1 Day Post-op Circumferential Body Lift - Kirkland, WA

So here's a little background on my weight loss journey: After a 120 pound weight loss over the last few years from just diet and exercise, it was very hard to do all that work both physically and emotionally, just to be left with a body that was no longer deformed from fat, but now deformed from loose skin. It's such a disappointing feeling to have all these high hopes thinking you'll look "normal" after losing weight and getting closer to your goal weight. But instead I think I felt even more freakish with the loose wrinkly skin, instead of just having fat skin. Especially when it came to relationships, this loose skin has definitely put a strain on the intimate side of my relationships. It has been very difficult for me to feel comfortable while being intimate with all of the loose skin in the way. Plus it was sometimes very uncomfortable and painful if that skin ever got pulled on. Before surgery I weighed in at about 200 pounds, and the nurse said they removed a whopping 12 POUNDS during the surgery, so surreal!!!!

Going into surgery yesterday morning, I was surprisingly not very nervous. I got to the point where I just had to keep telling myself that whatever happens happens, and it was out of my control. Plus it helped that I had an AMAZING Nurse who made me feel so calm! She held my hand the whole time I was falling asleep from the Anesthesia and was so patient in answering any questions/concerns I had before surgery. The Anesthesiologist was great too and between him and the nurse, they kept a very light mood the whole morning leading up to the time of surgery.

Unfortunately my surgeon didn't have the best bedside manner that day, he almost acted as if he were irritated and didn't want to be there. This made me feel a bit uncomfortable, and very confused as to why he was acting this way. This was pretty surprising because he had great bedside manner during my 2 pre-op appointments. I just hope he did well with my surgery and everything turns out as uniform as possible. I did a lot of research on surgeons and he got great reviews, so I'm hoping he lives up to that reputation with the work he did on me. I guess time will only tell.

So I'm currently 1 day post-op from a Circumferential Lower Body Lift. Last night was a little rough, pretty much felt like I'd been hit by a Big Mac truck and then it rolled back over me a few times lol Just very tired and painful while getting in and out of the car and into and out of bed when I got home. The walking part was okay and not as painful, it was really just the getting up and down that caused twinges of sharp pains. The car ride home last night was pretty irritating because there was a ton of traffic and what should have been a 20-30 minute drive home was over an hour. It honestly felt like were driving across country, it felt like it was never going to end! I was really nauseous and dizzy at the surgery center and during the car ride home, but I'm realizing now I think it was bc I was too hot. The surgical staff had put my sweatshirt and sweatpants back on me before I left the surgery center. These clothes were fine when I came to the surgery center in the morning but were too hot when I left because it was 80 degrees outside. So I'd suggest dressing light for surgery days, especially if you know it's going to be warm out that afternoon when you go home. I ended up keeping my eyes closed the whole way home in the car because I was getting extreme motion sickness. Thankfully never threw up but felt like I was on the edge of doing so for a good hour or two. When I got home I went to the bathroom, took my pain and anti-nausea meds and headed straight to bed.

My biggest suggestion to anyone getting this type of surgery is to use your legs instead of your arms while trying to sit down and get up, it just seems to put less strain on the suture area. I'd also recommend standing upright right away! I've been standing as upright as I can every time I get up, and it feels EXTREMELY tight and uncomfortable, but the longer you put off doing it, the worse it's going to feel. I actually work at a hospital and I've noticed the patients that get up and walk around right away, are always the ones to recover quicker and go home sooner. It's not going to feel good, but it's worth it to push yourself into standing upright and walking around now than further down the line when everything is tighter and more painful.

I started out trying to sleep upright in my bed, but I kept waking up uncomfortable. I usually sleep on my side but it didn't sound like a good idea with how tight everything was. I adjusted about 2 hours into sleeping rather restlessly into more of a laying down position. I was able to sleep a little bit better in that position, but not much. I ended up getting up to go to the bathroom and going to sleep in the recliner in the living room instead of my bed. This was a great choice, I'd recommend a recliner over a bed to anyone having this type of surgery. Just easier to get up and down out of a chair instead of a bed. Plus my bed sits up really high off the ground so I felt like I had to crawl into it, which was really difficult and made it feel like I was going to stretch open my sutures.

I'd also highly recommend setting an alarm to keep up with your pain and anti-nausea meds. Remember to definitely eat something though every time you take these meds or you'll get extremely nauseous! Vicodin definitely helped take the uncomfortable edge off and helped me get a pretty good night's sleep in the recliner. Be careful about getting around on your own while on painkillers. I've never really taken pain meds in the past, but they definitely made me really sleepy and just kind of woozy and dizzy. And remember to cough often and take deep breaths to avoid getting pneumonia.

The surgeon's office also gave me an SCD leg pump machine that massages your legs to help prevent blood clots. I believe I have a little bit of a blood clot in my hand where the IV was put in yesterday, because I feel a lump in the vein area and it's tender to the touch. The nurse said it's pretty common and I should put a warm compress on it every so often to loosen it up. I had pretty bad swelling in both hands, but they're definitely going down as time goes on. I just keep trying to remember to move my feet and arms intermittently while sitting/laying down.

