6 month PO! updated pics

Seriously I had to take a big step back when I looked at the calender yesterday and realized it's been a full 6 months since surgery. Whoa! For the past few months I've stopped and thought occasionally "I should update" but life gets hectic and busy and its hard to take the time to sit down and collect my thoughts and events into one concise informative post. 6 months feels like a milestone so I'll give it a go. Also let me say that when I first started reading posts I was starving to know what the girls this far out where going through. I continually searched to find those posts that could tell me if they where back to normal, better than normal, still swelling like a beast...what the heck was going on that far out from surgery. So I feel it doubly important to try to put some info out here :) At 6 months I still swell some and seriously I didn't really even know what real swelling was until after my 4 month mark. For some reason it hit me late and when it did I really understood how lucky I was to not have known it until then. I personally think the serious swelling I experienced around that time had more to do with hormones than anything since I've had trouble with menstrual cycle regulation since my surgery. (Side note the only thing that kicked in my cycle was starting birth control pills) At this point though the swelling is minimal and really only hits me up high just under my rib cage. I still feel tight through my mid line sometimes but mostly if I've worked my core more than normal. Since early on I've been back to my normal workout routine, I never was much of a core workout lover and am still not. I mostly let my yoga practice take care of my core and don't care to do much else. I've maintained a steady weight around 135 and feeling good about it. As far as my scar goes I've only been messaging it with Palmer's oil for the past few months and probably not as religiously as I ought to. It seems to be doing fine only fading slowly at this point but I'm not that worried about it. I can still feel what I can only describe as a firm area just under my scar that I assume is the internal scar but only if I really press into my skin pretty hard. It has softened up over the passing weeks so again not really bothered by it. All in all I feel great I'm SO much more comfortable in my skin and couldn't be happier that I was blessed enough to be able to have this procedure. Aside from that I can't think of anything new and entertaining to report but as always happy to answer any questions you guys may have. Hope all you lovelies are doing well and happy healing to all :)

Hey all my TT lovelies! Today marks the 3 month PO milestone in my TT journey and I'm glad to say that I'm back at it full force. I'm fully back to all the activities I was able to do before including running without any discomfort or tightness. I've been off of compression for about 3 weeks now but still sometimes wear something when I run. I still swell and even though they say the bulk of the swelling diminishes by this point it seems I'll have to continue to deal with mine. Its not bad swelling though and never really has been with the exception of a few nights were I ended up feeling like an overinflated balloon of a woman. But by the next day its gone and I feel okay again. Its odd but I may be an odd woman out in that when I do swell a lot of it(or at least just as much) is above the bellybutton area up to my upper rib cage. I've still not had a period since before surgery making it 3 missed and counting. I've had a blood pregnancy test and also had my thyroid checked and not pregnant not experiencing any abnormal thyroid activity. I've started taking an herbal supplement to help balance my hormones, hopefully that'll get things straightened out. All in all I feel good I think I look pretty good and overall I'm really happy with my results. I'll admit I struggle with looking in the mirror and seeing the lax skin left on my sides and back but I shrug it off and remind myself I'm not trying to be a model just a normal everyday woman. I recently went of a shopping spree and for the first time in my entire life I had FUN buying clothes. For the first time I was able to buy jeans in the single digit sizes ya'll! Size 6 heck to the yes that's me! We'll that's all from my camp for now, hope all you out there waiting for your surgery or recovering from is doing well!

Not much has changed in the last two weeks my lovelies. I've weened off all compression for the most part, though I still have days that I'll wear my Flexees cami for a while after I work out. For those out there wondering about compression garments, this thing quickly became my favorite. Half the price of the Spanx cami and just as supportive. Also no struggling to get this thing down (like the compression panty like things) when I have to make a break for the bathroom and no weird contraptions in the crotch area to fool with. Though, I do wear a high waisted body tunic when I jog because it is a little firmer in its compression and it makes me feel all safe and protected. As for jog/running goes I still can't go full speed like I could before. My abs and upper thighs still don't love the idea of me running as fast as normal. I still have moments when I look in the mirror and love what I see and there are still those times when I'm less than thrilled at whats looking back. I still have swelling and when its at its worst is when I tend to have nasty little negative thoughts creep in. I've added strength training back into my workout routine this last week. Easy does it though, I find things that I could have done a ton of before kick my butt and make me sore the next day if I'm not careful. Example; I decided it was time to really work my legs so I pulled out P90X legs and back....dear God I walked like I had a condition for at least 2 days. All in all I'm kind of feeling like I'm at a stand still with my progress at this point. I don't see much change in my swelling situation (as in it going down much) but I kind of want to chalk that up to the fact that I've gone off of my compression and I've added even more activity into my daily routine. I still haven't had my period...if it doesn't show by the end of the month it'll be MIA for 2 months now. My OCD insists on taking a pregnancy test every once and a while and of course still not pregnant. So I don't know what the heck is up with my cycle but I'm continually told not to be too worried about it (says someone to which its not actually happening). I've added a new set of pics and again for those curious about working out and swelling these were taken this morning after a day and night without compression. Also they are the morning after an hour of cardio, full day of work and a 30 minute strength training session in the evening. I'd meant to take a comparison pic last night before bed but I forgot (for shame)...the swelling I get persists in the morning but its tolerable enough that I don't immediately snatch up my binder and strap it on as tight as I can.
Hope you all are healing/progressing well and all of those waiting for your turn may the time pass quickly for you :)