Today I got to come home - yay.
My first few hours of being home were incident free. My kids were really happy to see me and they were strategically positioned around me so that we could watch a DVD together.
It doesn't take kids long to forget that they have to be careful though. And so I have been moved to the recliner where I can't be accessed quite as easily. So now sit here on my recliner in a 90 degree position, with my laptop on my lap.
I have been given strict instructions by the doctor that for the first week I am meant to move from the lounge only to go to the bathroom or eat. I am managing to get up ok, with some pain as I reposition myself. The hardest thing is that I am not allowed to use my abdominal muscles for anything. Try getting out of a chair without using your tummy muscles- it's really hard. For this reason I am so glad that I am fit and have strong legs and back muscles. Without these I think recovery would be alot harder.
It is nice to be home. It is weird to be unable to do anything. Oh it doesn't happen very often so I think I might just enjoy it!
Saturday, 13 August 2011
Friday, 12 August 2011
Day 2 postop- abdominoplasty
I woke up today feeling much better. I had survived on panadol and voltaren over night. I even woke up in the middle of the night hungry and had a muesli bar and cup of tea before settling down for another 5 hours sleep.
My overnight success meant that one of my drains was removed as well as the drips and oxygen tubes. Of course this freed me up to have a shower. I was happy to have a shower but after standing like an old lady for 15 minutes while washing, drying and dressing I was exhausted. My back ached and i was ready for a nap.
The doctor came to visit me today and i got to have my first look at my tummy. Wow! I couldn't beleive that all the wrinkly skin was gone. I have to say that it looked weird though because my whole abdominal area was swollen on top and below my 'new' belly button. Even still I am happy with the result already. I gave the Dr a high five as he left the room!
My overnight success meant that one of my drains was removed as well as the drips and oxygen tubes. Of course this freed me up to have a shower. I was happy to have a shower but after standing like an old lady for 15 minutes while washing, drying and dressing I was exhausted. My back ached and i was ready for a nap.
The doctor came to visit me today and i got to have my first look at my tummy. Wow! I couldn't beleive that all the wrinkly skin was gone. I have to say that it looked weird though because my whole abdominal area was swollen on top and below my 'new' belly button. Even still I am happy with the result already. I gave the Dr a high five as he left the room!
Day 2- postop
I woke up today, finally feeling coherent- well slightly. I found that I had drains, tape and cords attached to various parts of my body.
Some of my 'attachments' included
Drains: I had a drain coming from each side of my stomach. At the end of the drain was a container to collect blood. These drains stop blood and fluid accumulating inside and causing swelling. The nurses would look at the containers every day, measuring the amount of blood that had drained into them.
Oxygen tube in nose: I don't know what the technical name for this was but i had some little tubes in each nostril. After abdominal surgery people don't breathe fully. The tubes blew extra oxygen into my nose.
Drip: the drip supplied me with fluids and also morphine. The fluids are to avoid dehydration and the morphine was for pain releif.
Bandage: My whole abdomen was wrapped in a huge elasticised bandaged. To be honest i don't really know the reason for this. I think it provides support and stops swelling. I will need to wear this bandage for about a month.
Catheter: a catheter is used so that i didn't have to get up to the bathroom to urinate. After going through a big procedure the last thing you want to do is get up to do a wee!
Pressure stockings: I had tight stockings on my legs. These are used for almost anyone who is in hospital to reduce the risk of blood clots.
By the end of the day the nurses strongly encouraged (read that as made me) get out of bed and sit on a chair to have my dinner. They also 'encouraged' me to walk to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I thought this was a bit soon. I felt a bit annoyed by the nurse who told me to straighten up and walk taller- especially when it was my first time getting up and the doctor had told me time and time again that i would need to walk 'hunched' over for a while.
Be prepared that the nurses will 'push you' to make the next step in your recovery. I heard one nurse say time and time again that we were making progress. I felt like yelling at her that it had been less than 24hrs since i got out of theatre- i didn't care about progress yet.
