New Swimsuit!

Bought a new swimsuit!  It is a two piece, but the top is one of those longer ones, like a tank top.  The bottom is a regular bottom but has an attached skirt.  Super cute and the top is lacy, James even picked it out!  I love it and I can not even tell you how great it feels to actually love how I am looking in a swimsuit.  There are really no words for how blessed I feel.  My scars show a bit, but by the time summer comes they should be all healed up.  So excited!

4 Weeks Post-Op

4 Weeks Post-Op

                                Top pic is my hip on my right side.  Still swollen, but slowly going down.

As you can see the incisions are done scabbing, and there is no more

skin peeling off.  The incisions in the middle area are already starting to fade away

and the larger scars are getting better as well.  Lots of swelling in the tummy area

still...but as I said before, that could take months to go away.

Left side, hip area.  Also looking really great.  Side note:  damn I have no butt!  LOL

Pounds Removed

Just heard from my surgeons assistant. Finally found out how much weight in skin he removed from my stomach. 5.2 pounds was taken off of me. At first I thought that it didn't sound like a lot...but then I picked up my five pound weight and was like, "WHOA!!, that is a lot!" How crazy that I had that much extra skin to be removed. So thankful for a great surgeon and how amazing God is in healing me up so quickly.

3 Week Check-up

So yesterday I had my 3 week check up.  I was anticipating not having my last drain taken out.  I knew it was draining less than was required for it to be removed, yet for some reason or another I really felt like it wasn’t going to be good enough and he would opt to leave it in for another week.  After waiting for a crazy amount of time to have my appointment I finally got into the actual exam room and Dr. Dinick came right in.  When I he said it was time to take that last drain out I was shocked!  I almost didn’t believe him.  lol  I was so excited.  Luckily this last one is shorter in length and didn’t hurt near as bad as the other ones.

He also examined my breasts for a very long time.  I can not even begin to tell you how crazy odd of a feeling it is to be examined like that.  As if I am so strange science project that has to be studied.  I kept feeling like we should maybe be having conversation but he was so intent and serious I had no idea what to say.  lol  He wants to let them heal for a while longer before he decides if there needs to be any surgical tweaking done to them.  There are some spots that he is concerned about and is hoping that they just fix themselves.  I am confident that they will turn out fine.  One has more swelling than the other right now (my right breast) and I think it is due to driving the van.  

I also no longer need to have gauze or bandages on anything!  YAY!!  That made my day, and even more was the news that I could stop wearing this garment at the 4 week mark.  SWEET!!
I am sure it will feel strange though once it is just my clothes against the incision marks.   Especially if I am wearing jeans.  

I don’t have to go back for another checkup for four more weeks.  I am so happy with how good things are going.  I am putting my scar cream on everyday after I shower and can’t wait to see the results from doing that too as time goes by.  I think what I am most looking forward to though would be the swelling in my stomach to go down.  I am so anxious to see how flat it will look.  I don’t even remember a time when I had a flat tummy, even though I am sure there was a time that I did indeed have one.  lol  Anyway, so that is the update for now.  Will write more next time.

2 Week Check Up!!

Had my two week check up today and everything went great.  I had another drain removed and once again it hurt really bad.  Not as bad as the first two....but still bad.  I am pretty tired today, not sure why...maybe from being out and about, maybe not.  All I know is a nap didn't really help.  My right underarm area is sore today now too, possibly from driving, who knows...so I am trying to just sit around and do nothing.  I feel like it is most likely sore from last nights sleeping.  When I woke up this morning I woke up with both my arms above my head...which I think is why I am sore.  I am not supposed to actually have my arms up above my head for very long and sleeping like that for sure made me wake up feeling sore and strange in my arms...so even though I felt better later, I am 90% sure the current soreness is from that...could be driving, but I feel like sleeping funny is most likely the culprit.

