Tummy Tuck: Stories

Hello,
My name is mella_mia. I have decided to proceed with a tummy tuck after birthing 2 children, 50lbs weight gain, 40lbs weight loss, and years of being insecure and hiding my belly. This is a personal discussion and investment that I have choose to do for myself. After accomplishing so much for myself and kids, it's time that my hardwork pays off. These are the of final chapter of my weight loss journey...........

Pre- Op and Official Surgery Date!

Today, I finally decided to go with Dr. Nein in Nashville, TN. He said I will do really good with a TT and my stomach will be "flat as a pancake" lol so that's the new qoute in my household now. Me and my kids saying "flat as a pancake"...But I had an overall good "gut" feeling about him and very impressed with his background and his love for his profession.

Official surgery date 03/07/2013 BYE BYE Kangaroo Pouch bka CAKE (that's what my bffs and kids call it) Bring on the pain then welcome the waistline! :-) :) During my pre- op, Dr said because I carried my babies low, 90% of my stretchmarks will be GONE. YAYYYY, I was ready to make full payment after that one! LOL music-to-my-ears.orgasm.com lol Now that I know everything is official, I worked up the "guts" to post pics so the world wide web can see in minutes what I didnt even show my hubby for years

SURGERY DATE UPDATE! MARCH 4TH, 2013

My surgery has been moved forward to MARCH 4TH!!! OMG, Im so ready for this but nervous at the same time. I have so many questions for him during my pre-op appt on the 27th. I want to be completely satisified with my results. I made it a point to ask all the PS at my initial consulation should I lose rest of the -15lbs to be in my healthy range & to get the best results. They all said that it wouldnt make a difference because majority of my belly area is excess skin and I probably will lose the weight in other parts of my body. After looking at tons of before/after pictures of women of the same height and weight as me, I am very concerned about having a deformed looking hip area. I have full sides as you can see in the pics and full hips. What I noticed in some before/after pics are the unportion hip area which makes the TT look unnatural and deformed. I am REALLLYYYY concerned about this. I am going to ask my PS about using the "high lateral tension procedure". I just want to maintain my curves and smooth out my flank area. I wonder would this be a good technique to use on my body type. Any suggestions?

BOUGHT A 2-PIECE SWIMSUIT I LIKED AT THE STORE YESTERDAY (NEW PHOTOS) just for shits & giggles...im so bored & kinda annoyed with this waiting period and the fact that I know have an obsession with the mirror, this site, and before & after pics. To pass the time, I have decided to focus on losing more weight, toning up my hip & butt area. Its crazy because Im starting to see a lot of flaws on my body that needs work. More surgery? Hmmmm we'll see but for now, cardio & strength training it is :-)

TUMMY TUCKS / PREGNANCY...TOMATOE / TOMATOS...RIGHT?
I just read "finally4me" reviews about the fustrations of the waiting period before your procedure. This lady is hilarious....but this is soooo true. I had to share. Enjoy!


Updated on 12 Feb 2013:
Maaan, this waiting for my TT makes me feel like I'm going through a pregnancy.
1. The excitement
2. The pain
3. Watching what u eat
4. Getting prepared for delivery (dropping off the gut).
5. Coming home with my new baby ( my tummy).
6. Always rubbing on your belly (because when u sit, your stomach is rubbing your legs or your long titties are rubbing against your belly).
7. Getting prepared for when u come home from delivery.
8. Buying new clothes for your newborn ( your tummy).
9. Eager to show him or her off.
10. And u will always be there through the ups and the downs.

PREPARING FOR SURGERY....

My pre-op went good. I paid on full, got all my meds & instructions, and took some very embarrassing naked pics. All I could think about is praying that camera don't misplaced & in the wrong hands smh. Anywho, I'm nervous but excited at the same time, which is an ackward feeling. No shower for 3 wks? Hmmmmm I might have to bend the rules on that one. Other than that...MARCH 4TH AT 7AM!!!!!!!!

