Sunday, February 28, 2010

Shopping!!

I know I promised that I'd update with my weight progress and new pictures, but there's certain times of the month when you just shouldn't look at the scale & the swelling is emphasized haha. So, I'll probably take pictures more towards the end of the week & weight until next Saturday for my weigh-in.

Now, on a different note....Shopping has been pretty great. So far, I've bought three great dresses that are very fitted & two tops. We went shopping today & I tried on a few different tops. It feels great to pick up a size medium! I bought a very fitted top today that looked great. Anything drappy or oversized in style just looked silly. I can't wait until the swelling goes down & I tone up more to look even better!

Today was the first full day that I went without my compression garment. My stomach still is very numb & it felt very strange at first, but it felt great not having it push up my chubby back & side bits! I'll wear it to bed tonight though & I think there will be days when I might wear it. I don't mind it really, it feels like a part of me most of the time.

Well, tomorrow is my first day back to the gym. I'm dying to get back on track & start to enhance my results. I'm amazed with how much better my stomach is looking and how thin my side profile is. I wish I could fast forward a few months from now to see how the results are then!!

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

5 Weeks

I had another doctors appointment yesterday to check on my progress and got some great news! No more weekly appointments! Yah! Now I don't have to see him again for another 6 weeks. He also gave me clearance to go to the gym and remove my compression garment after the weekend! It will be so nice to start wearing normal clothes & not have to worry about the compression garment pushing out all my chubby parts!

I've been counting my calories to the best of my ability & looking forward to getting back to the gym. My ultimate goal is to get to 145 lbs, so about another 5 lbs to lose. I'm going on vacation 7 weeks from today, so hopefully I can get close!! All my clothes seem to hide my results, which is okay right now since I have to hide the compression garment. I'm looking forward to wearing a tight shirt. My skinny jeans are already getting quite baggy on me.

I'm very happy with my scar. It's very thin & seems to be healing really nicely. It does agitate me when the binder is on it too tight, but I find having a layer underneath it, such as my underwear, really helps to prevent it from rubbing against the scar & providing some cushion.

Well, that's all! I'll update on the weekend after my weigh in with new pictures!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

1 month




I'm officially down to my to my goal weight of 150lbs! I think that makes it between 8-10lbs down since surgery. I feel like i've been eating so bad in the past couple weeks, but hopefully i'll be able to start going to the gym again next week & reverse my eating habits. People seem to be really noticing too. But I feel so great this past week! I feel normal again. I'm going out to spend the weekend doing some shopping & walking around. Yah!

I'm pushing that binder in as tight as I can to help with the swelling. I've noticed the swelling go way down & the size of my crease is greatly improving. I slept last night without the binder just to see what would happen & because I knew I'd be taking pictures first thing in the morning. Not a lot changed, but I did puff up a bit. The binder seems to push all the swelling right to the middle of my stomach, which doesn't help with the crease, but it makes me feel better knowing that it will improve more once I can toss that binder.

Well, I'm off for a shopping excursion, movie watching, and a lunch date! I will update again after my appointment on Tuesday!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Four Weeks

Hello All!

Well, the doctors appointment went well yesterday. My drains have been pulled & I feel so much better!! I really hope that this is me on the road to healing right now. It feels so nice to have all that pressure relieved & now I'm starting to feel smaller. I'm still a bit puffy and swollen, but I'm still feeling a bit better about my results. I even felt well enough to go to a concert last night! There is a bit of a crease still where the belly button is. I will try and get photos in the next couple days, but I didn't want to take any tonight because at the end of the day I'm just extra puffy and swollen.

1,000 views & 22 followers! I appreciate everyone who has helped me get through the past four weeks!!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Day 24





Well....I'm back to being a couch potato while I recover from surgery #2. Thank goodness for the Olympics, I don't feel nearly as guilty parking myself in front of the television. I feel good other than the discomfort of the drains. It's strange because before I felt so much pressure with the binder because of the massive swelling from the hematoma & now I feel like I can't get it any tighter and don't feel as much pressure. The pictures from before don't really show how bad & big the swelling got & how deep the belly button was. The crease now still looks as though it goes deep, but I still just have some red scarring from having the skin pushed together from so much pressure and my belly button is way closer to the surface than before. I think that in a couple more weeks I'll be feeling so much better. My side profile already looks much improved. Overall, I'm happy to have this second surgery done and over with. The doctor also removed the steri strips that were covering my sides where the incision was. I must say, the scar is so thin & perfect. I know it's going to heal great!

The three nurses and the doctor said they had never seen anything quite like my hematoma. It feels like some sort of strange accomplishment. I came out of that surgery automatically walking straighter & with a huge feeling of relief. Tuesday will be my check-up & probably the day my drains will be removed. I've been draining normal, like how most people do after surgery, rather than dark blood, I have pinkish/yellow fluid. Once these are out I'm going to be enjoying my results way more.

I appreciate everyone checking in on me. I haven't been too responsive with all the craziness of the past week and a half. I'm going to try and post pictures once weekly & I will post again after my check-up appointment. I can't believe it's already going to be 4 weeks soon! Granted, I'm not on track with most tummy tuckers at the 4 week stage, but I'm slowly getting there.

k

Friday, February 12, 2010

Update after surgery #2

Yesterday's surgery went very smooth and i'm home recovering with little pain. I am having a bit of dizziness from the pain killers and have almost fainted a couple times. must admit that getting rid of that hematoma feels soooooooooooooooooo much better & i'm much flatter, fewf! I'll post pictures when I can support myself a bit better. I'll share more detailed info as well.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Day 20-Surgery #2

Doctors appointment today brought some relief and frustration. When he took a look at me he said that he wanted to try and stick a needle in me to drain some of my hematoma. He proceeded to stick a needle in me and drain out a large amount of blood. After taking out some blood, he said he just needed to get in there and do what he should have done a while ago...surgery. So now I'm scheduled for two days from now to have surgery to open up my incision again, get rid of the hematoma, and place some sort of sutures that will take care of the problem for good! He said that he's never experienced a hematoma like this before and that he's never had to have a post-op surgery ever before. He said that it's common for hematoma for people who have lost a lot of weight, something about larger arteries and extra space or something along those lines. The great news is that I'll finally have some relief & he said it's going to make my results look soooooo much better...Fewf! The downside is that I will have drains again after the surgery...sigh.

