Phantom Skin Syndrome?

The title is meant to be tongue in cheek - I don't believe that's really a thing!

Yesterday, when I got out of the shower, I had to stop myself as I went to dry under my belly... because there isn't an "under my belly" anymore!

And today, I wore brief-style underwear. I normally wear boy short-style, but I prefer briefs when I have my period. It's the first time I've worn them since my surgery and I literally said, out loud, "Wait, is this the way briefs are supposed to look?!" Like.. they're flat on my stomach, since my stomach is flat. I'm so used to seeing them stretched over my stomach and, as I lost weight, my excess stomach skin! SO WEIRD.

I can't wait to have the "under my belly" thing happen with "under my boobs." :D

That's so funny. I've lived with a gut, then and apron, for so long that I can't imagine what it will be like not to have one. Right now with the compression, I can't really get a true sense of how things will be.

How are you feeling? I know your surgery was a bit more extensive than mine, and I'm trying to guage when I'll feel halfway normal again.

I'm actually feeling pretty decent right now and I've had a few active days in a row and I'm holding up well. I'm still having the occasional nap, but not often. I think I napped once last week? I'm hoping to start cooking dinners starting tonight. I'm not doing laundry since I can't carry the laundry baskets - but I am sorting it and able to put my own stuff away. It's useful to have help with the scar tape and scar gel, but I CAN do it myself if I need to. I do get uncomfortable if I sit for too long since my butt gets sore.

So I think I'm fairly self-sufficient now, which is awesome. :) I don't get released for exercise for nine more days and I don't have 100% mobility with bending and extension in my arms yet. A lot of my glue has come off now too, which is nice, since I don't feel like my skin has a layer of crazy glue.

Still some discomfort in my abdomen and in my arms, but nothing that requires any sort of medication, OTC or otherwise.

I don't have a ton of swelling as far as I can tell, and I'm loving the look of my new abdomen and arms!

Did you have muscles tightened in your abdomen? I can't stand up straight right now, and it sucks bad.

I did have some muscle tightening, yes. Not a lot thanks to pilates and having not had kids! I feel like I wasn't standing close to straight until 3 weeks post-op.

Today I had the realization that, without the panniculus to distort things, I'm too short waisted to wear high waisted garments. Who knew?

Dr Michaels did my arm lift and breast lift last July. When you get your arm comp slleves off. you will feel the same way. These are what my arms should look like. Phantom skin is a good thing to miss.

My scars are looking good, but I wore those dang sleeves and used biocornium until Christmas. It is worth it, although the scars are still (barely) visible, I have no problem wearing sleevless tops in public. I did not exercise during that period.

Hang in there - do everything possible to get good scar results.

Haha, I totally feel that way about my arms now when I shower. It's like washing your hair for the first time after you get 6 inches of it cut off. What a weird feeling!

I think all of my incisions are looking fantastic. But, honestly, scars don't bother me and I've been wearing sleeveless tops in public for the last 2+ years. Not exercising for 5 months sounds horrible :/ I'm really looking forward to being able to exercise again on the 17th. I'll definitely take it slow and probably start with tai chi and yoga.

At first. I did not kow how to reply to your "Scars don't bother me." So, I may be saying thi for everyone else and not you (or you may heal naturally well, so you do not need to work to get good scar results.

Here is my position: I did not pay thousands and thousands of dollars to exchange disfiguring fat deposits for disfiguring scars. I did everything reasonable to get good scar results. That being said, your pre-surgery condition may have been different, or I am just more sensitive to the turkey arms. Until recently, i had not gone sleeveless in over 30 years in public, so I am so totally enjoying it now!

PS I did tell the nurses not to put the blood pressure cuff on my upper arms. They put it on my forearm below the scar.

Best wishes for a good outcome for your phase 2.

Heh, yes we definitely feel differently. I'm spending all this money to be comfortable when I exercise. I have never felt my excess skin is disfiguring and I've never felt that scars are disfiguring. I want my scars to look like a plastic surgeon did them, not a butcher, but I don't care who can see them or how they look beyond that. (I do want them to look nice for Dr M's website so I can promote his work!)

I know people talk about plastics being a trade off between excess skin and scars, but the scars have never been a factor in any of my decisions. My only incision concern has been how to prevent infection and wound separation because those things might put me back in the hospital!