I have 3 drains in, one by each hip and one in the front by the pubic/groin area. These are kind of a pain in the butt to maintain and empty every couple hours, but I've just been trying to make it a habit to empty them when I'm already sitting on the toilet. I find I'm feeling really weak when standing for anymore than a couple minutes and even dizzy at times, especially after just taking my Vicodin. So it helps to empty my drains while I'm sitting on the toilet in a resting position. Just a heads up, the area of the drains can be a little painful and sting after emptying the drain. I'm guessing it's because you're allowing more pressure to suck out the extra blood/fluids when you suction the drain closed again after emptying it.

This is definitely a major surgery and I know I have a long road of recovery ahead of me, but as of right now I'm happy with my decision to go through with the surgery. I'm actually feeling better than I thought I would, and I'm trying my best to keep a positive attitude about everything, which I think is helping keep my spirits up aside from the discomfort I'm feeling at times. I'm also trying to keep my mind active with TV, mind games like Sudoku, reading and playing around on the computer. I'm drinking a lot of water and trying to eat a little something every couple hours. Even though I don't really have an appetite as of right now, I think eating is definitely helping to give me a little bit of much needed energy.

I've posted a pre-op pictures and will try to get some post-op pictures up within the next couple days. Good luck to everyone out there currently going through recovery or thinking about having surgery. Speedy recovery! :)

I slept okay last night, but was definitely a little restless at times. I'm still setting an alarm every 4 hours to remind myself to take my pain and anti-nausea meds. Getting up in the morning out of the recliner after staying in the same position for about 7 hours was definitely one of the most painful parts of today. I feel like every time I stand up I'm straining again to try to stand upright. Everything is still extremely tight. It's not so much that it hurts to stand upright, it's more the tightness sensation and feeling like you're going to rip open your sutures that makes you hesitate to stand completely upright.

Today was definitely rougher than yesterday, and I'm feeling a few different kinds of pain today! My neck and back are sore from laying around so much and being a little hunched over still. I iced them last night and that definitely helped. I'm also having an extremely sharp stabbing and burning sensation intermittently around my groin area incisions. It's definitely an intense stabbing/burning pain that takes my breath away, so remembering to take deep breaths is really important because the pain can make me light-headed while walking around if I forget to breathe through the pain. Thankfully this pain only occurs sometimes when I'm walking around the house or standing in one position for a prolonged period of time, but doesn't occur when sitting. Another type of pain I've been having today is in my incisions around my backside/bottom. The posterior incisions are definitely tender today, and I didn't really feel them at all yesterday. The areas around most of the incisions are still pretty numb, which I'm thankful for at this point, because I'd probably be in a lot more pain if most of the incision areas weren't numb.

I tried to sit up as well as lay in my bed today, but it was sooo uncomfortable! Laying down flat stretched my stomach too much and it was almost impossible getting up on my own from that flat of a position, and since I've been taking care of myself since yesterday (i.e. 1 day post-op), I probably won't try lying down in bed again for at least a couple more days. Just don't want to risk tearing an incision or injuring myself from straining to get up on my own. Sitting up in bed wasn't comfortable either because the incisions around my backside are pretty low and are become more tender as time goes on. Thank god for recliners, they will be your best friend after this type of surgery!! I don't recommend doing recovery alone if you can help it, especially for the first couple days post-op because it's a lot tougher than I thought it would be, and you just get wiped out really quickly. I've been trying to walk around the house for about 5 minutes at a time about every 2 hours or so.

I haven't really gotten any sleep today because my backside is so sore, it's hard to find a comfortable position for a long period of time. I find myself being really irritable this afternoon, there has just been a lot of chaos going on around the house...the house cleaners came and took over the house for two hours, then my roommates obnoxious dogs were barking constantly at the cleaners and now my roommate has the TV blaring in the background with a cheesy lifetime movie on with some of the worst acting I've ever seen. I don't usually get easily irritated but every little noise seems to be heightened by the Vicodin, not to mention the fact that I'm exhausted at this point and just want to sleep but can't seem to find a position comfortable enough to sleep in :(

On an upside though, earlier today I did feel like I had more energy and was able to walk around the house quite a few times without feeling dizzy like I did yesterday. This is probably another reason why I'm irritable right now, I probably did too much exercise and didn't follow it up with rest like I probably should have. I don't really have much of an appetite either so I've still just been forcing myself to eat a little something at least every 4 hours with my pain meds. The more you walk around though, the more you're having to empty your drains. This is a pain at first but I'm starting to get in a routine with them and it's becoming more second nature and quicker to empty and maintain them.

