Tucked and THRILLED! TT with Muscle Repair and Hernia Repair- 1/16/12 - Washington, DC

I was very nervous in the days just before surgery. I kept worrying about the what ifs, my kids, the money, etc. Mostly I was scared about something going wrong. It was so difficult tucking my kids into bed the night before surgery.

We left at 5:30 to make it to the surgery center by 6:30. Once there things moved quickly. I changed into the paper gown and cap, nurse started my IV, the anesthesiologist came in to talk, then my surgeon came in. He marked me with the blue marker, both laying down and standing up. Then I kissed my hubby and was wheeled off to the OR. I remember rolling in and commenting on how cold it was. Next thing I remember I was waking up to my husband stroking my hair. The surgery took 3 hours. We were on our way home by just after noon time.

I don't remember much about the rest of the day. I slept a lot and was not in much pain at all. I slept through the night, too, only waking once to pee. It was a very easy day.

Day 1 Post-op-

Today was not that bad. I stayed on top of my pain meds, walked around a few times, even sat downstairs in the recliner for a couple of hours, hanging out with my mom and sis. My appetite was normal. I struggled to walk very well and awas definitely very hunched over. No BM today!

Day 3 Post-op-

First post-op appt with PS. I was shocked at my belly. The incision is pretty gruesome. The belly button was bloody and crusted over so I have no idea how it will turn out. I also have 4 "tacks", 2 on either side of the belly button. The PS says they are where he tacked my skin down to the tissue underneath to decrease the open area where fluid can build up. He says the stitches will dissolve and the skin will pop back up in those places. I sure hope so! Maybe that's why my drains have not been putting out as much fluid ass others I've read. Anyway, the visit wore me out and I had woken up with a killer headache. By the time I got home I was so wiped out that I slept for 5 hours. Definitely the toughest day so far.....

Day 4 Post-op-

A BM this morning- YAY!! LOL Finally seem to be getting rid of that pesky headache. I have only taken Tylenol today, so I guess I'm officially off the pain meds. Today has been a pretty good day. I'm still easily fatigued, but the pain isn't bad at all. I'm just praying this is all worth it and my belly, BB, and incision sites heal well. Guess I'm a bit worried after what I saw at the appt. yesterday....

Day 12 PO-

A lot has happened since Day 4 PO. I think the hardest part has been the fatigue... and the back pain from walking hunched over. Up until about day 8 PO, I just couldn't be upright for more than an hour before I had to lay down. Very frustrating. But the second I laid down I'd be fine. The gravity of standing just constantly wore me down. BUT- here I am now and I'm feeling SO MUCH BETTER!! I had my first drain removed at 8 days PO. My PS also removed my belly button stitches at that time. It felt great to get rid of at least one! Then on Day 10 PO the other drain was removed. I think it was a huge psychological boost to finally be rid of all of the "extras", because I have felt a lot better since.

As for how I look, I'm becoming happier and happier. I guess I wasn't prepared for how kind of shocking all of the incisions would be. I'm not particularly squeamish, and I'd looked at tons of pics on here before my TT, but somehow it was different to look down and see it on my tummy. None of my kids were C-sections. I've never had a huge incision. In addition to the horizontal incision, I also have a short vertical incision coming up from the horizontal one about 1 1/2 ". My PS told me ahead of time that I'd have that due to my long torso and the fact that I had very little loose skin above my BB. Finally, I have the 4 "tacks". I wasn't told about those pre-op so wasn't prepared to see them. All of this together, in addition to the BB, was quite shocking at first.

Now that I'm used to all of that, and things are healing, I'm beginning to see the big picture and how I will look (or hope I look) down the line. I'm pretty happy at this point. My focus now seems to be on the dreaded "swell hell". I'm particularly swollen around the incision and upper vaginal area. It's as though I have a thin intertube around me! Hoping that dissipates with time....