Tummy Tuck - Day 9 Post-op update

The last few days have been full of ups and downs as I continue to recover from my tummy tuck. After my follow-up with my doctor, I seemed to take a turn for the worse when it came to my pain. My incision is quite long being hip-to-hip and there is a small 2-inch section that is actually indented and stitched quite tightly. That small area became the source of much pain on Day 7. I took a shower by myself early afternoon which gave me a feeling of accomplishment (baby steps!), but I couldn't move around without a lot of discomfort and by late afternoon, I was over it all! I had a little come apart at bedtime, crying and wondering what the heck I had gotten myself into. My sleep that night wasn't great and I woke up discouraged. However, Day 8 (yesterday) was actually a good day! I was still uncomfortable and that small area still a point of great tightness, but it wasn't painful like the day before. I still took it easy and my son's girlfriend was kind enough to cook dinner for us all since my husband was going to be at work late. The evening wasn't too bad and I felt like I had turned the corner a bit.

Sleeping isn't my favorite thing right now. I have to sleep in a reclining position with a pillow under my knees. I am a side sleeper, but not allowed to sleep in that position quite yet. After only 5 hours sleep, I just couldn't get comfortable so I went ahead and got up for the day. Walking wasn't that bad and there wasn't any real pain, just a feeling of tightness. I was so looking forward to my shower and all went well. I still can't stand up straight due to the skin tightness in my belly. Most of the bruising from the lipo is gone, my belly button is healing well, a lot of the swelling has gone down and I'm back to a good weight showing that I probably have about 3 lbs. of water still to flush out.

I've been lounging in pajamas and stretchy yoga pants due to the belly swelling, but I put on a pair of stretch jeans today to help hold the abdominal binder in place and I feel almost normal! The extra help that the jeans are offering is also helping with the discomfort and pain and that is a great thing! My husband is doing the grocery shopping because there is still no way I can walk that much, but I do believe we will head out for a lunch today as I'm feeling a bit stir crazy anyway. I may look a bit funny walking hunched over, but it will feel good to get out!

Once my bruising is all gone and I can stand up a bit straighter, I will take some pictures to show you my progress. My husband says I look thinner already even though I am still a bit swollen!