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Post-Op Day 24
I'm over 3 weeks out from my tummy tuck, and every day things keep getting better!
Last Monday I was finally able to get my last drain out, and so a few days later I was able to take my first real shower in almost 3 weeks. That was easily the best shower of my life, and I feel so much more like a real person again!
Since the drain is out, I've also transitioned to wearing a faja for compression. The faja has made it a lot easier to move, lay flat, and stand more upright. The compression it provides makes me feel way more secure than the garment that only covers the abdomen, and is in my opinon, worth the hassle of getting on/off. It also honestly makes me look so good in clothes, despite all the swelling!
My mobility is now way up, though a few days ago I may have pushed myself too hard. I've been trying to start doing chores again, but it seems my movement ended up irritating my belly button and "leaking" oil from there into my faja. I also somehow bumped my stomach into the kitchen counter and bruised myself a bit. Needless to say, even though I technically *can* move around more, I'm taking it a little bit easier to make sure I don't injure myself! Also, while I can lay flat, I still struggle with standing fully upright. When I try, I feel internal pulling, I guess because of how tight I've been tucked. Given how I've already slightly injured my belly button, I'm inclined to make standing perfectly straight a longer-term project to avoid further injuries.
I still swell by end of day or after a salty meal, but it doesn't really bother me too much; I knew what to expect going in, and even a swollen post-TT belly still looks better to me than what I was working with before.
I also seem to have a little bit of light-headedness sometimes, like right now, so hopefully this update is coherent!
When it comes to measurements, here's where I'm at, despite being only a few days away from my period:
Bust: 40 (1" lost)
Underbust: 34 (2.5" lost)
Waist: 33 (1" lost)
Lower abdomen: 37 (4" lost)
Hip: 41 (1" lost)
Last Monday I was finally able to get my last drain out, and so a few days later I was able to take my first real shower in almost 3 weeks. That was easily the best shower of my life, and I feel so much more like a real person again!
Since the drain is out, I've also transitioned to wearing a faja for compression. The faja has made it a lot easier to move, lay flat, and stand more upright. The compression it provides makes me feel way more secure than the garment that only covers the abdomen, and is in my opinon, worth the hassle of getting on/off. It also honestly makes me look so good in clothes, despite all the swelling!
My mobility is now way up, though a few days ago I may have pushed myself too hard. I've been trying to start doing chores again, but it seems my movement ended up irritating my belly button and "leaking" oil from there into my faja. I also somehow bumped my stomach into the kitchen counter and bruised myself a bit. Needless to say, even though I technically *can* move around more, I'm taking it a little bit easier to make sure I don't injure myself! Also, while I can lay flat, I still struggle with standing fully upright. When I try, I feel internal pulling, I guess because of how tight I've been tucked. Given how I've already slightly injured my belly button, I'm inclined to make standing perfectly straight a longer-term project to avoid further injuries.
I still swell by end of day or after a salty meal, but it doesn't really bother me too much; I knew what to expect going in, and even a swollen post-TT belly still looks better to me than what I was working with before.
I also seem to have a little bit of light-headedness sometimes, like right now, so hopefully this update is coherent!
When it comes to measurements, here's where I'm at, despite being only a few days away from my period:
Bust: 40 (1" lost)
Underbust: 34 (2.5" lost)
Waist: 33 (1" lost)
Lower abdomen: 37 (4" lost)
Hip: 41 (1" lost)
Post Op Day 17
Tonight I finally get my last drain removed! Really looking forward to being able to shower again, and wear clothes without worrying about tugging on the drain.
Over the last week I've started finally regaining nerves in my tummy tuck region, which is a blessing and a curse. I'm glad they're coming back, but also I can now feel tugging and occasional twings of pain that I hadn't felt before. It's not a huge deal, but it is annoying and I can't wait to get over this phase.
As you can see in my photos too, I'm not yet back to standing straight up - when I try, I still get an uncomfortable pulling sensation, and if I walk around at the angle I am able to get to ~85 degrees), my back gets tired after a while. Since there's no huge rush and I'm not about to accidentally open my incision, I'm taking it slow and firstly trying to get to the point where I can lie flat again. I'm almost there, and I think in the next week or so I'll be back to standing upright/sleeping flat.
Once I get this drain out, I'm going to transition to wearing a seamless faja full-time, mostly to minimize my chances of getting a seroma. I've read every medical paper I could find on tummy tuck complications, and they seem to agree that having snug compression during recovery also helps.
I'm honestly extremely glad I did this surgery during quarantine. While having 1 week off is, in my opinion, mandatory after a tummy tuck, 2 weeks would've been ideal. Since I just have a remote desk job, I was fortunate to be able to do my 2nd week of recovery/1st week back at work from the comfort of bed, but even then I was slower than usual and struggled to stay awake for the first half of the week and even now, I find myself really dragging by the end of the day.
When it comes to my post-op measurements, it seems they haven't changed much since my last post:
Bust: 40"
Underbust: 35" (1.5" lost since pre-op)
Waist: 34" (1" gained??)
