Two weeks post-op and so sick :(

Well, technically yesterday was two weeks post-op but I wasn't exactly feeling like blogging the past few days.  I'm pretty sure I mentioned a few days ago that I had a little tickle in my throat and had coughed a few times.  Monday my cough got worse, not too bad but coughing 2-3 times an hour is a lot when it feels like your abs are on fire every time!  Tuesday morning I woke up and I was freezing... So it took my temperature and it was 103!!  My cough was much worse and I had no appetite and generally felt quite crappy.  After double checking my incisions for redness and heat indicating infection I called my surgeon and let him know what was happening.  He sent a prescription to the pharmacy right away for an antibiotic and cough syrup.  I was taking 1000mg of Tylenol and my fever never dropped below 102.  Finally at 4pm I ended up calling my surgeon again because my fever had spiked up to 104!!  The doctor had me come in immediately and checked my incisions and checked for seroma (pocket of fluid in the abdomen), at this point I was feeling faint if I stood up for more than a minute.  He decided that the fever was at least not related to my surgery and was some kind of chest infection, and I was reacting worse than normal because I was still healing from the surgery.  He told me to continue the antibiotics and asked me to start taking ibuprofen for the fever.  Normally I wouldn't be allowed ibuprofen for a few more weeks after surgery because of bleeding risks, but at this point reducing my fever was more important than the slight bleeding risk.  Even with the ibuprofen it took my temperature a few hours to drop below 104.  During the night I kept waking up coughing and choking on phlegm.  By Wednesday morning my temperature was a nice cool 101, and as the day went on it returned to normal.  I did have issue all morning of feeling dizzy and nauseated, and at one point the nausea and coughing collided and caused vomiting... Sooo NOT FUN.  At least by the evening I felt better other than the occasional random cough.  

Other than being sick my recovery has been going well, I haven't really needed meds for pain anymore and I'm almost standing straight.  I'm still a little hunched, but only someone who looked closely would notice.  This morning I actually felt well enough to start following my doctors suggestion (from before I got sick) to start slowly taking walks.  I only walked around the block and it felt good to be out, I probably could have gone further but especially after the past few days I didn't want to overdo it and honestly it was HOT, almost 90 degrees at 8am.  That's Arizona for you!

Here are a few progress pictures for comparison-

Before-

4 days-

Day 7-

Day 14-

First post-op appointment (12dpo)

I had my first appointment since my surgery today.  The doctor took out my drain, yay!  So glad it's gone!  That was definitely a strange feeling, it didn't hurt much.  Mostly it was a strange "squirmy" feeling under the skin of my abdomen just the exit hole hurt a bit but only for a few seconds.  

On the horrible side I seem to have caught the nasty cough my 9 year old has... No other symptoms, just phlegm and coughing.  NOT the best feeling, coughing after abdominal surgery... It.  Frickin'. HURTS!  Every time I cough.  I really hoped the doctor would give me a cough suppressant but he said that he wants me to cough and that it won't "hurt" me (in other words damage his work), but I can take mucinex (expectorant) to help loosen the phlegm so I don't cough too much.

I have been told he no longer wants me to actively try to keep myself bent, I now have to try to stand as straight as possible.  At the appointment he actually pushed my shoulders back to help me straighten and I that wasn't the most pleasant feeling.  Imagine falling into the splits just a tad too hard... Not enough to pull a muscle, but enough that it burns and hurts.  He also provided me with a binder.  Many doctors provide a binder or compression garment from the day of surgery, but my doctor feels that nothing is needed for the first week or two to allow better healing of the lymphatic system on the abdomen.  So now I get to wear the binder to help keep down swelling, but I don't have to wear it all the time, maybe 12 hours a day or so.  

Look at me all semi-upright! Lol

Sorry for the weird angle and light.

I also get to stop putting bandages on my incisions, instead I get to use silicone scar sheets.  I haven't put them on yet but they sound pretty cool, they're self adhesive and stay on for up to a week at a time!

