the swelly belly

i am only 9 days post op, my dr. never mentioned this large swelling of the belly, i figured this would go done fairly soon, but after reading some of these messages, this is a on going problem, how long does the belly stay large, and does the swell belt work well, i am a plus size anyway and to look larger then normal ***** LOL

I am 4 weeks post op and still have quite the swelly belly. I have noticed it decreasing from two weeks ago. But it would be nice to have something to wear that fits around this belly of mine.

Yes, I was wondering the same thing! How long does this last? I am only 13 days out, but lost 17 pounds (gained 4 back) with a severe post op infection and at least I was thinking ONE benefit is that I would fit into my skinny clothes, but with this stupid swelly belly, I can't even wear my fat clothes and I weigh a LOT less than I did before my TAH. I had to go buy more sweat pants last night. Talk about adding insult to injury. :-( Does anyone know the normal range of time for this swelling?

Kim

I've been told that it could be months, up to year or more. I'm 6 weeks post op from TAH and a mini tummy tuck, and I woke up with very little swelling this morning. But week 5 was my worst week of swelling to date. Guess this Tennessee heat and humidity did me in! Avoid salty foods, drink lots of water, and REST!
Also, I bought control undies by Barely There. It really helps with the swelling.

waaaaaa.... I lost 5 pounds and I have kept it off. At first my tummy seemed flat, at least compared to before.

Today I hit week 3 and the swelly belly has hit a new size.
I was thinking same thing - heat & exertion.

I am living in elastic waist exercise clothes and pajama pants.

Hi!

It has been 10 weeks since my surgery and my belly is not swollen anymore.

It wasn't until about 6 weeks or so that I could fit into my regular clothes again. I had been wearing capri knits with elastic waist up until then. I was worried about fitting into my clothing when I went back to work after recovering for 8 weeks.

My weight stayed the same, so the fact that I couldn't fit into my work clothes was all attributed to swelly belly. Give it at least 6 weeks to go down.

I just had my 1 month post op appt. and asked my dr. this very question. She said that by 12 weeks the swelling should be minimal but that I could have swelling in the evenings or after overexertion. I actually bought two pair of maternity shorts yesterday and found that they are very comfortable - extra room around this belly which is still quite large.