Tummy Tuck: Stories

All of my life I have always had pooch, even in high school when I weighed 110-125. I have never worn a two piece. At age 23 and 26, I had two beautiful babies but they wrecked my tummy with extra skin and terrible stretch marks. With my first child, I had extra fluid and my second child weighed 10 lbs 12 oz and I had extra fluid with her too. I was HUGE! After I had my second baby, I ended up with postpartum depression and got up to 193 lbs. I stayed there for a year, I think, until I saw a picture of myself. EEWWW! So I joined the gym and busted hiney and lost 60 pounds in 18 months. I lost the first 30 pounds in the first 3 months and won a couple of weight loss challenges at my gym. But even with working out like a crazy person and doing tons of ab work, I have nothing to show for it. I've wanted a tummy tuck since I have lost all of this weight and now I'm ready to uncover my true self and see these hidden abs!

I scheduled my surgery for December to give time to save up money and to save up some PTO. I will post some pics when I feel more confident. I am 33 years, I am 5'3" tall and weigh 135 and have kept my weight off for 5 years by exercising and watching what I eat. I would like to lose 10 pounds before surgery. I have plenty of time but my lowest weight since I graduated high school is 128 and that was last year doing P90x and man that was hard!! Good luck ladies and happy healing for all of you who have already joined the flat side or are about to be there!

I'm obsessing so much over this! I'm super excited and trying not to be impatient. Its still 5 months away!
Ugh.
I'm googling tummy tuck everyday! And reading reviews and updates on realself everyday, many times a day.
But I do want to ask your opinions on something. I posted a question on the Q&A but I want to see what you guys thought.

I found my PS through another surgeons office referral. She is super sweet, female, thorough and I feel real good about her. I am usually pretty accurate with my first impression feelings. BUT after my consultation, I did research on her. She just recently opened her practice. She is a new dr so she is not yet a certified PS. She does cosmetic, reconstruction, cranial facial and pediatric surgeries. So she is practicing within her scope. I saw her before and afters and they look good. She explained her technique. She seems to have the more current techniques with pain pumps, scar healing treatments, massages, etc. I even emailed her the next day asking her about her certification process and if she was working on it. I also emailed her other questions. She called me back and spoke with me on the phone for an hour. She is halfway through with her certification process.

My ONLY hesitation is that she is not certified PS. Her experience is minimal compared to the other surgeons. But she is also privy to all the new techniques and research. Which is also another thing she does, she's done quite a few research studies that she has published. And also, with her working with pediatrics, I would assume she does very intricate and detailed work.

What are your thoughts?

I have three more appointments set up. With Dr Danielle LeBlanc, Dr Kelly Kunkel (male) and Dr David Lavine. All three board certified and over 10 years experience. I'd prefer a female but I just spent some time on the phone with Dr Lavine staff and I really like what she had to say plus she is a patient of his too. I'm so excited but I have some major decisions to make.

I feel so alone in this process. I have my dear husband who is 100% supportive of whatever I decide to do. But I'm sure he's tired of hearing about it. But he hasn't said so. I don't have any close friends and my acquaintances aren't really the type to share this with and I know my parents and family will be trying to talk me out of it.

This is depressing me because I realize I don't have friends and I don't know why. My husband is sweet and says its because they are jealous because I'm so beautiful, smart and talented and women can't handle that. Isn't he sweet.... I dont see it....

So all I have is realself and my love of my life....

I took my kids to the water park today. Fortunately/unfortunately (hmm) DFW is one of the top ten fattest cities in the US so I didn't have too many bellies to gawk at trying to figure out who may have had a tummy tuck. Didn't see any. But saw a handful of perky ta-tas that I was a bit jealous of...

I'm OBSESSSING! Lol.

I was sporting my cute little one piece to cover up my nasty belly...always. And thinking WOW! I WILL wear a two piece next year!!!

Thank you for all of you posting your reviews and recovery! It's so inspiring and I enjoy every new picture and see how awesome every single tummy looks!

Counting down...

19wks, 3 days and 12 hours (assuming I get a 8am surgery) HAHA!

I decided to add my before pictures. This is hard to do. I've spent all these years hiding it. It's so depressing. That belly the only thing I truly hate about my body. Everything else I know I can change or improve but there is absolutely NOTHING I can do about this belly.

