Seven weeks and counting. Every week, progress is made. I feel so much better than I did just a week ago. I can work full+ days without getting completely worn out. I don't have to wear a garment anymore which allows me to be much more comfortable at work. I'm starting to lose weight, which indicates the swelling is finally subsiding (I was 151.6 this morning after weighing 152.4 yesterday and 153.8 the day before that). The scars are flattening out, though they are still pretty red.
I still feel a pulling in my tummy when I stand very straight. The scars under my breasts are still a little sore. My gut still aches after a long day of not wearing a garment. The scar away strips can be a little irritating, particularly under my breasts where they rub against my bra. In other words, there are still many constant reminders that I had major surgery 7 weeks ago, but all in all, I am starting to feel almost "normal."
I am debating whether or not to sign up at City Gym and start using a trainer. The down side is the cost. It is expensive and Jack and I have some savings goals we would like to achieve prior to him turning 62, which is only two years away! Also, I think I'd rather spend the cash on new clothes. I know what to do, I've been lifting weights for years. I've worked with several trainers. I have all the equipment I need at home. I can do this on my own. The up side is the motivation a personal trainer gives me to push through to the next level. There is something about working with a trainer that inspires me to work a little harder and get a little stronger. I got in incredible shape when I was working with Jeremy Walters. I'd like to be that fit again by this summer. I know I can do it. Working with a trainer helps. I'll talk it through with Jack this morning. It's really all about being disciplined.
We don't have a lot planned this weekend and that is fine by me. I think I will resume my normal household duties this weekend. I am feeling well enough to do the cooking and cleaning I normally do. It'll feel good to be carrying my share of the load again. Jack's been working hard to keep on top of everything. Thank you, Darling!!
It's just about time to start cooking breakfast, so I'm going to sign off for now.
Have a beautiful day!
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Friday, January 29, 2016
1/29/2016: "You Look Younger"
I stopped by the bowling alley Wednesday night to cheer on my team for an hour or so. I saw a lot of people that I have not seen for a couple of months. All of them knew that I had missed so many weeks of bowling because I was recovering from surgery, very few knew what kind of surgery it was.
Several people said, "You look great!" but I think they were half expecting me to look sick or weak. Not knowing what type of surgery I had, they may have been expecting the worst. One person looked at me closely, got a kind of puzzled look on his face, and tried to figure out what was different. Then he proclaimed, "You look younger!" That made my day. That is exactly how I feel about the results, I do feel like I look younger.
Let's face it, most middle aged and older women have to deal with an almost guaranteed thickening of their middles. Once a woman hits menopause, it's incredibly difficult not to gain weight in her belly. I just pulled this paragraph from an article posted by the Mayo Clinic:
I have a life-time of maintenance ahead of me. I'll always have to be careful about what I eat and make sure I exercise regularly, but now that I have had my tummy tucked, waist narrowed, saddle bags sucked out, and boobs lifted, I should be able to maintain my "girlish figure" well into my old age. Yeah, I'm down with that!
Weight check: this morning I weighed 152.4. I'll get to 150, but it will be a slow process. I think it was two weeks ago when I checked in at 153.4. I will use the scale as a maintenance tool for the rest of my life. I will stay below 155 for the rest of my life. Weighing myself is an important part of the program. Without the scale I can't really tell if I am eating too much. It's too easy to gain five or ten pounds just by letting my portion sizes at lunch and dinner get a little larger. Sometimes I eat a few too many nuts. The scale doesn't lie. It lets me know right away when I have started over consuming food. As frustrating as it can be to have to acknowledge that even the slightest indulgence causes the scale to creep up, I'd rather see it and do something about it when it is just a pound or two than wait for my pants to get tight and realize that I have gained ten pounds. Yes, I weigh myself every day. And I will for the rest of my life.
Have a beautiful day!
Several people said, "You look great!" but I think they were half expecting me to look sick or weak. Not knowing what type of surgery I had, they may have been expecting the worst. One person looked at me closely, got a kind of puzzled look on his face, and tried to figure out what was different. Then he proclaimed, "You look younger!" That made my day. That is exactly how I feel about the results, I do feel like I look younger.
Let's face it, most middle aged and older women have to deal with an almost guaranteed thickening of their middles. Once a woman hits menopause, it's incredibly difficult not to gain weight in her belly. I just pulled this paragraph from an article posted by the Mayo Clinic:
There it is, in black and white (or in brown and cream, if you are reading this on my blog). The article goes on to say that while our bodies really do change and it does become difficult not to accumulate belly fat after menopause, it's not a lost cause. We have to change our habits, though. We can't keep doing the same thing and expect not to put on belly fat after menopause. We have to eat less, exercise more. Eat more high quality calories and fewer crap calories. Lift weights and build muscle mass. Get enough sleep. Drink plenty of water. Move - a lot.Scientists have long known that lower estrogen levels after menopause can cause fat storage to shift from the hips and thighs to the abdomen. Now, a groundbreaking study, co-authored by the Mayo Clinic, has determined why: Proteins, revved up by the estrogen drop, cause fat cells to store more fat.The study also revealed a double whammy: These cellular changes also slow down fat-burning by the body.
I have a life-time of maintenance ahead of me. I'll always have to be careful about what I eat and make sure I exercise regularly, but now that I have had my tummy tucked, waist narrowed, saddle bags sucked out, and boobs lifted, I should be able to maintain my "girlish figure" well into my old age. Yeah, I'm down with that!
Weight check: this morning I weighed 152.4. I'll get to 150, but it will be a slow process. I think it was two weeks ago when I checked in at 153.4. I will use the scale as a maintenance tool for the rest of my life. I will stay below 155 for the rest of my life. Weighing myself is an important part of the program. Without the scale I can't really tell if I am eating too much. It's too easy to gain five or ten pounds just by letting my portion sizes at lunch and dinner get a little larger. Sometimes I eat a few too many nuts. The scale doesn't lie. It lets me know right away when I have started over consuming food. As frustrating as it can be to have to acknowledge that even the slightest indulgence causes the scale to creep up, I'd rather see it and do something about it when it is just a pound or two than wait for my pants to get tight and realize that I have gained ten pounds. Yes, I weigh myself every day. And I will for the rest of my life.
Have a beautiful day!
Thursday, January 28, 2016
1/28/2016: Walking the Walk
It's easy to talk the talk, but when it comes time to walk the walk, the rubber meets the road.
I did not want to get up this morning and do my 30 minute stretch/warm-up routine. I wanted to stay in my warm bed and ignore the facts. I wanted to pretend that I really didn't need to get up and get moving. But, as I was laying in bed feeling sorry for myself and trying to convince myself that I really didn't need to get up, I started thinking about this blog and how I tell everyone else how important exercise is to weight loss, weight maintenance and overall health and well-being. As I thought about all of the grand statements I've made over the years and over the last several weeks, I knew I had no choice. My time was up. I had to start walking the walk. So I got up. I put on my gym clothes. I did my exercises.
I have made an appointment with a personal trainer at City Gym for next Thursday (Feb 4) morning. His name is Josh. I have not joined the gym yet or committed to the training, but I went through the gym's onboarding process Tuesday evening and Josh is the trainer that was recommended to me. Next Thursday's session is a free assessment to go over my goals and talk about the best program for me. I do so much better with my strength training when I work with a personal trainer. Maybe Josh will be a good fit. I guess I'll know soon enough. I am looking forward to getting my muscle tone back. My arms are really starting to wave in the breeze, if you know what I mean.
It is much, much easier for me to get through my workdays now that I no longer have to wear a garment to work. I am so much more comfortable. I am also starting to get my strength and stamina back. I was able to go to the bowling alley for a little while last night and cheer on my team. By next week I am pretty sure I will be able to bowl. I have noticed the swelling start to increase in my gut a bit, since I am not wearing a garment during the day, so I have decided to wear my compression garment in the mornings and evenings before and after work. If that doesn't solve the problem, I may sleep in it, too, just to get enough time in the garment so that the swelling stays at a minimum.
All in all, everything is progressing as it should.
Have a beautiful day!
I did not want to get up this morning and do my 30 minute stretch/warm-up routine. I wanted to stay in my warm bed and ignore the facts. I wanted to pretend that I really didn't need to get up and get moving. But, as I was laying in bed feeling sorry for myself and trying to convince myself that I really didn't need to get up, I started thinking about this blog and how I tell everyone else how important exercise is to weight loss, weight maintenance and overall health and well-being. As I thought about all of the grand statements I've made over the years and over the last several weeks, I knew I had no choice. My time was up. I had to start walking the walk. So I got up. I put on my gym clothes. I did my exercises.
I have made an appointment with a personal trainer at City Gym for next Thursday (Feb 4) morning. His name is Josh. I have not joined the gym yet or committed to the training, but I went through the gym's onboarding process Tuesday evening and Josh is the trainer that was recommended to me. Next Thursday's session is a free assessment to go over my goals and talk about the best program for me. I do so much better with my strength training when I work with a personal trainer. Maybe Josh will be a good fit. I guess I'll know soon enough. I am looking forward to getting my muscle tone back. My arms are really starting to wave in the breeze, if you know what I mean.
It is much, much easier for me to get through my workdays now that I no longer have to wear a garment to work. I am so much more comfortable. I am also starting to get my strength and stamina back. I was able to go to the bowling alley for a little while last night and cheer on my team. By next week I am pretty sure I will be able to bowl. I have noticed the swelling start to increase in my gut a bit, since I am not wearing a garment during the day, so I have decided to wear my compression garment in the mornings and evenings before and after work. If that doesn't solve the problem, I may sleep in it, too, just to get enough time in the garment so that the swelling stays at a minimum.
All in all, everything is progressing as it should.
Have a beautiful day!