My top tip: Pretend that you feel like total crap and then the nurse will be happy to let you stay in bed for a little bit longer.
Abdominoplasty today
Ok so it's not really today, but i had my operation 3 days ago. On the day I was a combination of excited and nervous.
We arrived at the hopsital at 2pm and I expected to be waiting for hours as that has been my past experience at hospitals. However that wasn't to be. Within 20 minutes of arriving at the hopsital I was being wheeled into the operating room. But before that happened i needed to have a quick shower and scrub my belly with an antibacterial wash. Then the doctor made a quick visit and 'drew' on my tummy.
What happened in between reaching the operating room and making back to my room was a blur. The surgery took about 3 hours and all i remember is being extremely drowsy and sore when i got back to my room. I was so tired, my mouth was dry and I was in pain. Once the nurses got me into a good position the pain was alot less. I remember being woken up during the night to have my blood pressure and temeperature taken.I had morphine available at the press of a button, but didn't use it all that much.
We arrived at the hopsital at 2pm and I expected to be waiting for hours as that has been my past experience at hospitals. However that wasn't to be. Within 20 minutes of arriving at the hopsital I was being wheeled into the operating room. But before that happened i needed to have a quick shower and scrub my belly with an antibacterial wash. Then the doctor made a quick visit and 'drew' on my tummy.
What happened in between reaching the operating room and making back to my room was a blur. The surgery took about 3 hours and all i remember is being extremely drowsy and sore when i got back to my room. I was so tired, my mouth was dry and I was in pain. Once the nurses got me into a good position the pain was alot less. I remember being woken up during the night to have my blood pressure and temeperature taken.I had morphine available at the press of a button, but didn't use it all that much.
Monday, 8 August 2011
Abdominoplasty Here I Come
Tonight I did my last serious workout before I have my tummy tuck. That is right, in just 2 more sleeps I will be having surgery.
I am feeling excited, nervous and a bit sad. I am excited about the way my tummy will look when I have recovered. I am nervous about the procedure, about leaving my kids and about the recovery. Why am I sad? I never thought I would be sad to say goodbye to my flabby tummy but for some strange reason I am - just a little.
I have been unhappy about the extra skin on my stomach since the day after I delivered my twins. I remember the exact spot I was standing in when I realised the condition that my tummy was left in. I was standing in my hospital room, beside my bed and leaning over one of the baby's bassinettes.
For 5 years I have grabbed the extra skin in my hands and imagined it was gone and I have cringed when my top came up slightly hoping that no-one saw what was beneath it. Having this tummy, that I hate, has been a part of who I am.
I laugh to my husband that despite being very unhappy about my tummy the one thing I haven't done for the past 5 years is complain about my fat butt, thighs or arms. So although I feel like I am having an amazing procedure that is going to fix everything, the reality is that it is going to return things to the way they were and to the way they were meant to be. And that is far from perfect.
Before the twins I always had a flat tummy, and soon I will have it back. But I always disliked my butt, thighs and arms and soon they will be my worst bits again.
Let's face it my tummy tuck is not going to turn me into a supermodel, but I am still looking forward to the results. Even if that means going back to complaining about the other parts of my body- the ones that I am stuck with.
I am feeling excited, nervous and a bit sad. I am excited about the way my tummy will look when I have recovered. I am nervous about the procedure, about leaving my kids and about the recovery. Why am I sad? I never thought I would be sad to say goodbye to my flabby tummy but for some strange reason I am - just a little.
I have been unhappy about the extra skin on my stomach since the day after I delivered my twins. I remember the exact spot I was standing in when I realised the condition that my tummy was left in. I was standing in my hospital room, beside my bed and leaning over one of the baby's bassinettes.
For 5 years I have grabbed the extra skin in my hands and imagined it was gone and I have cringed when my top came up slightly hoping that no-one saw what was beneath it. Having this tummy, that I hate, has been a part of who I am.
