swelling hell!

OK I am1 week out from my LBL and in Swelling HELL!!!  Doct took 15 pounds of "Tissue" off.  and sent me home with just an Abdominal binder, becasue He wanted me to be able to get up and move (My arthritis was acting up and he was afraid the Compression Garment would be to restrictive the first few days).  I get the Compression Garment at my appointment this morning. 

Anyway,on the day of Surgery I was 207,  the first day home I weighed 192, and this morning because of all the swelling I am up to 201.  When does the swelling get better?  Will the compression Garment help it go away?  anything else I can do to make the swelling go away?

I can't tell how flat my tummy is because of all the swelling!!!  AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Also none of my drains seem to drain!  What is up with that!  I should mention that I have been stripping them and emptying them 3 times a day, and 3 of them never have more than 2-3 cc's of stuff in them, although it is VERY Bloody stuff.  The other one usually has 40 cc's of stuff in it.

Edited to add info about the drains.

Hey girl!  it will get better, hang in there!  Although I am concerned w/the swelling if your drains aren't putting out!  Have you done what they call stripping the drain lines & making sure they aren't clogged up?  Mine produced steadily until on day 11 when all 4 were taken out.  I NEVER honestly had a problem w/swelling.  I can tell at the end of the day that I'm more sore (yes....even at 6.5 weeks out!), everythings more tender & I am a bit swollen more.  I've never wore the binder on my thighs, I tried but for me it seemed to hurt to much putting pressure on the incisions.  My doc didn't want me in a binder unless I felt like it made me more comfortable.  Sometimes I did put the tummy wrap around binder on & shortly the swelling would have seemd to gone away..

Your still so early on, this is REALLY a big deal we have just put our bodies thru.  It's more than I ever imagined it would be.  Go slowly, each day should get better.  I would call the doc tho & tell them how swollen you are & that the drains are producing!  See what they say, better safe than sorry.  You'll feel so much better if you can keep that fluid down!

Let us know!

Yeah I am stripping them.  I go see the doc this AM so hopefully I will get better info then.

Drink lots of water.  For me the swelling was the worst part.  After my upper body lift I had 14 pounds of water weight gain in one day.  Limit salt!  I feel for you.  Loris

Hi Anna,

I'm sorry you're having trouble. I remember thinking the same thing at one week out. For what it's worth, here is my advice: limit salt, do not weigh yourself (seriously, just don't do it), drink plenty of water and up your protein as much as possible.

At a little over 3 months post-op, my tummy is still swollen. I get lymphatic massages and that helps tremendously. You might want to look into those once you're out a little more. I think the compression garment is going to help you, too.

As far as the drains go, that sounds normal to me. Just speaking from my own experience - I had one drain that always had more output than the others.

I promise it gets better each day. At one week out, I really didn't want to anyone telling me that because I was convinced the whole deal would suck forever. But, I swear - hang on, it gets better.

Okay, so I had breast lift/reduction, and liposuction of the back ten days ago, and my swelling has not gone down at all.  I have not weighed, but am about four sizes larger than normal.  I don't have much help to offer other than wearing the compression and eating a low-salt diet, but just wanted you to know that you're not alone!