No Kids - Genetic Jackpot! Overland Park, KS

The people who warn you that stuff like excess activity can cause swelling are NOT kidding around. My in-laws were in town yesterday and I walked all through IKEA with them and I was like...VERY QUITE PUFFY.

Sort of related: we went boot shopping and I lost a fight with a pair of tall black rear zip boots and finally my MIL suggested maybe these boots were not meant to be since she'd noticed I'd broken a sweat trying to put them on. After a brief rest to calm the labored breathing of my defeat, I bought a pair of tall brown boots instead (side zip yo!!!) and I'm all set now to rock leggings in tall boots with a tunic.

I waited and waited to take these because until my second follow-up today I still had the original dressings on and they were looking, uh, pretty dingy and gross. I think these already look like a huge improvement on where I was pre-procedure, but I'm told that things will get smaller as swelling goes down over time. Notably I'm pretty swollen over my belly button and right at the top center of the incision (which today was the first time I actually SAW the incision!).

I'm sure everyone who has followed this will be vastly relieved to learn that my belly button has stopped looking like a horrific science experiment. Yesterday most of the weird scab thing fell off on its own and then suddenly it was looking much more normal, I'm happy to report. I inquired about the at my appointment today and Dr. Korentager said that contrary to its alarming appearance, my belly button should turn out looking pretty nice after it heals more, because it was very deep and narrow, which apparently means the scar is completely hidden and it will look like a normal human navel. Good to know!

I went back to work yesterday and was WIPED THE HELL OUT. My coworkers pressed me to go home early and I did leave a couple of hours early, then crashed hard early in the evening. It was really tough getting up today, and a couple more people expressed their doubts about my ability to take it easy enough. So I asked the doctor about it today and it was decided that I should work half days into next week. I was partly worried (plenty to do and this adds some paperwork I wasn't expecting to have to do) and partly relieved (every time I've closed my eyes since yesterday morning I feel them burn with fatigue).

I plan to spend my extra time from working half time...sleeping!

I forgot to share earlier - I wish I'd thought of this on like day 1, because peeing was very difficult for me in the first week post-procedure, both for reasons of weird muscle stuff going on, and also because the crotchless compression garment REALLY FEELS LIKE CLOTHES AND ADULTS AREN'T SUPPOSED TO PEE WITH CLOTHES ON.

Anyway, I figured out at some point over the weekend that if I turned on the sink and put my hand in warm water, peeing became MUCH easier. So I guess that old slumber party hack is a real thing. Thankfully, this is my first experience peeing reflexively due to warm water, and I did it by choice.

So if you're struggling and berating your body for refusing to release its nitrogenous waste, try running some warm water for yourself and see if that helps.