I've also been told to start walking as much as is comfortable, which honestly won't be much until I'm more upright.  I am to slowly walk more and more, and ease back into normal activities.  No lifting, no hard exercise and of course take it slow and easy...

All About the Poop! (May be a little TMI)

This is probably a bit TMI, but for anyone out there getting this surgery...

With all of the pain meds and inability to really use your ab muscles for a while you WILL get constipated!  Start stool softeners a few days before surgery 1-2 times a day, after surgery 3 times a day.  Take a probiotic, the antibiotics you will be given mess with your system and a good probiotic helps with that, plus it generally helps with the health of your gut.  This is what I take, and I highly recommend this brand.  I've found it at Whole Foods and Walgreens so far-

Also, for a few days after surgery until things get going again I highly recommend a mild laxative like Mira-Lax once a day to help get things moving, once you start going you can probably stop taking it... Last thing you need is diarrhea!  

My final recommendation is to get yourself some flushable wet wipes.  Yeah, I know most people only use these on small children.  But, they are a big help!  You won't be able to twist your torso which means wiping your own ass will be difficult!!  Make it easier on yourself, because when you do start to go it will (hopefully) be very soft which means you're more likely to need a little extra help wiping.  Please use something flushable though, you don't need to clog your pipes!  I really recommend these-

They're found in the toddler or diaper section of the grocery store.  I really prefer these to the "adult" version found in the toilet paper section for a few reasons... First, they're cheaper!  Also, they aren't so perfum-y, and they are a little thicker so they won't fall apart on you easily.

Ok... I think I've given my allotted TMI advice for the day! ;)

One week post op, pictures, bandages

Well, I've made it one week, woo-hoo!  I cannot wit until I can stand up straight, and by them I'm sure I will not be able to wait until the swelling goes away... I want to see my tummy completely flat, fight now it still rounds out above the incision some, it's swelling of course, but still...

I'm no longer taking the Percocet, as of day 5 I have been taking Tylenol instead.  I still take the arnica Montana for swelling and bruising, I honestly wonder if its working.  I have no way of noting if my bruising or swelling is less because of the arnica, I don't have a previous surgery experience to compare this to.  So I guess I'll keep taking it, and hope its helping.

I thought I'd show a little about my bandages.  I am so proud of myself!  I managed to shower, wash my hair, even shave my legs (very awkwardly and not very well), and do my own bandages today without any help!!  Yay me!  Step one towards independence!  Now I just need to be able to stand up, bend over, reach above my head, lift things more than a few pounds, and sleep in my own bed...then maybe I'll feel somewhat like a real person again. So back to the bandages.  My doctor has me starting on day 2, shower and change my bandages every day... It sounds great but manis it tiring!  I bought all non-stick gauze and I'm glad I did, no nasty stuck bandages to deal with, they really are non-stick!  So I use three 3x8 bandages to cover my abdominal incision, one 2x3 bandage on my belly button, one 3x4 bandage on each breast, and one regular gauze square under my drain tube to catch leaks, and paper tape to stick it all to me.  I also have extra gauze squares, I use one with antibacterial soap in the shower to wash my incisions and the other after showering to pat the incision sites dry.  I keep a chair set up with a towel over it set up next to the bathroom counter so that I can sit while I put on some of the gauze and while I set myself up, etc. the towel is great after the shower to dry my butt, lol because that is still hard for me to reach.  This is my some of my setup

I put the gauze pads out with their first strip of tape on them and add the line of bacitracin that the dr says to put on my incision.  That way when I get out of the shower everything goes on quickly, so I'm less exhausted when I'm done.  I also made a little place to hang my drain

 It's a moisturizer in a drawer, the bottle is taller than the drawer so it can't close and it's at just the right hight that I can stand or sit right there without having to deal with moving around the drain or worrying about dropping it (oh, holy ouch!!).  And here's the end product!

And just for comparison sake day 2 vs day 7

Side view day 2 vs day 7

It's a bit harder to take my own picture...so I had to cover some things, lol. Sorry about the lighting differences... No I have not been out tanning!

