Mommy Makeover: Stories

Write a Review

Mommy Makeover Not Worth It. I Regret my Decision -Woodbury, MN

  • posted 4 months ago
  • updated 8 days ago

I had a mommy makeover 3 weeks ago. I know it is...

I had a mommy makeover 3 weeks ago. I know it is early in the healing process. Everything loOks good even great for the time passed. What is not ok is the way I feel. I feel like I traded all my original insecurities for new ones. I was slim, in shape and had just lost the last 10 pounds of pregnancy weight three years postpartum. I was left with saggy skin over my belly button a stomach full of stretchmarks and one boob that had disappeared and one that was a saggy a cup. Perfect candidate, right!


So here's why even though my results look good I am upset with my decision. I feel that I have bought into this fake ideal that is not real. I feel like a caracarture of a women. I regret being a c cup. It is not great I would trade my saggy a/ aa any day. They are huge, fake looking, the muscles and skin are tight and feel horrible. I know they will only improve over time, but i feel so dumpy looking instead of lOng and sleek. The tummy tuck drains have been as uncomfortable as two things hanging out of your skin could be. I can't sleep anymore 4 hours is about all I can make it before waking up uncomfortable and needing more medicine.

Lickily I have only had two complications, a topical reash around one areola and a drain that became loose. I am horribly depressed, which is common,for this alone I would not do this again. You read depression is common in the weeks after but it is kind of brushed over. Think weeks of feeling like a good friend died or family member, the worst emotional pain you could feel. Naroticly looking at yourself wondering what could have been done better, what's wrong, wondering why you did it, how you were sold this stupid idea in the first place. Wondering why you had a problem with the way you looked and wishing you could just have your old body back.

I am so sad I wasted months critiquing myself before this and continue to critique myself now. Nothing has changed. My children and husband now have a vey sad lady to deal with. My husband is just over dealing with me. This is horrible. Make sure if you decided to do this pick a doctor where you can back out a week before surgery and get a refund. Cross the no refund part off the paper work you sign. I feel like if I could have backed out a week before with out loosing 8000 I would have. Instead I went through it. I feel like I set a horrible example for my children and let down myself. If you are looking at mommy makeover regrets and wondering if you should I do this don't. If you have any doubts don't. The means do not justify the ends. In my case my problem was finding a way to be happy with myself being the way I am. I am still not happy the way I am. Take your money go on a vacation and find away to do something where your last priority is the way you look. I wish i thought of it like this. how many haircuts have you gotten that were awful and you hated or clothes you bought and decided you didnt like after. Hair grows back and you can return the clothes. Plastic surgery is final and you can never go back . Even spending more money you will probably never look as good as you used too.Just my thoughts.

I am devistated! My scar is crooked. And my pubes...

I am devistated! My scar is crooked. And my pubes are right there on the other side of he scar. I traded my stretchmarks for pubes. Below my belly button i am now half skin half pubes. Needless tO say I am freaking out. The scar is way above my panty line where it was originally placed. Looking up I see this is caused from the amount of tensiOn placed on the scar. Nice. In addition I agreed to be lipoed at the minute saying don't go anywhere near my butt. I am now missing what I considered to be the toP portion of my butt. my favorite part of my body is gone, well I still have the bottom part. Communication is key. Plastic surgeons are also selling something so be aware that they might be giving you a positive rendition of everything that could go wrong. Look at their work and expect the most horrible boobjob or tummy tuck shown will be way better then the way yours turns out. What a waste of money. I have buyers remorse. Well on the bright side putting my self through more costly procedures and pain will make it better. No, i doubt it and I'm not willing to do this again. Run, seriously run away, love yourself the way you are.

My butt was not lipoed! Hooray! The bruising from...