PREP FOR SURGERY
This will be one long weekend!! Instead of waiting & making myself crazy, I am planning ahead. My daughter is 11 and my son is 9 so thank GOD they are of age to help out. Here's my weekend list of the things-to-do so that hopefully have a smooth recovery.

*Daughter's hair appt (braided style so that she can do her own hairstyles)
*Laundry & cleaners
*Make a "To-Do" schedule for my kids so that there will NOT be any fussing and misunderstandings with each other that I have to holler and take care of :
- Obie (our new ChowChow puppy) on a feeding schedule
- update after school duties hour by hour (homework, chores, etc..)
- buy a bell to ring to fetch my kids :-)
*grocery shop 1 week of simple meals (microwave dinners, sandwiches,etc)
*grocery shop for my meal plan (low sodiums, berries & pineapples, soups)
* confirm carpet cleaning appt for Saturday
*mail & internet pay all bills for month of March (auto draft on due date)
*self pedicure
*pack care bag
*set up my recovery area (living room or bedroom? hmmm...)
*continue to eat light to prevent digestion issues. I have bad bloating issues if I eat heavy foods

That's pretty much it! Hopefully this keeps me busy till Monday morning. Oh, and I plan to explain to my kids everything about the recovery process and my possible mood swings etc... Good luck to everybody who's going in tomorrow and Monday morning :-)

OK lets see...i just took more narcotics so ill type till they kick in. I am doing ok...very uncomfortable but ok. Didnt get nauseated at all. I am hunched over but starting to walk a little straighter the more I get out of bed to do my routine walking. Walking really slow tho. My belly is extremely tight and hard! Waistline is littlle, like wow! Swell hell is slowly kicking in especially around the flank lower back, and thigh areas. Extremely important to take meds on time or you will DIE or at least feel like you are. Took Milk of Mag. last night and belly just been rumbling and producing gas. Had to kick my 9 yrs old son out my room. I totally forgot he was a jokester and kept making me laugh/cry. Very painful! Been having the best sleep ever.The key to healing and feeling better is resting, watching good chick flicks, good books and magazines, and having kids and hubbies wait on you hand and foot due to a legit reason :-) No appetite but Im making myself eat healthy diet of cholocate Muscle Milk protein shake, orange juice, pineapples, berry smoothies, low sodium chicken noodle soup, high fiber cereal, water and thats it so far. Just sips and few bites of them but something is better than nothing. I have not changed my right drain yet, but the left one is draining really good & fast. Will call office about this today. I peeked at my belly today. Yes, I couldnt resist the urge and wow, wow, wow! The left end of the incision dont look so hot, but hopefully it's the swelling bc thats a lipo area and its all bruised up. Other than that, incision is flat and healing great...all but the end areas. Belly button is sexy and I got a 2-pack YIKES!! Im happy already. Check out the photos so far :-)

Hey Ladies... Just a quick update. Today the pain & swelling most definitely kicked in full gear. For the pain, nothing the meds couldnt handle. Just hate that they make me so sleepy, which is still the best sleep ever. I just wanna chit chat a lil while longer but before you know it, Im sleep again. Anywho, if it wasnt for this site, I would be freaking out right now. My hips, sides, thighs, and occassionally my tummy swell up and hurts like Im gonna explode. Massages with some Vitamin E oil then ice packs while taking a quick break from the cg helps alot. Swelling in tummy area went down quickly but these hips and thigh swelling seems to be going nowhere no time soon. I look deformed with this lil waist and thick hips and thighs...but I know its just the swelling and will go down eventually. My cute lil belly button finally formed a dark scar around and in it. That means its healing and will lighten up again with time. I think I might get dogs ears on both sides from the way that its looking. I dont know yet, but its pretty swollen. Either way, Im still happy because my PS did a freaking amazing job and offers revision on dog ears if needed. Overall, Im happy. Just taking care of myself...resting ,eating healthy, following PS orders, and taking meds around the clock. Cant wait till the recovery process is over so that I can hit the gym again and finish the process. Good luck to all ladies with upcomming surgeries and congrats to the ones who just went in :)

