Melbell28

Just went for my 6 month post-op appt. this week. My dr. was really happy with my results thus far. I had a lot of scar tissue built up in my belly button, so he gave me a cortisone shot to break up the scar tissue. He said it would take up to 6 weeks, but after 5 days it already looks so much better. It wasn't painful at all, I think because I still have some numbness in that area. My TT scar has dropped a little which is great, because I was ready to give away my old bathing suits, but now most of them work, covering the scar. I can't believe its been 6 months, I feel like a new person, and I have a body that I love. Cutting out carbs and sugar as much as possible and I'm about 4 pounds away from my perfect weight.

Just posted 6 month post-op pics. Can't believe it's been 6 months. Will head to the dr. soon for my official before and after pic comparison, should be fun! Still one of the greatest decisions I've ever had the guts to go through with! My confidence level is so much higher, I love dressing up to go out, and I'm no longer ashamed to pass by my closet mirror naked. Still have a lot of healing to do in terms of the redness of my scar, but it's almost completely flat and my inner stomach muscles almost feel completely normal. I have almost full feeling back in my stomach and about 80% feeling in my boobs. Can't believe that I could barely walk or hold my children 6 months ago, right after surgery... now I have more energy than ever!!

Your 20 week pics are amazing! Now I'm regreting not going out and getting the scar strips! Wow! Congrats!

Hi Stay Young... ugh, just when you thought you were out of the woods! I've heard that lipo produces a lot more swelling than anything else (which I didn't have). My advice to you would be a couple of things: 1)buy massage oil and start massaging your scars twice a day. my dr. told me that rigorous massage was necessary to keep scar tissue from forming and will probably reduce swelling. 2)I've been seeing an acupuncturist for an unrelated issue, but once she saw my scar, she said that she could make drastic improvements, and I think it has helped. I've been going for the past 8 weeks and my scar is a lot lighter, my feeling in that area is returning and I have almost no swelling. Also, (and excuse my graphic account)...last week, about three hours after an appointment I emptied my entire stomach in a matter of 6 hours. I called her the next day and asked if it had something to do with the treatment. She told me that sometimes as the inner scars heal, the skin can attach to the intestines and it may have been that the treatments finally released that fusion. Since then I've felt a lot less pressure in my stomach... so I am a total fan of acupuncture!! I hope that you find some relief soon. Oh, and about the compression garments, my dr. advised me to wear them as long as I needed to, to feel comfortable. I know women who wore them for 12 weeks!! So I wouldn't put too much emphasis on your doc telling you that you didn't need it. Good luck, I'm no doctor, but I hope that my advice helps!! :-) Keep us posted.

hey Karen MB, not sure if you meant to post this to my site... but just in case you needed to vent to someone who went through the same thing, I would be happy to reply :-) I'm so sorry to hear about what you are going thru with the steristrips... a lot of woman on this site talk about them, but I only had them for about two days. When my drain was pulled, the incision area closed up immediately. Maybe try going to a surgical store and seeing if they have certain bandages for people with allergies to adhesive?? In terms of your healing progress, just keep positive, I'm almost 5 months from my surgery date, and aside from some slight numbness I feel 100% myself. You'll be there before you know it!! This may sound silly, but what if you bought a silk slip and placed it between your bindings and your skin?? My doctor said that the bindings are super important. I had some chaffing under my arm pits from the breast band, I used aquafor to quickly fix that issue. Keep the faith!! 6 months from now when you can wear a tight fitting tee, you'll know it was all worth it! Good luck. I keep meaning to post some updated pics, hopefully this week.