34 Year Old, 2 Kids, Very Active Woman - South Florida

This am marks day 5 post op. I woke with yet a little more energy, strength And alertness. I'll take that as a win! All was well, working online with my legs propped up etc. but then, after 2 hours I started to get a MAJOR burning sensation on my rib cage right under the breast plate. The feeling is like my muscle being separated and WOW the pain. I hope this passes soon. I just took a muscle relaxer and pain med. I need to get this under control. So far this has been the most painful moment. Can't wait til this subsides. I am sure it's residual pain from the surgery but wanted to post about it. I'm laying down now and resting. I'll send another update later.




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Yesterday was day 4 post op. I woke up with more energy and alertness. That was a welcome relief. I hopped online did a little work to stay on top of things and tried to not physically over exert myself. It sucks looking around the house feeling like I should be able to do my normal tasks but right now I just can't and I am definitely being vigilant of that fact. Not too much headway today. My swelling seemed to really take ahold today... A little depressing but part of the process. I'm not going to read into it too much. I keep reading that swelling will happen for 3 months on the regular. So that was me today .. A swollen sedentary blah. Oh well. For being an active person Its a complete departure from the norm. I think this will be my struggle throughout this process.

My drains are not extracting as much fluid.. It's been going down day by day. I can't wait for the drains to be removed.

I took a shower at night and noticed above my naval there was some redness above the new belly button. I have a binder and a bunch of gauze that has waterproof adhesive so I can't see any of the sutures or stitches. So where the redness is coming from is a bit of a mystery. It burns too. I decided to call my doctor to find out if it is something to be concerned with. I called this am (post op day 5) and am told it is completely normal. There is so much going on under the skin that this is to be expected. I also noticed after my shower that I am very numb. I feel like when I touch my abdomen that I am touching rubber or something but not my skin.

Tingling/numbness/burning sensations - all day today I have been felling weird tingling sensations, bouts of burning sensations and have a lot of abdominal numbness. I'll keep monitoring this and reporting on it. Definitely an interesting process. Everyday is met with different experiences. I can't wait to get back this first week post op. I still definitely can not stand up straight or stand up for long periods of time. 15 minutes is my max. I hit a wall after that and need to rest.

More to come tomorrow.

Day 2 and 3 were relatively the same. I kept to staying on a tight schedule with taking the maximum pain meds prescribed. I should have mentioned in day 1 post op - I have to sleep in a "V" or a beach chair position. Head/back elevated 35-45 degrees and my legs 35-45 degrees... like a deep V. If not, I can feel the skin being tugged tightly. My doctor told me it was imperative that I follow this instruction, or risk losing the full result of the surgery. I don't know how long I have to follow this, but I hope it's not longer than two weeks. It gets really uncomfortable at times. Sleeping on my side (which is my normal position) is OUT OF THE QUESTION, which presented a huge challenge for me. I hate sleeping on my back. But, for the amount of money I put into this.. I better follow orders.. sleep on my back in a deep v position. During the day, I find myself on the recliner in the living room, but at night I sleep in the bed with a mountain of pillows to achieve the V position. Its awkward, but I am getting through it. I found if I just stayed medicated enough, I could fall asleep and not try to move into my normal position. The pain on day 2/3 was definitely right there.. I could feel the tenderness of the muscles/skin that were cut and I was highly sensitive. Walking proved to be very difficult. Any time I tried to get it, it was laborious to say the least. I needed help to get out of the recliner, or out of the bed. These two days have been the roughest for sure. I tried to do some laundry, but I needed help to get clothes into the machines, out of the machines, etc. I was only able to fold clothes in all the effort I put into doing laundry. I couldn't find the strength to put clothes on hangers either.. just fold the clothes that were to be folded. that was the extent of work I was able to accomplish and it took a lot to do that. I found I slept most of the day in the recliner, or on my ipad. I tried to read, but the pain meds couldn't allow me to concentrate on comprehending what I was reading. #FAIL. I ended up falling asleepi trying to read 5 chapters of a new book that normally I wouldn't be able to put down. I guess it's part of the process. I did a lot of facebook scrolling, instagram scrolling and window shopping online. Just easy mindless things to do.

Walking/moving- important. You can NOT stand up straight to walk. I found myself crouched over like a old lady needing a cane. I was looking down at the floor to walk.. not up at the direction I wanted to go. Wow, this was really awkward. I walked slow, and walked crouched over in a good 35 degree angle, if I could crouch over more.. I would have but I would have needed a cane. I would actually recommend a cane. It would alleviate the pressure on your back in needing to walk in such a weird position. But I was told this is normal, expected and necessary for the first few weeks. Eventually, I will be able to walk standing straight.. I wonder how long that will be! I go back to work in two weeks!! I didn't tell anyone I was doing this so PLEASE, please, please let me be able to walk straight when I go back to work!

Swollen - the swelling definitely set in. I feel like a pig in blanket. I have this binding thing around my abdomen, but I can feel the swelling all around my pelvic area (especially around the drains). I was told swelling is part of the process and is actually healthy. So, I am taking the swelling in stride for now.

Drains - cleaning out - the drains are interesting. I have to squeeze out the contents 3 times a day, and when you do DO NOT have the drain bottle at the same level or HIGHER than the drain hole in your abdomen.. or you will create a back-flow where the fluid you are trying to remove, actually backs back up into your body, Please ladies.. for your health.. be sure you hold the bottle down, way down below the drain hole and then squeeze the contents out. Your health is paramount here!!

Shower - I took my first shower post op day 2 (surgery was 9/4) first shower was 9/6. Man, how great it was to remove the bidding garment, the foam padding and to get a good shower. I took my time. My husband held my drains while I scrubbed down. Best shower ever. I took another shower day 3..and feel like I can shower each day now moving forward, even if I had to on my own.

My energy level day 2 was very low. By day 3, it was a little better, I think I may have walked around a little too much, but I am such an active person that it is really hard for me to sit still. I think some of the swelling i have is because I was walking around. I definitely am not up to going out of the house any time soon. I am house ridden for at least another 2-3 days if not more. I hope by Saturday I might be able to do something outside the house.. my Doc appointment is on Friday so, we will see what he says then.