36 Year-old, 2 Kids, Deflated Breasts, Umbilical Pain, Diastasis Recti, Saggy Skin - Layton, UT

Time is clicking right along, and things seem more and more normal. I finally went back to sleeping in my bed after sleeping in my recliner for 5 ½ weeks. I continue to wear my sports bra 24/7. Occasionally I will wear a regular, non-underwire bra, but don’t feel it supports my implants (and pushes them to the center) as much as my sports bra does. I was released from my garment at my 4-week follow-up but I continue to wear it most days as it feels good to be supported. My incision gets sore and very mildly swollen if I don’t wear it during the day. I continue to use an ice pack on my abdominal incision 1-2 times per day. I stopped taking any sore of medication including Tylenol about 2 weeks ago.

I returned to work on my normal work schedule after 3 ½ weeks off. I am so glad I took that long for my recovery. It was nice not feel pressured to get back to work too soon. I will admit the first day was tough mentally to go back and have to think so much after taking it easy for so long. I also got pretty sore, so I was glad I had a half day on my first day. The second week back got better and then the third week (this past week) was better yet. I have been surprised that my energy has been fairly normal coming out of my recovery. I thought I might be totally exhausted all the time, and I haven’t been, even from early on.

I flew back to Layton for a 4-week follow-up appointment. Dr. Yates said everything was looking good. Around that same time I went through phase of being a little sad about my belly button. The overall shape of it is great, but once the large scab came off the left side, I was left with a raised up scar on that side that took away from the “lip” that made it an inny. It just looks irregular and weird up close, but from a distance it’s not a problem. At the same time I was dealing with that, I felt a little disappointed in how much of a vertical scar I ended up with, and more than that, that it is so puckered at the top from my y-shaped scar tissue. I never expected or even wanted my tummy to be perfect; it’s just that I thought all of that was going to be better addressed when I went into the surgery. I thought that was the benefit of agreeing to the higher scar. But I have a higher scar and all the other problems. I know Dr. Yates did what he could; I just though all those skin irregularities would have been either cut off or smoothed down. I will say the compounded scar treatment seems to be really helping. My puckered y-scar is already fading and smoothing some. I am also happy with the smoothness of my entire abdominal incision. I do believe things will continue to improve with time and the color of the scar will fade. As optimistic and calm as I’ve been through this whole process, I just wanted to share my honest feelings that I went through at that phase of my recovery. I still see these issues, but I don’t feel as sad about them as I did for a while. And of course, even with the issues I am still so glad I did the surgery and I am grateful for the improvements I do have.

My pec muscles continue to be tighter than they were pre-surgery, but I have resumed my chest stretches on a daily basis, which is helping with the tightness. This stretching regimen has helped the upper poles begin to soften. I am very happy with my size (and I plan to stay that way—no regrets!). I feel great in my clothes and it’s been a huge boost to my confidence to finally feel “at home” in my own body again after it felt so foreign for the past 4+ years. I am enjoying some new pencil skirts, which I could never wear before due to my tummy pooch. I knew going into my surgery that I would feel better about myself and my body on the other side, but I had no idea how much it would improve my quality of life. I think it’s the best thing I’ve ever done for myself and I am so glad I did it!

Today is my 3 week post-surgery date! I am continuing to do well in my healing process. Today I was able to remove my steri-strips and tape from my incisions. It was momentous to be able to see what was under the tape! I was pleasantly surprised with how my tummy incision looks overall. The round pink spot right in the middle of the incision I presume is my old belly button tissue. Just above that I still have a large scab. Above the scab you can also see that I have the remainder of a “Y-shaped” scar that was the result of a belly button piercing (back in college) that got stretched some in my first pregnancy and then a LOT in my second pregnancy. So no, I don’t have perfect tummy skin, but I am optimistic that many of the imperfections will fade with time and scar treatment. And, I am still so happy with my new tummy compared to what I had before. Speaking of scare treatment, my doctor has a special compounded formula he prescribes, and I began this treatment today.