4 days post-op

So far so good.  I'm really trying hard not to push myself and listening to my body.  I can't stand or walk for more than a few minutes before I start feeling tired and my back starts to really ache.  I know the backache is the big thing I will have to deal with until I can stand up more straight.  I am able to stand up straighter than yesterday, but I'm still very hunched over.  

Yesterday's and today's showers have both gone much better than my first shower on Friday.  I have been able to take my bandages off myself because they aren't stuck to the incisions and today I washed most of my body myself.  I have to say that scrubbing down with soap and warm water feels sooo good.  It really helps when I'm stuck in a chair and funky loose pajamas all day long to actually shower every day.  The showers are still taking a long time, between taking off bandages, washing, and then re-applying bandages today's shower took about 45 minutes... So after 2 hours Friday its getting better...but I have yet to wash my hair.  I am so glad I had it blown out straight before surgery so that I can just brush it every day instead of it turning into a giant rats nest.  Yes, I really do want to wash it, it feels gross, BUT I still can't get my hands up quite enough to wash it myself and my showers are long enough enough as it is... I will wash it soon though!

My stomach still looks great.  A little more swollen and a little bruised now, and these will get worse before they get better but that's to be expected.  I'm really happy with my chest.  I was so worried that I would come out and they would be too big or look wrong, but they don't.  I know they are still high and hard and they will fall a bit and soften in place, but they look good!  They are sore too, at first it was like when i was breastfeeding, the first night the baby sleeps through the night and I  woke  up with painful rocks for boobs.  Now they're just sore like I did 100 too many push-ups, lol. I'm just happy that  I still look like me, just better!  Here's today's tummy-

As you can see the incision looks a bit bumpy but that has more to do with the swelling than everything.  And I also still have some stretch marks.  Because my stretch marks before came all the way up to my ribs the doctor couldn't get rid of all of them, but hose fly that doesn't matter to me, I don't mind the stretch marks they show that I'm a mommy :). I just didn't need the extra skin!

As far as medication goes I have one day of antibiotics left, I am now down to one Percocet every four hours instead of two, taking my probiotics twice a day, stool softeners three times a day, and arnica Montana three times a day.  The arnica is a homeopathic remedy that helps with swelling, bruising and muscles soreness... And based off what I've read and seen of other people's experiences to this point I've either been very lucky or the arnica is really helping!  I've also resorted to taking miralax the past two days because yes,I'm constipated.  Yuck!  So far I'm not uncomfortable, which is great, but I haven't gone in 4 days and I'm getting a bit worried that its really going to hurt when I do!!

2days post op, shower and tummy pics!

So today is two days post-op... In some ways I'm feeling better, I've been able to walk around a lot more and being a little more active feels good!  I must say my butt is getting sore from sitting in my recliner all the time, I can't wait until I can get myself in and out of bed so I can sleep on my side.  The soreness in my chest is a bit better but my tummy definitely hurts more.  I tried to cut back on my pain meds early this morning and that did NOT work, I was in a lot of pain.  Of course because I'm being more active my drain is getting more fluid, but I'm okay with that, I don't want to take it out too soon I'm already swollen and taking the drain out would make it worse.  

So the shower... Next time I will do it in the morning when I'm less swollen and I feel better!  Today I waited until the afternoon because I wanted my husband to help me, I'm glad I did but I was also feeling rather icky and nauseated by the time we started taking off the bandages.  I guess I'm a wimp, just sitting Ina chair in the bathroom with my husband removing bandages was too much for me, I was worried I would pass out (although it did not hurt AT ALL).  So we ended up gently laying me on my side on the bed with the fan on high to cool me off and get me air.  It actually felt a lot better when the bandages were off and taking the ace bandage off of my chest felt wonderful, I actually sighed out loud in relief!  

