After 2 Kids I Finally Got What I Deserved! - Bronx, New York

Allow me to start by introducing myself. I am a 31 yr old married mother of 2 children, 10 & 5 yrs old. I've always been thin all my life. Too thin. I'm 4'11" and weighed, at the time 98lbs and wore a size 0/1.

After having my daughter back in 2003, I gained weight but a nice amount. I went up to a size 3/4 and weighed 110lbs. I was loving my body! It was when I went on birth control, THE DEPO shot, that I started gaining weight rapidly. I went up to a size 9/10 and weighed 145lbs. It was disgusting. I was depressed. I recall nights when I would cry myself to sleep. I felt unattractive and my stomach was gross to me. Just the way "it"would lay beside me like it was my significant other, lol. I knew then that I wanted to look into having a Tummy Tuck. I went to several consultations with various PS's. One that I loved and felt comfortable with was Dr. Michael Gartner in New Jersey. He offered me TT with Muscle Repair and Lipo for $8,000. I was so excited that I immediately applied for Care Credit financial. At the time my credit wasn't great so I was denied the loan and boy was I a mess emotionally. He promised to lock the price for a year or two until I worked on my credit or had the money. I was grateful but still sad. I said in the mean time I'll work my ass off with diet and exercise. I did just that and lost a few pant sizes. I went back down but only to a 5/6 and weighed 125lbs but still had a belly. Anyway, I finally got off of my form of birth control and a year later I became pregnant with my 2nd child. In 2007, I had given birth to my son. Omg, I had HUGE belly for him and he only weighed 7lbs. I know it was because I had a stomach before getting pregnant with him. But after having him I weighed 130lbs. I had an IUD inserted for birth control and said this is it. I'm focused and I'm gonna loose this weight. Since then I've been working out daily and eating 4-5 meals a day.

I currently weigh 136lbs but I do have muscle. I've lost most of my stomach. It's obviously not going any further so I decided to go for my consult at Jacobi Medical Center. For those who don't know, this is a teaching hospital. This means, you get reduced pricing performed by an attending physician while interns (medical students) are assisting. Not a big deal for me! During my consult they spoke with me about my lifestyle as far as my health and fitness. The PS asked me what I'm expecting after the procedure and we discussed the pros and cons of the surgery. I have an appointment for my Labs/Blood work on 3/19 and my surgery/procedure date is 3/25 @7am. YAY!

Btw, I didn't go with Dr. Michael Gartner because of two reasons, 1-the price "lock in" was only 1-2 yrs which had passed and 2-I researched and found out about reduced pricing and we all wanna save money right lol.

I'll keep my TT sisters updated with everything. I'll also post pictures later today. Please feel free to ask any questions you'd like. I'm not shy. Love to all.

So tomorrow, 3/19 is my Pre-Op @ 9am. I'm excited because this means I'm getting closer to my SX date. Whew! :::butterflies in my stomach::: Well, off to bed I go. Will update tomorrow with details from Pre-Op appointment.

Good Evening my TT sisters. So this morning was pre-op. I went into the hospital checked in and sat till my name was called. Once that happened, I sat with the receptionist and that's where she went over my information to see if anything changed as far as my numbers, address, etc. When I was finished with Reception, I sat and waited to be called by a phlebotomist. She walked me all the way to the other side of the hospital (just kidding. But it felt like she did) there is where she took my blood pressure and weight. Afterwards she had me sit and proceeded to take tubes of my blood. 3 tubes to be exact! I then went back to the waiting area and waited for my nurse to call me. During my meeting with my nurse Carmen, she began to ask me a series of questions regarding health change, medications I'm taking, if any, and started to explain about the procedure ie; drains, compression garments, list of supplies. Then she told me the hospital tries to have you leave 2 hrs after procedure but she recommends I stay the 23hrs. So I was relieved to hear that I had the option. Guess what??? I'm staying! She said they will show me how to handle my drains and show me how to get in and out of bed. That's great. Anyway, after I met with her, I met my anesthesiologist. There he explained how I'm going to sleep and how I'll be monitored during my procedure. He explained the risk and complications, which in a healthy person are slim to none. His words. So after meeting with him, I went to finance department where I made my full payment. So now I'm paid up and anticipating 3/25. I forgot to mention at the beginning. The phlebotomist told me that the lab results are in by the end of each day 4:00pm. She said if I don't get a call, everything's ago. If I do, well that means they found something wrong. It's now 5:50 pm and no call. YAYYYYY! So sisters this means I'll be joining the flat side for sure. But I must say part of me still has some doubts tho. It's to good to be true. I feel as if the next few days I might get a call regarding blood. I don't know. I guess this is the norm.

P.S. I posted some pics of my patient package and the surgical sponges I have to bathe/shower with the night before and the morning of.