TT.....Day by DayJourney with Pics

Take the leap, jump and don’t be scared :)
I have wanted this for years and at the age of 39 I was finally able to change my life. Years of abdominal surgeries and a preeclamptic pregnancy (Im 5’0 and gained serious fluid weight the last month of pregnancy) left me feeling ashamed and hopeless with my mid area. I had my consult the end of October 2018 with what I feel is the best doctor in this area. Dr. Paul Davis in Shreveport, LA. I say that because in your journey the MOST important thing is finding an excellent surgeon. This is going to be fun, exciting, life changing but also scary, tiring, anxious and emotional. You absolutely must have the best. Research, ask around in the medical circle. Dr. Davis speaks to you calmly, is very thorough in his explanations, meticulous in nature and a perfectionist in his area. He is highly known and respected in the medical community. Now, he is a surgeon and thinks as such, talks fast, doesn’t sugar coat and gives you honesty but I prefer this. If you follow his instructions and trust him, this experience will be just fine.
Pre-op month and Surgery Day:
Nervous, anxious. Scared! I have read every thread on here about how this surgery is no joke the worst one ever and it will hurt, recovery is awful, etc. I ready every horrible post on here and almost talked myself out of it several times. I angst about this the most, all the way up until I was put to sleep. I didn’t want to wake up in agony or be in agony for weeks at home. My doctor assured me I would be fine. He elects to do what no other surgeon here does, you get a spinal (duramorph I believe) and spend the night in the hospital. The spinal lasts 36 hours so you never wake up in pain. I didn’t believe him but he was right, I woke up only feeling pressure but no pain. Now, my pain was controlled in recovery so when I got to my room, every 4hr I had to have pain meds and muscle relaxer to keep at that tolerable state, which I did. I also requested zofran to control the naseau so I had no issues with that. The other thing I did before surgery was get my ducks in a row. Arrange for person to come over and tend to me 24/7 the first week and also arrange for school transportation for my 8yr old. These are an absolute must. You are limited in mobility greatly the first 7 days so you need someone fixing you meals, sponge bathing, washing your hair in the sink, doing chores, empty your drains, etc. I have a automatic bed that is low profile so I was able to get in and out of it and go to the bathroom on my own. But I didn’t have energy for much else. I had a table by my bed that had my meds, stool softeners, chapstick, drink cup, and crackers. Be sure to have stool softeners and miralax. These help from getting constipated from anesthesia and pain meds. I had to take antibiotic 4x a day so I kept crackers by my bed so I wasn’t taking on a empty stomach. Pillows and pillows. You will need lots of them. Behind you when you are sleeping and sitting, under your arms, under your knees. Just be sure and have several to work with. You will also want a medical toilet that stands over your regular toilet. It keeps you from having to use your abs to sit so low to use the bathroom. Everyone talks about needing to be lifted on and off the toilet, I never had that because I had that medical thing with side rails that sits on top of the toilet and I could easily lower myself on and off. The other must have for me was a walker. I’m 5’0 so I was at a complete right angle walking the first week. There’s no way I could have done that without a walker.
Post Op
Well the first two days in the hospital were a piece of cake. Day 3-7 at home, not so much. I was not in bad pain but uncomfortable. I couldn’t get up without it being a well thought out plan and I hate the drains. They twist and move. It just sucks. Again, not from pain (I have used little pain meds since being home, mostly Tylenol) but not being able to do even the smallest of things. Your swelling sucks, the incision site has to stay clean, the Lipo sites are super sensitive. The list goes on and on. Just be prepared for a sucky slow life the first week. They say you turn a corner around day 8 and that is the truth. You can stand up more, walk less with the walker, incision is closed, stuff isn’t as tender, going to the bathroom is easy and you slowly start to feel normal. The most important thing is to listen and obey your surgeon’s instructions. I did that and I think that is why I don’t have a horror story like some others.
I’m on day 10 so I’m sure I’ll have a few more bad days ahead but I know I’m past the worst of it and am super excited about the way it looks now. Still have a lot of swelling it feels like but I’m so pleased. See attached for few before and after pics.
Dr. PD if you are reading this, thank you from the bottom of my heart, you have changed my life :)

Today we left the house for my 2nd post op dr appt. All stitches were taken out and incision/lipo/bb sites were cleaned and redressed. My drains have to stay in a few more days. Ugh lol. But honestly, it is better to leave the drains in to do their thing than taking them out too early.
Life at home is much better. I’m walking around less bent over, using walker only a little, and no pain meds except Tylenol. Things are sore and tight but that is definitely doable. Putting antibiotic cream on my incision every night and trying to keep it and the drain sites clean. I’m freaked out about infection lol. I’ll go back for drains day 13-15 to get them checked. Not at work yet, I’m hoping by day 15 I can go back.
One thing I’ve discovered here that I didn’t know about before is Arnicare. The gel is AMAZING and literally stops pains in muscles in minutes. I don’t use it on my abdomen but on my arms and back. I have scoliosis that affects the joints and muscles in my upper back. I had to stop taking all nsaids before this surgery so I was really aching. I tried the arnicare everyone talks about. WOW. If you have muscle pains, get some of this! It’s $8 on Amazon.
I’m really at a good place right now so far, I’ll check in when the drains come out. Hoping that’s not too bad.