My shower was pretty much me sitting in my shower while dh gently sprayed my incisions with water to get off the gauze that was stuck.  Basically I was really cold because I was all wet but the warm water was only touching one small area at a time. Then I got out and dh gently patted me dry with a towel, took a few pictures and then recovered my incisions with bacitracin and gauze.  I will not post pics of my new boobies, sorry, but they look great!  They're still swollen and hard but that will get better over the next few weeks!  My stomach also looks amazing to me, yes it is swollen and of course I'm hunched over quite a bit, but you can see from the picture where things are headed and I'm soooo happy!!

The whole "shower" experience was exhausting, and it took about an hour and a half.  But I figure since we have to do this every day from now on we'll get better at it and I might actually was with soap and even shave soon!  At the very least it'll get faster!

Although I'm not enjoying the pain and I can't wait until I can be active again I am really looking forward to the future and my results!

1st day post-op!

My mommy makeover so far has been a success.  Yesterday my mom brought me to the office at 8am, we went over paperwork with the nurse, got drawled on by my PS and discussed medications with the anesthesiologist.

After everything was ready I was brought into the OR to lay on the table where the dr started my IV.  I was really happy as I drifted off, the anesthesiologist placed an oxygen mask on my face and told me that I was practically family because the nurses daughter has the same first name as me and that meant they would do an extra good job.  The thing that left the biggest impression on me though was as I drifted off the PS held my hand tightly against his chest the whole time, it was very reassuring. 

Next thing I remember I was waking up in recovery and the doctor was there telling me that everything had gone really well.

I was pretty groggy as they wheeled me out to my husbands car and I went home.  At home I was made as comfortable as possible in the recliner with pillows and blankets.  Every time I had to get up to pee though I required the help of both my mom and husband, and by the time I would make it the 15 feet to the bathroom I was sweaty, my ears ringing heavily and I was having difficulty breathing. At least I never actually passed out, my husband would put me in a folding chair and drag it back across the room and help me into the recliner. I was also having a hard time staying awake and paying attention to anything.

At about 2 am I woke up and realized I could finally take deep breaths, my chest was very sore but manageable.  It was a great feeling, so I laid in my recliner taking deep breaths for another hour until I fell back to sleep.

In the morning I found it much easier to get out of the chair and I was able to walk to the bathroom without help and even pull my own pants down/up!  As the day has progressed I have tried to walk more and keep my muscles moving.  I'm really happy to be sore but feeling good, although I pretty much constantly feel like I'm over full and not digesting any food.  I'm really hoping the combination of fiber foods and stool softeners will prevent constipation.  I also have a drain...

Yesterday we drained 50mls and today only 25 so that's an improvement too.  I'm still very tired and having a hard time focusing...writing this has taken far longer than necessary.  Tomorrow I get to take my dressings off and shower! Yay!  I'm very interested to so what I look like without all of the bandages!

Time to go!!

I leave my house for the doctors in 10 minutes.  My stomach is super nervous, a little grumbly....

See you on the flat side!

Measurements

It's 24 hours until surgery....

Today I'm just going to post my pre-op measurements, that way I have them for comparison later.

Height (this wont change)- 5'7"

Weight- 152.4lb

Chest- 36"

Ribcage(under breasts)- 33.5"

Waist(natural)- 29"

Waist(at belly button)- 35"

Hips- 39"

36 hours left

I can't believe that two days from now all the extra skin will be gone.  I'm still fearing out a bit about the idea of pain and simply not being in control, but I'm dealing with it because I WANT THIS.  Maybe I'm being selfish making my mom and husband care for me, my kids and my house for a few weeks, but I'm really hoping that when I come out on the flat side I'll have some new self confidence that will help boost both me and my family.

 I cleaned about half the house today, I'll do the other half tomorrow.  I know my mom can take care of it but I'm really not expecting her to, she's not exactly in the habit of cleaning, cooking and caring for small children at the same time anymore.... I'm just trying to make it easier for her and me.

Tomorrow I'll be making some food for myself, trying to make things that I can eat small portions but get lots of vitamins, fiber and protein.  Tonight I made my Greek yogurt soufflés (see previous post). Tomorrow I will make Kale Quinoa Salad, my Refrigerator Oatmeal (previous post),and Sweet Potato-Black Bean-Quinoa Casserole.  I really want to make sure I get good nutrition, keep away constipation, and hopefully maintain my weight.... I certainly don't want to ruin my tummy tuck by gaining weight!
Ok, back to stressing out...