Good luck to all of you! Every one of you deserve this!

I had a consultation today with another PS We are a match. She answered all my questions before I asked. She uses the technique I desired. She showed me how she determined the incision line... She had me bend over slightly and the lowest natural crease is what she follows. It was super low. She said I do not need any lipo or other work. When it was time to take pictures, I was like Ugh this sucks. She laughed and said I will be prancing in all excited to show myself off when it's time for the "after" pics.

It's a relief to find my PS. Now for booking the surgery. My husband and I discussed and we decided Friday, 12-14 would be best so he can be with me the day of surgery and over the weekend and not miss too much work without pay since he won't have any more vacation days after our vacation to Florida next week.

Speaking of which, I soooo wish I had my new tummy for this beach vacation. :-(( I think I'm going to share my secret with my sis-in-law while we are there. Her family is going with us and sharing a condo. It was be nice to have another person to talk to about this.

Back to my consultation.... Ok so I'm a medical professional. Blood, wounds, etc never bother me. Ever. But today when she was describing the incision to me "medical professional to medical professional" I got really nauseas. I imagined for the first time someone slicing me from hip to hip. That really got to me. It's weird. I'm the kind to watch them take my blood and I've watched as an ED dr had to stitch me up. It didn't bother me one bit. But this is making my tummy turn....

But YAY for my PS. She's awesome!

Oh and she is a board certified plastic surgeon with many years of experience.

I just paid my deposit! I'm scheduled for December 14!! Pre-op appointment is November 29! Holy crap!

My employer declined FMLA unofficially. I called and asked and they said they would decline for anything elective. I will still turn in the paperwork and see what happens. But if they officially decline, I don't know what to do. I will have 8 days PTO by December but I will need three more weeks. I'm a sonographer and I push a heavy machine around a huge hospital. I can't go back before 4 weeks per my doctor. And her revisions are done free of charge based on compliance. So I have to comply. I'm going to put in for those 8 days off but I don't know what to do after that. My position is very hard to fill because I work 10p - 6:30a. So I don't think I will get fired, I'm just afraid they will decline my time off altogether. :-( any suggestions??

I'm not stressing anymore about my time off. I received a call back from a doctor who had interviewed me and offered me a job this summer but I declined. He hired someone else and it isn't working out and he really wants me to come work for him so he offered more money and I told him I need three weeks off in December. He agreed and so I start November 5 and my leave is December 14- January 9. I'm nervous now.

HOLY COW my surgery is in ONE MONTH!

Hello all!

My new job is going okay. It's a super busy office and we do ultrasound guided surgeries. So I'm having to learn sterile technique and there's three doctors and they each have their own way they want things done. So that's a bit stressful especially when two of them aren't very understanding. They're surgeons. Nuf said. So, it's busy but the work is not strenuous. So I'm hoping I can go back in 2 1/2 weeks. I was going back at 3 1/2 weeks. But I will wait and see how I feel. For now, I'll keep my return date jan 9.

Add to the stress of a new job, my husband and I are in the fiinal stages of renovating our home. The last major project we were going to tackle this year was putting wood floors in our bedroom. The only thing left after that is our bathroom. Well a simple job never ends up simple with this house. It was suppose to go like this... Rip out carpet....put wood in and move our furniture back into our bedroom. NOT happening! Carpets gets ripped out and we find that the shower had been leaking for who knows how long. So bathroom project is being done now. He tore EVERYTHING out of that bathroom and when we took out the vanity, a little bit of dirt fell out from behind the Sheetrock. By the time he was done, he had all the Sheetrock torn out and a mole had found the hole under the tub and has been pushing dirt in under the tub for what has to have been years. There was enough dirt to fill up a wheel barrow and then some.

So long story to explain that I am totally freaking out. I was going to put up the Christmas tree and all my decorations over thanksgiving break but NO our bedroom furniture is scattered throughout the house and there's no room or sense in adding more crap to the chaos. I'm so bummed about that. And our mattress is in the floor of my daughters room. Holy hell.

New job, renovation nightmare, Christmas presents and decorations! OMG. I NEED A VALIUM!!!!

