Surgery: the details
I’m not entirely sure what I’m going to write here, but I have gotten some requests for more details on my abdominoplasty surgery, which I had done on March 28. I’m nearly six weeks out from surgery, and feeling very good. I’d say I’m about 90% healed, but I have a feeling the last 10% is going to take a while.
For instance, I can sleep on my stomach now, but if I stretch a certain way, I can feel it in my abdominal muscles. I know I have a lot of stitches on the inside, and that’s when I can feel them.
My scar is thin and fading, but I have to wear scar tape (like this) for another 7 weeks. Fortunately, one sheet lasts a long time.
I still have pretty intense swelling, mostly right below my belly button, and that could last for a few more months, if not longer. Right now I’m sitting here feeling like I have a pillow in my binder. Combined with the numbness (which will also last months, if not forever), it’s a very odd feeling. I had some liposuction on my hips and sides (they do this for contouring so you’re not all weird and lumpy from the abdominoplasty) and those areas, ironically, are weird and lumpy. They say the final results from that might not be seen for a year.
I’ve been to the gym a few times, but since I am still wearing my binder, it’s not terribly fun. Binders are hot, and therefore not great exercise wear. But I’m dying to run again. To see what it’s like, really. So far so good.
Speaking of the binder (and various other compression garments I’ve collected), I have to wear them 24/7 (unless I’m showering) until the 6 week mark, and then I will have a little more leeway. I will say, I’ve gained a new respect for Spanx over the past several weeks, but that’s not to say I won’t be happy to stop wearing them all the time.
What everyone really wants are before and after pictures. I think you know me well enough to understand that I’m not going to show any immodest photos. But I will share a few clothed ones.
These photos are from the boys’ birthday party in December. I’d be lying if I didn’t say these photos made me realize how badly I needed (and wanted) this surgery. I’d lost 40 pounds, and I still looked this bad? This lumpy? Weight loss and exercise weren’t cutting it, and for me, nothing short of surgery was going to repair the damage a triplet pregnancy did to my body.
I can’t believe I’m inviting everyone to examine my fat rolls here. Only because they’re gone now. Ha!
And here’s a picture from the other day.
Ah, that’s better!
So if you have any other questions about my surgery, please ask in the comments.