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
1/27/2016: Starting New Routine
Have I ever mentioned that I get up early? Well, now I get up earlier. Prior to surgery I woke up at about 4:00 so that I could exercise, relax a little, eat breakfast and get to work between 7:00 and 7:30. I started getting to work early last summer so that I could get a daily dashboard report prepared in time for a 9:00 meeting every morning. We have not been having that meeting consistently since I've been back to work, due to travel schedules, but I still prepare the report and and try to deliver it to all of the senior managers before the workday starts. In theory, I should be able to leave the office by 4:00 or so, but that seldom happens. What I am trying to do, consistently, is leave by around 4:30 so that I can miss the worst of the rush hour traffic. That is the best part of my schedule, I get to miss the worst of the traffic going to and coming home from work.
Since my surgery I have been getting up at about 4:00 and used my exercise time to do scar massage and other recovery related routines.
Starting today, I added stretching to my morning routine. Eventually, this will become the time that I exercise, but as I mentioned yesterday, my surgeon wants me to wait a couple more weeks before I start exercising again. In the meantime, I decided to start stretching for about 30 minutes each morning in order to get used to getting out of bed and putting on my gym clothes. There's a big difference between waking up and massaging my scars while I am still laying in bed and waking up, putting on gym clothes, and moving my body around. This morning, my alarm went off at 3:30. I tried to talk myself out of getting out of bed, but at that I was unsuccessful. I woke up, did my massage, and managed to get out of bed early enough to do about 30 minutes of stretching. Once I am able to start doing a full exercise routine, which takes about an hour, I will need to get up between 3:00 and 3:15. This sounds crazy, doesn't it? But the fact of the matter is I find it exceedingly difficult to exercise after work. I just don't want to do it. So, bed time moves from 9ish to 8ish and wake up time moves for 4ish to 3ish. During the winter months, it should be fine. It's dark all the time anyway. We'll see what happens in the spring.
Have a beautiful day!
Since my surgery I have been getting up at about 4:00 and used my exercise time to do scar massage and other recovery related routines.
Starting today, I added stretching to my morning routine. Eventually, this will become the time that I exercise, but as I mentioned yesterday, my surgeon wants me to wait a couple more weeks before I start exercising again. In the meantime, I decided to start stretching for about 30 minutes each morning in order to get used to getting out of bed and putting on my gym clothes. There's a big difference between waking up and massaging my scars while I am still laying in bed and waking up, putting on gym clothes, and moving my body around. This morning, my alarm went off at 3:30. I tried to talk myself out of getting out of bed, but at that I was unsuccessful. I woke up, did my massage, and managed to get out of bed early enough to do about 30 minutes of stretching. Once I am able to start doing a full exercise routine, which takes about an hour, I will need to get up between 3:00 and 3:15. This sounds crazy, doesn't it? But the fact of the matter is I find it exceedingly difficult to exercise after work. I just don't want to do it. So, bed time moves from 9ish to 8ish and wake up time moves for 4ish to 3ish. During the winter months, it should be fine. It's dark all the time anyway. We'll see what happens in the spring.
Have a beautiful day!
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
1/26/2016: Six Week Post-op Check-up
First and foremost, I am healing well and the doctor has no concerns. He is happy with my progress so far, thinks the scars look good for 6 weeks, and he doesn't need to see me for six more weeks. Other than that, this is what I learned, yesterday:
- I don't have to wear garments anymore unless I want to. He said I might be more comfortable wearing a spanx or something like that, and if I want to wear one, that's fine. But I no longer have to wear one. I am going to walk out the door today without a garment or spanx on. I am looking forward to that!! I will bring a variety of compression garments with me. If my gut starts to hurt, I will put one on. I am very excited that I no longer have to wear a garment.
- The doctor is incredibly happy with the shape of my breasts. If you had seen the before and after photos, you would know why. He stressed the importance of wearing a bra most of the time for the rest of my life, to minimize the impact of gravity on these beauties. It will be my ongoing quest to find the most comfortable bra I can find, that I don't mind wearing most of the time. He said I don't need to sleep in a bra, but I shouldn't make it a regular practice to not wear a bra when I am awake. The big difference between bras before and bras now is that now when I put on a bra it fits over my breasts, it doesn't lift and compress my breasts. That is a huge difference. Prior to surgery, I had to lift up my breasts and compress them into the cup and wear a bra with straps and a band tight enough to hold everything up and in place. Now my bra just fits over my breasts and keeps them in place. My bra no longer changes the shape of my breasts and my straps no longer dig into my shoulders, so wearing a bra is much more comfortable than it used to be. I have bought several different bras, already, and they are fairly comfortable but I wouldn't say that I love any of them. I won't buy any more bras for six more weeks. By then, the healing will be mostly done, the swelling will be mostly gone, and I should know what my true size is. Then the hunt will begin for the most comfortable bra in the world. I'll certainly have a few different bras to wear with different styles of clothing, but that everyday, wear 90% of the time, bra will need to be perfect.
- The doctor is very happy with the progression of my scars. He wants me to continue doing exactly what I (and Jack) are doing. We are doing scar massage twice a day and I am wearing the scar away strips for about 16 hours a day. We just need to keep that up.
- The doctor recommended that I wait two more weeks prior to starting to exercise. I am not overly surprised by this, but I am a little disappointed. I described the pulling sensation that I get on the incisions below my breasts. He said that this is normal, as is the pain I get in my lower gut after sitting all day, but he did say that he didn't want me to start exercising until I no longer feel the incisions pull when I lift my arms up all of the way. He did recommend that I start stretching more and focusing on full range of movement. Jack and I have a great book that has a comprehensive set of stretches in it. I will begin those this evening. I can also start walking. I wish it was warmer out, or I had a gym membership so I could use a treadmill. It's kind of funny, for a short period of time I had three gym memberships, now I have none. It's time to sign up again. So, for two weeks, stretch and walk. After that, I can start working out again.
- When I go back for my 3 month post-op visit we will decide if we want to do any touch up work on the ends of the scars. I think it will be necessary, but he said with massage and reduction of swelling, the problem areas may fix themselves. We'll see. I am not anxious about this at all.
So I guess that's about it. Everything is going according to plan, I'm healing well, the results of the surgery were excellent. I am glad I did this surgery and I will say that it was definitely "worth it!"
Have a beautiful day!
Monday, January 25, 2016
1/25/2016: Just checking in
It's Monday morning and there is not much to report. My doctor's appointment is this afternoon at 4:15 so I will know more about my recovery status after that.
We had a restful weekend and enjoyed staying at home and relaxing, for the most part. We did go to dinner with a friend and met his wife for the first time. That was an enjoyable evening. It has been a while since we've been able to enjoy a night out.
That's really all I've got for now.
Have a beautiful day.
We had a restful weekend and enjoyed staying at home and relaxing, for the most part. We did go to dinner with a friend and met his wife for the first time. That was an enjoyable evening. It has been a while since we've been able to enjoy a night out.
That's really all I've got for now.
Have a beautiful day.
Saturday, January 23, 2016
1/23/2016: Saturday Morning - Recovery: Week Six is in the Books
I am so ready for my recovery to be complete.
I go to the surgeon's office for my six week post-op on Monday and expect to be cleared to begin exercising. That's a good thing. Or is it? I still don't feel great. I still feel a pulling sensation on the incisions under my breasts, my breasts are still somewhat swollen, and my belly aches after a long day at work. None of this is out of the ordinary, but I was so hoping to be extraordinary! I just wanted to miraculously heal quickly and be able to get to normal life sooner than the surgeon said I would. But, no, this was a significant surgery and it takes a significant amount of time to heal completely.
I wonder if I will have to wear a compression garment when I exercise? If so, I will need to get another one because I sweat a lot. I can't imagine squeezing exercise back into my day, but I am going to have to do it. I'll get up earlier and go to bed earlier. It is the only way. I feel like I will be starting at ground zero, so I'll probably start with 30 minutes a day and work up from there. Maybe, once I start exercising I will feel better. Perhaps that is what my body needs, now. That is what I am hoping for.
Another long week at work is done. We made a major change this week and I have been doing a deep dive into our payroll and benefits administration with the newest member of my finance and administration team. We are sorting through everything, correcting mistakes, and streamlining reports, processes and procedures. I am glad to be doing this. It will be a relief to get everything exactly the way I want it. Once we get through everything, it will be much easier to maintain. It's a lot of work though, and a bit exhausting for both of us. I'll be glad when this phase is complete.
There is not much else new to report. Jack and I are going out to dinner tonight on the Plaza with friends, so that will be fun. This is my first night out since surgery, so I am kind of looking forward to getting dressed up. I'll have to rest most of the day, though, so that I am not tired before we head out.
Have a beautiful day!
I go to the surgeon's office for my six week post-op on Monday and expect to be cleared to begin exercising. That's a good thing. Or is it? I still don't feel great. I still feel a pulling sensation on the incisions under my breasts, my breasts are still somewhat swollen, and my belly aches after a long day at work. None of this is out of the ordinary, but I was so hoping to be extraordinary! I just wanted to miraculously heal quickly and be able to get to normal life sooner than the surgeon said I would. But, no, this was a significant surgery and it takes a significant amount of time to heal completely.
I wonder if I will have to wear a compression garment when I exercise? If so, I will need to get another one because I sweat a lot. I can't imagine squeezing exercise back into my day, but I am going to have to do it. I'll get up earlier and go to bed earlier. It is the only way. I feel like I will be starting at ground zero, so I'll probably start with 30 minutes a day and work up from there. Maybe, once I start exercising I will feel better. Perhaps that is what my body needs, now. That is what I am hoping for.
Another long week at work is done. We made a major change this week and I have been doing a deep dive into our payroll and benefits administration with the newest member of my finance and administration team. We are sorting through everything, correcting mistakes, and streamlining reports, processes and procedures. I am glad to be doing this. It will be a relief to get everything exactly the way I want it. Once we get through everything, it will be much easier to maintain. It's a lot of work though, and a bit exhausting for both of us. I'll be glad when this phase is complete.
