Tummy tuck for loose, paper-like skin - 9 days post-op, so far so good!

Swelling is finally easing up. Still get swollen if I’m super active but much better than it has been. Been lifting weights (upper body) a little heavier while focusing on not using core as much as possible. Feels good to be more active. Scabs are almost gone on incision and the dissolvable stitches in belly button finally came off. I had a lot of dry skin on stomach so started using coconut oil to moisture and I think that pushed those stitches and scabs along a bit. One more week of compression 23 hours a day but honestly am a little worried about not wearing it during the day. It can be annoying and limits what I wear but it’s a nice security. I go back to surgeon for checkup next week and am hoping to get released for any workouts. I don’t plan to do core moves yet but need to engage it for some lifting. Hard to believe it’s already been 5 weeks!

Little better every day. Been walking a couple miles in the mornings and started some very very light upper body lifting this morning. It’s pretty difficult to find moves that don’t engage the core so I’m pretty limited. Swelling has gotten a lot better but is pretty uncomfortable by the end of the work day. Love the compression garments for this though! Scabs have started to thin out some but still pretty heavy. I’m still wearing a t shirt sliver under my compression to avoid rubbing and irritating the scabs. Looking forward to those being gone but don’t want to rush them. Picture shows swelling from 1st week vs now. I knew it felt like I had a ball inside my stomach!

Feeling a lot better this week. Definitely moving around more and doing simple chores around house. I don’t have much pain at all aside from some twinges here and there. Biggest issue is sleeping. I get about 4 hours on my back and I can’t sleep after that due to back pain. I have an adjustable bed and have literally tried every possible scenario and still hurts. I bought a pregnancy pillow in hopes maybe I can sleep on my side a bit with it soon. Right now if I try to lay on side it just feels like my stomach is pulling down so I just gave up. I think the nerves are healing since I’ll have large periods of time where my whole belly feels tingly. Pretty annoying after a while but nothing today. Trying to go for walks and as of today, getting back to clean eating. It’s easy to grab processed stuff when it’s harder to fix meals but I know it’s not helping my healing process. Updated pic. Not a ton of change, still crazy swollen, but seems to be getting better.