Tummy Tuck: Stories

I am 28 years old and I have wanted a tummy tuck for as long as I can remember. I was thinner when I was younger, and unfortunately due to a medical condition I was put on medication and gained about 90lbs in about two years. I have been able to take off 70lbs and keep it off for over two years. I have always struggle with a little belly, and in my family that is normal even for my aunt who is a size 4 and has had no children, I guess we are just built that way.

I recently decided to stop wishing for a tummy tuck and take the steps to get it done. I was shocked to find out that the wait for a consultation with my Dr was longer than the actual wait to get the surgery done. When I went into see the Dr they were able book me a surgery date within three months of my consultation date. After my appointment I was really excited talked to my family and my closest friends who all support me 100% with this surgery.

Over the past few weeks as the date get's closer and closer (15 days) I feel like I have been on a roller coaster of emotions, one day I wish I could go in that day and get the surgery done, the next I'm happy I have a few more weeks to get in those last work outs before I'm out of commission for a short period of time, and the worst is the days when I feel like I'm making a HUGE mistake. Don't get me wrong I am not doing this for anyone, or because people have told me to, I'm 100% doing this for me. I want to look in the mirror and see how much hard work I have put in to take off all the weight I lost, unfortunately now when I look in the mirror all I see is my tummy. I'm having a better day now, but I'm sure before my surgery date I will have another down day. Thank gosh I have my family, friend and this site. I have to say it is amazing to be able to come onto this site and ready about other peoples joy, happiness, frustrations and hesitations. It makes me feel normal.

Just wanted to say thank you to all you brave women who post their story and pics (hoping I'm proud enough to post some once my surgery is complete). Without this site I don't know if I would have the courage to move forward with this surgery.

EEEEEK! I can't not believe that I am this close to have a flat tummy, it is almost surreal. I think I might be mourning at the thought that when I look down I will not see my tummy there any longer. There is still a part of me that is worried that I won't be happy after with the results or that I am expecting too much from the surgery, I just keep telling myself that I have worked really hard to get where I am today, and that I deserve this and have wanted it for such a long time. I know that whatever I look like after I will *fingers crossed* have a nice flat tummy. From there I will be back to the gym and eating right to get down to my goal weight which is about 25-30lbs away.

There is also a part of me that is worried about the pain that day, I know it won't be fun, and I have had surgery on my stomach in the past and it wasn't fun but I made it thought.

EEEEK I can't wait, and I'm not sure how I'm going to sleep!

Well I'm officially four days post op.. and let me tell you it has been very interesting. I first just have to say I am SO thankful for this site and all the stories that everyone posts on here, without them I don't know if I would have actually went through with it.

