“Never Too Late for a New Beginning :-) - Orange County, CA”

Hello Lovely Ladies...

I'm 48 years young and the mother of 4 beautiful children, ages 17, 19, 21 and 23. I am currently 5'3 150 lbs. Three of my 4 children were delivered via c-section. I have struggled with weight most of my life. In junior high my mother put me on Weight Watchers and I lost a lot of weight. So from 14 until I started having children at 25 I was 5'3 115-118 lbs. With each baby I gained more weight and the weight would linger, resulting in a lot of yo-yo dieting. Add that to a bad marriage and food became my best friend. Last August 26th (day after my 48th bday) at my highest weight 223, I had gastric bypass surgery (and double hernia repair.) I am down to 150, feel I have lost really slow and hit a lot of stalls, would like to lose another 25 lbs, but even if I stay at this weight, I feel so much better and am much healthier.

I am excited for my mommy make-over. Of course like many women on here, I've been struggling with the guilt of doing something so expensive for myself, yet it's the one thing I really want to do for ME.

I am scheduled Sept. 2nd for BA and Tummy Tuck. My PS is the wonderful Dr. Bui in Anaheim, CA. Dr. Bui discussed a lift with me, and said at this point I'm borderline and that I can do the augmentation now and see how my breasts settle and decide later on if I want a lift. I'm still on the fence about silicone or saline, Dr. Bui has been very informative as to the pros and cons of each and I have been really researching them both extensively, but I'm still indecisive. Any opinions/advice any of you can share on what type and why you choose what you did would be greatly appreciated. I am opting for the pain pump and as far as pain meds afterward, Dr. Bui said he will prescribe whatever pain meds have worked best for me in the past. I haven't really taken pain meds, for my gastric bypass I was given something in a liquid form and not even sure the name of it now haha. Any suggestions for pain meds? I heard Percocet helps a lot.

I'm hesitant to post my before photos because I feel my body looks hideous compared to everyone's before photos. My tummy is very deformed looking and I even have thoughts that no amount of surgery is going to improve it's looks, but Dr. Bui reassures me that the results will come out great. He did say that I have more fat tissue on the right side of my stomach, and I can see it when I look down and in the mirror, kinda odd.

I'm happy to have found this site and love reading about everyone's journey and all the support given to each other. Feel very fortunate to have you all there with me on this roller coaster ride!

Until next time...
Hugs

Updated on 28 Aug 2011:
The time has gone by so fast...my Mommy Makeover is already this Thursday, Sept.1st...I'm getting very nervous and a little scared, second guessing if I made the right decision, fearing the recovery, etc. Any final words of encouragement and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Keep me in your thoughts and prayers.

Hugs

Updated on 10 Sep 2011:
Well, here I am ladies...9 days post op (surgery was on Sept. 1st)

Surgery was scheduled for 10:15am and arrived at 8:15am. Had my procedure done at LaVeta Surgical Center in Orange, CA. Everyone there was professional and super nice, they took good care of me. My surgery was a little over 4 hours long.

I'd have to say that my recovery was just discomfort, I never experienced any excruciating pain. The worst was day 2 and 3, but still, nothing too terrible. I thought I would sleep in the recliner like most women have said worked for them but found I felt/slept better in my bed. And yes, the walking hunched over takes a toll on the back, I would use a walker to get around, did help some with the back pain. Most of the discomfort was in my breasts, not in my tummy.

Went to the doctor on Monday(labor day) to have one drain removed. He said he was impressed and pleased with how well I looked overall and how I was moving around. Went on Thursday, my one week check up and got the other drain out and dressings removed.

I have been happy with Dr. Bui. That being said, I have been very depressed with the results of my tummy tuck. He said I'm just swollen and to give it time, however, looking at everyone else's after photos at say one week post op, looks nothing like mine. It's like I have a butt in the front of my stomach. My stomach does not lay flat. That is not what swollen looks like. You can't even see my belly button and I'm getting sores from the skin being pushed together. And a small section of my suture area looks puckered. He says I need to be patient, but I have seen hundreds of photos and read hundreds of womens journey's to know something is not right. I have posted photos for you all to see, maybe someone can shed some light on why/what is going on. I have been extremely depressed and just want to sleep so I don't have to think about it or look at myself. I had this procedure so I wouldn't have to "hide" my stomach anymore and lift my self esteem/confidence...I went through all this to feel the same pre surgery, I'm just crushed.

The breasts are coming along fine. I was borderline lift and opted to wait on that. I ended going with saline and had 450cc on left breast, 470cc on right breast. I can see where down the line I may get a lift. They still are in the process of settling, but so far I am pleased with the results.

I wish I had better news to share. I will raise my concerns to him at my 2 week appt. But I don't know what he can say/do at this point.

I had so looked forward to this procedure, was so excited for the new me...only to feel depressed and disappointed.

:'(

Updated on 11 Sep 2011:
Just can't stop being depressed over my results and regretting my decision to do this for myself. I should have just embraced myself for who I was and what I had...so devastated. I'm not going to wait until Thursday to see my dr., will try and get in tomorrow or Tuesday. I just know he is going to tell me the same thing, that I'm not giving it enough time and that I'm just swollen. I have a friend who said her stomach was flat from day one after her tummy tuck, of course you have swelling, but you are still flat. I see all of you lovely ladies on here and your beautiful results and how happy you are with your decision. I really thought that was going to be me too. It's like I have another butt in the front. I am posting some new pics of me spreading apart my stomach so you can see the sores/rash I am getting from my stomach being smashed together. This is just a nightmare *tears* I have no money to pay for anything to be fixed.

Updated on 13 Sep 2011:
PS appt this morning went good. He spent well over an hour with me answering questions and giving me my options. Those are "fatty areas" which I knew I had, just didn't know they would come out that way post op. In 2-3 months I will be able to have lipo, which will smooth/flatten everything out. My fat/skin tissue is different than most women and he showed/explained how and why. He showed me some photos of previous patients of his that were similar cases like me,although not common. They required two steps...The tummy tuck then if the results weren't what they wanted, step two is the lipo of the remaining fat. I do feel some relief and am am trying to stay optimistic from this point on. If the final results aren't to my satisfaction, I will then seek the opinion from another PS, but I'm hoping my continued faith in my doctor will get me through this and help me stay positive. He was very compassionate/empathetic through the entire appointment and really listened to me, even through all my tears.

Thank you all for your care and concern. I will continue to keep everyone updated.

Love you all...xoxo