My butt was not lipoed! Hooray! The bruising from my love handles just accumulated there. I am rejoicing. I love my butt o natural. The tt scar is high. I think with swelling it will resolve some. If not permeant hair removal and a fancy tattoo are always options. The boobs look great ones bigger, but it always was. Given my scoliosis, uneven boobs, I think the doctor did a great job. It will only continue to look better. I do wish I went smaller on the BA though. Maybe it is just a shock going from nothing to c's. I have never been the type to envy large boobs. A nice conservative B would have been perfect for me. I just didnt want to go to small and regret it. Maybe I will adapt to the larger size it does look proportional. So did my a's so did a b. I do miss my saggy body though I feel like I traded function for aesthetics. I did trade. What's wrong with little boobs anyway. They are cute. I would trade my pre breast feeding a size boobs for these c fake ones any day. I even miss My a and aa boob with saggy nipples. I'll give it some time. Quote of the month "no one is as unhappy as the one who has time to think about if they are. " Boobs and tummies where has my mind been.

Maybe it's two months in. Still regret it. Yes I...

Maybe it's two months in. Still regret it. Yes I look hot and have big boobs and no love handles. I have less stretchmarks wrinkly skin and I can see my belly button. What is weird is its not me. Fake boobs feel weird. I can't believe I even searched "do fake breasts feel weird" people responded they didn't. I say way weird. They feel weird and look like half balls stuck on my chest. I miss my soft squishy uneven breasts. Oh still uneven. I feel like I have bags in my chest, soft bags but bags. The rippiling freaks me out too or when you can feel the bag folded weird or you see the grooves.
The tummy tuck is odd too. Yes I like the flat stomach. What I didn't expect was some of my stretchmarks would go from feeling soft and unnoticible to feeling indented. I still have stretchmarks but instead of in a circle pattern its a half circle with a scar on the bottom. I did not start off with a c section scar. I didn't expect the " lift of the pubic mound" to mean your pubes are coming too. Hello an inch to 2 inches too much of pubes. I am saying I don't think this is the doctors fault. He cut an inch of pubes off I just had a lot of stretchmarks and loose skin down there.
I am going to need to re-operate sometime to fix my boobs and lower the scar. The boobs are uneven thanks to being uneven in the first place and using a uneven profile implant. Also not the doctors fault (thank you other doctors suggestion and my fault). The doctor is being very accommodating. Honestly, I just want the boobs out and f the scar. I just want to feel normal again. I really thought none of the complications would happen to me. Looking back at my old naked pictures I can see I wAsnt that bad looking. Odd how thousands of dollars, months of discomfort that continue, and being on the other side of "doing something for yourself" let you see your past more clearly. Lame. So this is it I have become one of those people on "breast support forums" posting searching hundreds to thousands of times, obsessed. I am adding DO Not go on breast support forums! The information is totally biased and any negative comments are deleted. Look inside if you have a question like "will it feel weird" don't google it. Do you think it will feel weird? If it does will it freak you out? Want to know the perfect size try on sizers then feel what is comfortable. Don't go by what looks good in a picture or what someone else had. Don't listen to the people regret not going bigger. I don't know...this is my last update. Ruminating on this is not helping and there is no time machine to make a different choice. The thing is being a 30 year old woman is hard. I read a life coach article that said whatever you are worried or concerned about ( like boob size/body image or regret getting plastic surgery) take that away. What problems do you have now? That is your problem, the problem that you need to fix and is harder to fix. The boobs stretchmarks loose skin wasn't my problem. My problem was dealing with change,getting older, not knowing where shit is going...so now I have big stupid uneven fake boobs too. Ugggg. Good luck with your journey and goodbye.

I left being overdramatic. I feel like I should...

I left being overdramatic. I feel like I should update this. I would have loved to read something like this. It seems like so many reviews on mommy makeovers are so cheery and positive. It is definitely an unfair view of this awful surgery. Maybe it works for some and people are happy with the results. Me I am freaking out and have been for months. I can't believe the damage I did to my body to get this done. There is now scar tissue under the front of my abdomen messing up the way my lymphatic a drain. That bothers me. Now instead of the lymph going down to the groin lymphnodes they have to resist gravity and go up and regrow. I am scared the swelling will never fully go away. Looking online you see this is the case for quite a few people years after the surgery. I am scared it will never get better or rather work efficiently like before. I sont want to swell weirdly before every period. I do not like to feel weird.

