Full TT Jan 21, 2011 - Cincinnati, OH

Alecia, congrats on your day fast arriving! I almost chickened out at my pre-op last Thurs. but I lifted my shirt and looked at the ugly belly skin...and decided it has to go! I'm getting less nervous and more excited as the day approaches. I will be thinking about you on Wed! Best of Luck for low pain, easy recovery!

Thank you for the good thoughts! I hope to be posting updates by Friday. :)

Hi again! Well I am 5 days post op and feeling great! The pain was not anything close to what I had imagined! I did have the pain pump which I think really helped. Honestly, I woke up after surgery at a level 3 or 4 for pain and kept waiting for the other shoe to drop so to say and it never did! I've been completely off my pain meds since Saturday night. Taking extra strength Tylenol now. I'm very sore from the lipo but no discomfort from my stomach unless I try to use it, laugh or cough. I saw my tummy for the first time on Friday and nearly cried! I couldn't believe how good it looked and they tell me I still swollen! :) I'm so glad I had it done.
Good luck to you on the 21st!!!

YAY that's the kind of post-op stories I love to hear!!! congrats! I'm so glad you're happy with your tummy :) keep updating us so we know what to expect. I go in Friday!!

CincyOH, I am going with the Plastic Surgery Group. Dr. Richard Williams. My friend had a tummy tuck two years ago and she recommended him. He was my 2nd consult and I felt very comfortable. I also checked Plastic Surgery Group's bbb rating online and they have an A+ with no complaints. I think they are an excellent group of Drs from what I have heard. Good luck with making your decision!

Hi!!! I am a mother of twins who are almost two years old and am dealing with a similar issue. I still look about 6 months pregnant and can't fit into any of my pre-pregnancy clothes.

I am actually having my surgery with the plastic surgery group in Cincinnati on March 1. I am so nervous and worried about the recovery and the surgery itself. I have never had a major surgery, besides my cesarean. Which leads me to the next issue, being put under for two hours.

I know that the end result is worth it, but that doesn't help my nerves.

Cincinnati2, it's kinda strange, but the closer I get to my date the calmer I get. Reading all the posts on here has calmed my nerves alot. I never had a c-section, but from what I've read the c-section can be more difficult than the tt. so if you made it through a c-sec recovery, I bet you can do this! I will put under for 1 1/2 to 2 hours and that is my biggest concern also. but I've reassured by my Dr. that I'm healthy and shouldn't have a problem. People get put under every day and come out just fine... I think we will be fine and look better too!

I am scheduled for february 2nd with the plastic surgery group! I was glad to know you were going with them too. I will be following your posts! You mentioned a "tap" what is that? They aren't doing lipo? Are you relatively thin? I am 5"4 and 126 lbs and they are doing lipo and Said the scar would be hip to hip. Just wondering why the difference?

Ohio, I'm not sure why the difference. I'm not real thin, but not heavy. I'm 5'0" and 123lbs. I'm more fit than fat but I have the stomach hang/skin. We never even talked about lipo except at my pre-op I just said we aren't doing that are we and he said no. I will have the hip to hip and I'll have a football shaped piece taken out, muscles sutured for tightness and that's it. I will say I'm 47 and maybe that has something to do with lipo? The abdominal tap is something new they are doing at the Red Bank Surgery Center, I had heard of it at Jean Loftus practice, but did not know until last week that I could get one for my surgery. I had to talk to the anesthesia people to see if it was included and they said yes, no extra cost, just being charged for the amount of time in OR. So I will keep you posted on whether I actually get the ab tap and how well it numbs me. I will post as soon after the surgery as I can just to let you know how it all turned out! Best wishes to you!

Ohio, I thought I would let you know I made it through my surgery and it wasn't too bad (not yet anyway) I have a pain pump but they did not do the "tap" apparently they don't believe the medicine travels up to the sutured area where it is needed and they don't routinely do the tap on tummy tucks. Also, once my Dr. came to "mark" me up for surgery he said he might do a little lipo, but as it turned out he could reach the fat he wanted to lipo while I was open and he didn't make any new incisions for that. So he did a little lipo at the fat roll at the top of belly button and the muffin top. I did wait too long earlier today for my pain meds, and that was a bad idea, but all is good now. Hope you are getting excited for yours!

I am glad to hear you are doing well and on your way to recovery! When is your first post op visit? Do you have one or two drains? Did they say how long you might have the drains? Any advice besides taking pain Meds regularly?

Ohio,
I have my post-op on Tuesday. I will let you know how that goes if you want. I only have 1 drain and it is annoying to deal with (my husband did it for me the first 2 days, God Love Him! and I've done it today. It is not a big deal, it's easy to drain and measure just the tubing is in the way. They said drain would be there 7-10 days, but I'm hoping they might take it out Tues (5th day. Walk around the first day or two, I think my feet are swollen because I sat too much on day 1. Also if you have a back massager to put behind you while you are in a chair, that has helped my back loosen up alot! I could probably stand up straight if the bandages weren't taped so tight. Lots of water! and just take it easy. My mind did start to wander yesterday as to "why" did I do this... but I quickly decided what's done is done now just recover. And it really isn't that bad.

46k, how did your post op go? Did they take the drain out? How are you feeling? Did you buy an extra compression garment? I am thinking I might but the one I need (full body for knee lipo too) costs $110! I might get spanx instead. Hope you are doing well!