Cleaning attack!

Oh-wow... I've read about it happening to other people before surgery but I didn't think it would happen to me!  I am having major "nesting" issues right now.  I keep my house pretty clean, especially considering I have three kids and two dogs.  But this morning I got up and *BAM* I absolutely could not deal with the state of my house!  I absolutely had to start organizing right then... After some coffee...which I realized later was a big mistake, the caffeine made me extra special crazy.  I had to completely re-organize the pantry-

Then I re-organized all off the cabinets in my kitchen, dining room, bathrooms, laundry room, bedroom...I made the kids clean their rooms (they weren't too happy about that)... I organized the toys, and my closet, I'm still doing laundry!  So far I've washed the sheets and comforter for the futon my mom will sleep on while she's here (and set that up too), washed all of the kids clothes, washed mine and hubby's clothes, washed towels, and the kids sheets...I still have to do my sheets.  I had to stop myself when I realized it was 2pm and all I'd had all day was one cup of coffee.  I'm writing on here right now to keep myself from getting up and doing the actual housecleaning...you know- bathrooms, vacuum, etc.  I also need to buy food...I'll be doing those two things tomorrow.  Then Tuesday I get my mom from the airport, get my hair blown straight to make it easier to deal with, set up my recovery chair area and make a few casseroles..... Deep breaths....

Better than homemade boxed cake

Yeah I know all of my food related posts have been about healthy eating etc.  Well this is not all that healthy, lol, BUT my excuse is my sons birthday!  His actual birthday was yesterday (he turned 9, holy cow!) but today was his "party".  By his choice we took two friends to jump street (an indoor trampoline park), then home for Taco Bell and movies, with one friend staying the night.  For his cake he requested chocolate cake and he wanted a sprinkles bar so everyone could decorate their own slice.

So I decided that the boxed mix that he picked out just wouldn't cut it, I am after all one of those moms who does go a bit overboard and baking is my thing!  I love to do homemade cakes for birthdays... For my daughters last birthday I made Chocolate bacon cupcakes with maple frosting and Hummingbird cupcakes with coconut frosting, yum!  So I hopped on Pinterest to find a link on how to make boxed cake taste homemade.  I actually found several different recipes although most had a few similarities.

First you need a boxed cake mix, this is what my son picked out-

Now, I still followed the general directions on the back of the box, but with a few modifications.  First, I added an extra egg, this helps add to the density of the cake so it's not overly light.  Next, I replaced the oil with an equal amount of melted butter, this simply improves the flavor and makes a richer but fluffier cake.  Finally, I replaced the water, half with coffee and half with coconut milk (the yummy dense fatty kind froma can, not the dairy fridge).  Why?  Coffee actually brings out the flavor of chocolate, so if you're not making a chocolate cake go for straight coconut milk.  The coconut milk is rich in healthy fats and makes for a super moist, rich cake.

Three of the five kids in the house ate two large slices each... And my husband ate two slices, that might not be surprising to most people, so let me explain.  My husband HATES cake, in general he refuses to eat it.  Yes, when I make some new kind he will taste it and then brush it off as just fine.  For his birthday he always wants pecan pie, pie is his thing.  He actually ate two slices!!  It's just that good!  See how yummy it looks?  Now I can get my chocolate and sugar fix it before my surgery!

With three days left before my surgery I'm feeling a bit flustered...so much to do!  I have to buy groceries, clean the house, get my mom from the airport, exercise, get the kids to and from school, etc... And of course just plain try not to freak out!

Only a few days to go!

Wow!  It's crazy how time flies!  Only a few days left to surgery.  I keep oscillating between nervous and excited.  Yes of course I'm excited, I want that end result.  I want to be the thin me I know is hiding behind the skin and separated muscles.  I can't wait t see what I actually look like without it!  I do know I will have a long way to go, the recovery is hard and long and swelling lasts for a long time.  I know most people go through a tummy tuck go through a period of depression about 4-5 days post surgery, I'm really hoping hat being aware of this will help me prevent or at least lessen the emotional roller coaster.

