Tummy Tuck: Stories

I cannot remember a time when i didn't want a tummy tuck... well maybe before i fell pregnant but certainly not since then.

I'm 36, 5'1 and had the first of my 5 children when i was 18. I was only 43kg (94 lbs) when i fell pregnant and put on almost 30kgs (70 lbs) of weight (every pregnancy since then has been around 70lbs each time)

anyway, i would lose the weight but even after my first i had the hangover belly :( even when i lost the weight from pregnancy i would have the wrinkly skin, stretchmarks and extra skin. It got worse after my last 3 which were all delivered via c-section because my belly would not go away, no matter how hard i tried to exercise it away, it would just hang lower and lower!

So many chances over the years came for me to get my tummy tuck, and i dreamt and talked of it constantly but i always thought of having another child, so it wasn't until the birth of my daughter 18 months ago (and having my tubes tied) that I decided I was going to do all i could to finally get rid of this jelly belly!

I was full on obsessed with it, I would enter contests on facebook to try and win a tummy tuck overseas, I would beg my family for a loan, everything i could do because we couldn't afford it. I had PND after my last bub was born and my husband quit his job to take care of me and our 5 kids, he was my lifesaver but we were pretty broke.

Anyway, one day while looking up tummy tucks on the internet (as usual lol) I came across a forum where someone was saying that they recieved a free tummy tuck from a surgeon in South Australia, well didn't my eyes pop out of my head just a little!!! I kept reading and saw that you had to go on a waiting list and that it could be 2 years long but in the end you would be able to get it done under the medicare system for absolutely nothing!!

So...next morning, on May 11th 2011 off to my local GP i go to get a referral to this hospital which was in another state. She examined me, feeling how much separation in the muscles there was etc and then tells me that of course she can refer me to S.A but did i know that they did it here in our town (this town has seriously like 1000 people, but has a really nice hospital!) I almost fell off my chair! the hospital is around the corner from my house, i wouldn't have to travel, my family are here and it wouldn't cost a thing?! i was in shock! I was still in shock when i saw the doctor she referred me to, when he was saying it was no problems, he could do this for me and he was putting me on the waiting list, oh my god i was so excited!! When i went out to the receptionist i asked how long the waiting list was, expecting around 2 years and she tells me about 3 MONTHS!! I cried all the way home!

On August 11th 2011, i recieve a phone call to tell me that my surgery is on the 22nd of August!! OMG i was so excited, I called my workplace to tell them the good news (for me, not so for them lol) that i would need a month off from that date!

Monday 22nd August was the the most exciting day in my life!! but i was worried, I had never been under a GA, i didn't lose the extra weight i wanted to and the Surgeon was someone who i didn't pick myself, although I knew he had a good rep. So off i went and had my full tummy tuck with muscle repair (no liposuction)

Was fine when i woke up and out of hospital on day 3. Apart from the morphine on the first day, no other pain relief was necessary, i've had 3 c-sections and it was no where as bad as those!

I was bent over for the first 3 weeks and I wore a binder for 2. I had the drains in only for 2 days.

I'm now on week 9 and i'm still swollen,actually i think it's been worse the last couple of weeks. I'm a little disapointed that the scar wasn't as long as i'd like because now i'm getting these little dog ears but they show up more when i am swollen, i didn't notice them too much when i wasn't.

My belly button is kind of weird though, it's stitched on the outside and will be a while before i show it off, but who am I to complain right, i mean it was done for free and I am just so grateful, I still can't believe that i got my wish! It's like winning the lotto, because if i had ever won the lotto, I would have gotten a tummy tuck!!

Can't wait for this swelling to go though, I can't fit into any of my clothes actually I've even gone up 2 sizes!

Despite the swelling, dog ears and all that, i'm just ecstatic about it!

Well that's my little info thing, no doubt i'll be on here updating everything, wish i would have found this forum a bit earlier and had the whole experience blogged but never mind, i'm on here now lol! I'm just hoping that all my rambling makes sense as it's taken a while with kids needing my attention!

well, 10 weeks tomorrow and after a few horrendous weeks of swelling, i finally decided to something about it. The idea of going to get it syringed out or whatever they do scared the jeebus out of me so i started my low carb, high protein diet on thursday and holy moley the swelling's gone down, well a little bit but it's looking way better!
My hubby has just left town to go to Queensland in search of work and is now 2600kms away (don't know how many miles) but it's a long way, so i'm hoping when i see him again, hopefully in a month or two i will be looking all sexyfied for him!
Tell you what, my boobs are looking huge! what's with that?! i was an A cup before and now i'm a C!! it's weird but i'm totally loving it!
Still very worried about the dog ears and little fatty pockets, they poke out and you can see them more from behind, do these ever go down at all?! when can we chop them off?
Been getting some funny pains on them too, like if they get bumped or something, they will hurt!
was going to add some more pics but my darling has taken the camera with him, he's going to send it back to me but until then, will have to wait to upload more pics.