44 Yr Old, 6 Pregnancies, 5 Natural, 6th C-section. Nursed most my Babies 12 Months. Married 22.5 Years. Omaha, NE

Hi Figure45... Thank you for the compliment! I wished the Surgeons would just routinely take photos and weigh the amount of tissue removed from abdominalplasty....I wished I knew in weight what it was. I asked my Surgeon to take the photos bc I was sure he probably would actually show me which I think would of been cool....The human body is so interesting to me. My kids also wanted to see. To be honest...I still have some discomfort from the muscle repair....like when I stretch up high to reach for something, roll over or sit up in bed, or briskly walk. Sometimes when I speed walk....my stomache will tighten like I'm having a contraction. The discomfort is soooo much better than the first three weeks....It gets better day by day! Long recovery for stomach repair...for sure! As far as standing up straight....I always tried to stretch up as much as I could when I would stand up from the evening of surgery to try to get straightened up asap. With that being said though...When I reach up high for something, stretch in bed...I can feel that I am still tight and don't quite have full range back yet. I'm excited for you and your 1st PO...Hope all goes well. I'll bet your pain is coming from the muscle repair. Honestly after surgery that was the only pain I felt...Nothing from any of the incisions. As I use my muscles more...I feel uncomfortable in the breast. I don't have all of my strength back yet for sure....My daughter beat me arm wrestling for the first time...this Christmas Break..I need to definitely strengthen back up...LOL! Keep us posted with your progress! Also take it as easy as you can...I returned to work two weeks after surgery as well....It is tough....but you do what you have to....3 weeks PO you will feel much better! If you can...wear some compression socks...My legs really swelled up after being on them all day....at lunch time try to put your legs up and relax! I would take a muscle relaxer and strong pain med just at night my first week back to work to help me sleep.

The muscle repair pain goes away. I'm 5mos out and don't feel a thing. If you can't stand straight, try sleeping totally flat as much as possible and wear a tight CG to suck it all in during the day to improve your posture.

How long after do I have to wear a CG of some sort? I for sure need to get something different as the one I have on from the PS is super uncomfortable. I keep seeing ongoing comments about the garments and swelling for months after :(.

Most surgeon suggest 3-8 weeks. I've even seen some suggest up to 3 months. Im 7 weeks out and have dropped to just wearing mine during the day and have been doing that since about 5 weeks PO...especially days I'm at work on feet all day. I wear one I purchased from herburgers called"Miracle Suit"...It is one I already had on hand....Great Support but pricey! I also have used Flexees from walmart....much cheaper! Yesterday I didnt wear it during the day and that evening at bedtime noticed swelling....So I personally am going to continue to wear mine during the day for a while...I figure it can't hurt anything.

Thank you! I am excited...however I hate to be away from my kids for fear of something happening or their behaviors.

Nattyneedsanewtummy, Thank You...You're very kind! Yes I am definitely happy with the results. ..they're not perfect...but I was far from perfect to begin with. I am healing real well. I was walking fairly upright within a few days...I really tried to stretch up right so I wouldnt be hunched over. The abdominal pain is getting better day by day....I was hurting under my ribcage tonight but I think it is from my CG pressing on my lap band port...and from sneezing. Do you have surgery scheduled or have you already had it done?

Thank you Awake2014...I think he did a great job on keeping the incisiona thin too!