Surgery Update- the One Year Mark!

It’s been a year since I had my abdominoplasty/ abdominal panniculectomy.

A whole year.

Can you believe it? I most certainly cannot.

I remember so many details of my surgery day so vividly (and the following recovery days) that it is hard to believe it was a year ago.

I am still very thankful that I underwent the procedure. Even though I had completely accepted the very real possibility that the surgery could in fact alter my life and abilities I am beyond thrilled that my recovery went so well and I am living my life currently without any restrictions. The only thing that isn’t 100% (but it’s getting damn close) is my core strength. I am still a bit weak in the area where my scar line is, my lower abdomen. Other than that, it’s life as normal. Oh and I still have no real sensation on the area below my belly button but that is common and I was told it may never come back. That, however, is quite insignificant in the grand scheme of things though. So much so I almost forgot to mention it. But of course, I want to always make sure I give you full disclosure J

And on that note….guess it’s time for some pictures.

The last post-op pictures I could find were from week 6. 

This morning I took some pictures, you know since it was the year anniversary mark and whatnot I thought it would be a good idea.  *I didn't realize that I had shown my full scar in previous photos...probably would have been a good idea to have taken some photos today that showed the whole thing. Whoops! Next time!

I think I look the same. 

Well, same-ish. Close enough for me to be 100% happy with how I look. My scars have faded so much, especially the one around my belly button. My tummy does stick out a little more but it is pretty solid so I will chalk that up to muscle growth ;) Other than that, I think there is not much difference. Which is a good thing because I can literally feel pain along my scar when my weight goes up and it is not a pleasant feeling. Maybe one day that will go away. For now, I basically have a built in weight gain alarm. LOL!

So...I guess that is about it. Not much has changed, physically, since my surgery a year ago. The recovery took time but I am happy that I was able to progress somewhat easily and am here today, a year later, able to do all of the things I love to do and doing so comfortably. I no longer have to worry about sores or chafing or infections on my excess skin. I can live an active life easily. And that is a really great thing. 

This surgery has helped me both mentally and physically and for that I am grateful. Now that I am healed and am stronger and back to where I was, activity-wise, before the surgery I am so excited to see what the next year brings.

Love and hugs,

Dacia 

xoxoxoxx

Surgery Update: Weeks 5 & 6

Yeah, I suck at this. 

It appears that I am averaging a post a week. I'm sorry. Life has been a bit crazy. You know, with three snow days, being trapped at E's house and having nothing to do. Somehow I still didn't get around to posting this until now. 

And I am doing this at a bar.

While enjoying my last night of freedom until...well, tomorrow. Since tomorrow is Friday. 

Anywho, here are some pics from week 5 and 6. I am almost 100% back to normal aside from some pain when I sneeze or laugh too hard. But other than that I feel pretty normal. 

And it's great. 

Week Five

Week Six

This one is week three vs week six

Pre-surgery left, week six right 

Week one left, week six right

At this point I feel like any changes that occur will be minimal so I probably won't be posting weekly photos anymore. I will still post updates and pics but instead post about surgery stuff on a as needed basis; like when big changes or milestones occur.

Thank you so much for being a part of my journey, especially through this part. This part was rough and I had some hard/bad moments and it was you guys that helped me through it all. 

And for that I am thankful.

And again, E-thanks for being my partner and friend through it all. I love you!

Love and hugs,

Dacia 

Surgery Update: Weeks Three & Four...

Warning: this post contains graphic photos. If you don’t want to see surgery pics (before and after) then maybe you should skip this post. Thanks!

Well, I am four weeks post op…can you believe it? I certainly cannot! Where did the time go?

Happy Birthday to me! Banyan Brown to celebrate 36!

I meant to write up a post last week at the three week mark but I just never got around to it. I blame all the raucous birthday celebrations for distracting me. Since I missed last week I will try to catch everyone up to speed as to what has been happening in the recovery process.

Week three went well. I did not have a doctor’s appointment last week but when I saw him at my week 2 checkup (on 12/30) he told me that on January 8^th I could begin to transition from wearing the binder all day/night over to wearing a less rigid compression garment (i.e. spanx) instead. He said that at first I would probably want to wear the binder over the spanx because I may feel like I need additional support.

