12 weeks post op

Ok, so I am really 13 weeks today. I have lost track of time. Thats good thats means I am just a busy girl. I have been doing really well. I feel great. When I got clearance to resume activity at 5 weeks post op, I decided to really go for it, to make some changes in life. I already ate pretty well but I could do better. I also haven't really exercised much the past year. Mainly due to having surgery in Sept 2011 on my knee. I babied my knee a lot. It still hurts, the surgery helped for 6 months maybe. I realized I have to learn to exercise with a bad knee not make excuses.

 I also had backpain when I did strenuos exercise, because my core was so weak I couldn't suport my back well. For me no amount of exercise fixed the muscle sepration I had in my abdominals. Having a solid core now is one the best things to come from the surgery. My back hasn't hurt since my surgery (unless you count sore muscles from working out, which I don't). I have this awesome friend who is teaching me yoga. She is my yoga Yoda. She is also teaching me more about general fitness and nutrition. Such an inspiration for me to get in shape and be healthy. So I have been doing yoga for the past 7 weeks.  To say I am obsessed in putting it mildly.I think I have combed the internet for HOURS looking into yoga and fitness. The awesome part is I have noticed some changes in my body already. My upper body is stronger, I have little muscles. I am still not very flexible, AT ALL. The area  I want to see improvement is my hips and thighs. This is going to take a little longer because these are my areas of swelling.

 AWE the evil swell hell. My fellow tummy tuckers it call it swell hell. Its not nice. I am not going to pretend it doesn't suck because it does. It hurts, sometimes a lot. My doctor told me swelling could last 6-12 months. I really haven't found much that helps. When it hurts I massage the area. I avoid sodium as much as possible. Now that it is getting hot I am finding the humidity is making it worse. I would definitely not have this surgery during the summer. I have decided to just ignore the swelling  as best as possible. Yeah it hurts, but no pain no gain.

Next, the huge scar. Honestly it doesn't bother me. Only I can see it. Its super low. Its still red, but I am very pale so it will take some time for it to lighten up. i use coconut oil and vitamin e on. I will admit I am bad about doing it religiously. I do it when I remember. I still have some areas of numbness around the scar but I barely notice.

I feel for having major surgery 3 months ago I am doing pretty awesome. I workout 5 days a week, I eat healthy (no ones perfect in that aspect). Yes I still have 10 lbs to loose but it will come. I am more focused on being healthier. Taking care of this new body, becoming stronger, more flexible and building endurance.

So 3 months later, was it worth it. You bet. I don't regret it at all. I know most people have hip and thigh liposuction when they have this done. I chose not to because of the added cost and I can really exercise those areas off. Now I wish I would have added that in. It would have helped put everything together nicely but in time I will see change in the areas I want. I have to be patient for the swelling to go away.

As most know I am an open book. I don't keep much to myself (this is considered a good and bad quality). If you have any questions shoot me a message. If your still in the weight loss faze before you can gave the surgery I can help with that too.

Here are a few pics.

8 week post op

I am at my 2 month mark. It feels like it should be longer. i have been back to work and exercising for 3 weeks. I am feeling pretty good. My one major issue is swelling. I still have quite a bit of swelling but I think it has to do with how active I am. I am working 10-15 hours a week on my feet and doing yoga and other exercises. Most of my swelling is in my upper abdomen, hips and thighs. i know it will eventually go away so I am ignoring it the best I can. I am really enjoying yoga and strengthening my body. I feel like i am getting stronger every day. I even was able to go play racket ball the other day which would have killed my back before my surgery. I am not really worrying about loosing weight, I am just trying to reshape my body and tone up. The love handle and hip area are my biggest areas to work on. Most people get lipo on these areas. I kinda wish I would have but I am still happy with my results. In my pictures you can see my swelling and the fact I still have stretch marks. I had to many to get rid of them all. They should fade more with time.

and for kicks and giggles this is me 37 week pregnant with my daughter.

Before and after pics from the doctor

These are the pictures the doctor took. The before are right before surgery and the after is at my 5 week check up. Update wise, I have been feeling good, I have some swelling maybe 30%. I have started exercising. I am doing yoga for the first time. I now realize how out of shape I am. baby steps. I have been back to work for 2 weeks. The first couple days were hard. Overall I am basically back to my old self, i just have to listen to my body and rest when I need to.

