Fixing my Diastasis!

On April 25th I had major abdominal surgery to correct what we thought was a umbilical hernia and a very wide diastasis recti. Starting with my pregnancy with Levi the major muscles that run up and down the front of my belly (rectus muscles) began to separate (diastasis recti) and by the time Rachel was a couple of months old the separation was very wide and causing me a myriad of uncomfortable symptoms. When she was a newborn I could not get off the floor without help, had regular sharp pain in my lower back and sometimes abdomen, had trouble using the restroom and feared I could be injured if any force came against my abdomen. The gap between my muscles was so large I could fit both hands between my muscles and feel my large intestine as well and the pulsations in my abdominal aorta. During my pre-operative appointment it measured about 18cm wide and 23cm long. In addition to these symptoms, the bulge in my abdomen was so large I was asked several times a week if I was pregnant, when I was due or if I knew what I was having. It happened so frequently that it became a bit funny and no longer bothered me. I usually just told people I wasn't pregnant, but had a large hernia (so I didn't have to explain the whole thing). Honestly, I couldn't blame people for thinking I was expecting, It really did look that way! The before and after pictures are impressive. I have been asked how much weight I lost, and I actually weigh only one pound less than I did before surgery. Simply having my organs back where they belong, behind my muscles has made I big impact!

It seemed that I also had a hernia in my belly button because you could feel my guts poking out in a 4cm circle around my umbilicus. During surgery it was noted that the lining on my muscle (fascia) was so very thin at my belly button that it felt like a hernia externally, but in fact was not. So, during the surgery, my doctor sewed my muscles back together from just above my pubic bone to the bottom edge of my breast bone. She also removed some excess skin that had lost it's elasticity after being stretched out 5 times. Basically, I had what is called an abdominoplasty (aka tummy tuck).

about to head to the OR

'happily' in the recovery room

I started the process of planning for surgery to fix my worn out belly back in October 2016, but between busy physicians, and a long and very frustrating insurance battle, my surgery was pushed back several months. Thankfully, the surgery went smoothly and although the recovery has been longer than I would like (I'm still not as strong as I'd like, nor am I pain free). I was blessed to have my Mom, Dad and Philip take excellent care of me and keep our house running smoothly while I was on virtual bed-rest for 3 weeks! The first 2 weeks my Mom cooked, cleaned, and cared for the kids (with lots of help from my Dad) and I was spoiled and felt very loved. The meals were delicious and the housekeeping was better than I ever do! Philip then took off work for my third week and was super dad while playing nurse as well. In addition, my siblings, church friends, my best friend from the boys school and co-workers helped me a bunch with meals, entertaining/transporting the kids and so on. I'm so lucky!

 

It was a long recovery, I wasn't even able to stand up for the first 3 days and had 2 very uncomfortable drains in my left side for 2 weeks preventing me from sleeping in more than one position and leaving me with a sore neck and back on top of pain from my healing muscles and incision. But now, things are already so much better and I am glad we decided to go forward with the procedure. I am stronger and getting more so every week, I haven't been asked when my baby was due a single time and I can wear so much more of my clothes again. Soon, I hope to return to exercising more and maybe even get back to doing triathlons by next spring.