It's been a long time! SUPER exciting news!!

Well, it's been awhile since my last post and a lot has changed!
I'm pretty much healed up from surgery and onto my next adventure.

I've been running on & off for a few years now - just for exercise. But recently, I decided that my running needed a purpose and I made the decision to run a 1/2 marathon - the Disney Princess 1/2 marathon at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL to be exact. And that turned into me wanting to do the "Glass Slipper Challenge" - the Princess 1/2 along with a new race, the Enchanted 10K. Which then lead to me wanting to get the first edition PINK Coast to Coast medal by running The Tinker Bell 1/2 marathon at Disney Land in CA along with the Princess 1/2 at WDW. So yup, on June 11th, I lost my sanity and signed up for TWO 1/2 marathons and a 10K for a total of 32.4 miles!! . After 2 expensive weekends, I will earn 5 medals. And I'm still deciding if I should add on the Never Land 5K at DL for a total of 6 medals. CA-CHING, BLING! It's exciting and nervous all at the same time.

I will post more SOON! But for now, some pics!

102 days PO - a YAY and a NAY!

102 days.... we're in the triple digits, baby!! Sorry the updates are few & far between, but not much is happening now. I'm currently working my butt off following the Chalean program.... I want to start seeing some definition in my arms! And also working on continuing to slim, tone & firm up the other areas that I didn't have skin removal surgery on (hips.butt.thighs. back.)

Here's the YAY! My arms are actually looking good.... check out these bad boys (lol). Definition is coming along well. Also, I thought my arms were looking good at 33 days PO, but now looking back at that picture, i can tell how swollen they still were at that point.

And the NAY Now, I wish I could say I'm as happy about my stomach as I am my arms. I'm mostly pleased about the way it looks, but I still seem to be having A LOT of swelling in my stomach, especially the lower section. And recently, I felt a hard lump down there - it's painful, hurts & could be causing some changes in my cycle (over the past month or two I've had some mid cycle spotting, heavier period, bad cramps, etc). I think it's a cyst or pocket of fluid because that his how the pockets of fluids on my arms felt. I don't think it's been there this whole time... or maybe it has but has gotten bigger and that's why I can feel it now? so I'm not really sure if it was caused by my surgery or not? I am a little worried about it. I'm going to see my OBGYN for my annual exam on Friday so I'll have him check it out and see what he thinks. Hopefully he can do an ultrasound to check it out. But I'm worried that if he thinks it's related to the surgery, he will make me talk to my plastic surgeon about it. My next appt with him isn't until June 3rd, but I will call to change it if my OBGYN tells me to talk to him.
Along with Chalean I'm also still running. I'm going to do a Color Run (5K) with my boys and a bunch of friends in Sept... my first race, even though it's not timed, we will still have a blast, I'm sure!! I'm also hoping to do the Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon and Enchanted 10K in Feb 2014. But the cyst or fluid in my lower stomach has caused some pain the last few times I went for a run, so I'm a tad worried about that. Hopefully after seeing my OBGYN this week (and possibly my plastic surgeon too) we can figure out what the issue is & I can move forward with my training for the Disney races. This is something I really really want to do so I will do everything I can to make it happen!!
As for my running - before my surgery I was running about an 11:45 pace - slow & steady. my legs aren't that long & I'm not looking to win any awards. lol. Then after my surgery I had to take things slow & build myself back up. The other day I ran 3 miles with a pace of 11:26... my best pace to date (even better than before surgery). But now that I might run a half marathon (something I said I would never do! lol) I've got to start increasing my distance. My motto is still slow & steady. As long as I can keep up a 12 min pace, I'm happy. Like I said, I'm not looking to win the fastest runner award, I just want to complete the race =)

PO Day 65

PO Day 65?! Is that for real? I had to do a calculation using a website to figure out how many days it's been & that's what it said! lol

I figure it's been awhile so I should update. 

Around the 6 week PO mark is when I really started to feel like things went back to 'normal'. I'm back into my old routine, I'm feeling good, pretty much all healed up and I'm able to move around without any pain or restrictions. 

The scars on my arms (especially the one on my left arm) are pretty ugly. The one on the left arm is still really thick & whiteish pink. 2-3 months PO are the 'worst' they're going to look, accourding to my doctor and then they should start to look better, so we'll see. 

I'm getting back into my exercise routine. My running progress has been slow, but I'm getting out there when I can. 
Next week I will be starting a new Beach Body program - Chalean Extreme. Hoping to get some definition in this new body!!

Day 41 - Doctor's appointment

Wow! Day 41!  6 weeks post op!!
 There really hasn't been anything new going on since I last updated, which is why the updates are coming fewer & farther apart. 
Went to the doctors this morning. he said my arms are looking good. There is 1 pocket of fluid on my arm that wasn't going away but I woke up today and all of a sudden, it was almost gone. That figures! LOL. I told him about it & he checked it out. He said since it was starting to go away on it's own, he wanted to leave it alone for now & not drain it  I hope it doesn't fill back up, because it's pretty painful.   
He said the scars on my arms are thicker (wider) than the last time I was there and they're very pink in color. I had noticed that & hoped it was normal. He said it is. He said that's part of the healing process & it will continue to look that "bad" for at least another month or so.  Around the 3 month mark they will start looking better & better.

He said my stomach looks good as well. When I first got out of surgery, the skin was really tight, but I think it was mostly because of the swelling. Now that the swelling has gone down, the area has 'softened' up a bit and it's not as tight.  He said he's very critical of his work, maybe even more than his patients. lol. So he commented on the fact that it's not as "tight" as it was right after surgery.   But hey, it's nowhere near as loose & flabby as it was before, with skin hanging 5 inches down, so I'm happy about that! lol. Yes, it's a little bit loose, but I'm not terribly worried about that... For the most part it's flat and I think with a little ab work it will be fine! 

