37yr mom, TT, MR, Lipo in The Netherlands

Hello ladies! I haven't updated in a while due to my long summer vacation and like most, there isn't anything overly exciting to report at this stage. However I do appreciate that some of you have checked up on me and asked how I'm doing (you know who you are).

I've actually lost track of the weeks and months since my operation. Huh, I guess it's been about 3 months now and I should probably check in with my PS as I think he wanted to see me right about now. So how am I doing? I think I'm doing pretty good and I'll try to sum it up briefly.

Swelling: I don't have any at this stage. I did over the summer but now I think it's more normal bloating from eating too much (way too much eating and drinking this summer).

Scar: I continue to apply Scar Therapy gel from SkinMedica 2x a day (AM and PM) and started alternating with silicone strips about 4 weeks ago; the reason being that the scar on my left side was expanding (words my hubby used) so I decided to try the strips. The strips make the scar smoother but it's too early for me to see any difference. I also see no change from using the gel but I'm keeping at it until all my scar supplies are gone (still have Bio Oil and Palmer's oil in the cabinet).

Exercise: I have tried jogging twice and each time I have felt pain in my lower flanks due to lipo. It's unpleasant but tolerable. I think I'll try compression shorts to make the area tight (less bouncing, less pain). I haven't done any real ab exercises - part of me is a little scared. I used to do full abs and now it feels... weird, it's hard to describe the feeling. I'm also afraid to overdo it for some reason. Needless to say, I'm lacking in this department and the summer BBQs added 3 lbs to the scale. Not a huge amount but now I have to find the motivation to work it off.

Happy? Yes I would say I'm happy I did it. Getting dressed is so much fun as I don't have to find ways to cover the tummy. I can wear nice clothes again and look good in them. I mean that was a major reason of why I wanted to do it. Sadly the bikini is not on my list because my scars are too high on the sides and I think my BB is way too small (actually seems to have gotten smaller as it's healed) but at 38 I am okay with wearing one-piece swimsuits or tankinis for the rest of my life. I do wonder though if another PS would have done a better job at making the scars less noticeable but it's too late for that.

Pics to follow.

I call it a milestone because I am officially CG free! Yeah!!!

My PS said I could ditch it and he did not feel I needed to wear anything else (no stage 2 or light compression shirt). I've hated the CG since day one and it feels so great to let my skin breathe especially now that the weather is getting very warm. About that little hole which I posted about a couple days ago, he said not too worry. It sounds like a stitch did get loose or something and that's why the hole happened -- he prescribed an antibiotic to apply 2x a day and he said I should be good in 2 weeks' time.

I have the clear to start with scar therapy so I'm going to begin using the SkinMedica Scar Therapy Gel that cost me $60 on Amazon. I will try to apply 2x a day and massage it in. Let's see how long that little tube lasts me and what results I get from it. Once it's finished I won't buy a new one (too expensive) and instead try either Bio Oil or Palmer's Oil which I already bought. I also want to buy some silicone strips for when I get lazy. As you can tell, I am scar therapy crazy... I have to be because my olive skin means a highly pigmented scar unless I do everything in my power to make it disappear sooner rather than 10 years later.

Finally I can resume exercise but must withhold from any abdominal exercises for another 2 weeks. He said to listen to my body so if something hurts or doesn't feel right then I need to stop. I am not sure what I will do first... I'm thinking light jogging and upper body exercises? The scale in my bathroom still says I'm 133 lbs (the same as after surgery) and while I can live with that, I would love to see 130 or less... however I won't sweat it because clothes are fitting so much better these days. Muffin top gone! I can't express how weird it still is when I see myself in the mirror and everything is smooth and flat. It almost feels like I'm looking at someone else.

I will post pics soon since I want to keep track of my scar therapy progress. Cheers everyone!

So I noticed sometime last week (maybe Thursday or Friday) that one spot along my incision (left hip) was not healing properly. By that I mean it is not one smooth line like the rest of my scar, it is a round red spot with exposed flesh. In my husband's words: "it looks like you have a piece of flesh missing", YIKES! We decided to let it heal and ask the doctor about it tomorrow (my 6 week po).

I'm hoping it's nothing serious though I suspect that I either overstretched myself (popping stitch out of place without knowing it) or a stitch is now missing. It makes me a little nervous thinking about it too much... my appointment is not until 3 in the afternoon so I have another 24 hours to wait.

If anyone has had a similar experience, I'd be curious to hear what the cause of this might be. Thanks ladies!