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.
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| A panels wrapped around and done up |
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| Hold out the panels of B |
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| Panels for B wrapped around and done up snugly |
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| Hold out the panels of C |
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| 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......
- 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.
- 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:
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.
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| 3 rows of hooks and eyes allow you to wear it as you get smaller |
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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......
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.
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