Then he asked about my weight... again. I told him I'm still slightly under my surgery weight, but haven't really lost anything more than that. I think he asks because he wants to make sure I haven't gained (or lost) a ton of weight because that could also affect the skin on my stomach.  But it makes me feel like a loser to say I haven't lost any more weight. 

He said that my backside is still very loose, so when I'm ready....if I still wanted to.... He said it would be easy to continue the scar all the way around my back and lift the skin that has kind of sank down into my butt.  lol  I'm still thinking about that though....

When I pulled my spanx back up & put my tank top on, he made a comment about my shape. He was like "Look at those nice curves!" lol. 

He said for the next few weeks or so, there won't be alot of changes happening, so I don't have to go back to see him for 6 weeks. yay! 

PO Day 41 - Before & Now measurements

Here are my before surgery measurementsWeight - 148 ( I ate bad that week before my surgery so I was a little higher than lowest weight to date)

Arms - 12.25 Left, 12.25 Right
Upper stomach - 27
Mid stomach (belly button level) - 27
lower stomach (hip level)- 37.5


Measurements on 1/27  - 5 days after surgery

Arms - 12.5 left, 12.5 right  (both are +.25)
Upper stomach - 29 (+2)
Mid stomach - 34 (+7)
Lower stomach - 39.5 (+2)

As you can see, I gained a ton of inches after surgery - was really upset about it, but then I had to remind myself about all the swelling. At this point, my weight was up by 9 pounds (157!) as well! All those dang fluids & swelling



Measurements on 2/8
Saw a huge dip in the scale - down to my lowest weight to date (146), so I knew that alot of the swelling was going away so decided to take my measurements on that day. Still not what I was hoping they'd be...

Arms - 12 left, 12 right  (both are -.25)
Upper stomach - 28  (+1)
Mid stomach - 33 (+6)
lower stomach - 38 (+.5)

And then my measurements today 3/7
I've been struggling with the scale - going up & down a couple of pounds. Today I'm 147. 

Arms - 11 left, 11 right  (both are - 1.25) yay, finally!
Upper stomach - 27 (0.... back to where I was before surgery)
Mid stomach - 31.5 (+4.5 still up)
Lower stomach - 37.25 (-.25)

Finally something (my arms) are measuring smaller than before I had surgery! PHEW! I was begining to get really worried there. And my upper & lower stomach is back to what they were before (with my lower stomach being just a tad smaller than before). My mid stomach is STILL  4.5 inches more than it previously was. kind of discouraged about that, but it's still in the early healing process (it can take up to 12 months).   That's where the most swelling still seems to be plus my belly button doesn't draw me in so much like it did before. 

PO Day 14

Last night, I pulled the tape off my stomach. A big section on the end at one side had come off... I was just going to cut it off but it started to pull off the rest of the way pretty easily, so I took it all off. The scar underneath looks really good! Not as lumpy & bumpy as my arms. I had another doctor's appointment today. There is 1 spot on my upper right arm that is really hard. I thought maybe my muscles were swollen. I massaged it last night & it seemed to get smaller. But it's preventing me from being able to lay my arm flat against my body. Anyway... I mentioned that to him & he felt the area. he thinks it could be a pocket of fluid (especially since that is the side that swelled really bad). He's going to leave it alone for now & if it's still there at my next appointment, he will drain it. Speaking of my next appointment - as long as everything contiues to go well and I don't have any problems, I don't have to go back to see him for 2 weeks!! That's Feb 19th. Yay! But he said everything looks great - all the incisions are healing well. the swelling in my stoamch is going down. I told him that it seems like in the morning the swelling is pretty much gone but then throughout the day it swells back up. I really hate that... makes me look/feel like I'm 4 months pregnant. lol. but he said that's totally normal. And I've noticed something kind of weird.... my feet swell towards the end of the day too. My right foot was swollen for a few days after my surgery (which is the same side as my really swollen hand/arm). So I'm thinking I must still have alot of water retention going on. =/ Let's see.... I don't have to wear the binder/girdle thing anymore. But honestly, I haven't worn it since Friday. I didn't tell him that though. lol And he said it would be fine for me to start walking for exercise. But NO aerobics, jumping around or using my arms. woo hoo!! But ofcourse, now that I'm allowed to walk, it's way too cold out to walk outside. And I don't have a treadmill. I'll have to figure something out I wore a bra for the firs ttime today since the surgery. it is pretty uncomfortable since it rubs up against the scars under my arm pits. =/

PO day 13

Aside from the minor, constant discomfort of all the incision sites (not to mention that they're starting to get itchy), I'm feeling tons better today I'm really itching to get back into an exercise routine, even if it is just walking for now. I don't like being so sedentary. I'm going to the doctors tomorrow so I might mention it. He'll probably say no, especially since he already thinks I'm doing too much too soon. But he was the one that told me most people go back to work after a week of this type of surgery. so..... I have noticed that in the morning, my stomach is always super flat & by night time it's swelled up quite a bit. I don't see any pockets of swelling (like at first), just an overall swelling of the entire area. I've heard the swelling can continue for up to 12 months or even 18 months. =/ And I also need to ask him if it's ok to start massaging my arms and what I can use on the scars to make them soften up faster. It's annoying to have to walk around with my arms away from my body because I still can't lay them completely flat against my body. And lastly, a note to self... I need to drink more water! I have really really slacked off on drinking water these past few weeks... partially because at first, it hurt too bad to get off the couch & pee frequently. lol. Water is the only thing I drink. And I've barely been managing to drink 1 bottle (16 ounces) a day. That's really low compared to what I used to drink - 80+ ounces a day. So I've got to step it back up& start drinking more!