My boobs look better everyday but I feel the muscles stretching at the sternum over my heart and it feels like something is wrong with my heart. This causes me anxiety. I have never had panic attacks before this surgery, now I do. I wake up dreaming about this. I really thought this surgery would make me feel better about the way I looked. It didn't. How can it? I just don't like other things. I never made peace wih the way I looked. I still can't. Now,I am just uncomfortable. The stomach is skin and muscles are uncomfortable. The boobs are way uncomfortable. It feels like the skin is stretching and there is too much weight pulling them down. At night i have to wedge somehing inbetween my boobs to even sleep. My boobs are still uneven and don't fit into normal a b c bras. I am wearing medium or large. Either the band is too loose or the cups too small. Who knew big breasts were so overrated. I just want to take these bags out smash whts left of my boobs down in a tight sports bra and run fully secured and comfortable.

My stretchmarks that are now on the lower part of my stomach still are there and still wrinkle like raisins when bent over. My stretchmarks take a unnatural position now with my skin sewed into my new belly button. I am all puffy with a huge scar not hip to hip like you would imagine but 50 percent of my hip diameter.
I tried to jump wih my kids yesterday I am so weak now. My stomach muscles feel too tight and hurt to just do small jumps. The boobs are shaking all around. I was so strong before this and so healthy. I just didn't like he loose skin. I didn't like the one sidded shrunk stroke looking boob. At the end o the day I was healthy and strong. I felt comfortable, my body was the result of giving life to 3 amazing children ( twins plus one) and breastfeeding them for over 2 years. I had nice muscle definition. I was mentally more sound. I am now on anti-anxiety pills just started antidepressants. It is a powerful thing to tell your self that you are not good enough. Looking back I see how I was really good looking and I see my stretchmarks and boobs in a new light. I see girls with small boobs and I am jealous! Why are we trying to go back to our 20's would you want to look like you were 10. What's the deal? It sucks as women we are surrounded by images of perfection that is not real. I've been googling old naked people for a touch reality. I'm not saying give up but f look at your self and say damn it I am good enough. Please don't do this! Save your money do something fun and really "for yourself". It blows me away that major surgery is what women call finally "doing something for yourself". This has been the worst experience in my life. I am sorry my children and husband were ever apart of this awful process of healing ( aka getting back to normal). I am upset thAt this process was so casually advertised as being easy and temporary. I wish this on no one. I am eagerly awaiting a time to explant these fake boobs. I want to show my kids this was a terrible mistake and large breasts are not important. Let my boobs heal, as much as they can regardless of he outcome, and move on never to have another surgery again. To reiterate, I really messed up the way my body functions for the way it looks. Some people brush that off saying it's worth it. It isn't, I just want to feel normal again my little saggy crooked boobs and stomach dripping with skin. I miss you! Who would have thought!

Has it been 5 months? Still very upset with my...

