Mommy Makeover: Stories

Hey ladies! I am scheduled for a "mommy makeover" on Oct. 4th and the sad part is that I have never had kids. I have been obese my whole life and about 6 years ago I went from 232 to 190, then gained back up to 215 and then 2 years ago I got serious about my health and now weigh 155 with lots of excess skin. I never had breasts despite being fat, all of my weight was mostly concentrated in my abdomen. So I will be going from a small A cup to a full C. This is what i have worked my butt off for and it's surreal that my surgery date is just weeks away.

I am busy getting all my things together and ready for the big day which is in 2 weeks. I have stopped taking my fish oil supplements today. I got my wedge pillow in the mail yesterday. I only have 4 more days of work until surgery so the rest of my time is going to be spent backpacking with my hubby and getting things ready around my house. I have all of my prescriptions filled and most of the little things in a box ready to go. My PS is about 3.5 hours from where I live so I will be staying in Portland for about a week after surgery and then I will just have to drive back and forth for my post op appointments. It's getting real and I am so excited to have it done. I'm off to the gym now, trying to lose the last 3 pounds to get to my goal weight of 150. That's all for now :)

Today is 1 week and 2 days until surgery. I am excited, anxious, nervous and ready to get it over with. I am "nesting" today. I am cleaning everything from top to bottom. My husband and I just went backpacking for 4 days, I knew it would be my last trip of the year and I wanted to do as much as I could before I am couch-locked. I'll post some before pictures soon. Nothing really to report. I have to work my last 4 12 hour shifts this weekend and then we'll leave Wednesday for Portland (3 1/2 hour drive). I have to be at the surgery center at 6:45 am on Thursday and I believe my surgery is at 8am. We decided on 421 cc silicone implants and since I am starting with basically nothing it should make me about a full C cup. I just hope that they aren't too big. I'm sure that is most women's concern before surgery. Anyway, I'll probably post more as I get closer.

Today the surgery center called me to go through my pre-op stuff. They reminded me that I need to be there at 6:45am, nothing to eat or drink after midnight. I asked who my anesthesiologist would be but they won't know until the day before. I am just finishing the cleaning around my house and tomorrow marks the 1 week date. I started pre-treating myself with an antibiotic ointment in my nose to prevent MRSA. I am a nurse in a hospital and I am exposed to all kinds of stuff so I am just going to assume that my hubby and I are both colonized with it and I am going to treat us prophylactically (he's an RN also). Ummm....nothing else to report. Just patiently waiting :)

Oh man it's only 4 days away. I'm getting increasingly more nervous about it all. I've got 2 more nights of work (12 hour shifts) and then I'm really going to be a ball of nerves. I am just so worried about being in pain and any complications of lipo, infection, blood clots...I'm a nurse remember so I have seen so much bad stuff in healthcare. I know though that I am super healthy and I am going to take all precautions to prevent complications. So my weight is 152.2, I'm so close to 150 but I am doubting that I'll get there by surgery day. Not much else to share with everyone right now. I'm just counting down the days.

3 more days!!! Oh man oh man. I am going to start taking my arnica and bromelain today. I think I might start the stool softeners tomorrow just to be proactive. Tonight is my last night at work for 5 weeks :) My weight is 151.8 today. Almost there!! Nothing else to report.

Wow we leave in the morning for Portland. It's hard to believe the time is almost here. I am done with work for 5 weeks :) Today after I slept some we woke up and went to the gym (my last workout for a while), I didn't push it too hard. Then we have been packing, cleaning house, and now getting ready to watch the season premier of Dexter!! I have called my mom and sister and my good friend. Everyone is in on the game plan. Well except my mother inlaw. I can't seem to tell her about my implants yet. I have told her about the TT though. So she knows I am having surgery, she just doesn't know the whole story. I have been taking my Arnica and Bromelain since yesterday. I woke up this morning and was so pleased to see that I hit my goal weight just in time. I was 150.4 this morning :)
So tomorrow I will be going to pick up my shower chair and toilet seat raiser and then I will check in to the apartment we are renting for the week. After that I just want to have a nice relaxing evening with my hubby. I will update tomorrow night. I hope everyone is doing well.

Ok so it's the night before surgery and I am here in Portland with my husband. We checked in to our place, I have it all set up with the toilet seat raiser and everything. This morning I was 149.6 pounds!! That is so awesome that I made it past my goal. I have to check in tomorrow at the surgery center at 0645. They called me today to get my payment. Apparently according to the snotty woman on the other end of the phone, my surgery was in jeopardy because I was supposed to contact them a week prior to surgery to pay. Well no one told me that and no one called me before today. So it wasn't my fault. But it's all paid for and the total cost was $15,134.00 So much money but we saved up for this so we didn't have to go in to debt for this. I am getting excited for it. I can not believe the day is almost here. About 12 more hours until I arrive at the surgery center. Yikes. I hope everyone is doing well. Soon I will be on the flat side. I posted my before pictures so you can see what I mean when I say I have tons of extra skin and no boobs. This will be the craziest transformation ever. I don't know what it is like to have a flat tummy or boobs and I will wake up with both. It's better than Christmas :)

