Tummy Tuck: Stories

I started this journey in October 2011, I have a lot of scar tissue and tend to retain fluid in my lungs, depending on the weather I can have bouts of shortness of breath and coughing that's why I'm having this in the August, I tend to get sick more often in the cold months, I'm praying I don't get sick after the surgery. My pulmonary dr. finally cleared me to do this and I am scared and excited at the same time. But I trust him completely, he has been my dr. for about 20 years.

I was going with a tt and fat transfer to my breasts with a lift. But after reading some reviews I have changed my mind and think I will do a breast implant instead. The only thing I'm worried about is how they feel afterwards, I don't want to have rocks sitting on my chest. I am currently a small 34C and want to go up to a 34D cup, what the dr.'s customer rep tells me is that it only happens when you fill them up too much, she had hers done and is a D cup, and says they feel pretty natural and not hard at all....I would like to hear from you ladies that have had this done and what are your results? I am scheduled for another consultation on Monday to see about my change of mind and having the implants instead. Any advice from those who already had this done is appreciated.

thanks!

7/10/12 - had my 2nd consultation yesterday with my PS to go over my change of mind over having fat transfer and going with an implant instead. We decided on a saline 450 high profile. I thought it they looked kinda big on me when the nurse helped me try out their samples....hubby wanted me to go bigger...ofcourse! Because he is not the one that's going to be wearing them and getting the wondering looks. I hate to think that people are going to KNOW I got implants. I wanted them to enhance my overall look and to feel better about how my girls look without clothes on, I don't know why I feel like hubby needs to approve of them : (
On a good note, my price didn't go up too much as I initially thought it might and I am still getting lipo on my flanks and back fat around the bra line, it only went up about $200. I felt like the PS was just telling me what I wanted to hear, kinda like a used car sales man. According to him, he does not use a pain pump because he injects enough numbing medicine that his patients are up the very first day...he failed to tell me how they do after the medicine wears off....and I totally forgot to ask. He kept saying that the pain is very minimal and that all his patients are up standing pretty straight within the first week...like I said...he was telling me what I wanted to hear. We shall see, I still don't have medical clearance from my pulmonary dr. until 7/19/12. If he doesn't approve this by then, I'm giving up on this...it's just not meant to be and I'm certainly not going to push this. Until then, sending healing vibes to all you that have gone before me : )

7/17- tomorrow I go for my breathing test and then the following day for my results, my pulmonary dr. still has not given me his clearance. It all depends how well I do on that test tomorrow. I have been taking my meds so I should do OK, but I have already decided that if I don't get his approval I'm going to disembark this ride. If it is not God's will for me to do this I will not push it, this surgery is not going to make me a better person, I believe it will make me feel more confident about myself and it certainly would make me feel physically better about me. I don't think I'm being vain or selfish, its something I've always wanted to do, but I don't plan to risk my health doing it. I guess we'll see....

I posted the nasty BEFORE pics, yuck! I hope I can post AFTER photos. You ladies have been an awesome inspiration for me on this journey, whenever I felt like I didn't want to do this I would come on her to look at all the after photos and it gave me that boost of confidence that I needed to continue.
God bless everyone, and speedy recoveries for those awesome ladies that had their MM's this week : )

7/17/12 - ugghh...will try to repost those nasty BEFORE photos : (

7/24/12 - Today was supposed to be my pre-op, I cancelled it because my Pulmonologist is going to be out of town during my procedure, secondly, he did not feel comfortable with all the procedures I wanted to have done. My PS was calculating 7.5 hours under anesthesia. So my pulmonologist suggested that I break them up and so, that's what I intend to do. I will be having my TT with lipo to back and flanks on November 29th with the original PS and I decided to go with a different PS for my BA and BL because the second PS has a lot more experience and is double board certified...I was kinda scared of having my boobies done by a PS that is fairly new to this....he seems great and very qualified but he has only been doing this for about 2 yrs....so that was kinda scary to me. But, I think he'll do a good job on my tummy. I guess I didn't like that I changed my mind about the different sizes more the 3 times and each time he agreed with me and thought that I would look great in any size I chose....I just didn't like that, I wanted his professional opinion....because I don't know what I want. This other PS has a 3D system, where he will take a picture of me and try on the different sizes plus he's gives you his personal opinion based on experience to better achieve the outcome that I am hoping for. In any case, I am going to try to see if I can get my BA/BL scheduled for the end of August, if not, it's gonna have to wait until 3 mths or so after my TT. This site is an amazing place of information and inspiration....healing vibes to all tha ladies having their procedures done this week.

