“8 weeks post op Monday 1/16”

I was blessed with beautiful twin girls a bit over a year. I carried them almost full term. They weighed 5.2 and 5.13. I am 5.4 and 112, went to 152 lbs during my pregancy. I still look about 5 months pregnant and get congratulations on a regular basis:-). There is no hiding the belly. Will post pics soon. Other than that I feel uncomfortable when i sit in slouch position, running or other impact exercise are out of the question. I feel like my belly is one loose unsupported area. I am soooo nervous. Surgery is about a week away. Doubts have kicked in. Should I put myself through this, did I pick the right surgeon? I am reading so much info here that my surgeon never mentioned, eg never mentioned nausea patch, or that I will be swollen in my lady parts. He did mention that my stomach won't look at tight 6 months post op as 2 weeks post op, that it is just the natural course of things cuz my skin has been with me for 36 years lol. So scared, so many questions. Feel like I'm selfish, what if something happens, I need to be around for a long time to take care of my babies! Hope this passes soon. Wish we were 11/22 and all went well.

Updated on 20 Nov 2011:
Just added my before pictures. Tomorrow is my time! I'm definitely scared but luckily also excited. Done preparing and freezing all the meals for my babies. Can't wait to update you all post op! Good luck to my fellow 21-sters:-)

Updated on 25 Nov 2011:
I made it!! Whew! Today is the first day I feel like a human so sorry for the late update.
So my surgery date was Monday 11/21. Got there at 8 am scheduled for 9. I was SO nervous but everyone was so nice. They were running late and while I was waiting they covered me up in heated cozy blankets. I actually cried and asked my surgeon to assure me I was going to be ok:-). He just hugged me and said I would be healthier and better if I did this and I am so glad I went through with it.
They wheeled me in around 10 am. Last thing I remembered is that I was breathing in oxygen from the mask. I woke up in the recovery room a little before 4 pm to my surgeon asking me to wake up. I was so groggy and kind of annoyed someone was interfering with my sleep!-)LOL
It was the strangest thing after that. As i was waking up more, I felt panicky and shaky. My surgeon instructed to give me Ativan which helped. I stayed overnight and next morning ps to check on me. I asked 'is my stomach flat?' and he modestly answered that it is and said my hernia was pretty big. I barely dared to look when he took off my binder (has to stay on 24/7 for 6 weeks) and when I did my mouth fell open. I mean it is SURREAL! It is flat and pretty! LOL
My anxiety and panic continued throughout yesterday. Until yesterday Thu night I also hadn't slept a wink since the surgery. I just felt drugged, dizzy, drowsy but also really alert and panicky in a weird way. That's when I figured it was a side effect from one of the drugs. My ps told me to cut my Vicodin in half and to take Ativan and yesterday I finally slept like a baby. Sunday is my first post op appt and my pain pump comes out. I also have 2 drains, I had a leak yesterday when I got up from a drain site (charming:-)), called ps and said that could happen. The pain is bearable comparable to c-section so far. My appetite is enormous:-). I just want to eat all the time but big portions are not a good idea I found out yesterday:-)
Still no BM though but because I felt so weak and lightheaded until today, I didn't take MOM. I just would not have been able to sit on toilet that long without fainting tmi sorry
Will post post op pic after my appointment on Sunday
This forum is awesome. So much support. On my way to surgery center, I thought of all your good experiences and it really helped me! Glad I did this!

Updated on 25 Nov 2011:
Oh and to clarify when I said ps told me to cut vicodin in half, I meant i take it every 3 instead of every 6 hours. So didn't lower my dose just take less at a time.

Updated on 27 Nov 2011:
Yay! Just came from my 1 st post op appointment and not only did my pain pump come out but my 2 drains as well!!! Today is just post op day 6! Will post pics later. Very pleased with my results!

Updated on 13 Jan 2012:
Let me first say: so happy i did this- will try to post pics soon!
I had no major complications during recovery but nonetheless some stressful moments. Around 17 days post op around 1am , I started experiencing pain between and below my ribs. After about 3 hrs, the pain got so bad, I could barely breathe- pain all the way thru my spine, can't even explain it. My hubby and i went to the ER where they did bloodwork, x-rays and CT scan. Nothing showed up. Same day saw my plastic surgeon who suspected that somehow some nerve endings got irritated. After I was administered pain meds thru IV in ER, my pain immediately subsided and thankfully stayed away.
Also, at week three, I started to notice that a little fluid was coming out of my incision. My Ps said it was just sutures dissolving and nothing to worry about. Eventually it took about 3 weeks to fully close up, but I don't need a revision or anything as the opening was tiny and is now fully healed.
Lastly, for those of you with small kids (I have 15 month old twins): I had prepared most of their foods in advance and frozen, about a months worth. Due to the storms and subsequent power outage in CA, all the food got spoiled. This was week 1 into my recovery. However, we managed even without the tons of preparation so don't stress too much about getting everything ready. Sometimes things happen beyond our control and it's just fine :)
As for lifting my babies (about 23 lbs each), i got cleared at 6 weeks post op. However, because I was still very sore at that point and still am a bit, we decided to keep our nanny a bit longer until about 12 weeks. But if I had to lift them, i could and I had a pretty extensive hernia + MR. So it can be done even with small kids.
I will post new pics soon! Happy recovery everyone and good luck to those who haven't had their surgery! You won't regret this (I pinch myself every day I got to do this and that it all worked out and I have a F-L-A-T tummy ! :)