?? For those who've had panni and/or tummy tuck

Does your tummy still get a pooch around your time of the month? Yesterday my stomach just swelled out of the blue right below my belly button where my female organs are and its still a little swollen in the same place today. I started yesterday too. Could that be the reason for the sudden belly swell? i have never noticed it before and its been around 5 weeks since surgery. I guess now that all the excess skin is gone its more noticable when I swell. Hmmmm???

I just had my post op visit with my surgeon on Thurs. I had a LBL 4 weeks ago and while I still have swelling in my upper legs & thighs, I have very minimal in my tummy. After examining me, he said don't get alarmed if all of a sudden you see a roll of swelling above my incision. He said that many people get this a few weeks out and to be patient bc it's only the fluid working it's way down. It'll eventually go away.  I haven't seen this yet but I'm glad he mentioned it. Good luck!  K

Having the extra skin gone allows me to see when I am bloated. I can eat the wrong thing and I'll puff up until it's out of my system. Before, with all of the extra skin it was never that noticable to me. I might feel a bit uncomfortable but I couldn't see it just by looking at my stomach....now I definitely can.

I wish I could tell. I often feel bloated, but since I am still overweight after my 20lb panni removal, I still have somewhat of a belly below my breasts, (where a "muffin top" would be.)  so I can't tell if I am bloated. I am about 7 weeks post op and am going through chronic constipation and back pain. I emailed my surgeon about the back pain, (I thought removing the belly would ease back pain.....not contribute to it!)  and she said my back hurts because since I no longer have the belly, I am using muscles in my back that I seldom used. I don't know about anyone else who has had this surgery, but for me, it has been a blessing!  But the recovery....................... has been down-right weird! Take care and God bless.