44 Yrs Old, 2 Kids Finally Got the Nerves to Do It - Chino Hills, CA

ok, for the past hour or so Ive been trying upload pictures but for whatever reason its just not happening. Looks like its a tech issue on realself because everywhere else I can download. So I figured any update is better than no update since I know its been a while. I apologize for the lack of pics, I will try again later hopefully it will get resolved. Well, let me jus say its been a long journey. Although my surgery date was April 11th, Monday july 4th will be 12 weeks post op. Im a little disappointed with results because my belly button looks weird and my skin still has some lose saggy tissue near the incision. to make matters worse, my hernia may be the result of belly button result. I wish I can post pic to show but basically the small button I had on the inside of my belly is now bigger and obvious. Dr. thinks hernia may be back. He wrote me a referral to get an ultra sound for closer look. Kinda bumbed but thankful at the same time that he at least cares and wants to help. He said he will have to re-do belly button because even he does not like how it looks. Not sure if the loose skin is a common thing or skin just wasn't pulled down enough. You cant tell unless I bend down causing stomach to tuck in is when skin gets a little saggy and crinkly like before surgery. But only above incisions. On a positive note, does it look better than before? absolutely. Im still happy I chose him because of his excellent bedside manners I know he will continue to work with me to make improvements. He already said he is going to laser the scar tissue to minimize its appearance which most doctors will not do. Plus, he is sending me to do an ultra sound to see why belly button looks the way it does and says he's going to fix it. Again, most doctors wouldn't do this. My friend got her sugery in Arizona and also had a hernia but her doc didn't say anything about it where I was able to take care of it during the surgery. Now she may face having to do surgery for the hernia if it grows or begins to bother her after spending so much pain and money on her TT. Additionally, her belly button is swollen, red and big. Her doc didn't offer her to make any improvements. So I when I compare stories like this, I know Im in good hands and made the right decision. Anyhow, as I was saying, Im content with my results and hope my dr will be able to make improvements. Very likely, the improvments may have to wait a while like in January 2017 because Im going to Cancun in December and don't want to be recovering while on vacation. I prefer to wait. For now, Im still recovering because I still feel some pain and discomfort. I was very active doing zumba 5 days a week and some weight lifting. I cant do that yet. Which brings me to my next comment. Ive been gaining weight! I feel horrible. Since all I do is eat and not exercise ive been gaining. But I started taking walks to atleast burn some calories and also started counting my calories making sure I don't go over. Im hoping this can help for now. Dr said I can return to working out at 3 months but I don't feel ready since I feel the pain in my stomach still. Well, that's it for now. I hope to show some pics soon. I may have to contact realself to inquire about technical issue im having downloading my pics. thanks for reading.

So Im at one week post op. Well, one week and one day to be exact. progression is slow. Im about 30% better. It no longer hurts to breath, I can still the tightness and stitches from the stomach muscles making it still very uncomfortable to stand straight because you feel everything pulling inside. Ive already taken a shower twice. Last night was the second shower. It is very challenging. I used my walker to stand in the shower and tilted my head forward which is easy to do since Im already in that hunched position. My husband washed my hair, then sponged bathed my body. It felt so good. the girdle the doctor gave me is crotch less because he does not want me to take it off. Pretty gross. But when I shower my husband throws it in the washer. I was super swollen the first 4-5 days but yesterday I can already see the swelling subsiding.
On another note, I saw my incision yesterday and was disappointed to see excess skin healing on the left side of my hip. I am going to ask the doctor about this. Also,, my doc had to make a small vertical incision because apparently I did not have enough skin to pull all the way down. Unfortunately, the vertical incision has turned black which means there was not enough blood supply in the verticle incision. Im not happy about this either. But I guess its why they make you sign all those paper work before the surgery agreeing that I undertand the results are always a risk and can not guarantee I will get what I want. ON the positive side, my belly so far looks good which was the most important to me to begin with. Also, I'm lucky my doctor also has laser equipment and told me he can laser the black scar tissue on the vertical incision to diminish the scar tissue. However, I need to ask him about my left hip scar tissue. Soon as I can I will post a pic. ITs still very hard for me to stand and even take off girdle without help. any questions, feel free to ask.

Surgery went well. Today is 5 days post op. Let me just say the first 3 days were HELL! I honestly had no idea the magnitude of pain I would endure. And to be frank, had I known I'm not sure i would have proceeded. The pain was so severe it even hurt to breath. My ribs were tender and soar and back was also painful from the long hours of just sitting. My girdle was so tight it felt like my ribs were literally getting crushed. And every time I breathed it felt like the stitches in my upper stomach muscles were piercing through my muscle tissue causing severe pain just to breath or even move slightly. I could not move. I can only take small short breaths because regular breathing was too painful. Words can't describe the full amount of pain I felt. I thought to myself why in the world did I do this? I thought I must be crazy. I could not see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have not fully seen results and can only hope and pray when I do I will have a different opinion. wish to say more but I'm getting sleepy. All i do is sleep and walk to bathroom and dr appnts i get tired easy. Today feeling 20% better. Just wanted to follow up. I will post again within a week hopefully with pics.