Here I go

Alright, so I have been allowed to start exercise, so I'm starting with walking. I'm almost totally straight now. I figured until I can stand straight enough to have the lower back natural curve back, then all I'll do is walk, no jogging or weights until then (my own call).

Compared to how fast I used to walk & run it's sad, but I have to start somewhere and this is it. I started with 20 mins at 3.0 mph at a 1% incline. Tomorrow I'll add 5 mins and the same the next day. After I hit 30 mins then I'll start upping the speed a bit until I get to 4 mph. Then I'll go back to adding time to add distance etc. for now. Yeah I'm DYING to workout good and hard again, but I'm not ready, I can feel that & I will not hurt myself. It felt GREAT to work up a little sweat (even if it sounds sad to be able to sweat walking "slow" compared to how I used to), I got a few endorphins & I felt so much better.

I did the walk with my binder on (which is probably why it's easier to work up a sweat, that thing is hot) and I didn't notice extra swelling afterward so things seem good so far. I'll update as I progress in that area. Once I can get to 3 or 4 miles I'll be a happy camper.

So...

This is crazy! Just when I finally start feeling a little better, Hubby has to go out & HURT himself! I know it was an accident, but crap!

He cut his left big toe with the chainsaw. He had went to cut up old logs on our property (that we don't know how old they are). I guess the pile shifted and his foot slid & he started falling back some. The chainsaw hit his safety boot & he stopped it. Of course they're steel toe boots. Anyway, so yea now he can't walk & he's on antibiotics & vicodin. On Tuesday he needs to contact an orthopedic surgeon to see if he'd want to reopen it & do stuff, or what. So now, of course, since I've been slammed with doing everything taking care of a big baby & my 2 girls my abs have been hurting more (aka sore again) but I'm dealing with it.

I must say though that showers without drains are very nice! My implants are dropping more, but I don't think you'd see it in pics. I can tell the extra skin at the bottom of them has decreased. I'm not sure if I'll be able to start fast-ish walking tomorrow, but I'll try.

Yay finally!

I am drain free! ADIOS KYLE!



So I had another weekly appointment today & my right drain came out. That was a BIOTCH! The stitch was quite tight & I sucked it up but dang getting the stitch out hurt! The drain itself being pulled out burned in the hole area & I actually felt it inside. The burning was only for a little bit though, and feeling it move inside was just strange (nothing bad about it though). I can deal with stinging & burning to get rid of it! So they made my binder tighter than usual (said to keep it that way for today), put extra padding around the lower ab area for extra pressure to get any liquid out today I guess. It should seal up today & that is that! FINALLY at 27 days post-op!

So that area in the previous blog with the circled area on the abs I put up. Well, that's a concern of mine. I've noticed it limits my standing straight (aka stops me from standing straight) and when it's being pulled/stretched in the center it feels like a raised area. So I asked Doc about that today & he thinks that could've been the area I injured that 2nd night post-op when I was trying to lay in bed & tensed my muscles. So I'm thinking it'll just be slower to heal & is why I'm taking longer to stand straight. Hopefully it won't stay a raised area months down the road.

My next appointment is in 4 weeks *YAY* and next week I can start doing light workouts!! THANK GOODNESS! Lawd knows my arse is getting softer than I like it (aka growing from lack of usage haha), so yay!

OH! I forgot. I asked Doc about recommended scar stuff & he said Mederma (since it's the only stuff that has been tested) you can get that at any pharmacy, over the counter. I even got a small sample & coupon. Of course I'm not starting any cream yet though, not until there are no more scabs. I might try the sample on my BA scars though [next week] since those are totally healed, to make sure I don't have a reaction.

Straightening out

Okay so I am pretty much dying to stand straight at this point. I know that others can be totally straight by now, and I've had my complications, but dang it I'm tired of it! Hubby says I'm straighter than I have been, but I'm seriously so tired of having the upper back hunched (even if it's slightly) and I want, very very badly, to be able to stand with my normal lower back curvature, but I'm nowhere near being able to do that yet.

