SkinnyKathy

Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers today! Post as soon as you can after you're done! Kathy

I'm so glad your healing is going well! Do you have any new pictures? Are your arms still sore or tender to the touch? Mine are, still, at 2 1/2 weeks. Not pain, exactly, but tenderness. I guess you never stop moving your arms.

I don't mind clothing on my arms, in fact I prefer it to hide my Frankenstein scars for now. I'm sure they will look better soon, but right now they look ghastly, blood mixed in with the "superglue" all along the incision line, so I am only wearing elbow-length sleeves or longer out of the house. I need more lightweight, opaque, long-sleeved tops! When I went shopping at Target today I bought one but even that one you can sort of see that I am wearing a sports bra underneath. I have one t-shirt that is perfect. Smooth, comfy stretch, totally opaque, classy material with lace detail, V-neck which shows off the girls nicely! I wish I had 4 more of it in different colors, I would wear it every day! Oh and an incision in my left underarm is bleeding a little. I really need to be careful with these arms. In contrast to my arms, my breasts look awesome! When the doctor took the steri-strips yesterday I was left with perfectly clean, fairly faint incisions! My implants are still riding high, and my breasts are still a little squarish, but I understand that will settle out soon enough. In a bra they look fine. Tummy tuck continues to be almost a non-issue, both vertical and horizontal incisions. No pain, only a little itching. I'm putting Bacatracain on the incisions. Left drain is still putting out slowly. The biggest problem I'm having now is sleep, or lack thereof. The last two nights I haven't been able to get to sleep until 3am, which is very unusual for me. It's not pain that's keeping me awake, but a vague feeling of chronic discomfort and being physically "stuck" or "clogged up". I think it's the swelling and lack of drainage. Maybe toxins building up in my system with no way to clear. It doesn't bother me as much during the day but at night it keeps me awake. I SOOOO desperately want to do some yoga stretches to wring out my system but there is no way I can do that yet. Last night I woke up my husband in the middle of the night and asked him to massage my arms and legs. That helped a bit, and I got to sleep after that. I think I am going to ask for a nightly massage for the next few days. I'm scheduled to go to a professional massage therapist for post-surgical myofascial release and lymphatic drainage massage in another week. 3 weeks post-op is the soonest she will do it, and my first appointment is exactly 3 weeks. I hear it can be painful but really helps.

Janiece, it sounds like you're really prepared! You'll do great! Thanks for posting your pictures. I can't wait to see your after results. My surgery (TT with anchor incision, mons lift, breast lift with implants, arm lift, lipo on thighs) has not been very painful but the arms have been the most painful part. I think that is at least in part because you're always moving them. My movement is still restricted somewhat. It makes washing my back difficult, well impossible. So just be careful with the arms and don't over-stretch too soon. I envy you gals who don't need implants. There was almost nothing left but skin in my breasts. The doctor put 550 cc implants in me and I'm really happy with the results. I asked to be a full D and I am probably a DD right now due to swelling. I'll be watching your thread for further updates!

Second post-op appointment was today (12 days post-op). The steri-strips came off my breasts, and most of the staples came out of my arms. One spot on my right underarm is a little wonky, so the doctor left two staples in on either sides of that. He also left my one remaining drain in, no surprise there. It is still putting out about 40 cc/day. I am super duper swollen today. All my skin all over is sensitive because of it. I think this must be what people mean when they talk about swell hell! It might be exacerbated by the fact that I have been running around quite a lot, doing errands, cooking, meetings, etc like normal. The only thing I'm not doing is any heavy lifting, or even moderate lifting for that matter. For example, I'm still making my husband and kids do the laundry! I have a job interview tomorrow afternoon. I went through all my clothes to find something with long sleeves that fits properly. Turns out I don't have much with long sleeves!

I just ordered two Marena surgical bras and one Leonisa mid-thigh body shaper. Will have to see how those work out. :-)

My doctor switched me from Ace bandages to a sports bra at my post-op appointment a week after surgery. My mom lent me some of hers that are a few sizes too big for me, but being loose suited me just fine because trying to put on a properly snug sports bra with sutures and staples on the arm just didn't sound like a good idea. I just ordered some that should fit me fine, but I'm a little scared to try them on just yet. I think I will stick with the too-large sports bras for a little while longer. Would you believe it that I didn't own a sports bra in my current size? I always exercised in a regular bra. Since the girls didn't really have much mass left behind them, it didn't matter. Now, with implants, I can see that I will never exercise without a sports bra again. I have mass on my chest once again!

I'm also getting a little tired of wearing long sleeves (out of the house) in August, but at least we're having a very cool late summer here in the SF Bay Area. I actually don't have many tops I can wear right now! Most of my long-sleeve tops are sweaters, which I'm afraid will catch on my arms staples, in addition to being too hot. Yesterday I was going to wear a long-sleeved fitted cotton blouse that I wore before my surgery, but I found that right now it does not fit me across the boobs! I think it will fit OK after my swelling subsides. My boobs feel engorged like right after my kids were born. Not painful exactly, just very, very full and kinda hard.

