40andFabulous - Omaha, NE-8 days PO and feeling AMAZING!!!!!

Good morning all!!! I have been meaning to post and have just been so busy getting back to work!!! I am 9 weeks post op today and it has been quite a journey. I still have a small hole in the incision on my left side and as much of a pain as it is, it allows me to drain out the hole rather than going in every few days to be drained with a needle. I would say I still drain at least 50 per day if not more. I don't know why but it is what it is. I have an appointment this Friday and we will see what she says. I still have a great deal of swelling and my vajay jay looks like a ken doll still....i have my doubts that it will ever go down. Scar wise, it doesn't matter to me what it looks like, my double tire ring is gone forever and I am forever thankful for that. I have put on 5 lbs but am not to worried, as today will be my first day back at exercise. I never thought in a million years that it would 9 weeks before I could work out, and I still can't do any ab work but oh well. I still have to post pics but it still makes me sick to my stomach to see the before ones........I will get to it soon, I promise!!! Updates coming soon!!!! Thanks and happy healing!

Good morning!!! Just a quick update - 42 days post op and last Monday 7/13/12 I went to the ER with chest pains and shortness of breath........not a good way to start the week! I had been having these pains for 3 days, thought I pulled a muscle the previous Thursday evening on a 2 mile walk which was my first big activity since surgery. I got the OK from the PS and was on my way back to exercise! HA!! All kidding aside, in retrospect, the pain was nothing to mess with and had it not been for my husband taking me to the ER kicking and screaming (because I was fine, I just couldn't breathe!) I may not be here now to tell my story. I spent 3 days in the hospital with blood clots in my lungs......they were shocked that 5 weeks out and I had them in my lungs....apparently for them to not be in my legs (DVT) was a huge deal.....the Pulmonary Embolism (PE) is way worse but being 5 weeks out they were just shocked. I started on the Hepprin drip and then moved to shots so I could come home and now am on oral Cumadin blood thinner. Up until that point, I have to say I was flying thru this surgery with flying colors and had nothing to complain about. I still feel great and can't complain about anything (well, shortness of breath, maybe but who needs to breathe!!) I would do it all over again and again. The Dr said it was most likely from me going from ooober active before surgery to little activity after, which gals I know I was way more active than I should have been, thus the drain still in!!! It could have been a combination of so many things, but who knows so I won't lose sleep over it!!! Can't change the past!! Speaking of the drain - I still have one of them and I am 6 wks post op. Highly unusual so I am told - guess I am that 1 in a million that things happen to. I have been assured that I will get it out this Friday!! I am still draining between 80-100 per day so I will not be surprised one bit to develope a seroma. Just going to take every day as one more day to the end of this whole journey. I look back and laugh because honestly my biggest concern in this whole deal for the 6 months prior research and why I put it off for a bit was this - I was going to be the one in a million that went had the surgery, got a staph infection and lost all her limbs......blod clots didn't really even come into my thoughts cuz I got off the BC pill and I wore the compression stockings! What the hell was I thinking lol :o) Oh well!! Well back to work, but I just wanted to come out and let everyone know how things were going. Will touch base next week drain free and back to work!!! Take care all!!!

Bluefan23

OK gals!!! Post op day 8 and I have to say I FEEL AMAZING!!! I went to my second follow up today and got my left drain out. Right one still producing quite a bit but hoping by next Tueday it is outta there!!!! Sorry I haven’t made much of an update, as I was trying to stay away from the laptop!! And I don’t like to do such a long update from my phone!!! I would say all in all I would do this TT over a million times! I overhyped the pain and it wasn’t bad at all. The burning sensation in the nether region when first coming out of surgery was a bit harsh but nothing that would stop me from doing it again (not that I plan on that- been fat, done that, not going back!!!) I will say that the worst part of this whole week was the CONSTIPATION!!!!! AND I MEAN THAT!!! It was horendouz!!! I did everything imaginable to prepare for it (although I did prep for it, in my mind I was saying “that won’t happen to me!!” HA HA!!)! My procedure was on Monday the 9th and by Thursday the 12th, I thought I was going to DIE!!!! I know this all might be TMI so turn away if you don’t want to know but I am putting this out there for everyone so they know!!! I eat fruits and veggies every day never have a problem with my system but started stool softners Sunday before and ate light that day….ate light all week….Thursday comes and I am about ready to DIE!!! So I get a suppository……my AMAZING husband took one for the team and did it!! Bless his heart! 45 minutes later I screamed and cried and shouted like the best of them and finally gave birth to a watermelon!! Now mind you I had a 10.2lb baby and would do that 10 times before I’d do that again…..then comes Friday…..low and behold I wasn’t feeling well and could tell I needed to go….suppository again….hour later I am DYING!!! Really DYING!!! So bless his heart, my husband runs to the drug store to get an enema….he takes it for the team again while I am in such miseary, that is the only time during this whole TT deal that I wanted to die!!! Soooooo, an hour later, yes, I said another hour….I gave birth to another watermelon!!! I screamed, cried, clutched a pillow to my tummy and finally the gates of hell opened and I felt better! If there is one thing I can say, and I don’t want anyone to think I am saying don’t take your pain meds, because by all means you should!!! I am just saying you have been warned! Had I known I would have probably just went straight to Tylenol!!! Good God almighty that was the worst!!!!! But again everyone is different!!!

I started in the recliner for the first 2 nights but it wasn’t my cup of tea so I switched to the bed with a wedge and about 8 pillows and have been fine ever since. I am to the point now I don’t need the wedge and I can sleep on my side for a bit. Loving it!!!!
Now I will be honest with you and you have noticed that I have not posted any pics. For those of you that haven’t seen any of my posts that refer to me being the “Michelin Man” you have no idea. I knew it was bad, I saw it everyday in the mirror for God’s sake!!! I wasn’t in denial at all. I know where I came from 105 lbs ago but the night before surgery I had my husband take pictures and I totally lost it. I asked myself how the hell I let this happen…..it took me about an hour to realize how bad it really must have looked 105lbs ago!!! It was almost an out of body experience!!! Now that I have crossed over to the flat side….I will be posting them soon. I have taken a few every time I have the garment off…which isn’t often! The part I am being honest about is…..I started this journey at 314…made it to 209……that is when I decided to have the TT and with God’s blessing and the help of our health insurance and a WONDERFUL Dr….I was able to do this!!!

The part I laugh about the MOST with this whole thing is the SWELL HELL!!!! I looked at some pics and thought if that were me I wouldn’t bother with a TT, but I certainly understand we all do it for our own reasons and I appreciate that. Lot’s of people told me not to do it…they didn’t know my struggle to get over the hump of my belly getting in the way of my work outs and my running…..now I don’t have to pack myself into Spanx to run or play softball….I am so ready to get back to working out!!! So getting back to the SWELL HELL….when I would read about it on here I would think to myself you guys don’t know what your talking about….swell hell can’t be half as bad as my double tire ring around the middle….. and I am here to tell you that I am right about that BUT……..you were all right about the SWELL HELL!!! Its not as bad as my double tire but it comes in a close 2nd!!!! I don’t take the binder off for more than 5 minutes!! It’s like you are a sponge filling with water!!! Its almost funny!! I will say even my swollen 5 month pregnant looking belly looks way better than my double tire around my middle but the SWELL HELL is totally a real thing!!! That I was so freaking sure I wouldn’t have to deal with……oh what I have learned!!! Well ladies, my husband is home and I have rambled enough…..just thought I’d give an update…..will post more soon now that I am back to work from home!!! Happy Healing!!!