So I've been attempting to straighten out/stretch when laying down. I'm not sure how else to really try it without hurting something or making myself sore. I lay down with one pillow & straighten out my legs (thanks Kelly for the idea). At first I wasn't so sure what I felt was trying to stretch, but I know it's definitely not just the skin. I guess it has to be the muscle repair along the top. They stitch the fascia (that is over the muscles) and pull that together, so what I am feeling, I guess, is that pulling when I try to stretch. In that picture (totally not me LOL) the circled area is where I can feel the tugging & when I lie down and am trying to stretch it's like a raised area in the center line of the upper abs. So I guess that must be the muscle repair? I guess I need to ask Doc about that Monday.

Random stuff...

The first couple weeks after a tummy tuck ANYTHING engaging the abs is the worst pain imaginable. One of the best things I learned on the message boards at makemeheal.com was how to stop sneezes. You put some pressure, press down, whatever, just below your nose. It has stopped every single sneeze in its tracks since my TT. I can be thankful for that.

Coughing is a whole different issue. It is horrible! So I must say that you have to drink as carefully as possible, that has been the only times I've coughed & it is VERY difficult [but still possible] to will yourself to stop coughing when you swallow water wrong. Honestly, if I had been getting a cold that had coughing before my surgery I would've probably tried my best to post-pone. Well no, I really couldn't change the timing with all the coordinating, but if it happens to anyone reading & you have the opportunity to schedule it for a week later or whatever, please do! You don't need that pain!

I got lucky & was only mildly nauseous when I woke after surgery, but I can't even imagine actually throwing up. That would've been painful beyond belief. I'm just sayin'! If you wake up & are nauseous tell them & they will give you things to help that!

So how I'm doing... FABULOUS! I have hope finally! My drain output has gone down dramatically. Sunday & Monday it was 150 mls a day (the thick dark red old blood), Tuesday it was thick but a lighter color & 100 mls. Wednesday even lighter, maybe pinkish, & 70 mls. Thursday it was orangeish & 45 mls. Today is mostly yellow & the output is way less (I can't put a number to it yet since it hasn't been 24 hours, however I didn't even have enough to justify emptying it this morning which is a huge change). My left implant has also started dropping, so things are getting there.

I might just be able to lose Kyle on Monday =)

I believe

I think I finally may be over the hump of the junk that has been going on, finally! Yesterday I finally had no fever & my drainage has turned more of a red Kool-Aid color instead of the same ol super dark red thick ickiness. It has also started slowing down, thank goodness.

So I believe my fever really WAS related to blood pile-up in my belly, now that it is pretty much gone my fever has went. I started those antibiotics last Wednesday so if they really were fighting some infection my fever would've been gone before the weekend was over. So that is my theory, I'm sure Doc will be glad to hear.

So, finally, I am starting to feel a bit better. Now here's to getting my drain out SOON!

20 days post-op

Well, my drainage is not slowing down yet, but my fever IS getting better. The past 2 nights I haven't needed to take anything in the middle of the night to keep my temp down & now during the day I only need 3 or 4 doses of Tylenol, so it is getting better. I have yet another appointment next Monday, we are a bit tired of driving there so often. It's kinda sad when the valet parking people start recognizing you, just sayin!

I figured my drain was getting upset, so I've named him Kyle. The stitch that had been securing that drain to me disappeared, so Doc gave me another one today & I can hardly contain my enthusiasm at having it secured to me yet again, that lovely stitch that tugs on my skin oh how I love thee. Doc doesn't seem concerned about my drainage, better out than in for sure. He has no explanation, just says that he has seen it before with some people. My specialness has to do with the fever combo I guess.

I took new pics this morning & I am really liking how things are looking. My right implant is dropping, Hubby says the left one is too, just slower. My left pec is definitely stronger & tighter than my right, but it'll get there. Doc also took off the steri-strips that had been on all incisions today, so time for more healing there. There are only a couple scabs, things look good.

Sheesh!!!

Okay so this morning at 8:30 Doc calls & wants me to do another CBC (blood test) before heading up. So we do that & head up in the freakin rain & thunderstorms the whole way, and right when we get there they get the fax with my test results. I get in a room and the nurse asks if we packed a bag implying I'm staying somewhere since we're an hour away. So of course we start freaking out because she had said I'd need a blood transfusion or something, saying that Doc was very worried etc. etc. I'm thinking about the kids & having to be alone up there because we no longer have extra help (the In-laws went home). Hubby was a weeee bit pissed at the nurse for that.