Quick Update....
Tomorrow I will be 1 week PO but since its such a laid back Sunday, I'll go ahead & give the update now. Still an emotional roller coaster for me with the swelling & pain. I get so bored, I do everything that the Dr & you gals told me NOT to do during the recovery process...like try on a pair of jeans & jump on the scale DURING my worse moment of swelling. Then become depressed because I cant go to the gym & do something about it. Why? I dont know...PS said to practice walking straight around the house this weekend. What did I do? Tried to walk my puppy around the neighborhood. Big no-no...He pretty much walked me then untied both my shoelaces purposely, knowing that I couldnt bend down to re-tie them. I only made it down the street before my hubby had to come rescue me. I havent been back outside every since then LOL. Im really impressed with how well my scar is healing. Still dark & very tender but very flat & closed....all but the ends. Im worried about the ends of my incisions. Still bumpy & swollen. I know I will have dog ears so Im already expecting more surgery in the future..bummer but whatever. Tummy still does weird things like turns numb & tight like its gonna explode & pop open...what the heck is that?! I panick when that happens & screams for my icepack and a pillow lol Other than that, still resting & healing..waiting, waiting, waiting. Happy Healing to everyone & congrats to all who just underwent TT surgery :-)

2 WEEKS UPDATE!!!

Hey Ladies,
I wanted to wait until both my drains were out to give an update but he only took away one so here we go. Let's see. Im completely off my narcotics and pain medication except for times when I more active, like today, I took one after coming home from my daughter's band concert. I had aching and tightness in my ab muscles. My 1st PO appt, he told me that I was moving around WAY to much because my fluid output was high. He told me to take it easy, stay in bed, and get up if needed. So that's what I did. I noticed that when I do move around and walk, my ab muscles tighten up sooooo bad and I end up hutched over again. Very weird and annoying feeling I must say. My incision is healing perfectly thus far. End of incisions still looking funky from the lipo but he swears it will smooth out as time passes. Again, I also think I will have dog ears on both sides but he ensured me that it was way to early to tell. I started my scar and belly button marble treatment tonight compliments of my PS office. Its a product called "New Gel". I'll let you know how its working. This swelling thing is really crazy especially when I move around. I bloat up really bad especially during my menstrual cycle and I also have an ovarian cyst that is controlled with birth control. I have not taken my pills all month, and when I don't, my bloating and cramping is very INTENSE. Over the weekend up until today, I have been dealing with it. I was in sooo much pain. Its crazy because I swoll up so bad, it felt like my incision was gonna burst open. I really had to take it easy and stay in bed. My body retain water around that time also so it felt and looked like I was gaining my stomach back. Very depressing but today its going down slowly because Im not ovulating anymore, which means the cyst will shrink causing the bloating & cramping to end. Um lets see what else, oh yes I did shower the beginning of my 2 week. I couldnt help it. My scar is starting to itch! Im using Vitamin E oil, cocoa butter, shea butter, and Neosporin w/ pain relief. All of my tops are too small. I went from a Large to a Medium. My hips are the same and the swelling is gone in them. My flanks where the Lipo was done at is very swollen and looks funky. But Im noticing that each day, my skin is started to stick to my hip bone more and more, so I know that eventually this will happen with my flank area. Just trying to be patient. The bruising is almost gone from the lipo. Its weird because I can actually touch my hip bone! Um what else, I just cant wait till I get back in the gym to work on my lower half and flank area some more. I still eat healthy and started taking my multi Vitamins and Vitamin C every morning with orange juice. After being on meds for that week, its easy to remember to take my vitamins now. Other than that, Im still taking it easy even though Im moving around more, Im laying on my sides now, and waiting for the other drain to come out. See ya next week. Hopefully my sides will flatten out by then...(yeah right) lol BYE!