Post op - almost 3 weeks!! Pics wo and with swelling

Hi
Im a mother of two, 38yrs, happily married. I have been wanting to to this TT for a while off and on. I was always hesitant as I had two c-sections and I didnt want to go through another surgery again. But I am still young and I want to look and feel my best. So I have decided to take the plunge and hope to be rewarded on the flat side.

I am a getting nervous thinking about the pain after. I am driving with hubby to different city to get this done. Plan to drive back after 4 days and then return again in 10 to remove drains. Hope I can handle all that. I am getting TT with lipo to the flank and hips. and muscle repair.
Getting my work sorted out so I can focus on getting better.

Im about 5 feet tall and weigh 130 lbs. I have been exercising but lately my gym membership expired. Now I am going back to renew after I recover from surgery.
Currently, I am taking my multivitamins and eating healthy. Also do some cardio. I have been working late these days and my exercising has taken a back seat. I keep telling myself that I should as I will not be able to a while after surgery.

As I plan for the big day, I am getting more apprehensive as I dont know if i can travel a 6 hour drive on the fourth day. Anyone have any ideas or thoughts on this? It would be good to know if there are any tips. My PS says i will be fine as long as i stop often and walk to get the circulation going. Also I havent met my PS. But I have read review about him and he seemed very informative and helpful in his suggestions while we had the phone consult. Is that enough? I am beginning to get very nervous at times. I would like some feedback from anyone who has had work done by my PS, would be nice to know how the experience went for them.

So they payments done. Theres no turning back from here it seems. Still busy with work and like most others before me, I feel compelled to get everything in order at work, home, kids. I wont be having anyone but hubby take care of me and he is quite supportive. He kept reassuring me whenever I had doubts on if I should go ahead with this.

I'm going in for my big day tomorrow morning. I feel excited and super nervous. I look forward to good results and hope to have the strength to endure the journey of recovery. Thanks to everyone for sharing their ideas and offering their experiences through their journeys. I will try to write my post op details when I am able.
I want to add that I couldn't be where I am without the support of my husband.
I have been busy with work and holiday preparations up until now. So didn't have time to write much. I started on bromelain and arnica Montana pills today. I tried to eat light today but its Christmas and there was a lot of food, still I did not stuff myself. No eating or drinking after midnight. I'm going to enjoy my bath and take an extra long one as I get ready.....:)

I'm on post op day 3. I took pain meds every 4 hours ( 2 pills) for first two days. So the pain was minimal. However, getting in and out of bed was quite challenging. On day three I am only taking two advils every 4 hours as the Percocet is making me very itchy.
I got a mild cough today. That pain is scary and excruciating. I'm trying to relax and stay in bed. My hubby has been helping me around the clock. I could not do this without his care.
I briefly saw my tummy yesterday at the docs office. I have to post them too soon.
Waiting to be healed completely.

Post - op - day 3
I feel energetic off and on . If I speak too much, then I feel like coughing. If I walk too much, then it shows in my drains. I am glad I had my first BM today. That brought some relief. The drains leak sometimes. I've given myself sponge baths, with hubby's help, three times. My PS recommends showers only after drain removal which will only happen in 9 days.
It's a slow road, but I am encouraged by the experiences of everyone. Hope tomorrow, this cough goes. I stopped Percocet for pain as it made me very itchy on second day. So only two advils every 4 hours. That stopped the itching but pain relief is not much. Still a little hunched and walking very slowly. Tomorrow should be better.

I had a rough night. Coughing, couldn't control it. Took anti nausea pill , that helped me to settle and go to sleep. The drains are a pain. Wish they could be removed soon. 8 days to remove drains, can't wait. My tummy is a little swollen and feels itchy under the CG. Still walking hunched. I am being patient, waiting to feel like myself again.

The past few days were tough. Some days I felt like I was getting better and then by evening I end up all sore and hunched. My drains are really annoying me now. They don't come out till next week. Can't wait. Trying to be patient. I miss not being able to go out, take a shower and visit friends. Hope tomorrow I feel better.