I have scheduled and re-scheduled my procedures so many times in the past year and half, but it looks like this time its for real! I changed doctors because I was not comfortable with the first one, he was not certified and had only 2 years experience. My new PS is double board certified and has at least 12 years experience in this field. I am super excited this time around, I am not nervous about the procedure itself, more so of how I am going to handle the recovery. I'm praying it is as smooth as so many have experienced here. I have spent hours upon hours reading others journeys and love the amazing results others have had, it has helped me to calm my nerves and fears. My current weight is 142, I am 4'11" and 44 years old mommy of 3 grown kids. I will be posting some before pics of me in some of my pants with the bulging belly and hopefully the after photos in the same pants but with a flat tummy. I find it so much more inspiring when ladies post not just their before/after photos in all their glory, but also with clothes on because you can really tell the difference in how things fit afterwards.
I have my pre-op tomorrow, and will be handing out a big chunk of hard earned $$. I'm praying all this is worth it!

11/26/12- Well, I'm all paid up for my procedure...that was such a pain. First, they wouldn't take my hubby's credit card because it had his company name on it along with his name. So they threaten to cancel my surgery date if I didn't come up with another payment option by today. I had no idea they were going to have problems with his credit card, so I we had to pay this using several cards. It was either that or lose about $2000 that I had already paid them. It took over one hour to process the payments on several of our cards, and I could see my husband was getting frustrated and was regretting doing this. I feel bad and guilty, it should have taken only one freaking swipe of a card and that's it, but noooo we had to go through all this mess. If it hadn't been for those $2000 that I was going to lose, I would have given up....I almost did. Anyway, it's done now and the count-down begins. I'm not nervous really, just upset that it took so much to get this paid. I hope my hubby can consolidate all that a crap into one card, it seems so much more overwhelming having debt on so many cards. I'm scheduled for this Saturday, December 1st. I'm praying that this was the biggest hurdle and that the rest of this will go smoothly. I'm a believer and God knows how much I desired this, the Lord is with me. Prayers for all those that are healing and those that are undergoing their surgeries in the coming days.

4 more days! here's some more before pics....I am sooooo praying to God that I will repost these same pictures with a completely flat stomach and no more rolls!

The nurse called me a little while ago to give me my surgery time. I am to arrive at the surgery center at 6:15 am sharp. I should be in surgery by 7 am. I will be staying overnight at a recovery apartment the doctor provides, just makes it easier for the follow up visit I have to do the next day, Sunday morning. My home is a 30 minute drive from the doctor, and frankly I'm not sure how I will react to the anesthesia, so I'd rather be close by. Once I get home, I'm sure I won't want to leave my room until at least a week when my drain comes out. My hubby will be with me, and I have faith that my God is also with me. Funny, this morning I woke up with a song in my head, about the Lord holding me....I didn't go to sleep worshipping so I am taking this as a good sign that He will be guiding my dr.'s hands tomorrow and He is in control of my recovery. Yes, I suddenly feel really close to my Maker : )

Please keep me in your prayers : )

Well I made to the flat side. Today is PO day one. Yesterday was a blur. No pain just very sore. I three up last night but even that wasn't painfu thank God. Not sure if I'm feeling like this cause I I'm still sedated. My only problem is that I can't see up close. As I'm typing I really can see it. I'm goons stay off the pain meds. The only time I feel pain is getting in and out of bed. Prayers f pls.

Ion the flat side, little so comfort. I'm still pretty sedated.

