1 week and 2 days update post BL/TT

Hi all,

It's been one week and a few days post-plastics! Had my breast lift and extended tummy tuck. I'm doing well, pain in the first few days was quite brutal and I wasn't taking enough pain killers (should've had 2 instead of 1), but once I got that managed it's been OK. The worst feeling is just how tight everything feels, my skin is so stretched and I feel hunched over, plus the compression garments, it's claustrophobic and uncomfortable, but hey, no pain, no gain! The breasts feel fine, a little tender but I haven't had much pain there at all. They are nicely lifted, very happy there.

Got one drain out yesterday, still have one in, but hopefully it will come out tomorrow. The main issue I'm having is that my legs are really really swollen. Though I am getting up and walking around frequently I'm still retaining a lot of fluid, my surgeon says its common and as long as it doesn't hurt it's OK. I'm still really swollen and pouchy around my belly button, I hope that will go down soon, but the top part of my tummy is so flat, it's great!

Will keep you all posted and will maybe post pics once some of the swelling subsides.

Glad to hear you are on your way... I've heard that it could be 6 months before all the swelling is down... At 6 weeks I'm still quite swollen by the end of the day and feel really tight.

Take it easy and heal....

Lisa

Thanks Lisa, I will!

I'm almost 4 months out from LBL/hernia repair and armlift and I still sometimes feel swollen, especially when I exercise. The funny thing is you don't see this swelling and it doesn't change the way my clothes fit, it just that the areas where I had surgery just feel really tight, stiff and uncomfortable. And it's not nearly as uncomfortable as it was earlier on - so it does get better as everyone here will tell you. I was told by my surgeon to stop wearing my compression a couple of weeks ago.

Part of the swelling is due to the body's healing process, but the rest is due to excess sodium. Are you tracking it? Try to get your daily sodium intake to 1,500 mg per day (the goal the American Heart Association recommends for all adults) or at least below 2,300 mg per day. You were pumped full of sodium during surgery and if you're using a lot of processed foods/shakes/dairy products then you are probably exceeding the recommendations. I lost a couple of pounds in the first couple of days just getting rid of all that excess sodium and fluid from surgery. Losing that excess fluid made a huge difference in my swelling - it went down significantly and I was a lot more comfortable in my compression garments. The few times I cheated and ate too much sodium I immediately felt the extra fluid collect where I had surgery and saw the scale add a pound or two to my weight.

You're throught the worst and it just gets better every day now.

Thanks so much for the info! I am not tracking sodium, but am guilty of a real Salt tooth - I eat a lot of salty foods and put salt on lots of stuff. I have been very conscious of it the last few days and notice it makes a difference in the fluid in my legs, so bland food it is!

Swelling is totally normal and how long you will swell varies from person to person. I'm almost 2 years out from my lbl and I still swell from time to time. Some days I can feel it early in the day and others only late in the evening. No one notices but me. I've just learned not to let it bother me so much. At least this isn't the norm for most folks. Sodium really has nothing to do with my swelling at this point.