I am feeling a LOT better today. Yesterday I had my post op appointment to remove my drains and take out a few stitches. I had to fly to see my doctor. My drains were a solid PITA!! I was draining about 25 cc from each of my two drains every 24 hours. I couldn't go out much as getting ready and finding clothes that hid the drains well were all a chore. Every little thing like waking up, getting ready and groomed seemed to take forever. I preferred to simply lie in bed or sit propped up watching TV shows and flipping channels. It felt like a huge boredom. I normally don't spend a lot of time watching tv. My husband had to take on the cooking, cleaning, laundry and taking the kids out for activities. It was hard to see them all go out and not join in. It was also hard to not be able to do the daily chores or help around the house. Not that I miss doing housework! But the waiting period was very tough. I felt very drained if I got up and did something. I did go out to an evening musical event but even there I felt drained and wanted to leave before the show ended. Oh I almost forgot the main event. The night before my doc appmt, I took out my two drains all by myself!! I asked hubby to help me but he was just not sure if he could do it . He kept asking me to be patient and leave that stuff to the experts. I watched a few you tube videos. My doctor also once mentioned to me that I could remove them myself since I lived far away from his city. Removing the stitches that held them were tricky. I stood up by my mirror and slowly pulled them out!! My right drain came out first and quite easily. The left one hurt more. So I took a couple of pain killers and then took that one out too. I must say that it felt AWESOME!!!! Once they were out!! I could move around a lot better and the stood up better. That event zapped all my strength and after applying antiseptic ointment to the drain holes and applying fresh gauze, I went into a deep comfortable sleep.
Sometimes I get swollen and there's a lot of pressure around my incision that I have to remove my CG and relax. It happens every now and then. I wear my CG all the time except when I'm in the washroom or at times I feel like I need to. I wear a cami under it so I don't feel itchy. I am mostly wearing dresses with leggings as pants feel uncomfortable around my waist.
I have added new pictures. You can see that my incision is very neat and I feel quite confident that my scar will heal nicely. I am putting bio oil on it once a day.
Also drinking fluids, taking bromelain, drinking healthy shakes and trying to eat right. I like home made food so I have started cooking again. I take Advil when I feel too swollen or any pressure on my stitches. I also take arnica Montana pills for keeping down the swelling. I have also restarted my multivitamins and fish oil supplements.
I still have downs. I'm better most of the time but get drained big time after a while and need to REST.
I am quite happy with the surgery and the results. It was definitely worth it. I had an amazing surgeon. I felt like I was in safe hands. The anaesthesiologist at my surgery had her tummy tuck done by my doctor. That info was calming as I went into surgery. He is the doctor's doctor! And I am very happy with the results. I trust that he is a highly skilled surgeon who knows exactly what to do to deliver the results I wanted and he takes great pride in his work. The travel to another city was all worth it.

So tomorrow it will be 3 weeks PO. My energy levels are ok during the day. I don't take stairs, they tire me out. Also too much walking tires me easily. I can't think of gym now but I'd like to get some walking to get my leg muscles going. I feel like I have been sitting down for too long but I don't tire of it either. I get ready and go to work by 7:30 am but by 4 pm I feel the swelling and my belly hurts and my hunch returns. It's been this cycle for the past week. I go to family events and in a couple of hours, all I want is to go home to my bed. I understand that I need to listen to my body. The recovery will take time and I have to be patient. My husband has been super helpful picking up all the chores I cannot do and making it all work. It's not an easy journey but with the help and the results I see, it's all worth it. I look forward to feeling my full self again with no swelling and having all the energy to do last the whole day. It will come!
You can see my tummy without the swelling. I am happy. My BB is still healing. The swelling after a days work is a killer. I feel much better this week than the last so yes, next week will be better than this. One day at a time....
To all of you still in recovery, happy healing! And to those still waiting surgery, don't think again, do it if you get a good PS with good reviews and who has a lot of experience. Happy healing to all:)