I got these for my TT scar - I cut them in half lengthwise. I think they worked pretty well (my scar is very flat and pale now):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KY3IOU/ref=od_aui_deta ilpages00?ie=UTF8&th=1

Well, the surgery wasnt so bad, as I has anticipated. However, the pain...oh the pain! Not necessarily in my arms, but the TT hurt (and still hurts) like hell! I had made the downstairs bedroom all set up prior to surgery, so I wouldnt have to endure going up and downstairs. I purchased a commode (to alleviate having to walk too far to the bathroom), a hospital table (to make sitting up in bed and playing online, to pass the time, or to eat in bed), and extra pillows for comfort. Well, I by the 2nd day, I was sending my fiance out to the store to buy me a recliner, because getting in and out of bed was horrendously painful. Each time i moved, in any direction, I felt like I was ripping myself open. The PS sent me home with a binder, with cushions underneath, a non-supportive bra with cushions under my armpits (which isnt very comfortable, and i still have to wear the bra and binder with the cushions for another week, and then I can use my regular (supportive) bra, but will then also have to switch to spanx shorts for support rather than using the binder.

I am the type of person who despises sitting around doing nothing all day, and having to rely on others to assist me with daily things. I have many animals (1 pig, a fish tank, 2 cats, and 6 dogs, one of which my fiance thought would be a great idea to buy me a bull terrier puppy 2 days prior to surgery)...he obviously wasnt thinking or planning for having to take care of all the animals, the housework, me, AND attempting to housetrain a new puppy. Men! HAHA. So needless to say, the first week, i pretty much stayed in bed, doped up on pain meds, and did my little lap around the dining room every few hours, to avoid getting any clots. Boy was that painful... walking around hunched over for days, caused me to have SEVERE middle back pain, of which I still am having, even tho I am walking upright for the most part, even tho i can feel the TT skin pulling. Im afraid im going to rip open one of these days :( ALso, from sleeping in the recliner, i would put a fluffly pilow under each arm to elevate them, and then one pillow on myr right side of my head and go to sleep.Well, from sleeping like that, I ended up getting a kink in my neck 2 days ago, and i still cant fully move my head to the left without some sort of pain.

The last 2 nights, i have been able to sleep in my bed upstairs. I have a craftmatic-adjustable bed, so I am able to elevate head/feet if needed. I am still trying to find the right combo so i dont wake up in pain every morning. I'll wake in the morning, just laying there, feeling pretty good, and then I think "wow, i feel pretty good, maybe i can do some housework, or take the dogs for a walk, or do some laundry"..and then reality slaps me in the face, and punches me in the stomach the second i attempt to move. OUCH! Then I say to myself "ok, forget all that was planned, let's just make our way downstairs, one step at a time, and have a cup of coffee, and then do nothing all day". Takes me a few minutes to roll my way out of bed. Bending hurts, twisting hurts. Everything hurts. ANd, to top it off, I am set to go back to work this friday. Luckily I have a desk job, however, my big issue now is, finding work clothes that fit! I attempted to put on my size 6/8 jeans that i normally wear. Nope. My waist is small however my hips are swollen beyong a size 6. I found an old paid of size 10 jeans, and managed to squeeze my ass into them, but they were uncomfortable. So now i have to go to the store and buy bigger size dress pants for work, just til the swelling goes down. Hoping the swelling goes down alot, very soon. But from what I have read online, it can take anywhere from 3-6 months! YIKES!!!

Also, PS reccommended Scar away for the scar therapy. Ive done a little bit of research, and see that Embrace is highly helpful, but EXPENSIVE. for the sixe of my scars, id have to pay out like $600 just for 30 days of therapy. Bio-oil is reccommended, AFTER the scar has healed. So i really dont know which one to go with. I dont really care about the TT scar so much, noone is gonna see it anyways. But im more concerned about the arm scars. Not that i would be walking around with my arms up in the air for all to see. But would like to wear tank tops and feel somewhat normal.

So, yeah recommendations on scar therapy would be appreciated. Which ones work, which ones dont. Which one is messy or hard to remove?

Thanks in advance for reading this. Sorry it was so long.

What are you having done?

My first surgery is in 41 days. I chose my surgeon by looking at a ton of before and afters (remembering that they only put their best work out there), reading any reviews I could find and meeting with him. I got a really good gut feeling from him and felt he was very compassionate and skilled and that I could trust him not only to do the surgeries but to be there if I had complications of any sort.

Another surgeon who's results I actually liked better (and was a lot closer to me) had enough negative reviews about his behavior and actions when there were complications that I realized I couldn't in good conscience put my trust in that one. And complications happen with these surgeries - they aren't minor procedures. So someone who you can trust to make it right and be there for you through it all is so important.

To follow up, I did some calling around this morning and searching websites for more information. I spoke to Dr. Michael's office and they were very helpful. They have a long waiting time and encouraged me to wait a little longer for surgery (Fall). I have a consult scheduled with Dr. Michaels in June and look forward to talking with him.

I also talked to Michael Olding's office. He is the PS my bariatric surgeon referred me to. They are okay with doing both procedures at once and I have a consult with him on April 25. His consult is $75 but that is put toward any future procedures. His office staff was very helpful. He does surgery at George Washington Hospital in DC.

I spoke to the staff for Roger Oldham, who was referred to me by a friend who had RNY. He likes for patients to be 2-3 years post WLS to make sure that they are weight stable.

Finally I read the OH reviews for Douglas Forman and decided to check in with his office. They responded very quickly to my inquiry and were very open and helpful. Dr. Forman does surgery at Sibley like Dr. Michaels. Apparently Sibley is the place to go for DC area plastics. Dr. Forman could do both the TT and BL in one surgery and it probably would be outpatient, which would help with costs. Dr. Forman does alot of post weight loss reconstruction and his website has descriptions and pictures. The patient coordinator who I spoke to said that they also can provide patient names for recommendations, which I thought was great. She also said that they are very familiar with OH and my bariatric surgeon. They had a last minute opening on Monday (4/2), so I will be seeing him soon.

I would really love to hear from more vets about what questions I should ask in my interviews.