The Sauconys Made Me Do It

Today I decided to go for a walk. It's been over one week since the arm procedure and so I am able to workout again. I am still 4 days shy of the 6 week "No Workout" policy after the tummy tuck, so a walk it was. But...

While getting dressed, I saw them. There, sitting on my floor. All alone. So sad. My running shoes. The silver and teal detailing actually sparkled against the white sneaker backdrop. I even heard a audible *ding*. I thought, "I'll just try them on--make sure they still fit." You know, it's important for my feet to remember what they feel like.

Then, I went to comb my hair and thought that I should *maybe* put it back in pig tails--you know, in case my walk gets vigorous and I want my hair off of my neck. I haven't put it in pigtails since before the surgery. Once they were in and I saw the gleam in my eye and the cute pig tail poofs peeking out from the side of my head it was all over. My decisions were no longer my own: I was going to run. It may not be far. It may not be for long periods of time. But it was happening.

I warmed up with a walk for 5 minutes, then set off running. I ended up going for 30 minutes alternating walking and running in 5 minute intervals. I went 2.37 miles! That's a pace of 12:39 minutes/mile. For walking half of the time, I am SO pleased with that time!!! I went au naturale with no iPod or book to read--just me, my thoughts and a lovely 56° day with a light wind. A little slice of Heaven.

I know it may sound silly to you all, but I had this sort of quiet fear in the back of my head for the last 5 weeks and 3 days that I would lose all stamina, my muscles would all atrophy and I would forget how to exercise, forcing myself to start at square one when I returned. I know, I know, it sounds silly--but it was a real concern of mine!!! 6 weeks is a LONG time. Today's foray into fitness has shown me that my fear was completely unfounded! I am confident that it will take some time, but I *will* get back to where I was sooner than I feared!!! YAY!

You can feel free to yell at me for breaking the 6 week "No Workout" policy, but there's really no point. It already happened. And you know me well enough to know that I'm gonna do what I want regardless.

Also, I couldn't help myself--my running shoes and pig tails made me do it. :)

Past Due Updates

My sincerest apologies. My blog silence must have been killing all of you! On Saturday (April 2nd), I got my arms vaser liposuctioned, also known as "had the fat sucked out." This has turned me into a lazy recoverer and so I have not blog posted anything about recovery for my tummy tuck, the arm procedure or its recovery. Well, friends: it's time to catch up.

Tummy Tuck Update: Not much to report really. Still healing. The scar doesn't seem to be changing at all--at least not noticeably. I have not been eating well and so am not interested in taking measurements. :) I have an appointment with Devon to take measurements when I get back to the gym on April 18th. I will post those here. Still wearing the spanx-like garment daily but not overnight. I asked Dr. Alonso today if I needed to wear it while working out and he said no, but I should probably wear it as I ease back in the first week.

Vaser Lipo on my Arms: This is the same type of lipo I had done on my midsection/back during the tummy tuck. This time I did not need to go off of my blood thinners and also I was awake for the entire procedure!!! Also, it was at the med spa rather than the outpatient surgery center like last time as it is a very minor procedure. I arrived at Monarch Med Spa at 12pm for my appointment. They brought me into my room and let me pick out a movie to watch--I chose Elf, naturally. I then took 2 Vicodin, 2 Ativan and 1 Promethazine (for nausea)--a most excellent combination in my opinion. I then laid back and watched Elf--sleeping on and off--for about 2 hours. At some point, the nurse came in and gave me a Benadryl shot because I told her I wasn't sleeping. In hindsight, I was. Either way, I'm good with that decision. Around 2pm, they walked me to the operation location across the hall. I was "awake" for the whole thing, but not very "with it". I do remember telling Dr. Alonso that "I like a surgeon with a competitive attitude," when he was chatting with the nurse about how he was sure he could get a full 400 ccs out of my left arm. He also got 400 ccs out of my right arms. Yes, that is 800 cubic centimeters of arm fat, folks. Roughly 3/4 of a liter combined. There are 4 holes--two on each arm, right around the elbow, one of the inside and one on the outside. That's it. Dr. Alonso stitched them up, covered them in gauze and I put a compression garment on which will be worn 24/7 for the next 2 weeks.

After the procedure, I met Ryan and Meagan in the waiting room, patiently waiting to drive me home. I think I remember Meagan saying out loud something about how I looked fine and alert and I could almost drive myself home.--she would soon learn this was not the case. I scheduled a follow up appointment and Monarch gave me a present!!! It's a goody bag filled with bath-related treats (loofah, poof, wooden massager, etc...), all branded with the Monarch logo, of course! I was *SO* excited for my present!!! They put the post-op paperwork, my appointment card and my present in a bag and I was off!