PO 2- yesterday was the worst and that's because I only took one muscle relaxer and one pain pill. I took them both before going to bed and this morning I got off my bed by myself. No real pain just feeling extremely sore from the back where he did the llipo . My tummy doesn't hurt either except when I cough. Oh. Boy that was painful. . I'm going to see my PS in. Bit and will ask the nurse to take pictures. I don't see much difference right now but I know I'm swollen. Happy healing too all and may Gid bless all those who are about to through this surgery.

Had my first visit with PS this morning, they took off the garment, and I did not like what I saw. My tummy looks lumpy and very swollen, so is my back. I reserve my review until this thing swells down a bit. Right now I don't see much difference. other than the pouch is not there anymore. I'm supposed to be able to shower tomorrow maybe then I'll take some more photos with this garment. By the way when they took it , my tummy felt horrible like it was about to explode what an ugly feeling. I'm taking milk of magnesia since I have not any movement, hoping that will help with the swelling.

PO. Day 3- feeling better, no more pain pills for me I hate the way they make feel kinda loopy. Today I'm just taking Tylenol and I just took one muscle relaxer. I haven't experienced any pain in my tummy other that a couple of times when I coughed. I'm trying not to do that. The worst has been the lipo, I literally feel like Im carrying a board on my back, I feel very stiff in the back.
All in all, this hasn't been a bad experience, I noticed that I can't eat very much as I feel bloated right away and that's such an awful feeling so I'm eating very little mostly fruits and low sodium soups. My hubby and my girls have been wonderful nurses and today one of my church ladies came in to clean my house, bless her heart. My tummy still looks swollen, kinda round and hard. I'm praying that it goes down significantly because I don't see much difference right now. I noticed my birthmarks are still in the same location so not sure how much tummy he took off. I'm showering tonight and try to post pics maybe I'll see a difference once I compare pics. Prayers to all of you that are healing and those of you going under soon.

PO day 3- did fine all day, until a few hours ago, my incision is very low and I'm feeling a lot of pain on the end part of it on my left leg, I think it's right at the crease where it folds, it feels raw and every time i try to move my leg it feels like I'm pulling, like it's tearing. I obviously need to use it to move around I don't know how much I can take of this. And too top it off I think Im getting an anxiety attack I couldn't breath. Right now I'm questioning if this is worth it, please keep me In Your prayers, it's done and all I can do now is keep calm and let this pass. Took my pain pill and will take a muscle relaxer in two hours, I hope that helps.

PO day 4- I expected some changes today in how I'm feeling but no luck. It seems I feel worse than yesterday, nauseated and very week, I can't stand for more than a couple if minutes without feeling sick. I called the nurse and left a message, I'm going to ask her to come check on me because I really don't feel like I'm getting better. Praying I'm not having some kind of reaction. Right now I would I wouldn't do this if I had the chance all over again. Not worth it. I feel like crap and its already been 4 days.

PO day 5- this is such an emotional roller coaster, I thought I was prepared. I don't think my husband was either. I feel son freaking helpless, my kids are wonderful when they are home they are all over me making sure I'm ok. My husband on the other hand did not change his routines at all to be with me. He called me only once yesterday in the morning to see how I was doing, didn't even bother to call me to see if I wanted something for lunch, then he gets home and complains about his sweaty workout clothes sitting in the sink in the laundry room and getting stinky instead of asking me how to use the damn washer. And he looks at me like what am I going to do about it. I can barely move and I definitely cannot bend over to put things in the washer or dryer. He also made comments about how he hated changing the dressings on my incision, so this morning in showered and did this by myself, that was exhausting. I'm feeling like crap emotionally, physicAlly I have to admit I feel a bit better. The swelling is horrible and I see no end to that, my tummy looks lumpy and deformed, my belly button is a triangle, I'm not blaming my PS, I know he is a great dr. I do think that everyone is different and hence different outcomes. I hope thisnis due to the swelling and that it will change. Please keep praying for me. I think that's all I can do for now.