Am I nervous?  You bet!  My number one fear is that something happens to me during surgery, I have three young kids and a husband who need me.  And of course I'm worried about my recovery, I'm not a big pain person, I avoid it whenever possible and I'm paying someone to cut me up and put me back together like Humpty-Dumpty!  My youngest who is almost three is still very attached to me, he never went through that "daddy" phase like my other two.  He still insists that I make his food, dress him, help him to the bathroom, put him in bed, brush his teeth... Last night my husband tried do his bedtime routine, this resulted an complete meltdown including screaming "I want mom!" Over and over before my husband was even able to brush his teeth.  What is going to happen when I am unable to help do these things?  I really he hope that he reacts better to my mom than he did to his dad.  

One week out and my story

I was never a thin kid, I was always a little chunky...never fat, but chunky.  I never really noticed my weight too much until college.  My freshman year I got mono and lost weight, I don't know ow much (I didn't have a scale) but I did need smaller clothes and I actually look tiny in pictures.  But then I started organic chemistry, and my then fiancée went out of area for his internship, etc and I gained weight, at this same time i started having issues with my menstrual cycle (going months at a time without my period).  The first I remember truly being aware of my actual weight was the summer before my senior year of college, I weighed 184 (I'm 5'7"), my mm tried to get me to do Atkins diet with her but between graduating a semester early and planning my wedding it never happened. 

 After getting married I tried dieting off and on, but it never really stuck, I'd lose a few pounds just to gain it right back.  We were only married 5 months when my husband moved to Arizona for work and I stayed in California to sell our house.  I tried again to lose weight but again I gained it back when we moved.  Soon we started trying to get pregnant and when it didn't work we saw my doctor.  Turned out I have PCOS (poly cystic ovarian syndrome), essentially, I don't ovulate I make cysts.  PCOS can cause weight gain among other things.  After four months of clomid to make me ovulate I finally got pregnant with my son and gained over fifty pounds.

When he was born he was 9pounds 12ounces, sunny side up, and when he was born he was blue and not breathing.  I couldn't walk normally for about 8 weeks, and because I was so traumatized (my son was fine) I lost all the baby weight in about 4 weeks.  Even though I was back at my pre-pregnancy weight I was still overweight and I now had a whole lot of hanging saggy skin on my stomach, I inherited my moms non-elastic skin.  When I asked my doctor what I could do to fix the skin, he told me that the only fix would be to have it surgically removed.

Since then I've had two more babies, a daughter at 8pounds and another son at 8pounds 10ounces.  With my daughter I gained another fifty and this time slowly lost it over the first year.  With my son I only gained 25 pounds (!!!) but I had a really hard time losing it.  When he turned one I was stuck at 194.  

Labor Day weekend after he turned one we were on vacation as a family when I woke up one morning and my jaw was locked... Shut.  I was able to open it only wide enough to put a straw between my teeth.  I was stuck on a liquid diet, my dentist couldn't fix the issue and had to send me t a TMJ specialist.  I couldn't get in to the specialist until mid-October!  Luckily the physical therapist at the specialist was able to unlock my jaw on October 31, 2011, but I was still required to eat a liquid and soft food diet for a few more months.  The very limiting diet did one thing for me, I lost weight, about 20 pounds.  So when the new year started and I was allowed to eat normally again I was determined to not regain the weight but to continue to lose.  I was determined to reach a size 10.  I started counting calories, and exercising.  I became addicted to Beachbody workouts, over the year I did p90x, Turbofire, and Insanity.  I reached 150 pounds and a size 4/6!!  

I've been amazed with my new body and have maintained my final weight for almost a year now, and I added Asylum, Les Mills Combat and karate to my repertoire.  But even with all I've lost, I gained two things... An even saggier nasty skin on my stomach and my boobs shrank away to small sagginess.  How sad :(. 

