Category: Plastic Surgery Journey

It’s like the fucking wild west over here! I saw the doctor today as scheduled. 19 days post-op. He barely looked me over. He did look at the little wound opening but it’s not bad apparently. I had to make him look at the drain holes to make sure they were fine. He asked if I had any questions. Oh I have questions.

Can I switch to this binder (I had pulled it up on Amazon because I forgot to bring it) instead of the one they sent me home in?

As long as it’s supportive you can wear whatever you want.

Do I still need the lipo foam?

Is it bugging you?

Yes?

Then you don’t have to use it if your new binder supports your back.

I’ve been sleeping on a wedge with my shoulders and knees raised on my back but I’m a side…

You can sleep however you want.

However I want? FUCK ME. I’ve been over here on the couch carefully positioned between two wedges on my back with my arms out. And you’re telling me I could be in my bed on my side? It’s the Wild West! Wear what I want, sleep how I want. What the fuck!? I thought we had rules!

The only rule that stands is that I can’t have these bastard drains out until they are under 15cc per drain per day. Fuck. They’re around 100cc right now 🙁 I swear he put them right there so I could see what it was like to have balls.

Well, Mr C is very happy he doesn’t have to help me get in that old binder anymore. New binder is much easier to put on.

So it’s been one week since I had my tummy tuck and arm lift. I had a follow-up with the nurse this morning. Since everything looks great, I get… MORE COMPRESSION. You thought that binder was tight before — wooh, no way baby. This thing is now as tight as if you used some cable tighteners to get it cinched. Damn. Like I ain’t bending at all. Not because my abs can’t, but because I have been bound so tightly. I feel like a china doll.

So my belly button hurts. Hence I’m not napping, hence I’m posting here. I’ve been trying to get a good way to access my laptop but I just can’t. My arms need to be raised, so it makes logistics difficult. This also very much bothers my cat. The pillows take up my lap. So now whenever I go to move or get up and move the pillows or especially when I’m sitting back down, before the pillows are out, he pounces on an open lap. Poor guy.

So I’m looking great according to the nurse. They took off 15lbs total between skin and lipo. I have a very swollen hourglass. Comically swollen. Over 7lbs of what they took off was skin. Bleh. I saw the pictures. It was a lot.

I’m so glad I prepared for this surgery. I knew what to expect and I went in as prepared as I could be. The lift recliner is REQUIRED. It’s where I live. It allows me to get up and sit down on my own. It’s required. The crossfit that got my legs ready to be able to squat all my weight easily — also required. Thank GOD. If I was my old jello self, I just don’t know how I’d be getting around. Also, thank God for our tall toilets. If you have standard short toilets, you’ll want riser.

The rollator is up for debate. A walker is completely unneeded and bad for you. My doctor wants me walking upright — not hunching. Today I got in trouble for hunching too much and I thought I was doing damn good! However, the rollator is a very convenient that seat I can easily roll where ever I need it. The height of the seat makes it easy to get in and out. I use it in the kitchen to empty and clean my drains. I use it in front of the bathroom sink to clean up and brush my teeth. I use it in the bedroom to sit on when I get out of the shower and need help getting dressed. Plus I can easily move it around on my own. So I’m extremely glad I rented it. But strategically placed chairs could serve the same purpose.

I’m also glad I labeled all my medicines in layman terms. This has helped me as well as my care takers. Need a muscle relaxer? Whats it called? I don’t give a shit, it’s the one that says “muscle relaxer.” Oh and thank God for protein shakes! I’ve been living off them! Thanks to K3 who keeps ordering them for me with her Sam’s Club membership.

So it’s Saturday. I had my tummy tuck and arm lift on Wednesday. My recovery is going well. Thank goodness for all the cross fit I’ve done before hand. The back and leg muscles are doing me quite well. The “lipo-itch” is starting to kick in. Man, I want a back scratcher! But thanks to the lift chair I can easily get up and down. Well, “easily” isn’t quite right, but I can do it. Lift chair is the VIP of the household right now. I hope the inventor is making a ton of money off this product.

My poor Jack (cat) is unhappy. He hasn’t been able to sit in my lap and my niece is bugging the shit out of him. He hissed at her a minute ago. Ha. Told you to stop bugging him. He’s like 80, just let him sleep.

Thankfully I’ve been getting good sleep. The antinausea pill makes me sleepy.

So the big day is tomorrow! Tummy tuck and arm lift. 8:00 AM. Gotta be there at 7:15 AM and have three different drink mixes drank before 5:15 AM. Got it. I plan to wake up at 3:00 (it’ll be more like 3:30 before I make it downstairs), drink all the drinks that I’ve already mixed and put in the fridge. Surf Facebook while I do that. Then I’ll shower and scrub down with my antimicrobial and get dressed and ready to GO.

Yesterday they delivered the lift chair. It’s very fancy and brand new. Dear God, I hope Jack doesn’t scratch it. I also got a walker. However, today the nurse told me not to use a walker! She said I should walk hunched over for the first 24 hours. But after that I should be trying to stand up straight. She said you don’t want your abs healing all scrunched up. Makes sense. Not a total waste though. I got the walker with a seat on it. It’s the perfect height to sit at the bathroom sink and brush my teeth, freshen up, and clean my drains.

Let’s see. I took two fresh towels downstairs for cleaning up and what not. I have everything where it should be. Loads of pillows. I even bought straws. No one listed straws on their lists but they’re all using them in their videos. Big brain, that’s me 😉

I’m going to try to not watch anymore youtube videos about other people’s recoveries. It’s a bad habit I picked up. People range from “Oh I went and got starbucks on my third day” to “Kill me, this was a terrible mistake, I’m two months out and still can’t walk upright or lift my kids.”

I got this. We got this.