5 weeks

I had my final check up with Dr. Robbins today. He said my scar looks great and to keep doing what I am doing. I mixed coconut oil, vitamin E and lavender oil. My belly button is almost healed. I have been having some burning pain in my upper abdomen and I asked him about it. It is my muscles and nerves coming back to life. I don't have to wear my binder or compression garment anymore. I may still wear it to work depending on how my swelling is. I still swell easily. Most of my swelling is in my upper abdomen and my sides and hips. I can't really do anything about so I am trying to just manage the pain part of it. He also said I could go back to exercising. Just to ease into it and of course not to do any core workouts. I am trying to decide how best to ease back into exercise. I have lost 4 lbs and have about 10 more to lose. I mainly just want to tone up my legs and back. So now I am just trying to ease back into my old daily routine and add in some exercise.

A little video blog

I have found some really cool video blogs. I kinda wish I would have done this from the start. I just found that it helped to hear people tell their story instead reading about. i am an open book so why not. i will do a couple video and post them here.

4 weeks post op with pics (lots)

So I made it a month. It has been a long month. There are so many thing I haven't been able to do. I can't be on my feet for long periods of time without fatigue and swelling. I can't lift more than 10lbs, or exercise. I am pretty much standing straight up. My main issue now is the swelling.  I took my pictures in the morning because swelling is less. I have lost 7-8 lbs. On an average day where i am up and running around for a few hours I will swell and put on about 2 lbs. Its painful but I take ibuprofen. I made a lotion mixture of coconut oil, vitamin e and lavender oil. I rub that on my stomach, hips and thighs. Most of my swelling is in the hips and thighs. My belly button is healing nicely. it is the last place to heal. In my pictures you can see marks on me that is from wearing my binder at night. I can take the big white binder off. I am more comfortable in my tan compression garment when I am out and about. I see mt surgeon next week. He will redefine what I can and cant do. I go back to work tomorrow. I am nervous, just because I can't lift a lot and I will need to sit often. I was so excited. I was able to start wearing jeans yesterday...finally, no more yoga pants. I put them on and they were huge. So off to Maurices I went. I was able to go down a size. those are the tan shorts in the picture. I am excited for Dr Robbins to hopefully clear me for exercise soon. My scar looks really good. I am pale so it will show up more red. it is very thin and will continue to fade. I still have some numbness in the area and it hurts less to rub the scar. I muscle repair is feeling good. My back hurts sometimes if  I over do it but nothing like it did before the surgery. Once again I will post a side by side before and after pic. Let me know if you have any questions. I love comments.

Two week post OP - pics included

Today is 2 weeks since surgery. Its been a long two weeks. I go back to work in two weeks and school within a month or so. I am not upto housework yet. I have driven a little. twisting is hard so I try not to drive if I dont have to. I would advice people to photograph in the morning as swelling is better. By noon I am really swollen. I have been tired. Not sleepy. I actually don't nap or sleep well at night. Its a lack of energy throughout the day. When I do run to the store or go to dinner and I get really worn out quickly. I am learning that patientce is important. Its is a long healing process. Now sayign that I still feel 2 weeks later it was worth it. Am i compltely happy with my results. Not yet, but I am still swollen and my finally shape will come. My muscles are still tucking in and my waste is swollen. Muscle spasms have gotten better. They dont hurt they feel similar to full term baby kicks.
 I took some pics this morning in my pajamas lol. My front view you can see my scar is healing nicely. I am pale so my scar is vivid. It is thin. I am kinda bad at scar therapy. It hurts to do. My scar only hurts when I start touching it. its very similar to my c-section scars.My belly button is still healing. It looks dark because I still have stitches in. It had to be anchored to my abdominal wall. I should get the stitches out when I got back in 3 weeks. The marks on my stomach are from the binder. I still have stretch marks and I don't like the way they look but I am told  they will get better over time. Also you can see I am still really swollen on my sides. I chose to not get lipo. Reason 1 is the added expense and Reason 2 is I feel I shouldn't get any work done  that I can fix myself. I can work on my love handles with exercise. If you don't want to deal with your sides or your back, then I would say lipo. I have discovered I am in the minority. Most people get a lot of lipo. I am a curvy girl, I don't mind. If I drop 10 lbs and the swelling goes down I will be happy. My side view. I like a lot better. My swelling in the front is not as bad as the sides in the morning. You can see how far to the side my scar goes. My is very low on my sides. Where mt drains came out is healing.