I am lucky my husband has always supported my desire for a tummy tuck when I reached my goal weight.  And I did it, and he came through on his end of the deal by making an investment and making enough money on it that we can afford my mommy makeover.  I'll be getting a full tummy tuck with abdominal muscle repair and a breast lift with augmentation ( silicone mid-profile 435cc) on Wednesday August 14, 2013!

Refrigerator oatmeal and air conditioning

So originally I was going to post just a recipe for refrigerator oatmeal, my new discovery that I think will be a great and easy post-surgery food.  But, our air conditioning broke today... I know in many places that's not such a big deal, but I live in Arizona... It's f-ing 110+ degrees (Fahrenheit) this time of year!!  My house is HOT right now!  Thank goodness our master bedroom/bathroom has its own ac unit, all three kids are currently camped in my room for the night, and thank goodness they will be fixing it first thing in the am because I don't think I could handle another day of a 90+ degree house... Sweaty hot, blech!  At least this happened BEFORE my surgery and not after... The last time this happened my youngest was a week old and that was AWFUL.  

So back to the refrigerator oatmeal... It's yummy, and creamy, and totally healthy!  Yay! 

I know it looks odd, but I promise it's good!

Recipe-

1/4cup rolled oats

1/4cup Greek yogurt (I used plain but flavored would be good too)

1/3cup milk (soy, dairy, coconut, almond, whatever floats your boat)

1tablespoon chia seeds

1teaspoon honey (optional) 

And fruit

Simply put the ingredients in a mason jar, shake, and place in the refrigerator overnight... Easy-peesy!

I used raspberries and realized they made the mixture a bit sour, so next time I'll add ten just before I eat or use a sweeter fruit like strawberries!

Pre-op appointment and cost

Now that my pre-op appointment is over I'm starting to feel pretty excited! :) I was pretty impressed with how simple my appointment was.

When the first nurse took me back to the room she handed my two "packets" of papers (only two sheets each) that outlines the do's and don'ts of my abdominoplasty and augmentation.  Here are the rules-

No aspirin and no aspirin containing medications or ibuprofen for two weeks before surgery and not after until given the okay by the doctor.

No dietary supplements or diet pills.

Notify the doctor of any blood thinners or other medications you are taking.

No eating or drinking for at least eight hours before surgery.

Tell the anesthesiologist if you get nauseated easily.

Wear loose fitting clothes, button up top and slip on shoes to surgery.

Shower with antibacterial soap and water morning of surgery, no deodorants, perfumes, or lotion.

For after surgery-

Have extra pillows for under knees while resting.

Have bacitracin ointment, gauze, and surgical tape available for changing dressings.

Have a front closure sports bra for after the bandages are removed.

The doctor will not give me drains in my chest and may not do drains in my abdomen, it will depend on how the tissue behaves when he's doing the surgery.  He told me he tries to re-attach the skin to the underlying tissues in several places to help it heal faster.  He also uses a lot of local anesthetic so the anesthesiologist doesn't have to use tons of meds to knock me out too deeply, which is good because I'm difficult to wake after anesthesia... My doctor said I was a lightweight with anesthesia probably because I rarely drink so my body isn't used to metabolizing things like that.  Two days after surgery I will be allowed to remove my dressings and shower!  Yay!  Afterwards I will need to apply bacitracin and new dressings.  If I feel comfortable I'm even allowed to sleep in bed on my side.  The big rule is I'm not allowed to try to stretch or stand up straight for the first week.  At my first post-op appointment (7-10 days later usually, mines actually 12 because of the weekend) they will check everything and remove any drains and I will then be provided with a binder for my abdomen.  I'm not allowed to lift anything heavy for at least six weeks and I need the doctors okay before starting exercise.  I also need to avoid direct sun or too much heat to the scars until the scar starts to fade.  

The doctor gave me prescriptions for an antibiotic that I will start that I will start the day after surgery because they will give me IV antibiotics that will last the first day.  I also get pain meds for the pain, and he wants me to take Arnica Montana for the swelling and bruising starting with one the night before surgery and three times a day after that.  

