Tummy Tuck: Stories

Hello Ladies, I'm 53 years old and the mother of 3 grown boys....28, 27 and 21. All my boys have finally moved out so now it's just my husband and myself at home so I'm hoping recovery will be easier with just us around. I have been wishing for this surgery for about 18 years, been to 4 physicians and finally picked the right one!! I went to see him twice and both times I liked him the best!
So my surgery is scheduled for October 2nd. I have my doctors appointments, Blood work and Pre Op appointment scheduled.
I am so excited to finally get rid of the muffin top. I work out with cardio and weights daily at the local gym so I know I need help with my belly!!!!

Hello Ladies...On Tuesday I will be 3 weeks away from my hernia repair and Tummy Tuck. I am so excited and can't wait.I am so addicted to this site and it is really helping me prepare myself. I see so many excellent results.
I have always been pretty fit and love to excersise and joined the gym 21 years ago after my 3rd and last child was born. I had brought my weight down pretty good and kept it off for many years...then I went to work about 10 years ago, after my kids got older and excersise and diet were put on the back burner. That's when I gained 30 plus pounds. Now that I can work around my schedule, exercise has once again become a very important part of my daily life!!! I LOVE it!!! Zumba is so much fun, and I have a bunch of girls that have become my Zumba family!!! I have since lost almost 30 pounds!!! Yeayyyyy!!! But my belly is HUGE and I look like I'm PREGANT!!!! (I'm not...no way..no how!!!)
My husband is very supportive of my descision..and he and my 1 Zumba friend are the only ones that know.(she has had a TT from the same doctor so mums the word). I think people will look at me in a differant way if they know what I am doing.
Anyways, I have also taken up eating paleo. I feel great!!! (It's much easier to stick to a way of eating when it is only my husband and myself).
Yesterday was my birthday! I turned 54! I am hoping that 54 will be the best year yet...with many more!!!
Good Luck to all you ladies that are waiting to be on the flatside and happy healing to all you ladies already there!!!

I saw my Doctor today that will be preforming my hernia operation during my TT. He said I won't even see him the morning of surgery. He will be like a thief in the night..in and out and I won't see him again until my follow up a couple weeks later. I really hated him pushing on my bb...Wednesday morning is blood work.
3 more weeks and I will be on the flat side!! Whoot Whoot!!!
Happy Healing to all and Happy Pre-op to all!!

Today I got my blood work done. One more thing out of the way. I'm happy because I am getting close to my goal weight which I wanted to be at when I have my TT. Only 5 more pounds to go. I hope I will lose some after also. I have been eating really clean...The only thing I miss is having a few glasses of wine when I come home from work..while I'm getting dinner together. lol. I've been eating Paleo and I found a cookbook that is really outstanding! yummy!!!

I made my payment in full to my surgeon today!!!! one more thing out of the way!!! My husband took me out to dinner tonight and we both ate very healthy. I think my eating healthy before surgery has helped him with his eating habits. He is more conscious and wants to lose weight and have healthy habits!!!He is so supportive with my decision!!! He is taking time off work (we own our own business) to do things around the house while nursing me back to normal! He says he is going to clean cupboards!!!!! I Love him so much!!!! He is so supportive with my decision to have a TT! Actually I think he is looking forward to it to see the results!!!!
Love to all!!

Sunday...2 more days til my TT...I am only thinking of the positive things because if I think of all the scary things about surgery I get freaked out!!
I had all my pre-op, blood work, ekg, and medical clearance from my family physician...Now just waiting..whoot whoot!!!
Yesterday, (Saturday) My husband took me to Toronto for the day. Deep down inside I didn't want to go because I had my surgery on my mind and wanted to do last minute things around the house. I'm so glad I went. We saw the Blue Jays and the Yankees play..(I'm not much of a baseball fan) but it was fun...The hardest part was not drinking beer. My doc said no drinks 2 days before. Then we walked, and walked and walked all around the city and had a nice dinner at a Thi restraunt. Being around crowds of people, all I could think of was cold germs everywhere!!!
Today will be another challange...my husband invited people over to watch the Buffalo Bills football game. We are such big fans, have season tickets and love to tailgate!! Football and tailgateing go hand in hand. On the menu will be bacon wrapped scallops, bbq ribs, beer, all sorts of dips, cheese, beer, taco dips, and beer. ugh!!! fruit and veggies and h2o for me!!!
I hope everyone has a speedy and healthy recovery!!!

