So Far So Good I Think:) - New Haven, CT

Tummy Tuck and Breast Augmentation - wanted fuller...

6 Oct 2013

10 days post

Tummy Tuck and Breast Augmentation - wanted fuller breasts and to get rid of C-section scar and "overhang". Procedure went well and recovery is going well too...except for first day or two when I was wondering what the heck I was thinking when I decided to do this! It gets better everyday! Didn't realize how swollen I was until I took the photos...but I know it will go down and I will look great a few months down the road!

Day 20 PO - Last Drain Removed...YEA!!

16 Oct 2013

20 days post

FINALLY had 2nd drain removed today. The first drain was removed last week (day 13 PO) and healed up so nicely, but the second drain was pulling and becoming very painful. I called PS yesterday and nurse told me to change the dressing around the drain and "re-position" it slightly....youch! I was miserable all day and worried that it was infected or worse yet, that they wouldn't take it out today. But thank goodness, it is gone! Very red and irritated all around, nurse said stitches were pulling badly. Hopefully it is all downhill from here! I will post photos tomorrow:)

21 Days PO - Scar looks good but swelling is here

17 Oct 2013

21 days post

Had 2nd drain removed yesterday and the spot was very irritated. Took photos today and didn't realize how swollen I was until looking at them! Left side (drain removed last week) is much better than right. Just hoping the right heals as beautifully as the right. I am glad not to be lugging around the drain, but I would love a little more energy:)

4 weeks PO - good and bad:)

26 Oct 2013

30 days post

So I was feeling better at the beginning of this week...like wow, I'm feeling kind of normal and have a lot of my energy back. Then Thurs I noticed a rash on one of my breasts where I had been using "scar away" tape. I had a PS appt. that day, so he said it looked like an allergic reaction, to stop using the tape until it was gone, and then start with fresh tape (mine tape was one week old, so it was time for new). He also took the tegaderm off my TT scar and said to let it breath for 2 days, then cover it again. Well, by Friday morning my other breast was covered with the rash and the TT scar was all red and irritated from having the tape taken off. I am also still very swollen in the hip area. Yesterday was hell, I itched everywhere and I was so uncomfortable! Today is better, itching is less and TT scar is not quite so mad. I am waiting one more day before putting the tegaderm back on. Thought I would be a little further along at this point. Really thought I would be wearing more than my 3 pairs of "recovery" knit pants:( Keeping my faith that I will look and feel better soon.

5 weeks PO....moving forward I guess

31 Oct 2013

1 month post

At 5 weeks PO, still feeling like I need the support of my CG, although ole' CG isn't looking too good and I'm getting very tired of the Velcro edges digging into me. I bought two Flexees and tried them both this week, for one day each. The first was the one with the hook/eye closure...felt like I was wearing a corset...thought I should find a dress with a hoop and look for a ball to attend. Tried wearing it to bed while my old CG was drying from a much needed wash...ripped it off in the middle of the night after having a dream that my insides were being squished into a quart size baggie:) Yesterday I tried the pull up Flexee...not much better, and very long, so I felt like I had to pull it down to my upper thigh area to keep it from irritating my still healing lower breast scars. Couldn't wait until the day was over and I could put on my old favorite CG...felt like coming home to an old friend. The part that really irks me is that I paid good money for these Flexees and I wore both of them so I guess I can't return them. I thought I was being smart to buy size XL even though it said that was for size 16-18 and I was a 12 when I started this whole journey. I hate to spend more money on a binding device since I technically only have one more week that I HAVE to wear it...although I really can't see giving it up quite yet.
My scar hasn't changed all that much in the last week. It is still red and irritated from having the tegaderm taken off at the PS office last week. I let it "breath" for 3 days, then covered it with tegaderm again. Both the parts under and outside the film are red, irritated and itchy (trying VERY hard not to itch ANYTHING at this point). I am still swollen, or just getting very fat from lack of exercise, not really sure which it is at this point.
On a happy note, I feel pretty good. I have no trouble getting through my day, doing my job, taking care of my kids, keeping up with the house. I walk upright most of the time. Still takes me a little while to get straight after sitting at my desk for hours at a time.
Onto week 6...and taking it one at a time:)

What a difference a few days make!

