post op panniculectomy
One thing I wish I'd made sure to have was more extra post surgery undies. I was so swollen and with the two drains I didn't want to chance ruining *my* undies! More disposables than I had would have been nice. As much extra dressings as they'll send you home with helps save you some money, too. For a couple of days before surgery I ate extra protein to make sure my body was ready for healing. At home, a toilet riser was a life saver! When I had my RNY they weren't doing the laprascopic commonly yet, so mine was open. Using the bathroom was a nightmare! With my panni, my PS tightened my abdominal muscles (I've had 5 kids), tightened the skin above my belly button and did a mons lift. Sitting in the first week was not an enjoyable experience but the riser made it much less painful. Part of my everyday life is dealing with chronic pain. One thing I use daily is ice packs because I can't stand using medication if I don't need to. DO NOT USE ICE PACKS!!!! I mentioned using them on the skin, not the incision, to my PS and I thought she'd take my head off! She said the cold slows the blood flow to the area and the blood flow is already iffy in some places and trying to be reestablished due to the surgery. The ice packs will only make this worse and slow the healing in the process. Keeping your feet propped up will reduce the pain. I keep my knees propped up anyway, due to back pain. But when I prop my feet up, too, I feel the blood flow back toward my body and any pain I'm feeling in my belly reduces. Based on rave reviews here I bought a couple of Flexees Waistnippers. I started wearing them after my third drain came out. The surgical binder loosened a lot on its own, shifted around and was hard to adjust, especially by myself. The Flexees Waistnipper has hook and eye closures that stay tight, but it's so comfortable I still sleep in it even though I don't have to. If you can get someone to stay and help you, do it. Give your body the time you need to heal. Your skin is trying to reattach to your muscles and it's going to take some time. You're going to get tired doing nothing at all. I went to a doctor appointment, then went along with my husband while he ran errands. All I did was sit in the car for a couple of hours, not including the 1/2 hour when we got out to have lunch. I was exhausted when I got home! I was ready to go to sleep by 6pm that night. The most important thing you can do to aid your healing is to do EXACTLY what your doctor tells you to do. Follow your PS's instructions to the letter. They know what they did and they give you their instructions for a reason. If you don't understand why, ask. You're paying them and it's your body. Make sure you understand everything you have a question about. I put pictures of my panni about 10 days post surgery (incision pics) on my profile and pics my daughter took of me yesterday as well, if you'd like to look. Good Luck!
donnaloza · 1 replies · 56 views
