#27 - 8 Week Follow Up

So here I am, officially 8 weeks post surgery.....that's two whole months for those that can't do the math. 

I am still fitting into the same size clothes albeit they are a better fit and in some ways looser as there is no extra skin there so they are more "comfortable" but I haven't (so far) gone down any sizes....that I can tell. 

As mentioned earlier for those who are following along.....which truth be told is nobody but me, the things I've got going on are:

• Poofiness in the tummy that seems to come and go 
• Some stretch marks around the sides of my belly button that I could swear weren't there before
• Super tightness in my abdomen (under belly button but just above/on the incision line)

My pre-surgery, 5 weeks and 8 weeks photos are below:

8 Week Follow Up Appointment 

At my 8 week follow up with Dr. Edwards today I had all my questions planned out in advance so I wouldn't forget this time......and I walked away VERY happy. 

He said everything looks amazing and that I sailed through the surgery with no issues and that I've done very good with following the instructions and I'm healing like a champ.

• How much skin was cut off - 1,946 grams....so almost 2 kilos.....and for anyone wondering like I was, my trust conversion app says that is a HOPPING 4.29 pounds.....Jesus H Christ!!!! He said that's a lot for someone who's "slim".....catch that he called me "slim". But no seriously.....4.29 pounds WOW.

 

• Am I noticing bloating more because the excess skin is gone or is something wrong that I am poofy like this? - He poked around and checked things out to ensure it was not fluid build up and said no, 100% it is just every day regular bloating and still some swelling from the surgery that I am noticing and because there is not all the extra skin this is 100% why I am noticing it. He did say this will continue to go down more as being only 8 weeks out I still have more healing to do and that I will notice when I wake in the morning it will be flatter and as the day goes on it will puff out a bit more but that this is a common question/complaint from EVERYBODY. Glad he cleared up that I'm not going to pop.......
• Having said this, I may not "need' it but it did make me feel better and got things moving so I will continue doing the odd session here and there.

• What's your take on Lymphatic Massage? Good, bad? - I just about died laughing with the look on his face and the rolling of the eyes Bahahaha. He said no you don't need to.....your lymphatic system either works or it doesn't so no it's not needed.....if your lymphatic system is not working properly that would help make things move but if your system is working and you're "passing everything" then it's totally not needed.

• What's the deal with the pain in this one spot in my abdomen? (below belly button, just above/on the incision line). The muscle feels very tight and it hurts to straighten up some days still......if I twist a certain way or jump up and down it hurts. Is it just a tight muscle and will ease up eventually like the others or could it be something more and if so WHAT???? - It's a "deep stitch"....he checked and he found what I was talking about immediately and said no this WILL ease up it's just a deeper stitch than the others so I am feeling it a bit more but it should clear itself up when the stitch fully dissolves.

• Do I continue to wear the abdominal binder and if so for how long and still 24/7?? - DONE.....I am RID OF THIS BEAST, FUCK YEAH!!! He said everything looks good and I don't need it at all anymore, not even for a few hours per day.

• Can I have baths and/or go in the hot tub now? - Good to go!!!

• Can I go back to F45? There is a large  component of cardio (bouncing), core work and weightlifting so can I go and just ease up as needed? - Nothing super vigourous wth the abs until I'm about 3 months out so NO CORE WORK, no sit ups etc. but 100% I can start my strength training and stuff again.

• Tape on scars for 3 months post op right? So one more month? Or more/less? - Some people do 6 weeks, some people do 12....after 8 weeks he doesn't care. If I find it "soothing" continue and fit I find it annoying stop, at this point the incision is healed and the tape isn't doing anything other than perhaps giving me peace of mind.

• What can I do to reduce the scarring for the incisions and my belly button? Silicone gels/sheets? Vitamin E and collagen oil? Mederma? - There's all kinds of creams and silicone tapes and silicone creams but really if you don't want to be bothered with it Mother Nature will do it's thing and it will heal so it's personal preference if I want to "try" something.

I will keep on updating if/as things come up and continue indicting my progress. 

#26 - Lymphatic Drainage.....that's a thing????

How have I been?

Well the past few weeks have been okay so I have not had much to post. 