OK the day is here. We're about to leave for the surgery center. I am all showered and ready to go. I actually slept really well last night, I'm sure the meds had something to do with it. Wish me luck. The next time I get on here I will have a new body :)

Wow I just spent the last hour typing out everything about yesterday and today and I was almost done and I must have hit the wrong button because it's all GONE. I don't have it in me to write all of that again. All I can say is that if I'm not moving I am ok, getting in and out of bed is torture. The toilet seat raiser is much appreciated. I didn't pee or eat at all yesterday. Today I peed and drank coffee, poweraid and a protein shake. I ended up with 4 drains, 2 in the boobs, and 2 in the tummy. I am all bandaged up so I can't see anything. He said he removed 5 pounds of skin and a liter of fat. He put 471 cc implants instead of 421 because he said I would like them much better. I go in tomorrow morning at 9am to get the drains in the boobs removed. So I think I'll get to see them then. I did not puke after surgery which surprises me because I have puked after all 3 of my other surgeries. I didn't sleep for any consistent block of time last night. 2-3 hours at a time was the longest. I didn't move at all until getting out of bed this morning. That was HELL. Now I am sitting in the recliner and I am feeling ok. I had pain meds last at 7am. Anyway, this is all I can post for now. I will get on here later. Hope everyone that went in yesterday is doing well. We got this :)

Today is Post op day 2. Getting in and out of bed is a tiny bit less painful. It still hurts for sure, but just not severely. We went to my first post op appointment where Dr. Lee un-bandaged my boobs and tummy. He took the two drains out of my breasts. It didn't hurt at all, it was just a strange sensation. I was able to get into a sports bra and he put a strap above the boobs to help them drop. I have full sensation in my nipples which is awesome! I was really worried about that. I did ask if he had to sew mu muscles and he said that he did. He gave me clearance to take a shower tomorrow and I'm excited about it.
I slept pretty good last night, I still woke up every hour from about 2am on. But I was able to fall back to sleep easily. I have been napping off and on today. Then I have been getting up with help to walk outside along the river. It's nice to get some fresh air.
Still haven't had a bowel movement or even passed gas. I have been taking 2 senna's twice a day, and today I drank some MOM and took a colace.
My appetite isn't the best. I have been drinking 3 protein shakes a day with ground flax seed in them. I have eaten a banana today and yesterday and then today I ate half a bagel with cream cheese. I haven't been nauseated at all so that is a huge bonus.
I am amazed to see breasts on my chest lol. I tried to post pics but for some reason it didn't work. I'll try again. I hope everyone else is doing well.

Hello everyone, today is post op 3 for me. I slept really well through out the night. I only woke up once at 2am to pee and get pain meds, then i woke up for the day at 7:30.
I drank my protein shake this morning. Went for a longer walk outside (about 200 feet) and then I'm pretty sure I passed out. Even though I am already taking Senna and colace, I decided to try a dose of MOM. A few hours later I am getting a ducolax suppository. Yippie skippy. I held it in for 30 minutes and then I got on the toilet and nothing but air and
the suppository came out. I've been having a lot of gas pain and rumbling, but thing happens.
I took my first shower today. I didn't wash my hair because I have a ton and it's super long.I took off my abdominal binder today and it looks very strange. I have a large crack going from my BB down to my mons. The doc hopes that when the swelling decreases so will the crease. I can barely see my BB because it is all lost in the belly crease. I am super itchy all over my boobs, flanks and buttock. I have some decent bruising going on between my thighs and on my upper buttock. My entire mons is numb and same with my lower abdominal wall and my left nipple.
I took several walks outside trying to get my bowels to wake up. Other than that nothing special to report. I'm going to try to post some pictures from today.

Today was a pretty busy day. I woke up after sleeping pretty solid for 10 hours. I only woke up once at 3am to go pee and take some pain meds. My hubby was very pleased to have gotten that much sleep. So we sat up and drank our coffee and went on a 30 minute walk out in the sunshine. I still haven't had a BM so we are increasing my activity. We had to go in today for my 2nd post-op appointment. My Doc is sick, so his nurse Patti worked with me. She said everything looks very good. My drain in the right groin was removed :) It didn't hurt at all either. She said that the last one will stay in probably till next week. I got some more senna from her and also she gave me a more supportive bra that hooks in the front. It's ugly but it's feels supportive. .After the appointment my husband and I walked about 6 blocks down to a little pizza place and had a slice of pizza and a beer. Then we went to buy some fiber rich foods at Fred Meyers. By the end of that trip, I was exhausted. All I want to do now is sleep. Well once we got here my hubby gave me a GI cocktail in hopes that I'll poop soon. So cross your fingers ladies! Right now the things that hurt the most are my boobs (particularly the right), they are sore like I am going to get my period, and m right groin hurts some too. My left hip/buttock is still numb but painful to the touch from the bruising. Other than all that I think I am ok. I hope everyone else is doing good too!

