Everything itches. That's a sign of healing, I know, but every incision is itching like crazy, and there are a lot of incisions. I am putting neosporin on the incisions and using moisturizer on the rest of me and still, everything itches. It's not a big deal, it's just a deal.
The surgical tape is slowly pealing off, soon there will be none left. With the surgical tape pealing off the scars are more pronounced. I will begin scar treatment therapy after my next visit to the doctor's office which is on January 4th. That is one of the big questions, how pronounced will the scars be, once they have healed? I won't have an answer to that question for quite a while.
My stomach is still quite tender. As I mentioned in a previous post, the surgeon did do diastasis repair (he sewed together the right and left side of my abdominal muscles). This is the most painful part of the recovery and this is what makes it difficult to get out of bed, get out of the car, bend over, etc. It hurts like hell if I sneeze or cough. Jack and I almost went on an outing the other day, but it started to rain and I asked him to go home. The last thing I wanted to do is get wet or cold, because then I would sneeze, and I knew that would hurt. The flip side of this is the fact that the diastasis repair had a huge impact on my body's profile. I look slim. It's bizarre. I notice it more with clothes on than I do without clothes on. Clothes look good on me. It's crazy.
My breasts are tender (and they itch - see above). My breasts never hurt, surprisingly enough, but they are tender. I need to be careful about lifting my arms above my head or lying on my side. But, in general, the breast lift was a relatively pain free portion of this whole surgery. I would say, if you are planning on having a tummy tuck you might as well do the breast lift while you're at it. Your tummy will hurt so much, you're breast lift will feel like it was thrown in for free, from a pain and recovery perspective.
My thighs hurt the most. That is probably the most surprising thing about all of the procedures. You would think that the lipo suction was the least invasive of all the procedures, yet it hurts more than anything else. It is still very painful to lie on my side because my thighs hurt so much. Yet, I'm not sorry I decided to have it done. Those saddle bags drove me crazy. They are gone. It really does make a difference.
I will have to wear a compression garment for another week, then I will get to switch to spanx for the next 3 weeks after that. The compression garment, which is basically a very tight girdle that goes from just above my knees to just below my breast bone, is uncomfortable, but it's not unbearable. Sometimes, by the end of the day, it starts to feel too tight, so I undo the top snaps. Other than that, I am wearing it 24/7 except for when it goes in the laundry. I am going to be glad when I can get out of this thing.
The most fun I have had since surgery is trying on the new clothes that Jack gave me for Christmas. I got a new dress and two new tops, all size medium. I could have fit into these clothes before my surgery, but I would have looked lumpy and they wouldn't have fit right. It's hard to describe exactly, but they would have stretched tightly across my chest and would have clung to the rolls around my middle. When I put these clothes on yesterday they fit perfectly. They draped and hung on me the way they drape and hang on the models in the catalog. I'm not as tall or as thin as the models, of course, but the clothes fit like they are designed to fit. My breasts are no longer a size bigger than the rest of me. My stomach is flat, my waist is narrow. It is truly remarkable how different I look in clothes. And that was all without my compression garment (or a bra) on. And I am still swollen from surgery. And I have not been to the gym in weeks.
The gym. I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to going to the gym and getting in the best shape of my life. I don't need to rush there tomorrow, it will be another 4 weeks before I am allowed to exercise, but I am excited to go to the gym because the results are going to be so much better, visually. I've always felt great when I exercised, and enjoyed the fact that I look better when I am fit, but hated the fact that I still looked so out of shape. There was nothing I could do about the fact that my tummy was flabby, my breasts were saggy, and I had lumps on my thighs. Those things are fixed now. Now, when I go to the gym and get in really good shape, I will look like I am in really good shape. How exciting is that? Pretty damn exciting, I'd say!!!
All in all, I am thrilled with the results. Prior to the surgery I would have said that the tummy tuck was more important to me than the breast lift. I now would say the opposite. The tummy tuck makes a big difference in my body's shape, but the breast lift is the most dramatic change. I love, I mean I really love, the way my breasts look. It is hard to believe they are mine.
I am looking forward to being healed to the point that I no longer hurt and no longer tire easily. I am looking forward to being fully functional and being able to work out and jog and do whatever I want to do. I want to feel whole again. Until then, I will continue to rest, eat right, and enjoy my downtime as much as possible.
Have a beautiful day!
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