2 week update and question about complications... (& pic!)

2 weeks out today and i'm feeling awesome. i'd say i'm like 85-90% back to normal feeling. i get weird random feelings, but not pain, more like butterfly type feelings. the only area that still hurts is my lower back, but it's pretty bruised and i'm obviously putting pressure on it when i sleep/sit. i started sleeping in bed tuesday night, have 3 pillows under my head and a roll pillow under my knees. swelling is bad not awful. despite that, and having my period, i'm down 4 inches on my hips  (which is really where my mess was anyway) and 6 pounds. i'm still kind of hunched around my waist so it's showing a higher number there. i haven't done my thighs. just taking a percocet before bed, gonna try and cut that down to half tonight, though i don't think it's really doing much anymore so i may just try and completely skip it. it's just hard to get comfortable on a bruised & swollen back! i went to the grocery store by myself yesterday and it was so nice to feel normal lol. i took my time and walked up and down all the aisles, i was there for about an hour (a trip that usually would have taken me 20 minutes).

my sister's bachelorette party is saturday and i'm so glad i'm feeling up to going (at least right now i'm planning on it). i tried to get her friend's to schedule it before my surgery and it didn't happen so i had to give up my moh duties for the night, which is making me crazy. we're going into philly and staying at the marriott (her friend that took over is an event coordinator there so we got a great deal), taking a cab to dinner, then taking a cab to a male strip show lol. i'm afraid i'm gonna bust a stitch laughing! they got my sister a seat on the stage so it should be hilarious (and i'm sure she'll kill us all afterwards!). i'm excited to get dressed up but not sure what's gonna fit right!

not that i've had them, but now that my steri strips are coming off i'm finding myself more paranoid about complications. if you had your incision open, or had a seroma, how far out did they happen? and how can you tell a seroma from normal swelling? i've heard about the waterbed feeling, but i don't think i've touched one since i was 5 years old, so i don't know that i would even make the connection lol. i'm assuming if i was having any issues i'd be feeling a lot worse than i am. although i am afraid i'm pushing myself a little too much, so i'm taking it a little easier today. also, how long until you were standing completely straight? i'm tired of my dad's jokes that i look like an old lady lol.

and here's the picture. you can definitely tell where my swelling is. I hate that my rny scar is so bad and still on my belly (so much lower though! it was right below my boobs before!)

just for fun, here's my pre-rny pic

and this was my brother's wedding february 2012, i'm about 5 pounds up from this. horrible wedding, most flattering dress i've ever worn (even though it's completely not my style)

I had issues with my incision opening beginning as early as 9 days post LBL (about 4 days after infection set in) and as far out as 6 weeks (when the last area opened up).  I am now over 8 weeks out and I STILL have open areas on my incision.  I had about 11 of them open up in various spots and one VERY large area that had to be addressed with a wound vac for 6 weeks and then another surgery to close it just about 2 weeks ago.  Since that second closure, I have had THAT incision develop an infection, open up, and develop a seroma.  Mine always started with symptoms of infection- fever, redness, heat, swelling, and then drainage.  The seroma feels just like a squishy patch, it really does feel like touching a water bed or a balloon filled with water.  The rest of my incision is firm and tight, the area over the seroma was squishy and loose.  Ohhh, and the pain is insane.  If you are going to have issues, the pain will probably tip you off.  It literally feels like someone is ripping you apart at your seam. 

As for the hunched over part- I worked to straighten myself as quickly as possible, because I have TONS of loose skin left in the front and room for "play" and movement, but was pulled WAY too tight in the back and thats where all the incisions started opening.  So for me, getting upright and getting as much pressure off my backside as possible was important, but didnt really make any difference in the end.  i was fighting a losing battle.  I would say by 6 weeks out, the really tight feeling and cinched down hunching was better.  I can sit and stand perfectly straight now no issues.  Muscle relaxers were the only thing that helped until that point. 

That looks fantastic! At about three and a half weeks out for me, I sprung a leak of clear fluid from a spot on my incision close to the end of my hip. It is self draining, but has been going on for over a week now, so I am following up with the surgeon on Wednesday. The regular Dr that looked at it said, hmm, that's weird LOL It should stop on its own but if it last more then a week to follow up with surgeon... I'll let you know what he has to say about it. So far, that is the only minor problem I have had. seeing how nice your tummy looks without the vertical incision makes me a little jealous! LOL 

i just keep thinking about how if he decided to do it my rny scar would be gone, my new scar already started forming in a few spots and it already looks so much better lol. if i do end up doing the boobs i may see if he can revise it, but i'm not going to have surgery just for that. 

Your upper tummy looks great, so whatever he did down there took care of it, or you just didn't need anything up there! M so glad you are doing so well!

It sounds like your recovery is going very smoothly!!! Wow, 4" off your hips is fantastic - and only 2 weeks out!!!

Seromas can be detected by your plastic surgeon palpating you, by ultrasound, and by CAT scan. Yes, there are little tests we can run on ourselves to try and figure it out but as you may recall from my experience this can be very misleading.

If I recall correctly, seromas can develop up to 6 weeks post op - but don't hold my feet to the fire on that.

It took me a few weeks to stand completely straight.

Funny about the swelling - mine was concentrated in my lower front ab and mons. That was the area pre-op that was the worst. I remember thinking that it may never get flat. But it did!!!

your tummy looks great congrats! as for me I'm not sure if I'm having complications or just regular stuff going on. I go for my first post op with the PS tomorrow so I will find out but here is what's going on... I still have seepage around the drain tube and I have two small spots in my incision on my right hip that have opened up some I put steri strips on them to hold them closed that seems to be working fine also I'm still producing about 100 cc's per day in my drain.

i just started losing my first strips yesterday! i've lost a whopping 3 so far. my drains went down really quick, which of course made me nervous that they weren't doing their job lol (everything makes me paranoid, but better too cautious i guess). i had the seepage around the drain tube too, luckily my instructions said it was normal otherwise i would have freaked out! let us know how your appointment goes!

You look great! You're doing amazing. I'm going to post my update separately. Reading everyone's stories has helped me so much!