There is not much else new to report. Jack and I are going out to dinner tonight on the Plaza with friends, so that will be fun. This is my first night out since surgery, so I am kind of looking forward to getting dressed up. I'll have to rest most of the day, though, so that I am not tired before we head out.
Have a beautiful day!
Friday, January 22, 2016
1/22/2016: Making Significant Weight Loss Permanent
Pick up a newspaper, read magazine covers, log onto the Internet, and everywhere you see the same thing. Article after article after article about how to lose 10 pounds in two weeks, success stories from men and women that have lost 100 pounds or more, and dozens of lists with titles like this, "The top ten things you can start doing this week to lose 20 pounds in 2016!" It seems like everyone wants to lose weight.
It's a personal battle. Anyone that wants to lose weight has to decide that becoming a smaller person is their number one priority, above all else. You can't lose weight part time. It's a full time commitment. To succeed, it has to be incredibly important to you. There has to be a reason that resonates with you. Losing weight, particularly losing a lot of weight, requires constant diligence. Most of the time it requires changing all of your priorities. You've heard it a million times, it is a life style change. Losing weight is time consuming. If you want to succeed, you must start exercising several times a week. If you want to succeed, you must start cooking your own food, or have a member of your household cook your food for you. Ideally, though, you will learn to cook and start cooking at least some of your food. You never know when you may be called on to fend for yourself. The only way you will ever know what you are really eating is if you cook it yourself.
If you are diligent and dedicated and patient and committed and strong and you do succeed, then what? You feel great, you look great (at least with clothes on), and you're proud of your accomplishment. And now, after a year or more of serious dieting, you can go back to living your life. Ha! Not so fast! It does not work that way, does it? In order to stay at your new lower weight, you have to maintain all of the same habits that you employed to lose the weight. You need to keep exercising 5 to 6 times a week - for the rest of your life. You need to avoid almost all sugar and sweet treats - for the rest of your life. You need to cook 99% of your own meals - for the rest of your life. You need to abstain from alcohol, most of the time - for the rest of your life. You might think that you have given up all of the things that are fun, but eating and drinking isn't really fun. What's fun is hanging out with your friends. It's just that eating and drinking seems to be part of the territory when you're hanging out with your friends.
So you have to develop a plan to maintain your new weight. You've heard it a million times. Maintaining the weight loss is 100 times harder than losing the weight in the first place. Sure, you've lost 50 pounds, but can you keep it off?
I lost this weight because I want to be healthy, strong and active well into my very old age. I am 53 years old and I am happier than I have ever been. Every day I am alive I become a little more confident in who I am and who I want to become. Getting older has been such a blessing. With it comes perspective and, if we are lucky, a little wisdom. It becomes easier to see what is important and what isn't. The title of my blog, "It's Not Downhill From Here," is a testament to my belief that the second 50 years of my life are going to be the years that I really enjoy. I'll be damned if I am going to allow a weak and frail body prevent me from truly enjoying life, now that I am beginning to get a few things figured out. So I decided, back in February of 2012, to get healthy, once and for all. On that day I weighed 224 pounds, therefore getting healthy meant losing a lot of weight.
This blog has been all about that journey. I did lose the weight and got down to my goal weight of 150 pounds. I stopped blogging because I thought the blog was boring and I didn't have anything else to talk about now that I wasn't struggling to lose weight anymore. I maintained my weight around 155 pounds. Then slowly, over the course of about a year (or perhaps, not so slowly) my weight crept back up until I weighed 179 pounds at the very beginning of 2015. That was the wake up call. That was the moment that I knew this was not going to happen again. I got serious about my diet (I was still exercising several days a week) and dropped back down into the 150s by spring. But I had a big problem, I'd look in the mirror and see nothing but all of the extra skin and loose flab hanging from my previously fat body. I thought I looked horrible. I just couldn't accept that this was as good as it gets. So I finally, after years of debating the pros and cons, decided to have this surgery.
On Monday it will be six weeks since the surgery. My body looks completely different. It looks younger. I don't feel younger because I am still healing, but the surgery has made a huge difference in the shape of my body. I cannot wait until I don't feel the surgery every single day. From the beginning the surgeon said it would take three months before I felt great and my body was done swelling. I never wanted to believe that. Three months is a long time. I am halfway through. I believe it now.
This surgery has done something other than change my physical appearance; it has changed my mind. I mean, it has altered my mindset. This surgery has made my weight loss permanent. Oh, it would be easy enough to gain weight. It's not like I had gastro-bypass surgery and I can't physically eat a lot without getting ill. But psychologically, I can't gain weight. I have paid dearly for this body. Years of dieting and exercise, thousands of dollars, and months of recovery. The investment I have made in this body is staggering, when you think about it. If I got fat now it would be like buying a brand new house and leaving the windows and front door open to the wind, rain, snow, and wildlife. When people invest in homes and cars and other "things" they protect their investments by doing proper maintenance. You don't buy a new car and then do nothing but put gas in it. If you did, it would be a wreck before your last car payment was made. I feel exactly the same way about my body. I am not going to take this brand new (53 year old) body and do nothing but put food in it. I am going to maintain it. That is a given. A fact. It is a new truth. For now, that means getting enough sleep, wearing uncomfortable compression garments, doing massage therapy (which is turning out to be a time to meditate, as well, something I could never make time for, before), and eating reasonable portions of healthy foods. Soon, it will also mean exercising on a daily basis. It means abstaining from crap food and alcohol. It means striving for a life of meaning, rather than a life of the daily grind. It's strange, but this surgery has changed so much more than my body. It's as if it was the final piece of the puzzle that has taken me 30 years to assemble. It's not just about my weight or the shape of my body. It is about me, how I feel about myself. It's about being the best me that I can be. It's about my life and loving who I am. It's about finally putting the past away and looking into the future and imagining who I can become. It's about so much more than the image in the mirror. I've spent 23 years (beginning with my very first therapy session when I was 30 years old) coming to terms with the past, shedding a horrible self image, learning what love is, and trying to embrace the human being that is me. Somehow, someway, the physical act of cutting off that excess skin and sucking out those stubborn pockets of fat was a symbolic end to that chapter of my life. This is a time of new beginning. I am excited for what comes next. The future looks very different than it did just a few short months ago.
But for now, back to the grind. I must go to work.
Have a beautiful day!
This blog has been all about that journey. I did lose the weight and got down to my goal weight of 150 pounds. I stopped blogging because I thought the blog was boring and I didn't have anything else to talk about now that I wasn't struggling to lose weight anymore. I maintained my weight around 155 pounds. Then slowly, over the course of about a year (or perhaps, not so slowly) my weight crept back up until I weighed 179 pounds at the very beginning of 2015. That was the wake up call. That was the moment that I knew this was not going to happen again. I got serious about my diet (I was still exercising several days a week) and dropped back down into the 150s by spring. But I had a big problem, I'd look in the mirror and see nothing but all of the extra skin and loose flab hanging from my previously fat body. I thought I looked horrible. I just couldn't accept that this was as good as it gets. So I finally, after years of debating the pros and cons, decided to have this surgery.
On Monday it will be six weeks since the surgery. My body looks completely different. It looks younger. I don't feel younger because I am still healing, but the surgery has made a huge difference in the shape of my body. I cannot wait until I don't feel the surgery every single day. From the beginning the surgeon said it would take three months before I felt great and my body was done swelling. I never wanted to believe that. Three months is a long time. I am halfway through. I believe it now.
This surgery has done something other than change my physical appearance; it has changed my mind. I mean, it has altered my mindset. This surgery has made my weight loss permanent. Oh, it would be easy enough to gain weight. It's not like I had gastro-bypass surgery and I can't physically eat a lot without getting ill. But psychologically, I can't gain weight. I have paid dearly for this body. Years of dieting and exercise, thousands of dollars, and months of recovery. The investment I have made in this body is staggering, when you think about it. If I got fat now it would be like buying a brand new house and leaving the windows and front door open to the wind, rain, snow, and wildlife. When people invest in homes and cars and other "things" they protect their investments by doing proper maintenance. You don't buy a new car and then do nothing but put gas in it. If you did, it would be a wreck before your last car payment was made. I feel exactly the same way about my body. I am not going to take this brand new (53 year old) body and do nothing but put food in it. I am going to maintain it. That is a given. A fact. It is a new truth. For now, that means getting enough sleep, wearing uncomfortable compression garments, doing massage therapy (which is turning out to be a time to meditate, as well, something I could never make time for, before), and eating reasonable portions of healthy foods. Soon, it will also mean exercising on a daily basis. It means abstaining from crap food and alcohol. It means striving for a life of meaning, rather than a life of the daily grind. It's strange, but this surgery has changed so much more than my body. It's as if it was the final piece of the puzzle that has taken me 30 years to assemble. It's not just about my weight or the shape of my body. It is about me, how I feel about myself. It's about being the best me that I can be. It's about my life and loving who I am. It's about finally putting the past away and looking into the future and imagining who I can become. It's about so much more than the image in the mirror. I've spent 23 years (beginning with my very first therapy session when I was 30 years old) coming to terms with the past, shedding a horrible self image, learning what love is, and trying to embrace the human being that is me. Somehow, someway, the physical act of cutting off that excess skin and sucking out those stubborn pockets of fat was a symbolic end to that chapter of my life. This is a time of new beginning. I am excited for what comes next. The future looks very different than it did just a few short months ago.
But for now, back to the grind. I must go to work.
Have a beautiful day!
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
1/20/2016: Plugging Along
I continue the slow slog to complete recovery. It is not glamorous or exciting or fun, it's just day-in-day-out get through the day with the knowledge that tomorrow will be a little bit better.
