Thursday was the big day and I'm happy to report things are going well in recovery mode. I am sore (think 1,000 sit ups) but I am able to manage the aches with Tylenol instead of heavy duty pain meds today. I'm sure many of you will have questions and I'll do my best to answer them for you but let me take you through some of the procedure.
When I arrived in the office the first thing were the pre-procedure photos. Nothing like stripping down and putting on a paper thong to have your body shots taken (rolling eyes). After which the doc came in to empty out his marker all over my stomach, sides and back. Seriously, I thought he was going to need a new sharpie by the time he finished. I still have faded marker on my stomach and love handle area. If anyone knows how to gently remove marker from skin I'd appreciate some advice.
Once I was properly 'inked' it was time to hop on the table and let the doctor take over while the nurse found a acceptable music choice for all of us. Two hours, six incisions and one incredibly tight girdle that lets is all hang out for all my toiletry needs later I was finished.
I spent the rest of Thursday under bed rest and prescribed pain meds; 10 minutes of standing was enough to make me light headed and in danger of fainting. Friday mid-morning hubby stood outside the bathroom while I took a quick shower and rinsed out the oh so fashionable girdle. The rest of the day was spent watching movies while laying on the sofa still under the influence of pain meds.
Saturday I was able to walk around without the concern of feeling light headed and was able to stretch out my pain meds to well over 6 hours apart. I spent Sunday tidying up the house and managing any pain (very little at this point) with Tylenol.
Right now I'm living under a large list of what not to do's: do not sit for longer than one hour without getting up to walk & stretch for five minutes (girdle will cut into the skin and cause bruising), apply given gel to muscles and massage worked area to stimulate skin repair, must wear the sexy girdle for one week straight 24/7 only removing for showers and cleaning of the girdle, after one week wear the girdle for 12 hours a day, no exercises for 2 weeks, and so on.
I haven't measured the difference of my Mommy tummy because there is still slight swelling but there is no denying the change. The largeness of my lower abs are practically gone, I have a visible waist instead of the tree trunk of last week and as the layers of skin heal it will only get better for the next 3 months.
Thank you to those of you who checked in with me over the past few days!
When I arrived in the office the first thing were the pre-procedure photos. Nothing like stripping down and putting on a paper thong to have your body shots taken (rolling eyes). After which the doc came in to empty out his marker all over my stomach, sides and back. Seriously, I thought he was going to need a new sharpie by the time he finished. I still have faded marker on my stomach and love handle area. If anyone knows how to gently remove marker from skin I'd appreciate some advice.
Once I was properly 'inked' it was time to hop on the table and let the doctor take over while the nurse found a acceptable music choice for all of us. Two hours, six incisions and one incredibly tight girdle that lets is all hang out for all my toiletry needs later I was finished.
I spent the rest of Thursday under bed rest and prescribed pain meds; 10 minutes of standing was enough to make me light headed and in danger of fainting. Friday mid-morning hubby stood outside the bathroom while I took a quick shower and rinsed out the oh so fashionable girdle. The rest of the day was spent watching movies while laying on the sofa still under the influence of pain meds.
Saturday I was able to walk around without the concern of feeling light headed and was able to stretch out my pain meds to well over 6 hours apart. I spent Sunday tidying up the house and managing any pain (very little at this point) with Tylenol.
Right now I'm living under a large list of what not to do's: do not sit for longer than one hour without getting up to walk & stretch for five minutes (girdle will cut into the skin and cause bruising), apply given gel to muscles and massage worked area to stimulate skin repair, must wear the sexy girdle for one week straight 24/7 only removing for showers and cleaning of the girdle, after one week wear the girdle for 12 hours a day, no exercises for 2 weeks, and so on.
I haven't measured the difference of my Mommy tummy because there is still slight swelling but there is no denying the change. The largeness of my lower abs are practically gone, I have a visible waist instead of the tree trunk of last week and as the layers of skin heal it will only get better for the next 3 months.
Thank you to those of you who checked in with me over the past few days!
Glad to know it's going well!!! My friend goes in early in the morning to have 2/3 of her tummy cut out and a sleeve put on. Pretty drastic, but medically may save her life.
Good luck with your recovery--I'm glad you're laying low and taking it easy!!!
My friend who had so much of her tummy removed is doing remarkably well! I'm excited for both of you!