Luckily we didn't need to freak out for long because Doc comes in saying "Good news" & that was big right there. My white blood cell count is back to normal (but I'm to continue on the antibiotics anyway he says) and I'm not getting more anemic anymore. Apparently last time I was more anemic than the first time, I didn't realize that, he didn't tell me the #s. So now I'm to be popping iron pills, yay me. But things should be getting better soon.

Anyone reading this being worried and/or nervous this is how special my case is: my Doc with 15+ years experience in plastic surgery alone has not had a case like this before & had to talk to others to get more opinions, yea haha.

On a good note I got my right drain out *happy dance* That was the most annoying one! Now I do still have an appt on Monday but the output on my left is too much to get any hopes up. I'm just happy as heck to get one out! I did not feel a THING getting that baby out either, it was just sheer relief!

Now onto more healing...

Another day, more fun...

On the tummy tuck healing side I'm doing well (I think). I've started to feel little twinges along the incision area. Now having been an electrician before & knowing exactly what it feels like to get shocked, I can say they do not feel like that haha, however it's sorta similar. It's not movement related, it happens when I'm sitting perfectly still. I do believe this is what I've heard as nerves healing/regenerating and whatnot. I can almost stand atraight if I stretch out; however, I'm limited by the muscle repair. The center upper ab portion of it hurts dully if I straighten out too much, so I choose to stay hunched. I'd take back pain over front pain right now anyway, I have enough issues I'm trying to cope with. My implants are still like right at my collarbones, but eventually they'll look good.

I'm concerned about my drains, well not both, just the left one. My right one isn't putting out hardly anything now, but the left one has turned a lighter red color (not cool because it's still thick & not clear at all, more like a closer to blood color) and it is putting out way more than it had been before. I'm not drinking more water than I had been either. It was putting out 60 ml's a day which crept up & up over the past few days & is now over 100 a day with the lighter dark blood color. I also still have the fever.

We called the Doc, Hubby convinced him to call in antibiotics for me. Doc says there might have been some reason I bled internally after (either from pulling the stitches along the muscle repair &/or maybe hitting a bleeder with the little bit of lipo he had done) which could have turned into a clot which could be breaking down down (that could be the explanation of more volume of the drain output & the slightly lighter color), but he wants me in his office tomorrow morning so we're going, again and I will update again tomorrow.

At the end of my rope!

And trying my hardest to hang on, but it's getting rough. Today is 13 days post-op, fyi.

So I knew my drains were staying in, they are putting out too much & it is still the "old blood" color, craziness, but the nurse said it does happen sometimes. Maybe it's part because I am a bleeder, maybe I did cause some internal bleeding that night 1 or 2 days post-op when I tried the bed & pulled on stitches along the muscle repair [that was the worst pain I've ever experienced], maybe it's normal for me, who knows.

I'm still running a fever, it makes recovery that much more better. I've had the fever over a week now. Doc says he didn't feel a hematoma & that everything is looking good (my bruising is all getting better), but did order a CBC to see if we can get an idea of what's going on, this fever is not cool. However, he's still saying it could be the whole "excess blood in parts of body where it's not used to" could be the cause of it. I don't care, I'm just tired of it and I want to heal! I don't want the fever, I don't want the drains (which I'm stuck with for at least another week now), I want to stand straight, I want the BA to drop (but still they don't bother me, I'm just sayin'). I want to feel more normal again!

So at the current moment I'm waiting to hear back from the Doc's office on the CBC results. He had us do it at our local hospital & have them fax the results to him, so no clue how long that will take. I'm thinking of calling him soon.

I'll hang in there, I'm just sayin' the rope is hanging in a freaking hurricane...

Updates...

Okay so the fever definitely seems viral because it doesn't have a big flare up until afternoon (viruses do that), but I do run one pretty much constantly & I'm taking Tylenol & Motrin. I can't tell for sure, but I think it's getting a little better. The blood cultures they said 3-5 days & if I don't hear from them then that would be good.