Lower ab: 38" (3" lost)
Hip: 42"
I did eat something a bit saltier than usual yesterday, so that may be the reason for the extra inch in the waist.
Over the last week I've started finally regaining nerves in my tummy tuck region, which is a blessing and a curse. I'm glad they're coming back, but also I can now feel tugging and occasional twings of pain that I hadn't felt before. It's not a huge deal, but it is annoying and I can't wait to get over this phase.
As you can see in my photos too, I'm not yet back to standing straight up - when I try, I still get an uncomfortable pulling sensation, and if I walk around at the angle I am able to get to ~85 degrees), my back gets tired after a while. Since there's no huge rush and I'm not about to accidentally open my incision, I'm taking it slow and firstly trying to get to the point where I can lie flat again. I'm almost there, and I think in the next week or so I'll be back to standing upright/sleeping flat.
Once I get this drain out, I'm going to transition to wearing a seamless faja full-time, mostly to minimize my chances of getting a seroma. I've read every medical paper I could find on tummy tuck complications, and they seem to agree that having snug compression during recovery also helps.
I'm honestly extremely glad I did this surgery during quarantine. While having 1 week off is, in my opinion, mandatory after a tummy tuck, 2 weeks would've been ideal. Since I just have a remote desk job, I was fortunate to be able to do my 2nd week of recovery/1st week back at work from the comfort of bed, but even then I was slower than usual and struggled to stay awake for the first half of the week and even now, I find myself really dragging by the end of the day.
When it comes to my post-op measurements, it seems they haven't changed much since my last post:
Bust: 40"
Underbust: 35" (1.5" lost since pre-op)
Waist: 34" (1" gained??)
Lower ab: 38" (3" lost)
Hip: 42"
I did eat something a bit saltier than usual yesterday, so that may be the reason for the extra inch in the waist.
Day 10
Recovery has been going really smoothly!
Today I finally got one of my drains out, but the other is still a bit too full to be removed, so my follow up is planned for next Monday. Fingers crossed! Once I get that out, I'll probably switch to wearing a faja for the next few months. My current compression garment seems like it's meant to cover my waist and upper hit, but it keeps riding up and has to be adjusted all the time. I'm hoping the faja will just stay put!
This is the first day I've really removed my post surgery binder at all, so I was able to get some updated measurements. Despite some swelling, I'm already seeing a huge difference:
Weight: 160 (5 lbs lost)
Bust: 41
Underbust: 36 (.5 in lost)
Waist: 33 (1 in lost)
Lower Abdomen: 38 (3 in lost)
Hips: 41
I honestly still can't believe this is my new body, and even if I never improved from here I'd still be very happy with these results. The lower ab roll was not just an obstacle for making clothes fit right, but it was just always in the way. I can't say I miss it at all, but it's going to take some time to get used to not having it anymore.
When it comes to my plication, I'm honestly not able to feel it anymore, though I've continued taking acetaminophen just in case. I'm able to move around the house a lot more each day, and my doctor has cleared me to try and start straightening out. The biggest "obstacle" in my mind towards straightening is really just the pulling sensation on my stitches.
Dr. Nguyen also gave me a heads up that during surgery, I didn't get very much lipo mainly because I bled far more than he was comfortable with. I'm honestly fine with that, and it explains why I didn't "leak" as much as I've read other posters here and why my post-surgery bruises were so dark. I may have to get a blood panel done if I plan on getting more lipo in the future, just to make sure I don't have a bleeding disorder.
Today I finally got one of my drains out, but the other is still a bit too full to be removed, so my follow up is planned for next Monday. Fingers crossed! Once I get that out, I'll probably switch to wearing a faja for the next few months. My current compression garment seems like it's meant to cover my waist and upper hit, but it keeps riding up and has to be adjusted all the time. I'm hoping the faja will just stay put!
This is the first day I've really removed my post surgery binder at all, so I was able to get some updated measurements. Despite some swelling, I'm already seeing a huge difference:
Weight: 160 (5 lbs lost)
Bust: 41
Underbust: 36 (.5 in lost)
Waist: 33 (1 in lost)
Lower Abdomen: 38 (3 in lost)
Hips: 41
I honestly still can't believe this is my new body, and even if I never improved from here I'd still be very happy with these results. The lower ab roll was not just an obstacle for making clothes fit right, but it was just always in the way. I can't say I miss it at all, but it's going to take some time to get used to not having it anymore.
When it comes to my plication, I'm honestly not able to feel it anymore, though I've continued taking acetaminophen just in case. I'm able to move around the house a lot more each day, and my doctor has cleared me to try and start straightening out. The biggest "obstacle" in my mind towards straightening is really just the pulling sensation on my stitches.
Dr. Nguyen also gave me a heads up that during surgery, I didn't get very much lipo mainly because I bled far more than he was comfortable with. I'm honestly fine with that, and it explains why I didn't "leak" as much as I've read other posters here and why my post-surgery bruises were so dark. I may have to get a blood panel done if I plan on getting more lipo in the future, just to make sure I don't have a bleeding disorder.
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