Compression Garment Use

Still using the abdominal binders and the Lipoelastic Compression Garment so swapping out between those. I have noticed that as I washed my Binder the velcro is starting to not be as sticky so sometimes will release on its own which is a pain but it's still working relatively well. 

As mentioned before, I am still using the Lipoelsatic garment when I go out under clothes as well as sometimes at home....but when at home I do find the basic Binder much easier to use. 

I ordered a different one off of Amazon and that seems to be my favourite and most used now. See the Compression Garments post for most info on these.

I am also sleeping with the Binder as the compression garment is TOO compressing when I sleep.

Returning to Work

I was originally taking June 7 (surgery day) to June 23 off work and was set to go back on Monday, June 26. 

I have a desk job and realized that sitting upright in a desk chair for 7.5 hours a day was not sounding all that lovely. It would have been doable, albeit a bit uncomfortable, but doable. 

Because I have leave available and could make it work I ended up taking off an extra week and went back to work full time on Tuesday, July 4th after the long weekend. I felt so much better even just getting that extra week. 

Stay Puft Marshmallow Tummy

My tummy does feel a bit puffy.....I know it's not compared to what it was before the skin was cut off but trust me you will notice and you might even feel stupid for noticing and almost feel a bit shameful for wondering why it's puffy and when it will go down. 

Keep in mind I think we all have this idea that as soon as that skin is gone we're going to have a super flat Brittany Spears tummy and the simple fact of the matter is we won't. It may come with time or it may never be that flat but don't beat yourself up if you look down and holy shit even though you can see your cooch for the first time in years which makes you ecstatic....you also see a little bulge in your tummy which makes you a bit sad. 

From what I have read online.....and don't quote me yet as I am learning as I go so I will let you know if this is right in a few months.......we will ALL Have this puffiness and bulge in the beginning. 

1. Our stomach is healing from major surgery so there is still a lot of inflammation and this inflammation usually subsides around 3 months but in some cases you can be puffy'ish for even 6 months....or a year.
2. If your abs were fixed up - so pulled back together and sewn up, these are now a bit puffier and stick out a bit more so this will add to that puffiness.
3. We're retaining some water from not moving as much as we normally do which adds to the puffiness.
4. Things may still be moving more slowly in the digestion department so you may have some poop stuck in your intestines that is attributing to some of it.

This is one of the main and biggest reasons they push you wearing the compression garments or binder for upwards of 3 months and some people wear them even longer than that. The compression garment is supposed to help with the healing and help keep the internal fluids compressed and "moving around" redistributing so you don't get seromas or hematomas. Trust them to do their work and keep wearing them.......I'm trying to do this....again I will keep you posted in a few months lol. 

Lymphatic Drainage Massage

So now, something I have been reading about.....and this is super odd to me that I never heard of it......is that there is something called Lymphatic Drainage Massage that we should (potentially) be getting done. 

In all my research I am seeing this is HUGGGGGE in the States. Like they literally include it with surgery packages or even if they don't they have you start seeing someone for this like 2 days following surgery. 

Okay.....so NOBODY at my surgeon's office even mentioned it and surprisingly most of the Canadian sites I am looking at do not mention it at all....again seems to be big in the States. But it made me wonder if it's so big in the States, what is it and should I be doing it too?

Keep in mind I was SORE for the first little while so when I read about this I was like what in the actual fuck is wrong with people?....these people go get the area right around their scars "massaged"???? I can't imagine how much that hurts......

Now having done some more research I have found the following - and keep in mind this was taken from just one of the bajillion websites I found that discuss the topic but they all seemingly indicate the same type of info:

As the body’s sole source of natural cleansing, the lymphatic system gets rid of toxic fluids that cause us to experience swelling and pain. A combination of swelling and pain following surgery can cause recovery to be difficult for some patients, leaving them tired, disoriented, or both. Did you know a medical process is available that reduces pain and swelling after surgery and promote a smoother recovery?

What is lymphatic massage?

Lymphatic massage, also known as manual lymphatic drainage, is the gentle manipulation of specific areas to relieve swelling after surgery. Initially developed for treating lymphedema, or tissue swelling caused by fluid accumulation, lymphatic massage involves a lymphatic therapist gently massaging affected areas to boost the movement of lymph fluids around the body. Although it is not required, lymphatic massage is incredibly beneficial to post-surgery recovery and highly recommended after some procedures.

