New Me for my 40th Birthday! - Provo, UT

I am 5 weeks po now and feeling great! I started exercising two days ago and it's going pretty good. I do swell about 1/2-1 in after exercise but that is normal for me between morning and night anyway. The first time walking on the treadmill I noticed the top up my stomach/rib area in the middle was very tight like it always is (like a big rubber band was pulling down from there) but once I rubbed it a little and tried to stretch and stand up straighter it finally went away and feels better since.

I'm also lifting my grandson a lot now and holding him and it feels fine. I'm still having a hard time reaching up high for things but otherwise I feel great.

The incisions are getting more red/purple looking. I thought I was having a reaction to Bio oil so I quit using it for a few days but it still is red (especially my breast incisions) but I've been told that's normal healing. Yesterday I bought some Scar Away silicone sheets to use on my incisions. Not sure if it will help and it's kind of a pain putting them all one but thought I'd see if it makes a difference in the redness of the scars.

Oh, and I also bought a rebounder/mini trampoline to see if that helps with the swelling and healing of the lymphatic system. I've heard good things about it so I thought I'd try it. It actually has good benefits for health in general.

We're going to Las Vegas this weekend to see my son who's in the Marines. I'm so excited to go but nervous that I'm going to swell like crazy with all the walking and not being able to lay down and elevate my legs when I want. I guess we'll see how it goes. I go back to the doctor tomorrow for another checkup and then back to work next week.

Today I am 4 wks po and feeling great! I still swell by the end of the day especially if I do too much. I am going to try lemon water like others suggested and see if that helps the swelling. I also massage my tummy about 1-3 times a day lightly. I've learned a little online about how to do lymphatic massage on yourself and I do that at night before bed. I was also rubbing Arnica lotion stuff on my tummy but I think my incisions reacted to it cause they got all red so I won't be using that again. Normally I just use Bio oil on my incisions and lightly massage them but they seem to be getting darker and more purple looking. I'm not sure if that's normal healing or if I should just not use that anymore too. I'm going to try without anything for a few days and see if it makes a difference.

The doctor told me that I can start doing light exercise on the treadmill or bike (walking and stationary bike for now) and that at 6 weeks I can do more rigorous workouts. I think I will try today to slowly walk on the treadmill and see how I do. I need to start being on my feet more because in 2 weeks I go back to work and will be on my feet for 8-12 hours.

As far as lifting goes, I've been trying to hold my 1 yr old grandson more just not lifting him from the floor up yet. But I can definately feel it in my abs when I am holding him. He's only 18 lbs but boy it sure feels like more. My breasts feel more tender towards the evening and I have a hard time reaching for things high. I feel like my incision under the breast is going to pop open if I reach too high.

I'm also starting to get a little cold so I've been coughing a little more which still isn't too fun. Not that it hurts, it just feels weak and needs to be supported/held when I cough. My throat is so dry and a little sore. I sure hope it doesn't get much worse because it sure has been going around the house.

I got my tummy tuck with lipo to flanks, full mastopexy (breast lift) with lipo to sides of breast, and 371 cc silicone implants 2 weeks before my 40th birthday. I am 5'2 142 lbs and active. I ride century bike rides every year and I hate wearing the tight jerseys because of my big belly. I also like to run but so far the farthests I've done is a 10K. I would like to do more. I have 3 kids, 2 step daughters and 3 grandsons.
I am now 17 days po and recovery has been really good. I think the worst part has been the back pain from walking hunched over. If someone would have told me that I would have strenghtened my back better before surgery. My incisions are healing well and I'm pretty much walking straight except when I get really swollen and tired at night.
My surgery went really well, I have an excellent plastic surgeon. Surgery was about 7 1/2 hours (1 1/2 hours longer than they thought). I stayed the first night at the surgical center which was good because it seemed like the anesthesia took a long time to really wear off. My husband then took a week off work to take care of me which really helped!
One challenge we are faced with is that the day before surgery we got temporary custody of my 11 month old grandson. That has really been hard for me since I can't care for him because I can't lift him. I can play with him on the floor or feed and change him if he's on my level but I can't lift him at all. The doctor says I should be able to 4 weeks po, so another 1 1/2 weeks to go. Otherwise he goes to a babysitter during the week while my husband is at work and I recover.
I still have a bunch of swelling but I am so extremely happy with my results! I can't wait to see the final (no swollen) me. I am an RN so I am taking off 6 weeks of work because I can't lift anything that heavy until then and you never know when you need to lift a patient.