BBL Slow, Painful Recovery. Marietta, GA

I am 5 weeks post surgery. I've read countless reviews, talked to medical staff about what I should do during the healing process, I'm now that I'm now 5 weeks post and still not able to carry on my normal activities without doing so I'm pain, I'm a little shocked that no one has mentioned that this awful feeling that I've been experiencing from the first week until now is part of the normal healing process. I was told and I had read that you stay swollen for 6 months up to a year. I remember hearing that the worst day would be the second or third, riding would be difficult and it would be hard doing everything on your stomach and standing up, so I knew that. I read that having lipo could cause numbness in certain areas and there would be itching from the inside as it heals. I knew you had to massage yourself sometimes. To this day, I am not sure if something is wrong, but my doctor says according to the photos, I don't seem to have an infection and that this is normal, so I'm just grimacing when I move, until I get better. Only one person wrote that you feel like your skin is being torn from your bones. This is how I feel going into the sixth week. It's horrible. Yes, I massage myself and it helps make it bearable somehow but in a way the massages freak me out more than anything and always have. I was told to do this three times a day at first and to continue it. I tried. I really did. I felt sick to my stomach the second week, as I touched my own dead, swollen skin on my abdomen and back. I guess I had a phobia. I knew I wasn't massaging enough at first, because I hated the feeling so much, but there was no one with me twenty four hours to massage me every time either. It was the strangest feeling ever but I tried. The garmet I wore was killing me and rubbed a raw place on my side. It is much better, but still there. After three weeks, the feeling in my abdomen came back in certain areas. My sides became to sensitive and that was unexpected too. It felt like a bundle of nerves on each side. Hurts to massage. When the feeling started to come back in certain areas, I felt human again and not just a numb piece of flesh. I was glad and my rub downs got better. Still, my back is still completely numb and swollen right above where it was lipoed. It's very painful to run myself. I don't know if the swelling causes me to hurt and feel this miserable or if it's because the tissue is just growing back. Now, I have all this, along with a tightness that I can't describe. It's terrible. It hurts so bad to move after not moving for a little while. Even then, it's still a constant feeling that even makes me short of breath. I get very tired easily. Needless to say, I may never get lipo again anywhere, now that I see how this really is. I wanted it under my chin and arms but not now. Sounds like a nightmare. I can't believe people that people are told they can go back to work in 2 weeks. I had to take two more weeks off. I have returned to work but every day is a challenge. Will I be able to make it without a pain pill and will it be tolerable the tightness sometimes just feels like it's affecting something on the inside that makes me have to take a deep breath in order to get air. I wonder what is next in this healing process. I have grandchildren and an elderly mother that I don't feel like going to see, because of the way I feel. I want so badly to start feeling normal again. I didn't expect it to be like this.

I remember asking the anethiologist when I would go to sleep and he said "about now". That's all I remember. It seemed about 5 mins. No dreams. I woke up and felt great. My husband had gotten a motel across the street. We were going to stay the night and go home the next day, after seeing the doctor. On my belly, i squirmed and tried to get half way comfortable, although we were only going across the street. I had a fear of blood clots so I made myself get up through the night, every couple of hours. I had thigh compression stockings but I wasn't sure if it was necessary to wear them all the time. I was afraid it was too much sometimes but there was so much I didn't know. I didn't know how I was going to manage taking these on and off by myself, when the husband couldn't be with me. I could not bend down to do that or anything else. I truly felt handicapped. I thought that it would be a temporary thing but it lasted much longer than I expected. In fact, I'm 6 weeks and it still hurts to pick things up and bend over. Although it was numb at first, it was very tender feeling. It's just a different feeling now, after 6 weeks, than then. Worse in some ways, because the whole area that was lipoed is tight and feels like it does not want to bend. When I force it, it hurts, but it's the only way to keep functioning. The first night at the motel, I hobbled over to the laundry room with my husband. My garmet was soaked with blood from the drainage and had to be washed. Also my binder. For four hours or so, i didn't have either on. Put it in dryer. Big mistake. It would not fit when I tried to put it back on, so I brought it with me to the Drs office to see if I could get another one. I ended up buying another one, because not only was the first one too tight, I had swollen some during the time it was off. I got in the back seat with no seat belt and on my stomach, tried to brace for the trip. My abdomen hurt so bad to lay on and I was afraid of blood clots on the four hour trip. I could not stretch my legs out and was very uncomfortable. We agreed that I would stay and he would return home to work. I had an appointment in a week and I couldn't see making another trip and back then too. I got the room for six more days and said bye to my husband.

