Is it normal?

Just a quick update.  APPARENTLY my surgeon was NOT being given the messages that I was leaving regarding this issue, and that is why it was never addressed.  THAT has been taken care of now.  My Primary Care drew circles around the redness and my husband took pictures of the wounds and I emailed them to my surgeon.  Guess who got a phone call before I even closed out of my email program?  Yep, me.  From the surgeon.  "Why didnt you call and tell me this was going on?"  So I filled him in on that I HAD called, about twice a day, for 4 days and left messages with his office manager each time, who assured me she was forwarding them on, and would then provide updated info that supposedly came from my surgeon.  Look, I dont know the real truth and I dont really care- thats his internal issue to work out, apparently.  In any case, when he saw the pics, he agreed it needed immediate attention and brought me in first thing this morning.

All the drains (that I told the office manager 4 days ago had stopped putting out anything at all) got pulled, all the staples got pulled, the two areas that had opened up were lightly debrided, lots of goop was expressed, it was thoroughly cleaned out and packed and many apologies were given.  

The antibiotics are helping greatly.  The heat and redness are dramatically improved, even over a less than 24 hour period on them (guess thats what happens when you throw 600mg of Clinda and 1000mg of Bactrim at an infection in a day).   And, oh wow, who would have thought, the pain is pretty much GONE too.  Amazing......  Gee, maybe NOW I can finally get on with healing.  That would ROCK.

I'm glad your feeling better!  

Glad to hear it is being taken care of. Keep us posted!! I hope you feel better soon!!

Today I feel pretty dang close to human again.  NO fever, no longer feel like I have the flu, the only pain I have is from the two areas he opened to drain.  Pulled the packing tonight as directed and they are draining like crazy, but its all clear and not gross looking anymore.  The swelling has gone down a lot, as has the redness.  Just a lot of bruising back there (at least Im praying its bruising and not necrosis).  I dont have bruising anywhere else :)

Everything else has healed up perfectly.  In fact, my scabs are all falling off now and the scar is already nice and fairly faded and thin.  I am coming into the "swell hell" portion of recovery, but even that hasnt been as bad as I was anticipating.  I REALLY think the Arnica is helping that.  My muscle pain has been VERY minimal, but I knew going into it he wasnt doing a whole lot of tightening there, as I didnt really need it.  It was more to fix the diastasis recti from my pregnancy and pull me down juuust a bit.  I do a LOT of core work and exercise, so I know my muscles were nice under all the skin.  So that part of my recovery has been well managed with a mild dose of muscle relaxer.  

We will in fact have to address the two areas on my outer thighs with some revision and raising of the scar line, as after my shower (YAY, I FINALLY GOT TO SHOWER FOR REAL!) today and not a single pair of underwear (not even granny panties) or bathing suit covers the scars :(  Not even close.  Got at least 4" on both thigh that is visible.  Not pleased.

I am also wondering if it is normal to still have loose skin after a tummy tuck?  He said he pulled me as tight as he could, but I definitely still have some loose skin and when I sit down, I get some rolls.....  Is this just a matter of the skin needing to readhere to the muscle or something?  Otherwise, we will be revising this too, as my tummy may be flat when I stand up now, but there is definitely still quite a bit of loose skin that could be pulled taught and Ive never seen anyone with a tummy tuck still have rolls :(  AND, with all y core work and such, I was really hopeful at some point, you would be able to see the 4 or 6 pack that I know I have laying under there.  With the amount of looseness I have now, it wont ever happen, and Im not real pleased with that.  

Bonus for me though- my LBL DID address my inner thighs.  I didnt need much done there, it wasnt enough to justify a full surgical lift, and I was just going to live with it.  But, right at the top where my thigh met my mons and for about 6" down right the inside of my thigh, I had what I called a small patch of "sharpei" skin.  Welp, its gone now.  Its not all tight and toned and perfect, but its HUGELY improved.

Another bonus?  He was able to completely remove a tattoo on my right butt cheek I got when I was 16 and HATED.  Yippee!  One less thing to laser off later.  I also lost a few moles I hated.  And, my new vajay and belly button are ADORBS.  I also LOVE the shape and size of my new booty.  

Oh, Ive also discovered I am allergic to every kind of tape out there during this process.  My guess is its the adhesive used.  Even Bandaids cause me issue.  Soooooo, if anyone has any great ideas on how to get these trauma pads to stay where they are supposed to for all the stuff draining- without tape of any sort, lemme know...  All I can come up with is Dermabond, but, yeah, thats pretty hardcore to have to be changing every few hours...

So great to read you are doing better and getting the best treatment possible..
Thank GD for digital cameras or smartphones to be able to email our PS and then discuss w/o always waiting or rushing right in.
Healing is a process and some of us take longer than others.
I reiterate on my earlier post...if you want a phone-pal, I am more than happy you call you.
Mikimi in Israel