Young mom of 2 pleased with Tummy Tuck results + scar treatment methods

I had a little incident 2 days after my TT--I was on the couch and I slit down to an uncomfortable position. I did what any woman in a lot of pain would do--beg her husband to come help her and pull her up :) . So my husband pulled me up, but in the process I felt excruciating pain. I screamed for him to stop, he did, and I laid still until the pain subsided. A few hours later I noticed a small bulge near the area where my pain was. I thought I popped a stitch. I called my PS and she saw me the next day. She explained that it was probably fluid and that it would resolve on its own. She repeated this statement again at my 3 week appt. It's still there (not painful, just bulgy and squishy) . I'm just hoping it goes away soon!

Otherwise I'm very happy with my results. I started working out again and I feel great! I can't wait to be given the "Ok" to run and to lift heavy again! I don't go back until my 3 month appt. I'll also get my before pictures at that appt. The swelling has gone down significantly and I stopped wearing my compression garments (they aren't tight enough anymore!!!!!).

My swelling is still pretty awful (as you can see in the pictures). I'm wondering if my compression garment isn't tight enough?? My belly button is also taking a odd-form which is starting to worry me. I know I need to wait until I'm more healed, but to me my belly button looks like a coin slot. My current navel is the one I was born with...but I had a lot more skin around it pre-tummy tuck than I do now. I hope it turns into an innie but at this point I doubt it. I'm going to ask my PS about it at my 6 week appt.

So far everything else has been pretty normal. My scar is laying very flat which makes me pretty happy. I am very happy with the silicon tape! I can't wait for everything to turn white :)

I've been swimming and trying on new clothes; I've waited so long for this procedure and it's so nice to shop/be like a normal person who doesn't feel conscious about how their belly looks in certain clothes!

My swelling has gone down significantly (thank goodness!) It is definitely still there, but I am starting to see my shape and how I'll look in the next few weeks/months! All the pain and suffering was well worth it.

Now, I'm focusing my energy on how I can get the best looking scar possible and how to get rid of some of the lipo lumps in my flank areas. For the scar I've looked at countless videos, research papers, and reviews (mostly youtube), and came to the conclusion that silicone sheets/tape was absolutely necessary. Then I looked at prices on Amazon and decided to rethink silicone sheets--$85 for a box that will last 5 days? NO THANK YOU. So I searched some more. Any way, I found out a little secret by reading tons of Amazon reviews--Mepitac tape. Basically, it's the same as silicone sheets except it's a tape (and not marketed for scar treatment). It's also drastically cheaper ($13 for a huge roll). I decided for $13 it was worth a shot. The Amazon reviews convinced me, especially after reading a few from Tummy Tuck veterans. I included a picture of the Mepitac box and roll and what they look like on. So far I've been able to keep them on for about 3 days. I read that some people actually save the tape for later use and I believe it. They'll take the tape off and lay it on the counter before a workout or shower. I haven't tried that yet, but I can add that the tape is extremely sticky. I wore my tape for 3 hours in the swimming pool and it didn't come off or lose its adhesive effect. AWESOME. I'll let you know how I feel about it in a few weeks.

I also included the other scar treatments I was given/bought. Dr. Kim gave me the SkinMedica cream. I will definitely use it, but I thought the silicone tape would be better off in the beginning. I also bought liquid silicone cream. I'll use it, too. Again, tape + silicone= best treatment. Paper tape alone is supposed to reduce scar thickness so the fact that I found a tape and silicone treatment combined is amazing! I hope it works. Otherwise, I may purchase the expensive stuff.

Lipo lumps??

I've been pretty diligent about giving myself (or making my husband give me) back massages to "smooth away" the lumps in my flank area. I've been going at it pretty hard. So far, I don't think I've reduced my lumps a whole lot. I'm hoping this goes away. I'll keep massaging, but I'm getting discouraged that the longer I keep feeling them the more likely the scar tissue will be here to say. Any advice?

That's it for now!