Goodbye jelly belly - Australia, AU

Hi I live in Western Australia, I am 44 and have needed a TT since I was 17, when I had my first 9lb child (3 more after that). I'm finally having the umbilical hernia I have tolerated for so long repaired and some liposuction to the back of my hips as well as the TT. I'm so so so glad I found this website. Thank you to all who do and have contributed. Its times like this when I remember how good it is to be a woman and to feel the love and support of other women. It feels as though I'm about to sky dive but maybe not get to the ground for a year! Luckily I have that first child who is now a 27 yo nurse, to take care of me this week! How ironic. Ha ha.

OMG I did it! The night before I was really excited not really able to sleep much. Feeling the anxious anticipation of about to do something that felt as scary as skydiving. I have been so lucky to have my amazing daughter, who is a nurse with me on this journey and looking after me now.

The evening before and the morning of surgery I was fairly scared and kept busy with making sure everything on my list was in my hospital bag. We arrived at the hospital and it all started happening fairly quickly. Soon I was waiting in pre op with a gown on and being processed for surgery, I wrote 'Low Sodium" on all of the meal sheets for my stay. After waiting there for one and a half hours, fiinally I was wheeled into the theatre area.

I had the lines drawn on me by the Dr. That's when it really registered to me that I was about to take the great leap of faith and surrender my emotional pain and pay the cost of a great deal of physical pain and recovery.

The next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery. I had a bit of a nausea reaction to the painkilling drugs and spent 2 hours in there getting things right. Dry vomiting was very painful in the internal stiches in the muscle layer around my navel. My temp was 34 so I had to be warmed with a special blanket which took a while.

I had a pain pump which gave me relief but was really suprised how little pain I was in compared to what I had expected. I Took laxative 2 days before surgery and ate easily digested food and no salt for those two days too. Having my tummy less full of food has helped I think. The painkillers instantly stop the bowel working.

Getting up to go to the toilet made me feel sick and each time I was dry vomiting or just water, holding a rolled up towel over my abdomen to brace. Oh that hurt quite a bit. We worked out I was reacting to opiod drugs so it wasn't too hard for me to stop taking them altogether. The pain of vomiting was way worse than the pain of the surgery. So I'm just taking panadol now every 6 hours and feeling ok. Its hard to believe I'm only on paracetemol on the 2nd day post op.
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I have the strangest electric small nerve type of feeling on my right public area about an inch below the scar. Its like a tiny electric shock when I get up to move. I read other ladies stories who have said similar things, so not too worried. Again, really greatful that I found this site and all the tips and helpful info it contains. I borrowed one of those camping zero gravity chairs after seeing it recommended here and absolutely agree that it has helped immensely. So much easier to get up from sitting, its better on my back and really saves strain on the back of the person helping me up. Ours was a fathers day present to my father in law and cost only 89$ well worth investing in. It is keeping tension off my scar and the fluid that is present is not feeling heavy like it does when I walk or lean forward.

I'm finding it much easier to hold a pillow firmly to my abdomen when I walk, leaned over so as not to place strain on my scars. I have a bit of swelling but probably less than I would have had if I had not heeded the advice from others and haven't eaten salt. I wouldn't have even thought of that and no one else offered that info until I read it here.

Yes the compression garment is a bit irritating. I think it stops the gas trying to work its way around my tummy from getting to where it wants to, but it definitely feels worse without it. I bought two so that one can be washed while the other is worn.

I will post some before and after photo's soon when I have a few together.