I'm also feeling pretty unsure about the results of my surgery, which is definitely putting doubts into my head if the surgery was worth it. I know only time will tell but it's hard to look at things right now and see much of a difference. Hoping it's just a lot of swelling and things will calm down and shrink over time, because as of right now, I don't really feel like I look much different than I did before the surgery :/

I have my first post-op appointment with my surgeon tomorrow. I'm curious to see how I'll be feeling tomorrow and also very interested to see what the surgeon has to say about my
healing progress.

I knew this was going to be a roller coaster ride coming into this experience, but it doesn't make it any easier to deal with the highs and lows. I just have to keep reminding myself that time heals all wounds and things will get better over the next few weeks!

Yesterday was the roughest day thus far during my recovery, but thankfully I got about 12 hours of sleep on and off last night, and feel a lot better today! Granted I woke up about every 3-5 hours feeling like I'd been hit by a truck again, but once the pain meds kicked in I was able to fall back asleep pretty quickly. I'm learning quickly that good rest, regulating pain meds and good nutrition is so imperative for a speedy recovery.

I had quite a bit more energy today and found myself getting up out of the recliner a lot more often, probably about once every 1-2 hours. Plus I didn't find myself having to sit as often to take a rest while up and about. Getting up out of the chair and standing upright is definitely getting easier and I'm not feel as tight and pulled as I did the first couple days. I also didn't feel as exhausted/fatigued after the times I was up and about today. I'm still having the really sharp, acid-type burning pain in my groin area, so that tends to paralyze me in pain at times. But I've found that if I sit down for a couple minutes, it goes away temporarily. It's happening almost every time I'm up walking around or standing and the pain meds unfortunately don't seem to touch that specific pain, but I'm pushing through it and taking it slow in hopes that it gets better soon.

I had my first post-op appt today and this was my first time getting out of the house since surgery. My suggestions would be to wear something comfy/loose fitting (I wore a dress and slip-on shoes so I didn't have to bend much) and try to work it where you can take some pain meds right before your appt. I'd also suggest giving yourself plenty of time to get dressed, go to the bathroom, empty your drains and take meds. It feels like everything is in slow motion when you're recovering and it took me about an hour just to do those "simple" things lol

My surgeon said my incisions looked really good and the nurse was surprised I was standing completely upright and doing as well as I was just 3 days after surgery. The surgeon and the nurse took all of my remaining bandages off surrounding my belly button and my drains. The Dr. did notice that my belly button was pretty scabbed over so they put some bacitracin antibiotic in that area and sent me home with some extra. The surgeon also wrote me another full prescription for Vicodin but I'm hoping I won't need it because it makes me feel pretty fuzzy and sleepy. My surgeon also put a binder around my abdomen today that I'm supposed to wear 24/7 for the next few weeks. I was thinking it was going to be painful because it sits right over my incisions, but most of my incisions are still pretty numb so it's really not too bad thankfully. I definitely feel the binder there, but it feels more like pressure than pain.

I have a couple areas along my incision that look very lumpy and uneven. These were concerning because they don't look smooth like what I was expecting the incision to look like all the way around. The surgeon says this is normal and will look smoother once the skin relaxes and the swelling goes down. He said the binder is really helpful in assisting these things to smooth out over the next few weeks as well.

When I initially told the Nurse about the acid-like burning pain, she looked at me kind of weird and said she hadn't really heard anyone describe post-op pain like that before. It made me feel a little worried that maybe what I was feeling wasn't normal. But when I talked to the Surgeon about it he said that there's a large Nerve channel in the groin area that probably got irritated from the surgery and he said it'll get better over time.

Overall I was very pleased with how I was feeling today being only 3 days out from a major surgery. It definitely hasn't been an easy process, but I feel like my independence and stubbornness have helped me recover a lot quicker than some people.

One point that I want to bring up again is how easily irritable I've been throughout this process. It usually takes a lot to get under my skin, but I've found myself having a low tolerance for many things over the last couple days. I'm not sure if the irritability is due to just not feeling like myself completely, or it may be due to being in pain or possibly a side-effect from the Vicodin. Or it could be a combination on those 3 things, I'm not really sure. My advice though to anyone considering a major surgery is to make sure you're going to be in a quiet, relaxing environment with people who are compassionate and personalities you can tolerate easily. I'm currently dealing with listening to my roommates dogs bark all throughout the day at anything that passes the window. Their barking rarely used to bother me before this surgery, but now that I'm trying to rest throughout the day, every little bark and other loud noise seems like nails on a chalkboard. Kind of wish I would have thought to buy earplugs or a good set of headphones before this process.

It's so easy for me to have so many doubts at this point about whether or not the surgery was worth it. Even though I want nothing more than instant gratification regarding this surgery, I have to accept that the results I'm seeing right now are not an accurate representation of the final results. Plus I plan to have a breast lift/augmentation, brachioplasty and possibly a thigh lift within the next couple years to complete my weight loss transformation. Part of me doesn't want to do more surgery in the future because it's so exhausting, painful and expensive, but the other part of me feels like I deserve to have a somewhat "normal" body after all the hard work I've done over the last few years. I just feel thankful that I have my health right now and need to remember to take life one day at a time!