Tummy Tuck: Stories

My tummy has bothered me for years! I have had 3 children all by c-section. I gained and lost 40-60 pounds with each pregnancy. I have an over hanging apron of skin. I am 5' 2" and weigh 135 pounds pre TT. People tell me that I am tiny. If they only knew what I was hiding under my clothing! Seriously, I can't wear a bathing suit; between my huge belly and my jiggly thighs it embarassing!

My husband of 20 years is very supportive of me having this surgery. He has been hearing me complain about my body for so many years and knows this will make me feel so much better about myself. When I look at my before photos I can't believe that they are of a 135 pound person and not someone over 200 pounds.

I wonder how much that excess skin and fat will actually weigh when it is removed. I am nervous and anxious at the same time. I wish I had a crystal ball to know what my recovery will be like. I recovered very well from my c-sections and hope this is as good. I have never had drains before and I will have 4 total. Not looking forward to that but I am looking forward to having a nice new tummy!

2 days to go! The anticipation is driving me crazy! I know I have alot to get done in the next 2 days so it should hopefully go fast.
I have had all my pre-op testing done and am all registered at the hospital. Tomorrrow I call to verify my surgery time. Right now I am scheduled for 8am on Thursday 8/11 with an arrival time of 6:30am. If all goes well they told me I will be on my way home around 1:30-2:00pm.
I am having a tummy tuck and thighplasty. I can't wait to have my jiggly, flappy belly gone and the swooshing of my thighs together when I walk. Can't believe that only in a matter of days those (awful) before pictures will only be a memory. They are really quite embarassing. My PS told me she would have me in a bikini in no time. I think she has her work cut out for her ;)
I want to be realistic in my expectations. I feel like anything will be an improvement to what I have going on now! I know it is going to be difficult to be inactive during my recovery. I hope it isn't too long before I get the OK to start working out or at least walking/jogging and then running again.

I did it! I am recovering at home. I have added a couple of post op photos. I am all bandaged but can already tell how much smaller I am. Surgery was at 8 am and I was home around 4PM. i have had minimal appetite but have been making myself eat crackers and drinking lots of water. I am taking percoset every 4-6 hours so I am comfortable. The hardest thing is getting in and out of bed. I had purchased a toilet seat riser but found it to be too high (I am only 5' 2") so I took it off.
Monday will be my first post op appointment and I hope to get to see my new belly and belly button then.

Had my first post-op appt. on Monday. To my surprise, she removed all my drains! She originally told me to count on having them for 2-3 weeks. Monday was only 4 days! Since the drains were out I got the ok to shower today. What a great feeling! But just showering alone wiped me out and I took a three hour nap afterwards. I am very swollen. My whole trunk looks so big! My ps said the skin and fat she removed from my abdomen weighed a little over 5 pounds. She didn't weigh the skin she removed from my thighs. I am not supposed to lift anything or bend down to pick things up.
So that's my update. No more flapping skin! It looks so strange to be able to see my pubic area when I look down. No more apron of skin there. My ps told me to wear something under my binder since it was making me pink and itchy. I am finding a pair of lightweight Capri length leggings to do the trick. I am so much more comfortable. She wanted me to wear something with a high waist rather than a tank top or shirt. I will post photos when I can.

Went 24 hours now with just Tylenol, no pain meds so the narcotic fog has lifted! I feel so much better to be off them. Woke up feeling great this morning but got more hunched as the day went on. By tonight my neck and back are so sore! I have been feeling some little shocks in my belly today here and there. Semi-painful. They are kind of a surprise jolt. I believe it has to do with the nerve endings that were cut.
Compression garment feels so much better with the high waist capris underneath. The redness and irritation is gone. I had my first shower yesterday. I was so excited but boy did it wipe me out! I took a 3 hour nap afterwards! I didn't expect how much the water pressure would hurt my tummy. I had to keep my back toward the shower head so it didn't directly touch my tummy. I didn't even bother to shower today. After yesterday I am kind of dreading it but will force myself tomorrow morning. For now I am wondering how tight I should be wearing my binder? PS didn't say. Should I pull it as tight as I can? Is tighter better for healing and swelling. My other issue of the day is that I wish i didn't have to keep taking my antibiotic. I am on keflex 500mg. I have to take it three times a day for 14 days which means I have 8 full days to go. It is just a capsule to swallow but I hate the smell of it when I open medicine bottle and the taste it gives me in my mouth when it goes down.I know I am being a baby but I know many doctors only prescribe 7 days and then I would be almost done!
My thighs are doing great! All this focus on my tummy and I forget I had my thighs done too! No pain in that area. When I was at the ps on Monday she put a steri strip on my one leg. Seems like I have glue keeping my incisions closed on both legs. You can feel it when the skin is joined.
Everyday gets better. I am taking it easy but doing a little more. Each day As I get comfortable. Now that I am off the pain meds I could. Drive but I don't think I am ready for that yet. Gotta take it one day at a time!

Before my TT I was wondering how my weight would be effected by it so I thought I would let you all know what I have been seeing on the scale so far. I am 5'2". On the morning of my tummy tuck a at the hospital they weighed me in at 134 pounds. 3 days post-op at the ps office I weighed 132. PS told me she removed 5 lbs. of skin/fat from my abdomen. She did not weigh what she removed from my thighs. Today is 7 days post op and my weight is 129. I am very swollen but glad that my appetite is improving. Not sure where my weight will end up in the next few weeks but thought it might be neat to look back and see how it changes.
Feeling more of the pins and needles in my belly today. Just very short sharp bolts of pain in different areas. Nerve endings reconnecting I am told.

Well, just a week ago I was down and out! Pain meds around the clock, pain when I moved, hunched over if I tried to stand upright. Just plain miserable when I look back on it. But what a difference a week makes! I am feeling so much better! I stopped my pain meds on day 5 and have been taking tylenol when needed for pain (about every 6 hours or so). Yesterday (day 8) was the first time I drove. I was nervous about it. I ran a bunch of errands. My walking was slow and I was wiped out after 2 hours. But I did it!
I posted some pictures I took this morning. I still have loads of swelling in my belly but it is a big improvement from my befores. My one thigh is more swollen than the other, you can tell my the incision running down my leg. That cut was made in between my legs where you could not see it. For those whose are in those first couple of days, it will get better! And it actually can happen rather quickly. I think a big thing is to get off the pain meds as soon as you can. Getting out of that narcotic fog is a blessing!

Had my stitches snipped on Aug 22nd. PS said I am healing well and wants to see me back in 2 weeks. I can walk but no other exercise. Finally finished my antibiotic after 14 days. I am taking tylenol here and there if I feel achy. No realy pain except if I make a sudden movement. Coughing and sneezing are still awful. Overall, I am feeling good. Still get very tired easily and have gotten used to an afternoon nap! I posted day 19 photos. Not much change from the last ones I posted. Still loads of swelling. My abdomen is measuring 2 inches larger than pre op and my thighs are too. Can't wait for the swelling to go down! I am wearing all my pre op clothes. Nice to not see the overhanging skin bulge anymore! I am wearing my compression garment all the time and my ps wanted me to wear compression shorts to help with swelling on my thighs. I already know I will need revision surgery on my left thigh and the incision is running too forward down my leg. Not sure how this happened. PS was very careful in marking my legs before surgery. She looked at it from all angles. We are going to discuss it again at my next appt. I would like to get it done sooner rather than later. She also mentioned she may remove some more tissue at my flanks. But we have to wait to see how it looks once the swelling is gone.