Today is post op day 5. Well yesterday I ended up finally having a BM after senna, colace, MOM, and a suppository. I didn't have a blowout like you might imagine, but I did go. Also on my last walk of the night I ended up tripping on my way up the stairs and my husband tried to grab me before I fell and pulled on my arm kind of hard and I still fell. It hurt at the time but I was fine when I woke up. I ended up sleeping for 12 hours last night :) I woke up at 1am to potty and took my pain meds and then I didn't really wake up again until almost 11am. I was able to move myself an inch in bed twice to change position. That was a big deal for me!! So today I took a shower and this time I washed my hair. It was the first shampoo since surgery. My best girlie friend came over and she french braided my hair for me and then just hung out with me all day. My husband took a break and went out with his brother for a few hours. I went on my 3 walks today so about 2 miles of walking total. I am sore, mostly in my boobs and my hips. I am still numb in the lower tummy, left breast and left hip/butt. I am swelling like a ton today. It's mostly in my upper abdomen and both hips. I have always been pretty shapeless in my hip/butt area but wow I am super curvy there today. I had to take the bra and bandeau strap off for a while today and just let the girls hang free because they were hurting so much. But I am getting ready to go to bed so I will put it back on. My appetite is mostly back today. I got some super bad gas after eating some ice cream. I couldn't even stand straight because it hurt so much. I felt like I was 9 months pregnant. It takes a lot of work for me to pass gas let alone a stool. So I tried to walk it off. When we got back I took more MOM, senna and colace and then about an hour later I had a BM. I feel a lot better after that. My drain has put out about 50 cc and last night it was 50 cc too. I don't think there is anything more to post for now. I hope everyone is healing well!!

Today is Post op day 6!! I can't believe how fast time has gone by. Today was a pretty good day. I slept well throughout the night. I was able to get myself out of bed this morning and I got myself back in bed. It was a little painful but not too bad. My husband was totally surprised and was happy to get that extra bit of sleep. My pain has been manageable, I went 8 hours before taking my pain meds today. I had 2 BMs yesterday and I had one today. It's not diarrhea yet but it's pretty soft so I am stopping the stool softeners for now. I've went on 2 of my 3 walks of the day. I went farther today than I have been going. I am still numb in all of the same places. This evening I started getting this pain that feels kind of like a hot poker poking me in my left and right hips...when you look at the skin there is nothing there so I am assuming it is nerves regenerating. That is not pleasant. I ended up taking 30 minutes to just be without any bra or CG. It was wonderful. I love getting to scratch all over my body. I am SOOO swollen though, it's kind of unbelievable. I know that it's going to take a while before that goes away so I am not discouraged, it's just strange looking. I laughed again today and that really doesn't feel good. Over all though I am doing very well, way better than I thought I would be doing. I have an appointment with my doc tomorrow at 1030 and then we are going to pack up and head home. I hope that the drive home will be quick, hopefully I can just take some pain meds and my muscle relaxer and sleep the whole way. I am going to stop by the mall and go to Victoria's Secret and buy a sports bra since I'm in Oregon and won't have to pay sales tax :) My drain is more serous than sanguinous, it put out 35cc last night. I doubt he's going to pull it tomorrow but he already told me that he will let my husband pull it and then we'll drive over to Portland 2-3 days later so he can assess to make sure I'm not developing a seroma. He told me that I most likely will have a seroma because of the amount of skin he removed. So I won't be shocked if I do get one. Anyway, I am going to watch a movie with my husband and then pack up a little bit and then go to bed. It's nuts how fast the day goes by when I'm not doing anything. Night night everyone!