Tomorrow is the big day!!! I'm really excited. I'm trying not to think about the details...just the outcome!!
This morning my phone rang at 7:00 am. I was still sleeping and when it woke me I thought it was the hospital calling saying I was late for my surgery and I needed to get there right away!!! hahaha....it was someone else calling...whew!!!
I have everything in place for my homecoming.
.borrowed a recliner, have my meds, stool softner, etc etc...I need to be there at 6:30am.
Only 3 people know what's going on...everyone else thinks I am just having hernia repair. That's how I want to keep it!!!
Happing healing to all!!!
I'll talk to you again when I'm on the flatside!!!

Home... Feeling good.. Not much pain but can def feel tightness in my ad muscles! I'm getting up and walking every hour.y husband has even such a gem!! Will update tomorrow Happy healing girls!!!

Well 24 hrs since my surgery. I need to keep up on my pain medicine every 4 hrs. I'm ready for a pill after 3. I am doing ok....My belly is so swollen and sometimes it burns. Take my advise...bring your pjs and slippers for when you go home...when you get in the car hold on to the handle above your door while the driver drives...i didnt and boy did my muscles work on that and it hurt. After i got home I tried to sit in a chair and leaned back and OMG it hurt my muscles....I'm super careful now...Afraid i did some damage...I'll ask myt PS tomorrow...I'm taking it very easy and hope each day gets better!! Another thing bothering me is gas...I took gas x hoping that works.
Did other TTer's feel swollen, tight and burning day 2?
Happy healing ladies!!!

Day 2 PO. I'm feeling pretty good today. I went to see my ps this morning. He changed the dressing. I got to peek and it looks great! The scar is low and my bb so far looks perfect. He really liked what he saw too as so did my husband. While the nurse was changing my dressing my husband had to sneeze but the nurse thought he was going to throw up..that got everyone laughing so hard I thought my belly was going to explode!! It was so funny!! We also laughed when I told them my dog thinks my drain bulbs are balls and he wants to play!!! hahaha!!
I think I can also go alittle longer without taking pain meds. I'm also walking better today, not straight but it dosnt hurt as much.My biggest complaint is gas...Take my advise and get gasx..it works. No bm yet..Had my hubby put the prune juice in the fridge so I can start drinking that. I'm not looking forward to the bm, I think it will be alot of adjusting of this sexy garment!! Another thing happening to me is I can feel my lungs getting congested. so I really have to use that breather tube every hour. That helps, then I take a Ricola Throat drop.
Again, not to brag about hubby, but he is the best!!! Really taking care of me. I love him so much!!!
I know everyday will be better and I am really trying to focus on the final outcome of my journey! I am truly blessed with a wonderful family and life in general.
Thank you for all your input prior to my surgery..It really helped me prepare!!
Happy healing and good luck ladies!!

PO Day 15
What a journey!! I still have 1 drain in my right side. I had the other one out PO day 10. My PS said I will need to wait til PO day 15 to see how much output I have. I have been taking a shower since the first drain has been out. I have also been off my pain meds since PO day 3 and switched to ibuprofen during the day and tylenol during night...well wrong thing to do...my PS said ibuprofen should not be taken...I guess I should have known this because I wasn't supposed to take this proir to surgery!!! I guess I wasn't thinking!!!
Today I haven't taken any tylonol yet and I feel pretty good. I went to work today because I had a meeting I needed to attend (I work in the office so wasn't bad at all). I'm still hunched over alittle and moving really slow. Alot of people kept asking "how are you doing?" I just smiled and said "getting better"... I told them I had hernia surgery..and people were telling me thier stories...I hope no one figured it out by the way I was walking/moving.
I have been sleeping in my own bed since PO day 12. I'm still propping pillows under my back/head because I cant flatten my tummy yet. The itching is really annoying too!
My sweet hubby has been so wonderful..helping me change the dressings/showering/housework/dinners etc, you really need someone to take care of you for atleast the first 10 days or so.
It felt really good to shower early, get dressed and put on makeup and go to work today. I didn't push myself because I know that if I did I would end up swelling really bad. The last couple of days have been swell hell, but today, even with going out I'm not to bad.
I'm really praying this drain comes out tomorrow..I'll keep you posted and post some pictures!
Happy Healing and best wishes to all!!!