Tummy Tuck: Stories

My name is Brittney i am 26 yrs old, I have 2 babies ages 1 & 2, I recently had my consultation with Dr Vath in Denver Co! He is amazing so far and listened to everything I had to say and I felt 100% comfortable with him! I chose him after reading his reviews and seeing other womens befores and afters. I felt no need to see any other doctors. I go tomorrow for my pre op and my surgery is scheduled for Feb 9 2012! I am going for full TT,lipo of the flanks and inner thighs!

3 full days in counting til surgery..i am so nervous, mostly because im wondering how it will go with my babies afterwards since they wont really understand..but i am so excited for the end result!

So this is it...this time tomorrow I will be well on my way to hopefully having the tummy i dream about!God Bless to everyone who is going in around the same time as me!

I did it!!!! Surgery ran a little long for some reason but everything came out good! Got loaded into the car was a little nauseous but they gave me a cold rag w sum water & b4 they wheeled me out they gave me a sip of 7 up, not a good idea, think thats what made me nauseous then we headed to the motel which is the sucky cause I would rather be home! But i live 5 hours away :( when I walked in the room I noticed my sweet sweet husband had red roses waiting for me w a get well balloon , something I would have never expected and appreciated so much! So I then had a couple nibbles of
mcdonalds cheeseburger not sure if that's a good idea but I'm taking it slow, so far so good cuz God help me if I had to throw up right now lol. So started to feel a lil more pain below almost like severe menstrual cramps, so I took another percaset (sp) & valium so hopefully it helps again! I have to tell you though it took over an hour to get me into the bed cuz the 1st try pulled so bad I couldn't make myself try again... So dreading to have to do it again when I get up :/ thats all for now I'm hoping I can sleep & I'm just so in shock that I went through w this!!

Day 2 post op:
Everything is going pretty well, except last night I had a cough and that liked to kill me lol def the most pain I ever felt! Went for my post op app today and got the binder takin of for a minute and looked in the mirror and omg it looks amazing!y belly button looks just like it did b4 the babies and I imagine it will only get better! Now I know that's the best it will look for a while cuz I know the swelling will be coming on but I am prepared for it so I think I'll be fine bc anything is better than what I had lol! So we are driving home , we live 5 hours from Denver so that stinks but actually the most comfortable in the car! But I hate getting out to go potty cause it hurts all over again! As long as I'm in the car I feel not much pain! Most people say the Percocet makes them drowsy but that's not the case for me, I'm having a hard time falling asleep but overall feel fine! Sry so long but I just wanna help other people in this situation and I will try to post pics when I get home!

So I guess this would officially be day 2 post op and last night I took my percocet and Valium every 2-4 hours, so I'd just get to sleep & my alarm would wake me up again but every time I did get sleep it was Amazing and I didn't have much pain , I also slept with some pillows under my knees and that felt great! I started off sleeping in the recliner but couldn't sleep like that cuz the head portion wouldn't lean back far. Enough so I had my hubby help me to the couch! He figured out a new system where I sit my butt down on the couch and ttry my best to relax then my hubby grabs my legs and sorta swings me onto the couch and this works really well. When I woke up this morning I felt so great. I could not believe how painless I was! I know that it will be painful again but I'm trying to stay positive and so far it's working! Had my hubby take pics this morning and my belly and belly button look amazing!! So natural looking ! I will post as soon as I can get to my desktop! Right now I could not be happier'!!! Hope everyone else is doing well on their recovery!

Day 3 post op
Everything has gone well today, been spacing my pain pills a little further apart and so far so good. The only thing is i can't figure out why they gave me so few muscle relaxer pills I'm hoarding them until I can see if I can get some more tomorrow bc I can't imagine not having enough of those to last a whole week. So far my spasms honestly feel like contractions! It's the strangest thing, but they are bearable right now, when they get worse I will take a relaxer. I'm even starting to stand a little bit straighter but I'm not going to push it. It def. Hurts when I have to get up to go to the bathroom. Things are going well so far I just wish I could fast forward a month and see my results! I will post pics as soon as I can hobble to my desktop! I also took my first shower today and it felt amazing!! Thank goodness for no drains! I don't know if I could have survived drains lol.

Day 4 post op
Everything today I'd going well! I slept in my bed last night and it was amazing, haven't even taken many pain pills . I feel like this should be the calm b4 the storm bc I'm feeling too good to be true. I've only had one problem and that's some redness in one spot above my incision so the dr said I need to pull off the tape but I can't do it until my hubby comes home! I want so bad to post pics bur I can't make it to my desktop just yet.. Gonna take a lil nap & I'll be back lol hope everyone is well!

so gonna post some post op pics...

6 days post op...
Well last night was one of the most painful nights of my life...my hubby came home and since it was valentines I thought I would do my hair and makeup, spruce up a bit since that morning he brought me the most beautiful earrings use ever seen I thought I should make myself decent. Any who, he cane home and said something hilarious which would normally e a good thing only I laughed so hard in my tummy it felt like my guts were being ripped apart and once I started I couldn't stop, I couldn't talk or move, tears were streaming down my face and I was dying. I somehow managed to get up and hobble to the bathroom & shut myself in. It was the only thing I could thing of to make it stop. I felt so bad for my hubby bc he felt so bad & couldn't help me. Leaving the room helped but it hurt the rest of the night and now I woke up this morning I'm moresore than I have been yet. But everything is fine and I'm just praying I don't laugh again for months. So now I'm going to take a nap something I haven't had to do yet but I'm really sore so I hope it helps. My biggest challenge has been not being able to be w my babies butnthey are doing really well w the change.. Mommy not so much lol

