53 Years Old, 90 Pound Weight Loss, 2 Kids: Getting Tummy Tuck, Breast Lift, Lipo on Outer Thighs

I'm seven weeks into a three month recovery, that is the way I look at it. With regard to times, I am almost 66% of the way through. With regard to physical recovery, I'd say I am about 90%. I feel almost normal, though I still tire easily and have some tenderness along the incisions under my breasts. I no longer have to wear garments, unless I want to. Most of the time that is ok, though if I tend to overdo it a little, my gut starts to swell up a little ache a bit. I'm trying to increase my activity level a little every day. I really do want to start exercising again, regularly, but when I do a little bit, the swelling is worse the next day.

I decided to purge my closet and get rid of any clothes that I don't love. I spent about 3 hours yesterday trying on clothes from the closet, drawers and shelves. This included a lot of stretching, bending, and lifting. By the time I was done, I could tell I overdid it. Today, I need to take it easy, even thought what I really want to do is workout. I will go for a walk today, but that will be about it.

I've been very pleased with my choice of surgeon. Dr. Hodge has been great to work with and his nurse, Kimber, is very attentive and knowledgeable. I recommend Dr. Hodge to anyone that is contemplating this surgery.

Just had my one week post op visit and all is well. Got one drain removed and am now down to one drain left (started with 4). The last drain should come out on Wednesday. Surgical tape was removed from belly incision. I was surprised by how minimal the scar is, so far. I am now in a girdle type of garment to get compression on my thighs. It's not too uncomfortable, but can't really zip it all the way up because it cuts across my mid-section pretty badly. The nurse wants me to switch between this and my binder. I still weigh right around 156 pounds, which isn't bad. I was 155.4 going into surgery. Looking forward to losing the swelling and seeing how much I will weigh once the swelling is gone.

The swelling hasn't been extensive, so that's good. All in all, the recovery has gone well. I take it easy, don't try to do too much, take pain pills when I feel too uncomfortable, and am waiting to get this last drain out. I think I might even enjoy having week three off from work, a little bit. It's been wonderful that my husband has been able to work from home. He is here to care for me, but he doesn't have to take time off from work. I am grateful that his job allows him that opportunity.

So far, so good. So far, definitely worth it.

I had an ultrasound done on my legs yesterday at my surgeon's insistence. It seems as if the only thing you need to mention to freak your plastic surgeon out is leg pain. The threat of DVTs is real, and even though my pain was not the normal pain associated with DVT, it was close enough that he insisted on an ultrasound of both legs. The ultrasound came up clean, no blood clots. We are all relieved.

I seem to get the shooting pain in my legs when I sleep with my legs elevated over a pillow, slightly bent at the knee. I experimented with other positions last night. If I kept my legs straight, I did not have the pain in my legs when I got out of bed. No position was truly comfortable. I think the best thing to do is to keep changing positions, several times a night, until I can sleep comfortably. I am sleeping better in bed than I did in the recliner, in that I am getting longer periods of sleep. I'm waking up every 2-3 hours instead of every hour. I feel fairly well rested today.

Recovery is going fine. Drains aren't outputting much, so I will probably get one out on Monday and one out on Christmas eve. Breasts don't bother me much. The binder is irritating. I'm starting to dread 2 more weeks wearing it. I'm starting to get irritated where the top edge of the binder ends. Thighs are fine and aren't painful unless I sleep on my side.

All in all, the recovery is going fine. I'm glad I am off for 3 whole weeks. I would not want to be stuck at a desk or driving myself around. But I should be able to be semi-productive around the house over the next couple of weeks. I am not going to give myself of list of things to do, but when I need to stretch my legs anyway, I can do little chores that I don't have time for when I am super busy. Things like organizing my jewelry or cleaning out my sock drawer. I think I will be super organized by the time I go back to work.

I am weighing myself daily more out of curiosity than anything else. This morning I weighed 156.4 pounds with the binder on. Right before I went into surgery I weighted 155.4 pounds. Assuming the binder weighs about a pound, we'll call it even. Therefore the amount of swelling I am having right now is about equal to the amount of fat and skin the doctor removed. I have no idea how much I am going to weigh when the swelling is gone. I weighed the day after surgery and I was at 165 pounds, so I have already lost a lot of the swelling. Maybe I will be right around 150.

I am eating my normal diet, which is the Whole30 program. No sugars or sugar substitutes, no dairy, no grain, no legumes, no alcohol, no seed oils. So it is basically scrambled eggs, sauteed veggies, and fruit for breakfast, some sort of lean protein and veggies and potatoes for lunch and dinner. My portions are smaller than normal, maybe 1/2 to 2/3 what they were before surgery. I just don't feel like eating a lot, but I don't mind three small, simple meals a day. I don't have an aversion to eating, I just don't want to feel full. I did comment to my husband that I am glad that I am not eating any sugar at all because if I had not given up sugar for life, I'd probably feel perfectly justified to be eating a lot of ice cream during my recovery. I can't think of anything that would be worse for me, as I have discovered rather late in life that dairy wrecks my stomach, but it has always been a go to comfort food for me. It's good to still have my eating program under complete control.

I hope all other December MM's are having an equally satisfying recovery.