I insisted we stop at Panera Bread as I was hungry. I skipped lunch that day and wanted food. I also insisted on going in with Meagan to get it. It was at that point that I realized I could not walk straight. I ordered (apparently quite coherently even though the woman did not understand me and I had to repeat it several times) and as we were waiting for my food someone commented that my elbow was covered in blood/pink ooze. It was true. Meagan assured them I was fine. Meagan and Ryan saw to it that I made it home okay and ate everything fine. They offered (apparently numerous times) to help me clean up my compression garment as my left elbow region was covered in blood/pink ooze. I quite forcefully told them NO and that I was NOT taking off the garment until at least the next day. They then left. About 5 minutes later I apparently called them and asked where my prescriptions were and if we left them at the med center!!!! Meagan calmly told me they were right in front of me on my coffee table. I found them. :) I also quickly took off my compression garment, spot cleaned the arm and rebandaged my wounds. I then used my hair dryer to dry the arm of the garment. I promptly took a nap.

At this point, Amy came by with dinner and when I woke up to let her in, my left elbow was AGAIN covered in ooze. We ate and then Amy helped me wash the arm...again...and blow dry it and rebandage the wounds. This time, we got wise. We used gauze and as an added back up: maxi pads. Yup. My left arm was wrapped in 3 over night maxi pads and a lot of tape. And it worked. Like. A. Charm. ;) (Note: my right arm did not leak at all.) I also was very concerned about the appointment I made for later in the week. I had no memory of when it was. I asked Meagan--she didn't see me make it. She told me to call them. It was late Saturday night, they were closed. Amy said I could call them too. I told her I already knew that meanly (apparently, loopy Erin = blunt and harsh Erin--but still lovably so). The next day I found my bag with the present, the post op instructions and my appt card. Since I forgot about its existence, it was like getting a present ALL OVER AGAIN and I knew when my appt was!!!! Double win.

Since the initial fun, here are some notes about week 1 of recovery:

Pain: Not too bad, but any pain stinks. My arms from elbow to shoulders are basically two large bruises. On Monday, my arms literally were 5 out of the 6 colors of the rainbow (red, yellow, green, blue and purple). By Tuesday, they had faded to mostly yellow and green with deep red spots throughout. I've taken a total of 6 tylenol and 0 vicodin since leaving the med spa on Saturday.

Antibiotic: I hated it. It tasted gross and made me sick. It was Keflex. Luckily it was only for 5 days, but BOY! am I glad that's over.

Compression Garment: This is the compression garment I got based off of Darby's (med spa employee/my bud) recommendation. I like it, but it was pricey when you include shipping (they only have overnight shipping!--expensive!), and so I only got one. Combine this with the fact that I have to wear it 24/7 for 2 weeks and it makes for a big pain in the you-know-where. I have to hand-wash it, then blow dry it dry so I can put it right back on. The process takes between 45 minutes and an hour and when I am done, the garment isn't fully dry. I am just usually over it and it is dry "enough" to wear. :) Having said that, is this inconvenience worth an extra ~$70 for another garment? Nope! I'll hand-wash and blow dry. :) Having anything tight on your body for 24/7 gets irritating, but after 6 days it isn't so bad. And hey, only 8 days left! At that point, I will wear it to bed only. The velcro strap across the front is visible in most shirts I wear, so I just don't fasten it during the business day. It doesn't do much anyways.

Lotion/Massage: Just like with the midsection/back lipo, I need to apply lotion and massage my arms. I just started that today as the pain is getting much better. For some reason, SEVERAL strangers felt the need to touch my arms this week not knowing it hurt so bad!!! Now it's just annoying not intense pain like it was. I did my best to wince internally to not make them feel bad.

6 day check-up: Today I went to see Dr. Alonso. He removed the stitches and checked out the first week's progress. He is *very* pleased with the results so far. I am super skeptical about this whole arms thing--and he knows this. I told him that I feel like my arms look exactly the same. I understand they are swollen still and the skin has to tighten up and these things take time, but NOW they look the same to me. He made me hold up a mirror and hold out my arm and he held my before picture behind it. I still don't see what he sees, but I do trust that he does this a lot and knows what to look for. Oh! This reminds me: I posted before "arms" pictures to the tummy tuck album. I will post afters when I am good and ready to. :) Maybe at 2 weeks? My arms have been itchy inside the garment and so I usually itch them. After the stitches were removed today, the wounds were itchy. I didn't even think about it but noticed big red blood marks on the right arm of my sweater. Yup, I scratched them open accidentally and they bled through my garment and my sweater. Sigh. They are bandaged up and my garment and sweater have been spot cleaned. My left arm is fine *this* time. I just cannot win with these wounds!!!

