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3 weeks
I've been pushing too hard the last week, but I have 6 kids and a life I have to get back to. Some of it I don't have to do, but I have a hard time keeping still. Tuesday my body said no more, and I had to stay down more, so I folded a bunch of laundry. Wednesday I was back at it again and helped move a loveseat 300 feet, fixed a vacuum, scrubbed a shower drain, etc. Too much. Last night I hurt all night long. I did not sleep well at all. By 5:30 I was awake for good. Really frustrating. Today I scrubbed the guest bathroom top to bottom bc my little boys had made it into a giant urinal and I couldn't take it. This morning I was swollen 2.5 inches! I don't think I'm going to have any better sleep tonight after all that I did today.
The spot I swell worst is just above the incision. It makes a little ledge, but from reading around that seems normal. I might bust out the ice packs again. I had really slacked on the bromelein and arnica too, so i'm going to see if that helps.
I went from Monday night to Wednesday morning without ibuprofen (600 mg 3 times a day), and that was a mistake. I wasn't ready for that. I just hate taking meds, so I wanted to see if I could be off it yet. Nope.
I wonder how long I have to wear these binders. I hope to be done with them by the time we go to the beach in early June. That will be nearly 3 months post op. Yes?
So no photos today. I looked better a week ago. I'm sure the fact that I'm being to physically active and eating whatever I want (like I always do), like the pasta I had tonight, is affecting my swelling.
New pictures
I am anxious to get back into life, but am trying to be patient and avoid overdoing it as much as possible. I still rarely feel any discomfort related to my implants, probably bc I'm so focused on my tummy pain.
I found a before picture that shows my tummy better. I am also posting my 2-week pics.
2 Weeks today!
In the morning I took my daughter to her well check, ran home and dropped her off with the sitter. Then on the way up to SL I stopped at Smashburger for lunch (i know, salty, but I love it, and I didn't have time for what I really wanted, which was sushi). Ate on the way to my 2-week check. Dr. Keen squealed when she saw me and said everything looked perfect. They were surprised that my swelling wasn't worse and that over the next few months I can expect 2-3 inches to come off my waist, at least. I'm hoping for 3-4. She said definitely possible. Because I know my body, I can tell I am swollen around the ribs, even though it looks nice and flat. So that will also go down. The majority of my swelling is below the navel, like most people. She took off the tape and said no more was necessary. I asked about the folds. She called them pleats and said they will go away as I heal. I asked if I could leave without putting on the hospital compression thing. Sure thing.
She said I could stop using the surgical compression garment and bra and move into stage 2 pieces. So I stopped at Nordstrom and Dillard's near her office. Nordstrom was embarrassingly bare in their intimates department. Nada. Dillard's dept. was much larger but still nothing better than spanx. I've been researching and wanted something more like the corset type like a squeem or leonisa that give more compression for swelling. So I ordered a leonisa corset type online. Why no Spanx? Well, I'm tired of pulling something huge up and down when I have to pee, and am for sure not peeing through a gusset anymore. With all the water I'm drinking I'm peeing like a pregnant woman. I also wanted more compression. The reviews I've read of the new and improved Spanx are unimpressive. People don't like the changes. The longer I went with nothing while I shopped, the more pain I had, and it was up high, not down low. So the support does help.
Anyway I left empty-handed and disappointed. Then I went and picked up my older kids at school and went home. Then I made dinner and bed time for the kids and a long chat with someone. No rest at all.
So yesterday and today I used this corset type compression thing I had bought for a dress. Not terribly comfortable with the boning stabbing my hip bones. It also has nothing to anchor it, so it slides up into the incisions under my breasts and above my TT incision (yikes!). Still seemed better than that hospital one. This evening I noticed blood on my camisole. Just a tiny bit. Either my pants or the corset or both were rubbing on my incision At that point it had slid just above the cut. I have some medical tape so I put that on, took off the corset and jeans and put on yoga pants. Relaxed a little and put on some Spanx i already had but have kind of lost their oomph. Then I put on the velcro binder. It doesn't bother me like the other things did. And I intend to sleep that way, unless I take it off in my sleep. But now I'm worried about this binder I ordered that it will do the same. I just didn't want something with an attached panty. Bleh. No more gussets! No more up and down and peeling it off and hooks and eyes and zippers just to urinate. Fingers crossed. I guess tomorrow I will used the spanx and maybe the binder.