Nothing hurts anymore. I can move around easily, bend over, cough and laugh without pain. I'm still a little sore or tender in places. I am uncomfortable because of the scar away strips and the compression garments. I start my work days in my spanx garment and my belly aches by the end of the day because of swelling. I strap the compression garment on over the spanx garment, which applies pressure directly on my lower belly and that helps a lot.
My massage therapist (Jack) says he can't see any change in my scars from day to day, but I feel like they are improving. He does think the hard spot below my navel that I talked about in my last post is getting softer, so that's good.
I am following doctor's order as precisely as possible. I do 20 - 30 minutes of scar massage each morning and apply the scar away strips to all scars after my shower. I wear the scar away strips until about 8:30 at night (the box instructs you to wear them at least 12 hours a day) and then we do another 30 minutes of massage. I wear my compression garments as instructed. I keep looking for a bra that fits well, doesn't rub against my incisions, and doesn't cut across the top of my breasts. What I want is something that is comfortable, has no underwire, and is supportive. I bought several new bras on Sunday and am trying different ones each day. They all seem comfortable when I put them on in the morning, but by the end of the day they are rubbing me in ways that I couldn't predict. The one I wore yesterday wasn't too bad. Sooner or later, I will find the perfect bra. Of course, this is just for recovery. Once my recovery is complete, it opens up the world of underwire bras, of which there are many more than there are bras with no underwire.
What I did find on Sunday is the perfect light bra to sleep in. With that light bra and my light spanx on, I am sleeping more comfortably than I have since surgery. It seems like the perfect combination. Now if I could just stop having hot flashes, perhaps I would sleep through the night!! I notice when I don't exercise I get a lot more hot flashes, so maybe once I can start exercising again they will go away.
I feel like I will be starting at ground zero when it comes to exercise. Jack and I spent a couple of hours Sunday at the RV show and another couple of hours at the mall. I still walk fairly slowly and I get tired easily. It is going to be a slow process getting my endurance and strength back. In spite of that, I am looking forward to how much better it will make me feel.
Now, it's off to work for me.
Have a beautiful day!
Nothing hurts anymore. I can move around easily, bend over, cough and laugh without pain. I'm still a little sore or tender in places. I am uncomfortable because of the scar away strips and the compression garments. I start my work days in my spanx garment and my belly aches by the end of the day because of swelling. I strap the compression garment on over the spanx garment, which applies pressure directly on my lower belly and that helps a lot.
My massage therapist (Jack) says he can't see any change in my scars from day to day, but I feel like they are improving. He does think the hard spot below my navel that I talked about in my last post is getting softer, so that's good.
I am following doctor's order as precisely as possible. I do 20 - 30 minutes of scar massage each morning and apply the scar away strips to all scars after my shower. I wear the scar away strips until about 8:30 at night (the box instructs you to wear them at least 12 hours a day) and then we do another 30 minutes of massage. I wear my compression garments as instructed. I keep looking for a bra that fits well, doesn't rub against my incisions, and doesn't cut across the top of my breasts. What I want is something that is comfortable, has no underwire, and is supportive. I bought several new bras on Sunday and am trying different ones each day. They all seem comfortable when I put them on in the morning, but by the end of the day they are rubbing me in ways that I couldn't predict. The one I wore yesterday wasn't too bad. Sooner or later, I will find the perfect bra. Of course, this is just for recovery. Once my recovery is complete, it opens up the world of underwire bras, of which there are many more than there are bras with no underwire.
What I did find on Sunday is the perfect light bra to sleep in. With that light bra and my light spanx on, I am sleeping more comfortably than I have since surgery. It seems like the perfect combination. Now if I could just stop having hot flashes, perhaps I would sleep through the night!! I notice when I don't exercise I get a lot more hot flashes, so maybe once I can start exercising again they will go away.
I feel like I will be starting at ground zero when it comes to exercise. Jack and I spent a couple of hours Sunday at the RV show and another couple of hours at the mall. I still walk fairly slowly and I get tired easily. It is going to be a slow process getting my endurance and strength back. In spite of that, I am looking forward to how much better it will make me feel.
Now, it's off to work for me.
Have a beautiful day!
Sunday, January 17, 2016
1/17/2016: Weekends are Awesome. We Should Have More of Them!
It's Sunday morning and I am feeling strong and refreshed. I had kind of a busy day yesterday, but it was a different kind of busy than going to work. We had friends come over to watch the football game with their two young children. Jack did most of the heavy housework, but I finished cleaning the kitchen (just because I like things "just so" when company is coming over) and cleaned our room. I had to clean our room because it was a mess because of me. My stuff was everywhere, it's been piling up since before Christmas. It was good to get everything put away. I also cooked a simple dinner. All in all, I moved slowly through the day getting everything I wanted to get done, done. Even though it wasn't a hustle bustle sort of day, it was enough to get me tired by late afternoon. At least I didn't spend all day sitting at a desk, like I do at work. This morning, I feel pretty good.
The doctor's office visit went well. Kimber, Dr. Hodge's nurse, clipped off all of the stitches that were poking through my skin. This will help the healing process. She is not worried about the little sore spot under my right breast. She fished a surgical knot out of that spot, which is probably what led to the abscess in the first place. She said that the sore was very superficial and nothing to worry about and to keep treating it with neosporin and a bandaid.
One thing she was not particularly happy about was a hard spot at the very center of my abdominal incision. This is the spot where a small vertical incision from where my belly button used to be meets the large horizontal abdominal incision and forms an upside down T. That area is firmer than the surrounding areas and she instructed me to massage it with more pressure. Also, she wants me to do my scar massage twice a day, not just in the morning. I have recruited Jack to the position of nighttime massage therapist, which makes having to add an extra 30 minutes of massage to my daily scar treatment routine a lot more pleasant. One of the side benefits of having him do the massage for me is that he can apply a lot more pressure than I can. Also, I have him massage the lipo area on my outer thighs which is difficult for me to do on my own. I hope to see some improvement in the area below my navel by the time I go back for my 1/25/16 appointment.
I am now permitted to spend some time each day without wearing a binder or compression garment of any sort. It's nice to be able to give myself a break. That said, Kimber did confirm that I will be wearing garments of some sort for 3 full months (7 more weeks), but after that they would no longer be necessary.
At Friday's appointment we started talking about the little things that Dr. Hodge would fix once the healing is complete, probably in May. He likes to wait six months, to make sure nothing else will change. Mostly, it is the ends of all of the big scars. At the end of each scar, there is a gathering of the skin and the scars are thicker and pucker a bit. This is a known probable result and it is very easy to fix in the doctor's office with local anesthetic. There will not be a charge for this. I am not at all anxious about these spots, as I sort of expected something like this and I know Dr. Hodge will fix it. This is something we discussed prior to the surgery.
I want to get fitted for new bras that fit well. I'd also like a really comfortable bra to sleep in. I may try to get to Victoria's Secret today for a fitting. That depends on what else Jack and I decide to do today. I think we both want to get out of the house and do something different, we have a bit of cabin fever, but it is so cold today and there is snow on the ground. We'll see what the day brings.
That's it for now.
Have a beautiful day!
The doctor's office visit went well. Kimber, Dr. Hodge's nurse, clipped off all of the stitches that were poking through my skin. This will help the healing process. She is not worried about the little sore spot under my right breast. She fished a surgical knot out of that spot, which is probably what led to the abscess in the first place. She said that the sore was very superficial and nothing to worry about and to keep treating it with neosporin and a bandaid.
One thing she was not particularly happy about was a hard spot at the very center of my abdominal incision. This is the spot where a small vertical incision from where my belly button used to be meets the large horizontal abdominal incision and forms an upside down T. That area is firmer than the surrounding areas and she instructed me to massage it with more pressure. Also, she wants me to do my scar massage twice a day, not just in the morning. I have recruited Jack to the position of nighttime massage therapist, which makes having to add an extra 30 minutes of massage to my daily scar treatment routine a lot more pleasant. One of the side benefits of having him do the massage for me is that he can apply a lot more pressure than I can. Also, I have him massage the lipo area on my outer thighs which is difficult for me to do on my own. I hope to see some improvement in the area below my navel by the time I go back for my 1/25/16 appointment.
I am now permitted to spend some time each day without wearing a binder or compression garment of any sort. It's nice to be able to give myself a break. That said, Kimber did confirm that I will be wearing garments of some sort for 3 full months (7 more weeks), but after that they would no longer be necessary.
At Friday's appointment we started talking about the little things that Dr. Hodge would fix once the healing is complete, probably in May. He likes to wait six months, to make sure nothing else will change. Mostly, it is the ends of all of the big scars. At the end of each scar, there is a gathering of the skin and the scars are thicker and pucker a bit. This is a known probable result and it is very easy to fix in the doctor's office with local anesthetic. There will not be a charge for this. I am not at all anxious about these spots, as I sort of expected something like this and I know Dr. Hodge will fix it. This is something we discussed prior to the surgery.
I want to get fitted for new bras that fit well. I'd also like a really comfortable bra to sleep in. I may try to get to Victoria's Secret today for a fitting. That depends on what else Jack and I decide to do today. I think we both want to get out of the house and do something different, we have a bit of cabin fever, but it is so cold today and there is snow on the ground. We'll see what the day brings.
That's it for now.
Have a beautiful day!
Friday, January 15, 2016
1/15/2016: Last Day of a Long Week
Yesterday was rough. I had to put my binder on at about 11:00AM due to pressure in my abdomen. I had been making it through most of the day. By 2:00 I was tired and knew I should go home. Feeling way too behind, I kept working on the project I wanted to finish and didn't leave until slightly after 4:00. I was exhausted, cranky, aching, and irritable. I didn't even want to drive home.
Jackie is insisting that I leave work by noon today. I think that is a good plan. I will try to make that happen.