So, on Wednesday I wore the spanx to work and brought my binder with me just in case I needed it. It was really awkward at first. A bit uncomfortable. And I found myself walking hunched over again. On Wednesday all the ladies at work were commenting on how not good I looked so I had to explain about the transition. I made it through the entire workday wearing only the spanx but once I was home I took them off and put on the binder and that felt much better.

However, on Thursday (and every day subsequently) I wore the spanx only and felt great. On Thursday, the ladies at work all commented on how great I looked and how much better/easier I was moving around. It is crazy how quickly the body adapts to new situations. Since last Wednesday I have been following the routine of spanx at work, binder at night to sleep in and it is working out great for me. Oh, and in case I haven’t mentioned it before- the idea of wearing compression gear for months after the surgery is to help hold everything in place as the body heals so that way it heals up nice and tight not saggy and droopy because it is fighting against gravity. Doc says it will be a few months in the compression garments and I am 100% ok with that because I know it will help in the long run- even if it is weird wearing them all the time. Eh, small price to pay right?

Oh, and since I headed out to New Orleans last weekend (which is about a 3 hour car ride) I did wear the binder for the trip for some extra support. I am flying out to Nashville this Saturday and I plan on doing the same except I don’t plan on wearing it until after I get through security- kind of worried they would think I had some kind of explosives strapped to my stomach and search me.

Overall week three was great. I am feeling more like a ‘regular’ human being especially since I was able to go out and celebrate my birthday, travel, and do all of the fun things I would have done if I hadn’t had the surgery so that is a very good thing!

Week Three Pics

 

Left side is the night before surgery, right side is week 3!

Left side is one week post op, right side is three weeks pot op!

Today is the four week mark and I am pretty pumped at all the progress I have made so far. On Monday, I had a follow up appointment with the surgeon and he basically cleared me to start all activity, at my discretion. He said to ease into it and be smart about it. Like with cycling to try the stationary bike first to see how it feels, then move to riding outside but ride in a really safe/isolated area, then take it out to the streets. With running he said to slow jog and build as I feel comfortable. This of course is what I would have done anyway. I am a wimp; I will stop the first sign of pain. I am absolutely not, nor have I ever been, the ‘push through the pain’ kind of person. So, slow and easy sounded perfect to me.

Last night, for my first foray back into activity, I hit the track and it was great. I would have been 100% happy if the only thing I was able to do was walk but amazingly enough I could jog. I mean it was a slow jog. People could have easily walked past me but it was a jog nonetheless and I’ll take it. My friend E and I started off walking. After about 2 laps I was ready to see if I could jog. We did one full lap jogging then walked another one. I was hoping to just alternate laps between walking and jogging if my stamina and body could handle it. We started off on jogging lap two and it felt really good so we just kept going. We jogged another 3 or 4 laps (we kind of lost track) and only stopped because I was worried it would be too much to do more. We walked 2 more laps and called it a night. It was great. It felt amazing to move again. I was beyond floored that I was able to do so much. Afterwards I stretched and even that felt great. I thought my range would have diminished from the lack of regular activity but there I was, hands on the ground in a forward fold. That was pretty awesome. Also, was pretty stoked that I hit over 18K on the fitbit yesterday. I felt like a champion when I saw that!

Tonight I am heading to the gym. Going to test out the stationary bike and maybe some light weights and maybe a teeny tiny bit of core work. We’ll see. I’m just going to test the waters and see what feels good. I also am going to begin seeing a personal trainer soon. Lita, the trainer who ran the boot camp class I took last semester, said she would love to help me get back on track after the surgery so I will be using her to help me get there. I don’t have any expectations of what I can/cannot do; the only thing I expect is that if I listen to my body and continue to take care of myself I will be just fine.

Moving forward, over the next month until my next visit with the surgeon, I just plan on doing what I’ve been doing; resting, eating good whole foods, drinking lots of water and slowly reintroducing activity back into my life. Looking back over the past month I am surprised at how easy it was and how much I am able to do after such a short amount of time. But I should probably clarify that last statement a bit here…

