Tummy Tuck: Stories

Hi! I wish I found this forum before my TT yesterday. I am a mother of two boys born via c-sections, 5'2 and 135 lbs after a 50 pound weight gain with my second pregnancy. I told myself that I will try to lose the weight with diet and exercise alone but because I work 44-54 hours a week plus taking care of the kids, I never had time or energy to get back to my size 2 pants. Instead, I held on to an unattractive belly for the last seven years! I knew it was time to take care of me, and get my old body back.

So, yesterday was the BIG day for me! I took a cab to the ambulatory surgery center because I didn't want to wake up the boys way too early before camp. Luckily, I knew everyone at the hospital to give me the moral support I needed to proceed with it. I am a nurse anesthetist with no prior experience with General Anesthesia, just a SAB for my c-sections! I handpicked everyone involved in my case, including my plastic surgeon, anesthesiologist, nurse anesthetist, circulating nurse, surgical tech, recovery room nurses so I felt confident going in. As much as I would have wanted to remain lucid for the entire procedure, I remembered nothing after my anesthetist injected an extra dose of versed in my veins, totally no recollection of moving from the stretcher to the operating room table, but just waking up in recovery room hearing bits and pieces of conversations.

I was given the same cocktail of drugs that I usually administer for this type of surgery and I have to say that I felt comfortable in the recovery room until I had to get up out of bed to a sitting position. I couldn't lift my torso up all the way and walked like an old woman holding on to my abdominal binder. The repair of abdominal muscles made the postop surgical pain much more significant than when I had my two c-sections. Recovering from a TT made me so much more aware of how often I use my abdominal muscles without even thinking about it but now I have to cognizant of every movement I make so not to interrupt the healing process.

POD 1, today, has been painful for me. The management of two JP drains is not a big deal for me since I am a nurse but i can totally see how annoying it can be.i am taking antibiotics and 2 percocets around the clock so I can be on top of my pain. I'm just hoping that the pain will subside pretty soon!