Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Almost 8 weeks
Leaving today to pick up my husband tomorrow and spend some time out of town getting reacquainted. Hope he likes the new me!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
6(7) weeks post-op
Went back for my 6-week check today (6 weeks and 5 days to be exact). The nurse took "after" pictures with the paper panties. I neglected to get a copy on my way out so will ask for them at my 3-month picture appointment on December 22nd. The surgeon looked me over and determined that I was fine and ready to resume normal activities, as tolerated. No ab work for three months (I assume three months from surgery, not from today), and she said it might be a slow start even then. I suspect that will be the case since I've already had a little soreness from my first night back to bowling. That was at 6-weeks to the day, so maybe pushing it a little but that's how I roll! I have been slow-jogging several times and have no problem with my abs. It's really weird to run without my stomach jumping all over the place. Now my T & A bounce around so much that I have adjusted my jogging to minimize the jiggle.
I'm standing up straight enough for now. Still working on that. Keeping my stomach moisturized and making a conscious effort to stretch it a little. I still tighten up after sitting for long periods and take a few minutes to fully straighten when I stand. I would like to be able to do a back bend some day. Just leaning back for a good stretch would feel great.
My navel has not healed as quickly as I expected, and not nearly as well as my big incision. It's still red, a little sore, and peels a lot. The doc said it looked okay, not to put anything on it.
I'm using my silicone strip daily and for as long as possible. I don't wear it while I exercise (sweating in it can cause irritation), and I didn't wear it today because I had two medical appointments involving that area and didn't want to put it on and take it off twice without washing it in between. Then I exercised this evening. So, off this morning and back on tonight after my shower and all will be fine. I did some more research to find out what about the silicone strip makes it heal scars - all my little brain can comprehend of what I read is that the silicone prevents some kind of chemical reaction that can cause scaring. Something like that. Whatever the case, it seems to be doing a good job. The dermaroller also seems to be doing a good job on my stretch marks. They're far from gone, but slightly improved after only two treatments (the first doesn't really count since I was afraid to push too hard and probably didn't even break the skin). The manufacturer says it could take up to 10 months to see full results. Worth a try, especially since I read while researching that this method has 20 years of trials supporting its effectiveness.
It is amazing to me how differently I look at things now. After the tummy tuck, I was acutely aware of how fatty my upper thighs and arms were and how much upper back fat I need to get rid of. Now, I'm still aware of the remaining problems, but I'm ECSTATIC with where I'm at in my journey. Another big deal is how I look at clothing. When shopping before the tummy tuck, everything revolved around covering up my stomach, my muffin, my rolls, handles, the Flapper Large Marge! Now my concerns are my upper arm flags, my upper thigh flags, and my once-proportionate-now-abnormally-large boobs. Since we're moving into the winter season where pants and long sleeves rule, my shopping has taken on a whole new life. I'm not as small as I wanted to be at this point, but I feel SO good. I've been on a panty-buying spree. Hubby will be home in one week and we've both been buying lingerie left and right, online together, separately, and me in the stores. He is amazed at the things I say YES to, which is 99.999% of what he suggests (as opposed to the 0.0005% of his pre-tummy tuck suggestions). It has been fun, but it has to stop! I need real clothes! I have been buying those, too, but in much smaller quantities compared to the underthings. I've bought a few things from the consignment shop, dug some more "skinny clothes" out of my closet, and purchased a few new items. I have enough to get by with for now - always keeping my eyes open for a bargain, though!
Going to take some pictures with a real camera in the next week or so and will post them for comparison. I probably said that before, but I mean it this time. :)
I'm standing up straight enough for now. Still working on that. Keeping my stomach moisturized and making a conscious effort to stretch it a little. I still tighten up after sitting for long periods and take a few minutes to fully straighten when I stand. I would like to be able to do a back bend some day. Just leaning back for a good stretch would feel great.
My navel has not healed as quickly as I expected, and not nearly as well as my big incision. It's still red, a little sore, and peels a lot. The doc said it looked okay, not to put anything on it.
I'm using my silicone strip daily and for as long as possible. I don't wear it while I exercise (sweating in it can cause irritation), and I didn't wear it today because I had two medical appointments involving that area and didn't want to put it on and take it off twice without washing it in between. Then I exercised this evening. So, off this morning and back on tonight after my shower and all will be fine. I did some more research to find out what about the silicone strip makes it heal scars - all my little brain can comprehend of what I read is that the silicone prevents some kind of chemical reaction that can cause scaring. Something like that. Whatever the case, it seems to be doing a good job. The dermaroller also seems to be doing a good job on my stretch marks. They're far from gone, but slightly improved after only two treatments (the first doesn't really count since I was afraid to push too hard and probably didn't even break the skin). The manufacturer says it could take up to 10 months to see full results. Worth a try, especially since I read while researching that this method has 20 years of trials supporting its effectiveness.
It is amazing to me how differently I look at things now. After the tummy tuck, I was acutely aware of how fatty my upper thighs and arms were and how much upper back fat I need to get rid of. Now, I'm still aware of the remaining problems, but I'm ECSTATIC with where I'm at in my journey. Another big deal is how I look at clothing. When shopping before the tummy tuck, everything revolved around covering up my stomach, my muffin, my rolls, handles, the Flapper Large Marge! Now my concerns are my upper arm flags, my upper thigh flags, and my once-proportionate-now-abnormally-large boobs. Since we're moving into the winter season where pants and long sleeves rule, my shopping has taken on a whole new life. I'm not as small as I wanted to be at this point, but I feel SO good. I've been on a panty-buying spree. Hubby will be home in one week and we've both been buying lingerie left and right, online together, separately, and me in the stores. He is amazed at the things I say YES to, which is 99.999% of what he suggests (as opposed to the 0.0005% of his pre-tummy tuck suggestions). It has been fun, but it has to stop! I need real clothes! I have been buying those, too, but in much smaller quantities compared to the underthings. I've bought a few things from the consignment shop, dug some more "skinny clothes" out of my closet, and purchased a few new items. I have enough to get by with for now - always keeping my eyes open for a bargain, though!
Going to take some pictures with a real camera in the next week or so and will post them for comparison. I probably said that before, but I mean it this time. :)
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