Hey ladies!! I didn't get a chance to update yesterday (post op day 7) but I will do it now. So yesterday I had to go to my 1 week follow up appointment. When I woke up that morning I noticed that I had these little bumps all over my thighs. I pointed it out to my husband but we both kind of shrugged it off because it wasn't itching or causing any problems. So we went about our morning and went to the PS at 10:30. He laid me back in his chair and noticed that I had developed a rash on my chest and neck. I looked in the mirror and I had little red spots ALL over my body. There were none on the boobs, but there were some between them. It is on my back, trunk, butt, legs, flanks, neck...everywhere. At this point I was itching like a crazy woman. I just figured it was because I finally got out of the bra and CG and it always feels so good to scratch. PS thinks that it is some sort of contact dermatitis. Nothing new was introduced into my diet or clothing or anything. The only thing I could think of is that maybe I am just now developing an allergy to my antibiotic? Doc just said to take benadryl and buy some hydrocortisone cream to rub on the red spots. If it doesn't get better he wants me to call his office and he will put me on an oral steroid. Ugh. It still itches so bad. I started wearing a cami under my CG and that helps some.
So besides the rash, PS was very pleased with his work. My breasts are both dropping as he wants them to. He said he still wants them to drop a bit more but he gave me the OK to stop wearing that damn strap above my boobs. I was happy to hear that. He took off the surgical tape that was covering my incisions. My TT incision is so thin and low, it amazes me. He wants me to put neosporin on it for about a week and then I can switch to Vit E or Mederma. My mons, and tummy are still completely numb. He assured me that it is normal and that the sensation can take up to a year to return. The numbness in my left butt/hip/thigh area is still there but I can tell that some spots have come back. I keep getting these stabbing hot sensations or icy cold wet sensations so I know the nerve is trying to regenerate itself. Then the left breast, Oh my! Early this morning, 5 am, it woke me up because my nipple was hurting so bad. It was also like that nerve pain, shooting and nagging. I had to wake my hubby up so he could get me some pain meds (at this point I had made it 22 hours without any meds). The pain meds didn't even touch the pain. This has to have been the worst pain I have had thus far in my recovery. OUCH. Right now it's calmed down and the nipple is still numb to the touch. So I really hope that I am experiencing this pain because I will get the sensation back to my boob. The doc said that since I had sensation initially postop, he is sure the sensation will return. It just takes time.
PS said I need to scale WAY back on my activity level. He basically said I need to just park my butt on the couch and allow my tissues to adhere to each other. I still have my 1 drain, it's putting out 70-80cc a day. He said that my husband can pull it when the drainage is 50cc or less in 24 hours. After the drain comes out then I have to be very very careful with my activity (no twisting, no bending) so I don't create a seroma.
Our drive home yesterday seemed to go by quickly. I took 2 benadryl, 2 xanax, and a flexeril in hopes of sleeping (I can never sleep in the car), but amazingly I stayed awake the whole way.
All in all I am pretty independent. If I drop something on the floor I have to leave it there for my husband to pick up lol but other than that I am doing well.
Today my husband has to go back to work. He works nights. So my mom is coming to stay the weekend with me, she lives 2 hours away. My sister is coming over to visit me today, she lives an hour away. So it will be nice to see them. My plans are to just sit back in this lovely recliner of mine and do nothing.
I hope everyone is doing well and having a smooth recovery!

Post op day 9- The rash seems to be going away. I'm pretty sure it was from the Dial soap I used. So I will steer clear of that. Nothing new with my healing process. Same old thing. My hubby went back to work last night. It was cute, he kept going back and forth wanting to call in sick to work so he could stay with me even though my mom was here to be with me. He had anxiety about leaving me for the night. I assured him that I would be fine and he ended up going to work after all. My night was uneventful, I just tried to chill in the recliner. I can tell this is going to get old quick. I slept in my recliner last night since my hubby wouldn't be there to help me back in to our bed if I needed to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. Our bed is a little on the higher side so it's not too easy to get in and out of by myself. The recliner was fine except my cat kept jumping up wanting to cuddle on my belly and I kept throwing him off of me and he would jump right back up. I think he was confused as to why I wasn't letting him lay with me. Poor kitty. My drain is still putting out about 60-75mls a day so hopefully it will back off soon so I can get it out.
Yesterday I got up to use the bathroom and I noticed that I had a wet spot on my underwear where the drain goes into my mons. I looked at the drain site and saw that I was draining around the tube. So I milked the tube and got a long stringy piece of tissue out of the tube. It was clogging the drain so it wasn't suctioning. After I got the clot moving it has been suctioning fine. Good thing I am a nurse and work with these drains every day.
I might go for a drive today with my mom and I am going to take a shower :) Other than that I doubt there will be much to report. Happy healing ladies!!

Today is POD 11. I am still just sitting around doing nothing. Bored out of my mind. Nothing has changed with the boobs, tummy or numbness. I called the PS office though as requested by my PS last week and because my drain is still about 60-75 cc/day I have to keep it in. I asked about not having antibiotics while the drain is still in and apparently it is not an issue. I am supposed to call back tomorrow.
My hubby surprised me with a big beautiful flower bouquet that was delivered to my house today. He is the best husband I could ever hope for :) So that cheered me up and now they are sitting right by my recliner so I can look at them often. My mom left today and my hubby has this last night to work and then he is off with me for 10 days. So tonight will be my first night by myself. I know I will be fine.

POD 12- Last night when I emptied my drain I was pleased to find that in the past 24 hours I made 50 cc's. Yay! Then this morning (12 hours later) I made 20 cc's so I called my PS and he said it was ok for my husband to pull the drain. Then we will be driving to Portland on Thursday for my 2 week post-op appointment. My husband just woke up after working night shift so he'll be taking the drain out here soon. My breasts are good, usually just tight and sore in the morning for about 30 minutes. My left still has quite a bit of dropping to do to catch up with the right. I am doing my massages 4x/day. I still have the same numbness in all the same places. Nothing else to report I guess. I hope this drain doesn't cause too much pain.

