37 Year Old, Mother of 3, Mini Tummy Tuck with Lipo - Charlotte, NC

I have actively worked out and eaten right but still by the end of the day looked like I was pregnant. I am not overweight but after being frustrated by how I looked after diet and exercise, I knew I couldn't do it on my own. I went to multiple doctors to see if I just needed Lipo or Cool sculpting, but they told me that wasn't the problem. The problem was that the tendons holding my abs together had stretched to the point that they didn't go back together again. After three pregnancies, I wouldn't be able to do this on my own.

I was so nervous. I had made the decision to go through with it and so excited until about three weeks before the procedure. Then nerves set it. I had three young children, what if something happened and I died in the procedure? That would be a stupid way to die. I even went so far as to write "death letters" to my kids, husband and parents in case something bad happened. I was a bit freaked! Before my procedure I was told to get a bikini wax. I have never done that before and I might have been almost as stressed about that as I was about the main procedure. Looking back that was silly, but at the time I was so afraid it was going to hurt. Plus, that is a private area that just made me uncomfortable. It really was a good experience though. It wasn't that painful and it was very quick. The only advice I would give is that you need to go really low! Like really low because the incision is way lower that what I expected.

Ok so back to my day of surgery. You can't eat or drink before the procedure. Unfortunately, my surgery was set for afternoon. If I was one of those people who had to be there at 6 in the morning and I had to stop eating at midnight and couldn't drink anything for 6 hours before the procedure, that would have been manageable. However, I had to go through the day with drinking. That was so hard since I am fairly active and am used to drinking water all day long. Then they called just as I was about to leave the house and told me they were running behind and I had to wait another hour to go in. That was torture. I was so emotional, hungry and thirsty and READY, that telling me to wait another hour did not go down well with me. But, you have to do it so there you go. I will tell you I was an emotional wreck waiting in the waiting area. If you have someone to sit with you to at least distract you, that would be a good thing. My husband had to be with the kids so he couldn't stay. They told me that I was actually doing better than some people so that made me feel better that I wasn't the only one to feel this way.