I have another post-op visit on Monday but I really don't see the point because I know I won't be losing my drains. They are still putting out really dark red. I dunno, I mean of course I'll go but still, sheesh! Actually I'm hoping they aren't a cause of concern. I don't know what's going on with them.

The BA is doing good, my pecs are softening up so they will probably start going down a little bit here soon. I have minimal pain from the TT. None of my incisions bother me, mostly the pains are from the muscle repair. I can move around a little better each day, one day I'll be free from being hunched & the drains etc., just wish that was soon. The first part of healing seems to be taking a long time!

Fun! Or not..

My fever picked up again yesterday (probably because I was being more lax with the Tylenol & Motrin), so we called the Plastic Surgeon & he wound up telling us to go to the ER to get a myriad of tests. Since he's so far away there was no point in driving way up there. So after my being scared as heck & doing a 3 hour (pretty quick IMO) ER visit which included urinalysis, blood labs & cultures [need to grow for days], and chest x-rays we got... I'm okay. We think, it could be a virus *rolls eyes*. Bah! Slightly elevated white blood cell count, slightly anemic (I'm attributing that to still draining in my abdomen). So I have a fever that has gotten worse apparently (because I can not sleep well anymore probably) and we have no clue why. Boo!

Recovering from surgery wise everything is good (obviously no signs of infection since Docs have checked), minimal pain etc. I'm just tired of feeling poopie! I want the fever gone dang it, my body is busy enough healing other stuff than to deal with that too!

Turning point

I am getting more energy. I'm not sure if I'm fighting off the fever or if I'm just taking Tylenol & Motrin often enough [to keep any pains at bay] that the fever doesn't have time to really show up. Showers do not make me want to go to sleep right after now, so more energy for sure. Not much progress on the drains, but it is what it is. It even looks like the bruises are getting less colorful & going away some.

The huge difference was I told Hubby to go to Walmart yesterday & get me a cane. I can now walk for more than 1 minute before my back starts knotting all up. Of course DD#2 is asking why I'm old now, after she first asked why there aren't balls on the bottom of it (like on the movie Up). So anyway, if you have any back problems, GET ONE! It was $23 at Walmart. It even helps me stand more straight, so it is a huge improvement! I feel a lot better, even if I'm walking with a cane haha.

Fighting

It's a fight, there's no other way to put it. I'm fighting that low temp, & I don't know what it is. Last night I had the melt down from the post-op blues that people say you get so easily. If I had just had my boobs done that would be one thing, but the TT makes it way more difficult! With my appointment & not getting at least one drain out, walking hunched to where my back is spasming up like crazy (thank you scoliosis), then just needing naps every 4 hours, lack of human cuddling, being all bruised to hell now, not being able to go outside & play (due to BUG swarm season & not wanting to spray myself now), yeah... it's hard...

Then I had heard that when DD#2 was outside yesterday she kept making wishes. All she wished for was that Mommy didn't have anymore boo-boos. That was the straw on the camel's back & I broke down. No I can't cuddle as much, but I need to suck up the pain (back spasms) and do more NOW I can handle that, and I did that last night - almost our usual bedtime routine without Hubby, and promptly heating-padded my back right after.

Soon things will make a turn for the better! If I could walk with my back straight & didn't have drains it'd be so different! I did take pictures this morning, and even though I'm really bruised I'm liking it. Soon, soon...

First post-op visit

At 5:30 am I woke up with a temp of 101F! I have NO idea where that came from because there are no signs of infection & I'm not feeling sick. So took Tylenol, talked to the night Doc that was on call, showered & passed back out. I feel REALLY good and happy when I'm not fighting a headache or feeling like I had a fever for no reason.

Anyway, so went to the visit, everything looks great. They snipped off the ends of the sutures (all incisions they brought a knot out at the end) so that they can dissolve, or whatever. My TT drains are not ready to come out, not even one of them, dang it. They haven't lightened in color yet and are putting out the borderline limit. Well, I guess they have a purpose so fine, BAH! They have been really bugging me lately - they are held on by a stitch that is quite annoying when it pulls on my skin, not to mention the fact that they are just plain icky lol!