Does anyone here have an autoimmune disease such as crohns, lupus, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, etc and take TNF blocker injections (cimzia, enbrel, humira, remicaid)? It lessens the ability of the body to fight off infections. I have RA and I take injections and I was wondering if anyone here has already had surgery, how they managed their meds and what their surgeon advised them to do. I'm wondering if I should stop my meds before surgery and how soon before. My pre op isn't until November 29 and I should ask them but I just thought of it.... I will call them Monday but anyone here have any info?

I take plaquenil, methotrexate and cimzia.

I called my PS about my RA and the meds and she said it will be one week prior that she will have me stop my meds if she decides I need to.

and I'm not worried about the surgery, or being cut, or the pain or the incisions. I'm freaking out that I'm not going to get stuff done. I look forward to surgery day because then I won't have to worry anymore.

When did you start driving after your TT?

I am so excited that I have found new December TT buddies!! Welcome! And it's almost our turn!

One of the things I've been worried about is how I'm going to tolerate the binder. I can't stand to wear tight clothes. It makes me anxious and frustrated. Lol. So months ago when I decided to do this, I started wearing tighter undershirts. Then about a month ago I started wearing these body shapers, I think they're made by leggs. I bought them at CVS for $8. They are super tight and go from my knees to under my bra. I'm becoming more used to them. I didn't want to try to acclimate during my recovery. And I actually like wearing them now. They smooth out the lumps. Im silly, I know but I know what bugs the hell out of me and had to figure out a way around that. I think I've succeeded!

I've been worried only about getting Christmas bought and wrapped. Yesterday was my family's annual shopping trip with my aunts cousins sister mom etc... We go eat lunch together and then SHOP SHOP SHOP! There were 20 of us yesterday. We split up at the mall but its neat to always run into one if them. Lol. Well my hubby is the best, he was the only guy. We walked around with our kids and let them do their "I want ..." Then my mom took them home and we bought almost everything they picked out. It was neat. We got soooooo much done!!! I feel like a ton of bricks has been lifted. Now I just need to wrap all this stuff. I got everyone bought for except one of my nephews and my parents. Whew! Relief!!!

Happy healing y'all!!! Good luck to my December buddies!!!

I had a moment of panic last night.... I had to call and make sure I am on the schedule for 12-14. Whew! I am....

I had a strange moment today. I was driving home this evening in rush hour traffic going 5mph so I had time to think. I keep wondering when I will get nervous or anxious. Well I was thinking about the surgery all calm and then all of a sudden I was out of breath and having chest pains. Anxiety attack? I still don't feel anxious now. Maybe I am suppressing all of it. It's so .... I don't know. Surreal I guess. I don't know how to explain it.

I hate my new job. It's too much to talk about. But today was the worse day ever. I'm so stressed. My house is in disarray with my bathroom reno disaster. I'm stressed about work. Plus I realized today my RA has flared up. I have been in remission for maybe a year or more and with everything going on, I didn't realize that my body aches were a bad sign. So now it's gotten out of control and I'm in so much pain and my meds aren't working. :-( honestly RA pain has been the worst pain I've ever had. I've had two surgeries and i had my 10lb 12oz daughter with an epidural that didn't work. So I know pain. This hurts. I really hope TT Pain isn't worst than this!!

:-(

I need a glass of wine...

I can't believe it's two weeks away!!!

Preop was yesterday. I got all my instructions and prescriptions. Iim paid in full!!I filled my prescriptions today.

My husband told me yesterday that he was going to be having to go out of town from Tuesday to Friday of my surgery and he get home after I was done. Then he told me today that he didn't have to go out of town and that they were actually going to let him off work Friday to be with me but he have to work Saturday. That relieves so much of my anxiety!!!!

I can't believe this is actually happening!!! it's been a dream for years and I really never ever thought that I would actually get to do this. When will it feel real? when I'm home recovering???

I got hydrocodone, Valium and phenergen. I don't take pain meds and I have never taken Valium. Dr says this is a muscle relaxer. Has anyone taken this and how did you react? Thinking of taking it to see how it effects me but I'm scared to.

Everyone .... Please tell me what supplies to get!!