Alright. I think that's all I got. If anyone has any questions about the procedure or recovery that is unanswered, please ask!

One Month and One Day

Hello!

I got home super late last night and so did not do a "One Month Down" post. For this, I apologize. I am not taking pictures because I am tired and don't feel like it and don't think it looks different at all.

As for pain, it's pretty low. It no longer hurts to cough, sneeze and laugh. I feel it, but not pain--more of an awareness that healing is still happening. Also, the sides and back still feel like a bruise. (I think the lipo is more painful than the tummy tuck!) My clothes still fit the same. I don't think I am actually getting any smaller, but I must be. Or maybe not. I have not been eating on the diet this week (another reason I am not interested in taking a photo of my bare midsection). I really hope to get back on track. I have felt pretty bad all week. Not surgery-related. Not sick. I truly believe the rainy, blah weather is messing with my head pressure. Anyways, I am optimistic I will bounce back soon. :)

Also, in other news, I was scheduled to have my arms vaser lipo-ed on Saturday, April 9th but they have an opening tomorrow and so I am going to do it then!!! This has several benefits:

1) I am impatient--any time I do not have to wait is good;
2) I feel much better post-tummy tuck than expected and so feel up to it; and
3) I have to wait 1 month after the procedure to lift weights again, this allows me to do this one week sooner!!!!!

I will have before and after pictures!!!! I am SO excited! But not excited that if it is anything like the lipo I had on my back and sides, after one month it will still hurt like a bruise. :( Alas, the pain is temporary. :)

Wish me luck tomorrow!!!

Day 23: Exercising Again!

Today I went for a walk! Yes, walking is all I am permitted to do before 6 weeks is up. I have been feeling pretty good and so I decided that I would try to walk anywhere from 30-60 minutes today. Before anyone gets all yell-y at me, I brought a book and read while walking--this should give you an idea of my pace!

I went for 57 minutes and 51 seconds, also known as 5 chapters in my book. It was fairly brisk outside, but not too cold!

Around 15 minutes, I felt a very light soreness in that weird spot to the right of my belly button up just a little. It went away quickly. Around 20 minutes, my leg muscles started to feel a little sore. YES, I am so out of shape that WALKING for a mere TWENTY fatigues my leg muscles. But I kept walking and feel fine now that I am done.

According to mapmyrun, I went 2.83 miles, giving me a pace of 20:26 per mile. Yup, think I took it easy enough. :)

I was contemplating walking tomorrow too, but decided that if I am truly "easing" back into things, I should probably let me body rest tomorrow. I will shoot for another walk early next week.

3 Weeks Later--Halfway Done Recovery!!!

It's time for the 3 week update! I posted a new picture to the album. I only posted one picture because I feel like the profile view and back view really haven't changed that much. But the scar is healing a lot and looks a lot less red! So I posted a picture of that. Also, the swelling is beginning to go down a little and my hips are making the funniest shapes! The picture doesn't totally do it justice but you can tell a little. I am not sure if that is just how swelling goes down in general or if the lipo messes with it (i.e. the areas that were lipo-ed act a bit differently), but I have weird-shaped hips. :) I assume that when all the swelling goes down this will change, but who knows!!!

Also, I took measurements. Waist: 35"; Hips: 41". From last week, the waist stayed the same and the hips shrank a 1/2". This is odd to me because I am in jeans that I did not choose to wear last week because I thought they would put pressure on the wound and today there is no pressure--so obviously the waist is slimming. Maybe I don't measure right??? Or maybe it is accurate and there are other factors for the fitting of the jeans? In any case, I am very pleased with the progress!!!

The wound is still swollen and sore, but less so daily. It hurts fairly bad for a second or two when I cough or sneeze. I am working VERY hard to preemptively shut these bodily functions down before they occur! Also, laughing *really* hard makes the wound sore. More so the right side than the left. My speculation is that either the swelling is worse on one side or the nerves have not healed as well on the left. But again, I am no medical expert!!!

