POSTED UNDER Mommy Makeover Reviews
Tummy tuck with muscle repair, 360 lipo, breast revision, chin lipo. 33 years 165lbs.
UPDATED FROM MamaBearB33
9 days post
First week and post op
$12,000
Well today is actually day 9 and let me just say yesterday I turned a *small* corner and feel much better overall. I am walking much straighter but my back still kills me. My post op went well he basically said I could do whatever didn’t hurt; that was one restriction and the other was not to lift anything over ten pounds. He also said I could take ibuprofen which was a relief bc I want to stop taking the pain meds however, i tried to replace my pain dose with ibuprofen and turns out I still need my paid meds. That discourages me but I feel right now I have no other choice. I am very happy with my results but I would be lying big time if I didn’t say the swelling is very discouraging to me. While I look much better and know it will take time, i still feel I am very critical of myself. I am looking forward to week two and will post updated pics then as well. Also, he had me star wearing a compression garment like spanx bc before I had only been in a binder. Maybe it’s me.. but I feel as soon as I take off the compression for the day I look even smaller?! I’ll take it :) Happy Healing everyone!
MamaBearB33's provider
UPDATED FROM MamaBearB33
5 days post
DAY 5- HOLY SWELL HELL
I wasn’t going post until after my post op which is Tuesday! I am having a hard day today. I woke up stiff as a board and completely swollen unlike before. My back is so swollen it’s like I don’t have a butt. It has been a discouraging day to say the least and I am a worry wart and just hoping tomorrow the swell will go down. My doctor only has me wearing a binder but I see so many others wearing compression garments and I feel I probably need that as well. I ordered a couple compression tanks off amazon that I will get tmrw and I will wear this under my binder. As if I can’t already breathe! On a positive note, I am getting out of the recliner by myself (very slowly) and taking small laps around my kitchen to get my body moving more. After reading years of reviews on here, you would think I know about all the swelling and what not, but when it’s happening to you, it’s so different. Praying for healing, patience and for my swelling go down.
Replies (1)
I completely understand what you're king through with the swelling. I promise it gets better. However, it's just one of those things we have to endure with these procedures.At week two I started getting weekly lphatuc massages and those really helped. I also massaged my tummy and boobs at least three times daily per doc's orders to help with the swelling and scar tissue formation. The woman who performed lymphatic massages showed me the best way to do them. Hopefully, there's someone in our doc's office who can show you a good technique for self-massaging.
I woke o from surgery in a compression garment and have been wearing one since (13 weeks post-op). I wore a binder in addition to the garment from day two through 1 month post-op visit. At week 6 I was old I only have to wear CG during the day until next week, which I'm looking forward to. At this star I don't feel like I'm getting much benefit from the garment.
I've learned from being on this site that he post-op care and instructors can vary per doctor. Some only do the binder, some do both, some do spanx, some don't require their patients to wear anything after a couple of weeks with the binder.
UPDATED FROM MamaBearB33
3 days post
DAY 4 POST OP
Well I am still taking pain meds, cannot stand up straight, get so exhausted walking to the bathroom and my back absolutely kills me when I walk. I am constipated and waiting in a BM. I know I will feel so much better in my tummy after I go. After my two whole years of research and reviews I will say, I STILL underestimated the recovery. It is no joke. I told myself I was going try to wean off the meds and they lasped over 20 min and I was begging for one. I guess I am learning everyone heals at totally different paces. I will say my tummy (from what I can see) looks so flat and amazing, my breast revision is beautiful and my chin lipo looks great. My post op is Tuesday maybe I will get my tape taken off. I have a question, I feel like swell he’ll is so real at night and puts me in tears even though I have been sitting all day. I took off my binder las night for relief and that was a huge mistake as I felt all my insides would fall out. Immediately put back on. Any advice for the first week is welcomed! Happy Healing and I will continue post as I am hopeful something I write will help someone.
Replies (4)
I’m amazed how well you look... no bruising... wow! Did you have muscle repair with your tummy tuck? Also did you get the Exparal numbing medicine for the TT as well?
Tha so nice to hear, thank you!! I had muscle repair with tummy tuck and a hernia repair. I also did get the exparal as well. Lots and lots of lipo lol.
Don’t rush it and if your body says ‘nap’ take a nap!! I felt like I had nacollepsy!
Very true! At times, that is definitely how I have felt as well.
So ... just a comment. I've experienced that to wean off narcotic pain meds, I start alternating tylenol and motrin every 2 hours (so 4 hours between doses of each med). Then, I begin to taper off the narcotics onto just the OTC meds. Works great, and, you will not be constipated!. In case you didnt know, Imodium is a lightweight narcotic, and thats how it works, by calming the large intestine. Here's hoping to great things for you!
That is incredibly helpful and I will definitely try that! Thank you so much!!
Hi, we had the same procedures done on the same day. Pain wise I have been okay as long as I take my percocet. I'm not ready to wean off yet either. If I could take Ibuprofen I could quit but my Dr says at two weeks I can take it. Everything was great until Thursday evening when I learned what swell hell was. Same thing last night. The day is fine but I'm so miserable in the evenings. I feel like I'm going to explode my CG loke a can of biscuits, lol. I'm just being mindful of my sodium intake and drinking more water. Hoping to get my drain out Tue so I can shower. Happy healing!
Hi there!!! Thank you so much for your comment as I needed it very much today! I can relate so much with everything you are saying. Today I woke up so swollen I though I was going to have to go to doctor. The swelling today has discouraged me and I have had many crying sessions. Not sure if it's because I'm comparing myself or worried, pain meds, or lack of sleep. I need to remind myself to be patient and let my body heal as it really has been through trauma. Who was your doctor and are you local? Happy healing to you and thanks again for the encouragement and support.
I'm in Northern California, Dr Christa Clark did my procedure. You look great! I was feeling tearful last night, the swelling is just so uncomfortable. It was better this morning and I thought I would have another break from it until evening. Nope it's already starting. It's the worst part of my recovery so far. Hope it gets better for both of us soon. Happy healing.
Replies (3)