I agree. Don't go with a surgeon you don't feel comfortable with. Sounds like you would qualify for a panniculectomy covered by insurance. Keep looking for a doctor that will work with you and your insurance company, and that you feel comfortable with.

Hi Kirsten, I'm doing good! Getting out and about more and more even though I still have staples in my arms and a drain in my hips. Yesterday I had a career networking event and a board meeting where I had to dress nicely. It was a challenge putting together an outfit that fit my differently-shaped body, looked professional, and hid my arms and drain. I ended up sticking the drain in my bra LOL. I wore heavy duty Spanx but not my binder while I was out. It went fine but I was pretty tired when I got home. Still not too bad for 9-days after major surgery like that. Ironically, my sorest part of my body right now is my lower arms. Yes, that's not a typo. My lower arms, not my upper arms where the arm lift was. My doctor has me wrapping my upper arms with an Ace bandage, and I think it is causing some kind of fluid backup in my lower arms. Sometimes I look like I have Popeye arms! I've started wrapping my upper arms less tightly and that helps, but even unwrapped my lower arms are tender to the touch. I have my next doc appointment on Tuesday. I'm hoping to get the staples out then, as well as the tape on my breast incisions. I'm not sure if he will take out my remaining drain or not, though. Maybe not since I only have one. As far as pain meds, I'm only taking Advil at night to help me sleep. I'm sleeping in bed now, as I really hate sleeping in the recliner. But I can only sleep on my back, which I don't like. I can't wait until I can sleep on my side again! I tried rolling gently onto my side and it was like, ouch, nope! Not gonna try that again for a while at least.

Naw, Janiece, it's really not that bad. Just stay on top of your pain medications, take it easy, and line up more support than you think you need to help you out. It's always better to have more support and not need it than the other way around. I had my mom on call for all this week but I haven't really needed her other than someone to do grocery shopping. I did need someone by my side for the first three days. Luckily my husband took Friday off and was around all weekend. I couldn't go to the bathroom without help! This is my second major plastic surgery, and I have to say, in my experience at least, the pain is not that bad. I'm glad I decided to get a lot of work done at once so I can get all this recovery over with at once. I do still have one more surgery I need as soon as I can afford it: a thigh/hips/back lift (to turn my tummy tuck into a lower body lift) and medial thigh lift. In my drain drama, my right hip drain is definitely dead. I called the doctor's office this morning, and he is in surgery all day. So I have an appointment first thing tomorrow morning. So today I am carrying around one working drain and one dead drain. My working drain isn't producing nearly as much fluid today as it did a few days ago. I think I'm healing well and there just isn't much fluid production, which is normal. So I am going to think positive, smooth-healing thoughts...

My post-op appointment today went great. The doctor took out my other arm drain, stitches, and dressings. Everything looks good. I got the ok to take a shower! That felt amazing! Then this evening I was sitting down, not moving, working on my iPad when I hear a "pop" sound. My right hip drain lost suction. I investigate, and the drain is just about to fall out. What is it with me and drains? I had this problem with my panniculectomy, so I was being super careful with the drains this time, and I've already lost one (day before it would have been removed anyway) and I'm about to lose another. I'll have to call in the morning and go back to my doctor's office. Nothing is being sucked or drained from that side anymore. I can see the stitch that the drain was connected to my skin is now about two inches from my skin. So my tubing has pulled out two inches. This drain on the right side was producing a lot less than the left side. At first I thought that's just the way it was, and the doctor wasn't concerned when he saw my log. But now I wonder if this side wasn't draining properly from the beginning. If I sound paranoid about my drains, it's because when i had my panniculectomy, I lost one of two drains prematurely, and then six weeks later I developed severe seromas. Like, the biggest my doctor had ever seen. He had to pull literally a quart a Fluid out of me, then two days later another quart, then two days later another quart. Finally I went back I to the hospital under light sedation and they put a new drain in me. Then I lost THAT drain! But by then my body was doing a decent job of managing the fluid build-up, and I was on antibiotics and dieuretics, and eventually the problem went away. But I really don't want to go through that again!!! So I have been taking careful care of these drains, treating them gingerly, so they would last. I can't believe I would lose a drain when I was doing absolutely nothing! Ugh! Ok, rant over. LOL. In other news, I did some light grocery shopping today but mostly took it more easy than yesterday. Rested quite a lot. I'm feeling nearly pain-free, my swelling is manageable, and my head is clear. I just don't have the stamina that I had before surgery, but heck, it's not even been a week yet! I think that's pretty dang good.