I am hoping to go to church tomorrow though if I am feeling up to it.  My doctor reminded me that no matter how good I am feeling I still need to take it easy...which I plan to do. Church is just a lot of sitting though, so it shouldn’t be too hard.  I know I tend to get overzealous and think I can do anything...so I have to remind myself that I need to take it SLOW!!  Cleaning the house is ok if I am doing very light mediocre things, but I can’t push it or I will just get more sore and not be feeling up to things later.  

Dr. Dinnick really examined my breasts today.  Grabbing and squeezing and all that.  He was kinda talking to himself while doing it and mentioning swelling in different areas and what not.  I asked him if he thought that they were looking good and he said, “Actually, they turned out even better than I thought.”   That made me really happy.  :)   If he loves them, I love them!  So I am really excited about how they will turn out.  Also...I got my scar cream today!!  Can’t wait to start using it tonight and see how quickly these scars GO AWAY!!!   So cool.  :)  I will post more pictures of them in two more weeks.  

2 Weeks Post-Op Pics

 Two weeks after surgery!  My scars are looking awesome.  As you can see they are not even red, and I have still had zero leakage or bleeding.  The scars are starting to peel and dry up which is great as well.  This process kinda reminds me of when you get a tattoo and the skin peels as it heals up.  My belly button, which you can see in this top pic, is barely noticeable as a bellybutton at all right now, but will continue to heal up and look more and more normal.  I do not plan on posting pics of my full breasts but as you can see those scars are doing just as well as the others.  My nipples as well.

 These side scars reach practically all the way around me.  One thing to note is that the scars don't really hurt.  What hurts is all the muscle tightening that my surgeon did on the inside.  Other than that the only other thing I feel is how tight and swollen my skin/body is.

These side scars are also peeling really well, and are not red or anything.  I have a lot of swelling though under them still and that is all expected.  That should continue to go down everyday for the next few months.

This last pic is showing how everything looks in the very front obviously.  The scar goes right above my public line.  My stomach is very swollen still from the surgery.  From what I understand the stomach area in particular could be what takes the longest in regards to swelling going down.  But again...everything is looking great.  Once I get my cream that I will be putting on my scars starting this weekend, things should drastically start improving.  I forget at the moment what the cream is called but it is very expensive ($135 for 6 weeks worth) and activates my stem cells which helps me grow new skin.  I am very excited to start using it!

No Vicodin!

I stopped taking my pain meds two days ago and I am doing really great so far.  The pain is only annoying, it is not near as bad as I thought it would be.  Of course it has been a week and a half, so that could also be why it isn’t so awful...but still, I think I am doing really well without the Vicodin.  Taking that stuff just wasn’t for me.  I have never been very good with prescription narcotics and since I have never done any recreational drugs either I think it is just safe to say that my body just doesn’t know what to do with drugs in general.  Vicodin always makes me feel very strange, even when taking less than the prescribed amount.  I am glad to be done with it.

I am wearing a regular shirt today instead of a button up shirt.  This is also huge progress.  I was told I would need to wear a button up shirt for a bit because of the pain my arms would be in from the breast procedure but I am now doing well enough that I can lift them and put my arms through a shirt.  Not lifting them straight up of course, that would be a little too much, but I do lift them enough to get them through the sleeves and then slip it over my head.  I am excited to start dressing normal again.

On the down side I think that the stress my body went under during surgery caused my to start my period almost 2 weeks early.  I started yesterday and was very annoyed to have to deal with this so soon during my recovery.  But whatever, you can’t ask for perfection I guess when recovering from such a huge operation.  Hoping that it gets over and done with quickly is all I can pray for I guess.  

I am doing really well with emptying my own drains now.  I do it while in the bathroom usually and since I only have the two of them it goes really quick.  I am showering every night again too which also helps me to feel like I am back on the road to being normal.  I couldn’t help but try on a pair of pants to see if they fit or not and I was a bit saddened to see that that not only fit but were a tad bit snug.  It is obviously from all the swelling that I still have around my stomach and my hips.  There is a lot of it going on and my stomach will probably not be flat like it is supposed to be for about 3-4 months.  That is what my surgeon said at least....he even mentioned that there could be slight swelling in areas for up to a year.  Crazy right?  lol  I guess the body needs more time than I thought it did.  