Why is lymphatic massage so important?

The lymphatic system is part of the immune system, which protects the body from any changes that could lead to illness and is how your body can stay healthy. The lymphatic system creates and releases white blood cells and other cells in the immune system that find and destroy invaders like viruses or bacteria that may enter the body and cause illness. Lymphatic drainage aims to help the body maintain proper fluid balance, immunity, and blood circulation.

What factors make lymphatic massage a recommendation following cosmetic procedures?

More complex cosmetic procedures that focus on large, significant areas, such as the tummy tuck, Brazilian Butt Lift or liposuction may require a lengthy recovery. For many, recovery from these procedures is more painful and includes more swelling than less invasive procedures. These complicated procedures, however, lead to remarkable, truly life-changing results if you follow proper recovery guidelines given to you by your plastic surgeon. When surgery means more swelling post-op, plastic surgeons with genuine care for their patients recommend all possible solutions to alleviate pain and swelling throughout recovery. One of the first solutions that come to mind for cosmetic providers to stimulate a speedy, healthy recovery is lymphatic massage.

Is lymphatic massage necessary after a tummy tuck?

Lymphatic massage can aid in the healing process of your scars by reducing swelling and helping prevent excess scar tissue from developing during your recovery. Swelling, after any type of cosmetic surgery, is entirely normal and a necessary part of the healing process. Lymphatic massage simply ensures the swelling is healing appropriately and does not contain harmful fluids that may negatively impact your body’s healing response.

So now seeing this same type of info in a bunch of places I started thinking well what the hell, this seems like something EVERYONE having surgery should know about and do right??

So I reach out to my surgeon's booking chick (probably my first mistake as she sucks) and I asked about this and whether I should look into it.....she never even replied......but she is a jerk (well really she is the booking person so this isn't her area, I should have expected an answer, but come on she could have at least responded and said I dunno.....or call the surgical suite.........anyways. I could have and should have reached out to the actual surgical suite and asked to talk to a nurse but I didn't think of it at the time and that's on me.

So I reached out to two people I know who have had this surgery to ask them. 

• Person 1 had surgery here in Edmonton and said no that's an American thing, don't bother. Just make sure you're wearing your Binder religiously (she wore hers for SIX months) and you'll be fine. 
• Okay well case in point we don't hear about it from surgeons in Canada and so don't know about it and don't do it

• Person 2 had her surgery through an American company in Mexico and said YES I started having mine the day after surgery and it helped with the swelling and the pain.....I would question your doctor if he DIDN'T tell you to do it. 
• Okay judge Judy.....let's get off our high horse there.....just kidding but I did ask myself, how does she know it reduced the swelling and pain as she cannot compare her swelling and pain to if she had NOT got it done. But anyways, even with the slight amount of judgement, her response did continue to prompt me to look into it more. 

I then reached out to my own Massage Therapist to ask about it. She said she wouldn't feel comfortable doing without the surgeon saying it's good to do. She also isn't completely comfortable doing it so she said get the surgeon's consent and then reach out to Purity Health and they could refer me to a therapist who specializes in it. 

I am pretty bad at not listening to anybody so I did not call my surgeon and just started looking for Massage Therapists that specialize in it and checking what their websites had to say about it. 

While most did not mention all the detail above about Lymphatic Drainage Massage post tummy tuck specifically and all the amazing benefits of it, they did all have the same type of things to say about LDM assisting with removing toxins and reducing swelling and pain post injury or post surgery. 

I was looking for a regular massage after so many weeks of laying on my ass doing nothing so I booked an initial 90 minutes massage (special deal for first time clients so it was cheaper) at Muscle Mechanics which is right up the street from me.

I emailed the owner to ask her a bunch of questions about it and she was so awesome and accommodating and recommended I see Erika who specializes in LDM and is the most comfortable with doing it. 

The massage itself was amazing but that's another story......the Lymphatic Drainage part only took about 15-20 minutes and while I understand you can go for much longer amounts of time I wasn't sure what the right amount was or what to expect so I was fine with this amount of time initially.  

