Abdominioplasty on Wednesday..Recovery?

I had an abdominioplasty with muscle tightening and a hernia repair on wednesday. To be honest this is a lot more painful than I imagined. I can not stand up straight, is that normal 5 days out? I feel like I have a permenannt charlie horse in my abdomin and have some swelling. I am worried that my TT is not as successful as I thought it would be. Am I just crazy? I do still have my darins in on both sides and get my staples out a week from tomorrow. How long was it before you could stand up straingh and did you tummy look flat right out of surgery or did you have the appearence of lose skin after the tt?

I was about 7-10 days out when I could finally stand straight... so I'd say 5 days is still completely normal. Some people can't sand straight for weeks out.

Also, I wouldn't get too disappointed with your results until you're several months out. Swelling can give the appearance of poofyness or a "pooch". Right now you're still fresh out from surgery and your body is going through a lot of adjustments. I'm 5 weeks out now and the swelling is just now finally going down noticably.

It is normal to feel like that; I couldn't walk straight for weeks! and was in pain 24/7 for the first two weeks, I know everybody is different but when it comes to surgeries like this I think we all experience the same worries, pains, questions, etc.  Just try to rest as much as  you can and it will get better.  Good Luck.

Yep, some people can't stand up straight for weeks.  You'll definitely start to feel a lot better about one week post-op.  After that, just some fatigue here and there.  The swelling can take weeks and weeks to go down, so get used to it.  As long as I knew that was normal, I didn't stress about it, so I'm hoping you won't either

Girl, welcome to the "flatlands".  I am going on 8 days post op and stull hunched over.  You dont want to tear your stitches so take it easy.  This is a major surgery and your body needs time to recover and heal, so dont push too hard.  The best is yet to come  .  I am sooo swollen, especially down below.  My numbness is starting to subside and new pains are emerging.  But this is only temporary, WE CAN DO IT!! hang in there!

Totally normal.  You will slowly start standing up straight as time goes on.  All of a sudden it will happen without you thinking about it.  Make sure you take your pain meds to ease your pain.  There is no reason you should be in a lot of pain if you have pain pills.  That's what they're for!  As for the swelling, that will be hanging around for a while so don't get discouraged. 

Good luck,
Melissa

I was hunched over until about 6 weeks out, and I didn't have muscle tightening.  Don't pu**** - it's not worth pushing! Just take your time and before you know it, you'll be standing up better. Easier said than done - my back was killing me, but at least my incision healed pretty well, I think.

Cass

Yep, the pain is normal.  I have a high tolerance of pain but having a TT was no joke.  My tummy was almost flat right after surgery. It went down even more within 3-6 months after surgery.