36 Years Old, 1 Child and Can't Wait to Stop Feeling Trapped by my Own Body - Columbia, SC

I feel great. Each day gets a little easier. My body feels looser and I can do a little more every day. The hardest part for me were days 8-12. That's when my drains really started to be uncomfortable. My drains were ready to come out and my doctor was out of town. They were hanging on by stitches and twisting and pulling with every movement. I was so swollen down in the vajayjay area that I could barely walk. It was so swollen shut I could barely go to the bathroom let alone wipe. It was awful. I couldn't stand up straight, I couldn't sit down comfortably, I couldn't lie down, the drains needed to come out! I was the first one at the doctor's office once he was back in town and when he removed the drains it was amazing how much better I felt. However, I had collected a fair amount of fluid in the pubic area. It was hard and tight and I could feel it from my hip down and across. My PS suggested I get an ultrasound and see if there was a pocket of fluid. Which I did and there was. They were able to aspirate the fluid and pulled out about 50 CCS. I didn't realize how bad it was until it was released and I felt a ton better. The swelling in the vajayjay area went down, I could stand, I could walk, everything was better! Today I'm still swelling by mid afternoon and I will usually pull out the binder and wear it for an hour or two which seems to help. Sitting at work is harder than I thought it would be, it's not like sitting in a recliner with your feet up, you sit at a desk chair which is 90 degrees for about 9 hours a day and by the time I stand up my stomach is so tight and hurts. Even with the swelling I'm very happy with the results. My doctor doesn't do lipo along with the tummy tuck, I wish he had because I think it would have made a big difference. Now that the stomach is gone and my efforts of diet and exercise will work, I'm looking forward to getting back to the gym. From my pictures you can see I still have a bit of a barrel belly but even so I am so happy with the results. I love the way my shirts hang. I love that my belly doesn't lead the way when I walk. I can really tell a huge difference and so glad I had the procedure done. It's not all rainbows and butterflies, there's definitely some hard times, but you do come out the other side of it. I'm still healing and looking forward to a full recovery. Good luck to all.

I've done pretty good the last few days. The pain was minimal and I always stayed ahead on my pain meds. There's definitely more discomfort than actual pain. Every day gets a little better.

Things that caught me by surprise. There was one night where I had a lot of chest pain and after surgery that's a main concern. I tried not to freak out and let my imagination get the best of me. My husband fed me Gas X and Tums like crazy and thankfully by the next morning the chest pain was gone. Another night I started feeling pain in my left shoulder and it was hard to breathe. I realized this was because by the end of the day you're so swollen and my binder was way too tight, best advice, loosen it up at night!

The day before yesterday was Thanksgiving and I felt good enough to cook a couple of dishes and celebrate with my family. However, by the end of the day I really felt like I had over done it. I woke up the next morning and it was the first time I felt like I had taken a step back. There was pain in my side and I felt swollen and tender to the touch. I could really tell something wasn't right. I called my doctor and he told me to come in. He looked at me and said I looked fine but gave me an antibiotic just to be safe. I'm glad he did because that night I started running a fever which peaked at 102. I was sweating and my heart was racing. It was scary! I wasn't sure what to do so I just prayed and prayed and prayed. I woke up the next morning and the fever was gone and I'm feeling much better.

As far as things I wish I would have known before as far as supplies are concerned, one of the things you really need is a good chair. I'm still sleeping in my recliner. I also wish I would have gotten one of those picker upper arm reacher things (probably not the technical term). I hate always having to ask someone to pick something up for me. I still can't bend over. Another thing that has been great for me is a lanyard. I use the lanyard to attach my drains around my neck while I take a shower. As for every thing else just take it easy.

For me the worst part are the drains. I can't wait to get mine out. My doctor says they need to get down to 15 before he will pull them and I'm really close. Of course my doctor is out of town and won't be back till Tuesday which is three days from now. I'm almost positive that I will be able to get them out by then. Once those are out I'll really start to feel normal again. Good luck to all!

I meant to include that the doc took 6 and a half pounds and it used 3 rows of stitches for the muscle repair, said he never used so much on a muscle repair before. I was not surprised - so glad the baby bump is gone. Can't wait for the swelling to go down! It only gets better from here!