I also put on the surgical bra tonight. I'm not ready to sleep braless, and the underwire of my real bra was starting to rub. In fact, my breasts are the same size as when I was pregnant, and I slept in a bra all through pregnancy and nursing. I just felt better. I wonder if I will do the same once I heal.
I've just been taking ibuprofen since Monday, but i don't notice a lot of improvement when i do. I'm not consistent with it. I don't love pills. I'm grateful for them in certain situations, but avoid them when possible, which is most of the time.
Today no rest either. I did a lot of my normal things, but I'm worn out. Tomorrow I will spend the better part of the day at a dance competition with my daughter. I hope I can make it.
I'm surprised at the dramatic improvement in how I felt right at the 2-week mark. I took new pictures. My waist is still sitting around 29.5-30, but I think I look better, even if the measurement says the same. I will upload them this weekend. I also found a better before picture.
Provider Review
I had 6 kids in 6 years, including 2 sets of multiples. My husband told me from the very beginning that after all I went through during those pregnancies to make sure our babies had the best possible chance at the healthiest outcomes, I could repair anything I wanted to when it was all over. I always lost the weight easily, but each time my tummy stayed a little bigger. Some of it was extra skin, but I thought I was also accumulating fat underneath with each one, even though I stay fit. It was frustrating. Now that baby #6 is a year old, I decided to go for it. I've been researching for 2 years and chose Dr. Angela Keen for several reasons. First she came very highly recommended from a surgeon friend of mine who has also had work done by her. This friend is a perfectionist, and she referred to Dr. Keen as meticulous. I've also seen the work Dr. Keen did on her, and she looks amazing. My friend is very fit and takes excellent care of herself, and I know she would only trust her body to someone equally invested in getting the best possible outcome. My friend also chose to do things that are subtle, which I also appreciate and agree with. Then I started researching Dr. Keen for myself, along with some other doctors recommended by other friends. I was very leery of the doctors who had thousands of 5-star reviews that were a paragraph or two. They could have been written by anyone. No picures, no details, very generic. Why are these doctors pounding the pavement so hard? They also offer discounts if you book within 24 hours of your consult. That rubbed me wrong as well. When I met with Dr. Keen, I knew immediately that we had the same vision. I just wanted a balanced body, as far as my chest size went, and the best outcome for restoring my mid-section, which was my primary purpose. One doctor I had seen suggested I get a little lipo on my thighs. It honestly hadn't occurred to me that I needed it. Yes, I still had about 5 baby pounds left, but I also hadn't been working out seriously because too much exercise was affecting my breast milk supply. I figured it would come off when I was done BF and could get more serious about fitness. When I asked Dr. Keen about lipo for my thighs she said no way. She said I have a beautiful figure and gorgeous curves (and I'm a size 4, for goodness' sake), and if that tiny part bothered me, a little extra cardio would take care of that. That little bit of lipo could have been an extra $3k in her pocket, but she said she wouldn't do it. I'd have to see another doctor if I wanted that done. I really appreciated the integrity. I also don't want to look like a Barbie. I want to look like I did before I had kids (and just a little more chest since puberty never arrived in that region of my body). I want to look like myself without the damage. I also love her passion for what she does. She gets so excited for how she can help restore your body. Her enthusiasm is contagious. She never suggested extra procedures. I asked about a few, and she said that I don't need them. Some doctors make you feel like a huge project that they will undertake and fix bc you were never right in the first place. They suggest this and that and have you ever considered this? Dr. Keen thinks of you as someone who needs a little restoration, like a classic car, not a complete overhaul. That is how I feel too. I like my unique features. I don't want to be a carbon copy of what someone else says is an ideal.