted to sleep in the bed with us. Geez…

13. I don’t want to go back to work!

14. I went back to work at 3 ½ weeks post op and it was really hard. Swelling, swelling and more swelling – as I call it SWELL HELL. By noon I looked like the Michelin Man. And tired…whoa.

15. Wow where did the first four weeks go???

16. I am so sick of wearing these spandex Capri pants and hoodies. I want normal clothes but nothing fits.

17. I feel like I am going to get fat because I am not exercising.

18. I can’t eat any sodium heavy foods. It makes me puff up like crazy.

19. I am not able to eat very much. I eat about a half cup of food and I am full. Ok so this is bad how??? This is a dream come true.

20. I dropped seven pounds in my first month post op.

Month two:

1. I have been back to work two weeks now and it is getting easier. Still have swelling by noon but not as tight and painful.

2. Bought some sexy spanx to wear to work. They provide some support but will not squeeze the hell out of me.Thought I was going to have to jump off the roof to get in them though.

3. Hello the playground is back open for recess! Happy hubby…so happy! Go easy here girls; you wouldn’t want to pop anything. Besides this may be the first exercise you have had in weeks.

4. Love my tummy. Not having the double muffin top is amazing.

5. Darn my clothes size has not dropped. I am the same as before surgery. Well minus the muffin top.

6. I want to shop for clothes but the clothes I have still don’t fit. Wish this swelling would end.

7. I am popping sutures like crazy. Starts out looking like a pimple on the incision line and then explodes within a day. I clean them with hydrogen peroxide and they close up fine. This has happened in four spots.

8. Started sleeping on my side again…YAHOO! I am not a back sleeper and this just about killed me.

9. Started back at the gym doing light treadmill. It feels great to be getting some exercise again.

10. Still need to stay away from the processed foods and soda. They do not do your body any good.

11. The tightness and pulling from the belly button down is driving me nuts. It hurts!

12. I continue to be a little weepy, but not sure why.

Month Three:

1. The swelling continues to bother me!

2. Clothes are actually fitting me now and I am down a pant size. Now down from a size 10 to an 8.

3. Love the flat tummy and cute little belly button.

4. Picking up the pace a little bit at the gym and it feels great. Although I do swell after every workout. Sleeping better though after a good workout.

5. I continue to swell when eating the wrong foods.

6. The pulling and tightness from the belly button down is easing up. I do feel it but it is better.

7. Tummy is still numb which feels very creepy.

8. Sleeping well and loving the results.

9. Popped two more sutures! My body just spits these things out.

10. Bought my first bikini and love it! I felt really strange wearing it in public. Have to get used to that one. Just need to build the confidence a little.

11. Everything in my closet now fits and with room to spare.

12. I tried to do a nice stretch in bed this morning but it felt as if I was going to pop right open. Not such a good idea.

Month Four:

1. Oh when will this swelling end…enough already!

2. I am feeling really good and noticing the changes in my body more and more every month. It is amazing to watch the shape take place. Just when you don’t think it will get any better it does!

3. The size 8‘s are feeling a little baggy now! YAHOO.

4. So glad I did this for myself.

5. Bought my second bikini!! I am a little addicted to this shopping thing now.

6. Victoria’s Secret is my new favorite place to shop.

Month Five:

1. Where have the weeks gone! Yet I still swell….hmm.

2. Kicking it up a little more in the gym. Still no Ab work.

3. Not sure why but my hips look a little bigger.

4. If I ask my hubby one more time if my butt looks big he will slap me. OCD on my part.

5. Down another pant size! I am now in a size 6 petite. Amazing to me.

6. Shopping, shopping, and more shopping! Love the Victoria’s Secret runs. You can do some serious damage to your account. I never knew they had so many pretty bra and panty sets…and the colors!

7. You will love the new body so much that you will want to run around the house naked all the time. Be mindful if you have children…mainly teenagers. The last thing a teenage boy wants to see is his mom’s naked body. Oooh it just might burn his eyes out.

Month Six:

1. Yahoo! I made it to six months and will be cleared for some Ab work at the gym.

2. Swelling is very minimal now.

3. I continue to have the numbness in the tummy. They say that can take up to a year to come back so we will see.

4. I did some more shopping and now in all 4’s and 6 petites. CRAZY….

5. I can’t stress enough how you need to be very careful with the diet. The only way to keep the new body is to keep the weight off. If you gain you will end up with the saggy tummy again. I am not ever going there again.

6. Had my six month post op and Dr. King cleared me for AB work. He asked that I go slow for the next six months. My trainer put me on a modified Ab program to ease me back into it. He also took my six month pictures and I am totally amazed.

Month Seven:

1. Swelling is gone! Party time….I was able to clean my entire house, do 9 loads of laundry and keep going for 7 hours. NO SWELLING.

2. Need to stay on the diet and increase the exercise to the next level. I am now back at it full swing and hard core. I am going to the gym 5 times a week for about 1 to 1.5 hours each time.

3. The only complaint I have is that my pubic area is a little puffy. Not exactly how I want it to look. I am going to see my doc in January for my 9-month check and will ask what he can do about that.

4. I have kept up all these months with the lotions, creams and oils for the scar and it looks really good. Persistence with this is a must.

Month Eight:

1. Oh the holiday bliss! Dreadful with the food. I am going to work hard on keeping the weight off so that I don’t have a depressing January.

2. Keeping up at the gym and working hard. Working on the six-pack abs.

3. Love my new body and the fact that I can walk into a store and slide into most anything on the rack. Everything looks great now.

4. Still having the OCD about the hips and booty. Are we ever happy and is it ever enough?

5. This entire process has been wonderful and I am happy that I did it. It was darn hard for several weeks but now that I am healed I am totally happy.

6. The tummy is still numb which is a strange feeling.

7. Yesterday the end of my scar was itching like crazy all day. Well last night I noticed what looked like a little pimple at the end of the incision line. The darn thing erupted and it was a pretty good size knot of suture. After eight months my body spit that darn thing out…what the heck? I cleaned it and it looks fine today.

8. I am looking forward to my island vacation in April. As a present to myself my hubby and I are going on an 8-day trip to the southern Caribbean. Maybe renew our wedding vows on the beach and just relax. Oh yes and there will be a new bikini or two for this trip.

I have had several people ask me how I stay motivated and keep the weight off. Well I assure you that it is no easy task. It is a daily work in progress and no easy answer. Just watch your calories, exercise and keeping my chunky pictures in sight at all times helps motivate me. It is a reminder of how I never want to look again. Notice how the list shrinks a little more each month?? Well it does get better and better each month. You will become a little less crazy over the whole process as time goes by. The next time I take new pictures will be at 12 months. It should be interesting. Good luck ladies and just hang in there and keep pushing along. This is the best present you could ever give yourself.