No, the recovery wasn’t easy per se. But it was a hell of a lot easier than I imagined it to be. Don’t get me wrong, there were times when it sucked, it hurt, I cursed, cried, whined, and cried some more. But those times, they only accounted for like 10-20% of the time. The pain hit quickly but also subsided quickly. Putting the binder on was really difficult at first but that was like 5 minutes of my day. I was walking around from day one and once I figured out how to get up/down from the couch/bed/chairs I was able to do so on my own if necessary. For the most part I slept through the night and usually if I woke up it was because I had to pee, not because I was in pain. Less than a week post op I had both drain lines removed and was able to shower and was even able to ride in a car for an hour to spend the holidays with my Florida ‘family’. I was out drinking on NYE and spent my birthday in New Orleans. I can shower and get dressed on my own and have been doing so the whole time (with the exception of the binder when I needed to have it super tight- that was a two man ordeal); I can drive and have been cleared to do so since 12/30. I was back at work full time since 2 weeks after the operation and now am fully adjusted back into my routine and adjusted to being upright all day. I am back in my apartment; cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry. Life is pretty much exactly the way it was pre-surgery except that I wear spanx now. Which is crazy….it’s only been FOUR WEEKS!!!! I absolutely did not expect to have made so much progress so quickly and so when I say it was easy- this is what I mean.

Week Four Pics

Left side is one week post op, right side is four weeks post op!

I always try to be open and honest on this blog and share with you as many details as possible about my life and the goings on of it but if you have any questions regarding the procedure or the weight loss or anything really please let me know.

Love, hugs and happiness,

Dacia

Post Op Recovery- Two Weeks Out

It has now been two weeks since my surgery and life is slowly getting back to normal.

I returned to work today- yay! It feels good to be at my desk, sitting upright. It’s tiring and walking up multiple flights of steps (first time having to walk up steps since surgery) was not easy but I know I need to be here (even for a half day) to help me transition back to the work mindset and help my body adapt to a position other than 45 degrees, propped up by pillows, on the couch.

Thankfully I was told at my last visit with the surgeon that I can start transitioning to sleeping in a more flat position. I did not go from upright to flat yet but I am slowly working my way there. I was also told that in a week I can start sleeping on my side. Yay! I am so not a back sleeper so that was definitely a big adjustment for me. I am not sure what will be a bigger milestone for me; side sleeping or not wearing the binder anymore.

So, yes, in case you were wondering, I am still wearing the binder around my midsection. The surgeon gave me the green light to start weaning myself from the binder to spanx starting next Wednesday, January 8^th. Now that will be a great birthday present (my birthday is the 9^th) because wearing this rigid, tight, medieval torture device is getting old. It will be nice (even though I am sure it will be really uncomfortable for a while) to not have this thing digging into my sides and restricting my breathing.  Not to complain too much, but this thing sucks.

Aside from the awkward sleeping/sitting positions and the binder everything else in the recovery process has gone pretty well, definitely better (most days) than expected. Once I was home from the hospital I switched from the pain meds to Tylenol during the day and took only a half a pill of the prescribed meds at night to help me sleep. Like I said, it was a big adjustment for me to sleep upright and on my back. That was only for a few days and then I transitioned to Tylenol at night too. Based off of recommendations, I took pain medicine on Christmas Eve because I was told having the drain lines removed would hurt but I haven’t taken any since and am now going whole days without anything at all for pain, not even Tylenol. That makes me happy. My big goal was to not over medicate myself after the surgery. I was afraid that I would be too numb to feel where my thresholds were; I wanted to know if I was moving too much, too quickly, or moving the wrong ways. I did not want to do anything to impede my recovery or worse, back track. And so far, it seems to be going pretty smoothly.

Don’t get me wrong. It hasn't all been easy. There were times when sneezing/coughing/laughing brought me so much pain I just had no choice but to cry. The second or third shower I took found me so dizzy that I had to get out before I could finish. Removing, repositioning and reapplying the binder sucks. It’s much better now. Now those activities do not make me cry but there were definitely days where just going through the fastening (which is taking a strap from one side and wrapping it super freaking tightly around my entire body) of the three Velcro straps of the binder left me in tears.  I can take the binder off myself but I am not yet to the point where I can put it back on. I am not sure how I would. It takes one person, using both hands, to pull the strap from one side to the other while I use my hands to hold down the protective layer that goes under the strap. Seems like a two man job if you ask me.  For the most part I can get up/down off the bed or couch on my own but sometimes (especially if I am laying completely flat to put the binder on) I need assistance getting up.So no, not always easy but it is definitely better than I expected. 

Oh, and since I am off pain meds and the stitches are out I am also allowed to start driving again. I have not tried this yet but I am hoping to drive myself to my haircut appointment on Saturday. Side note: that was the activity (get my hair cut) I pulled yesterday from the jar of my 52 activities for 2014 from this post.