She put some oil on my tummy and using circular motions she gently manipulated my belly (from just above my incision line to above the belly button) and moved in circles using my belly button and the kind of mid-point she worked around. 

It did not hurt, felt nice and relaxing and that was that. Not sure if it helped or not and perhaps if I go again/more or for longer sessions maybe I will notice a difference. She is now away for 3 1/2 weeks so I can't get back in for a bit so hard for me to give you a follow up on this at the moment but I have booked an appointment elsewhere fo.  

Second Lymphatic Drainage Massage 

 

Being frustrated I couldn't see her again soon and the fact that my belly seems to be quite "poofy" (see below) I added on a lymphatic drainage massage to another service I was getting by a local nurse. 

These photos were taken a few days before that appointment with my tape off the stitches and I am wondering whether I am overthinking this as I know (in my brain) that now that all the extra skin is gone I WILL see bloating and puffiness more than I would have before and that bloating like this comes and goes and maybe all I need is to take a good poop......😂

I also know the swelling hasn't all subsided so it could be a combo of the two and the poofiness seems to get better one day and worse the next so LIKELY it is just bloating and shit (literally) but still I look at this and wonder what the hell is going on. I am going to be asking my doc at my 8 week follow up 

She spent a lot more time working on my tummy than the First Lady did and she used a fancy little wooden tool to move my tummy around and massage out some knots in my sewn up abs. 

She also had a red light on the hole time which apparently will help with some of the stretch marks I have so time will tell on that one.

There was/is a knot in my lower abdomen in one spot she could not work out and it has continued to be sore. I am following up with the surgeon at my appt to ensure this is nothing to be concerned about. 

Before and after pics are below.  With the side one you can see that pooch under my belly button did flatten out and the front facing one looks interesting because I do appear to have more "shape" and my nice shiny new belly button even seems "perkier". 

Now as a side note.......AFTER I posted this, when I went for my 8 week follow up the surgeon pretty much said, not needed, don't bother. See #27 - 8 Week Follow Up Post for details......but having said that I didn't like how I felt after so I will continue to go once a month for a while and see what I think.

I have another appointment at the end of August and end of September so I will keep updating on how this is going......and whether the knot in my belly goes away. 

Stay tuned.......

#25 - Compression Garments

 Sigh.......so let's talk compression garments.......

Abdominal Binder 

As previously mentioned, they provided me with an Abdominal Binder that I was to wear 24/7 and it was already on me when I awoke from surgery. 

This one is a three panel doohickey and each panel is labelled and when you do them up they go in that order - A, B, C. 

I wore it OVER my clothes (unless I was going out) as the corners and the velcro would irritate my skin and make me even itchier. 

So putting it on, A goes over your abdomen just under your belly button and is done up snugly to hold the lower abdomen in. 

A panels wrapped around and done up

B goes a bit lower down over the hips/butt/upper thighs and is done up snugly compressing everything where you main incision line is along your lower pubic area.

Hold out the panels of B

Panels for B wrapped around and done up snugly 

C gets done up late and goes up highest over the middle and upper Abs snugly compressing your Abs in.

Hold out the panels of C

Panels for c wrapped around and done up snugly 

Compression Garments - Amazon 

Now as I mentioned before the doc said that most people switch out to a different compression garment (Spanx he said.....or similar say people on the net). 

As I get further out I see why. The binder is good for a certain amount of time. But...... 

1. You will notice when you are sitting upright for longer periods again (really noticed it when I went back to my desk job) the whole things starts to shift upwards so all of a sudden the bottom of it is up at my belly button completely defeating the purpose so I have to open it up and redo it multiple time a night.
2. Once you re out and about in public the binder can be a bit bulky and awkward so having something a bit more shapely under your clothes is nice.

In doing some searching I found that most people indicated Spanx are not compressive "enough" for the compression we need after surgery, they are more just "smoothing". 

I searched allllllllll over the internet for suggestions and of course very single person is different and their bodies are different and so what one person loves another will rag on so it is a difficult choice. 

As I showed you in the previous post I found some with great reviews on Amazon. Here was the $55 one that I ended up ordering to try first:

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0BMP534HL?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

So the tough thing is my measurements put me into THREE different size categories. According to weight (155) I am a Large. According to waist (35") I am an XL and according to Hips (42") I am a Medium......sigh

I ordered the Medium, which was ridiculously small and there was NO way I was getting it on......so that one went back. 

