POD #18... Walked 3 miles two days in a row! Found an extra staple left in my incision. New Pics! - Phoenix, AZ

Hi all! I haven't posted in a while but wanted to update everyone on how my recovery is going. Today I am 18 days post op and feeling great! Just as a reminder I had a full TT without MR and liposuction to my outer thighs. As of today I'm down 7lbs from 178 to 171 and I'm super excited about that. I just started walking yesterday, did three miles and boy did it feel great to be active again. I just completed my three miles for today and I can't wait to continue on this path. I. Trying to continue to remind myself to stay out the pantry or at least make a healthy eating choice but is sure is hard when you at home majority of the day. Love my family but its so weird to not be working. When I'm working I'm always saying I need a break or time off and now that's have it, I get a little stir crazy. (Guess the grass always looks greener on the other side) Lol. Anyways, I still have quite a bit of bruising and I think my swelling is minimal (of course that goes up and down with activity). I will try to post pics this evening. I have been having some occosional sharp pains in the end of my incision on the left side, been driving me nuts! Haven't been able to see what's going on since I still have my steri strips across my incision. Well last night I couldn't take and I peeled back the steri strip to find that I still had a staple that was left in! Oops. Then further research revealed another suture left in my belly button (which they told me I might have due to all the scanning in the area when they removed the others). My husband and I are moth nurses so of course I just decided to remove it all myself this morning when he got home. The staple no problem! The suture was a bit more tricky as it seemed skin had grew around it. Keep in my mind I had my drains and staplestaken out 3days post op and my sutures almost a week ago. I called the office and the scheduled me an appt to have it taken out at 915 tomorrow but I'm impatient so my husband removed it for me (naughty, I know). Called to cancel with my PS and they gave me the naughty lecture lol. But all is well and I feel tons better.
Happy healing!

Happy New Year!!! May all of us have an amazing 2013 :)

Went to my PS office today. Had both of my drains taken out and also all the staples across my incision. Having the drains removed didnt hurt at all. However, the staple removal was definitely a little tender. Haven't had any pain medicine in 2 days. All I really took was extra strength Tylenol a few times through this process (have always had a pretty high tolerance for pain). Getting my body suit off was heavenly! Can't wait to shower tomorrow. I was a little bummed to find out I couldn't transition to a binder and I have to continue wearing this full body suit until next Friday. I am dealing with some swelling like everyone else. I kind of lost my mind for a few hrs yesterday and went Xmas shopping at a few stores with my husband last night. That ended with him having to push me in a wheelchair throught the last store. I was just so pooped out and sore :-s . Also, had my first bowel movement yesterday as well and that was not fun. I have been taking colace twice a day for about a week and didn't seem any easier. My suggestion to those struggling with this would be to keep a foot stool in your bathroom and prop your feet up. It definitely made the difference for me. Going to the bathroom today was a lot easier. Lastly, I'm dealing with a lot of dizziness and feeling light headed. I have a naturally low blood pressure (usually around 96/60) and when I stand up these days I feel as if I'm going to faint. Anyone else deal with this. I'm thinking I should be drinking a lot more water like my body is used to. Will keep u guys posted.