I Have Great Veins....the surgery

As the day of surgery approached, everyone that knows me personally knew about it and asked if I was excited. I can truly say that , no, I wasn't excited! And when asked why, my response was, "I'm not exactly excited to experience the physical pain of recovering from surgery, or taking the time off of my training". The only thing I was looking forward to was the result, and I knew that could be months before that would finally be realized.

Does that sound ungrateful? I don't mean for it to sound that way, but I think I'm different than most people having this kind of surgery. Like I've already mentioned, I wasn't looking to feel better about myself, it was simply "corrective" surgery. The damage from a couple of pregnancies as well as obesity left me with excess skin that could be removed with todays surgical technology. So I chose to correct it.

I remember when calling for my first consultation the receptionist at the doctors office asked me if I was also interested in liposuction (along with abdominoplasty), and I chuckled and said, "No, I don't think I need that! I'll bet you don't hear too many women saying that, do you?" The surgeon confirmed that, no, I didn't need any lipo! In fact the very first thing I said, (I swear) when I came to, in recovery, was, "Did you weigh the skin?". Yes they had, and it weighed 700 grams, less than 2lbs.! A hellava way to lose 2 lbs.!

Friday morning came, and my attitude was simply that of having a dr's appt @7:15am...it really was that casual. All of the medical staff was happy to have a pateint in such "good shape" in fact the first thing the anesthesiologist said to me was, "You work out don't you...you have great veins!" (If I heard that once, I heard it a dozen times that morning!) The only thing I was looking forward to was the point when they tell you to count backwards! The mask came over my face and, in what seemed like a moment, it was over.

Now, everyone that has surgery is different, but I was not prepared for the aftermath! I had drugs for the physical pain, that was not a problem. I had accepted the time off from my training, that was not a problem. The problem was the swelling and bloating. I did not expect to come out of surgery a larger person than when I went in! Afterall, wasn't part of the point of this surgery to become a smaller person, lol? I went into surgery a size 6 and came out a size 10! Even my sweatpants were tight.

And although I knew the scientific and logical reasons for the swelling and bloating it was still a head trip, especially since I'd worked so hard for the past 3 years, and was used to seeing a lean and muscular frame, all of a sudden, when I looked in the mirror, I was fat again. I was swollen from my knees to my armpits. I didn't dare weigh myself for 2 weeks, and even now I've only weighed myself one more time, at the 3 week point. (132.0 morning of surgery, 132.6, 2nd week, 132.4, 3rd week)

I also wasn't prepared for the lower back pain of having to walk hunched over. I was aware that I wouldn't be able to stand completely straight up for a few days to a week, and it was murder on my lower back! Thank God I can easily squat down and stand up, it came in handy quite a bit. You'd be surprised at how many times you have to bend over in a day, until it's painful to do and you can't do it.

I can not imagine having this, or any other surgery, in an unhealthy condition. Whether that means an unhealthy weight, just bad health (sickness), or physically weak. That's something scary to think about. With all of these "makeover" shows, plastic surgery is glamorized. I don't plan on going back any time soon!

Now the fun has begun and continues.....recovery.

The above pic was taken 2 weeks post op, my 3rd day back to work.