Well, that's my day 20 update! I walked 17 blocks home! I'm just starting to feel a bit normal again, but I know this will make me feel physically and mentally better once this procedure is over.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Day 18/19




I feel as though I haven't had much as far as updates go. My goal is to now post every few days with progress pictures or once a major milestone occurs. For the time being, I'm alive, healing, but still hunched over. I feel as though my energy is back & I can get around quite good. The only thing that keeps me from getting out and about too much is the back pain I get from my binder. However, I did manage to get through most the weekend during a work event without the thought of any pain crossing my mind. I was running around like crazy and keeping up with everything that needed to be done. My wound from my tubes is healing! No longer do I have to run to change the gauze every couple of hours and it's starting to feel like I'm getting back to normal.

Yesterday I had a post-birthday outing with my boyfriend to go shopping. I knew I didn't want to spend too much as I'm still very swollen. I did manage to walk away with three dresses! I'm going to wait to continue on any additional shopping until the swelling starts to subside.

As far as the swelling goes...I'm feeling very heavy & sore on my stomach where the swelling is. It's not puffy swelling, but rather a really hard underbelly. I also have what I had read about many of times before my surgery....I have the dreaded "ken doll"....aside from the package and stomach, I'm feeling pretty good. The doctor requested that I come in for an appointment tomorrow, a week earlier than previously scheduled. I'm curious to hear what he's going to say about my progress. I just have a feeling that this swelling is not normal and that what I'm experiencing has to do with my hematoma. Last night I started bruising on my stomach as well, so we'll see!

I'll be sure to post if anything major happens tomorrow!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Two Weeks

Overall, being back to work isn't as bad as I thought it would be, but the past two days have really hit me hard. Wednesday I pushed myself way to hard & payed for it. That left me in a state of constant yawning today & feeling overall exhausted. I'm a bit nervous to think about tomorrow and Saturday because I have a huge event at work. I'm fortunate enough to have very thoughtful co-workers who have so generously demanded that I sit in a comfortable office chair throughout the whole event.

In other news....my gaping whole where my drains were is starting to close already! I know that we wanted to have it drain more, but it feels so nice not having to run to change the gauze every hour or two. I've started putting polysporin on it in hopes that it will help reduce infection & heal faster. But having that whole close is making me feel even more human again. Now if I can just stand up straight!!! I'm getting faster each day, but yeah, I'm still walking like i'm walking slow and hunched over.

I'm going to keep this one short and sweet tonight. I'll update on the weekend if I survive work for the next couple days. I do see the swelling slowly going down, so hopefully a couple days from now I'll have more pictures to post. I'm also going to try and brave the scale just out of curiosity, but I know that swelling will be affecting that outcome.

K

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Day 12/13-Changes




Day 12 & 13 have been challenging & filled with lots of highs and lows! So many changes!!!!!

Let's start with Monday....I had the doctors appointment in the morning & was desperate to get out the drains!!! The irritation was driving me to tears. At the appointment they took one look and said that the drains would stay until Thursday. I started draining more on the weekend, my assumption is that this was due to me being more active. The nurse said that I have a hematoma...my knowledge is very little on what this is...but basically this explains as to why I drain blood, whereas most people drain a yellowish fluid. At the end of the appointment I was feeling pretty good about knowing that Thursday was going to be the day & I was confident that I could make it through!!

Flash forward to Monday afternoon....the drain incision started to bleed. It was incredibly disgusting & irritating. I tried not to pay too much attention, but as the night went on, it kept getting worse and worse. On top of that, the right drain seemed to moved far enough out of the incision that the drain holes were exposed & leaking air to the bulb & making it no longer effective. After a shower I had finally had enough & packed myself with gauze & laid flat for the remaining of the night. It was an incredibly long, sleepless night wanting to know what would happen & feeling so desperate to get to the doctors.

This morning I got to go to the doctors office again. I'm starting to feel a bit like an inconvenience and a bit like a hypochondriac. The doctor came in and took a look and automatically started pulling out the tubes. It wasn't painful, but it was a strange sensation! It feels so great to have them removed!! The doctor said that I will continue to drain blood from the incision, and probably lots. So far he's been right haha. I've been placing gauze over the incision and a pad as well. The blood has been quite a lot, but it's so much better than having the drains. He expected that it will continue to drain for the next week.

Monday was also my first day at work, which went fine. I've been treated with a lot of care at work & I've been taking it easy. I have a huge event on Friday and Saturday that will have me on my feet and running around all day. I'm a bit nervous, but at least my co-workers are very understanding and will let me rest when I need it.

Well, tomorrow is already two weeks out! It feels like it was so long ago....Today i'm incredibly swollen from my side view, but I'm noticing some changes in my frontal view. I wish the next couple of months would go by, that I could start to feel more human, and I can get a better sense of my results and if I'll need revisions. I'm desperate to get back to the gym & tone up and try and improve my results & other parts of my body that I wouldn't notice because all the focus was on my flabby tummy. I'm still very hunched over, but each day is getting better!!

K