So I am post op 8 days. I have been ok pain wise. its manageable. My abs ache and my left drain site aches. I am in what other tummy tuckers call swell hell. my sides and upper abdomen are swollen. All normal. I am using ice, my binder and eating pineapple. I am avoiding salt and things like pop. they just add to the swelling. One thing I would like to talk about is the emotional part of getting a tummy tuck. I didn't really consider this. The past few days I have been on an emotional roller coaster. I am feeling good one minute and then next I am depressed and want to cry. i have time where I feel like i am the size of a whale. Al of this is normal. I have left my house once in a week and that was to get my drains out. I have had great care from my mom and husband but besides them I have had no other contact with other people.
Also something normal I didn't think about is the over analyzing other parts of my body. Before the TT I was happy with the rest of my body. Sure I wanted to tone and loose a10 more lbs. i am far from skinny but I am at a healthy weight. Now I focus on everything. My legs are hug in my mind, my sides are flabby. Its weird I am just obsessed with other parts of my body. this is all a normal part of recovery.
I made a big no no this morning. I got on the scale. I am at my presurgery weight which isn't bad but it was depressing to know he took 4 lbs off me and you cant tell. I know I am swollen and retaining fluids. I just have to keep telling myself that.
The biggest thing I am having to learn is patience. It is not one of my virtues. But recovery is a process. I have to wear my bulky binder for a few weeks. So I will have to wear my frumpy clothes for awhile. I will swell for months. I just have to focus on eating right. I cant exercise for another 4 weeks. i have to accept that. I wear out really easily. My body has been through a lot. I am inpatient so I want to be in regular clothes and back exercising like yesterday. SO yeah, I am glad I did it, I would do it again but recovery is not all rainbows and unicorns, but everything I am experiencing in normal.
If anyone has an opportunity to read Kati's blog this is from her Mom. I have been caring for Kati for the past 8 days and she looks wonderful. However, I find that I need to be more cognizant of her emotional ups and downs. When I am looking at it, I think "wow, she looks good", so why would she be emotional. However, I must remember that she has gone though a major surgery and she is in a recuperative period and everyone's emotions are out of whack after major surgery. So today my prayer is this "God, please help me to be more cognizant of Kati's emotions and to be an encouragement during her journey to a complete recovery" In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
ReplyDeleteI love you Kate. ........MOM
Thanks for blogging your experience Katie. I had a tummy tuck and breast lift 3/22. Here's to a speedy recovery for you!
ReplyDeleteBoth cucumber and lemons are also natural diaretics. Put a few sluces of each in your water! It tadtes refreshing too! I too am contemplating a future surgery similar to yours. I have a ways to go though before I am ready. I had 3 csections.
ReplyDeleteI am going through most of this now at 4 weeks PO. I love that you've written this account of your experience!
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog after sleeping all day to make my day go faster - post op day 10 - and it's like you wrote exactly what's in my head. Between the swelling, the exhaustion, my own scrutinizing eyes, and the emotions, I'm a hot mess. Glad to see I'm not the only one and that it's normal.
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