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130 Pounds and Fit. Battling the Tummy Bulge
On December 27, I underwent a liposuction procedure of my abdomen and flanks after nearly 20 years of hating my midsection. I had tried Coolsculpting, lipodisolve shots, and Emsculpt Neo in the past with little to no success. Add having a baby 4 years ago and I felt like no matter what I did, I always had a pudgy tummy. During the early days of the pandemic, I started an at home workout program while my gym was shut down. I exercised and tracked my calories religiously and I got to the point where I was actually feeling really good about my appearance but I knew my weight was a bit too low for my frame and lifestyle. I felt like I had to watch everything I was eating and I got so down on myself if I skipped a workout - it wasn’t a mentally healthy place for me.
After doing my BA in 2019, I was feeling pretty happy with things but still battled the tummy a bit. Finally, this year I decided to reach out to my surgeon that did the BA and see what he thought about my abdomen. I had a c-section with my son and I worked very hard to heal the diastasis recti that I had developed in pregnancy. After our meeting, I was conflicted. He recommended a tummy tuck for the most optimal results but said that lipo would also do quite a bit for me. I had never really considered the option of a tummy tuck and it seemed a bit overkill in my opinion. Cost, time off of work, having a 4 year old at home, etc all weighed heavy on me. I am a thin, fit woman. My skin quality is actually still quite nice and I didn’t develop any stretch marks during pregnancy. The tummy tuck would have been quite aggressive and could have potentially left me with a smaller vertical scar along with the wide horizontal scar because the surgeon said my skin might be a bit tight to get it where it belongs.
For all of these reasons, my gut told me that lipo was my answer. I have so much admiration and respect for my doctor and this was a hard decision to make but he was great at answering my questions and giving me all the info so that I could make an informed decision. Once I found out that they had surgery openings for the week between Christmas and New Years, my mind was made up and I scheduled my procedure immediately!
-Starting measurements: Natural waist - 28.75” and belly button level circumference - 32”
-Current measurements: Natural waist - 27.5” and belly button level circumference - 30.5”
-Weight is virtually unchanged at 130# but dramatically increased 5# on day 2 post-op due to swelling and fluid retention.
-Amount of fat removed - 800cc from lower abdomen and flanks
Day of surgery thoughts: Pain isn’t nearly as bad as I had expected. I was given some vicodin 5/325 tablets and I found them most helpful at bedtime on nights 1-3 to help me relax and fall asleep - that said, I could have done the recovery on tylenol only. I have only 4 tiny incisions all down by my hips. Not bad at all!
So many trips to the bathroom - between the saline in the IV and the swelling, my bladder is working on overdrive. The post-op documents emphasize getting up and walking once per hours and this was no issue for me since I was constantly headed to the bathroom to pee haha.
Lots of swelling, tenderness, and bruising in the pubic area. Thanks gravity. This lasted the better part of a week.
I was surprised that nobody from the clinic called me to check and see how I was feeling. If I recall correctly, I did get a call after my BA in 2019 but this time there was no follow-up. To be fair though, I was messaging with the doctor privately via IG and I told him I was doing great.
One thing I wasn’t prepared for was a hormonal shift near the end of that first week. I had been waking up in the night quite sweaty for a few days and then I developed some lower abdominal pain that was oddly familiar but it took me the better part of a day to realize that they were menstrual cramps. I haven’t had a period in about 4 years thanks to my birth control pill so I wasn’t even considering this would happen. But between the stress of surgery, the removal of fat (where hormones are stored in the body), and the anesthesia - it made sense. I had a few days of increased discomfort from the cramping and GI issues related to my period but it eventually passed. A period after 4 years of no bleeding is already a miserable experience but then add the post-op situation and a compression garment that is limiting the ability to bloat and it’s a recipe for a few days of feeling no bueno!
The abdominal binder isn’t great in my opinion. Here are the issues I discovered. It’s very hard to put on without a friend because you need to get it wrapped tightly for compression. It was ok when my husband helped me but I couldn't get it wrapped tight enough on my own. Also, the binder has 3 panels and doesn’t compress evenly. Around 1 week post-op I started to notice a firm lump on my left flank and it was right in the middle of the middle panel where the compression is less. I tried to “rotate” the binder every day so that it didn’t always line up in the same area but this was also a bit of a challenge. I did purchase a 3 pack of lipo foams to wear under my binder for increased and more even compression - this helped but wasn’t an ideal fix.
Around 2 1?2 weeks post-op I decided to try on a waist trainer that I had in my drawer to see what it felt like and it wasn’t too bad - I wore it for the better part of an afternoon and upon removing it I immediately noticed that the flank lump that had been troubling me for 7-10 days was dramatically smaller. I again wore the waist trainer for part of the next day and by bedtime that night, the lump was virtually gone and I could tell that retained fluid from my abdomen was being pushed down and out of the area. With this info, I decided to purchase a legit post-op faja designed by a plastic surgeon to wear moving forward. I think the binder is probably great for tummy tuck patients but for me, it wasn’t getting the job done. My doctor did say that if the lump was present at my 1 month post-op appointment, he could inject it with some steroids but I am thinking this is no longer needed.
Another thing I have been doing is lymphatic massages. I had massages on post op days 3, 6, and 10. They were surprisingly light and not painful at all. I had read about the value in lymphatic massages but my doctor didn’t call them out in his post-op guide. After asking him about it, he said it was a great idea to go ahead and schedule but that he doesn’t specifically request that his patients do this since we live in an area where these therapists are few and far between. Luckily, after asking around, I was able to find a therapist that had experience with post plastic surgery patients and had lots of availability. I have since connected her with my doctor so that they can potentially develop a working relationship moving forward.
