Age 45, After Four Kids—taking my Body Back!

PRESURGERY
Let me tell you that I was scared to death. I read these RealSelf boards obsessively and mentally prepared myself for every worst-case scenrio. Made for some anxious days, but I’m glad I did it, because there’s no way recovery could’ve been as bad as I imagined!
Some background on me: I’m a 45-year old mother of four. I had four babies in eight years, and I nursed them all—and that did just exactly to my body what you’d expect. During my kids’ young years I gained quite a lot of weight, and when my youngest was about four I lost 60 pounds—this roller coaster of weight left me with so much extra flabby skin. My husband made it clear to me he was still super attracted to me, but I felt frustrated that I couldn’t enjoy the fruits of my hard work to lose the weight (which I have mostly kept off all these years). My stomach was still such a mess, even with my healthy weight I couldn’t tuck in a shirt. And dang it, I’m 45 years old and I haven’t worn a bikini since my honeymoon. It’s time.
SURGERY DAY
I was so scared I had to do Lamaze breathing from the parking lot to the building to keep from running away. This may sound nuts, but my biggest fear was the anesthesia not working and being awake and paralyzed throughout the surgery. Spoiler alert: Anesthesia worked great! Everyone at the surgery center was professional, quick, and comforting. From the time I walked in the door until the moment I felt the bliss of anesthesia knocking me out was no more than 30 minutes.
Of course, the minute I was out, I feel like I opened my eyes right back up, even though the three procedures (full tummy tuck, lipsuction of side and lower back muffin top area, breast augmentation) took about four and a half hours. I had Exparel (google it!), and let me tell you right now: DO IT. If your surgeon doesn’t offer it, find a different surgeon. It will probably cost you extra (it cost me an extra $200), and I would’ve paid five times that for the pain relief I got from it).That stuff is nectar straight from Heaven, if you ask me. I woke up with some soreness, of course, but nowhere NEAR what I would’ve reasonably expected from the procedures. (I am writing this paragraph almost 72 hours out from surgery, and I am STILL having significant pain relief from it.)
My husband got me home—I honestly don’t remember a ton about the drive home. But from the very first minute until now, my impression has been that this recovery hasn’t been as nearly as bad I was prepared for. The binders are mildly uncomfortable but not miserable (and sometimes they actually feel good.) I was worried about getting up and down out of the recliner—again, it hurts, but not excruciatingly, just a good little wince and off you go.
I had been very nervous about getting sleep—I’m a high-maintenance sleeper even under healthy conditions. I slept in my recliner (it’s the push-button kind that gently eases you up and down, and it’s worth its weight in gold) and I’ve gotten plenty of decent rest. Not GREAT rest—I wake up stiff and sore every 2-3 hours but I go right back to sleep, so it’s not been a huge dea.
DAY TWO
Again, I’m doing better than I expected. My surgeon told me that the breast augmentation would be the easiest part, and she has been right. Even after only 24 hours, I feel like my breast main is within a couple of days of being gone. She has given me stretches to do and they feel heavenly. I have learned the hard way that I get hiccups really easy post-surgery (she said this is typical, since the pulled-down belly muscles are pressing on my diaphragm). You know what hurts like a son of a gun after a tummy tuck? HICCUPS!! :) I have learned if I loosen my breast binder when I eat, this helps with the hiccups.
I get up to go the bathroom all the time because I’m drinking so much, to stay hydrated. This is good—I don’t walk far, but I walk often, and I feel like this aiding in my recovery. I’m walking hunched over but not as much as I expected —I thought I’d be bent WAY over, and it’s just a small hunch.
DAY TWO
It’s taken this long to get into the perfect medicine rhythm. I’ve always heard that staying on top of pain is preferable to playing “catch up”, and this is very true for me. I am taking 1 Percocet, then 2 hours later 2 ibuprofen, then 2 hours later, one Percocet, then 2 hours later 2 ibuprofen—you get the picture. With them staggered like that, I have good pain control.
Dr. Shiesel came by my house today to check on me, which is so unbelievably kind I can’t believe it. She looked me all over and was thrilled with my progress. When I take my binders off it doesn’t look great to me yet. There’s lots of swelling, bruising and lumpiness that she assures me will go away, and she has given me every reason to trust her.
The boob pain is probably at 25%. The Exparel is still working on a good portion of my tummy pain, though the sides of my tummy feel burning and tight. The worst pain BY FAR is the back pain from the liposuction. It’s significant but bearable.
DAY THREE
I have one mission today: Poop. I know I’m not supposed to push and strain, but I haven’t pooped since the night before surgery and I’m feeling lots of bloating and discomfort from that. I have been taking stool softeners since before surgery, and I gotta find a way to make that happen today!
Hoping this review will let me back in to post and update. In case it doesn’t, let me just encourage anyone out there reading that only three days in, I feel like it’s been 100% WORTH IT! I’m so glad I did it.