PO Day 5- today I drove my daughter to school and stopped at the grocery store, had to lay down when I got home. Got up after a couple of hours and washed dishes, again I had to lay down afterwards. Right now the worst pain is in my entire back but mostly my lower back where they did the lipo. Don't get me wrong it's not excruciating pain bit it's enough that you really cannot function normally because of it. I tire easily and I think I was in pretty good shape going into this, I was doing 45 min spinning classes at least 4 times a week. It's just very uncomfortable. I wonder how long it takes for the tightness around your tummy to go away? Without the cg it feels even worse my tummy feels so stretched out its painfull and so uncomfortable , I pray to God this feeling will go away soon. The nurse said they tighten my stomach muscles very tight and that's to be expected. One good thing happened, my daughter told me "hey mom, your looking kinda skinny your tummy is not hanging out there anymore " I told her its cause I haven't eaten very well. But it made me feel a little better about this whole mess.

Po day 6- had my 1 wk visit with ps actually the nurse, she took off my steri strip and told me I needed to keep the drain one more week. It hadn't bothered me but for some reason this morning it was hurting after I showered enough to make me cry in pain. I prayed over it and my entire body, my God is good, I haven't felt anymore pain from the drain. Weird enough, it's been draining a lot all week, but since the nurse emptied it this morning it hasn't moved above 10 ml. I asked her about the lumpiness on my tummy and she said that will even out with time, about my bb being in a triangle form she said she didn't know and I'd have to ask the PS, but how the heck is that gonna happen if they don't let me see him? My tummy is not flat but it is not as big as it used to be. Standing straight it still protrudes some, I still can't see my vayjay when I'm in the showe or sitting down. It's better than before but not almost $10,000 worth better : /. At this point I just want to heal and praying tobGod that I can do what the surgery couldn't through exercise and taking good care of my body. The boob job I had planned is for sure out of the question, I'm never putting my body through anything like this again. Everyone is different, and in happy for those that have gotten great results because after going through this it is definitely well deserved. God bless !

Not much difference my incision looks good on the right side it's nice and flat but to the left is just puckered and very uneven, I'm sure there's swelling there too, it's also not as low as I thought it was. As you can see my tummy is still very swollen, I measured it at its biggest the night before surgery and it is now 3 inches lower even with the swelling, so I'm hoping it gets better. I don't like the weird shaped bb, it looks off center but could be due to the swelling. Feeling better just get tired very easily.

PO day 8- today I woke up feeling much better, not as swollen, I took close up pics of scar, I hate my bb, I haven't seen a triangular bb on here in as many pics I've seen. I have a ball like deformity on my right side of my tummy, nurse said it would even out but I don't believe her. My right hip is way bigger than the left, I'm assuming that's where he did the lipo of flanks but that part is not bruised and it doesn't hurt so I don't understand why I ended up looking losided from there. I look at my before pics and I was pretty even in that area. It is now very noticeable. I'm going to call them tomorrow and demand to see the PS Instead of just talking to the nurses. Did I mention I HATE my bb?

PO day 8- I know I've been a Debbie downer since my procedure but today was the first day that I felt pretty much like myself, I cleaned my house did some laundry and hosted baptisms at our home, we had about 30 church members and our home was presentable. I'm a little tired but not too bad. BUT the best part is that I tried on about all of my blouses that I never wore because of my big stomach and they looked soooo good on me! My tummy looked soooo flat! I am so happy! Pls don't think I am not happy with my PS, I think he is the best there is and I'm sure that he goes into every surgery doing the best he can but I believe that everyone is different and my body just did give me the results I wanted. Regardless, I look awesome with clothes on, I will work my butt off at the gym to look great naked I already have something to work with, I'm definitely better than before : )

POday11- I'm feeling at least 50% better, and I must say I look awesome in my clothes. My tummy is evening out the lumpy part, still don't like my bb but I think at least is centering out I guess that's also due to the lumpiness evening out. I will get my drain out this Friday, I can't wait! I'm hoping I can get into some jeans soon after that. Today I shopped all day and was super swollen at the end. But it felt good, bought a few new things that still looked good even with the swelling. I stand by what I said before my PS is the best, my bod was just a lot to work with! Pics coming at week two. Happy healing and prayers to all.

