Five weeks post op! - Atlanta, GA

Wow, it's a been a while since I've updated. No news is good news, right?! I saw my surgeon last week and he said all is going according to plan. I'd love to hear from other folks at this stage and compare notes.

I guess the biggest thing is that my back still hurts quite a bit. After a while of cooking, cleaning, showering, running errands, etc. I need to put my binder on to give me support. I must admit, my back has hurt for years. So I'm not sure how much this is related to my tummy tuck.

My incision doesn't bother me at all with my binder on. Otherwise, it's tight (feels like a zipper almost) which I think is a good thing. I didn't expect the area underneath the scar (my pubic area, for lack of a better word) to feel so tight. But hey, it's lifted much more than before so that's another good thing. My surgeon put fresh tape over the scar. He says I can start putting cocoa butter or bio oil or the like once the tape falls off in a couple of weeks. Boy, and that whole area (even my sides where I was bruised itches). And not even really itches per se. But I just want to massage the whole thing. I'll be able to once the tape falls off.

Oh, and one last thing. My belly button is so deep! I feel like I need to clean the thing out with a Qtip or it'll just get all gross. Weird!

Things are going well. From reading other posts, I get the feeling I'm doing better than average at this point after surgery. It's weird. With my binder (I'm alternating it with a shaper/Spanx-like garment) on, I feel basically normal. Within like 15 minutes of taking it off, my back starts aching and my incision and skin feel tight. My doc said I don't have to wear it anymore if I don't want but I can't imagine doing much without it. I do sleep without it because I was sweating my butt off during the night.

Also, I have a thin piece of tape covering my incision. The doc said it would come off on its own. But I'm not sure what's going on underneath. Do the stitches dissolve? Fall out on their own?

So I survived my little nervous breakdown last Thursday. The day after and every day since have gone well. I still have stitches with a thin strip of tape over the incision. It's kinda tight and all I want to do is rub and scratch my incision! I can't wait to have all that stuff removed and be able to bathe that thing in oil and lotion! I have a pucker at one end of my incision. I believe it will be at least semi permanent. Doesn't really bother me though since -- even in a bathing suit -- I think it will be covered. My bruises are gone and I've been doing the marble in the belly button trick during the day. Seems to be working and I don't even notice it's there.

My abs themselved are no longer tight (I had pretty minimal muscle repair) and my back hurts less as long as I keep my binder on. Without my binder or "girdle," my bad starts aching after about 30 minutes if I'm up moving around. I started sleeping without any binder and I slept MUCH better. I think I was getting too hot with that thing on.

My big problem right now is sciatica of all things. I've never had it but I know enough about it to recognize the symptoms. I literally work up with it last week. I have no idea if it's related to my surgery. Anyone else experience that? Anywho, it hurts worse than anything else right now. It's ok as long as I'm on anti-inflammatories, but I'm afraid if I stay on those it will tear up my stomach.

Still don't feel like I can "enjoy" the results yet. I can't wait to go shopping when the time comes!