TT and Breast Lift Post 90lb Weight Loss - 6 months later! - Columbus, OH

Today marks 6 months since my surgery. Wow! It has gone by super fast and yet I remember those first few weeks lasted a lifetime. I'm tossing up some new photos to show that yes, the swelling does subside and the scars can be managed. :) I do still take my Niacin daily to help with swelling, wear a minimal compression garment at night, and work the scars every morning. But, by this time, if swelling sets in, it's really late in the evening and often after I've been on my feet all day. I'll be scheduling my next checkup with my PS for after the holidays. I haven't seen him in months. I'm hoping he's as excited about my results as I am. I agonized a lot about doing the surgery, was terrified heading in, had a challenging recovery, and yet still, every day, am thankful and extremely glad I did it. So, yes, for anyone still worrying or thinking about it, it's worth it! :)

Quick update: I think Niacin has become my best friend. I remembered a doctor having me taking a Niacin heavy supplement to support my lymphatic system during a series of procedures I had done last year. Fast forward to the post-op swell and it's explained to me that a big cause for the swelling is that a lot of the lymphatic pathways were severed as part of the surgery. Soooo...I try that Niacin supplement and voila, less swelling! Could be coincidence but I'll go with it. I take it in the morning and at night and my swelling has been far more manageable these past couple of months. I know I'm on the end of the "swell curve" since my surgery was in June, but when I've skipped it, I've noticed a difference. Plus, I figure it can't hurt supporting that system as we roll into cold and flu season...

I'm a little over 3 months post surgery and I still find myself surprised at how manic I've become about the whole healing process. I'm so worried that I'm going to undo the wonderful work that Dr. Heck did or that I'm going to damage something and majorly set back my healing. My latest obstacle has become an increasing discomfort in my side after I exercise. I'm back up to exercising 5-6 days/week, including running, weight lifting, pilates, and barre workouts. My strenght has really come back, but as I've tried to transition back over to the pilates more and go deeper in my practice, what was once a twinge has become a more constant pain. It's manageable, but is so deep that I worried I was pulling the tissue wrong or ripping muscle. I talked to my Dr's nurse and she felt all was fine, but said I could come in and have them take a look to be sure. I really didn't want to because I don't want to jockey for the most-annoying/needy-patient-of-the-year award. But I did head in this morning just to make sure. Dr. Heck explained that with so many things that are rearranged internally as part of the procedure, the body starts to move differently, pulling on things in a new way and adjusting to the changes. He told me to continue what I'm doing, that I'm not hurting anything, and that those pains may last for up to a year. I really hope I didn't come off whiny. After all of this, I can handle pain, trust me. I'm just trying to not do my normal thing of muscle through it since I figure pain is still a warning signal during this recovery. All in all, though, I will say that for as much as I thought I prepared and educated myself before the surgery, I'm constantly surprised at how little I really know (and therefor am in a perpetual state of worry) about what is happening as I heal.

I am attaching updated pics. I doubt they look better than last time, probably worse. Being on my feet all day as a constant level of swelling happening so I try not to fixate on my torso too much these days. I just do my scar management routine every day, sometimes twice, and keep working on getting my skin up to par.