Elode

@@madeline121 Thank you. You will get there it just takes time. I will post some as soon as some of this swelling goes down. Waiting......

Today I had my PS visit and got all the tape removed and my belly button stitches out!!!! I feel so much better! That was it. Now all I have to do is get through this swelling phase. My TT scar is amazing!!! I wasn't exactly sure what it would look like under the tape but I couldn't ask for a better scar! I'm so proud of her work. If you have to have a large scar at least make it a tiny good one! My belly button is beautiful now that the stitches are removed. You wouldn't be able to tell I had any work done by looking at it. It just looks normal. She hid the scar on the inside of my belly button so unless you go digging around in my belly button you would never see them. My breast are a bit different because they still look odd once she took the tape off as far as around the nipples. The dissolvable stitches are still pulling tight so it's impossible to tell what they will actually look like at this point but the cut down the breast and under the breast as immaculate. The under boob one is invisible when I'm standing up since she placed it exactly in the crease and the ones down my boob are super thin! Over all I'm thrilled to death with it all. I was going to take some pictures of the TT & BB but I'm too swollen right now. I will try in the morning.

@@kranky813 I had a binder on after surgery. I bought my own compression suit but with the JP drain it made it miserable to wear. Now that I have my drain out I alternate between the binder, compression suite & combination of the two at one time if the swelling is getting to be too much. No jeans or anything like that. I did try on a pair of size 6 shorts day before yesterday and they fit but with the swelling it's not comfortable at all! I have a feeling once it's down they will either be perfect or I'll need a size 4. I mainly wear a long black stretchy skirt or yoga pants if I leave the house. Nothing constricting.

@TheRealMeIsHere! Ok it's still pretty numb. I guess it too early to tell right now. Thank you.

@@momfromjersey22 Thank you, I live outside Springfield Mo, Dr Carla Garrison was my surgeon.

@TheRealMeIsHere! Is your belly still numb in areas or did the sensation all come back?

Oh thank you Jesus I have my appointment tomorrow and get "un-taped" this stuff itches sooooo bad! And just today all at once. It's not like I can be in the store scratching under my boobs! That's just weird. I have no clue what these scars are going to look like? I just hope everything is healed nicely. And don't even get me started on these "spider" looking stitches in my belly button! Goodbye aggravation!!

It's not lying, it's not putting all your business out there. It's ok to not share every aspect of your life BUT if you feel like you want to share with your friends than do it! Stop listening to other people, do what feel right!

You look wonderful, congratulations.

Yay!! Congratulations! You're doing it!!! So proud of you!

@@DaisyAmy You're welcome! That's what I'm here for! Thank you. Good luck on your journey

Double post

@TheRealMeIsHere! Lol! It's not that bad at all. I pulled my own drain after my VSG surgery too. It's just a stitch snip and slides out. Oh girl there is def swelling. At times I feel like I'm 6 months pregnant. Better in the morning and progressively get worse throughout the day. I'm not complaints though. I'll take it.

@@bigbit Yes I am thank you. It's fun to buy clothes and not have my old saggy skin hanging over everything. I bought some really cute stuff today including a thin silky long fitted dress and it was amazing! No belly bulge no bra everything just looked "right" no extra clothes to compress things. I'm truly greatful.

@@Spiceyfrog You want it tight. The first one I ordered was a medium because people wrote in the reviews that they are really small. I got it, tried it on and it fit tight but just kinda tight. That was over all my fat still so I was afraid it wasn't going to be tight enough once the skin was removed so I returned it for a small, which is the smallest size they have. It's small no doubt but it's made of a stretchy material so it stretches somewhat. It's perfect for me. I can still breathe and sit without any issues. It has a open crotch so you don't have to take it off every time you need to use the bathroom (huge perk). I plan on wearing it under my scrubs once I return to work for support.

I called my surgeon today to see if she would agree to let me take my drain out since I wasn't getting but 10cc out in a 24 hour period and she agreed!!! I pulled that thing so fast!!! Thank you Jesus! That's my last tie down besides all my tape strips they will be removing at my Thursday appointment. My belly picture today. Still SWOLLEN! I think I'm just going to stop saying that because it's a given. I'm going to be swollen for a long time. It comes with the territory and I already knew this. So, the best items I've used the most are 1st two days a peri-bottle. I bought a hair bottle thingy at Sally's and snipped the end off, it's to rinse off with warm water after you pee. It just helps you feel cleaner! 2) My prop, well that would be number 1 really. I don't know how I would have survived without it. Seriously if you have the 40 bucks BUY IT!! 3) My memory foam seat cushion. You will have a sore butt from sitting in the "beach position" after some time. I had very limited butt pain or back pain and I'm sure that's why. 4) My back massager. Your back will hurt after being hunched over! This thing digs deep into the muscles and is absolutely amazing! The best massager I have ever used and it heats! 5) Now that my drain is out my Fajate compression garment. Yes it's a bit pricy but 100% better than the annoying belly binder they give you that undoubtably rolls up and down all the time and digs into you sides and stomach. This outfit is tight and holds everything in tightly. I can sleep in my own bed and roll from side to side with this on. It supports everywhere! So there's my main list. I bought a few things I didn't use like the walker ect... But overall through research I had everything I needed. No extra trips out ect...I'm including my purchases of the items listed above if anyone is interested. All from Amazon minus my homemade peri-bottle. Oh and those spiders (belly button stitches) come out Thursday too!!

Sweet a protein drink. My favorite two are the ready made Premier protein shakes and for really sweet the Atkins Royal dark chocolate protein shakes. You can freeze them if you wish and eat them like ice cream. As far as salty I made my own Edamame and flavored them with different seasoning, also baked chick-a-peas turn out really crunchy from the oven and you season them however you like. Those are just a few suggestions. You can find recipes online for both of those. Good luck!

Find a surgeon you trust and do what they suggest. They usually can decide based on your overall health and medical history ect..... There are a lot of different aspects to both surgeries. None of us can give you that answer. We can only tell you what worked for us.

@@rydersmama Thank you very much!! I'm just ready to get this stinking drain out! It's the worst part now. Oh and swell hell!

@@bayougirlmrsc Thank you!

@@madferitchick Thank you! Come on over!

@@Babbs I found this from a PS. So no, it isn't the same as what I had. My belly button was cut and skin was lifted all the way to my breast and then brought down and contoured just like a normal tummy tuck just without having my muscles stitched together.......

@@kealot Yay!!! I just had some work done. Let me know how the arms go, I'm still debating that. I'd have to find the absolute best surgeon in the US for that particular surgery since the scars are outwardly visible. I love my PS but I don't know if she does that or not. If I have another Surgery that would probably be it. Scar placement is everything for me. Good luck, I hope you have a speedy recovery!!!

Congratulations!

I went out and bought 4 crop tops today.......just because I could!