It went great, but... drain stays for another week. Dr. says if it comes out too soon and you build up fluid they have to take it out with syringe. But, because everything looks so good I can shower tomorrow!! He was able to take more skin out than he first thought and it looks like I may not have any stretch marks left or very few. They took out the pain pump so that is one less thing hanging on me and they showed me how to change bandages and get back into garment. I do have two garments. I got lucky that the 2nd one was 1/2 off, but I think the full price was $85, not cheap for something you will want to burn in a few weeks! Mine just goes to upper thigh. I will be wearing spanx when I can get out of the garment, so I know spanx is pretty good and may be all you need. I'm taking a dierutic to get rid of the water retention in my legs/ankles and drinking lots and lots of water. The Dr. said I was doing really well and I can even drive after I get off pain meds, which should be by the weekend. I still want them by end of the evening and to sleep. If you are in pretty good shape (strong back and legs) eat healthy and drink lots of fluid, you will do great! It is not as bad as I thought. My pain has not been over 3/4 and its more discomfort. Dr. Williams did my surgery, but I think all those Dr.s have excellent reputations. Don't worry, just be prepared.

46ky, thanks for your response. I feel so much better after reading about your recovery! I think might order some spanx to wear while I wash my comp garment. I agree, I am sure I will want to burn it in 6wks! Dr hummel is doing my surgery. He seems pretty solid. Are you happy so far with your results? What about the belly button?

Glad to hear you are doing so well! I'm in the same boat with the drain. It is still in (day 14) because my fluid levels haven't dropped enough yet. SIGH! Maybe next week!! :)

The belly button still has stitches and is a little red, but overall it looks cute :) of course anything would be an improvement over what i had! I am real happy with how it all looks so far. I think your plan of having the spanx as your back up garment is a good idea.

thanks! How have you done going back to work? Your pictures are incredible! such a change, you look great! I knew the drain wouldn't come out, just wishful thinking because it is so annoying! I guess its better than having to go in and have the fluid removed with a syringe. I hope you get yours out soon, everyone says it makes a huge difference in how you feel.

May date is Friday, Jan 21... YIKES and YAY! I will keep you posted. This website has been the biggest help to ease the worry!

Flower,

I just read your update. sounds like your recovery is going well. Sorry about the nausea...

I have one drain and is slowing quite a bit and lighter color, Hope to get it out Tuesday, but probably won't.

My Dr. has me in the big white bandage that I've seen on other posts and I'm wearing the compression garment. I will see my tummy on Tuesday when he changes the bandages. I have a little bit of pain at what I think is the drainage incision, but mostly discomfort. Not as bad as I expected. My back hurts the most, which I knew it would from all the other ladies on here. My back massager helps that alot! Take care, I'll check on you later in the week.

Hi Kristi! I wish I knew that secret too! I'm on day 19 with my drain. SIGH! I did have two good days where my output was 20 but then had a very active day and was right back up to 40. Still hopeful it will come out this week! My doc says I need to be at 15 for two consecutive days for that to happen.

Alecia, just remember that everyone's body is different and you'd rather have the drains in than out and develop a seroma. I keep reminding myself that a few weeks of recovery is so little compared to the years of enjoyment of my new tummy! You can do it - stay positive!! :)

Dr. visit went great. Drain is out, hooray!! For me it felt like an intense burn for about 10 seconds. I was uncomfortable for about 15 minutes after that and then felt fine. I have to put a little neosporin on the exit wound and use a bandaid or gauze for a few days. I have to keep wearing my garment and use a pad or pillow case between the garment and middle of belly to compress the area where the drain came out so no fluid fills into it's former space. Being free from the drain is worth a little pain. I don't go back for 2 weeks unless my belly gets a "waterbed" feel to it, which would mean fluid, but that is unlikely. I will be taking prescription Motrin to help with inflammation and swelling and was told to drink alot of water because the dose of Motrin is so high you have to flush the body so you don't damage the liver. Short appointment, but was told all is well. It is so worth it, you will be glad you did it!

I'm wearing the binder 23 hours a day until at least week 4. So I guess I keep the padding there until then, but she didn't really say how long to keep it there. Are you getting excited?

I'm getting very excited. I love this website, but I also get a little confused because everyone's post-op is so different. Differences in swelling, results, ability to exercise, wearing the binder, getting tubes out, going back to work! Whew! It's alot to take in mentally. I desperately want to be in that top 10% where it all goes great! Lol. I work out 5 days a week (run 3 miles two-three times and use free weights for abs, back and arms) and could still use to lose 10 more pounds; I weigh 145-148. My stomach muscles are tight according to the dr, but there's still that jelly roll of skin and fat hanging from my belly button down. I've got pics. I'm gonna upload them along with post-ops later.

So do you feel like your post-op is better/worse than you expected?

Glad you're excited. Don't worry if you don't heal like someone else, just use it as a guideline to know you are on track. Everybody's different. Honestly, I bet you are in the top 5% for recovery. You are physically fit which is huge and you mentally want to recover quickly. I was working out 5 days but only running about 1 mile 2x a week. I used weights, mostly 10/12 lbs about 30 mins a day 3x a week. I needed to lose about 10lbs too, but I didn't. My muscles were pretty loose and my skin was just puckery and hanging. Since your muscles are tight you may not have much if any tightening which is where most of the soreness comes from for me. The huge scar is what you think is going to hurt, I have barely felt that. I never took before pics I was so worried about it being in cyber space forever, but now I wish I had. I feel post-op has gone way better than expected. I thought I would do nothing for a week and be slow moving week 2. Turns out I did nothing for 2 days. Day 3 I was ready to be up and moving around. Even now I want to do more, but I know I should rest to help the healing stay on track. You are going to great!

Krisit, I completely agree with 46ky, in that everyone's recovery is different, but we all share similarities. You'll do fine because you are so mentally prepared. I was wanting to be up and doing things early on in the recovery as well but had to force myself to just sit. I am still struggling with that. The first few days are the worst, and I still don't think they were that bad. The pain meds will keep you comfortable and as long as you have someone to help you that first week you'll be just fine. Good luck!!