The night before surgery I was on here looking up other people post op days to see how they were feeling, I was definitely prepared to feel horrible, and I think what I did was work myself up to the point where I was really scared of the pain, and someone who has a high pain tolerance I was expecting excruciating pain. I also had these thoughts going through my head, what if I am one of those people that aesthetic doesn't work on (keeping in mind I was put under a little over a year ago for minor surgery), I just kept thinking I cannot imagine how much this would hurt if you could actually feel it. I took my post-op pics, probably not the best thing to do and then look at before you go in because it definitely put my self esteem in the gutter for the rest of the night.
The day of surgery I woke up and had my last real shower for a few days (fingers crossed) and got ready to go to the centre. Once I arrived they got me undressed and into my hospital bed within 15min. The anesthesiologist came and talked with me, and went over what his role would be. The nurse came over and went through a check list with me and we waited for the Dr who came within 30min. My Dr came over marked me and said that things would be okay. I remember telling him to make sure that my vagina looked good as well bc of the fat pressing down I had a pouch of skin on top of it, and it wasn't pretty. I was in surgery within 1hour of being admitted to the centre, it was quick. Right before they put me out I remember thinking am I sure... what if I I'm not happy, what if the aesthetic doesn't't worker. A two hour surgery which turned into four I woke up in recovery, not feeling too bad, VERY happy for the morphine. The nurse's were really good, they continued to check on me to make sure I was okay. The doctor came and stated it took a little longer then him though, which I'm okay with because I want to look and feel good. The pain was bad, I was struggling to take deep breaths and the nurse kept reminding me to breathe deep, the worst part was when they told me I had to get out of the hospital bed and into a chair to get dressed and get ready to go home after recovering for four hours. I could not believe the pain that shot through my stomach when I first got up into a sitting position and than standing. When the nurse sat me in the chair I actually felt pretty good, then she asked me to get up to go meet my ride, I actually swore when I got up because it felt a hot sharp pain (funny thinking back I can't actually remember the pain, thank gosh out body forgets). Getting in and out of the car was horrible. Once I got home my mother placed me in my bed and I slept, however when I had to get up to go to the bathroom 3 hours later it was not easy, I do not recommend laying in an actually bed the first day/night you come home, a chair with pillows and a foot stool is what I ended up using after I struggled to get out of the bed. It took us 25min to get me out because it hurt. I slept pretty much from when I got home until early the next morning. I still need some help getting up to go to the bathroom, but I was able to wipe myself which made me proud. That second day the pain was not as bad as the first, and I actually was able to wait 6 hours in-between morphine pills, and by the end of the day I was able to get in and out of the chair alone. I didn't really eat much some, jell-o, pudding and cup a soup lots of water and some Gatorade to keep me hydrated. I can honestly say that day I thought to myself, will I ever feel normal again, will I be able to stand up straight, can I really go back to work in three weeks. Thankful after day two I started to really turn around. By night two I was able to sleep in my bed and I was able to get out of it all by myself and go to the bathroom alone, I was in great spirits that morning however later in the day I had a tummy ache separate from the surgery (health issue) and I slept most of the afternoon but was up and happy that night. Today I feel like a brand new woman I can stand up straight, didn't think that would happen by day four, I have had three bowl movements with the help of stool softener/natural laxatives Highly recommend. I am eating more solid foods, however as hungry as I feel my tummy cannot hold as much as before surgery and I get full quickly and if I eat too much I'm bloated, so remember even if you feel like you can eat a whole bowl of food take your time, nothing worse than feeling like your stitches are going to rip out lol. I have been able to move into the family room to watch TV and can get up and down the stairs by myself, I am starting to feel really independent. The pain in pretty much gone, expect when I have to cough or the odd time when I'm adjusting. I am able to lay on half of my side which is nice because my upper back is soar. I am actually shocked at how well I'm doing for day four post op, it makes me hopeful that on Wed I can get my drains out, I feel once that is done I will feel even better. I got to go for a little car ride today and had a visitor over. I haven't been able to actually look at my tummy as I have a lot of bandages and the binder over it, so I'm hopeful on wed I can see what's really going on under there, although I'm worried that when I do I will be more careful as now because I can't see anything I take more risk's about how I'm laying or standing. I also have been wearing compression socks since surgery, they told me I need to wear them until my follow up. I have a little buldge at the top of my tummy (near my breast's) which I'm hoping is just from swelling because when I lay flat or stand up straight it's gone, and if I place my hand on my upper tummy up to my breast bone I can feel the tightness so it is tight. I also have about 20 more lbs to loss as well. I am happy though with how it looks so far and my vagina turned out really nice as well lol. I am happy to say I'm off my pain meds, I have a lot left but haven't had to take any for over 24 hours, haven't had to take anything. I am on antibiotics to prevent infection for seven days as well. I know that not every day will be this great but I'm hopeful. My drains are at about 60cc every 12 hours, and have turned into a yellow/red... gosh I sure hope they can come out this week!!!

Sorry this post is all over the place... lots to update

I'll keep updating later this week!

ps pics will be posted once i get my bandages off (hoping Wed)