Now for the good news. I really like what I see in the mirror. The swelling is going down, the scars are fading, and I like the shape of my body. A simple pair of hipster style cotton panties completely masks the very small bulge over my abdominal scar. My scar is very low so even bikini style panties would cover the scar, if that is what I wanted to wear. I have a pronounced waist, I can see my abdominal muscles, my breasts are a nice shape and size and fit the rest of my body perfectly. Yes, I am happy with the results.
I should be able to start exercising in about 10 days. I have a doctor's appointment on January 25th and hope to be released to exercise after that. That may be held up by the little sore that I have under my right breast, though that seems to be healing rapidly now that I am treating it and being careful not to overuse my right arm. I am going into the doctor's office this afternoon to see the surgeon's nurse. She is going to remove all of the little stitches that are poking out. There is a stitch poking out in the area of the sore and she said that is probably what caused this small abscess. With any luck, by the 25th I'll be all healed and cleared for exercises.
And then, maybe 6 more weeks before I feel really good. The surgeon said to expect about 3 months of swelling; which, to me, means, that there is a lot of healing going on for 3 full months. Otherwise, why would there be swelling? So as long as there is recovery going on I am sure I won't feel top-notch. I am looking forward to spring more than I ever have before!! Warm weather and a healed body! Woo Hoo!! I can't wait until I've worn this garment for the very last time!!
Until then, I will slog my way through this recovery, one day at a time.
Weight this morning, by the way, was 153.2.
Have a beautiful day.
Jackie is insisting that I leave work by noon today. I think that is a good plan. I will try to make that happen.
Now for the good news. I really like what I see in the mirror. The swelling is going down, the scars are fading, and I like the shape of my body. A simple pair of hipster style cotton panties completely masks the very small bulge over my abdominal scar. My scar is very low so even bikini style panties would cover the scar, if that is what I wanted to wear. I have a pronounced waist, I can see my abdominal muscles, my breasts are a nice shape and size and fit the rest of my body perfectly. Yes, I am happy with the results.
I should be able to start exercising in about 10 days. I have a doctor's appointment on January 25th and hope to be released to exercise after that. That may be held up by the little sore that I have under my right breast, though that seems to be healing rapidly now that I am treating it and being careful not to overuse my right arm. I am going into the doctor's office this afternoon to see the surgeon's nurse. She is going to remove all of the little stitches that are poking out. There is a stitch poking out in the area of the sore and she said that is probably what caused this small abscess. With any luck, by the 25th I'll be all healed and cleared for exercises.
And then, maybe 6 more weeks before I feel really good. The surgeon said to expect about 3 months of swelling; which, to me, means, that there is a lot of healing going on for 3 full months. Otherwise, why would there be swelling? So as long as there is recovery going on I am sure I won't feel top-notch. I am looking forward to spring more than I ever have before!! Warm weather and a healed body! Woo Hoo!! I can't wait until I've worn this garment for the very last time!!
Until then, I will slog my way through this recovery, one day at a time.
Weight this morning, by the way, was 153.2.
Have a beautiful day.
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
1/13/2016: Recovery...
Day-in and day-out, it is all about the recovery. There is nothing to do, really, other than get through each day, rest when I am tired, do my recommended scar therapy, eat healthy food, drink lots of water, and get plenty of sleep. I work and I rest. That's my life right now. There is not a whole lot to write about.
I have a little spot under my right breast, where the horizontal incision and the vertical incision intersect, that is slightly open and oozing just a little bit. I thought I saw something yesterday and I treated the spot with neosporine and covered it with a bandaid. When I took the bandaid off this morning it definitely had a pink tinge to it. So, after an arduous search of both bathrooms, I found the old makeup mirror that I knew was stashed somewhere so I could take a closer look. Sure enough, there is a little raw spot under my right breast. I treated it again this morning and put another bandaid over it. I will call the doctor's office this morning to let them know about it. I am pretty confident that they will recommend exactly the treatment that I have already started. I did not put any new scar away strips on today. They started itching a bit yesterday and the instructions recommend taking a break from them if you notice any irritation and restarting them after a day or two. So far, the scars look pretty dang good. For the most part they are quite thin and they are fading. The worst spots are the ends of each incision, but even those spots are getting better with time.
I can work an eight hour day, now, without completely wiping myself out. I can't work more than that, and I won't work more than that for several weeks, in spite of this being my busiest time of year. I need to pace myself and focus on recovering while I maintain a reasonable amount of control over my work life. It's going to be a challenging couple of months.
I bought a new, more aggressive, spanx over the weekend and wore it to work the last two days. Yesterday I waited until right before I left for work to change into it. That strategy worked. I did not need to put my binder on until I got home. The spanx is more comfortable than the binder or the girdle garment from the surgeon and provides enough support to keep me comfortable and to keep my tummy from swelling too much during the day. It also fits OK under my clothes. I think this will be a reasonably comfortable mid-term solution for compression while I continue to heal. I change into my compression garment for the evening and into my girdle garment when I sleep and in the morning before work. It actually helps a lot to change garments three times a day. They are all uncomfortable in different ways, so when I really get tired of one and change into another it is kind of a relief.
I do need a different bra, though. The ones I bought are OK, but I don't feel like they fit quite right. I will try to get to Victoria's Secret this weekend for a fitting to see what they would recommend. My breasts are a completely different shape than they were before and I really have no idea which bra would be best for me. I am sure there will be some trial and error as I get this figured out.
So, yes, life is a bit boring these days. It's all about undergarments, getting enough rest, and trying to get enough work done that I am reasonably on top of things. Fun times!!
Have a beautiful day!!
I have a little spot under my right breast, where the horizontal incision and the vertical incision intersect, that is slightly open and oozing just a little bit. I thought I saw something yesterday and I treated the spot with neosporine and covered it with a bandaid. When I took the bandaid off this morning it definitely had a pink tinge to it. So, after an arduous search of both bathrooms, I found the old makeup mirror that I knew was stashed somewhere so I could take a closer look. Sure enough, there is a little raw spot under my right breast. I treated it again this morning and put another bandaid over it. I will call the doctor's office this morning to let them know about it. I am pretty confident that they will recommend exactly the treatment that I have already started. I did not put any new scar away strips on today. They started itching a bit yesterday and the instructions recommend taking a break from them if you notice any irritation and restarting them after a day or two. So far, the scars look pretty dang good. For the most part they are quite thin and they are fading. The worst spots are the ends of each incision, but even those spots are getting better with time.
I can work an eight hour day, now, without completely wiping myself out. I can't work more than that, and I won't work more than that for several weeks, in spite of this being my busiest time of year. I need to pace myself and focus on recovering while I maintain a reasonable amount of control over my work life. It's going to be a challenging couple of months.
I bought a new, more aggressive, spanx over the weekend and wore it to work the last two days. Yesterday I waited until right before I left for work to change into it. That strategy worked. I did not need to put my binder on until I got home. The spanx is more comfortable than the binder or the girdle garment from the surgeon and provides enough support to keep me comfortable and to keep my tummy from swelling too much during the day. It also fits OK under my clothes. I think this will be a reasonably comfortable mid-term solution for compression while I continue to heal. I change into my compression garment for the evening and into my girdle garment when I sleep and in the morning before work. It actually helps a lot to change garments three times a day. They are all uncomfortable in different ways, so when I really get tired of one and change into another it is kind of a relief.
I do need a different bra, though. The ones I bought are OK, but I don't feel like they fit quite right. I will try to get to Victoria's Secret this weekend for a fitting to see what they would recommend. My breasts are a completely different shape than they were before and I really have no idea which bra would be best for me. I am sure there will be some trial and error as I get this figured out.
So, yes, life is a bit boring these days. It's all about undergarments, getting enough rest, and trying to get enough work done that I am reasonably on top of things. Fun times!!
Have a beautiful day!!
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
1/12/16: Mixed News
OK, so my news is mixed, today.
First, the good news: the bra I am wearing right now is a 34C. Yeah!! That is good news. I was a 34DDD or 36DD going into the surgery. I did not get a reduction, I just had a breast lift. The surgeon was confident that I would be about a 34C when it was all over, just by removing excess skin. When I bought bras a couple of weeks ago 36Cs fit the best, so that is what I purchased. As luck would have it, Macys was having a buy two get two free sale so I picked up two 34Cs as well. I knew I would get smaller once the swelling was gone, I just didn't know how much smaller. The 34Cs almost fit when I bought them, but if you're a woman you know how it is. If the band is a little too tight and the cup is a little too small, tissue bulges out here and there. Yeah, that is not a good thing. So I've been wearing the 36Cs for the last couple of weeks and have been noticing a little extra room in the cup lately, and the band getting a little looser. So this morning I tried on one of the 34Cs and it fit perfectly!! Yeah!!! I am so happy to have reasonably sized, firm breasts that I don't have to use a hydraulic lift to support anymore! I feel like I now look reasonably proportional. My top was always one size bigger than my bottom, making it hard to buy dresses and difficult, in general, to buy clothes that didn't make me look and feel boxy and top heavy. Now when I see someone wearing a dress that I think is beautiful I think to myself, "Hey, I could wear that!" Not, "Wow, what a pretty dress, I could never wear that because it would be impossible to hide my bra." Yes, this is going to be fun (and perhaps a tad expensive).
Second, the not so good news. It's not bad news, really, just a frustrating fact. I am having a hard time being really productive at work. I get in early, per my normal schedule, and get a solid 4 or 5 hours of work in and feel pretty good about what I accomplish. After that, when I should be getting a second wind and when I normally could be knocking out a bunch of stuff, I struggle through the rest of the day. I am still getting stuff done, so it is worthwhile being there, but I'm slow and unfocused by early afternoon. Yesterday, I worked from 7:15AM until 4:45PM, so I worked an entire 8 hour day, plus some, without getting too tired or aching too much, so that was good. But the afternoon was a slog. I am guessing that I will slowly tire out as the week progresses, but I am starting out stronger than I did last week. Every day, every week, is better than the last.