Then like Goldilocks I tried the next one, Large and while I was actually able to get that one on, it was VERY compressive. I laid on the bed for a while with it on and in that position I was cool, but if I had to wear it sitting upright for any length of time I think it would have been quite touch to breath. 

I thought I would keep that one and in a couple of weeks when the swelling went down it would be okay to wear. 

Compression Garments - Lipoelasticshop 

In the meantime I started getting targeted ads on Facebook (of course) for all kinds of Shapewear, Spanx, this, that and the other thing. 

Along the way I was directed to www.lipoelasticshop.ca and started looking at their compression garments. 

It's a company that operates worldwide and the compression garments are apparently made with input from cosmetic surgeons. The info provided and the garments themselves all looked really good. 

What I didn't like is there are NO reviews on the Canadian website and you have to pay for shipping (cheapest was $18.95) and there are no returns just because it doesn't fit. 

Having said that I did my research, a lot of it and found it IS a legit site and was able to find some reviews online from some of the other sites across the world. 

I chose the VH Variant as it is adjustable - it has 3 rows of hook and eye closures on both sides so you can continue to compress more as your swelling goes down and you get smaller. 

It has hook and eye closures on the crotch area so you can open it to go to the washroom without having to take off the entire getup and it has convertible straps so you can wear it straight up over your shoulders or you can cross it in the front to strap in front of your boobs. 

I went with black but am showing beige as the details are easier to see.

3 rows of hooks and eyes allow you to wear it as you get smaller

So again, the tough thing is the measurements. And because this one costs for shipping and you cannot return it just because the size is wrong I reached out to them first. 

The instructions for sizing mention doing your sizing BEFORE surgery (I am already POST surgery). The website says:

“If your hips fall into a higher size category than your waist, you should always choose the size that is applicable to your hips. If on the other hand, your hip measurements fall into a smaller size than your waist measurement (prior to a surgery), then you would go down a size in the waist to reflect the hip measurements” 

I advised them that I have already had surgery but pre-surgery my hips were 42” and that is also what they are now post-surgery (still swollen). Under my breasts is 35.5" so that's XL, my waist is 35" so that's XL but then my hips are 42" which falls within L. So I asked them, according to what the website says I should go DOWN to the large then, and asked if this was correct.

I received an answer very quickly and they advised

"If your surgery was fairly recent, and you are still experiencing swelling, I would recommend the VH Variant, as it is more adjustable. (3 rows of hook and eye closures on both sides). Similarly, if your surgery was recent, I would recommend size L based on the measurements provided, as you would not get much wear out of the XL as your swelling goes down over the next few days/weeks."

I ordered it Monday morning and with the expedited Canada Post shipping it arrived on Friday.

The garment was $119 plus $18.95 for shipping plus taxes which of course is more than the ones on Amazon that I got. 

I signed up for their newsletter and got a code WELCOME10 to get 10% off which in turn covered part of the shipping. So all in I paid $132.29 for it.  

So when it came, it was wrapped in pink tissue and include a pink tape measure.....guess they know that we're going to want to keep measuring to see if we're shrinking lol. 

So first off, this one was much easier to get on. Still super compressive but I don't feel like a giant sweating heifer trying to even pull it up past my thighs. 

The one thing that was a bit rough was figuring out the best way to get it on and do it up initially. So there is three rows of eye and hook closures on each side. I left one side completely done up from bottom to top....on the loosest of the three closures and then other side I undid all closures except for maybe the bottom 4 or so. This allowed me to easily pull it on over my hips and then slowly start to do up the hook and eye closures on the side I left open. 

This did take some twisting to reach around to that side which was a bit uncomfortable but not painful. If you have someone to help you t could make it easier but all in all I was able to do it up myself. 

I also had to play around with the bra type straps to get the right length but that was easy enough as well. 

You can wear it two ways, with the straps like almost normal side bra straps or you can cross them in front of your boobs. Crossing them in front of and over your boobs I did not find comfortable at all.  

So this one I was able to get into easier, it feels more comfortable and although it's extremely compressive I can breathe unlike the feeling of the other one so I did end up returning both of the Amazon ones. 

