GoziLovingLife on Realself 3 years ago
09/03/2019, 03:14 AM
After years of being mistaken for being pregnant, I had finally had enough! I went to see Dr. Bond about getting a BBL because I thought that I could take my belly fat and put it on my butt. She told me that I didn't really have a lot of belly fat and that my stomach protrusion was due to diastasis recti. I ultimately scheduled to get a diastasis recti repair, lipo, and tummy tuck! I go in on 7/1!
Updated on 12 Jun 2019:
I took these on 6/1/19. I also started keto that day and should be a little smaller than that by the time of my surgery on 7/1. I didn't take any bare skin pics, but the Dr did and if she shares them with me, then I will post those. I'm so excited that my time has finally come after 19 years!
Updated on 13 Jun 2019:
Just read a bunch of testimonials and they have helped me sooo much to get mentally prepared! I reserved my lift recliner at rent a center, they'll deliver on the 28th! I also got all my pre-op documents today, so I'm feeling like it's really real now! The thought of the pain has me a little bit nervous but I will survive
Updated on 16 Jun 2019:
So I thought long and hard about whether I wanted to lose a lil weight before surgery. I have back fat and I'm top heavy so I figured I'd try to get some of that off so those parts will better match my soon to be flat tummy (the thought of it excites me so!!!) I was a little reluctant because I'm small on the bottom and didn't want to lose what I already had. I decided I would do keto to lose the fat but do squats to replace the lost fat with muscle. So I started on 6/1 and it's working. I don't have a scale so I don't know how much I weigh now, but I'm getting comments from colleagues telling me that I'm slimming down and my clothes are fitting looser!! I'm going to keep doing it for the rest of the month and then surgery is the next day. I won't be able to do squats again for a while, but I will still cut back on carbs and drink my apple cider vinegar drink as well as my bullet proof coffee daily.
Updated on 18 Jun 2019:
Just completed my blood work. I can't believe that I have less than 2 weeks before I'm in the flat side!!! I did my surgery shopping and even got a cane. YouTube has been a great resource for figuring out what I need!
Updated on 21 Jun 2019:
So it's been 21 days since I began keto and squats. I noticed in my body that I am smaller, but now I'm noticing in my face! I only have 9 more days of doing it so we'll see what I look like this time next week!
Today is my last double digit pre op day! I'm so excited and nervous. I'm only nervous about the pain, but I planned to stay drugged lol I'm not going to miss a single dose that first week! I have a decent tolerance but I'm not playing games with it. I've never had surgery before so this is all new territory! To be continued...
Updated on 26 Jun 2019:
I can't believe that I'm less than one week away from having my diastasis recti repaired!! This has been a long time coming and I am so excited and ready! Because the hernia was discovered late, I had to get a referral so that insurance covers that part of the procedure! I was definitely cutting it down to the wire but I was able to get it done with 2 days to spare! I also picked up my pain meds and antibiotics prescriptions!!! I definitely plan to take the pain meds like clockwork for the first week minimum! I have zero interest in feeling what my body is going through lol
The keto is still going well! I'm going to do a modified version after this month to keep the carbs lower but not as low as this month. I don't want to lose more weight, but I don't want to gain any either.
Updated on 1 Jul 2019:
I started a post last night but fell asleep and lost everything lol. So I'm here at the hospital in the day surgery waiting room, I am staying over night though. My 2 young adult children are going to take care of me at home, but I'm glad that I'll have hospital staff for the first 24 hours.
Last night I got my room together (for the most part). I even put my lift recliner in position so that I can sit down while practically standing. I also put all my post-op care items on the desk so I won't have to rummage around for whatever I need in the moment. I got about 3 hours of sleep, I feel tired in the background but not on the outside, if that makes sense, but I can't wait to sleep lol I will upload post-op pics as soon as I can. See you all on the flat side!!!
Updated on 3 Jul 2019:
I haven't seen my stomach yet because I'm all bound up, but the nurses kept commenting on the how flat it was. I'm so excited to see it but I'm patient! I'm guessing that I don't have to do anything until my post op appointment next week.
As far as pain goes, I haven't experienced much. On day one I asked for meds twice and on day 2 I asked for meds once. I'm home now and am taking oxycodone every 6 hours and it's been fine.
The only time when things were really tough was when I had to get out of the bed to go to the bathroom. THAT was hard. But now that I'm home and am in the lift recliner and everything is really good. I absolutely recommend renting a lift recliner for a month. I am able to walk to the bathroom by myself, with a cane. I'm thankful that this experience is way better than I expected it to be
Updated on 4 Jul 2019:
I am still completely bound up, but I have this pic which is probably the best before that I have. You can see how lose my muscles and skin are. I go for my first post-op appointment on Tuesday, if I'm allowed to take pics then, I will share. I have no idea what I'm looking like under this binder, but my daughter keeps saying she can tell the difference!
So today was my first day of getting gassy and it isn't painful, but it's uncomfortable. This may be a little tmi, but I want to share the tip anyway if it'll help decrease someone's suffering. So because the muscles are too weak to really push the gas out, when I feel that the gas has moved down, I stand up and spread my booty cheeks a part and let the gas come out. I know, it's crazy, rofl, but it does work and it provides relief. Also sitting on the toilet helps because there is nothing blocking the rectum.
