A Tale of Two Arm Lifts (rs & ms.sss)

[catwoman7 11,220]

13 minutes ago, rs said:

After 4 months? Dang that's a long time!

yes - it was! I really couldn't wear compression garments consistently because of the pain from those dang things!!!

[ms.sss 15,714]

@catwoman7 what brand silicone gel did you use?

[ms.sss 15,714]

7:33pm EST: Edited to change Album Name

Ok, so I wanted to show you guys a before and after of my boob cuz I just have the biggest crush on them.

However.

Bare boobs are like 18+, so I tried to de-XXX it by putting a little censoring flower-sticker on the image...BUT it hides what I think is the best part of it (the perky tip!, lol). Soooo...I instead put a cartoon filter on it, so it looks less real and more like an "artist's rendition". Hopefully this is not offensive to anyone. If it is, please let me know and I will remove it.

Anyhoo...I was going to include a link to the photo here, but it shows a preview, and I don't want to surprise anyone coming to this thread with a gratuitous boob shot. So if you want to take a look:

• go to my Profile (ms.sss)
• go to Albums
• and you can see it in the album titled "ms.sss PS pics (xxx)"

Image Caption: Notice the flat, saggy, spread-to-the-sides-of-my-body pancake-y shape of the BEFORE boob with flat wrinkly nipple VS the perky, gravity-defying 16-yrs old-ish AFTER boob w/ stand-at-attention-nipples, LOL. The line you see under the AFTER boob is not a skin-wrinkle nor fold, its my incision line, so It sorta makes it look like its resting on my torso, but in the real life picture, you would be able to see that its staying up there all on its own.

Edited January 12, 2020 by ms.sss

[rs 1,473]

7:33pm EST: Edited to change Album Name
Ok, so I wanted to show you guys a before and after of my boob cuz I just have the biggest crush on them.
However.
Bare boobs are like 18+, so I tried to de-XXX it by putting a little censoring flower-sticker on the image...BUT it hides what I think is the best part of it (the perky tip!, lol). Soooo...I instead put a cartoon filter on it, so it looks less real and more like an "artist's rendition". Hopefully this is not offensive to anyone. If it is, please let me know and I will remove it.
Anyhoo...I was going to include a link to the photo here, but it shows a preview, and I don't want to surprise anyone coming to this thread with a gratuitous boob shot. So if you want to take a look:

• go to my Profile (ms.sss)
• go to Albums
• and you can see it in the album titled "ms.sss PS pics (xxx)"

Image Caption: Notice the flat, saggy, spread-to-the-sides-of-my-body pancake-y shape of the BEFORE boob with flat wrinkly nipple VS the perky, gravity-defying 16-yrs old-ish AFTER boob w/ stand-at-attention-nipples, LOL. The line you see under the AFTER boob is not a skin-wrinkle nor fold, its my incision line, so It sorta makes it look like its resting on my torso, but in the real life picture, you would be able to see that its staying up there all on its own.

Wow! I can see why you are so happy with the results! That's awesome. And aren't you oh so clever to figure out to put a cartoon filter one the pic.

[catwoman7 11,220]

2 hours ago, ms.sss said:

@catwoman7 what brand silicone gel did you use?

ScarAway. I got my first tube of it at Walgreens. Then I noticed it was much cheaper at Walmart, so I got my second tube there...

[rs 1,473]

I finally put the silicone tape on. I like it. Thought it would be uncomfortable under the arms but it isn't. And I think I'll be able to wear my bras without having a tank top underneath them for the side incision chafing.

[ms.sss 15,714]

17 hours ago, rs said:

I finally put the silicone tape on. I like it. Thought it would be uncomfortable under the arms but it isn't. And I think I'll be able to wear my bras without having a tank top underneath them for the side incision chafing.

After my shower today, I'm going to put mine on too.

I dunno, ever since they took my steri-strips off, my arms have been feeling achy and painful along the incisions. And to a lesser extent, my tummy incisions. I'm not sure if it's just coincidence or not...as I started massaging in earnest at the same time too.

[ms.sss 15,714]

4 hours ago, ms.sss said:

After my shower today, I'm going to put mine on too.

I dunno, ever since they took my steri-strips off, my arms have been feeling achy and painful along the incisions. And to a lesser extent, my tummy incisions. I'm not sure if it's just coincidence or not...as I started massaging in earnest at the same time too.

Ok, I changed my mind about using the silicone tape right now.

I did a bit of reading (both online and the literature in the box of silicone sheets) and decided it's still a little early for me to put them on my incisions. I've still got sections that are scabbed over or freshly un-scabbed (very light pink skin that looks like it needs to heal a bit more) so am going to wait unitl I see my surgeon again at my in 2 wks, or when my scabs & pink skin are gone, whichever come first.

On another note, after my shower, I decided to do my hair for like the first time since surgery, meaning I put product in it, blow dried it and used a flat Iron (for the past 3+ weeks I've just been air drying and brushing to the side). And surprise, surprise, my arms felt loose and un-achy. So today's lesson is that I need to raise my arms more and not baby them like I've been doing so much lately and I will feel better 🙄

And on another, another note, I went for a 5.5km walk this morning and thought I would try to run the last kilometre. Wasn't the best run as I was wearing winter boots and they aren't very bendy, and I was being light-footed because it was icy (so it felt more like dancing than running, lol), but I was glad to be able to run even just a little and get my heart pumping. Also I really like running with the abdominal binder on, makes my core feel strong....

