LBL update and some questions

Hi all,

I know alot of you have also gotten surgery, both LBLs and tummy tucks, recently so I figured I'd share my experience and ask a few questions.

I had my LBL 6/18, so I'm just shy of two weeks out.

1. When I went back for my 1.5 week follow up they seemed shocked when I asked for refills on my pain meds. They gave me half refills but said to start weening off. This seemed a little soon to me! Was anyone else expected to come off them so fast? They were very nonchalant about it, but man it's tough. I actually feel much more tired now that I'm not taking them, which seems odd to me.

2. At that time I got 3/4 of my drains removed, even though all four were draining less than 20cc. Will swell hell start when the last one comes out (probably Monday)?

3. It's funny, many people report having a flat stomach right after surgery but then it swells; mine has been hard and swollen since surgery, never flat though. It almost seems as if my muscles are still pooching out a bit, even though given how sore I was I'd say he followed through on the muscle tightening. Anyone else experience this?

4. Was sleeping in a recliner, but never slept well even on all the meds. When did you switch over to a bed? Any tips?

5. My doctor has me wearing a binder for 4 weeks, but has nothing covering my incision below it. What does your doctor do? It seems weird to me that there's no gauze or anything.

6. Lastly, what was your progression into resuming working out? And what about resuming sex?

Thanks for all your answers and help in advance!

1. I only took percocet for the first 9 days. The pain has be minimal since then. I had TT June 10th.
2. I asked about swell hell earlier today in another post so hopefully we will get some responses soon.
3. I was swollen from the time I first saw my tummy at the hospital after surgery. Couldn't really see my results at all for about a week I think. Now the swelling isn't too bad in the mornings so I'm starting to see but I think typically we won't see our full results until about 6 months after surgery.
4. I have a foam wedge pillow. At first sleeping with my upper body propped up but now I use it to elevate my legs. I'm not able to get comfortable yet lying flat.
5. Different docs do things differently. I had gauze .
6. I think typically 6 weeks for both. There's a recent discussion topic on here about sex where you can read more on that.
Hope this helps.

Hi

 

Here's my experience.  I had my surgery on June 5

1. I took a 1/2 dose (1 pill) of Percocet about every 8 hours for the first 3 days.  Took the full dose of 2 pills only twice.  Then I did 1/2 a Perc about 3-2x a day for another 2 days. The pain, for me, was minimal for my LBL.  The painful area for me were my thighs (I also had inner thigh lipo) due to swelling. Also I had some pain due to constipation. 

2. My thighs have been very swollen from the get go, my middle doesn't seem to be that bad but it does get a bit swollen. As the day goes on, my thighs get worse.  It is not enough for me to take pain meds, but it is annoying.  2 of my drains came out at the 1 week mark, a 3rd at the 2nd week mark and the last one when I saw my doc on Thursday. 

3. I had a flat, almost concave, tummy at the hospital after surgery and that lasted about a week.  Then it started to swell a little.  It is swelling more this week but not what I would call hell (my thighs have been thru hell.....)  But I do find that I get a pooch when I am sitting w/o the compression garment on now (ie: going to the bathroom)  Bugs me like crazy but it's a mental/emotional kind of bugging, physically it doesn't hurt. 

4. I switched to the bed about 2 1/2 weeks in and after my 3rd drain was removed.  The recliner helped at first but I was getting tired of sleeping in it as I could get a good rest either.  A pillow under my legs and 2 pillows at my head helped.  Once the drains are out, it will be easier too. 

5. I did the binder for 2 weeks, then moved on to the compression garment.  I had steri strips on my incision, which started to peel about 1 1/2 weeks in.  My doc said that was fine and I could remove any that started to peel off.  They were all gone by week 2.  No other dressings besides the one I had right after the surgery, which was removed on 2 days after by my doc.  

6. I got the go-ahead to walk after the first week and when I saw my doc Thursday (week 3) she said I could do more aggressive walking/elliptical/bike starting next week.  I can also start lifting again but don't do any ab or back work.  She said that after week 6, I could begin running again.  Week 8 for abs.  

6.5 Sex... she didn't mention it to me and we tried it out last night (see other thread).  A little tender and both of us were really careful.  But it was "good" and it was nice to feel close to my hubby again.  After him being a caretaker for me while I have been recovering, it felt nice to be lovers again.  (corny, I know but....) 

Hope that helps!
 

