5 days post op...feeling good...still swollen, but optomistic

I am a 51 year old woman, 5'7" and approx 135 lbs. Although pregnant twice, was not able to carry to term. In 2009, after years of yo-yo dieting, I lost 60 pounds and kept it off. Had a breast lift in Dec 2009 and was really happy with that. Although I exercise almost ever day and no real weight to lose, I have a pouch of sagging skin below my navel that really bums me out. No matter how much I work my abs...it will never change. I finally decided to bite the bullet and schedule a tummy tuck. I will have a tight, flat stomach for the first time in my entire adult life!

I am excited and nervous at the same time. I was divorced earlier this year, and that came out of the blue after an 8 year marriage (10 year relationship). I live alone so am having to stay with family for 1-2 weeks after the surgery. I am most nervous about the recovery. My hope is to be able to do some work remotely for a couple of weeks...I don't have to be physically back at work until October 8th. Would love to know from others how long before you drove? And how long before you were given the ok to exercise. I primarily do Bikram Yoga and Zumba as my workouts.

Can hardly believe it...my TT is scheduled for tomorrow. I really haven't been thinking much about it and it rushed up on me. I am only having a TT, no lipo or other procedures and I am crossing my fingers that the recovery won't be too bad. Like many who have lost a lot of weight and need to exercise to keep it off, I am nervous about my fitness level declining while I am unable to exercise. I am going to try to take some before photos tonight, to post. I have had many moments of wondering whether this is the right thing to do..whether I should just be comfortable and happy with the body I have. I had a breast lift in 2009 and the scars from that just finally faded THIS YEAR. I wonder if this means my TT scar will be red and angry looking for 2 years too.

Had my surgery on the 20th. Very little pain! I had 1 percoset in the hospital in the middle of the night after struggling to get out of bed to pee. No real pain at incision. Have only had 3-4 percoset total in the days following. Only 1 yesterday. None today. Had my first post op appt with Dr. DelVecchio yesterday afternoon. He told me I was healing great and should begin standing up straight. Drains will come out next Tuesday morning. Going to take my first shower later today, and looking forward to that! I have been sleeping in a recliner and really have been sleeping well. I just get up once a night to go the bathroom...but I almost always do that. I am hoping that in a few more days I can transition to a regular bed with some pillows. I can't quite imagine being able to get up without assistance from a lying down position. I do have quite a bit of abdominal swelling, which is to be expected...I felt like my whole body was swolled in the first day or two after the surgery..but now it is just my abdomen..and it gets worse as the day progresses, better if I'm lying in the recliner wtih my feet up!

I will say that the $20 toilet riser I bought was a GREAT investment and strongly recommend it. The one I got is completely portable, doesn't have arms and is quite stable even though you don't fasten it to the toilet. I really didn't get anything else special. The recliner I am using belongs to my parents and is electric. That has been a god-send.

I don't know how you other women do it but I'm not really ready to look at my post surgery body yet. I did look down briefly yesterday at the Drs office and see my incision...but not ready for a full frontal view in the mirror just yet. Photos will come after I am able to work up the courage to do that...maybe after my drains are out next week.