All is recovering nicely should have taken these pics early this morning but no time. Keep in mind these were take late after cleaning all day and one hour without CG and I just finished eating, I can feel my tummy stretched out. Do notice the jeans and shirts same as my before pics.prayers all.

4weeks PO- tomorrow- I can't believe how fast the time went, it is true that it gets better every day. I try not to harp on the things I don't like and concentrate on the fact that I can look good in clothes now. Once my PS clears me I have pledged to myself that I will hit the gym with a vengeance to transform my body to look good naked as well. I have gotten a new inspiration to do more for myself and to make this surgery truly worth it. I have lost a total of 14 lbs since my surgery, night before I weight myself at 146 this morning I weight in at 132. I'm still numb in my tummy, swollen from my back, and tender in the lipo areas. I never experienced pain in the tummy except for once when I coughed and when I sneezed OMG! that was awful, it was the 1st week. I'm not wearing my cg after reading on here several dr.'s did not think it was going to make any difference in my outcome other than for my own comfort. I wore it for the first 2 1/2 weeks and now I switched to spanx tops, they go all the way down to my incision and offer enough support without all the discomfort of a full cg. I'm glad I took 4 weeks off work because I am not yet 100% I still feel pulling at the end of the day, and by the afternoon I'm not walking as straight as I start off in the mornings, I'm watching my diet carefully, especially salty foods because by the end of the day I can be very swollen depending on how much and what I eat. I'm so glad I did this, I feel good and beautiful again! Prayers for all of you ladies recovering!

Tomorrow will be officially 7 weeks since my surgery. I'm uploading pics of me sitting at my desk right now. My gosh you can see such a big stomach! I want to cry, it doesn't look as bad when I stand up but I'm still having to hide it sitting down, I hadn't noticed it so much cause my blouses are never fitted and I've been wearing jackets since its been cold. I have also lost 12 lbs since you would thing this would make me much flatter with the surgery. I think I looked better right after. I don't know what to think. I don't feel swollen, I guess this is as good as it going to get? It's not $10k worth. I swell by the afternoon and then my tummy looks deformed, There's like a huge ball on my upper left towards the rib cage and towards the middle of my tummy and then there's another bulge at my bottom right side. I believe these were sites where lipo was done and its very uneven. Below my hip bone he also did some lipo and one side was pulled and lipoed more than the other, it's very noticeable when I wear a fitted skirt, it sags on my left side and my thigh sticks out more on that side also. I hate this! I'm just venting, I know it's done and there's no going back. I'm not dishing out anymore $ for this. I just need to lose more weight I guess. I feel awful right now, I guess I just hadn't paid much attention. I look great standing up and in all my clothes though, and yes there's more hanging ugly tummy to see when I'm naked. I still have a round tummy just not a big. Blah! As far as healing I think I'm almost 90% some pulling and tightness in my lower tummy and still can't twist and turn easily, but other than that I'm feeling pretty good. Hope everyone is healing well.

1-22-13 - 7 wks PO - saw my PS on Monday - he says I'm healing well and all that tummy is pure swelling, it does feel hard to the touch and after I eat, I usually feel like I'm going to explode. He put me back on my CG to help with the swelling. I hope he is right, cause right now it doesn't make sense that my tummy is still so round after surgery and a 10-12 lb loss. The scale flactuates from day to day and morning to nigthtime. I need to start getting on that thing, but it goes up and down about 2 lbs depending on what time of the day I weight myself. I am at a standstill as far as weight loss goes, and I don't feel like I'm eating a whole lot, especially staying away from eating out. So maybe he is right....I'm going to reserve changing my rating until another 3 mths, and hopefully a few more pounds lost. I am very short 4'11" so any weight gain between 3-5 lbs shows on me right away. On a good note, he cleared me for regular exercise, I can do anything I was doing before except ab work. So this morning I hit my first spinning class in 7 weeks! It felt so good to get back on that bike. I will incorporate some weight training because after almost 2 mths sitting on my butt, I feel it dropping to the ground, gross! This is definately a roller coaster ride, one day I love my results, the next day I hate it and don't think it was worth it. One thing is for sure, I did it and now I need to do what I have to do to lose the weight and make whatever results I got work in my favor, I know I can enhance whatever I didn't get off that surgery. The money has been paid so might as well make the best of it. I still think my PS is the best, and I know that everyone is different, he is a good dr. and he does his best with every patient, its just that everyone may not always have the best outcome. I will try to take some photos if I see some improvement soon. Till then, happy healing to all the ladies out there : )