As this one is super compressive on the loosest of the 3 hook and eye closures this means I have a lot of room to continue tightening it as I get smaller and can go down to the second row and then eventually the third and tightest row of hooks. 

The one thing I do find aggravating is the hook and eye closures in the crotch. The entire thing pulls upwards so it feels tight in the crotch and after a bit feels uncomfortable. So what I did was loosened the straps at the top on my shoulders and pulled the entire body suit down a bit more to provide some room in the crotch so it wasn't pulling so much and that has helped.

I've also started wearing short bike shorts underneath, almost like longer boy short underwear but that has helped a lot too and doesn't feel like it's pushing on my actual crotch so much.

In hindsight I don't know if the VH Variant with the legs might be better as maybe it wouldn't pull "up" into the crotch area so much?? But who knows......hindsight is 50/50 right?

So for me......I do love this and I usually wear it when I go out in public as it's nice and compressive and gives me a slim appearance (the binder can make you look a bit bulky). I did notice when I tried to sleep in it I woke up felling a bit like all of my innards were being smushed to death so I do sleep with the Binder and feel more comfortable. 

Anyhoo......all of this to say this is going to be very subjective. You may not want anything at all besides the binder they give you, you may want only high waisted shorts or you may want a high waisted panty.......you may try Shapermint, Spanx, Liopelastic and a million other generic ones and not find anything at all that you like sadly.

I just know that if I have to wear "something" compressive for at least 3 months I don't want it to ALWAYS be the binder. 

You do you......and in your compression wear journey......

FOLLOW UP JULY 29, 2023

I ended up ALSO ordering the following - Nebility 3in1 Postpartum Belly Wrap Waist/Pelvis Belt C-Section Support Tummy Control Girdle Postpartum Recovery Body Shaper - off of Amazon. 

It has three separate pieces and while I only use 2 mostly I find I have been using this more than anything else. So while I do love my lipoelastic one that I purchased I almost wish I had this one first and then I likely would have just stuck with this. 

Again......you do you, shop around and see what you like best.

#24 - Shape Shifting - Photos and Stats

I will update this as the weeks pass and I take more photos. 

Before Vertical Gastic Sleeve - February 2015

Weight: 233 Lbs

Size: Approximately 20-22 pants, XL tops

BMI: 40 - Severely Obese

I don't have any photos of me without clothes and I am sure you can imagine why I may not want those but here you can see photos of me at that size. 

 

Before Abdominoplasty - June 7, 2023

Weight: 160 Lbs

Size: Approximately 10-12 pants, medium tops

BMI: 28 - Overweight

  

Two Weeks Post Abdominoplasty - June 21, 2023

Weight: 151.4 lbs

BMI: 26 - overweight

Five Weeks - Post Abdominoplasty - July 11, 2023

Weight: 156 lbs. Weight has actually gone up a bit. I think because of water retention and swelling. Not super concerned.

BMI: Between 26 and 27 - overweight

Weight has gone ups bit and I have some more swelling in the abdomen but otherwise week 2 to week 5 look very similar to me.

Eight Weeks/Two Months - Post Abdominoplasty - August 2 2023

Weight: 153.6 lbs. 

BMI: 26 Overweight......FUCK YOU BMI chart lol

UPCOMING:

Twelve Weeks/Three Months - Post Abdominoplasty - August 30 2023

Weight: 

BMI:

PHOTOS

#23 - Week Two Post Surgery (June 15-21)

Thursday, June 15, 2023

I had big plans to make a lasagna......god knows what I was thinking but I felt decent.....but needed a few things from the store. 

As I'm off the narcotics in the daytime now I could drive again so I made my way, slowly, to Dollarama and Save on Foods. Well holy shit, just being up and mobile and moving around so much for an hour was EXHAUSTING.......needless to say, the lasagna was NOT happening......I will try it tomorrow.......in stages lmao.

Tonight I tried a different combo of one T3 and one Advil to help me sleep. This was the best sleep so far. I don’t recall tossing and turning or waking up multiple times so I am going to try that "cocktail" before bed each night.