I am still restricted to how much I can lift- my surgeon said quart of milk is ok, gallon is not- and am not close to being cleared for activity yet, which is no surprise since I am only 2 weeks out.  But he did say it won’t be too long before I can start back up and should be running again in no time. He also said everything looks great, healing is going as it should, and that he is very happy with the results. So that is definitely great news. My next appointment is January 13^th and by then I should be able to drive myself around, sleep on my side in a relatively flat position and no longer feel the need to wear the binder. I am pretty excited for that appointment to see how I am progressing and see what restrictions he’ll lift then.

I know this is already a really long post, and probably far more information than you wanted to know about the recovery, but I just have to add one last thing- a big thank you to all of my friends and family who have been by my side (literally and figuratively) through this whole ordeal. I consider myself to be the luckiest person alive having so many people in my life that truly care about me/my wellbeing. I cried countless times over the past 2 weeks just thinking about how fortunate (and grateful) I am for all the wonderful people in my life. It’s a bit overwhelming (in the best possible way) at times.

I also need to thank my friend EL who has been by my side since the day of the surgery. He took time off from work to be with me every day of this recovery and has never once complained, even while I was screaming obscenities at him while he put on the binder. He made this whole recovery thing a million times easier by being super kind, compassionate, understanding, attentive and accommodating.  He also made sure I had an amazing Christmas and New Year's and was never alone for a minute of it. I am beyond grateful to have had such an amazing person by my side through all of this. Thank you, E!

And thank you, for being here too! I love you all so much!

Love and hugs,

Dacia 

This is what it looks like after every time I put the binder on post shower... we go through ALOT of gauze. I mean TONS. I should have bought this in bulk beforehand. Lol! 

Before and 'After' Surgery Pics

I think it goes without saying that the pics I am posting are a bit graphic in nature. These are some pre and post surgery pictures and some may be a bit gruesome, especially since I still have stitches and bruising. So, please, if you are the least bit squeamish I will advise you to skip today's post and come back in a week or two when I post better pictures :)

But first, here is a happy photo to start things off…

Christmas Eve… I actually was up and dressed in 'normal' clothes! 

Pre-surgery; Monday December 16th

Pre-surgery; December 17th- after the markings 

The top section has arrows pointing down, this is the skin that will be stretched down and stitched to the bottom incision line (pictured below) from hip to hip 

The thick black line represents the portion that will be removed completely. I think he called it my 'skin paddle'  

 Thick black line along the bottom is the incision line; where my external stitches are now

This is the after of losing 130 pounds…lots and lots of excess skin

Christmas Eve; six days post op

 The thing around my mid-section is my binder. I have to wear it for a couple more weeks. It sucks. It's super tight, rigid, and makes it hard for me to breath and move around. Fun, fun...

Don't ask me why I'm covering my breasts while I am wearing a bra…who knows... 

You can see the white tape over the stitches and faintly see the stitches around my belly button. This is MY belly button, not a new one. I am super happy I got to keep it :) 

I will be swollen for another 3 weeks or so but the doc says I won't really look 'normal' for another 6 months to a year…it takes a long time for this all to heal internally and externally. You can also tell that I cannot stand up straight yet. One day, hopefully soon. 

I know I am super swollen because my waist is 4 inches bigger than it was pre-surgery. I am 100% ok with that, it's to be expected. I am not even stepping on a scale for another month or so. Why bother?  

Even though I look and feel like a sausage ready to burst I cannot believe the difference!  

Side by side… doc says he removed about 3-5 pounds of skin which is a lot of skin. Skin isn't dense like fat or muscle. It takes a whole lot of skin to make up 3 pounds! I think that picture says it all!

So far the recovery has gone pretty well. I have had some rough patches but that, of course, is to be expected. There are times when I feel like it has been easier than I thought it would be and times it felt like pure hell. I know in the end, it will be worth it. Next Monday, the stitches come out and I will be sure to post more pictures. Thank you all so much for your love and support. It's been a bit overwhelming at times. Not really sure what I did to deserve such an amazing life filled with the most amazing people but I am so happy to have you all be a part of it. Hopefully I didn't gross you out too much. 

Happy Holidays my lovely friends!

Love and hugs,

Dacia