I'm telling most people I'm having hernia surgery but I'm not. I don't have a hernia but heck if people are so nosy and ask so many questions! Would hernia surgery lay me out like the TT will? Do hernia repair require a compression garment after? Does hernia repair involve repairing the area the hernia is poking out. I hate lying and I'm too nice to say its none of their business. I try to answer as simply as possible but some just keep asking. Ugh!! Can anyone help me with my lies?! Lol

My husband was leaving at 9 to go to his soccer game and the fashion show came on. So I changed it. He asked why. I said because the way those women look isn't a realistic expectation for normal women. He got all mad at me saying then why are we spending all this money to fix you and you aren't going to ever be happy with yourself. WTF! Just because I have that opinion about models and below weight perfect unflawed bodied women's means I won't be happy with myself!? I have realistic expectation. I am IMPROVING MY BODY not trying to perfect it!!! I know I will hve lumps an bumps and scars because I'm a normal momma. I accept those. I just can't accept that efforts at improving my tummy has done nothing but make it look worse. I lose more weight and it just looks more and more wrinkly and saggy.

Anyways. I needed to vent. I think I'm going to get to bed before he gets home so I don't have to hear all that crap again. He just doesn't understand.

Oh and to add that to all I've been feelin today. I started getting anxious about whether or not I picked the right doctor, fearing anesthesia, fearing severe complications, what if the money I saved for my time off isn't enough. I've been so emotional. I can't hardly listen to the radio and hear a song or on the Christian music station every morning they help and family in need and every morning I cry! I'm not like that. I'm becoming and wreck and now he's going to start getting mad about this surgery?! I mean its a bit too late now, I'm paid in full. NO REFUNDS. Besides, I wouldn't change my mind anyways.

I played my last soccer game last night. I actually played in our outdoor tournament ... 4 games and then our indoor game. 20 seconds left in the game last night and this chick tackled me. I thought we were playing soccer but apparently she thought we were playing football. She got me from behind grabbed my neck and slammed me into the ground face first with her knee in my lower back. Needless to say, I'm in a lot of pain today. But hey, I went out with a bang. My husband is relieved I'm done playing for a while lol. I'm kinda glad too. I love playing but a time of rest will be nice I guess.

My daughters musical was this evening. That was the last big thing until my surgery. Fortunately I've distracted myself with the tournament and then her musical. Now all I have is the surgery. Hopefully I can keep my sanity. I think I'm doing alright so far.

I just can't believe it's just three days! And it's really happening to ME?!!!

I'm really doing this? I can't believe I'm actually doing this! So many doubts and fears and I bet you all know what they are.

I'm done. At home. Not comfortable. I'm tiny. My doc said she planned on two drains but I'm so tiny, she could only put one in. I don't know how to sit or lay.

I got to the surgery center at 6am. They changed me into a gown and their socks and a hair net. Gave me an nexium and hooked me to an IV and nurse anesthest and the dr anesthethesioligst talked me me. Both female and very sweet. Then my PS came in spoke with me and my husband he really liked her she was very sweet. She said she is going to give me a margarita and boy that stuff kicked in less than 2 mins. I started gigging. Then my PS was right by my side helping me get on the operating table and rubbing my hard. The OR looked huge and had only ladies taking care me. I went out shortly after getting in the OR and next thing I know, my nurse is sitting with me in recovery. I was hurting alot. So i got Vicodin, ultram and something else for the pain. I had these SCD's (sequential compression device) my calves to squeeze to prevent blood cots. Every time it squeezed it killed me tummy. I have the pain pump in and still hurting like hell. I can't imagine the pain without it. The nurse I had at the surgey center apparently hadn't helped a TT patient sit up in bed. She was way too rough. But I made it. But that was the worse nauseas I had been and I told her I was sick and she gave me a shot of zofran. (?)

I got home and I slept every couple of hours in my grandmothers old soft straight back chair because its the only things doesn't hurt me getting up or down. My hunching over hasn't hurt my back yet. Trying to go pee takes me forever to start. So my husband turned tha water and and I used a cold baby wipe to wipe down there and then I can start peeing.
Works wonders. Just wondering why it takes so long

I'm scared to try to lay down because I tried i last night and I felt like I tore everything.

I think the pain meds are great. I haven't felt much nausea and it last for just a moment.

I drained 130 ml yesterday
I drained 50 overnight. Is that a lot?

My husband has been amazing. Helping me up and to the bathroom. He leans over and I put my hands behind his neck and he lifts me off the chair. That works so well with no pain. He has a quesy stomachs and said he wouldnt be able to do that when we talked about it before surgery. My sister was supposed to but she bailed on me and he said her to stay away, he will handle it. And he has. He's stayed on top of my meds. I love him so much.