My chest muscles are so much less tight than they were a week ago. I do regular stretching daily and it feels good to try to relax the muscles. On Monday I purchased some size 34 front-close sports bras to try to get more support and pressure on my implants towards the center of my chest. When I woke up from surgery they had me in a size 38, which is what I wore the first 2+ weeks. I decided I needed some other bras and went shopping. The 36 felt much more supportive, but the 34 was really snug (but in a good way). Prior to my surgery my band size was 32 or 34 so it seemed like I should stay near that. After downsizing from a 38 to a 34, my sternum area got tender and sore again for about 24 hours, but I felt that was a good thing since I was being better supported/compressed towards the center. I am hoping the implants will continue to settle more in the middle. Since using a tighter and better fitting sports bra, I notice in my pictures that my implants look more round. The profile is looking better, but I am still looking forward to more dropping and fluffing. My goal was not to have an overly round look, and I think things will soften with time.

That’s all for now, and good night!

At this stage of the journey, I feel like there is less to report each day. I have made some progress since my last post. I am happy to say that I ditched my walker and my shower chair as of yesterday. It feels really good to be more independent by not needing those assistive devices anymore. I am still using my raised toilet seat, mainly because I like it. Getting up and down has gotten quicker and easier too. My hardest stand to sit transfer is getting into our Honda Pilot. That is getting better too, though. It also helps that my chest muscles are less sore, so when I need to use my arms to push myself up or back, it’s easier to do so.

I am still stretching frequently, and my breasts are alternating for which one seems tighter on any given day. My left has had more nerve involvement, and continues to be the one that feels more sensitive, especially in the nipple. I still feel “hot” or burning sensations, but they are getting fewer and further between. Even the pressure of my sports bra is uncomfortable and I try to make frequent adjustments with how it’s pressing on that side. My right has never been sensitive in that way, and for that I am grateful. I still can’t figure out why my right bruised so much worse than my left, as it did receive the smaller implant and it was my bigger side pre-surgery. I am wondering if due to my early pain on the left if I over-relied on the right or something. Or maybe it’s just random. I’ve been massaging the bruise, and it is getting better. I still have some swelling on both sides under my armpits to the side of the implants, so I am massaging that as well. I think my breasts may be softening a little bit, but they are still high and tight. Dr. Yates assured me that with time the lower poles will relax and allow the implants to settle, which will smooth out my upper pole roundness. He also said when this happens the implants will settle closer together and give me “deep cleavage.” I would like them to be closer together in the middle, but I knew going in they won’t be touching since my pre-surgery breasts were wider set.

As for my tummy, I am getting some return of sensation in different areas. I can more easily pull my belly button in with little contracting motions. I always try to do this for support when I sit or stand. I still appear to have some mild ongoing swelling from my belly button down into my mons. The worst of it is from incision line and below. It doesn’t seem to change much with activity or by the end of the day as I had expected. However, it does give me a “thick” appearance in that portion of my trunk for now. My biggest ongoing discomfort at this point is itching. I am itching all over my abdomen, under my tape and even on my mid-and low back. Scratching doesn’t soothe it either. I don’t know what that’s about—maybe always having the tight compression garment on? I also noticed today that laughing a little and short coughs are no longer painful.

I did forget to relate something that occurred on our drive home from Utah last Wednesday. I sneezed. Seems trivial but it was by far the most excruciating pain I have had in the whole process. It felt like someone cut my belly button with a knife and I literally could not talk for a few minutes. Ever since then I’ve had several other times where my nose started to tickle with an impending sneeze. When this happens, my panic mode kicks in quickly. The remedy has been to rub my nose as vigorously as I need to in order to get the sensation to go away. So far this has worked. So post-tummy tuck ladies, whatever you do, DO NOT SNEEZE.

Blessings on your journey.