12 days post op depression

so i did a search on forums and saw that others have gone thru similar thoughts and feelings, so i know its not just me. Yesterday, which was Easter, I had planned on wearing a sleeveless dress but when i went to put it on, I started crying cuz im still having to wear the binder with inch thick cushioning underneath and it made me look pregnant. Also, my PS recommended that i continue wearing the (VERY) on supportive bra with the cushions shoved onto the sides for another week. (i had brachioplasty and tummy tuck done)....im itchy, my legs are SWOLLEN beyond belief. Picture a Heman masters of the univers action figure....thin waist and huge legs...thats me. I feel that time rewound itself and that I paid $15000.00 to become fat again..to erase the gastric bypass surgery that i had in 2012, and all the hard work and exercise I did to become a healthy weight.....:( Absolutely none of my clothes fit. Think that is the most depressing. When will they fit again??? I go back to work on Friday, and i have nothing to wear that fits, so now i have to go buy "fat girl" pants. I guess a small part of me was expecting immediate results and i would be perfect, thin, and beautiful....even tho i did my research prior to making the surgery appointment and knew what I was getting into, and things to expect. Its just frustrating to say the least. The drains came out last week, and i was able to shower, so thats good. I felt human for a little bit. Im itchy constantly. (in places where i dont have incisions..like the tops of my legs, and the tops of my arms and chest). I am continuing to take the antibiotic (Cephalexin 250mg, but have stopped taking the pain meds and muscle relaxers, unless im in severe pain, and that only seems to be when i first wake up in the morning and attempt to get out of bed.During the day, i can move around and be somewhat active, but trying not to push myself too much.

So I guess my plan for today is to go to the store and find some work pants that fit me... :(

So sorry that you are feeling frustrated and that you are so swollen. It is helpful for me to know that the swelling lasts so long.

If the the depression continue - ask for detailed lab work.

After I had LBL (lower body lift) I could not shake depression for a few months. Detailed lab work showed that some of my test results were just borderline normal: my iron (ferritin), proteins, D3, B12...etc.

The iron dropped low enough that it affected my hemoglobin and my RBC. It took me a while - but eventually I was sent to hematologist and got iron infusions. Sometimes surgery may deplete our reserves and it may take time to recover from that.

well, its only been a few days, but its like i dont want to even leave the house cuz im so swollen, and becuz my regular clothes dont fit, i am stuck having to wear yoga pants....im just embarrassed to be out in public right now.

today i took a nap....woke up with my arms in severe pain, and im freezing, and i have diarrhea. Broke down and took a muscle relaxer.

Was supposed to bring my Jeep to dealership tomorrow morning for maintenance, but ended up rescheduling it til this weekend so my boyfriend can bring the car for me, so I dont have to go anywhere.....was supposed to also bring my dogs to groomers today...didnt do that either....AND i was supposed to go to grocery store....Nope....didnt go...waited til boyfriend got home from work and had him run the errands for me. I just dont feel 100%, i just feel gross and hideous. :( Called PS and advised of my swelling issues...he told me Im probably doing too much and told me to relax, chill out and do nothing. So im back in bed, watching Dr Phil. LOL. I can deal with the pain, i just want the swelling to go down.

As for iron levels..ive always had low iron levels every time ive had blood drawn. I do have some here, and will take my vitamins in hopes that they help. Thank you for the suggestion.

Depression post PS is very common. I have had multiple body contouring procedures. Trust that it will pass. Everyone heals at a different rate. I swell like crazy. Tummy tuck takes months for swelling to go. I found even then by the end of the day I would swell. I developed seromas after as well. I wanted the drains out fast. I learned my lesson and the next surgery I did not pu**** I just did lipo with fat transfer to butt. 3 weeks post op and have not dared to put on my jeans. Sweats all the way. Still swollen for sure.

Give yourself a hug.

I follow a woman on Instagram who just had a tummy tuck and breast lift. She posted a picture today about a week post op in her jeans she wore pre-op. Even with 4 pounds of skin removed from her tummy, there was no way she was getting in those jeans. The fly was totally stretched open. You aren't alone in the swelling! Just keep telling yourself it won't last...

Feeling any better today??

funny you should ask.....mentally, i was feeling a bit better, altho i still havent gone to the store for bigger pants for work...but i woke up this morning, and as i was walking, my hand hit my hip and i was like "hmm, my hand NEVER used to hit my hip before when i walked"...so i feel my thigh/hip area, and my hips are even bigger now. boyfriend asks me " are u sure u didnt ask for the kardashian shelf ass and hips surgery when i wasnt in the room with u and the dr?" hahah. idiot. its like every day, something is even more swollen than the day before. I feel like the girl in the willy wonka movie who turned into a giant blueberry...minus the blue color. i started checking online on what i can do to lose the swelling quicked. thought of water pills perhaps, but found too many negative things about that, so i then found a drink that can supposedly help with reducing swelling after surgery. So i had boyfriend go out and buy a juicer. The drink concoction is 1 cantaloupe, 2 cucumbers, and 2 celery stalks. Havent tried it yet, but will sometime today. Just hope it works. Ive been thinking maybe the swelling is cuz i was being too active (doing housework, taking care of the animals, etc)...so ive been limiting my movements to bare minimum, and just laying down with feet somewhat prepped up and jus****ching tv all day long. (which, by the way is super boring).

Last night was rough. Kept waking up to really bad tight feeling on my right lower front side, near or at incision area. Felt like the skin was pullling. So i had to sleep on my back (which ive been forced to do for the last 2 weeks or so) with my knees bent. Im normally a side sleeper.

Im just hoping, in the end, this is all worth it. Right, now, Im questioning my decision to get this done in the first place. As with the gastric bypass surgery, i knew it was alearning curve, and after a month i was glad i had that surgery done, so, in a few more weeks, im hoping to be able to say the same thing.

Where my belly button is, there is like 2 little "puffs" of skin, hard to explain what it looks like, but its not flat like the rest of my stomach. Its obviously from the way PS made the belly button, and im just wondering if its going to stay like that, or if its just swollen. Hoping for the latter.

No two ways about it, this sounds like a really tough surgery to recover from and it takes so long to feel like yourself again unlike WLS. I felt a lot of buyer's remorse after my sleeve for about 6 weeks (lots of why the hell did I do this?!) and I've been thrilled I did it ever since. Maybe this is similar or even longer?

I really appreciate you sharing all of your experiences though as I'm trying to set my expectations and mentally prepare for what's ahead!

That's funny (and not!) about the Kardashian comment. I'm having some fat transferred back there and specifically said I do not want to look like one of them!! I just don't want my rear on the same plane as my thighs and my back...

Excuse the expression, but I found plastic surgery to be just as big of a mind **** as having WLS. Your expectations, no matter how prepared you are, can be so skewed. Before PS I felt really good about myself and had this constant thought that the extra skin wasn't a big deal because it would be removed. After PS I've struggled not to nitpick at the things I still see as 'not perfect' about myself. And it's key to note that I had an LBL and BL and my stomach, butt, and boobs are NOT perfect.

It really helped me to look at mostly naked pictures of myself from 1+ year ago when I had WLS. You really need the reminder of how far you've come. Also, I try to tell myself all the time that I'm normal now. Normal women are not perfect, they have flaws and things they don't like and I should not complain because I'm literally finding tiny things to complain about.

Again, it's a weird mind game and hard to understand until you do it.