So, today marks week 1!! Yay I made it lol can't wait until week 2! I will be taking more pics to update. I tell you , I've been scrubbing & scrubbing (not too hard) lol to try to get the purple marker off my legs but it won't come lol. On a bright note nothing feels better than the shower..I just take the shower head down and put it on low pressure and just sit w it running on my back awhile...feels so good. I do think I've over done it yesterday & today bc I'm a lil more swollen in my lower region and I'm probably the sorest I've been yet but it is completely bearable! I didn't over due it by lifting anything but I've been doing a lil more w the kids by dressing them( not lifting them they stand there & lift their legs for me) & such bc honestly poor
grandma needed a break bc they have so much energy! My 2 yr old came out w his plastic golf club pretending to use it as a cane like mommy! It was hilarious ! I do recommend a cane or walker for recovery & my recliner is awesome for the day time but I do sleep in the bed at night w no problem. So today is day 7 & I am completely self sufficient but if u can get help u should take it. Today I'm resting more in the bed to see if that will help the swelling & sorness. I've heard everyone talk about swell hell but thankfully I haven't experienced that too bad yet. And I've forgotten to mention as far as appetite mine has not changed. I don't eat a whole lot but I've had no restrictions on diet. In a couple of weeks I will start eating more healthy but I've read not to be on a diet while recovering. My only draw back right now is I'm so ready to wear normal clothes, I've been in sweats everyday but today I switched to yoga pants & it made me feel better :)) so I just have to stay positive & I'm doing great w that so far bc my eye is on the prize. I have dreaded summer for the last 4 years but not this year , I am finally excited!!! Sry for the rambling but I have nothing better to do haha!

Day 8 post op
Just laying around so thought I would update..hit a bit of a rough patch last night bc I think I've been overdoing it a bit w the kids & such. I just felt pretty sore even through pain pills and just had a burning feeling around my incision but the real weird thing was it felt like my skin was being constantly pulled and it hurt! Nothing was rubbing on it so all i could think of was the tape but it was too late to call the ps so i decided it was time for bed,suddenly all the things I was doing on my own I couldn't do like get into bed...so I had my hubby help me and I couldn't get to sleep bc the pulling just stung and hurt, my hubby put some more pillows under my legs and I finally got comfy & ( I hate to talk about this) natured called... # 2 nature so i had to get outta bed and go fight that battle for the 1st time since surgery...it was rough but def not as bad as my 1st BM after having a baby so I was grateful after it was done cuz I had been dreading this for a week..so I did get back to sleep & was fine. Woke up and was really stiff & sore, still had the pulling & stinging but took some pain pills & then a shower and now I feel 100% better so I don't know what it was but I will call the PS today..anyone else had this happen to them? Hope everyone is having a great day! I'll post more pics in a little while :))

Okay so ive missed a couple of days on here but mostly bc everything has stayed the same..
day 9 post op
I had to go grocery shopping..which meant an hour drive (my mom drove me) so we get to walmart and i thought i could handle just leaning on the cart & pushing it around and about 5 min i couldnt take anymore..so i resorted to the drivable carts!! Worst & best idea ever! worst bc as soon as i climbed in i looked at the look on my mom & kids faces and burst out laughing uncontrollably & could not stop! It was horrible! people were staring & im sure just thought i was one of the typical goofy kids playing around on the thing..after i calmed down i was still in agony but that cart was a miracle! It helped me so much! So anywho that day wore me out terribly & i was ready for bed..
Day 10 post op
just more of the same, pain was still the same, ive only been taking a pain pill before i shower in the morning and a pain & spasm pill before bed. I realized it had been over a week and my belly button stitch needed to come out so i planned to get my hubby to do it when he got home from work...well it didnt go as planned he made sum wise crack & that was all it took & there was no way i could take him seriously & no way i was letting him come at me with scissors & tweezers. So here we go again ladies w the dang laughing spell! I swear just bc im not supposed to laugh i have never laughed so hard in my life! and its like once i start i can not stop its horrible, very painful.
so fast forward to today & it is
Day 12 post op
First day without any pain pills!! I made it! Doesnt mean i was pain free but i tolerated it. The worst part of today was knowing that the belly button stitch had to come out. I swear i was more scared about the dang stitch then the surgery..somehow by the grace of God my hubby got it out and it didnt hurt a bit! Dont know why I was so scared!! Im still walking hunched over..i dont really good in the begining but i know i over done it & i think that might be why im still hunched over but it is getting better. But my thighs where the lipo was done are still in a lot of pain & of course thats where my babies always wanna come sit...but i can tell you ladies its day 12 and things are def looking up!! I dont know if this is a good thing but i dont really have any other choice...i am 95% back to doing everything around the house..laundry cooking dishes etc everything but heavy lifting..with the exception of having to lift my baby out of her crib & high chair..worried about that but i dont have any help. Ive been on an emotional rollercoaster but not about the TT..but about not getting any help...I have paid my mom very well and made sure i asked her in the begining if she was willing to help me w the kids & she agreed but i have done everything as far as dressing them feeding them changing diapers and she does not want to seem to help me..the only thing i ever asked of her was to vaccum our rug under our coffee table and she didnt even do that..and she literally lives right next door & doesnt work..so ive been depressed bc i really needed the help in the begining & i hope my results dont suffer from not getting it..sry for the complaining but had to vent to someone.. I will post new pics!

lemm know what you think of the pics but i know there is a lot of swelling still & it is only day 12 so hopefully things will flatten out but i tell the front is really flat & you cant even see my stretch marks! Amazing! cant wait to take the tape off in another week..the scar is literally like a pen mark! So glad i went through with this!