Friday, June 16, 2023

I put my lasagna plan in motion and like I said I would I did it in multiple stages throughout the day so it wouldn't be AS tiring, but it still was lol. I would brown the beef and onion......take a break, put all the sauce in the pot to simmer.....take a break and so on.....my upper back was so sore by the end of the day, but damn that lasagna was good. 

Thank god, the stinger in my arm that I mentioned started after surgery appears to finally have subsided......10 days of that shit was enough to drive me around the bend!

I took the same bedtime cocktail of one T3 and one Advil and I am still only taking them at night so I'm at between 23-25 hours between pills. 

One thing I'm noting is the stitches on my right side are starting to itch......a LOT. And while I know in theory, that means they're starting to heal, it's fuckin killing me - the itch is truly almost as bad as the surgery pain itself.  

Saturday, June 17, 2023

Today was a pretty boring day. I rested, watched TV, worked on some of these blog posts. 

Word of warning, when you're taking Senekot, don’t trust a fart.......assume that you need to get your ass to the toilet because you likely do.......I will just leave that as a warning and not embarrass any of us by going into any further detail.

I had another shower. I am getting pretty good at them and I tried to clean some of the dried blood from my belly button but with the belly button I'm not entirely sure how much is just dried blood and how much is actually stitches so didn’t want to fuck anything up so I stopped and left that alone.

The stitches, through the paper tape, look weird almost like they’ve bled a bit (which I'm sure they have) but because of my horrific painful sneeze I was a bit concerned I did possibly tear some of them. As I have my follow up in a few days and because it’s the same all the way across and not localized anywhere and it doesn’t hurt I am not concerned enough to go into the doctor. Below you can see the weird looking stitches through the tape and just see the drain insertion points.....didn't wanna go full on peep show with you but enough you could see what I'm yammering on about......

The itching I mentioned the other day has increased and so I've started taking some of the Benadryl Liquigels Mom had brought me to help with it and it does seem to be helping thank god.

Same nighttime cocktail of one T3 and one Advil and I'm off to try and sleep. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Sunday, June 18, 2023

So being that it's Father's Day, my sister had a BBQ for the family and I figured not big deal I'm ding great I'll go. 

Was a really great day and it was in fact nice to get up and be moving around more and I felt pretty good. 

After lunch I sat down on the couch to watch the Super Mario Bros movie and because I do not have the same setup over there I was sitting upright for almost two hours so by the end my abdomen and torso were super sore from the abdominal binder pushing into me at odd angles making it somewhat hard to breathe.

When we got home at 6pm I went and laid down and I passed the fuck out for 2 hours......I guess I was just that tired.

My stitches are still insanely itchy and now it's on both sides. 

Even though I am exhausted and very sore after today I chose to switch out the one T3 and one Advil and try to downgrade to two extra strength Tylenol. I wanted to get off the last of this codeine if possible. I made it through from midnight to 7am with no problems and was quite comfy so I think this is my newest nighttime cocktail now. 

Tuesday, June 20, 2023 

Second Follow Up Appointment

Got to the mall and it was insanely busy so had to park a little ways away from the door and make my way pin, in the pouring rain......fun. 

Had to wait as Dr. Edward’s first surgery went long so I stood around walking back and forth (just to move a bit) and chatting with the receptionist who had recently just had her boobs and arms done and was going to be getting her tummy next so she was asking me about it......what an odd way to make a friend.......I do almost wish I had asked for her number. Would that be weird? Probably.......but hey when you're this age and you connect over weird things then maybe you should just say "hey.....wanna be my friend? we can talk about our tummy tucks".......okay fuck I'm officially a loser.  

Once I got into the room the lovely Patty took off my abdominal binder and pads to check how everything was doing, clean it all up and change the tape out finally. She said everything looked amazing so that was exciting. 

I told her about the sneeze that almost ended my life and how I was sure I tore every stitch in my stomach out. 

Pulling off the tape felt like nothing at all….. and she said everything was healing nicely....despite my brush with death from the sneeze. Whatever I thought was blood (probably was) came off on the tape and the stitches look great and already look like everything is somewhat closed up and healing. 

The stitches are absorbable/dissolvable and just naturally absorb into your body as you heal so I can’t even see them as they’re pretty much all gone already  

Dr. Edwards came in then and asked how I was doing and said let’s get those things out (pointing at the drains) I said thank god!!! 