The nurse was very impressed with how I was moving around saying that I move like I haven't even had surgery (hahaha I'm sure that was exaggerating it, but it was nice), guess I can thank working out for that one. We found out we've been having the binder up too high, whoops. I also found out that the reason my sides are really bruised is that the Doc did lipo to smooth things out there! So I'm even more happy knowing he did that.

Oh I also started noticing that my swelling is going down, so yay =)

Bowel movements

I know this is a gross subject (but heck it's a bodily function and the body goes through a lot of stuff during & after surgery), but I want this to be as helpful as possible for anyone thinking about elective surgery. I have read horror stories about BMs post-op; especially the first one after a tummy tuck.

My thoughts before surgery were along the lines of - well if you really can't use your abs at all [which you can NOT] then you'll be needing some serious help! I bought Dulcolax stool softeners (narcotics like the Vicodin I was given really stop you up, and I guess sedation does too) I also bought a bottle of Magnesium Citrate (that's all at any pharmacy around the fiber, laxatives, etc. section).

The first day after surgery I started taking 3 stool softeners a day (mind you I drink a minimum of a gallon of water a day) and I was eating enough food (fibrous veggies & adding powder form of fiber to my protein shakes etc. to help) to be producing stuff, but nothing was coming out or even feeling like it was anywhere near wanting to make its way out. I decided I did not want to wait a week, get seriously uncomfortable from being stopped up. So yesterday morning I sucked it up and chugged half the bottle of Magnesium Citrate. Now, yea it tastes gross, but you also need to drink water to get things moving so just chase it with a bunch of water and the taste is gone and done. Within 3 hours of that it worked and the great relief came! Let me tell you I am so glad I did not wait any longer before doing that. I think that was part of the reason why I had such a hard time eating at all (because I was all filled up and nothing was moving out).

Anyway I figure that will hopefully be the only time that was really needed since my big plan is to not be taking anymore Vicodin. Sorry if it's gross, but I know it can be helpful!

Day 4 [I think]

I'm glad my plastic surgeon didn't limit showers or I'd be a stinky funky nastiness by now! At this point they really take a lot of energy out of you though. I could take my first shower 2 days post-op (which I did). My shower is perfect for it. If you're going into this surgery (tummy tuck) you NEED to buy a chair for a shower, mine already has seats in it. You also need one of those detachable shower heads. I sit down & Hubby stands in there, I do my hair & he hand washes everything else. I bought Dial hand soap (squirt bottle) because everything else carries more bacteria & I don't want to risk infection. So, now that I said that on to today =)

I only took Vicodin twice today and that was when I coughed. I didn't cough because I was getting sick, I apparently just can't always drink water right. Well OMFG that hurts so bad since the abs are stitched together! Bruises are developing all along my TT incision and they are annoying as crap. My belly is getting bruised too but that doesn't really hurt. Pain killers don't take away bruise pain! SO yes, I only took 2 vicodin today & I probably could have taken none if I hadn't coughed! My chest is hardly sore, I could get away with extra strength Tylenol & icing the girls & be just fine. This surgery recovery is way easier than I anticipated.

Drainage - ugh it's so gross & annoying! Last night I told Hubby that I wanted to not drain them for 24 hours to see what happened & they have slowed down considerably! Doc says a drain must put out 25 mls (or less) in 24 hrs to come out. Well on Monday I have an appointment and my right drain will be coming out! It was right at 25 today. My left one will take more time, but that will be one less to deal with.

The binder thingy that is around my whole abdomen is annoying me. But it's not too bad, just itchy at times. My boobs are so friggin HUGE! Since it's my monthly though, they have grown anyway, and since my body fat is not where I want it to be at they are bigger. So I'm hoping once I can workout & get back to my goal they will be the size I want. I'm happy with them! I just want them to drop :)

I was really tired today and am not really sure. I think I can blame it on the fact that I hadn't cuddled with Hubby to sleep since Monday night & I did that this afternoon & ever since then I couldn't wake up until now when I am supposed to be dead tired haha.