Tummy Tuck and Lipo, 40yo, Mom of 2 - Chicago, IL

Ahhhhh. The 9 week milestone. It feels SOOO good to be here.

I feel like "me" again. This is truly the best week evvvvverrr.

Here is what's great:
- I don't feel like a rigid robot that cannot bend or twist. I have full range of motion all over, and that stiff cardboard belly feeling I have is gone!
- my incision is amazing. Like. Aaaaaazing. Still wearing paper tape for 2 more weeks, but damn it is flat, no lumps or bumps and it's a nice dark pink color.
-I can, ahem, "do it" with my husband and it doesn't feel strange anymore!
-I am active again. It feels so good to jump, skip, run, play ball, get on the floor with my dogs, lift laundry baskets, just normal every day activities...I can do them all! Wheeee!

I still experience swelling in my belly. Sometimes it's so bad it protrudes. From my belly button down and all the way around my waist and torso to my pubic area still feels tingly and swollen. But, it's improved. The swelling and tingly feeling worked its way from top to bottom. I figure by week 14 I should have little of that left (I hope) based on how long it took other places to heal - if I go top to bottom of torso.

I tried some core exercises and I could feel some twinges in my muscle repair. I'm going to take it easy on those and concentrate on arms and legs for now. I'll slowly add in more ab exercises, and keep going with cardio.

I started wearing my compression garment again at night after seeing some swelling these past 2 weeks. It's been hot here and I wonder if that has something to do with it? I looked good this morning after wearing the compression belt to bed. It's amazing what that will do to the swelling. I'm not shy to wear it if it helps me.

My leg lipo is healing nicely too. I do have numbness in my left leg still, but it's improving. Once I get back into my full exercise routine, I think I'll enjoy the full effect of the leg lipo. Right now I'm a little gooey from not engaging in my normal fitness routine these past 9 weeks. And my eating hasn't been totally on point, either. Looking forward to next week when I return to my normal fitness schedule. Fingers crossed I can bounce right back into my strength and circuit training

Here's some 9 week photos taken today!

I haven't updated in 2 weeks! Whoops. It's been busy here, and I'm finally feeling more me!

At 5 and 6 weeks indefinitely felt improvements. I started sleeping on my side, I am more mobile, jogging and taking long walks at a brisk pace (4 miles), and I'm just overall able to do more of the simple things I couldn't before like, tie my own shoes, wear normal clothes, bend over to shave my legs...that kind of stuff.

My swelling is slowly going down. It seems to be decreasing from the top of my abdomen and working its way down. I'm softer and more squishy under my ribcage, but as you get closer to my belly button and pubic area, it's still rigid and hard.

My belly button looks amazing! So happy with it. My incision/scar look so good, my nurse and PS were impressed with my healing progress at my 6 week check in. I do have evenings I swell up like crazy in my belly, and others I don't. I wear a compression binder on my belly some days if swelling seems more obvious, and I always wear it to bed. It's just a big ole white stretchy band with Velcro. I pull it as tight as I can around my torso and suck it in to give me some pressure to help that swelling move out!

Lipo in my legs and hips- still experiencing swelling and numbness. It's improving, but jogging feels strange in places it was done...sorta like I'm not connected there? I CAN run and do more, but the sensations I get when I do cardio feels so strange that I hesitate. I am going to try to run a 5k this weekend at a faster pace and see how I do. I miss my fitness regimen and fear I've gotten gooey not doing anything these past 5-6 weeks other than walking.

I need to wear my tape for 6 more weeks, can't engage my abs til 8-10 weeks PO (I'll try at 9 and see how I do) and just keep doin what I'm doin I guess!

Here's some recent pics of my progress. I am very very pleased with Dr Epsteins work and his care for me in this post-op phase. I have to say the physical aspect of this recovery was nothing in comparison to the mental recovery. I cannot stress this enough: recovering from a tummy tuck with muscle repair and lipo will take even the toughest person and perfect healer 6-8 weeks to get to a semi-normal state. I was a fool and expected to bounce back at 2 weeks, and that caused me mental breakdowns. I wanted to do my pre-op activities right away. Accepting this takes months to recover from is key to your mental health.

I'm happy to answer any questions you have candidly and honestly if you're considering having this surgery. It's worth it, just be prepared on all fronts, physical, lists, medications and doo dads for recovery...but most importantly MENTALLY.

Holy moly! 4 weeks have already crawled on by since my surgery. I truly never thought I would get to this day - haha! Improvements: I can breathe! My upper belly has softened up enough for me not to feel strangled when I breathe. Man that was tight. I can eat! I don't get full from 5 bites of food any more. I'm eatin smaller meals, but meals, nonetheless. I lived on rice pudding, smoothies and bagels for 3 weeks! If I ate more, man I paid for it. Things I wish I would've asked or prepared for better: Mental state. I was sure I would be one of those people who woke up on day 10 ready to run a marathon. Yeeeeeah. Nope. Even today, I'm cleared for cardio, and I'm only walking 3 miles, not running it. I'm not there yet. I wish I would've asked more about lipo recovery. I truly wasn't prepared for this long process and strange feelings, along with the swelling. My flanks, lower back/upper butt and thighs are still tingly and numb. I read about it, but never asked about it. Since my focus was on the TT with MR, I overlooked the lipo. I had my 3 week PO check up and all looked good. I was cleared to ditch the garment and do cardio. My incisions look great, my belly button *sigh* it's so cute. I just love it! I also love the absence of the jiggle and flab once on my belly, I seriously can't believe what this Dr did to my belly. Amazing, magical! Almost can't believe it's still MY belly. My hips are visibly smaller, too, thanks to lipo. Can't wait for the swelling in my belly and thighs to go down so I can appreciate those results even more. I have gotten out a lot to parties and kids events and I do get around really well. Getting in and out of my SUV is a little challenging, I'm still not as flexible in my movements, not sure if that's in my head or truly my body just not bending, but I just don't move like I used to right now. Everything else is pretty normal-ish. If I have a very active day, I do swell up like a puffer fish at night. I'm trying to be gentle on myself and not push it, healing is key! Here's a few 4 week PO pics of me in one of my new bikinis! Squeeeee! So excited to wear this :)