8 Nov 2013

2 months post

Six weeks and one day PO...what a roller coaster of a week! Last week I took the tegaderm off because it was starting to "yellow" and come off on it's own anyway. Not a pretty site under that plastic wrap! My scar was covered in pus and yellow and stunk to high heaven! I washed, cleaned, sterilized, etc. until it was at least smelling good and covered it back up with a fresh coat of tegaderm. Two days later, same yellow mess under the plastic and now really starting to hurt. Called my PS and was told to take it off and leave it off. That was Tuesday. Since then my scar has gone through total metamorphosis! The scar itself was not infected, it was just the area around it that was so irritated from the tegaderm, it had gotten gross and needed to breathe. (My PS said making it almost 6 weeks with tegaderm was good enough and if my body was going to reject it then it was time to take it off.) So, the whole area lost a layer or two of skin in the last few days, stopped emitting pus, and sort of returned to normal....and it feels SO much better! I also stopped wearing my binder. It was really just adding to the irritation, so I tried going without it and I have to say it feels pretty good to be free of it! I still feel swollen...or flabby from lack of exercise...not sure which is more prevalent. But I really don't feel like I could make it through any type of real workout yet. I feel like walking around Costco and lifting the big containers of food are enough of a workout at this point. Onto week 7!!

7 Weeks...Hello Swell Hell!!!

15 Nov 2013

2 months post

So I was thinking I would just skip the update this week...but then I figured it is just as important to update on a bad week as it is on a good week. It is only fair to give a full view of the recovery process, lest we mislead those poor women thinking they will be fully healed by 6 or 7 weeks!
So I started this week by going on a mini business trip and that seems to have brought on the swelling full force. I feel and look about 5 months pregnant. Pants of any kind are driving me crazy...except for my jammy bottoms, which are getting lots of use! I called my PS office this morning and spoke with my favorite nurse, "Nurse Jackie", and she assured me that this is totally normal. We start feeling better, we start doing more, and our bodies rebel a little by blowing up like balloons. Another reason for the intense swelling is the fact that I have pretty much ditched the binder, except for when I am vacuuming, cleaning out the garage or raking leaves (gee, think I'm over doing it??). So I have resigned myself to spending the weekend relaxing and taking it easy....a pretty rough thing to look forward to:) And forge ahead to week 8!

9 Weeks and Counting!

28 Nov 2013

2 months post

It just keeps getting better and better...easier and easier! It has been two weeks since my last confession...I mean "review"! A lot happening in that time. A little over a week ago my right drain site opened up and puss was coming out....wonderful. I just put gauze with Neosporin on it for several days and it stopped and now it is looking a lot better. Did it just need a little purge to start healing properly?? Who knows?! I still have a couple of rough spots near the pubic line, but those also seem to be improving. I have started using Kelo-Cote in the last two weeks as Maderma was making me itch like crazy. The Kelo-Cote works much better for me and I really like the consistency better as well...the Maderma was more liquefied, not as gel like as the Kelo-Cote. I saw my PS last week and he said that I seem to have very sensitive skin....ya think? Anyway...on the mend! And the swelling has improved some as well...still more noticeable later in the day. I have my second business travel day early next week...hoping it goes a little better than the last one! I also got a new binder from my PS last week. Even though I only wear it when doing physical stuff (cleaning, yard work, etc.), my old one was shot and this one is wonderful for when I still need it. Thinking I should wear it when I travel next week...just to have that little extra support. Also thinking I will start exercising this week as the hips are REALLY starting to bother me. I know they will be better after the swelling goes down and the exercise goes up! SO glad I did this!