Full Tummy Tuck with Umbilical Hernia & Diastasis Rectus Repair! Scottsdale, AZ

Time just flies..I'm 6 weeks post op today!!! Feeling good overall but since I'm on my feet most of the day, I'm pretty tired by 4 or 5pm! I went to the gym for the first time today and boy, it's gonna take a while before I'm back doing boot camp classes, yoga etc. I walked on the treadmill for 25 minutes and then did some light stretching. That was about all I could handle! A little bit at a time. So this morning I woke up and was pleasantly surprised..my swelling has come down!!:) Weeks 3-6 I had noticeable and significant on and off swelling in my lower abdomen and mons area, but thankfully that has really decreased!!! Well, I haven't checked since first thing this a.m. so i'm probably swollen right now from all the activity today, but when I checked this morning, my stomach was the flattest I've seen it since I've had my surgery! Yay! I've also lost 9 pounds in the last six weeks/since I had surgery. I've really been watching my diet and eating a healthy, clean diet with high protein, lots of vegetables, some fruit and healthy fats, 95% of the time. Of course I allow myself little splurges here and there but then I get back on track. I highly recommend watching the diet after this surgery as it will really maximize your results!! I've always eaten healthy but am eating smaller portions now, which is making the difference. Anyhow, here are my pics from this morning, before any swelling could set in, lol. Oh I forgot to mention, about a week ago I had a minor scare as I was changing my scar therapy tape. I had noticed a small area on my incision that was oozing a bit of clear fluid and blood, so I called my dr's office the next morning and was seen by a nurse right away. Turns out it was just a suture trying to "spit". The nurse tried removing it but it wouldn't come out, so she put hydrogen peroxide and a band aid on it and said the suture will dissolve on its own. Sure enough, she was right!:) After a few days the suture dissolved and the area on my incision was healed. So if this happens to you, please don't freak out! Hope this helps someone. Btw I still wear my binder all the time except for an hour or so in the evenings after my shower. Also, at 4 1/2 weeks post op I started sleeping in my bed! Still sleeping on my back, but at least I'm not sleeping in the recliner anymore! I sleep with a pillow under my knees and that takes the pressure off of my incision. Btw my abs feel sooooo tight by the end of the day from being on my feet so much and active and busy with my kids. So thankful that my hubby helps me get the kids to bed at night because by the end of the day, I'm toast! Lol. So happy and grateful that I had this surgery! If you live in AZ, I definitely recommend Dr. Shaw!!

Good morning Real Self peeps! Today I am 1 month post op! It's been exactly 4 weeks since I had my surgery! Yesterday I went in to my dr's office to have my tape changed on my incision and they said I could start with the silicone tape scar therapy! So that's what I have on my incision now!:) My plastic surgeon also checked to make sure i didn't have any fluid build up, because I had so much swelling the other day. But thankfully I have no fluid build up! He had me do some sit ups and crunches in his office so he could really check and make sure that there was no fluid. Then shortly after I got home from my appointment, my ab muscles were super crazy tight (from the few ab crunches that i did) and I felt lightheaded and like it was hard to take deep breaths! I took a muscle relaxer and sat in my recliner, and that helped, thankfully! This surgery is a miracle surgery, but it is major surgery for sure!! My dr. said that I could slowly start doing some ab exercises to strengthen my core, but since I felt so tight and uncomfortable yesterday after doing even just a few crunches in his office, I think I will hold off from doing ab strengthening exercises for a while longer. I have been trying to spend a few hours a day off of my feet and that has helped bring down the swelling in my abs, thankfully. I am still swollen (but not nearly as much as I was a few days ago) but I was reading on here that swelling peaks between 3 and 5 weeks post op tummy tuck. And I also had a hernia repair, so that could be part of it too. Only time and patience will heal! Here are a few pics that I took this morning. Hope you all are healing well!

I'm 3 1/2 weeks post-op! Starting at around 3 weeks post-op, I have been feeling pretty good energy wise and overall (aside from still being slightly hunched over and a tight feeling in my abs). Since 3 weeks post-op, I have been up and about with my kids and family and not resting in my recliner until I go to bed at night. I am really swollen now! I read a ton about "swell hell" prior to having surgery, but didnt really fully experience it until today. Here is a pic that I took today..I'm so swollen in the lower abs! I think this is a reminder to myself that I had major surgery and need to take it even more easy. I'm still not lifting anything heavy, not exercising (other than walking) and not bending and lifting. I just drove for the first time at 3 weeks post-op. Feeling a bit down about the swelling but know its only temoorary and have to keep reminding myself of that. So, increased activity definitely equals increased swelling. I have been wearing my compression garmet 24/7 since I had the surgery (except for when i shower). I also haven't been sleeping as well at night because i'm still sleeping in my recliner. I'm not comfortable lying on my side yet. Soon enough! I'm still 1000% happy I did the surgery, despite this:). fingers crossed that my swelling goes doen very soon! I have already started to decrease the time that I'm on my feet while at home and in general, since I noticed the swelling this morning. Will update again soon! I am posting this pic to show that now matter how good the result of a tummy tuck, do expect (hopefully temporary) swelling with increased activity! I have lost 5 pounds since after surgery so I know it's not that. Xoxo