Edited January 13, 2020 by ms.sss

[rs 1,473]

16 hours ago, ms.sss said:

I've still got sections that are scabbed over or freshly un-scabbed (very light pink skin that looks like it needs to heal a bit more) so am going to wait unitl I see my surgeon again at my in 2 wks, or when my scabs & pink skin are gone, whichever come first.

Uh oh mine are like that too. But my Dr said it was ok. And it really does feel so much better having it on. It's like a very light weight compression garment with no chafing. Just feels good to have everything held together. It's hard to get it to stay down near the elbows after awhile though. Some of it rolls/lifts and it's sticky. I haven't figured out how to make it stay.

[ms.sss 15,714]

4 hours ago, rs said:

Uh oh mine are like that too. But my Dr said it was ok. And it really does feel so much better having it on. It's like a very light weight compression garment with no chafing. Just feels good to have everything held together. It's hard to get it to stay down near the elbows after awhile though. Some of it rolls/lifts and it's sticky. I haven't figured out how to make it stay.

... I want that held-together feeling back that my steri-stips gave me too!!!

Man, so much conflicting information. I wish there was a standard everyone can agree on .

K, new decision: I'm going to wait until the weekend, and if I'm still scabby & pink AND the achiness hasn't gone away, then I'm going to try the silicone sheets for 2 days and see if that makes me feel better...

Edited January 14, 2020 by ms.sss

[rs 1,473]

... I want that held-together feeling back that my steri-stips gave me too!!!

Man, so much conflicting information. I wish there was a standard everyone can agree on .

K, new decision: I'm going to wait until the weekend, and if I'm still scabby & pink AND the achiness hasn't gone away, then I'm going to try the silicone sheets for 2 days and see if that makes me feel better...

Another thing that was different is that I didn't have all those steri strips like you did. The Dr just had some type of glue I think. I don't know. At least I'm feeling so much better those first weeks with that dumb garment. ...Hahaha my phone was smart enough to autofill with the word "garment" after I typed the word "dumb" ! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[rs 1,473]

Been working from home the past couple days due to snow and ice. Not getting up and walking around as much as I would if I was in the office so it's no surprised that my elbows are a little extra swollen. Other than that my arms feel pretty good. Not too much stiffness when I extend them. I really like this silicone tape. I kinda think it's keeping the wayward sutures under control too. I've only applied it once so far plus a couple small strips that I had to redo. I can see I won't have enough for a full second application so I had to order another box. I didn't see it come in a larger length which would have been nice, and probably more cost effective.

[ms.sss 15,714]

8 hours ago, rs said:

I've only applied it once so far plus a couple small strips that I had to redo. I can see I won't have enough for a full second application so I had to order another box. I didn't see it come in a larger length which would have been nice, and probably more cost effective.

Isn't your silicone tape re-useable?

[ms.sss 15,714]

** Irrational Vent Alert **

So, am gonna be 1 month post op tomorrow and figured it was a good time to frustrate and annoy myself by taking out the measuring tape that I'm supposed to be leaving in the drawer. I mean I've been in a good mood for too long, right? Geez. 🙄

The two areas that have been the bane of my existence since PS are my waist and upper thighs. And measuring them this morning fed (irrational) fuel to the fire.

My waist continues to be bigger than pre-op. While it has de-swelled by 4 inches since the highest measurement, it continues to be bigger than pre-op and won't allow me to button up my pants comfortably. I am sick of wearing leggings and joggers, with a special hatred of the leggings due to my swollen abdomen poking out giving me a pregnant look from the side....which gets worse when I have food in my stomach.

And my effing thighs are getting BIGGER. I measured +1" a week after surgery, and this morning its up another inch. WTF. I am telling myself its because my swelling is moving downwards. That makes sense, right????? Though I think the TT itself may be partly the cause of the initial increase in size: perhaps the thigh "meatiness" moved up as a result of the yank and is now concentrated higher, which makes me think this is not completely a temporary thing. Arg.

Anyhoo, @mousecat88, @sillykitty, @okayestmom... how are you finding the progress of the de-swelling in your stomachs? Have you noticed any thigh changes? On another note, have you purposefully adjusted your salt intake during recovery? (am thinking of doing this, but I heart salt...)

...and @catwoman7 : how far along were you when your swelling completely went away? Did you also notice any thigh changes?

[sillykitty 10,776]

22 minutes ago, ms.sss said:

Anyhoo, @mousecat88, @sillykitty, @okayestmom... how are you finding the progress of the de-swelling in your stomachs? Have you noticed any thigh changes? On another note, have you purposefully adjusted your salt intake during recovery? (am thinking of doing this, but I heart salt...)

No sign of de-swelling yet. Sometimes I feel like a balloon ready to pop It varies by the day and by the hour, but is always pretty significant.

I haven't noticed thigh swelling. I think I was a little swollen earlier post op, because a tiny bit of drapiness on my inner thigh has returned. But I've never taken measurements of my thighs either before or after ps. I actually prefer myself with thicker thighs then I currently have, so if some of the "meat" re-positioned permanently I wouldn't be sad.

I have not adjusted my salt intake. I also 😍 salt. In my non scientific study, I have not noticed any correlation between high or low salt days or meals and my swelling.

Week after next I'm going to stuff myself into compression gear for some meetings. I'm curious if that is going to hurt or help.

Edited January 17, 2020 by sillykitty