38 Year Old with 3 Kids Several Stretch Marks and a Long Vertical Scar in Need of a Much Needed Tummy Tuck. - Newton, KS

We'll I am almost 4 weeks post op. I am still very swollen especially in the hip area and right above the scar. I am still very tender to the touch. Still have some stretch marks but I knew that going in. Just was wishing for as little as possible:( so right above my scar is swollen like a little role. Is that normal? Has anyone else got that and did it go away? I hope it is just swollen but not sure if that will be the end result.

1.Rent a hospital bed (so so helpful)
2.Rent a walker (I didn't think I would need this but I got it anyways and it came in very handy)
3.Order a pouch to hold your drains and tubes, they come in very helpful during showers (you can order them at marsupialpouch.com
4.Rent a hospital bed tray(comes in very handy to put all your supplies on it so you can reach it from the hospital bed, also helps with eating in bed)
5.Have Chapstick, hand sanitizer mouth spray lap top cell phone remote and medicine all within reaching distance.
6.Clean house before surgery
7.Have all your groceries and prescriptions before surgery
8.Have pets and kids go stay with a relative for at least a week but preferably two.
9.Have someone with you at all times taking care off you so that all you need to do is walk to the bathroom for at least a week but two preferably
10.Avoid stairs as long as possible
11.Don't go past the recommended time for taking your pain medicine(even if your feeling pretty good take your pain meds on time becAuse it will catch up with you and you will pay for it.
12.Stay away from sodium and sugars
13.Only drink water and eat fruits vegetables and lots of protein which will help you heal faster.
14.Have a back scratcher near by(this was so helpful because the pain meds made me itch and I couldn't reach anywhere so I just used my back scratcher.)
15.Do all your research on what to expect after surgery so that you don't have false expectations. Know that you are going to be swollen for a very long time so that you don't freak out or feel upset that the liposuction didn't work. You won't see your true results of the tummy tuck or lipo for months.
16.And most importantly follow all your doctors instructions, remember you are paying a lot of money and going through a lot to look your best so do exactly what they say so you don't mess up the results.
17.If you start to get depressed look at your stomach and remember what the goal is and just keep telling your self tHat it is all worth it. Great things come to those who are patient .
Good luck:)

When I scheduled my surgery date I was so nervous that every time I talked about it I would get butterflies in my stomach and loss my appetite. I decided not to think about it at all so I wouldn't worry longer than I had to. As I was 4 weeks out I changed the way of thinking and decided to start thinking about my surgery as much as possible that way when the day is here I would have thought about it so much that I wouldn't be nervous(or so I hoped), I am happy to say that it worked, I had thought about the surgery and researched everything I needed to prepare for surgery that by the time I was 3 days out I wasn't nervous anymore. It was just a normal part of my day. I had pasted the nervous stage and was just excited to finally get my body back. It also helped that I had a doctor that had great bed side manners and her and her staff were very good and making me feel comfortable. I would highly recommend being prepared and have everything ready before surgery so you only have to worry about recovering. I will provide a list of everything I did to prepare for surgery that I feel was very helpful.