Has it been 5 months? Still very upset with my decision. Really new things about my body just bother me now. I remember thinking that a hip to hip scar would be a good trade for loose skin over a belly button. It just looks weird. My stomach is flat but hard below the belly button, the belly button looks weird, not as weird as a lot of tummy tuck pictures, but still weird. The stretch marks over my belly button, now under the belly button, are loose and look stretched and weird. My stomach muscles hurt to rotate or sit up. The boobs are just wacky it has become very apparent that using two different profiles 50 cc difference was about the dumbest thing that could have been used. The difference between the breasts has been exaggerated and the extreme difference in width has the nipples sitting differently the moderate wider implant has the nipple pointing down and the high profile narrower larger sized implant has the nipple centered but pointing outwards. Fun finding, when I lay flat or raise my arms the higher profile side becomes flat or sunken in. My nipples contract differently too now. Doing a lift on the one side was a terrible idea as was doing a crescent lift on the other side. Better symmetry and nipple position could have been achieved more effectively using similar implants. Oh and on my tummy tuck I can feel two permanent sutures on the incision line.
This sucks top it off being an emotional wreck, my kids witnessing this whole thing, and the constant thought that this looks "good" now but it's not going to age well. Women get a little more girth as they age which would have solved a lot of my pre surgery "problems". This was a very quick fix solution and I really believe I could have tightened up a little more on my own. Instead of dieting I should have focused on building muscle. Instead of worrying about any of this I should have done something else to occupy my thoughts and mind. My nipples are so sensitive and uncomfortable now it is hard not to be reminded of this stupid surgery frequently. Areola incisions are bad!
On another note looking around this site you see so many perfect people upset with the few stretchmarks they have ready to jump into plastic surgery thinking the trade off is worth it. Some drs should have their ability to practice be stripped away. Seriously, a perfect lady who had a baby 3 months ago was asking what could be done about her loose skin over her belly button, which I didn't see. Doctors were telling her to get a tummy tuck it was crazy. Maybe one or two said do nothing no one said give it time. I can attest to skin tightening up like crazy even with stretch marks let alone this perfect lady with slight "loose skin" and no stretch marks. God does every woman think there body's could be better. How sad we can't just be happy who we are. That's the lesson I guess. It's always greener on the other side. Forget all this nonsense and better your self intrinsically where it really matters.

Err. I really wasn't that bad off to get this done. Yes I had extra skin I had to pull out my pants when I sat. I did yoga and my stomach hung down in the middle maybe two inches. I liked the idea how I could improve and at some point getting in shape I just started to see all the people who looked better than me, who bounced back right after pregnancy. I lost sight that I looked really good and was comparing myself to moms who didn't have twins. Really, I looked good for twins. Not perfect but natural and 12000 bucks richer and a whole lot happier and I could sleep a full night without being women up by weird sensations triggering thoughts about how stupid I was to do this.

Oh and I have been trying to get a follow up appointment for a month and a half. I finally got one after the secretary telling me she needed to talk to the nurse, then not calling back, then calling to have the secretary call me saying they were " just talking about me" but I couldn't book an appointment because she needed to talk to the nurse. Um blown off, perhaps. I finally talked directly with the nurse and got an appointment.

Last hint to add I really thought when we came up with a breast augmentation plan that if it didn't look right or could be better using different implant profiles or sizes then the doctor would use the ones that looked the best. I am just astounded that these two were finally put in and the doctor said good enough. I really need to post pictures it's crazy. In no way would I ever have said okay these implants don't work now let's move around the nipples. Terrible. No really it's terrible if I was a plastic surgeon I would be ashamed from lack of though pre planning and the decision during surgery saying it looks good.

And sorry for all the punctuation grammar and lack of commas. I'm on a phone, lazy, and slightly incompetent.
Great review?

My Doctor: James a hoffman

My rating:

Doctor's Bedside Manner
Answered My Questions
After Care Follow-Up
Time Spent With Me
Phone or Email Responsiveness
Staff Professionalism & Courtesy
Payment Process
Wait Times

He was very nice. Got a good feeling from him and his nurse. His work looked good. Disappointed by results.

Comments (7)

