DON”T WEIGH YOURSELF AFTER SURGERY.
I know it is tempting. You likely look smaller already. How much did I lose? Let me just get on this scale and see…
EEK! And then I get the frantic email. “Dr. Greenberg, I just weighed myself and I weigh more than I did before surgery!” Sometimes it is the day of surgery, other times a day or two after. It doesn’t matter. You won’t show any weight loss in this timeframe, and it has nothing to do with the surgery.
- Liposuction is not a weight loss technique.
- Tumnescent, the fluid we inject into your body before we remove the fat, is largely still in your tissue. You are like a giant sponge. This fluid stays in your tissue until a couple days after surgery.
- Around 3 days out, you will find you are peeing. A lot. Your body mobilizes the fluid from your tissue. You will still weigh more than you think you should.
- Swelling. Your body is not normal after surgery. It is injured. A controlled, sculpted, purposeful injury. When your body is injured it likes to swell. This has weight and volume to it.
- Your body will swell more than normal for weeks. Know those dents you get in your ankles from your socks? This is normal swelling. After liposuction surgery, particularly if you had your thighs done, you will swell more, and it is harder to get rid of it. It will go back to normal.
The more you avoid swelling, the better. SO….Keep your legs elevated when you can after surgery. Gravity pulls the fluid into the legs, and it makes your swelling worse. I have an herbal regimen I recommend which helps some with swelling and bruise. Avoid things which make you bleed- Vitamin E, aspirin, advil NSAID products, fish oil. The more bruising, the more swelling. I don’t recommend diuretics (water pills). When you have normal functioning kidneys, your body will get rid of the excess fluid as it needs to. Let it work.
I will weigh you, so you can’t go hog wild on Ben and Jerrys during your recovery- you can gain weight in a bad way. But give your body time to heal.
So put the scale away.
For now.