Another odd pain (which has already passed--but in the first few weeks) is when I "overdid it" I would have a pain in my abdomen to the right of my belly button up a little higher. There was no work down there (or so I think) and so I was confused. I was talking to Amanda F. about this and she was telling me something HCL told her once. When you fatigue your primary muscles, your secondary muscles kick in to pick up some of the slack. It may be the case that using that muscle triggers something that hurts because of the surgery but I just don't use it often because it is a secondary muscle. Again, complete non-expert speculation--but I like it and it seems to may some sense.

On an unrelated note, I am getting antsy to buy new clothes--but I shall keep waiting. :)

Ok. Back to recovering! I should have another update next Thursday!

I've Made It a Whole Two Weeks!!!

Wow. It has been two weeks since my surgery. By way of updates:

1) Photographic: for people who are visual-thinkers

New photos have been uploaded to the album. Bear in mind, I am still super swollen. But, like I have been saying to EVERYONE I talk to, if I stay like this (which I won't) I'd be super happy!!!! The change--even swollen--is just amazing! Here is the link to the album.

2) Statistics: for the math nerd in all of us

Devon took measurements the night before my surgery. I measured today. My waist went from 39 3/4" down to 35" today. My hips went from 42 3/4" to 41 1/2". And I am still very swollen (I know I keep saying that), so I am interested to see how this trends. I plan on taking these measurements weekly on Thursdays--if I remember. :) Total changes should be completed 6 months from the surgery, so...September 3rd-ish.

3) Emotional: for the touchy-feely-gushy and non-dead-inside people

I'm feeling good! I have worked "short days" all week--between 6 and 7 hours. I come home and am definitely tired and need to just sit for the remainder of the evening (after chores like dishes, laundry, etc...).

I have a new nightly routine for those curious. Around 7:30 or 8pm I put lotion on my mid-section (front and back) and massage it. This is supposed to stop scar-tissue from forming on the lipo areas and the lotion helps hydrate because my surgeon says lipo can mess up your sweat glands. I also spend some quality lotion time on my scars themselves (my surgeon says this helps them heal less ugly--meh, it's worth a try). Then I leave my compression garment off for the night. I like to do it approximately one hour before bed because when I take it off the blood begins to rush back into that area and laying on it can be painful. Having said that, this morning I was able to toss and turn and roll in my bed like I usually do without serious pain!!!!! It was just sore like a light bruise. This whole week it had been more like a bad bruise when I changed my rolling position in bed. This is GREAT for my sleeping!!!! YAY for healing!!!!

I am *really* enjoying wearing clothes now. Especially clothes that I used to be self-conscious in. I have basically worn outfits that I felt awkward in pre-surgery all week to work. I walk around with more pep in my step, naturally. Every day it feels like I am walking around with a new haircut--you all know what I mean, right?--I feel like I finally look how I worked so hard to be by losing nearly 100 pounds. And THAT is a great feeling!!!

4) Summary

I look good, lost inches and feel great! Also, the support I continue to receive from my family and friends is overwhelming!!!! I am so loved and I definitely know and appreciate it!!!!

Next update in one week for sure, if not sooner!

Day 9 Update

Today I went back to the surgeon to have the final stitches removed! I feel like recovery is mostly done now...which is silly because I have like 5 weeks left, but it is simple-take-it-easy recovery. I am "out of the weeds" so to speak.

Here is what is new that I DON'T have to do anymore:

1) No stitches!!!!
2) No more gauze at all!
3) No more need to wash the wound with povidone-iodine! (YAY!!!!!)
4) No spanx at night!

Here is what I DO need to do:

1) Wear spanx during the day for 4 months (to end on July 3rd--oh yes, it is on my calendar!).
2) Apply lotion to my abdomen and back daily.
3) Take fluid pills every Monday/Wednesday/Friday until they are gone--I have a prescription of 50 pills.
4) Finish out the antibiotics.

I feel like I am in easy-land. :) I go back to check in with the surgeon again in 6 weeks, but since I am getting my arms done on April 9th, we'll check in then!!!! I think my official after pictures will be taken then--but I will not be posting them as the surgeon and I have different ideas of what "covering my delicates" means!!!!!!

I drove today and was out and about for a couple hours and feel fine. This make me optimistic about going back to work on Monday. Also, I wore "real people clothes today" (jeans and a tshirt). I intentionally wore baggy jeans so there is no pressure on my wound and I wore a tshirt that I used to be self-conscious in. Not any more!!!!! :) I would post a picture, but every time I try to photograph what I see in person, it does not do my new body justice! Oh! Also, I weighed myself at the surgeon's office and (without shoes on) I was 13 pounds lighter than March 3rd!!! CRAZY! :)