I asked my doctor to take before pictures with her markings and the after pictures and she actually sounded excited. She came and visited me three times in recovery and she didn't leave until I was gone home. She emailed me the pics and i looks amazing she says I'm tiny! Love it!

She emailed me last night with the pics and asked how i was going since I took so long in recovery. I was hurting and scared to move. But I feel better now. She also emailed me how much skin she took off. She said she was surprised how much she was able to take off. 1.4 lbs.

I've dozed off about ten times trying to write them. I'm going to sleep I'll try to post pics of me on the OR table...

Can i post pics from my iPhone?

*** rubbing my arm

I meant to say my husband said couldn't do the JP drain but since my sister bailed on me, he told her forget it, he can take care of me himself. . He has done it three times. I'm so proud of him!

My tummy looks so good and flat even with everything that over it! I get to take the binder of in a couple of days when my pain ball is empty and I can take a shower.

Yay!

Hello friends,
I am doing pretty good. My 7 year old had to stay home with me yesterday because she was running a fever and 3am she was yelling for me from the bathroom. I can't move fast enough and she threw up all over the floor and diarrhea in the potty. Poor baby. So I did my best I clean her up and the bathroom floor up and my husband got upset with me for not waking him, he said I didn't need to be doing it. So he helped her shower and finished cleaning up and ordered me back to the couch. She stayed home with me again today and still had high fevers. Which stressed me out because i can't drive yet.
Plus, I was in excruciating pain from my RA and not being on my meds. I found my position, took pain meds and I'm comfortable again. Daddy got home and immediately took her to the dr. So now I'm sitting her watching episode 1 of Friends.

The house is a mess and I desperately want to get up and straighten it it up but i don't want to start hurting like I was before. :-(

I started crying when my husband got home because I feel so useless. He said he will take care of it all. He said it will be ok. I love him. He's been great

I finally got to see my tummy ...I cried. It's so awesome. My husband was surprised too. He helped me to get undressed and take the pain pump tubes out. That was creepy feeling. Like a little worm under my skin. I got a shower and it was the best shower ever. I'm not in too much pain. Honestly the majority of my pain is my joints from being off my rheumatoid arthritis meds.

My only concern is I have this weird blister beside my belly button. Fortunately I have a check up tomorrow and they can tell me what's up with that. I can't post pics yet. I'll try to soon. I look amazing and tiny! I can't believe I'm saying that about myself!!!!

Happy healing my friends!

HOLY CRAP THE PAIN!!! Apparently the pain pump worked very well. It emptied yesterday and we pulled it out and apparently it wore off around 5 am this morning. I was asleep in the recliner, my husband on the couch beside me and I woke up suddenly in horrible pain. I couldn't breath or move because i hurt so so so very bad. I woke him up and he was flustered because he didn't know what to do. I just needed to sit up and I couldn't. He pushed the recliner into sitting position, handed me my pain meds and kept saying "I'm sorry baby. I'm sorry baby" I can't believe how bad I was hurting! I'm finally in control of it. I thought the worst was over because I was feeling so good yesterday. I took for granted the pain pump's effectiveness. I'm back in my grandmother's straight back chair with my legs elevated. Still teary eyed. Trying not to cry because that hurts. Lesson learned: stay on top of pain meds....now I'm waiting for my mom to come over and get the kids up and ready for school. I love my hubby and momma. God sure has blessed me with them. Ok, tears coming again ....

I had my first check up today. I just saw nurse and she changed the dressing on my drain which I get to keep in for another week. oh well, it doesn't hurt. She puts it on the side with this foam around the insertion and tegaderm taping it down so it doesn't move . She says I have very minimal swelling and my belly button looks good. Yay. I'm in no pain now. Yay again.

Im PO day 9. I'm feeling pretty good. It doesn't hurt so much to cough. I weigh the same but I haven't weighed naked yet. My husband hid the scale after I weighed a few days ago. Lol. My jeans fit the same with the binder on so that means they will be baggy. Yay. I'm not swelling much. I've been emotional but there's been some family stuff going on with my grandmother. I love the way my waist looks. My love handles are gone. My scar looks straight but still not totally sure because its covered with tegaderm. My belly button shape is good but it looks gross. The nurse says to leave it alone. So I will. Merry Christmas y'all!

