Photos Added! TT and MR - Oakland, CA

Hi All
So I'm 9 Days Post Op today - feeling pretty good! Finally had a chance to post some pics. As you can see Im pretty swollen still so the changes are kind of subtle but im looking forward to big improvements once all that swelling goes down. Im still hunched over and Ive been using a walker that my PS office lent me. Today we purchased a walking cane which I feel helps me to walk straighter. I got it just in case I am still hunched when I return to work - the walker is too cumbersome for that since I work at a school.

Well I hung in there for a few days! I've been gradually getting better and stronger. Today is PO day 4. I got all my Xmas cards out and all was well until this evening when our teenage babysitter returned to replace the adult friends that we've had helping. She somehow managed to break the house key in the lock! My daughter was being a little sh*t and the dinner got burned. My two year old started throwing a fit just as my husb got home from work - in other words, the normal chaos of my house! But unlike a normal day, I got completely overwhelmed since I couldn't do anything. I got up to go to the bathroom and discovered that aunt flo had just arrived! Argh!! So there I was with a burnt dinner, 2 screaming kids, blood all over the place, and my dear husband, bless his heart, changing my maxi pad! Ayayay! Tomorrow will be a better day!

PO Day 2!!
Ok here is a recap of my experience yesterday:

We got to the surgery center at 6am in the pouring rain. My hubby was holding my hand the entire car ride - so cute!
The receptionist was a mean crabby lady who made me sign a bunch of forms and took our final payment.

We waited a few more minutes then a nurse came to get us, well I thought they would let my hubby come along but sadly they made us say goodbye at that point which was disappointing and unexpected. :(

The nurse took me in back and asked me a bunch of medical history questions. She weighed me and checked my BP. I was very surprised to see that I had gained a few pounds over the past few weeks - all that stress eating yikes!!
They also gave me a preg test but I had done an at-home test the day prior just to be sure.

Next I got undressed and put on the gown and shower cap. The put on the compression stockings and inserted my IV (agh!)
My PS appeared at that point with his purple marker. I had to stand up while he marked my fat belly all up. He was very reassuring and nice but it took a long while and he kept pulling and tugging on my belly fat ouch!
After that was over they laid me back down and the anesthesiologist came to say hello. At this point I was starting to get very nervous. I was wishing they had let my husband stay with me. Luckily the nurse put some Versed in my IV and I immediately felt relaxed. The rest of the details are fuzzy - I can remember them wheeling me into the OR and that was it!
It seemed like just a short while later I was waking up to more smiling nurses in recovery. It was hard to see at first everything was blurry. Finally they let hubby in to say hi. I was so relieved to see him!!
I could feel a lot of abdominal pain so they gave me lots of meds in my IV. I couldn't believe it when I looked at the time - I had been there for hours!! I heard the nurses tell my husband that they were going to get me ready to go home so he left to go bring the car around back. When they got me into the wheelchair I started to feel very dizzy and sweaty. Turns out my blood pressure had dropped bc I was dehydrated. So they put me back in the gurney with more IV fluids for another hour. I dozed in and out then finally started feeling better. The nurses dressed me and got me out to the car. I don't remember many details.

Hubby got me home and into bed. I took my first Percocet and fell asleep. Later it was time for him to get the kids from school so I dozed somE more until they got home.

The rest of the evening I just laid in bed taking it all in, trying to manage the pain and stay hydrated. Difficult to get in and out of bed but trying to get used to walking hunched over. At one point I had another BP drop and I almost fainted on the toilet. We have a BP cuff at home so it was helpful to keep track of my BP and pulse. My PS called us a few times to check in and it was great to be able to give him my stats.

I had a Popsicle and an applesauce which helped me to feel better. I guess my blood sugar had gotten low too so it helped to get some calories in.

I didn't sleep very well - trying to get comfortable. I got very itchy from the meds and the only thing that finally helped was to take a Benadryl - zzzzz!!

Anyway I am feeling pretty positive about this whole thing so far. My PS keeps calling to check in and lots of friends are available and bringing food, etc. I haven't seen my tummy yet bc I am wrapped up so tightly.

I am excited to see the results soon!

Bests wishes to all the ladies on this board!!