I was afraid to take my garmet off for a shower or anything because I knew if I couldn't get it back on. There would be no one to help me. I took care of myself the best I could. My husband had left me food, gotten my medication and other items that I didn't know whether I would use or not use. Just guessed at the most necessary things. Needless to say, I brought too much. I took my blood thinner shots which I hated, but it helped me be less afraid of clots. I slept on the stomach but hated it. I'm not a stomach sleeper. I can't breathe like that and can't get comfortable. I knelt on a pillow side of the bed when I wasn't on my stomach. I didn't have much of an appetite. I was able to hobble down to the dining room and get a free breakfast but eating was no fun when you have to do it standing up. I would go outside the motel every day to get some sunshine and air. Also a little excersise. I thought I needed it. I didn't hurt then. The biggest problem was bending over and getting exhausted easily. Abdomen and back were numb but my knees were sore from kneeling and my neck from cramping from the awkward position I would be in when I was on my stomach. I feel like I was stronger this first week, regardless of everything. I knew if I could lay on my stomach for 2 weeks, I maybe could get some relief after that. I didn't massage myself that week. Didn't even cross my mind. I was just trying to make it by myself until my one week appointment day. It felt gross to touch it, especially then, although I'm sure I needed to. My sister came the day before last. It was wonderful to have some help. I took a shower and even though I didn't want to ask for help, I was calling her before it was over. Being discreet went out the window. I couldn't even manage to put the garmet and binder on myself. The shower felt great though. Oh yeah, until the last day at the motel, I did not have a bowel movement because I thought the garmet wasn't made with the opening that far back. When I could have done it, I didn't. I was afraid to take the garmet off when I was alone so I just didn't gave a bowl movement. Got impacted which wasn't fun either. Husband came back for me. I was feeling pretty good and was pretty sure with a pain killer , I'd make it home okay on my belly, in the back seat. First to the doctor for my one week appointment.

I was very swollen. I had a smooth shapes. Didn't seem to really help my swelling or tenderness. A good massage always feels good and it's supposed to help it heal better and smoother.

Before we left town, we stopped to eat. I had to dine standing up. My legs and back was tired but the food was good. I tried so hard to be independent as I could and do normal things, because I was a trooper at that point and thought things would steadily get better for me. Boy, if I had known then the truth, I would have laid down and dug a hole to get in. I will follow up with after I got home.

Two weeks before I would have to make that trip again. Thank goodness. It was great to be home and gave everything unpacked. I rested on my stomach a lot but just couldn't get right. That was my biggest issue during this time. Just pure exhaustion from not being able to sleep in a comfortable position. You'd better be ready to sleep when you go face down because it is too hard to see to do anything else. For me, what to do with my head was a big issue. My poor neck tried to hold out but one day when I fell asleep with it turned to the side(the only way to get air), I woke up with a crowd neck on my right side. It hurt badly for the next two weeks. I swear u think I still feel that some anyway, I found a spot on the recliner to rest and I moved there for the next couple of weeks. That way, it wouldn't be flat and would be easier for me to get up. It was better, but still had a neck problem. See, it's the fact that you don't want to sleep on your hood either, because there was work done there too. That means ALL the way on my stomach and not even a little on my side. I'm a side and back sleeper. I suffered. I got a massage and it was alright. It's needed more than anything. My abdomen still felt tender and swollen. Also my back. Above the part that was lipoed on my back, there is a swollen section that goes all the way across. Still trying to protect my butt, even in the massage table. Boppy pillow too big so. we finally just rolled towels to put under my legs. The lady who massaged me let me take a table home so I could have somewhere to place my head. There I'd a device that you can put on the bed, where you can lay your head face down, whole bring massaged. This was sooo sweet of her. The bed was soft and I used it s lot , mostly during the day. It was comfty for my stomach. This is the first time mentioning this but this but during this whole adventure, I had a memory foam pad for a bed. I had gotten a twin size, thinking I could make a cushion out of it later. I'm do glad I brought it on the trip. I used it in the car, in the motel(on the bed), and now everywhere I try to sleep at home. It is very comfortable for my stomach and feels really soothing. One of the better things. One night, after sleeping for 3 or 4 hrs on the massage table, with head positioned straight and level with body, I woke up and my head and every sinus I had was congested. I was do stopped up. Even my eyes were swollen. Oh goodness. I knew I couldn't get a nights sleep on that. I was still getting up every 2 or 3 hrs anyway. Still trying to prevent blood clots. Shill wearing stockings. Still miserable. I rubbed cream on myself and husband helped me. It felt so weird and I hated it more than anything but I forced myself to do it. I didn't want lumps and I thought it would help with the swelling, which it didn't. Oh yeah, I was swelling so bad when I got back home, I weighed 145 pounds. Before all this, I was 134. I continued to weigh over for the next 3 weeks. I did not feel like I was really any better by the time my 3 week appointment came. Took that trip again with my foam pad. Took more pictures and got my second smooth shapes. Swollen and tender. Still mostly numb everywhere. I showed the dr an indentions in my butt cheek. I had gotten weak a few days before my appointment and tried sleeping on my sides some. This may have caused it. If it doesn't get any worse, I'm not worrying about that. Back home until I go back for my 3 month appointment I'm supposed up get an skin firming treatment then. My three weeks had came and it was almost time to return to work. Things were looking better. I had one more week because thank goodness, I took a whole onto off and not two weeks. Still, I didn't feel ready. Oh well.