I initially had a prescription for a week's worth of pain meds and then asked for another week. The second week I mainly took them at night. By about 2.5 weeks out, i was off them.

I used unscented maxipads on my incisions (much cheaper than gauze). My incisions were glued shut so nothing was oozing or anything, but it helped cushion them from the compression garment.

My stomach was flat immediately. I was swollen, but still flat. I loved my results from day 1. I did not notice any difference in swelling when the drains came out.

1. When I went back for my 1.5 week follow up they seemed shocked when I asked for refills on my pain meds. They gave me half refills but said to start weening off. This seemed a little soon to me! Was anyone else expected to come off them so fast? I re-filed my scrip twice and was about to call for a third re-fill when suddenly the worse part was over.  Pain management was one of my big issues in choosing a doc, and this one is very much into the idea that you shouldn't suffer.  It was hardly the reason I chose him, but it was good to know we were both on the same wavelength on the subject.  I think your doc is being unreasonable thinking that you should be off pain meds at 1 1/2 weeks.  Even when I was off of them on a regular basis, I'd still use them at night to get comfortably to sleep.

2. At that time I got 3/4 of my drains removed, even though all four were draining less than 20cc. Will swell hell start when the last one comes out (probably Monday)?  Swell hell starts pretty much whenever it wants to, but 3 weeks out seems to be the magic number.  I had some edema in my legs.  When the last drain was pulled at 3 weeks, the edema went away overnight - and the abdominal swelling started!

3. It's funny, many people report having a flat stomach right after surgery but then it swells; mine has been hard and swollen since surgery, never flat though. It almost seems as if my muscles are still pooching out a bit, even though given how sore I was I'd say he followed through on the muscle tightening. Anyone else experience this?  Honestly, it's hard for me to remember.  I was put into a compression garment on the OR and I barely took it off except to change dressings.  It certainly seemed flat to me, compared to the rolls of skin that I had before!  Then swell hell started.  Now, I'm flat in the morning, and puffy in the evening.

4. Was sleeping in a recliner, but never slept well even on all the meds. When did you switch over to a bed? Any tips?  I always slept on my bed.  Plenty of pillows, including one or two under my knees.  I'd shift the pillows around to change the pressure points.

5. My doctor has me wearing a binder for 4 weeks, but has nothing covering my incision below it. What does your doctor do? Compression garment for 5-6 weeks - it covered the entire incision.  The dressing on the incision was changed twice a day - Bacitracim ointment and gauze bandages.  At week two or three (whenever the incision was totally healed), I was given silicone strips to place over the scars to flatten them out.

6. Lastly, what was your progression into resuming working out? And what about resuming sex?  6 weeks

 

1. When I went back for my 1.5 week follow up they seemed shocked when I asked for refills on my pain meds. They gave me half refills but said to start weening off. This seemed a little soon to me! Was anyone else expected to come off them so fast? They were very nonchalant about it, but man it's tough. I actually feel much more tired now that I'm not taking them, which seems odd to me. i was told to get off the pain medsd as soon as possible. I have no idea why, and I was too dazed from narcotics to think to ask, LOL! I got a refill on one of my scripts. I had two for pain. No problem.   2. At that time I got 3/4 of my drains removed, even though all four were draining less than 20cc. Will swell hell start when the last one comes out (probably Monday)? i began to swell once my drains were removed. They told me it was normal. But swell hell begins around week 3. I would swell so much that I could not even button my pants,not even close.   3. It's funny, many people report having a flat stomach right after surgery but then it swells; mine has been hard and swollen since surgery, never flat though. It almost seems as if my muscles are still pooching out a bit, even though given how sore I was I'd say he followed through on the muscle tightening. Anyone else experience this? Mine was flat.   4. Was sleeping in a recliner, but never slept well even on all the meds. When did you switch over to a bed? Any tips?  I always slept in a Ned but I was propped up on a ton of bed pillows and a foam wedge. I also had a foam roll pillow unr my knees to keep me in beach chair position. I had a hard time sleeping on my back for weeks but turning on my side was not comfortable. I wasn't able to sleep in my normal position until about 2-mos out.   5. My doctor has me wearing a binder for 4 weeks, but has nothing covering my incision below it. What does your doctor do? It seems weird to me that there's no gauze or anything. I did not have anything on my incision.   6. Lastly, what was your progression into resuming working out? And what about resuming sex? 6 weeks for sex, 8 weeks for exercise, although I could do walking at 6 weeks... At least those were my instructions.