He did say I had to be super careful or i could end up with accumulated fluid under my skin that they would have to remove with a needle so I had to promise to be a "good girl" and be careful and take it easy - not a lot of movement or bending/stretching. 

He told me he wants to see me in another 6 weeks for another follow up and then he was gone as quickly as he came........SHIT I forgot to ask how much skin he cut off.....I had wanted to know how much it weighed LOL. I made a note in my phone calendar with my next appointment date saying don't forget to ask how much skin was cut off hahahahah.

She put the new tape on in chunks 4-5” long. It’s called micropore medical paper tape and you can get in any pharmacy. She said I should change it out every 5-7 days. 

Apparently you can do one of two things 

1) Medical paper tape covering incisions for 3 months, or, 

2) Specialty scar gels for a full YEAR

I asked Patty what her recommendation was and she said she'd been working here for 20 years and while there are many great scar gels on the market and one of the surgeons at this office even had their own brand, they are expensive and you have to use them consistently ever day for a minimum of a full year, vs. the tape which after 3 months has done the same job. She said if it was her, she would stick with the tape - same great results MUCH cheaper cost. Thanks Patty.....SOLD!!

I just ordered it from Amazon. https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B003TXPZ64?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details. 

Keep in mind you may not need a giant box like this but hey, it was relatively cheap so......

Patty then took out the drains out. Okay so it didn’t hurt but was a bit uncomfortable when she was pulling them out……they were about 10-12” long so way longer than I thought they were.......I always thought I would accidentally pull them out but I guess there was no possible way for me to do that. 

it was almost like when a magician pulls the scarves and they just keep coming…..

The she added a gauze pad covering each drain hole and told me the holes would continue to “ooze” that same fluid (called Serous Fluid) that was going into my drains for a few days while they seal from the inside and if I notice an excessive amount of fluid or if I’m getting the fluid buildup that Dr. Edwards mentioned (she said my tummy would feel “sloshy”) then I should call them and come in. 

I asked about the itching and they said continue to use Benadryl as needed and I also asked if Advil or Tylenol was better and was told it's totally persona preference and either one is perfectly fine. 

They said I need to keep wearing the abdominal binder or I can switch to a compression garment but I absolutely must wear something to continue to compress everything. This will heal more uniformly and will help to stop any fluid build up as it compresses things and redistributes it to get rid of it. 

Found some compression garments on Amazon and they really range in prices from low to very high but they also have such a HUGE range of good and bad reviews so it's hard to tell what is good. 

Found one with a mix of mostly good reviews (and some awful) which was $160 and another one which also had it's own mix of really good and some bad reviews for $55 so I have ordered the cheaper one first lol. 

Here is the $55 one that I ended up ordering to try first:

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0BMP534HL?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

Here is the $155 one that I almost ordered but decided to try the very similar one that was $100 cheaper first:

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01MD1BBBH?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_CFCXR3FP4PRMZK7TBNKF&fbclid=IwAR1c5UhPfvOZ21H-3LR3gc9Gbo7NGX4KgdY-gGdpq4ZSHhQCKB3Lf4EZGV0

PLEASE. PLEASE, PLEASE watch this video at the link for the pricier one. Now I am sorry but I have to insist you watch the video for this one if you are in need of a laugh......thank god I can now laugh again without it hurting so bad. This chick is so adorable in the video, truly lovely but she is having some serious real world trouble putting this thing on and the strap keeps popping off and she's sweating like a mofo trying to do this.....my sister said if this "skinny bitch" is sweatin, the rest of us are fucked......just watch it if you want a laugh.....so cute. 

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Not much to report today.....just waiting on my compression garment to come so I can try that on and make my own funny video......just kidding that won't happen.......I don't think. ;)

I did take before photos of course and then I took a photo before my follow up (I showed you that photo above) but something funny I noticed when comparing the two is that my birthmark is moved.....it used to be directly to the side of my belly button and is now quite a bit lower........makes sense as they stretch your skin down and cut off all the excess, but it's just so odd to actually see it. 

I do like having photos to track the progress of things so I will be putting up some photos soon of the original vs. the two weeks mark and then will do more at the 4 week mark etc. etc.