I added some pics.

I have my two week follow up tomorrow and I'm kinda scared about pulling the drain. It's been hurting inside my tummy just past the drain entry every time I empty the drain and clear the line. I dread it because it hurts so bad for about an hour or so. Its pressure and sharp pain. Anyone have this? Does the drain hurt when removed! Should I take my pain pills?!

Post op appt somewhat went well. She pulled the drain. It didn't hurt a bit. She pulled the tape off my incision. Hurt a tiny but, but it was like pulling a couple hairs kinda feeling. She cleaned out my belly button. She is very please (as am I) at my contour, my incision is very neat and tiny, and I will have a cute little belly button. I was standing and talking to her about recovery questions and I didn't have my binder on and I was still in the gown. All of a sudden, I got lightheaded and very nauseas. She said I got very pale. She sat me down, put a fan on me and gave me some crackers. I had already told her that I have been getting hot and sweaty and then freezing cold within minutes all day for the past two days with a low grade fever since day before Christmas. She said that's not normal post op. she said I'm coming down with something. I hope I didn't get virus that my daughter had. I'm still nauseas and feel like crap. I was so embarrassed that happened. I'm one of those people that like to be the "tough girl" nothing bothers me, ya know. I don't like to show weakness. But I sure did today. Haha.

But in summary, my tummy looks amazing and I was not expecting this good of results. I'm very blessed. :-)

Thank you ladies for all your compliments!! I feel very fortunate!

I'm 17 days PO today. I've considered going back to work early but I has a terrible vivid dream that it doesn't go so well. Haha. It wasnt that I was hurting, it was like I was lost the whole time. So I'll stay home another week. I totally believe in premonition dreams.

Anyways, I'm barely swollen. Not sure why I haven't experienced major swelling. I eat very little sodium. Drinks lots of water and I've been lazy on my butt and feet up.

I have a weird pulling pain at my sternum, I guess where the muscle repair begins. It's pretty constant but tolerable.

My other concern is my belly button. My PS told me to keep an eye on it but its at the top and not in my line of sight so I wasn't aware of it until she pointed it out. I've been using my phone taking pics and flashlight and mirror to keep watch. She called it a blister. It's a pea size area. It's white-ish, pinkish and tiny bit of yellow. I've been cleaning it twice daily and keeping it covered with gauze and neosporin. I hope it heals soon. It worries me. I've a seen some really bad necrosis and I don't want it to get anywhere near that. It's numb but I think the pain is being displaced to deeper in my belly as a throbbing feeling and that scares me too.

Other than that, my incision looks amazing. It's so thin and pale already. No scary spots. My drain hole is healing slowly. But looks good too.

Overall, I'm totally amazed and pleased with my results. I've said it before but I never expected it to ever look this good.

I'm so impatient to wear clothing without my binder so I can see how thin I am and no rolls when I sit. But I love my binder. Atleast it's winter and clothes are bulky anyways.

Good luck to all of you ladies. I appreciate all your support. Thank you. I'll post pics soon.

What does a seroma feel like?? On my left, where my drain was, the skin feels a little more wiggly than the other side. Is a seroma obvious? I'm a bit swollen but evenly right to left on my lower abdomen. It's not bad or protruding. I'm just worried its a seroma. She said she took out the drain a couple days before she should have but she did because of the New Years holidays, they would be closed and she didn't want me to wait that long.

What kind of excercises did your PS say you could do at 3 weeks? I can't believe I'm almost to THREE weeks. Wow this has flown by fast. My wiggling spot I was worried was a seroma was just swelling. It was firm this morning. Yay!! BB is still yucky. She's calling in a prescription for some type of ointment. Thanks ladies!!

I have very few memories of my first week after surgery. I remember cleaning up my daughter when she got sick. I don't remember her being home with me three days. She says I took good care of her. I remember my first shower and taking my pain pump out and seeing my tummy for the first time. That's all I've got until my first checkup 6 days after and then things get clearer. It makes me very sad. Anyone else experience this? I'm trying so hard to find those memories. It was time with my children that I can't remember. It's driving me into depression I think. I feel so down and sad. I'm recovering so well. No swelling, incision looks fantastic. My belly button is finally healing. I hate being sad when I'm so lucky. I just want to remember that first week. I feel like I've lost something. I feel helpless.

