ready to feel good

Hello -- I am 1 week out from my LBL and I am sooo tired of being sore. This morning I woke up with a helluva headache, my back hurting and my incisions aching. I have been taking my meds as needed, but they make me itch and feel loopy. I knew recovery was going to be a challenge, but this is more than I expected. I just want to feel good, get rid of these drains (I only have 2) and get on with life. I know many of you have gone through this already, what did or could you do to ease the pain and get through it all? I am sorry to be whiny, and am not trying to bring anyone down or scare anyone off, but THIS SUCKS!!!! :(

On the plus side... I LOVE my new body!!! 

Hugs!
Angie

 I'm right there with you!  I'm 6 days out from my LBL and TT and I am SOOOOO miserable.  The actual tummy tuck pain has finally become tolerable today without being completely knocked out on pain medication.  I'm going for another recheck this afternoon and hoping to get drains out.  Right now my main thought is why did I do this??!?! :(

Most of the information I got from reading blogs, message boards, etc. said that the discomfort could be pretty bad for up to two weeks. I had my LWL this past Tuesday and am thankful that the pain isn't as bad as I'd anticipated it would be. An RN from my bariatric practice suggested upping protein before and during recovery. If you haven't already done this, maybe addiing some unflavored protein powder to smoothies or something would help speed healing. I'm taking my pain meds regularly because I'm a wuss, but the increased pain level caused from the ride home from the hospital was helped by taking an Aleve in between pain med doses.

It's hard to find a comfy position when you've been sliced 'n diced all the way around, but using a recliner has been a huge help with that.

I hope these ideas help, but if not, I hope somebody else will chime in and give more and better suggestions. In the meantime, keep your eye on the prize - for me, it's being able to look straight down and see my toes without having to hold my belly out of the way *L*

Hi - I am sorry you are having such a hard time of it.  For me, the pain really subsided around the 2nd week.  I had complications after that so I ended up taking longer than usual to recover, but even with that, the really uncomfortable period was over by about 10 days.

I am exactly 4 months out today and still have some discomfort, especially when I jump, run or do aerobic activity.  I think it is that the fascia is still repairing itself.  It is tolerable, just more annoying than anything. 

I also just got back from a work trip to Israel and I swear I was swollen the entire time I was gone.  Any kind of stress on the body causes it to react for (what I hear) up to a year or longer.  I also did step aerobics this morning and have been block-shaped all day due to swelling. 

I have just learned to be patient and realize that it takes 6-12 months to get to "normal".  Reconciling with the new body definitely takes adjustment!

Hope you feel better very soon!