When I finally ran out of questions he sent me into the room with the camera setup (eep!) and told be to get undressed except my underwear.  The nurse came in and took pictures at several angles, first of my stomach and the of my chest.  I must say that was very strange having no clothes on and having photos taken.  The nurse was very nice and made it no big deal and just talked to me through the whole thing and told me that I was going to have great results with my stomach and I would be really happy.  Then she took us to another room where I got to put on a stretchy bra and try out different size implants.  We already knew I was going with silicone and the nurse asked what look I was going for, I told her I just wanted to fill in my tissue loss from breastfeeding three kids and and then losing an extra 50 pounds.  She recommended the mid-profile style because of my chest size and the look I was going for.  She measures my breasts and chest and pointed out that the bottom of my right breast is lower than the left (which I'd never actually noticed but it does explain some issues I've had with bra fit) and made sure I understood that it wouldn't change with my surgery although the doctor may make some adjustments for that.  When trying on sizes she told me that any size of implant will look like its next size down does in the bra when it's inside the body.  After several different sizes my husband and I decided on 435cc, it's a decent size so I will get some size out of this, but it will still look natural and fit my frame.  Then the nurse gave me the sientra information books and told me that I need to fill out the informed decision page and she will fill out the warranty sheet and explained that each implant will have a serial number for tracking and warranty... The only thing going through my mind at that was an episode of Bones I saw once where they identified a body off the implant serial number, lol.  Now I get to read all of the little books that go with my implants!  

Now I just need to not get sick... I only mention that because my daughter is now all stuffed up and coughing like crazy, grrrr.

Surgery is scheduled for Wednesday August 14, 2013 at 8:30am!!

Cost-

So far this is my surgery cost, I'm getting a bit of a "discount" because we are paying out of pocket and not using financing through the doctors office.  The surgery fees also include all pre and post-op appointments and my compression garment.

Surgery-  $9,150.00

Anesthesia-$1,245.00

Recliner-$1,000.00

Over large button top pajamas- $30.00

Medications, bacitracin, gauze, tape, etc.-????  I'm guessing about $100.00

Appointment today

My pre-op appointment is this afternoon.  I can't believe I'm having elective surgery in just 13 days!  I'm really looking forward to getting information that I can use from my doctor, there are so many different ways that the doctors seem to prep their patients before surgery.  So I've made a list of questions, and I'm sure there's things I'm forgetting but hopefully the doctor will go over absolutely every detail with me-

Can I take arnica Montana one Bromelain for swelling and bruising?

Where will be place the implants and where will the incision be?

More specific on type/size of implant?

Do silicone implants really require follow up MRIs every few years?

Does he use a pain pump?

What vitamins should I take and avoid before and after surgery?

What are his recommendations to avoid medication induced constipation?

What foods should I eat and avoid before surgery?

Where will my drains be and approximately how long will I have them?

When is my first post op appointment?

What medications will I be taking?

When will I be able to shower?

Am I allowed to shave before surgery?

Anything else I can do to increase my chances of a great outcome?

What will my recovery be like?

What kind of pain can I expect?

How long before I can stand straight?

How long before I can sleep in my bed notepad of a recliner?

What type of stitches will he use?

How long before I can exercise? Timeline of types of exercise I can do and when...

I can't wait for answers, because everything I've found online varies so widely and I can't seem to find a list anywhere of foods to eat or avoid before surgery although I've found it mentioned several places! I also want more specifics on exercise.  I want to keep some muscle tone and I really don't want to be one of those people that gains wait after surgery!  I don't want to ruin my tummy tuck by eating crap and not exercising!  I have so many thoughts, questions and fears running through my head at all times, I've even gotten a few zits from stress (embarrassingly enough one smack in the middle of my right butt cheek and it hurts!).  Either tonight or tomorrow I'll post the specifics of my appointment.  It finally feels like things are getting going!

Here are a few recent tummy pics to start my "before"-