The things that don't come in the manual....

I keep reminding myself that I knew this surgery would be life-changing. What I didn't think about ahead of time was (I may add to this list ongoing)...

- Forget cuddling. For a long time..
- Forget good sleep... Everything is uncomfortable
- BYE carbs, carbonation. Swelly belly essentially happens when you eat too much, eat carbs, or anything else that is on the "no-no" list that I haven't pinpointed yet and means your belly swells, gets extremely tight around the incisions and is very uncomfortable
- hair loss :( My hair is FALLING out. Obviously, if I hadn't done this prophylactically I would expect hair loss from chemo or whatever, but I never expected to lose my hair from surgery.
- I haven't tried it yet but apparently maxi pads work better than gauze for the oozing.
- Hang onto all those old cami's - I've ruined several already by oozing through them.

- Stock up on Zinc, Vitamin C, Juven drink mix, and tons of protein snacks. I didn't get this info from my clinical team at all - this info all came from various sources on my own terms when trying to get my wounds to heal. 

- The weeds and other such things that are "extra" tasks in life - let them go out the window :( I've stressed over not getting EVERYTHING done like I would normally have things done and the stress just isn't worth it. Depending on others for everything is exhausting and there's absolutely no way to keep everything running normal. Let it go... 

- At five months post-DIEP, I'm not 100% but I'm 75%. Mostly tightness/soreness in my belly. 

- The emotional component of this journey is just as exhausting (if not more) as the physical component of this journey.

- Having strong legs and a strong back ahead of DIEP will REALLY help!

- The anticipation of BMX and DIEP was much worse than the surgery itself <3