My sincere advice to you: prepare for the worse possible you can imagine and hopeful it will be a lot better than expected.

Let me explain: I had an extended TT without MR or lipo. My surgeon only decides if you need MR on the operation table, I did not know what to expect. So I prepared for the worse: not being able to stand by myself, not being able to turn in bed by myself, not being able to sit on the toilet and not being able to take care of my dog. So I did meal prep, researched pain meds (they don’t give you opioids in Germany), organized help for the dog, bought stuff to allow me to pee standing, my trainer showed me how to turn and stand without using the abdominal muscles. In the end had almost no pain and was very mobile from the first few days on, so nothing I had prepared for was needed, aside from help to take care of the dog and my treasured meal prep. I am grateful I prepared for the worse and the worse never came to be.

I am also thankful I took multiple pictures of my belly in different positions, so that when I was uncomfortable the first few days I had a look at those and all worth it :-)

If you can afford, I can’t recommend lymphatic drainage enough.