On March 6th at 7:30 am I had my Bilateral Medial Thigh Lift. WOW... that was some interesting new pain levels. Not at all as painful as the horizontal and vertical tummy tuck, but still very painful and just in a different way. Surgery went really well. Two hours and forty minutes in surgery and then a couple hours in the recovery area. Trying to move and sit in the wheelchair to get from there to the car was an ordeal. But also, could have been much worse, since sitting down and getting up and down, is where I experience most of my pain. I didn't shed any tears or cry-out about it however when I did have to do things involving that. Dealing with the pain, sucking it up! If I am aware things will be painful, I can handle it. Sitting on the toilet is very painful due to the hardness of the seat. So, James made it a point on day 2 or 3, to purchase a cushioned toilet seat for me. It doesn't totally solve the problem, but it does help a great deal.
The incisions are all along the very top of my thighs right against my groin. It basically creates, along with my tummy tuck scar, a triangle surrounding my groin area. Kinda funny really. Initially when I arrived home standing to long caused an upset stomach, and I was very sleepy off and on from the anesthesia and pain meds. I also couldn't use the stairs well. As you can imagine lifting my legs more than 3-6 inches off the ground was quite painful. I ended up sleeping on the couch that night, and James did too. He wanted to be close by to me in case I needed help.
I had two drains coming out above the groin area, and as usual those are a big annoyance, although clearly necessary. It just isn't fun dealing with them in general, especially in the shower. By the second night I was able to go up the stairs and sleep in my own bed. That was a big win. We managed to find a semi comfortable way for me to get in and out of the bed without much pain, that involved me kind of rolling out. LOL
Seems silly but it works.
I took the pain meds they prescribed me for 3 days. By day 4 I only took the one at night and also the following night. They can sadly make you constipated and did. I had only had a bowel movement of very small amounts and it was incredibly difficult to get out, which created very painful hemorrhoids took a bunch of Collace on the night of the 11th which actually upset my stomach, and by the morning of the 12th, I had diarrhea, and everything came out. Thank goodness.
Also on the 12th I had my first post op surgery checkup. All is well and so well in fact that I had my drains taken out. YAY!! My surgeon, Dr. Sherick, said that my legs look great and that I should expect that over time the skin will loosen some and look more natural, but of course won't look like it did before. I would sure hope not! LOL
I can't wait till I can comfortably sit in a car and on a toilet without pain again. Probably won't be Door Dashing anytime soon, I suspect until early April. I'll be including a picture of what things looked like before, and then on the first day of surgery. It's pretty amazing really!