Ik I said it before but I can't say it enough, get a lift recliner, it makes all the difference in the world! Getting up and down has not been a struggle whatsoever since I've been home. However, it was a struggle trying to get out the hospital bed, I think I shed a tear the very first time because I was afraid I was going to rip something. With the recliner, it practically stands you up. I also purchased a cane and that helped me to be independent immediately! I haven't been downstairs since the first night home, but I walk around upstairs. I even started walking around without the cane today! My appetite is still very small, but I am drinking my ACV lemon ginger mix as well as plain water. At first I was drinking the water directly from the bottle but I feel like that kicked off my gas, so now I'm using a straw. My skin gets itchy all over and I scratch as needed. In the ab area I just scratch the binder for psychological purposes lol I even scratched the chair arm and that helped lol I got some bath wipes from the hospital and those have been helpful for freshening up!
I also recommend getting a lil tray for your lap. I didn't think about it until the last minute so I didn't have time to order an adult one online but my daughter found this child one at Michael's while I was in the hospital, and it turned out to be perfect! It can hold a cup as well as notebooks, phones, remotes, you name it. I write, so in addition to using it for eating, I use it for writing too! In my opinion, the tray is a must!
As far as pain goes, I haven't experienced any. I take oxycodone every 6 hours like clock work and I will continue to do so until I run out! So I don't know how painful things would be without the meds but I don't plan to find out! I take the antibiotics at the same time (except for the middle of the night dose because I only do them 3 times a day) I also empty my drains during those same 3 times a day and let my kids record the numbers so they can feel like helpers. I'm down to about 10 cc total but the morning one may be more because it collects over night. My neck felt a little stiff this morning, even felt like a nerve was pinched for a bit, but it's fine now. I spend a lot of time holding my phone and that probably contributes. Other than that, I feel really really great and I still can't believe that it really happened! I'm excited to see what Dr. Bond will say on Tuesday! To be continued...
Updated on 17 Jul 2019:
Just had my 2 weeks post op appointment yesterday. Everything went well, Dr said I'm healing well. She took the tape off my incision now that it's closed and said that I can begin treating the scar. I have bio oil which I've been using on my stretch marks for a week so I'm going to use that. I also have this scar gel from the dollar tree that works really well, so I'm going to use those and see how they work. Dr said Mederma and scar away work really well so I will consider that if I'm not seeing progress. Dr also said that I need to be still, I got the green light to drive and move around last week and I did too much lol So I'm kind of going back to taking it easy like I did week one. I'm supposed to be taking it easy all month, really all summer since I'm a teacher but I'm a busy body and was too busy during week two which has caused a lot of swelling. They also told me to start doing a lot of massaging because I have some areas that are hard. They said lymphatic drainage massage is optional. I think I am going to purchase this lymphatic flush homeopathic liquid and use that, it's called Lymph Stim. I did come home and give myself a really good massage, I'm going to try to do that every morning and evening.
I tried to lay in the bed and was stuck for 2 hours, lol so I'm still using the recliner. At first I thought I may have rented it for too long but a month was a good choice.
I'm going to try tumeric tea today and get another pineapple to help with the swelling. I'm also going to leave the fast food and coffee alone. I don't have a large appetite but I'm going to try to do better because the swelling is no fun and I want to see what I look like without the swelling lol
I finally got my faja yesterday and I love the way it cinches me in the waistline. I was 30.5 inches and super excited about that! But the swelling was so bad, I'm just going to go back to my binder today, even though it leaves marks too when I'm all swollen. I do plan to do some waist training while I'm so pliable and see what kind of hour glass shape I can achieve, but it will be in a healthy, safe manner.
Updated on 25 Jul 2019:
I had my 3 weeks post op appointment 2 days ago and things are progressing well! My swelling is not as crazy as it was, but of course, I'm still swollen. I'm still using the scar gel on my scar and bio oil in my scar and my whole belly and arnica gel on my whole belly for swelling. Last week I did a lot of pineapple and turmeric tea, but I haven't done as much this week. I ordered another faja that I love, it compresses very well and it is strapless so I can wear it with my tank tops and it is panty style with snaps so I don't have to deal with my legs being compressed nor struggling to go to the bathroom lol I also got a J sculpt waist trainer belt and I'm really loving that too! It really compresses and pulls me in tight and I also don't have to deal with straps or panties, so with the 3 garments I have, I feel I am good to go and I'm looking forward to my body getting more hourglass like as time goes by!! My recliner was picked up yesterday and I definitely felt a little sad because it's been a part of my journey since I came home from surgery, but I have a brand new bed that I'm in love with, so it's all good! I have been a little busy this week with a few meetings but I stayed seated the whole time. Right now I am in nature, just sitting on a bench in the woods looking at a lake and enjoying the animals and insects lol no meetings or anything else today, just rest and relaxation.
Updated on 2 Aug 2019:
I made 1 month post op yesterday! Definitely feeling better, but still taking it easy as much as possible! I don't go back to see the doctor until the 20th. My swelling is continuing to go down, but still present of course. I usually wear the J sculpt waist trainer during the day and one of the fajas at night. I think the J sculpt is helping to reduce the swelling a lot because it produces a lot of sweat and my stomach seems to look smaller every time I take it off. I haven't done any tape measurements this week though, so I'm not 100% sure. In these pics you can see that there is still a lot of swelling around the incision area (above and below) as well as the belly button area. I didn't notice that my drain scars were indented until I took the pic. I'm still using the Dr. Sheffields scar gel and Bio Oil as well as the arnica gel. I also put neosporin on the area of my scar that is still pink. I'm going to start putting the scar gel on the drain scars and lipo incision scars because I was only really focused on the long scar but I want them all to fade away, sooner than later.