And yes, this is getting old. I itch, I ache, I have to be careful not to move suddenly and to use care when I change positions at night. My lower back aches a little, the garments are uncomfortable, the scar therapy takes an hour every morning, and I am ready to just be me. All of that said, I am not complaining. I am very glad I had this surgery. And actually, I guess I am glad to be back at work. For several hours a day, I forget that I am uncomfortable, so that is a good thing. It is a long recovery, though. If you are contemplating doing this, be prepared for the long haul. The two biggest surprises? First, the first week was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I only hurt like hell for a very short period of time and that was only in my thighs where I had the liposuction. For the rest of the first week I was uncomfortable and I hurt and I had trouble sleeping, etc., but it wasn't God Awful. It was just yucky. Second, the long recovery period is more difficult than I thought it would be. It is hard to be uncomfortable, limited in range of motion, and wear compression garments day-in and day-out. It just gets old. Prepare yourself for this. I think it is actually a good thing that I did this at the beginning of the winter. I hate winter anyway. By the time spring rolls around, I will be ready to go outside and play.
So, all in all, the good news way outweighs the bad. Really, there is no bad news. My recovery continues to be on track and all systems are normal. Here's to a good, productive, 8 hour day at work!
Have a beautiful day!!
First, the good news: the bra I am wearing right now is a 34C. Yeah!! That is good news. I was a 34DDD or 36DD going into the surgery. I did not get a reduction, I just had a breast lift. The surgeon was confident that I would be about a 34C when it was all over, just by removing excess skin. When I bought bras a couple of weeks ago 36Cs fit the best, so that is what I purchased. As luck would have it, Macys was having a buy two get two free sale so I picked up two 34Cs as well. I knew I would get smaller once the swelling was gone, I just didn't know how much smaller. The 34Cs almost fit when I bought them, but if you're a woman you know how it is. If the band is a little too tight and the cup is a little too small, tissue bulges out here and there. Yeah, that is not a good thing. So I've been wearing the 36Cs for the last couple of weeks and have been noticing a little extra room in the cup lately, and the band getting a little looser. So this morning I tried on one of the 34Cs and it fit perfectly!! Yeah!!! I am so happy to have reasonably sized, firm breasts that I don't have to use a hydraulic lift to support anymore! I feel like I now look reasonably proportional. My top was always one size bigger than my bottom, making it hard to buy dresses and difficult, in general, to buy clothes that didn't make me look and feel boxy and top heavy. Now when I see someone wearing a dress that I think is beautiful I think to myself, "Hey, I could wear that!" Not, "Wow, what a pretty dress, I could never wear that because it would be impossible to hide my bra." Yes, this is going to be fun (and perhaps a tad expensive).
Second, the not so good news. It's not bad news, really, just a frustrating fact. I am having a hard time being really productive at work. I get in early, per my normal schedule, and get a solid 4 or 5 hours of work in and feel pretty good about what I accomplish. After that, when I should be getting a second wind and when I normally could be knocking out a bunch of stuff, I struggle through the rest of the day. I am still getting stuff done, so it is worthwhile being there, but I'm slow and unfocused by early afternoon. Yesterday, I worked from 7:15AM until 4:45PM, so I worked an entire 8 hour day, plus some, without getting too tired or aching too much, so that was good. But the afternoon was a slog. I am guessing that I will slowly tire out as the week progresses, but I am starting out stronger than I did last week. Every day, every week, is better than the last.
And yes, this is getting old. I itch, I ache, I have to be careful not to move suddenly and to use care when I change positions at night. My lower back aches a little, the garments are uncomfortable, the scar therapy takes an hour every morning, and I am ready to just be me. All of that said, I am not complaining. I am very glad I had this surgery. And actually, I guess I am glad to be back at work. For several hours a day, I forget that I am uncomfortable, so that is a good thing. It is a long recovery, though. If you are contemplating doing this, be prepared for the long haul. The two biggest surprises? First, the first week was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I only hurt like hell for a very short period of time and that was only in my thighs where I had the liposuction. For the rest of the first week I was uncomfortable and I hurt and I had trouble sleeping, etc., but it wasn't God Awful. It was just yucky. Second, the long recovery period is more difficult than I thought it would be. It is hard to be uncomfortable, limited in range of motion, and wear compression garments day-in and day-out. It just gets old. Prepare yourself for this. I think it is actually a good thing that I did this at the beginning of the winter. I hate winter anyway. By the time spring rolls around, I will be ready to go outside and play.
So, all in all, the good news way outweighs the bad. Really, there is no bad news. My recovery continues to be on track and all systems are normal. Here's to a good, productive, 8 hour day at work!
Have a beautiful day!!
Sunday, January 10, 2016
1/10/2016: A Day of Rest, What a Difference it Makes
I feel much better today, after a day of rest. For the record, it is possible to spend most of the day in one's recliner!
I actually sat through an entire football game. I watched the Chiefs get their first playoff win in 23 years. It was kind of fun. Jackie loves watching football and I was stuck in my chair, anyway, so I decided I might as well watch the game with him. The worst part of the entire experience is that I wanted to eat popcorn and drink beer. There seems to be something about watching football that induces one to eat. I did eat some popcorn, (I popped it in my Whirlypop. It was not microwave popcorn.), but I did not drink any beer. After the popcorn was gone I had cravings for chocolate and wine. I ate a healthy dinner, instead. After an early dinner, I felt too full, so the cravings stopped. That was the first time I have felt full in a long time and it was a decidedly unpleasant experience. Most of the time I eat just enough. Yesterday's dinner was not large and it was mostly veggies, per normal procedure, but on top of the popcorn it made my tummy feel really full. I won't be over eating again any time soon.
In spite of feeling a little too full yesterday, my choices were healthy-ish (the -ish is because of the popcorn, everything else I ate yesterday was right on program) and I dropped another pound. This morning I weighed 153.6. I'll reiterate that I am not under-eating and I am not trying to lose weight/fat. I am trying to eat foods that are not inflammatory in nature to help reduce the post-op surgery. My best guess is that I'll be right around 150 when all the swelling is gone. I am sure the day of rest, yesterday, contributed to the reduction in swelling.
Once my recovery is complete, I look forward to exercise. I like 150 pounds for my weight, but I am not happy with the condition of my arms, back, abs, butt and legs after this period of inactivity. Everything is jiggling more than it used to. That said, I know once I start exercising again, I will start firming up, again. I am looking forward to that!!!!!!!!
Jack and I did make it to Macy's yesterday and I bought a new garment. It seems to be more supportive than the spanx I purchased earlier and more comfortable than my surgeon issued compression garment. I am going to give it a whirl tomorrow. I'll bring my other garments to work in case I have to change into them mid-day.
I did a little on-line research on scar therapy. Most of the plastic surgeons say the same thing - use silicone, and most say that the best product to use is the scar away sheets. That is exactly what I am doing, so I feel confident that I am doing the right thing, there. There is no visible scarring around my areolas and when I used the scar away around them, the skin puckered a little bit, so I no longer have the scar away tape on my areolas, but I am using it everywhere else. I am doing massage therapy on all of my scars, as well. I will call the surgeon's nurse on Monday and ask her about using the scar away on the areola incisions. All in all, after 5 days of treatment with Scar Away, all of my scars are flatter and narrower. Yeah!
I just looked at the photos I took of myself 3 days post op, compared to today. Wow, what a difference. There was so much swelling, particularly in my tummy. Everyday is better than the last.
That's it for today's progress report. Yep, it's boring. The word "boring" pretty much sums up recovery from surgery. Boring and uncomfortable. But when it comes to surgery recovery, boring is good. If it were exciting, that would mean trouble, and we don't need trouble.
Until tomorrow...
Have a beautiful day!
I actually sat through an entire football game. I watched the Chiefs get their first playoff win in 23 years. It was kind of fun. Jackie loves watching football and I was stuck in my chair, anyway, so I decided I might as well watch the game with him. The worst part of the entire experience is that I wanted to eat popcorn and drink beer. There seems to be something about watching football that induces one to eat. I did eat some popcorn, (I popped it in my Whirlypop. It was not microwave popcorn.), but I did not drink any beer. After the popcorn was gone I had cravings for chocolate and wine. I ate a healthy dinner, instead. After an early dinner, I felt too full, so the cravings stopped. That was the first time I have felt full in a long time and it was a decidedly unpleasant experience. Most of the time I eat just enough. Yesterday's dinner was not large and it was mostly veggies, per normal procedure, but on top of the popcorn it made my tummy feel really full. I won't be over eating again any time soon.
In spite of feeling a little too full yesterday, my choices were healthy-ish (the -ish is because of the popcorn, everything else I ate yesterday was right on program) and I dropped another pound. This morning I weighed 153.6. I'll reiterate that I am not under-eating and I am not trying to lose weight/fat. I am trying to eat foods that are not inflammatory in nature to help reduce the post-op surgery. My best guess is that I'll be right around 150 when all the swelling is gone. I am sure the day of rest, yesterday, contributed to the reduction in swelling.
Once my recovery is complete, I look forward to exercise. I like 150 pounds for my weight, but I am not happy with the condition of my arms, back, abs, butt and legs after this period of inactivity. Everything is jiggling more than it used to. That said, I know once I start exercising again, I will start firming up, again. I am looking forward to that!!!!!!!!
Jack and I did make it to Macy's yesterday and I bought a new garment. It seems to be more supportive than the spanx I purchased earlier and more comfortable than my surgeon issued compression garment. I am going to give it a whirl tomorrow. I'll bring my other garments to work in case I have to change into them mid-day.
