I decided to start a new thread because my surgery date is fast approaching. I am getting very nervous. I am having a lower body lift with a hernia repair. I am staying one night in the hospital. I will go home with a pain pump. I should have drains in for 2 weeks. I am taking 3 weeks off from work. I am getting partial insurance coverage becaues of the hernia repair. My surgeon said that I can expect her to remove between 5-9 lbs which should easily put me at goal. Of course I am hoping for much closer to 9. I am driving my friends and family crazy with my nervous chatter on the topic. Can anyone relate? Anyway - I think that I included the usual questions that people want to know when they read these threads! Most of my nervousness stems from not being able to do things for myself and fear of gaining weight becaue my exercise will be so limited! Can anyone relate to that? Am I being silly? Hope whoever reads this thread will find it as informative as I have found all those who have gone before me!

just finding this now, sorry... :thumbup:

congrats on the LBL..

dont worry about the weight. not only had i stayed the same, i gained about 3-4 pounds... you still have Fluid and swelling... try to stay off the scale, it'll just depress you.

i noticed i went back to pre-op weight within the month (cant remember when, sorry) then lost a few more pounds.

THanks Losin! Haven't heard from you in a while. I guess that I have retained like 15lbs of fluid?! There is no way I gained the weight that they cut off! Karey warned me not to weigh myself and I didn't listen and now I am down in the dumps. How the heck are you and how is the pregnancy coming?

Swell hell is not fun! It will get better!

Pity party ends here! Ridiculous of me to worry about my weight! I know I haven't gained becasue I am barely eating anything! Also - obvioulsly swelling.

My major complaint is fatigue adn general discomfort. I am trying not to take as much percoset because it makes me out of it. I am getting bored hanging out at home but I am soooo tired and swollen even after the quickest trip someplace.

When did they give you the ok to drive?

When did they give you the ok to drive?

I live in NYC (manhattan) so I don't have a car and havne't asked. I think generally they say you can't drive until you are off the pain pills for a while.

OH.... ok... LOL.. sorry but being from small town hell in kansas I forget that not everyone has to drive EVERYWHERE! :thumbup:

Tracy,

i was able to drive right after i was off the good drugs... :thumbup:

OH.... ok... LOL.. sorry but being from small town hell in kansas I forget that not everyone has to drive EVERYWHERE! :dita:

Hi Tracy! it is weird that I don't drive isn't it? Actually works out well if you are on percoset!

Anyway I am feeling SORE today - have been trying to take fewer pills. Have doc appt tomorrow but am guessing since she will nto take out my two remaining drains because there is lot coming out of them still - which totally sucks. :biggrin:

I am sort of over the drains - they are annoying and make showering difficult. Also, hard to conceal under clothing. I am 12 days out today so maybe I am asking too much - the doctor said it may take longer to remove the drains because of the amount of tissue that was removed.

Karen, Hang in there! I had one of my drains for 21 days, you just get used to them, the first one was out on day 13 post-op. Hope things are going well with your recovery.

Keep up the good faith! HEAL HEAL HEAL

Can anyone recommend a stage 2 compression garment? My doctor said I could switch and recommnded just plain old spanx - my only problem is that it is a pain with the drains still in to take them down to go to the bathroom so I am looking in to buying one that I can use for the next week or so until the last 2 drains come out - maybe one with no crotch or the like. I am having some skin irritation from the binder so I definately need to switch asap.

PS - when I went to buy the sales lady instantly said I was a SMALL

Compression Wear & Bodyshaping Clothing - Male & Female Girdles & Vests

i absolutely LOVED my compression garments ... they will custom make one for you at no extra charge. they are kinda pricey though (60ish maybe??)

Thanks so much - think i will go order one!

Karen,

Congratulations! I bet it felt great to be "small." I've been checking up on you. I tried to send you a post the other day, but when I hit the Post Quick Reply, the site or my connection went down and I didn't have time to retype.

The Spanx have worked really well for me lately (I'm 7 weeks out now.) I think I'm ready for a smaller size. I kept losing and gaining the same few pounds for a while. Now I'm starting to lose.

Are you home now? Hope all is well.