4(ish) month post-op

Ok, so I'm really closer to 5 months post-op, but have been promising for weeks to do a 4 months post-op update and here it is! :) I am going to break it down in the same was I did my 2 month post-op update. I decided to include some pictures. Consider yourself warned! If you don't want to see my stomach you had better stop reading right now.....

~Exercise- Everything has returned to normal when it comes to my exercise routine. I ran a 5k the other weekend and finished an amazing 9 minutes faster than last year. It was amazing!!!! I am able to bind my poses during yoga in ways never possible before my surgery. The extra skin in my arms and stomach had really gotten in the way. I still hate continue to work on loving ab work. There are no restrictions when it comes to my exercise. I do feel some tightness around my TT incisions when I am doing extensive stretching, but nothing that is too uncomfortable. During boxing the incisions on my arms tend to sting a little bit. The doctor told me that the nerves were still healing and that the stinging will go away with time.

~Clothing- My quest for the perfect pair of pants continues. It still feels strange to not have an extra layer of skin between my pants and my thighs. I've settled into a comfortable size 12 pant and a medium/large shirt. Finding clothes that fit me are no longer a problem.

~Arms- I LOVE MY ARMS! They have a little bit of give now, but nothing like pre-op. They have healed completely. The incisions are still really red. At my 4 month post-op appotinment the nurse said they the scars start to lighten up around 4 months and that the redness is just part of the healing process. I wear short sleeve shirts pretty much every day. Strangers ask me about my scars and I proudly tell them that I had lost 170 pounds and needed to have the extra skin removed. I have to keep sunscreen on them all the time when I am outside or they turn bright red.



Arm scar- 4 months post-op



 ~Stomach- I wish that I could say that I love my stomach, but I'm still not there. I like it more than I did 2 months ago. There is still quite a bit of excess skin on the sides. It's hard to explain. It like when you have too much wrapping paper and you double fold the sides instead of cutting off the extra. The present looks fine, but it's not perfect. My PS is willing to do another surgery, but I don't want to go under the knife again nor do I want the vertical cut that would be required to remove the skin from the middle. I have one very small spot on my left hip that still has not healed. The doc told me to come back in another 2 months if it still is not closing up. The problem is that the incision ends right where my pants fall on my hips. I have been putting a band-aid on the spot to keep it from rubbing.

Four months post-op I can honestly say that having this surgery was one of the best things that I have done for myself. I feel lighter. I can look in the mirror and (on most days) see the "skinny" person that others see. Plastic surgery is not for everyone, but for me if was what I needed to correct my image of myself. The greatest difference that I have noticed is in my ability to move freely during exercise. I didn't realize how encumbered I was by the excess skin. Feel free to ask questions. I love sharing about my experiences.

~Kari