I'm baaaaaa-aaaaaccccckkkkk!

Thanks - I like to think so!  Of course, I came home from school today and promptly took a 2 hour nap!

But I think I'll make it into school for at least a half day tomorrow, which is good.  This fatigue is just a real pain!

edited to add: Yes, I'm whining because I'm tired.  Please add cheese here ->________

Congratulations on making it through your surgery. I am also thinking about having some work done in the future. What are the scars like on the arms? Have they faded at all? Can you wear short sleeves? Will the scars on your legs be visible? Will you wear shorts or a bathing suit? Inquiring minds would like to know.

Gail

Thanks, Gail!  If you hold your arms out straight, thumbs up, my scars start at my elbows at 6:00, spiral a bit inside to 3:00 by mid-upper arm, and then go through the middle of my armpit and down to almost my bra band line.

They have faded a great deal, and while I still see them when I check in the mirror, others haven't noticed (and these are people who comment on EVERYTHING) when I do wear short sleeves, so I suspect it's kind of like our body image: we see ourselves as worse than others do.  I am also told that they will continue to fade for up to 2 years post surgery, so since I'm not quite 4 months out, there's still a lot of room for improvement and I'm sure that if I give it time, it'll happen.  My surgeons are very impressed, and have asked if they can use my pictures in some of their "these results are not typical" info to show what can happen if you are compliant and a good healer (which are not necessarily related).

The scars on my legs should follow the same sequence.  Per my surgeons, the arms and legs take the longest to heal/fade because we keep using those areas and disturbing them.  I know that I can see that on me: there are places on my anchor cut where I have to really look to find the scar, while I still have a red line on my arms.

I will definitely wear shorts and a bathing suit - we're boaters, and I'm not about to give that up.  However, I did get skirted tankinis from Lands End, so the upper part of the scars will be covered up and the lower part will be in the water.  Shorts, well, usually I love the shorter ones (5 inch inseams) from Old Navy, but I may go with a longer short this summer just to reduce questions (I work in schools, summer included, and kids ask anything).  But I'm not spending the summer in long pants!

I was actually excited today: one of the looks being worn is capri length leggings under a skirt.  So I wore my black compression leggings with a black t-shirt, a khaki cargo skirt, and a white cropped cardi.  Felt very comfortable, as the skirt didn't bind the way jeans would, and the compression leggings looked like the fashion ones!  I'm still a bit sad that I won't be wearing my cute spring skirts on their own (next week I get silicone for the legs, so I'll need to keep the compression on for that for another 8 weeks or so), but this may be a good alternative. 

As I tell my surgeons, I'm 55.  If anybody wants to stare at my body, go ahead!

Hi Rebecca,

Thank you!!!! I would love to see some pictures, when they are available. Sounds like the scars may be liveable. People talk about how bad the scarring can be, so I wasn't sure, if it would be worth the money and suffering.

Friend me.  I have the front pics up (still waiting for the backs), in a folder that SHOULD be friends only and password protected and IS adult content (so if nudity bothers you - don't look).

My scars will fade to almost nothing.  Some of that is compliance, some of that is excellent surgeons, and some of that is a fortunate piece of genetics.  Your mileage may vary - but my surgeons assured me on the first round that almost all scars, particularly for those over 40, will basically go away.  Whoda thunk it - those of us on the older end heal better than those on the younger end for this anyway!

1) If Tim Conway had your energy, he would have DANCED, not shuffled.
2) Carol Burnett always had great legs, and I've got a sneaking suspicion you'd put her to SHAME.

So this was to tighten up your thighs? 
And you had all the other procedures at one time and only took 2 weeks off?
Wow, the pain you've gone through! You must have the pain threshhold of superwoman.
Wait, ARE you superwoman? 

I missed your gentle irreverence..... glad you're "home" here and home there.
tracey

Thanks, Tracey!

I have athletic legs - and now they no longer sag!  Of course, now they're swollen and yellow/purple, but that'll go away!  Genetics again: my maternal grandmother was a dancer with the National Ballet Corps in the 20's and was an extra in some Busby Berkely movies (or so family legend goes, no one can tell which ones), so she had fabulous legs into her 80's and could (after a few margaritas) get out the toe shoes and work those babies at that point.

Yes, this was solely for the thighs.  Everything else that I needed for reconstruction was done in December, and actually was less painful than the thighs.  Anything else I have done will be vanity plastic surgery and on my dime.  We thought about having breast augmentation done with the thighs, would have added about an hour to the time and cost about $6K, but on the advice of my gyny, I didn't.  I would have had to always, even sleeping, wear a supportive bra even with the smallest implants due to my bad chest wall muscle, and I didn't think I wanted to pay good money to not wear cute bras now that I can.  So DH must live with smaller boobs on me.  I think he can work through his pain on that. ggggggg

I'm fortunate to have basically a desk job, and to be able to schedule things around my needs.  So for both surgeries, I tested my brains out (scheduling kids and working with them every minute they were in school) for a couple weeks before the surgeries, and then doing the scoring of tests and report writing now that I'm back.  If I need a break, it's easy to take because I'm alone in my closet, and if I'm too tired to get up in the morning, I just call out for the day and sleep.  If I had a job where I had to follow a prescribed schedule daily I would definitely have needed more time off.

But yeah - I do have a high pain threshhold, even though I was born on Earth and not Krypton. LOL!

on the small bewbies thing.... I tell my husband that his new mantra will be "More than a mouthful is too much...."   This is particularly important since Wednesday  I had my annual visit with the breast surgeon (for breast cancer screening). He is a partner to my WLS surgeon, so he knew about my surgery.  He said "Yep, your breasts have gotten smaller." Then her points to last year's mammo and this year's mammo and says "You see the difference here and here?" 

I said "Yeah, Dr. P, but don't tell my hub cause he hasn't noticed THAT yet."

(smile)
tracey

Absolyutely!  Of course, then DH said that he has a BIG mouth! LOL!

I have a smart comeback for THAT, but even thinking about typing it makes me embarrassed.
tracey