I laugh to my husband that despite being very unhappy about my tummy the one thing I haven't done for the past 5 years is complain about my fat butt, thighs or arms. So although I feel like I am having an amazing procedure that is going to fix everything, the reality is that it is going to return things to the way they were and to the way they were meant to be. And that is far from perfect.
Before the twins I always had a flat tummy, and soon I will have it back. But I always disliked my butt, thighs and arms and soon they will be my worst bits again.
Let's face it my tummy tuck is not going to turn me into a supermodel, but I am still looking forward to the results. Even if that means going back to complaining about the other parts of my body- the ones that I am stuck with.
Saturday, 9 July 2011
3 days until my plastic surgeon appointment
I have my appointment with my doctor in a few days. This is the appointment that my husband was supposed to attend with me. I say WAS, because something has come up at his work that he can't miss.
I am no stranger to doctor's appointments, hospitals and medical procedures so it doesn't bother me to go on my own. However, the doctor had told me that he would like my husband to attend with me. I guess he needs to know that I have family support as I will need care after the surgery. Eeeeeerggh! Frustrating!
I'm not sure what I will do about this one. Maybe my brother could get the day off work and pose as my husband- bahaha! It has kind of put a dampener on my excitement about the appointment.
Apart from this small disapointment, I have also had a really tough few weeks. First I had a really bad cold, then a knee injury, followed by some nasty flu type virus. This has all meant very little exercise for me. My plan is to get serious with the exercise about 3 weeks before my procedure. Hopefully if all goes to plan this will mean that I will be at a nice, lean weight for the procedure. This will mean that once the hernia and abdominal muscles are repaired, my skin can be pulled really tight to get rid of as much damaged skin as possible.
It just occured to me that tomorrow it will be exactly 1 month until my procedure! So excited! I am also starting to feel a little scared. Being sick the last few weeks has made me realise how much I hate it when I can't do the things that need to be done! For example I like to have my house organised and clean and anything less makes me a little edgy. Once I have my surgery housework will at first be physically impossible and will then be on the 'banned activities' list. With my 3 kids I think I might as well give up on housework now, because it only takes them 3 days to turn a perfectly organised house upside down!
I am no stranger to doctor's appointments, hospitals and medical procedures so it doesn't bother me to go on my own. However, the doctor had told me that he would like my husband to attend with me. I guess he needs to know that I have family support as I will need care after the surgery. Eeeeeerggh! Frustrating!
I'm not sure what I will do about this one. Maybe my brother could get the day off work and pose as my husband- bahaha! It has kind of put a dampener on my excitement about the appointment.
Apart from this small disapointment, I have also had a really tough few weeks. First I had a really bad cold, then a knee injury, followed by some nasty flu type virus. This has all meant very little exercise for me. My plan is to get serious with the exercise about 3 weeks before my procedure. Hopefully if all goes to plan this will mean that I will be at a nice, lean weight for the procedure. This will mean that once the hernia and abdominal muscles are repaired, my skin can be pulled really tight to get rid of as much damaged skin as possible.
It just occured to me that tomorrow it will be exactly 1 month until my procedure! So excited! I am also starting to feel a little scared. Being sick the last few weeks has made me realise how much I hate it when I can't do the things that need to be done! For example I like to have my house organised and clean and anything less makes me a little edgy. Once I have my surgery housework will at first be physically impossible and will then be on the 'banned activities' list. With my 3 kids I think I might as well give up on housework now, because it only takes them 3 days to turn a perfectly organised house upside down!
Friday, 1 July 2011
Looking forward to my next appointment
It is just over a week until my next (second) appointment with my plastic surgeon. I am really looking forward to the appointment! I am so happy about my decision to do this and no longer feel depressed about my stomach- it won't be there for much longer now! Time to think about how I am going to pay for this procedure!
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