newmetime 14 May 2013
I can't see what you looked like prior to surgery, which makes it tough to compare...but either way, I am Sorry to here that your whole experience was so negative. Its obviously not for everyone..Some women are so hard on themselves when it comes to their looks, and I can imagine that if you didn't receive the results you were expecting, it could be quite difficult to find it worth the trouble and money. I think that it is very important for women to consider the possibility that things will not turn out as hoped, and seriously weigh the options. Its probably highly recommended that if one is extremely critical of themselves, that they probably reconsider even more so... On the other hand, I like to think about the 100's of women out there who have worked their butts off to lose a ton of weight, and can turn to a procedure like a TT to give them the results that normal diet and exercise never could. There are alot of women that have benefited from this procedure, but there are also women who are unhappy too. Its good to see and weigh both sides. Thank you for your honesty and willingness to share your story, and I hope that things start to get better for you. Even though you may not be satisfied with your results, I hope that you can find happiness/security in yourself and the people that love you - to help ease the new insecurities you have with your body. I personally think that you are beautiful, but what matters most is who/what you see when you look into the mirror each day. I hope that someday you can see the truth of your beauty-which lays beneath the skin, and is evident in your smile. :)
Duve428 8 Apr 2013
I'm glad that u posted how much this emotionally F**KS us up...I just pray and day by day it gets me by
Explanting Texan 23 Mar 2013
Did you decide to have your implants removed, StupidB?
Bmesoon 9 Mar 2013
Just wanted to say hi and see how you are doing. I am also in MN and getting my implants removed in three days. They have been in for three months and I have complications and just wanted them gone. Also, I completely did not consider the fact that I cant hug people, sleep on my stomach, etc. what an expensive mistake to make! I have been horribly depressed, not sleeping at night, driving my husband crazy and b*tchy with with people at work which is not me :-( i know my surgeon probably thinks I am crazy - they are really pushing to wait til six months and do a revision but I am not doing that. What are you going to do? Are you growing used to them or getting them out? BTW Dr Hoffman fixed my nose 15 years ago. It is not perfect but much better that before. Having already had one cosmetic procedure I thought the boons would be easy and look great - boy, was I wrong! They did not look right from the second week and then I developed skin tenting and freaked out - I just want them gone! I am writing the $6000 off as a cost of a life lesson to leave well enough alone. Hugs to you - ket me know if you need emotional support over this, it helps to have someone who knows how it feels
Bkstar4289 22 Feb 2013
I loved how you put everything. It's like you were reading my mind. I went from perfectly fine and nice 34As to a BIG C and I hate it! I hate that I have done this to myself when I was perfectly fine. I am 1 week out from my breast augmentation and boyyyyy do I regret it. I just want them out!!! But I will never be back to how I was. I don't even have kids and that's what I'll look like. Like I just had 10 kids. I'm depressed and feel like I have committed the biggest mistake of my life. Regret is such a hard thing to live with. It's hard to look down and have a constant reminder of the mistake that you have done. No one understands. All I can do now is sulk and pray that one day I will be able to live like this. Feeling fake and like an alien in my own body. I can't explant because I've seen the pictures of girls on here and although I'm so happy for them I know that looking like that would heart break me. Good luck! And I hope you are doing better.
Angiemcc (Community Manager) 8 Jan 2013

I'm so sorry you're sad about this! A lot of women do go through the blues post-op, though your level of depression is more extreme. I hope you can find peace with your decision and body. Please keep us posted as you continue to recover.

Stupidb 13 Jan 2013
After talking with the nurse my depression is not "extreme". It only feels that way writing about it at that time. Now I would say I got depressed and recovery was tough. Other friends have said the same thing, it was depressing. I didn't ask them to elaborate. So you can't exercise, you are not moving a lot, your whole schedule is upside down, the antibiotics and other pills are making you feel queasy, your diet is limited or different then usual, you're sleeping maybe 4 hours. Oh and I assume you have kids they still need stuff and they can get sick too at this time. I doubt my depression was more extreme. In fact the nurse said 2-3 weeks in is the worst and 75 percent of patients call. Why does this all just brushed over. This is a major surgery.

Welcome Back

Sign in with Facebook

Your information remains private and will not be posted without your permission.

Forgot your password?

Don't have an account? Create one now.

Join RealSelf

Join with Facebook

Your information remains private and will not be posted without your permission.

Please enter a valid email address
 Did you mean ?

By creating an account, you are indicating that you have read and accept the RealSelf Terms of Use.

Already a member? Sign In.

Retrieve your password

Enter your username or email address and we will send you a link to login.

Check your email

Check your email. We've sent you a link to reset your password.

Ok