Here's what it looks like today, as compared to Friday. PS advised me to go back to compression to help the sweilling, I can see a difference. Thank goodness the weather in Texas is still cool because I'm not sure I can wear this thing for too long, but if its going to help I"m gonna have to do, even if I'm sweating buckets in the Texas heat : /

I will be back to my update about my recovery this far in a bit. For now here's some pics from this morning.

3/1/13- Today I complete 3 months PO. I can tell you that my recovery hasn't been bad, it has all been manageable. I am not 100% yet, I am still swelling, parts of my tummy are still numb, as well as parts of my lower back where he did the lipo. My results are not what I expected, but I'm dealing with it. I think the lipo is uneven, there are parts of my tummy where you can see there was more fat left, as well as on my thighs, one sticks out further than the other, also due to the lipo. My bra line was also lipoed and I think its starting to look the same, I have a little bulge on my right side that sticks out, and I told him I wanted this gone. Sometimes when I sit down you can really see my round tummy, and at times I still get a little muffin top, depends on the time of day. All in all, I believe it is due to swelling, so this gives me hope. However, I did lose about 12-16 lbs, again depends on the day of the week and time I weight myself, I'm flactuating between 132-135. My starting weight the night after the surgery was 148. He says he took about 6 lbs of tummy and fat from the lipo. I am barely starting to be able to use my stomach muscles with very little pain, up until a week ago I couldn't do that because they hurt. He did muscle repair, and this was probably the discomfort/pain that has taken longer to go away. All other pain, was pretty much gone by the 2nd week when they took the drains out. My tummy feels hard, kinda like when you are pregnant. It bothers me that is not flatter because I think with the weight loss it should be completely flat, I can only wonder what it would look like if I hadn't lost anything. Well not going to worry about that. I had promised myself to start changing my eating habits and start my exercise routine full force as soon as I could to make up for the results I didn't get. However, I have zero motivation to go to the gym, and I am struggling to keep my diet in check so that I don't gain any weight. I would hate to have spent all this money only to end up fat again. Mind you , I am 4'11" so for me 115-120 lbs would be ideal. At 148, I was very heavy and overweight for my height. I really want to get down to 120, I have scheduled my BA with lipo to the arms for August 22nd. I have two months to get on the ball and be where I need to be before my next surgery. I hope this helps ladies.
- Be realistic about your expectations
-Recovery, - prepare for the worst and hope for the best
-Be ready to make lifestyle changes that will enhance your results, if you were not already doing it. This is me, I wasn't mentally prepared to make the changes needed to enhance my results or to even keep my results.
-Make sure you have your support system, spouse, significant other or close friends, you will need them for the emotional roller coaster you are about to get on.
God bless!

I am 4 months PO, I am struggling to lose weight, my goal is 15 more lbs, I've lost about 13 since the surgery. As you can see not much change, I am enjoying wearing just about anything I want and not feeling self conscious about my tummy. It is still a bit round and I am still swelling, especially by the afternoon. I'm hoping that by losing the rest of this weight I will be completely flat. I still feel numbness around my incision and on my back where he did the lipo. I still have pain when I move a certain way from the muscle repair, also when i stretch, and sometimes I still feel some pulling. I have not been doing any ab work because of that. Patience is what everyone says and I'm finding out that they are right. I can do anything, I'm back to normal except for those few minor nuisances, but I can live with that until my body heals completely. Healing vibes to all, keep strong, it does get better slowly, but surely.