POD 13- So I got my last drain out yesterday. It wasn't painful at all. I still have my CG with a ton of extra compression on. I hadn't removed it for about 36 hours, but last night I wanted to get a look at my belly button and make sure it wasn't soggy from the antibiotic ointment I put on it. So I am standing with my husband in the bathroom and we undo the CG. I am looking at everything for about 20 seconds maybe and then I start feeling nauseated. So I sit down on the edge of my bathtub. Then I start feeling weak and I am light headed. I feel like I am going to blackout. I have never felt this way in my life. My husband tries to calm me. He says I need to lay down in bed. So I make my way to the bed and lay down. Sounds are muffled and it starts getting really quiet, my forehead breaks out in a sweat. I am all clammy and kind of scared. I lay there in bed for a few minutes and everything comes back to normal. My hands are shaky from the epinephrine running through my body, but otherwise I am back to normal. Wow, what a scary feeling. We assume that I had so much pressure around my tummy (that's where the inferior Vena Cava is) and when we let that pressure go, that huge vessel was able to expand and dilate which left me hypotensive. Geez. So be careful ladies about taking off the CG alone. I had a crappy night sleep. My back is really starting to kill me around 6am and I have to re position myself every 15 minutes or so until I can't stand it anymore and I just get up. I am having a crappy day already and I've only been awake for an hour lol. My boobs are super sore in the morning. They feel tight, firm and just sore. I have heard other women call this "Morning Boob". Nothing really to do today, just more sitting around on my ass. Tomorrow we are driving back to Portland to see the PS. I hope everyone else is having a wonderful day!

POD 15- Yesterday was my 2 week post op appointment. My husband and I drove the 3 1/2 hours and met with the PS. He was very pleased with the progress the boobies have made. He still wants me doing my massages and said that when they get to a position that I like then I can start wearing an underwire bra. He said they still have some dropping to do though. He looked at my tummy and was pleasantly surprised that I didn't have an obvious seroma. He had me stand up and he taught my husband what to look for and what to do to aspirate a seroma. He said I may have a tiny one and he just stuck the needle in and there was a tiny little pocket of fluid in there. He was only able to drain 18 cc's of fluid though. He said if that is all I have in there then your body can reabsorb it without having to aspirate. So he told my husband to look and feel in about 3 days, if there is nothing obvious then wait another 3 days and then just stick me and see what he can get out. He said that may be all it needs to get it to heal up and go away since it is so small. He still wants me to sit on my butt and no nothing though at least for another week. He said no sex for another 2 weeks :( When he was aspirating the fluid I started to vasovagal (when you black out) and I had to sit down in the chair and get in a supine (flat) position. I hate that feeling. He said that all of my incisions look great and that he wants me to start using some scar treatment and massage the scars multiple times a day. As long as nothing serious pops up then we will see him in about 2 weeks for my 1 month appointment.
So after that appointment we went and had dinner then went to Victoria's Secret because I was in Oregon, where I don't have to pay sales tax, and I bought 2 new bras. I bought sports bras since I won't know my true bra size for a while. I did try on a 36C though and it seems like that will be where I end up. I was exhausted from all of the walking (that I wasn't supposed to be doing) so I couldn't wait to get back in the car. We went back and forth about staying in Portland or making the drive back home. I just wanted to go home, so we got an espresso and drove home.
It was a very long day and I was wiped out. I actually was able to sleep for 10 hours last night, I didn't wake up multiple times with my back aching. I don't know what was different about last night except for all of the activity I had during the day. It's amazing what sleep can do for your soul, I was in a much better mood this morning though. My boobs were still a little achy but not as much as they have been. My sensation is coming back in the left breast. I would say now that maybe 25% of the breast is numb but it's coming around. I can feel my nipple some now too, it's painful but at least that is a sensation lol. It felt good to get ready yesterday. I did my hair and makeup for the first time in 2 weeks, and I was able to get back into my pre surgery jeans. I was amazed at how good my tummy looked in those jeans!! No extra bulges of fat spilling over or needing to be tucked in. I almost cried!
I am going to put a couple of updated pictures. I hope everyone is doing well!

Today is POD 17. Really nothing has changed since the last time I updated. Today as I was doing my scar massages I noticed that it looked kind of funny on my lower right side. When I pushed on the skin it had kind of a delayed response. It looked like a wave in a waterbed. Uh oh, I know what this means. It's a seroma. Now I am not surprised by this, I was actually expecting it since my PS drained the same area 3 days ago. So my husband drained it for me. It was his first time draining a seroma or sticking a needle into me. He did great though. Since my tummy is numb along the incision line, he stuck the needle in that area and he immediately got back serous (apple juice color) fluid. He got a total of 45cc's. We are supposed to check again in 3 days and drain it again if needed. I am assuming I will need drained again. My implants are becoming softer and they seem to be dropping into place. My massages don't hurt at all. So other than that, I have nothing else to report. I can not wait to start living my life again. I just want to go for a run!!!!

Today is POD 17. Really nothing has changed since the last time I updated. Today as I was doing my scar massages I noticed that it looked kind of funny on my lower right side. When I pushed on the skin it had kind of a delayed response. It looked like a wave in a waterbed. Uh oh, I know what this means. It's a seroma. Now I am not surprised by this, I was actually expecting it since my PS drained the same area 3 days ago. So my husband drained it for me. It was his first time draining a seroma or sticking a needle into me. He did great though. Since my tummy is numb along the incision line, he stuck the needle in that area and he immediately got back serous (apple juice color) fluid. He got a total of 45cc's. We are supposed to check again in 3 days and drain it again if needed. I am assuming I will need drained again. My implants are becoming softer and they seem to be dropping into place. My massages don't hurt at all. So other than that, I have nothing else to report. I can not wait to start living my life again. I just want to go for a run!!!!