I did a little on-line research on scar therapy. Most of the plastic surgeons say the same thing - use silicone, and most say that the best product to use is the scar away sheets. That is exactly what I am doing, so I feel confident that I am doing the right thing, there. There is no visible scarring around my areolas and when I used the scar away around them, the skin puckered a little bit, so I no longer have the scar away tape on my areolas, but I am using it everywhere else. I am doing massage therapy on all of my scars, as well. I will call the surgeon's nurse on Monday and ask her about using the scar away on the areola incisions. All in all, after 5 days of treatment with Scar Away, all of my scars are flatter and narrower. Yeah!
I just looked at the photos I took of myself 3 days post op, compared to today. Wow, what a difference. There was so much swelling, particularly in my tummy. Everyday is better than the last.
That's it for today's progress report. Yep, it's boring. The word "boring" pretty much sums up recovery from surgery. Boring and uncomfortable. But when it comes to surgery recovery, boring is good. If it were exciting, that would mean trouble, and we don't need trouble.
Until tomorrow...
Have a beautiful day!
Saturday, January 9, 2016
1/9/2016: Blessed be the Weekends!!
I am so glad it is Saturday. That was a long week!! I worked shorter days than normal, but not a lot shorter. I got to work between 7:00 and 7:30 each morning and left between 2:30 and 3:30 each day. I think one day I made it until 4:00. As the week went along, I got more and more tired. I was so glad when I got home last night and knew I would not have to go out of the house until Monday morning, unless I wanted to.
We are going to go on one shopping trip today. I am going to try to find a girdle type garment that is more comfortable than the garment I am wearing but has more support than the spanx. I wore the spanx to work yesterday, but by about 2:00 my belly was really hurting. The nurse said this would happen, but I didn't quite understand what she was talking about until it happened. The compression garment prevents fluid from building up in my abdomen, and the spanx does not provide quite enough pressure on my belly to keep the swelling down. Her advice was to bring my other garments to work and change into one of them when my stomach started hurting. Since my tummy started to hurt about 1 1/2 hours before I knew I was going to leave, I just put my abdominal binder on over my spanx. That helped a lot. It was uncomfortable to sit in my chair with the abdominal binder on, but it sure made my tummy feel a lot better. It would be great to find a nice compromise between the compression garment and the spanx that will get me through the next few weeks with relative comfort at work.
Rumor has it (according to the surgeon and his nurse) that I will start noticing a very rapid progression in my healing sometime prior to the end of week six. Tomorrow will be the end of week 4. I'm ready!!!
The Scar Away strips continue to work their magic. There is no doubt that the scars are already flatter and narrower. It's been pretty impressive. I read the instructions again. They recommend using the strips for 8 weeks on new scars. That's a long time, but tomorrow will be the end of week one, so it is going pretty fast. The strips are not uncomfortable, it is just a time consuming process each morning. I received the rest of the strips that I ordered in the mail yesterday, so I have an eight week supply. I am pretty excited that the scar therapy (I am also massaging the scars for about 20 minutes each day) is already working and I am confident that the scarring will be minimal by the time this is over.
The only thing I am having trouble visualizing is what everything will look like once the swelling and inflammation is gone for good. I have at least two more months before the swelling is done. I think the two things I am looking forward to are a little less fullness in my breasts and getting rid of the puffiness in my lower belly. Time, time, time, is on my side, yes it is!! Patience, Roberta, patience!!
This weekend will be about one thing: Rest. I think resting on the weekends will be essential to a quick recovery, since being at work is so tiring.
We watched two more episodes of Star Trek last night, "What are Little Girls Made Of?" and "Miri." I don't quite get where they came up with the title, "What are Little Girls Made Of?" It'll be interesting to see how many of the 79 episodes include there being two Captain Kirks. I've watched the first 8 episodes and there have been two Captain Kirks in 2 of them. That's 25%! It appears to be a common theme! We'll see what the Star Ship Enterprise has in store for its crew, today!
Have a beautiful day!!
We are going to go on one shopping trip today. I am going to try to find a girdle type garment that is more comfortable than the garment I am wearing but has more support than the spanx. I wore the spanx to work yesterday, but by about 2:00 my belly was really hurting. The nurse said this would happen, but I didn't quite understand what she was talking about until it happened. The compression garment prevents fluid from building up in my abdomen, and the spanx does not provide quite enough pressure on my belly to keep the swelling down. Her advice was to bring my other garments to work and change into one of them when my stomach started hurting. Since my tummy started to hurt about 1 1/2 hours before I knew I was going to leave, I just put my abdominal binder on over my spanx. That helped a lot. It was uncomfortable to sit in my chair with the abdominal binder on, but it sure made my tummy feel a lot better. It would be great to find a nice compromise between the compression garment and the spanx that will get me through the next few weeks with relative comfort at work.
Rumor has it (according to the surgeon and his nurse) that I will start noticing a very rapid progression in my healing sometime prior to the end of week six. Tomorrow will be the end of week 4. I'm ready!!!
The Scar Away strips continue to work their magic. There is no doubt that the scars are already flatter and narrower. It's been pretty impressive. I read the instructions again. They recommend using the strips for 8 weeks on new scars. That's a long time, but tomorrow will be the end of week one, so it is going pretty fast. The strips are not uncomfortable, it is just a time consuming process each morning. I received the rest of the strips that I ordered in the mail yesterday, so I have an eight week supply. I am pretty excited that the scar therapy (I am also massaging the scars for about 20 minutes each day) is already working and I am confident that the scarring will be minimal by the time this is over.
The only thing I am having trouble visualizing is what everything will look like once the swelling and inflammation is gone for good. I have at least two more months before the swelling is done. I think the two things I am looking forward to are a little less fullness in my breasts and getting rid of the puffiness in my lower belly. Time, time, time, is on my side, yes it is!! Patience, Roberta, patience!!
This weekend will be about one thing: Rest. I think resting on the weekends will be essential to a quick recovery, since being at work is so tiring.
We watched two more episodes of Star Trek last night, "What are Little Girls Made Of?" and "Miri." I don't quite get where they came up with the title, "What are Little Girls Made Of?" It'll be interesting to see how many of the 79 episodes include there being two Captain Kirks. I've watched the first 8 episodes and there have been two Captain Kirks in 2 of them. That's 25%! It appears to be a common theme! We'll see what the Star Ship Enterprise has in store for its crew, today!
Have a beautiful day!!
Friday, January 8, 2016
1/8/2016: Pictures!
Ok, so these are not the greatest pictures in the world, but at least it gives you an idea of my results. Here I am, 3 and 1/2 weeks after surgery (There is still considerable swelling, so results are not final, but I like what I see, so far!). I've also added my "start" photo from February 26, 2012, for reference. I've come a long way!!
In spite of it being morning, I look a little tired because it is Friday, and this is the end of my first week back at work. It has taken it's toll. I am looking forward to a weekend in my recliner. I wonder how many Star Trek episodes I can watch in one weekend. I've watched the first 5!! It's been a lot of fun. Who remembers, "Mudd's Women?"
In spite of it being morning, I look a little tired because it is Friday, and this is the end of my first week back at work. It has taken it's toll. I am looking forward to a weekend in my recliner. I wonder how many Star Trek episodes I can watch in one weekend. I've watched the first 5!! It's been a lot of fun. Who remembers, "Mudd's Women?"
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| 1/8/2016 - 3 1/2 weeks after surgery |
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| 1/8/2016 - 3 1/2 weeks after surgery |
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| 2/26/2012 - my "Start" photo |
Thursday, January 7, 2016
1/7/2016: Recovery and Work
Work is wearing me out. By about 3:00 in the afternoon I am wiped out. I've been leaving work between 3:00 and 4:00 (I've been getting in around 7:30) and going home to collapse in my recliner. Prior to crawling into my recliner and covering myself with my electric blanket (Have I told you how much I love my electric blanket? It is awesome!) I exchange my girdle-like compression garment for my abdominal compression garment. Both are uncomfortable but they are uncomfortable in different ways, so it is a bit of a relief to have a 2 -3 hour window when I am out of the girdle-garment. I put it back on before I go to bed. I don't really mind sleeping in it. I've gotten used to that.
Recovery at this point is a slog. I spend an hour every morning on my scar therapy routine. The Scar Away seems to be working somewhat magically. The scars are already less raised, though I did notice a very dark, thin red line running through the scars that I did not notice before. I think that the line was always there, but it wasn't visible because of the scar tissue that had formed around and over it. As the Scar Away does its job and the scars become less bulky, the line is a little more noticeable. I was getting anxious to start my scar therapy prior to Monday's doctor's appointment. I am glad to have my instructions, now, and that I am doing something every day to minimize the appearance of the scars, in the long term. I really do want to do everything I can to maximize my results.
My mornings aren't bad. I start the day feeling rested and strong. I start to fade by about 10:00AM, though, and by noon I wish I could just pack it in and go home. I struggle through the afternoon and by 3:00 I really am ready to call it quits. It would help if I get up from my desk and walk more. I need to make a point of doing that, starting today.
I had a bad case of the munchies last night. There was not any good reason for this, other than the fact that I was hurting and tired and frustrated after what felt like a really long day at work. I ate a handful of nuts when I got home, then my dinner. I was no longer hungry but still wanted to eat. I shouldn't have eaten anything else and it is a very good thing that I have decided to never eat sugar again because I know if I looked I would have found chocolate in this house somewhere. I have it on good authority that Jack is keeping a private stash hidden away. I didn't look for chocolate and I really wasn't craving something sweet, I just wanted to crunch on something. That's when I remembered the plantain chips I had made that were in a plastic bag on top of the fridge. I got a big handful of plantain chips out of the bag and crunched on those while I was watching the 3rd episode of Star Trek, "Where No Man Has Gone Before." The chips were good because they were crunchy and salty. They were bad because I ate more calories than I should have. Oh well, they didn't contain any added sugars. We all have our moments and if in my weak moments I eat homemade plantain chips (I thinly slice plantains, toss them in coconut oil, sprinkle with sea salt and bake them until browned and crispy) then so be it. I do weigh more today than I did yesterday. Bloating? Caused by the salt? Caused by extra calories? Caused by a hormone imbalance from naturally occurring sugars in the plantains? Caused by the stress of working all day? Who knows? All I know is I will be glad when the recovery is complete and working an 8 hour day is no longer painful and exhausting.
