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95% and Inspired by Explant Stories
My belly button scab around the suture line is starting to fall off and I think it will be an imperceptibly thin scar.
That being said, I am definitely very swollen still and am sure my activity level contributes to that. I'm eager for my Marena garment to arrive as it will put more pressure lower than my binder.
I think the most freeing part of all of this for me is that a small part of me had been considering a breast lift/Aug as nursing my two kids for two years left me 2 cup sizes smaller. But I really hated the idea of an implant, and appreciate the mature look of my breasts. I just couldn't stand that my stomach stuck waaaaaay further out than my boobs. Now that it doesn't I feel so much more proportionate and appreciate my breasts despite their droop and size. So we will use the other 10,000 I had put back for that on a kick ass vacation in the next few years :). Now THAT will be much more fun than another surgery. I can also say I was fully convinced by reading the explant stories on real self. The way those women talk about really disliking the foreignness of the implant, and then embrace their more natural shape afterwards was very inspiring. If you are on the fence, read the explant stories. It helped me tremendously in making my decision and realizing I didn't want to be saddled with a non permanent anything that I would have to worry about. Good stuff!!
9 dpo - Post Op Visit
The nurse gave me the all clear to do whatever as long as I use pain as my guide, explicitly saying that I can hold and lift my 1 year old!! So exciting! No signs of infection, although a decent amount of swelling in my mid section. Got the okay to start moderate cardio next week, but no core until 6 weeks. Also got the okay to use my Marena garment, she suggested 3 more weeks. Next visit is in 4 weeks with MD after steri strips have come off.
7 DPO - Everyone has one-- the most memorable moment of my recovery. And more!
A very funny story, though--probably the most painful moment of my recovery at the same time. On my first outing to the grocery store, I went with my mom and used one of those electric carts. I should note first off that my mom and I are extremely close and few people make me laugh like she can. We were in the fruit aisle when I realized I had passed the nectarines that I had wanted to pick up. Then I did it. I made the mistake of starting to use the back up function of the cart and it started that back up beep noise. Within one beep, my mom LOST IT. She was laughing so hard she was crying. I looked at her and couldn't help myself, I started laughing uncontrollably. It was easily the most painful moment of my life. My mom could not stop laughing; she was literally holding her crotch so she wouldn't pee herself. But that meant I also couldn't stop laughing, but the pain was so intense that I was sobbing with tears streaming down my face at the same time. I felt like I was being run over by a car but could not make myself stop laughing no matter the pain I was in. Even worse was that my mom literally had to duck behind the produce case at the grocery so that I wouldn't see her and keep laughing, but that meant I was there, alone, in the middle of the grocery store, looking like a perfectly healthy young woman on an electric cart absolutely bawling inconsollably. People walked passed me with the look of intense concern and simultaneous confusion, probably because they had just passed my mom crouching on the ground holding her crotch behind the nectarines laughing her ass off. I ultimately was able to stop laughing by thinking of the death of someone very close to me, but somehow the pain did absolutely nothing in that department. So there it is. The most hilarious, sad, memorable moment of my recovery.
I ordered a stage 2 Marena compression garment today. Damn those things aren't cheap. I had ordered a medium (thinking at 118 lbs, 5'4" it would be fine) and that thing was INCHES from closing. So by the measurement chart I'm a large, and let's hope that fits. For beyond 4 weeks, a lot of research lead me to the TC Medium Control High Waisted Brief. I got two from Bare Necessities AND they were 25% off today, which made them something like 40$ less expensive that Nordstrom's. I have had a few TC shaping tops and love them--very comfortable, no riding up, very soft, so I think they will be perfect post Stage 2 garment.
I have my follow up appointment on Wednesday, and I'm hoping to get the all clear to do what I want to do at 2-3 weeks as long as I'm using pain as my guide. Which, at this point, there is none!
Hope all my other RS sisters are healing well and loving their new bodies! I know this is one of the best things I have ever done. I wonder when I will get over the high?
Provider Review
Wow. From the moment of my first consult with Dr. Vath he was easily the doctor I wanted to go with (I had 5 other consults in addition to him). He truly valued the amount of research I had done prior to coming into his office regarding different surgical approaches and being proactive about preventing blood clots, instead of just talking over me or pandering to me like other doctors I had met. Many of those doctors seemed to either have a script they read in every consult with little changed for my personal situtation, or those who weren't as interested in making this process a partnership. Initially I wasn't even going to be able to take advantage of his best surgical practice--the no drain tummy tuck--but liked him just as much all the same despite that. Fortunately my hematologist cleared me to go without blood thinners so I didn't need a drain. I can easily see how much less annoying my recovery is going to be without those stupid drains stinging and pulling. The staff was nothing short of always prompt, professional and warm. Honestly they seemed brighter than a lot of the other people I dealt with at other offices. I felt in good competent hands when asking them questions and choosing a good treatment approach. Dr. Vath's enthusiasm about what my final result was was contagious and made me feel confident and sure going into the procedure. This was more important to me than one doctor who suggested a smaller incision but it was clear that I wouldn't get the best results, or another who more or less focused on the possible bad outcomes in the appearance of the scar that I should be preparing myself for instead of the good things that might come of it. Very wierd. Now that I'm 1DPO, I am feeling incredibly good and attribute that to his great work. My belly button is adorable and my waist is tiny and wonderful. I'm in very little pain (almost none if I'm sitting down), and am so pleased with my decision to go with Dr. Vath. God forbid something doesn't end up turning out perfectly, it was also clear that he is willing and able to continue to working with me to correct it to our mutual satisfaction. Another consult I went on with a prominent female plastic surgeon in the area could not have been more different--she more or less acted like she has NEVER had a patient who wasn't happy and there for didn't get any answers about what she would do if there was a dog ear or something. The only flaws I saw in working with him were that I only saw him for my initial consult and right before I went into the OR, and would have liked at least a minute or two to chat with him at pre-op. I know this is fairly common practice, but I would have appreicated being able to touch base with me. I would have also liked a call the evening after my surgery from either him or a nurse to check in. My wait times on the whole weren't bad, but I did end up waiting 30-60 minutes for my pre-op appointment. That was a bit irritating , and why I gave 3 stars there. That being said, if you are scheduling a tummy tuck in the Denver area, Dr. Vath IS the place to go. I am immensely happy about my decision to work with him.