Drastic Measures Choosing a Mommy Makeover - Riverside Ca

I waffled for a few years on this issue. I've been a gym rat and ran myself into skeletal proportions and yet my preggo looking tummy mocked me...grrr. At 40 it was time to do something. I first decided on a boob lift because nursing 3 kiddos with natural DDD's = very large flap jacks--so very not sexy! Then I thought why not go for the full Monty while I'm at it?! The hubby agreed so here I am after full TT with MR, BL and lipo to flanks. Here are some before and early afters pics. I'm only 2 days PO and feeling much better. Clearing anesthesia out of my system was the worst part, I felt poisoned and groggy. The drains are a pain but manageable. I coughed up a loogie today and quite literally thought I would split wide open and die... It was hell. The recliner has been a God send as I'm able to get into a standing position easily and stretch my back. Haven't yet made a BM, so I can tell I'm bloated on top of the normal swelling. Drinking protein shakes, eating pineapple and plain chicken breast with unsalted crackers in small amounts. Drinking water galore as well. Here's hoping for a quick and uneventful recovery with beautiful minimal scarring and a super flat and curvy midsection! I'll keep you updated. I'm thankful for the tons of reviews I've read on here because they gave me the courage to go through with this. I won't lie, it's been a tough couple days and the thought "why did I do this to myself" has passed through my mind a few times, but because of all of my fellow realselfers encouragement I know I can do this and will be all the better for it!

Its been 10 days and it gets easier, I promise. Luckily, my Dr's office supplies a recliner for 2 weeks and it has been a godsend because it's still challenging getting up and down. Back pain from hunching is annoying but I've stopped the narcs and moved on to motrin which helps to some degree so I take frequent breaks and rest my back. I bought a walker from good will and that definitely helped with moving around the first few days. Luckily I don't have to be back to work until 4/26 so I have more time to straighten up my act so to speak! The swelling is a day to day battle as expected, but I wear my compression garment religiously and tell myself constantly that it will subside...eventually. I have also started doing some light lymph massaging to my tummy at night to help move the fluid to the lymph nodes that are still functioning (gotta love youtube). My Doc recommended a product called arnica forte capsules and I gotta tell you they were miraculous. The bruising was so very minimal around the flanks where the lipo was done. And overall the swelling isn't that horrific. It seems to be centered in my abdomen right around my umbilicus. I'm also happy with the placement of the hip to hip scar, he went as low as he could and said that any lower and there would have been a lot of tension which possibly would've caused more problems and an uglier scar. My skimpy old bikinis hid it so I'm fine with it. I will be able to see it next week when the tape comes off. He did a terrific job on my bb and it looks so cute already. Sounds weird but, I wad up a piece of gauze with double antibiotic ointment on it and kind of shove it in there so that it doesn't close flat and meets flush with the sutures around it's sides. Since theres swelling in that area kind of pushing it outwards, I don't want to take a chance and leave any space there to form bulky noticeable scar tissue. Seems to be working so far! Plus, I had kind of a space in there to begin with so I want to keep it looking kind of OG. I've been eating small meals including lots of pineapple and clean protein like chicken breast, eggs, salmon and probiotic yogurt to replace the good flora in my gut because of the antibiotics. I still have my drains in but since they're still producing, I'm OK with it. We're hoping to have them out next week since output is becoming minimal. The hardest part of recovering has been not being able to give 100% at home because I'm just that type of person. My hubby works looooong hours so I have to watch the laundry pile up and I hate it. I just might get a maid in here next week, but as of today he's been working his butt off to try to catch up. I love him so much! I miss the gym and running, but all things in time I know. I will definitely not push it and ruin all of my Dr's great work! Im already pleased at the results and surprisingly I'm more or equally as excited about my breasts! They're right back where they were and Im in love with them! Cant wait to wear cute bras instead of over the shoulder boulder holders of industrial grade! I also can't wait to wear my old bikinis again without my bulging tummy tagging along. Thanks for listening to my babbling and I sincerely hope this helps someone out there along their journey! I'll post more pics after my follow up appt next week!

Wow, I can't believe how time has flown by. I haven't been great at posting updates so I'm very sorry! I'll recap the last few weeks though. Swell hell hit me at 2 weeks like a wrecking ball. No joke, If I ate a little too much it felt like I was going to blow! Couldn't fit in my old jeans and it was miserable and just sad sad sad. I thought... Oh hell what have I done to myself. I was constantly exhausted and got winded just walking! I bought some anti inflammatory capsules at the store and began taking them religiously. I sat down when I got tired and let the house be messy. I chose to invest in myself during recovery even though it was tough. I told my 4 year old I couldn't pick him up and I stuck to my guns. At 2 weeks post op I got one drain out which wasn't terrible at all. At 3 weeks I got the other out and found out I had developed a smallish seroma above my BB. Dr offered to drain it but said it would probably reabsorb on its own if I wore my binder continually so I opted for that. I also had all of my tape removed at this time and got to see my incisions for the 1st time! Not as bad as I thought they'd be so I was happy. I was still very swollen and honestly one of the reasons I didn't take or post pics is because I was sad! Sad that I looked like crap after paying all of this money and my sadness got the best of me. I pretty much stayed in that binder 2 weeks straight day and night as tight as it would go and I prayed that I hadn't made a terrible mistake. Fast forward to this week, week 4 and I am so elated and downright overjoyed! The only area worrying me now is the flanks! He says they will continue to shrink because he lipo'd them aggressively and they're still bruised so I'm hopeful! I have to wear my binder for another month but then I can switch to the cool shape wear! I know I'm still swollen but I can see my shape again and I want to cry tears of joy now! I can start working out at 6 weeks he says and I cannot wait to get my muscles and booty back! If you read this all the way through, just know that HEALING takes time, it's a SLOW process but if you're proactive and consistent and you follow all of your PS's directions, you will get there I promise! Good luck to everyone in their journeys. Now here's a nudy picture of my "new" old body!