Body Lift Recovery Tips
In regards to my body lift I will start by saying this, the recovery, the pain, the everything, was beyond worth it. I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat. Body lifts consist of various procedures from both the upper and lower body. My body lift consisted of an arm lift, a breast lift, a tummy tuck, and an upper thigh lift.
As with any surgery, you hear the good, bad, and ugly when you start researching and reading different people’s experiences. I think as helpful as it is to take time to become informed, it’s also easy to let your fears and worries overwhelm you when you start reading people’s ‘horror stories’. I believe that if having a body lift surgery is what you truly want and you shop around for a very well respected and highly recommended plastic surgeon, then you are already lined up to have a fabulous outcome.
If your surgeon believes you are a great candidate, then try to calm your worries and know that this is their job and they have successfully performed this surgery many, many times. To give yourself the highest and best chance of having a wildly successful surgery, make sure you follow all of your surgeon’s pre-surgery and post-surgery instructions.
I want to share with you the top 6 tips that helped me tremendously in getting through my body lift surgery. I wish someone would have told me these things beforehand.
Make sure to check out my other body lift articles: “Why I Had Body Lift Surgery” and “BLOODY AND BATTERED: Honest Talk About Full Body Lifts”
TIP 1:
If you have a recliner (we call it a man chair in my house lol), you will find it easiest to basically live in that chair while recovering. It makes it much easier to get up on your feet. My husband would tip the chair forward until I could get my feet on the ground while staying hunched over. Then he’d come around and grab my hands and help me to the bathroom or hold me steady during my hourly 5 minute walks (to prevent blood clots). You’ll be hunched over at least 5-7 days. Another HUGE perk of the reclining chair is that during sleep, it’s physically impossible to roll over or really even move, so you can’t hurt yourself or pull on your stitches.
TIP 2:
I kept all of my medicines as well as some crackers, chapstick, tissues, wet wipes, and my phone in a gallon ziploc bag beside me on a little side table. It was too hard trying to bend forward to reach and sift through stuff on the table, so it made my life much easier by having everything in one place. I would just snatch up the bag off of the table, put it in my lap, and find what I needed without reaching and knocking stuff over or straining myself.
TIP 3:
Speaking of medication, do not, I repeat, DO NOT be late or skip a dose. The pain is really hard to get back under control if you let your dosing lapse. SET ALARMS ON YOUR PHONE. You will be tempted to just sleep through the night because at first you will be exhausted, but trust me, it’s not worth it if you wake up 4 hours past when you were supposed to take your meds and find yourself in excruciating pain. Take the meds on the dot!
TIP 4:
I got really nauseous from the meds, both the surgery anesthesia and the pain medicine I was supposed to take for the next two weeks. Ginger chews and the medicine Nauzene helped me tremendously. Buy both, or whatever other nausea medicines normally work for you, before the surgery just in case it happens. Hopefully you’ll never need them, but have them on hand and be prepared for the worst. Trust me, you want to be able to squash nausea immediately. You don’t want to wait until someone has to make a trip to the store to buy nausea meds for you. You’re going to want to avoid throwing up and disturbing that freshly cut abdomen at any and all costs.
TIP 5:
Follow your surgeon’s instructions on your waist compression binder. Don’t stop using it too soon. I had to in fact keep it on for even longer than my doc advised, because when I went without it I had a lot of pain. My stomach ended up healing beautifully because I kept that binder on. I have a friend who stopped wearing her binder before she was supposed to and her tummy never tightened up. It was and still is saggy. She was so upset and complained to her doc but had she listened to him, she wouldn’t have had that happen. It definitely wasn’t the surgeon’s fault. It was hers for not listening to him.
TIP 6:
You won’t feel like eating solid food for a little while after surgery. I don’t think I ate anything but crackers for the first week (mainly because I was so nauseous though). When you start feeling hungry again, make sure you drink and eat LOTS of protein!
Protein helps you heal faster. This is not my opinion. Google it if you need to see for yourself.
Even when my nausea went away, I did not want to eat solid food. I was tired and in pain and just didn’t feel like eating meals or anything I had to chew (and my husband can’t cook for shit anyway lol). I lived on protein smoothies. It was the perfect way for me to get plenty of protein as well as wholesome ingredients and nourishment.
If protein smoothies are something you’d like, look into companies that ship them right to your door. I love the company Revive SuperFoods. I still order a box of smoothies from them every month (both of my daughters drink them too). We love them! Not all their smoothies are protein smoothies, so I add a scoop of protein powder to them (I use Vegan Smart’s Vanilla Pea Protein, I love it!). They also have ready-to-go oats, just add your preferred milk.
You won’t feel like making stuff in kitchen. Hell, even if you did, you aren’t going to physically be able to be standing for long and cooking in the kitchen. Having these ready-to-go smoothies or oatmeal cups will make your life and the life of whomever may be helping to care for you much easier. The smoothies go in the blender for just a few minutes and for the oats you just zap them in the microwave for 3 minutes. You want to make life as easy as possible for yourself and anyone taking care of you.
DISCOUNT CODE: For 50% off your first box from Revive SuperFoods you can use the code BLA1052070 (this is a referral code and I will receive a small amount off of my next box if you use it).
If you’ve had a body lift and have a different helpful tip, please comment on this article so others can learn from and be helped by you!
*The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content in this article is for general information purposes only. I am not a doctor, nor am I a dietitian. Talk to your physician before making any changes in your diet or exercise regimen. Talk to your doctor and/or surgeon before any surgeries or procedures and follow their instructions. What has worked for me may not work for you. This information in this article or on this website should never replace or serve as medical advice.
NEVER DISREGARD PROFESSIONAL MEDICAL ADVICE OR DELAY SEEKING MEDICAL TREATMENT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING YOU HAVE READ ON OR HAVE ACCESSED THROUGH THIS WEB SITE.
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