But either way I am really happy with how things are going.   I am hopeful that I will get my cream soon to start applying to the scars so that they will heal even quicker and look even better.  The stuff the surgeon gives us costs $135.00 for 6 weeks worth, so it better be like a miracle cream!  lol   I have seen the results on people though so I know it works.  Anyway, that is my update for now.  I will write again very soon.  :)

First Check-Up

Well today I had my first check up since my reconstructive surgery.  I got dressed in actual clothes (which was great since I have been wearing pj’s forever it seems like) and prepared myself for my first actual outing in over a week.  I have been doing better in the last few days.  I can walk straighter, walk around for longer, and sit down like a regular person for longer too.  So off I went to my appointment in the car today.  I got into the car today really easy compared to getting in and out of it on the day I came home.  I sat there at the hospital waiting for over 90 minutes to be seen and I did really well.  It did hurt my back some and I got up and walked around once in awhile but over all I did really good.  I feel like they make everyones appointment at the same time and we are all waiting for the same doctor so it takes forever.  I don’t know why they schedule us all around the same time, but whatever.  

It did give me some time to talk to some of the other ladies who were there also recovering.  There was no one else there who had had their breasts done, but there was a lady who had the same stomach procedure as me done and she was really informative.  She told me that getting my drains out would hurt really bad, (I will write about that in a little bit) she said that she went back to work after 3 weeks and she does nursing and is on her feet a lot so that felt good to hear, and she said that even though it has been 3 months since her surgery she still wears her garment because she said it helps her body to feel “ok” while at work, and just makes her feel more secure.  I can picture myself doing the same thing.  I have noticed that when I have it off I am always worried about hurting myself...as if having it on is my safety device or something.  lol

Finally I got in to see the doctor.  He took a look at everything and basically said I was coming along great.  He said I no longer needed gauze on my breasts, but he did want me to use one larger one, rolled up, to put between them to help the skin reshape correctly.  My stomach incisions are coming along great as well.  They are not red, they are not having any leakage, and are already scabbing.  He took a look at my drains and decided to take 2 of them out.  Holy cow did that hurt!  I have (or had) four of them and they are placed right above my vagina.  I didn’t realize quite how far inside of me the drains went and when he pulled the two out I quickly learned.  I would say there was about a foot of plastic inside of me and when he pulled them out it felt like a worm or something was wiggling inside of me.  Craziest feeling ever and it really hurt!!  I mean like I screamed and cried actually.  Even though I had been warned by that lady, I was not prepared.  lol

So now I am home, things are going great.  I feel confident that I will continue to get better quickly and be by myself at home very soon.  I have been showering really well and even drying myself off now.  I have had a bowel movement twice now, which doesn’t seem like much I realize, but it is.  The only downside is that I had to take a laxative to make it happen.  Hopefully that will change soon.  My stomach muscles are still very sore and sensitive, so any kind of pushing is difficult.  Anyway, that is all for now.  I will write back more very soon.

Passed Out!!!

So....when I was released from the hospital the surgeon told me to be careful showering because with all the meds and anesthisa I could easily pass out from getting overheated. I was supposed to shower with someone. Not a problem since we all know I have a problem with passing out since having the gastric bypass surgery anyway. Last night was my second shower. James was in there with me and as he was helping to wash my incisions I started to feel too hot. I told him and said I needed to get out. He said he would hurry then but as another minute passed I knew I needed to get out now. I told him again, and he got me out. But as I got to the bed I was feeling very strange and according to James it wasn't long before I was "gone" and I dropped. He caught me under my arms but quickly laid me on the ground because he was so afraid of hurting me. I wasn't out long, a couple minutes, and woke up confused but ok. Laid there for awhile to get my body feeling normal again. Wow, talk about an interesting night right? Lesson learned...cool or lukewarm showers for now on while on all these medicines. Thank God James was there to catch me. Could have really hurt myself.