PS ... I am so grateful to have this site. Fortunately I was motivated to post the first week and its a diary of the days I am missing in my memories. I went back and read my posts and I feel a tiny bit better. Just a tiny bit.... :-(

Back to work today. I was told by the office manager that the drs are out today. So yay, my first day will be a slow day. Tomorrow will be terrible though. That doctor loves to order every ultrasound exam there is. I've warned them i will not be at my normal speed. They didn't seem worried.

I'm doing alright. Still tired but able to take care of the kids, house and such without too much trouble. Hubby has the flu so I've gotten to return the favor and take care of him. Poor guy he's miserable and still going to work. They don't care if he's sick or not, they want him at work.

I'm swelling a bit more than I have before but I am more active around the house. My incision feels tight and tender. My belly button is healed. I have this weird sharp shooting pain in my right groin.

I'm down 2 lbs which I'm so happy with since I've been sitting on my butt for 3 weeks. I've lost 3 inches in my waist and 3 inches on my hips. I measured because my jeans that fit before we're slipping down. It didn't occur to me I could lose inches in my hips but the way she pulled my skin together, it lifted the skin on my groins and my hips. She did such a fabulous job.

Good luck to you all and I hope you all are doing well.

My first day yesterday went well. Fortunately it was desk work because the doctors were out and we had no patients. I was so tired all day. Today the doctor that works us into the ground was there. It went very well. Surprisingly I had the energy and i was able hang and make it through two surgeries. Yay!! Then i got home did laundry, dishes and made dinner. I feel great!!!

And funny story... I told my work I had hernia surgery. One of the girls joined my soccer team a month or so ago and she's only seen me in scrubs and soccer clothes. Well Sunday, I couldn't play but I came to watch while my husband and team played. ( I was sad I wasn't playing ) but anyways, I was wearing jeans and a tight black shirt with my shaper under it. When I got to work Wednesday, she rolled her chair over to me and said " I always tell people what I say about them when I talk behind their backs... I told all the girls here I bet you had a tummy tuck because you looked all tiny, flat and curvy in that tight shirt!" I didn't know what to say at first I just laughed. And then I said, hey, you've never seen me in jeans, just baggy scrubs. She laughed and gave me this look like "yea right"... Funny stuff. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! Heehee maybe someday I'll come clean about it when I figure out who my friends are and what kind of people they are.

I'm swollen and tired but still I feel amazing!! I'm so blessed! Blessings to you all!

I feel awesome! My tummy looks awesome!!! I've been doing light exercises since week 4 and at 6 weeks I started more strenuous workouts without any trouble. I've done tae bo, p90x and dance. I modify when it comes to abdominal work or anything that I feel my tummy pull.

I swell slightly after workouts but its resolved by morning. I'm wearing my CG at night and a shaper during the day. I've gone a couple of days without my shaper during the day and I felt fine. I just want to keep wearing something until the swelling is done. I was told by a friend of mine that it helps hold the shape. That works for me

My scar looks great, my belly button looks great. I've lost 7 lbs from pre surgery weight. This surgery was a great decision that I don't regret. I look great in my clothes now and I can finally wear fitted shirts without worrying about my belly hanging over my pants.

I have a weird phantom tummy feeling when I sit, I feel like my tummy has a roll and I feel it and its flat! It's so weird. My only complaint is my tummy is so flat, my love handles are more pronounced. I'm hoping that losing a few pounds and doing oblique exercises will help.

I'll post pictures soon. I didn't realize I haven't taken any pics since 3 weeks!!!!

I am 11 weeks 2 days. Played my first game of soccer today. I felt great. Except I feel like I pulled a muscle in my stomach. The twinges are on my lower hip areas not my MR vertical incision so I'm not worried. I've been doing boot camp for a week and my stomach has been so sore. I'm more swollen today than I've ever been but I played the whole game. 70 minutes of lots of running. I was expecting swelling. :-) I feel great. My tummy looks great. I'm so happy!!! It was nice today to not feel self conscience when the wind blew my jersey flat against my tummy. I wasn't spending the whole game pulling my shorts up over my rolls. Lol. No regrets!!!