Today is 5 days post-op. I've been feeling pretty good but I think I overdid it today. Now I'm feeling really tired and very swollen. My abdomen feels like someone inflated a balloon right under my skin. I have less overall swelling than I had in the days immediately afterwards (for example, my hands don't look nearly so bad, although I'm still not wearing my wedding ring yet) but the swelling now is very localized to my abdomen. Actually, the feeling reminds me of the feeling of being engorged in the breasts a few days after my children were born and my milk was just coming in. Tomorrow is my post-op appointment. I am hoping that he takes the other arm drain out and OKs me to take a shower. Actually, right now I would give my eye-teeth (do teeth have eyes?) for a nice hot shower. I wouldn't even mind my other two drains being there. It will just feel great to be fully clean again. Wipes aren't the same. My pain levels are quite manageable but I guess my patience is starting to wear thin. I want to be able to do more than I actually can right now, which leads me to overdoing it. I haven't even left the house, but my sister reminds me that it is quite possible to overdo it without leaving the house. OK, I guess cooking dinner - grilling salmon in the backyard - might have been a wee bit too much. Here are some pictures I took yesterday with my binders off. I am still quite swollen. It is hard to see, but my stomach is quite flat whereas it had all kinds of skin folds before. I still have very pronounced hips, with bulges there and on my upper thighs. These will be address in a second operation some time in the future. Taking the tummy tuck around to the back and a medial thigh lift. So this tummy tuck didn't go very far to the sides.

I'm doing OK. I have new pictures of my whole body to post on my thread just as soon as I redact the naughty bits LOL. My left arm drain fell out yesterday, but it had only produced a few ccs in the previous 24 hours. My right arm drain is still in and it has produced only about 15 ccs in the past 24 hours. I'm hoping the doctor takes it out in my post-op appointment tomorrow. My two lower drains are still producing a lot, especially the left, and so I expect those will stay in for another week. I'm hoping to be given the clearance to take a shower though, That is what I am most wishing for these days!

Wow, those are looking great! Seems like you're healing just fine. I also have one nipple higher than the other. I'm hoping they will settle out more evenly, but if not, I will have them revised when I go in for my second operation.

In direct answer to your question, at the time of my TT I was 15 pounds above my stated goal, which was somewhat arbitrary anyway. I had been at and below my goal but had bounced up for a variety of reasons.

It's really up to you. I was not quite as low as I wanted to be for my plastic surgery but the timing was right so I went for it. If I lose more weight now I will run the risk of having some looser skin later on. I actually had a panniculectomy after I had lost about 80 pounds, so I definitely continued to get more and more loose skin afterwards. My recent surgery (tummy tuck with anchor incision, breast lift with implants, arms lift, mons lift, lipo on the thighs) was after 240 pounds lost. But I knew I needed to have my resculpting surgeries in two stages. I don't regret having the panni much earlier even though it meant that this TT was entirely out of pocket. Most surgeons want you to be at a stable weight before they will operate on you. Again, this was waived in the case of my panni as I was still losing (I had so much loose skin that my rashes kept getting worse and worse - a very ), but I was at a more or less stable weight for this surgery. The plastic surgery itself will take off anywhere from a few to more than 10 pounds, but you don't see those results on the scale for some time afterwards due to swelling. I would say get to the point where you feel comfortable with your body minus the loose skin, and/or to the point that you think will be your lowest.

I've been wrapped up with just Ace bandages on my arms, breast, torso, and thighs. I have a corset-like binder on my abdomen. But the Ace bandages were starting to come unraveled, and so I called my doctor's office and they said to rewrap them. As I was doing that, the drain from my left arm fell out. It wasn't producing much Fluid into the drain, now 4 days post-op. It had been leaking small amounts steadily since I came home. Anyway, right now I am waiting to hear back from the doctor's office on what they want me to do. In the meantime, I took a picture of the girls and my waist. I still haven't taken the corset-like binder off, but I folded it down a little bit to get a better look at my middle with the vertical incision. I'm still waiting for the OK to take a shower. That will be much appreciated when I get the all clear!

Kirsten, how long before you could take a shower?

I just have Ace bandages around my arms, breasts, and thighs. I have a corset-like compression garment around my abdomen. It keeps sliding up above my horizontal tummy tuck incision though. I'm pulling it down every time I get up to go to the bathroom.

Not too revealing but this is as much as I've seen myself so far. But my tummy is flat and my boobs are full!

Two nights sleep under my belt and I'm doing fine. Swelling is definitely increased now, I can see it in my hands even. I'm drinking a lot of fluids and staying away from sodium to try to keep it manageable. Surprisingly enough, I have almost no pain below the waist, even though that's where my yummy tuck and lipo on the thighs was. I heard that lipo can be painful but I feel almost nothing on my thighs, I've even crossed my legs. Most of my discomfort is in my arms and upper chest. Perhaps that's because I keep using my arms, but even when I walk around I very little discomfort in my abdomen and legs.

I just got a good look at my body in the mirror. Even through bandages and pajamas I can hardly believe that is me! I'm surprised at how manageable the pain is, too. Of course I'm taking my pain meds as prescribed but I'm really not feeling too bad or too loopy either. So far so great!

It's done! Surgery went well yesterday and I came home yesterday evening. I have four drains in me. I'm sore and uncomfortable but the pain isn't too bad. I am taking Vicodin every four hours. I haven't got a good look at my new body yet as I am still bandaged up pretty good, but I feel very different underneath the bandages and pajamas. I'll post pictures as soon as I'm able to take some.

Tomorrow's the big day! I'm nervous but ready!!!