Surgery was Wednesday and today is Monday. While this isn’t a cake walk, it is nowhere near the hall of horrors I expected. I stopped prescription narcotic son day four and have been managing fine with OTC. Yesterday, day five, felt like a huge turning point, in terms of my comfort and mobility.
Big bonuses: I was able to start showering on day four, which was heavenly. Really helps warm up my muscle tightness. Other big viictoriius bonus: POOPING! I was so nervous about this, but it happened and I felt like a new woman. There’s no way to keep from straining a tiny bit, but I hold a pillow firmly over my belly for extra support. I’m tryung to be very careful what I eat to try to keep things moving along.
I’ll write more later, but all in all this has been so much better than I had feared.

I’m on day 10 and I’m THRILLED for so many reasons. First of all, even if my results never improve a bit from where they are right now (and I know they will) I look SO much better than I did before surgery. I kept hearing so much about swelling post surgery. Yes, it’s significant, and yes, I’m eager for it to go away, but even with it present I look way better than before.

Second of all, I was absolulely terrified of what recovery would be like, and it has been nowhere near as bad as I feared. Yesterday, day 9, I drove my daughter to a doctor’s appointment across town and managed fine. I was slow (and exhausted afterward!) but I did it! I’m getting out of the house every day—it’s way easier when my husband is along to help with stuff, but I can do it by myself if I need to. I don’t know if my experience is typical or is just a result of a fantastic surgeon!

Here’s what day 10 is like for me:
The incisions still don’t hurt. They never have. Evidently the nerves are cut during the surgery, and you’ll get no complaint from me. That huge tummy tuck scar you see (that looks so terrifying!) is actually numb. Sometimes I feel it a little when I bend over (I don’t bend far!), but it’s not pain, just pressure.

The breast augmention was a cakewalk. Seriously. On day 7 I got to take off my ace bandages and am now wearing a sports bra. So it’s felt a little less “secure” these last three days as I adjust to the new sensation, but it’s no big deal. It reminds me a lot of the way your breasts feel in pregnancy as they swell and experience mild tenderness. But that’s it.

The pain around my mid mid-section from the liposuction was probably the most painful part—for the first few days it felt like a really, really, REALLY bad bruise, all over. Super tender to the touch. But not excruciating, just sore.

My abs are still very sore, but it’s so manageable. The center vertical strip (running straight down the middle, over my cute new belly button, to my pubic area) is still completely numb, so that’s great. To either side of that strip, around to my sides, it’s just super tight with some soreness. Significant bending and twisting isn’t possible, though mild versions of those activities are totally possible. To the naked eye, I appear to be standing up straight, though I know there’s still a tiny little hunch going on. I still walk slower than normal, but I’m not creeping anymore. As the day progresses, the tightness and soreness varies. Occasionally, things loosen up and I’m standing perfectly straight with greatly reduced pain. Then sometimes things tighten up and get sore, and I just listen to my body and slow way down. My sorest time is always first thing in the morning (things are really tight), but when I get up and move around and take some ibuprofen, I very quickly start to feel better.

LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. That is my best advice. This my be the most in tune with my body I’ve ever been in my life. If you’re paying attention, you will have a very strong sense of what you can and can’t do. Do not—DO NOT—push past what feels normal. If you respect those limits, you’ll continue to improve at a steady pace!