Taking It Day by Day

I am a 35 year old female with two children, one was a c--section 12 years ago and the second was vaginal 6.5 years ago. My weight pre-op was 165lbs. I had a mini tt, breast aug, and lipo on Feb 13, 2009. I am a little over 4 weeks post op and still a little unsure. I was out-patient and came home immediately after surgery. With the help of narcotics, which I took 3 days, I was able to get up every two hours and walk for the first 24 hours. Each time I got up I did a little more than the time before. I slept in a lift recliner for 4 nights (this was a great help and allowed me to get up with no help). Week 2 was horrible, I had the most drainage from the JP drain and the most discomfort, even 800mg motrin was not helping and I thought for sure I would be back on narcotics. Week three was better but I had a muscle in the groin that kept pulling and until I could stretch it the pain wasexcruciating. Also, in week three my skin was raw and dry for not showering while the drain was in for two weeks (actually two and half weeks with the drain), everything that rubbed my skin hurt. Week four was better, I tried to do the compression garment 12 hours on and 12 off and I swelled up like a grape and it felt like my internal organs were going to pop through my skin. I am now using a stage two compression garment and still having some swelling.  I now have a huge lump on my right side below my rib cage and it is too painful to massage out and I am scared I am going to need a second lipo procedure to remove it if I can not reduce its size. I am still about 7 lbs heavier than my pre-op weight, but that has reduced from the 14lbs heavier during week one. Every week brings a new challange but it also brings a new reward. Now for the positive, my breast look wonderful. My stomach is flatter than it was in high school when I played sports. My shape (minus the lump) is great and people see me and instantly say "You have lost a lot of weight" and "You look terrific." These are great ego boosters and if the results continue to improve as they are I will be thrilled. I go back for my before and after photo's on March 26 and will post them at that time. If anyone has any experience with massaging out the lump please let me know.