I have my 1 month post-op visit next week and I am hoping to be cleared to take baths - man do I miss soaking in the tub - especially in the winter. I am also curious as to what he will tell me regarding compression moving forward. Right now I am supposed to be wearing the compression garment for 23 hours a day which I have been doing. To be honest, I like the compressed feeling and I can tell it’s really making a difference for my body. I hope he approves of my transition to the faja this week.
After doing my BA in 2019, I was feeling pretty happy with things but still battled the tummy a bit. Finally, this year I decided to reach out to my surgeon that did the BA and see what he thought about my abdomen. I had a c-section with my son and I worked very hard to heal the diastasis recti that I had developed in pregnancy. After our meeting, I was conflicted. He recommended a tummy tuck for the most optimal results but said that lipo would also do quite a bit for me. I had never really considered the option of a tummy tuck and it seemed a bit overkill in my opinion. Cost, time off of work, having a 4 year old at home, etc all weighed heavy on me. I am a thin, fit woman. My skin quality is actually still quite nice and I didn’t develop any stretch marks during pregnancy. The tummy tuck would have been quite aggressive and could have potentially left me with a smaller vertical scar along with the wide horizontal scar because the surgeon said my skin might be a bit tight to get it where it belongs.
For all of these reasons, my gut told me that lipo was my answer. I have so much admiration and respect for my doctor and this was a hard decision to make but he was great at answering my questions and giving me all the info so that I could make an informed decision. Once I found out that they had surgery openings for the week between Christmas and New Years, my mind was made up and I scheduled my procedure immediately!
-Starting measurements: Natural waist - 28.75” and belly button level circumference - 32”
-Current measurements: Natural waist - 27.5” and belly button level circumference - 30.5”
-Weight is virtually unchanged at 130# but dramatically increased 5# on day 2 post-op due to swelling and fluid retention.
-Amount of fat removed - 800cc from lower abdomen and flanks
Day of surgery thoughts: Pain isn’t nearly as bad as I had expected. I was given some vicodin 5/325 tablets and I found them most helpful at bedtime on nights 1-3 to help me relax and fall asleep - that said, I could have done the recovery on tylenol only. I have only 4 tiny incisions all down by my hips. Not bad at all!
So many trips to the bathroom - between the saline in the IV and the swelling, my bladder is working on overdrive. The post-op documents emphasize getting up and walking once per hours and this was no issue for me since I was constantly headed to the bathroom to pee haha.
Lots of swelling, tenderness, and bruising in the pubic area. Thanks gravity. This lasted the better part of a week.
I was surprised that nobody from the clinic called me to check and see how I was feeling. If I recall correctly, I did get a call after my BA in 2019 but this time there was no follow-up. To be fair though, I was messaging with the doctor privately via IG and I told him I was doing great.
One thing I wasn’t prepared for was a hormonal shift near the end of that first week. I had been waking up in the night quite sweaty for a few days and then I developed some lower abdominal pain that was oddly familiar but it took me the better part of a day to realize that they were menstrual cramps. I haven’t had a period in about 4 years thanks to my birth control pill so I wasn’t even considering this would happen. But between the stress of surgery, the removal of fat (where hormones are stored in the body), and the anesthesia - it made sense. I had a few days of increased discomfort from the cramping and GI issues related to my period but it eventually passed. A period after 4 years of no bleeding is already a miserable experience but then add the post-op situation and a compression garment that is limiting the ability to bloat and it’s a recipe for a few days of feeling no bueno!
The abdominal binder isn’t great in my opinion. Here are the issues I discovered. It’s very hard to put on without a friend because you need to get it wrapped tightly for compression. It was ok when my husband helped me but I couldn't get it wrapped tight enough on my own. Also, the binder has 3 panels and doesn’t compress evenly. Around 1 week post-op I started to notice a firm lump on my left flank and it was right in the middle of the middle panel where the compression is less. I tried to “rotate” the binder every day so that it didn’t always line up in the same area but this was also a bit of a challenge. I did purchase a 3 pack of lipo foams to wear under my binder for increased and more even compression - this helped but wasn’t an ideal fix.
Around 2 1?2 weeks post-op I decided to try on a waist trainer that I had in my drawer to see what it felt like and it wasn’t too bad - I wore it for the better part of an afternoon and upon removing it I immediately noticed that the flank lump that had been troubling me for 7-10 days was dramatically smaller. I again wore the waist trainer for part of the next day and by bedtime that night, the lump was virtually gone and I could tell that retained fluid from my abdomen was being pushed down and out of the area. With this info, I decided to purchase a legit post-op faja designed by a plastic surgeon to wear moving forward. I think the binder is probably great for tummy tuck patients but for me, it wasn’t getting the job done. My doctor did say that if the lump was present at my 1 month post-op appointment, he could inject it with some steroids but I am thinking this is no longer needed.
Another thing I have been doing is lymphatic massages. I had massages on post op days 3, 6, and 10. They were surprisingly light and not painful at all. I had read about the value in lymphatic massages but my doctor didn’t call them out in his post-op guide. After asking him about it, he said it was a great idea to go ahead and schedule but that he doesn’t specifically request that his patients do this since we live in an area where these therapists are few and far between. Luckily, after asking around, I was able to find a therapist that had experience with post plastic surgery patients and had lots of availability. I have since connected her with my doctor so that they can potentially develop a working relationship moving forward.
I have my 1 month post-op visit next week and I am hoping to be cleared to take baths - man do I miss soaking in the tub - especially in the winter. I am also curious as to what he will tell me regarding compression moving forward. Right now I am supposed to be wearing the compression garment for 23 hours a day which I have been doing. To be honest, I like the compressed feeling and I can tell it’s really making a difference for my body. I hope he approves of my transition to the faja this week.
Provider Review
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
4855 Mills Civic Pkwy, West Des Moines, Iowa