POD 21- It's so crazy to think at this exact time 3 weeks ago I was just waking up in the recovery room. Time is always so weird to me, how fast it goes but at the same time it can feel like it drags on forever. Well I am still doing about the same as the last time I wrote. I am still having to drain my seroma. I talked with my PS and he said we can drain the seroma daily if we want. So that is what we're going to do. So far my husband has drained it 3 times, and today will be the 4th time. I am still sitting around doing nothing and I wear this CG really tight all day long. The only time it is off is for a shower, or when I do my scar massage. I am still sleeping on my back, I tried laying on my right side for about 30 minutes the other morning and it worked, but then I tried it again a couple days later and my left breast felt like it was on fire. It hurt really bad so I haven't tried again. I am going to post some pictures that were taken a couple days ago. I am praying that this seroma will heal up so I can start moving around more and maybe even wear some normal clothes. I still have 2 weeks until I have to go back to work so I'm crossing my fingers that I will be ok by then. Everyone else seems to be doing great!!

Today is POD 24- I was just doing my scar massages and i felt a "pop" kind of like popping bubble wrap. I googled it and it's normal. When you feel that pop, it's you breaking the scar tissue. So I continued on doing my breast incisions and then I moved to the TT incision. I felt pops all along my incisions. I am wondering if it is because of the point I am at in my healing, or because I skipped my massages yesterday because I had visitors all day. Either way, it felt cool and now area's that were bumpy feeling are flat and soft. So maybe this will help someone else along their journey. Otherwise, nothing has changed. NOTHING. I am going to Portland in a few days to see my PS for my 1 month appointment. We are still draining the seroma. We aren't doing it daily anymore, every 2 days we are getting about 20 cc's. So hopefully the PS will tell me that I can stop worrying about it and start walking. I am getting nervous because I have to go back to work in 11 days and I haven't even walked more than 100 feet in 2 weeks. I work in a hospital and my job is physically demanding. I walk A LOT in my 12 hour shift. And I work 4 12 hour shifts in a row. That's a lot of movement. So I would like to get a little head start before I have to go back. Anyway...I will update more after I see the PS. I am in no pain, and I feel great!! I hope everyone else is feeling great too!

Hey ladies! I am one month and one day post op. I drove to Portland to meet with my PS yesterday. He was very pleased with everything. He was happy with how my breasts look, said I could start wearing an underwire bra. I bought a few at Victoria's Secret and the girl who sized me put me in a 34DD or a 36 D. I was in shock. It was crazy because I had grabbed about 6 bras all in a 36 C size. They all looked kind of strange on me and that was because they were too small. The PS said that they are still going to drop some more and change, I am hoping that they don't get any bigger!! But they look nice and I love the confidence I have in my clothes now. The PS said that I don't have to wear the double towels under my CG anymore (YAY!!) and that I can start walking. That was music to my ears. He said that I can start running in a couple more weeks and I can start lifting light weights now and work my way up to heavy weights. He said that my husband and I can start having sex (we did it the night before the appointment for our first time), I can drive and we don't have to drain the seroma unless it looks like it's got a lot of fluid in it. He said to just check it weekly. He really liked my incisions, he said they were super soft (thanks to popping the scar tissue bubbles). He gave me a titanium marble to put in my belly button, but it's too big for my BB so I might have to try to find something smaller that will work. I still have the crease down my belly and he thinks that it is partly from swelling, and partly from excess fat. He said that he was only able to take so much fat due to not wanting to compromise the blood flow to that area. He said that at 6 months to a year we will re-evaluate and then he may need to do some more lipo and maybe a small revision. With my clothes on you wouldn't notice, so I'm not really too bothered by it but we'll wait and see. It feels so good to just be able to walk around freely and to not have to wear those towels under the CG that made me look 5 months pregnant. When I asked the doctor about my muscle separation he said that I actually had a pretty big separation, almost as if I had been pregnant. He said he put two layers of sutures in my muscles. That is nuts because I have never been pregnant, it was all from fat. I don't think there is anything else to say. I am having no pain, even when I sneeze. I am able to sleep on my sides pretty good, my boobs cause a little pain but I fall asleep and am fine. I go back to work in 5 days so I am trying to walk around a lot to work up my stamina. I am out of town right now but when I get home I will take some more current pictures and post. Overall I am so extremely happy with my results and I would do it again any day. I don't have to see the PS for 2 months now!! I can't believe how just a month ago I was so scared and anxious waiting for this all to happen. I hope all of you ladies waiting are trying to remain calm, and I hope all you ladies that have just gone through surgery are doing well and healing quickly...there is light at the end of the very long tunnel I promise. Take care everyone!!!

