7/8 months post op

So I just had a friend point out I haven't updated my blog lately and  I looked and ti has been almost 5 months since I updated it. Wow has  time gone by. So the big update is I can't remember the last time I dealt with pain or  much swelling. 2-3 months I would say. I have all feeling back. No pain in or around my incision. I find my hips swell a little when I drink pop or a lot of sugar but its not the painful kind it was.
 

6 months post op

 I lost some weight initially but I am up about 5-6 lbs right now. (Also probably why I haven't taken anymore pics)  The weight gain is all from me, not surgery or anything.  I had knee surgery 3 months ago and was down for  that.  I am messing around with what workouts will work for me and I have been cheating more on my diet. I am around a lot of tempting sweets and need to learn to say no more. Plus my body seems to be at a comfy weight so I have plateaued. I want to drop 10-15 lbs but I am trying to not focus on the scale and more on being healthy and building muscle.

I haven't had an back pain since my surgery. I am able to do so much more physically. I can play more with my kids, I can move more, do more lifting, have better endurance. My abdominal muscle repair is still weaker and I am really focusing on this area bit I can see a huge improvement.

Those are all the pluses, I can think of right now.

A few down sides now.

 My incision is still very visible, its pink. I suck at scar therapy. I forget to do, the incision doesn't bother me so I just haven't made it a priority. Plus I am very pale which makes scars more visible on my. If the scar will bother you really be diligent on your scar treatment. With time the scar will fade on its own. Anything I would wear in public will cover it so I am not concerned.

I have one regret and its that I wish I would of gotten side lipo. When my stomach got smaller I now notice the love handle area a lot more. Its the main area now that I don't like. Its a hard area to loose weight and tone and I wish while i was already getting stuff done I would of had that done too. I don't want it done badly enough to go back and get it done now.

So over all, I am super happy with the results. I am glad I did it.  I feel great. I am glad I have shared this experience. I am a very open person, some people don't appreciate that but I am who I am. I know some wont understand why I would want to do this. Just exercise to loose weight. There is some damage to your body that diet and exercise wont fix. In the end you need to be happy with yourself. I am able to show my daughter a much healthier and happier mom now. Any questions please let me know.

16 weeks post op

Wow, I can't believe its been 4 months already. Seems like its been longer. I have been hitting the gym like mad for the past 3 weeks. My one complaint (STILL) is swelling. I usually have anywhere from 2-4 lbs of swelling. Most of it in my hips and outer thighs. Sometimes its still painful. This morning during my workout it hurt to jump, but my pain tolerance is decent so its very manageable.  My stomach itself swells very little and usually when I do abdominal work.

My muscle repairs feel fine. My muscles have softened up to normal. They were rock hard.  I have had one painful muscle spasm and that was when i lifted too much weight at the gym. My muscles are still pretty weak (way stronger than before though). I am still happy with the results and don't regret the surgery at all. I am much more health conscience now. I take a lot better care of myself.

Here are some pictures.

front view. slightly swollen

side view

belly button

scar, I am very pale

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.