Anxiously Awaiting Mommy Makeover! Edina, MN

Ok, it has been forever since I updated. I had a few rough weeks. Went to the Dr around 11 days PO to check out my leg. They did an ultrasound and said it was a clot, but just superficial so not a DVT or anything scary. They said the heat pack it, take aspirin and let it resolve on it's own. They said it was pretty unlikely it would turn into anything more. Well, fast forward to about 19 days PO and my leg was so painful and I could barely step on it. It was swollen twice the size of the other one! Went to the ER, where they did another ultrasound and said I had a really bad DVT. Then they did a chest CT and found multiple pulmonary embolisms. I had noticed a little shortness of breath but had thought it was just from the tight compression garments, etc. Anyways, they kept me in the hospital for 2 days on a warfarin drip. Then I went home and started Warfarin pill therapy (for 3-6 months) plus gave myself Lovenox injections for a few days. It was quite the ordeal and definitely got me a bit down for a while. I would still do this all over again, but would definitely quit my birth control in the month prior to surgery. I was on Kariva, which is one of many '3rd generation' pills, which I've now learned has a higher blood clot risk than some others. I also tested positive for a gene that increases blot clot risks, so the odds were against me.

With all of that in mind, I am still very happy that I had this surgery. My confidence is much higher and I feel so much better about myself. Getting dressed is SO much easier, not worrying if certain pieces cover my "bad" spots right and I just feel less stressed overall! I have definitely been experiencing a lot of swelling. I feel good in the morning, but am pretty swollen by afternoon. It was the worst around 2 weeks post op, then seemed to get a bit better and then got worse again around 5-6 weeks. I'm just hoping it will truly go away at some point!
Because of the leg issue, I didn't get to start working out at early as I'd wanted, though I was moving around quite a bit still. I started doing the stationary bike for 30-60 minutes a day around 4 weeks PO, along with some lighter arm weights. Then I finally started jogging again this past week at 6 weeks with a little heavier arm weights and some squats. I'm only running a couple miles at a VERY slow pace right now while I try to get comfortable with it again. The only thing that really "hurts" when I run is my super low back hips area near where the lipo incisions were there, it just aches a bit when I start running, but usually works itself out after I get warmed up. Can't wait to get back to my normal workouts.

I will post some picture updates shortly also. Hope you are all recovering well!

Managed to get a quick pic. This is day 9 in the evening, and the most swollen I've been so far. I have terrible bruising, but you can't see most of it (back and inner/back thighs). Implant size was 339cc. I was worried they would be to small because he decided this size in surgery (had talked about 375/400) but I'm so glad he went down because I was worried about them being too large. I think these will be the full C that I want when they are fluffed out. They actually aren't very swollen in this pic. It seems like they swell more in the morning and the rest of me swells in the evening.

Anyways, I can already tell that I will love the results when I'm all healed up. I'm thrilled with my scar placement. Bummed about the vertical, but I knew that I'd likely have it, and it was stitched in a special way so it will hopefully mostly disappear in time. I've seen entire scars high than my vertical, so I will take it!

Day 8 I felt like I backtracked a little bit. Maybe I overdid it, but I was super uncomfortable. I thinking more feeling is coming back in my abdomen also because I've noticed more little twinges and there are two spots that have this uncomfortable pulling sensation. Calf is still bugging me too, so I may have to get that checked out again.

Day 9 I felt a bit better again, but am trying to really take it easy and not overdo it.

I forgot to mention that I did get the raised toilet seat, which was really nice the first few days after the catheter was out. I'm fine on the normal seat now though, so probably could've toughed it out those first few days. I didn't get the recliner or hospital bed. Slept pretty comfortably on our sectional couch the first 2 nights and then moved to the bed, both with lots of pillows. Would probably have been easier getting off of a recliner though. I really didn't buy too much though. Dr provided garments, gauze, bra top, etc.

Lastly, I never drained very much at all. The most I ever had was 25 in one drain and that was the first day. After that it was barely anything - 3-10 per drain and we just changed twice a day. The Dr said this was one of the lowest amounts of drainage in his 27 years, so I'm not sure why that is or if it is good or bad.