I am home now and I am posting some pictures from my 1 month mark and some that I took today. I tried the ear plug in my BB last night. It fit a lot better than the marble did, however, when I took it out this morning, my BB had a bright red ring around the inside of it. It looks kinda angry but since it's numb, I can't feel it. So I may just put it in for a few hours at a time instead of sleeping with it all night. I noticed today that my crease is slightly less defined. I am back into a healthy mode of eating and walking. I slipped a little over the last few weeks. So I weighed myself today and I was 153.4 pounds. I want to get down to 145. I was able to walk today about 3.5 mph for 30 minutes, and then I am going to go back out tonight for another walk. It's really warm here for some reason. Last night I went on a walk wearing just a normal underwire bra and my boobs hurt pretty bad. So today I wore a sports bra and it made a world of difference. It's crazy for me to even have to think about that because my whole life I never needed to wear a bra at all and now I have these DD boobs that need support lol. I hope everyone is doing fabulously!!

Hey everyone! I am 39 days post op. I started back to work on Friday (I work 12 hour shifts as a nurse on a busy cardiac unit) and the first day I gained 3 pounds of fluid, the second day I gained another 2 pounds, and then today I lost 1 of those pounds, but I'm still up 4 pounds from the day I went to work. I notice that my crease is a lot more pronounced due to the swelling and I could barely get my wedding ring off last night because my fingers were so swollen. I know that I have not gained fat because my calories have been between 1300-1700 each day. I am so upset to see the scale going up even though I am doing everything right, but I guess that is just a side effect of the increase in activity. So as of today my weight is 155.6 pounds, when I went in to surgery 39 days ago I was 149.6 pounds, and then the doctor removed 5 pounds of skin and a liter of fat but then implanted me with 2 pounds of boobs, so if I do the math right I have gained 11 pounds since surgery. I know it is all fluid but damn it's frustrating. I still wear my abdominal binder all day long as tight as I can get it, the only time it is off is if I am in the shower. My boobs look great, but I noticed yesterday this "pain" which is totally superficial on my right boob. If I barely touch over that spot it hurts, but if I apply more pressure it doesn't hurt. So I am thinking this could be a nerve but really I have no clue. It hurt the same all during my shift last night and still today it is the same pain. There is nothing there, it's not red, it's not swollen, nothing. So weird. I have been sleeping on my sides and I haven't been using my inclined pillow for about a week now. It is so nice to sleep pretty much like normal. I notice that I have to sleep with a sports bra on though because when I am on my side, the boob that is on the side facing the ceiling hurts some so the bra helps keep them tight against my body. Other than that I have nothing really to report. I hope everyone is doing well and healing fast.

Hi ladies!! I haven't updated in quite a while. I had Thanksgiving back home with my family and it was a good time despite missing my brother who passed away unexpectedly back in January. We pulled through as a family and got through the day. I have been back at work, just finished my 4 12's Tuesday morning. It's kind of crazy because with starting my period and being at work, I gained 3 pounds of fluid overnight. It's kind of crazy. Today I woke up and have lost those 3 pounds. That seems to be my only issue, which is pretty common among us all, swelling. I called my PS yesterday to ask when I can stop wearing my abdominal binder 24/7 and the nurse laughed and said "Oh my! You could have been done with that a month ago!" So needless to say, I ditched that thing. I still will wear it to the gym, but other than that it feels so good to be free from it all. So last night was the first night in 2 months that I slept with just undies on. No sports bra, no abdominal binder, and no wedge pillow!!! I never thought the day would come :) I am back in the gym, I ran 3 miles yesterday pretty easily and I am doing my dips, shoulder presses, chest press ect. It all feels pretty good. I am not doing pull ups still but I'll work back into it. I still am not supposed to do ab work for another month and that's fine with me. There's really nothing else to report. I love the way I look in clothes. Naked I notice that I have quite a bit of loose skin still, he said he may have to go back in at the 6 month mark to do some more lipo and fix an area on my scar that has adhered too much to my body causing an indented area. I don't know, we'll see how it goes. It sure looks a hell of a lot better than it did pre op. I am still 100% happy that I did this. I am loving the boobs!! Oh my! The hubby and I are going to VS today to buy some pretty lingerie :) I hope everyone out there is doing well, those of you who are healing just know that it does get better each and every day. Until next time xoxo

So today is POD 67 (9 weeks 4 days) I am just writing because today while I was running at the gym I noticed this feeling, I thought I had phlegm (you know when you breathe in and can feel something rattling in your throat?) in my lung that I needed to cough up, but after hacking it never quit. When I got home I was making dinner and noticed as I breathed in and out I was still feeling that weird feeling. I finally figured out that it was my right breast. As I pushed on it, it made this "feeling" and sound. I used my stethoscope and listened over the implant and it sounds like a really loud rubbing sound. The left breast is silent when I push on it. What the heck could this be? The breast doesn't look any different and it's not painful. I am worried that I was lifting too much weight at the gym and did something to cause this. Does anyone have any insight? I am going to call my PS tomorrow and see what he thinks.