I'm enjoying the Star Trek episodes. I have watched the first three. They are: Man Trap, Charlie X, and Where No Man Has Gone Before. I don't remember these episodes at all. I am guessing that the early episodes aren't the ones they reran all the time when we were kids. It really is fun to be able to see all 79 episodes in order. I know what I will do to pass the time in the afternoon and evenings as I finish my recovery!
That's it for now. I'm headed to work. Wish me luck.
Have a beautiful day!
Recovery at this point is a slog. I spend an hour every morning on my scar therapy routine. The Scar Away seems to be working somewhat magically. The scars are already less raised, though I did notice a very dark, thin red line running through the scars that I did not notice before. I think that the line was always there, but it wasn't visible because of the scar tissue that had formed around and over it. As the Scar Away does its job and the scars become less bulky, the line is a little more noticeable. I was getting anxious to start my scar therapy prior to Monday's doctor's appointment. I am glad to have my instructions, now, and that I am doing something every day to minimize the appearance of the scars, in the long term. I really do want to do everything I can to maximize my results.
My mornings aren't bad. I start the day feeling rested and strong. I start to fade by about 10:00AM, though, and by noon I wish I could just pack it in and go home. I struggle through the afternoon and by 3:00 I really am ready to call it quits. It would help if I get up from my desk and walk more. I need to make a point of doing that, starting today.
I had a bad case of the munchies last night. There was not any good reason for this, other than the fact that I was hurting and tired and frustrated after what felt like a really long day at work. I ate a handful of nuts when I got home, then my dinner. I was no longer hungry but still wanted to eat. I shouldn't have eaten anything else and it is a very good thing that I have decided to never eat sugar again because I know if I looked I would have found chocolate in this house somewhere. I have it on good authority that Jack is keeping a private stash hidden away. I didn't look for chocolate and I really wasn't craving something sweet, I just wanted to crunch on something. That's when I remembered the plantain chips I had made that were in a plastic bag on top of the fridge. I got a big handful of plantain chips out of the bag and crunched on those while I was watching the 3rd episode of Star Trek, "Where No Man Has Gone Before." The chips were good because they were crunchy and salty. They were bad because I ate more calories than I should have. Oh well, they didn't contain any added sugars. We all have our moments and if in my weak moments I eat homemade plantain chips (I thinly slice plantains, toss them in coconut oil, sprinkle with sea salt and bake them until browned and crispy) then so be it. I do weigh more today than I did yesterday. Bloating? Caused by the salt? Caused by extra calories? Caused by a hormone imbalance from naturally occurring sugars in the plantains? Caused by the stress of working all day? Who knows? All I know is I will be glad when the recovery is complete and working an 8 hour day is no longer painful and exhausting.
I'm enjoying the Star Trek episodes. I have watched the first three. They are: Man Trap, Charlie X, and Where No Man Has Gone Before. I don't remember these episodes at all. I am guessing that the early episodes aren't the ones they reran all the time when we were kids. It really is fun to be able to see all 79 episodes in order. I know what I will do to pass the time in the afternoon and evenings as I finish my recovery!
That's it for now. I'm headed to work. Wish me luck.
Have a beautiful day!
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
1/6/2016: Is it my imagination?
I used the scar away strips for one day and I could swear that the scars look better already. Is that possible? The product is a pain in the ass, if you happen to have a lot of scars, like I do. As I was cutting the strips to size and placing them over all of my scars I was impressed by the amount of cutting and sewing that was done on my body. It took a while to get scar treatment on every single scar. As a result, my morning routine is lengthy. No more jump in the shower, towel off, get dressed and head out the door for me. This morning it took an hour (not including breakfast and blogging) to:
- Remove my garment
- Remove all of the scar away strips, wash them, and lay them out to dry
- Scar Away strips can be washed and reused for a week. Good thing, too, they are expensive. I just ordered enough of them from Amazon to get me through until I should be done using them. Between the two boxes I bought at CVS and the rest that I just ordered from Amazon, I've spent about $300 on Scar Away. It'll be worth it, though, if the treatment really does soften scars and minimize their appearance.
- Massage all scars, my belly, and the lipo area of my thighs with lotion. Use a lot of pressure. I massage myself until my arms and hands start to ache.
- Shower
- After breakfast - reapply all of the Scar Away strips
- Put garment back on and get dressed.
I have decided to start getting up at 4:00AM instead of 5:00AM to give myself plenty of time to complete my full scar treatment routine and not feel rushed. This was normally my exercise time, but since I can't exercise, it makes sense to use this time for other self-care. Also, this way I will be in the habit of waking up at 4:00AM once I am released for exercise.
I've had a couple of people ask me if I will go to the bowling alley tonight to watch my team bowl. The answer to that question is, "No." By the end of the work day I am EXHAUSTED! Last night Jack commented that he wasn't sure if I was going to make it to my recliner before I collapsed. Ugh. It is going to be a long haul. I am hoping that by next week I will feel strong enough to go over there at least for a little while. We'll see.
I think the swelling is starting to go down a little bit. This morning I weighed 154.4 pounds. I am being very careful not to overeat, but I am not dieting with the intent to lose weight. I am eating a very clean diet to try to minimize inflammation and swelling. My best guess is that I should weigh about 150 after all of the swelling is gone. I weighed 155.6 (or was it 155.4?) the morning of my surgery. I am weighing every morning to monitor the swelling and inflammation, as much as anything.
The comments I've received from friends at work have all been positive. There are a few people that have commented on the exact same thing that I see when I look in the mirror, I look like a smaller person. It really is interesting, considering the fact that right now I essentially weigh exactly what I weighed going into surgery, so, technically, I am the same size. But now it is more compact. I no longer appear top heavy. With my breasts smaller and higher, my whole body looks smaller and more youthful. The diastasis repair had a dramatic impact on the width of my abdomen. Even though the muscle separation was minimal, the repair made my mid-section noticeably narrower. And the belly bulge is gone. All in all, I do look smaller and more youthful. Quite frankly, I don't think the casual observer would notice anything dramatically different, which is fine by me, but the differences are there. As I said before, one of the most dramatic differences is how clothes fit. I can now wear just about anything I want to wear. It's pretty fun. It'll be even more fun when the swelling is gone and I can start exercising again. I am looking forward to getting this new body fit and toned!!
It's raining ice outside. Yuck. The drive to work is going to be a bitch. I am not looking forward to that at all. It'll get warm enough during the day to make the drive home fairly easy.
I guess that's it for now.
Have a beautiful day!
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
1/5/16: Three Weeks Post-Op
I started a New Year's Day post several days ago, on New Year's Day, to be precise. I still don't have it done. I will try to finish it tonight.
In the meantime, I went back to work yesterday and I had my three week post-op checkup. The results? All systems normal.
It is as exciting and as boring as all that. Normal. I am healing per plan and there are no abnormalities to be concerned about.
Notes from the meeting with the doctor:
In the meantime, I went back to work yesterday and I had my three week post-op checkup. The results? All systems normal.
It is as exciting and as boring as all that. Normal. I am healing per plan and there are no abnormalities to be concerned about.
Notes from the meeting with the doctor:
- Expect swelling to last at least three months.
- When I raise my arms over my head there is a slight indentation at the vertical scars under my breasts - this is due to swelling and will go away. Also, the scars will soften with massage and time.
- There is a "transition area" at the scar on my belly. Below the incision is skin on pelvic bone, above the scar is belly, so there is a slight bulge right above the scar. There will always be a "transition area" but the bulge will get smaller when the swelling is gone. Compared to the hanging skin that was there, this is nothing.
- Leggings, socks, garments, and anything that presses against me leaves indentations in my skin. This is a sign of swelling. I really am ready for the swelling to be done, but there is nothing to do but wait.
- Start scar therapy
- Massage all scars with lotion and a decent amount of pressure every day. Concentrate on the ends of the incisions, where skin was gathered a little bit. Daily massage will make a huge difference in overall appearance and feel of scars in the long run.
- Use Scar Away on all scars every day. Scar Away is an adhesive patch that contains silicone that sticks to the scars. Keep on scars at least 12 hours a day every day.
- Keep wearing compression garments
- I have three garments now: A compression girdle that goes from rib cage to knees, a compression garment just for my abdomen, and a spanx girdle. Most of the time I will wear the compression girdle. For a few hours a day, in the evening I will wear the abdominal garment to put more pressure on the belly scar, and when I want to dress up a little, I can wear the spanx. He said to use my best judgment.
- I will be glad when I don't have to wear garments anymore.
- My new bras were approved by the doctor (That was good news!). No underwires allowed for now (not that I need them anymore!).
- I should be able to start exercising in 3 more weeks, this includes bowling.
- I can start taking short walks now, but I need to pay attention to swelling. The nurse suggested that I start with short walks and gradually increase the distance and speed so that by the time I am released to exercise I am ready to go.
- I will start noticing rapid improvements in my strength and stamina.
- I am in the final stretch. Every day will be better.
Work was OK, but exhausting. I worked until 3:00. That was enough. By the time I got home I was ready to flake out in my recliner for the rest of the day. It was everything I had to get back up and get a pot roast going in the crock pot. I asked Jack to help me, more for motivation than anything else. We got it done. It's in the fridge, now.
That's the news. Now I have got to get that Scar Away figured out and get to work.
Have a beautiful day!
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