I called the PS yesterday and talked with his nurse. She said that it is not typical to be experiencing what I am with the implant rubbing. She said I could have possibly stretched the scar capsule allowing room for the implant to slide around in it's pocket, but she said she is sure it is going to be more of an annoyance than an actual concern. She said these types of things probably happen but go away on their own. She said most patients don't have a stethoscope to be able to listen to it lol. So she said she would pass the info on to my PS and if he feels that he needs to see me sooner than my 3 month appointment that she will call me and let me know. I am supposed to be seeing him the first week of January. The rubbing today is not near as exaggerated today as it was a couple days ago. It still doesn't hurt or look any different. I am going back to the gym today to lift weight and run some more, so we shall see.

Hi guys, just thought I would add a couple newer pictures. Hope everyone is doing well.

Hey guys! So It's been 3 months, 1 week and 5 days since surgery. Everything has been going well. I have been back to lifting weights, doing pull ups, running, jump roping ect. I do notice my right boob will still make that weird noise if I have done heavy lifting and then I go running. It goes away after a little while. Still don't know what exactly is going on in there. I haven't seen my PS since my 1 month post op, I was supposed to see him for a 3 month visit but the roads over here are not so good, so I have an appointment on the 31st of this month.
The sensation in my left breast is 95% back, thank God! I am still pretty much totally numb on my mons (only sensation is on the right side). My tummy is still numb in the middle below the bellybutton and along the incision. I am very thrilled with my new body. I still have a crease in the middle of my tummy but it has subsided a lot, and with my clothes on you could never tell. I still get swollen after working out and working my 12 hour shifts at the hospital.
I tried to do a plank the other day (I haven't been cleared yet for ab work) but I only did it for maybe 20 seconds and my abs were sore for a couple days. I couldn't believe it. So when I am able to get back into ab work I am going to have to take it really slow.
I am wearing body hugging dresses and shirts and I feel so sexy in them. I was out at a restaurant the other night and got some cat calls from a group of 20 something guys, it was embarrassing, but flattering too I guess. It's a new thing for me so it's going to take a while before I am use to it.
Not much else to report, my life is back to normal and everything has been going smooth. I will post some pictures so you guys can see. I doubt that they look much different than the last ones though. I hope everyone else is doing great and healing well.

I just had my first post op appointment since my 1 month appointment. The doctor was very pleased with my boobs (as am I). He was happy with my tummy as well. He said I have taken good care of my scars and have done a good job keeping the implants soft and mobile in their pocket. I don't really do my scar massages like I should, I am lucky if I do it once a week. I don't use anything fancy on them, just the same stuff from the beginning, Palmer's Tummy Butter that I got for like $5 for a jar.
I had an area I noticed along my tummy tuck incision that looked like a zit but it was dark. I tried popping it but nothing really came out. About a week later I took some tweezers to it and found that it was a pubic hair that must have gotten sewn into the incision and then healed into it. I pulled the hair out and now it it smooth again. So strange.
I am still numb on my mons and along the tummy incision and around my belly button but my left boob has full sensation since about 2 months post op.
I was cleared by my doctor to begin ab work, so I plan to start that tomorrow. He says I have no restrictions now.
I still swell in my tummy and I am sitting around 160 pounds which is 10 pounds heavier than when I went into surgery. The doctor said that at my next appointment in 4 months he is going to take pictures and if I want it he will do some more lipo on both sides by my BB. I am going to try diet and exercise and see if I can lose the weight by then and do lipo if absolutely necessary.
I am still so pleased with everything, I look so sexy now in dresses and fitted shirts and pants. I love it. I have spent so much money in the last 4 months on clothes, lingerie and bras at VS. I need to be cut off lol.
I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their new bodies. I am looking forward to spring and summer to be able to show this body off a little. Take care everyone.

Hi ladies! It's been a little over 5 months now since surgery. It's crazy how fast time flies. I am doing well, my breasts and tummy look great and I feel great. My incision has lightened up a ton and there are no issues with it. The only thing I am unhappy with is that I am 15 pounds heavier than I was on the day I went into surgery. Right now I feel that there is about 3-5 pounds that are there because of TOM, but otherwise I have been running and doing Jillian Micheals 30 Day shread and burning about 700-900 calories a day 6 days a week and still I haven't lost weight. I'm not really sure what is going on. I still fit into my clothes and I still look good, so I'm thinking it could just be swelling but who knows. I am able to do ab exercises with no troubles. I don't go see my PS until June I believe. Nothing really to report. I will post a picture of me in my clothes that I took yesterday. Hope everyone is doing fabulous as well!!

Not much has changed with me in the last 4 months or so. I am doing great and everything looks awesome. I will post some pictures eventually, but I am in the process of moving to another state so some of my things are at one house, and others are at the other house. Anyway, my boobs are awesome, my tummy is flat and my scars are fading nicely. I still have numbness on the left side of my mons and along my incision on my tummy. I am getting use to it though. I still say this was the best thing I could have done for myself and if you are reading this and you're on the fence, I say DO IT!!!! You will be so happy you did. Happy healing ladies!!