Tummy Tuck: Stories

Hi I have finally decided to schedule this surgery after contemplating it for so many years. My story is like many others, had my first child at a young age and was not able to recover my prepregnancy body. I've always been a chunky girl since a young age but when I had my son at 18 years old in 1995 I went from 125 lbs to 175 lbs. I was able to undergo a breast reduction in 2001 and I loved the results!! My breasts did get bigger after surgery because I had my third child in 2003 but I still love my breasts compared to how they were presurgery!! My children are ages 17,11 9 and I think I've waited long enough!!! Thank God for this site and the courageous women who share their stories. They have given me the confidence and assurance that I deserve to be happy!!!

B

My story so far I went to Lennox Hill in April but since I weighed 170 lbs {5'feet 3inches} PS did not want to operate. When I returned in beginning of August I had lost 10 lbs but new fellow wanted me to maintain that weight for six months. So I gave up on lennox hill n went to NYEE. Dr. X scheduled my surgery for Sept 10 and Im trying my best to prepare myself

About two weeks until my surgery n I feel disbelief. Like if it probably wont happen. Its probably a coping mechanism because I have been wanting this change of life for such a long time. On monday I will go back to gather all my preop paperwork from my primary doctor. He performed bloodwork, ekg, chest xray so... hopefully all is well. I talked with my primary doctor n he understands that I will need more time to recover n I was only able to take ten days off work. So I will probably ask him If I can extend my time off for four weeks after the surgery He also knows FMLA will not accept tummy tuck recovery as an acceptable serious health condition to qualify for time off so I lucked out with him being able to help me.
Well I am a big time procastinater n dont wanna suffer for it so Im trying to read up on lists, steps but still have not managed to gather supplies, or become prepared. I know it will be hectic I will be having surgery during the first week of school so I know I should be shopping right now as I speak. I two kids in elementary school and one is in high school.
I also have not lost any weight!!! Im still 160 lbs n they only reason I havent gained is because I still juice for breakfast and when I dont have dinner or lunch I will juice. I will try my hardest to stick to this plan for the next two weeks I tried before n the juices dont taste bad. I substitute some juices for other because some I just dont like the way they taste. Well wish me luck. I have to say my PS informed me juicing in this manner was fine for me its a juicing only reboot. I plan to stick to these reboot plans for the upcoming weeks. Ive read pineapple is great for swelling n I also love the juice usually pinapple orange carrots. but I will juice pineapple alone only too. I have cut down on all processed foods, no eating out for me, If its not in its natural state I dont eat it. I have slipped up every now n then but Im more determined than ever.
If anyone wants to try with me JOINTHEREBOOT!!!!



Breakfast
Carrot Apple Ginger Juice I love this juice
3 Carrots
2 Apples
1” Ginger


Mid Morning Juice
Mean Green Juice Its everyones favorite but I usually have to make myself finish it
1 Cucumber
4 Celery stalks
2 Apples
6-8 leaves Kale
1/2 Lemon
1” Ginger


Lunch
Gazpacho Juice
not a fan of this juice so I will substitute any other juice for this. I love carrot orange ,there are so many other recipes in the website REBOOT YOUR LIFE
4 Plum Tomatoes
1 lg Cucumber
2 Celery stalks
1 Red Bell Pepper
¼ sm Red Onion
2 cups Parsley (leaves and stems, roughly chopped)
1 Lime

Afternoon Snack
Citrus Inspired Green Juice Putting oranges makes it great!!!
6-8 leaves Kale
8 leaves Swiss chard
1 Cucumber
6 Clementines


Dinner
Sunset Blend Juice One of my favorite recipes!!!
1 lg Sweet Potato
1 med Carrot
1 Red Bell Pepper
2 lg Red Beets
2 Golden Delicious Apples
1 Orange (optional)



Meal Plan: Day 2
Breakfast
Purple Power Juice deliciously sweet
6 ups Concord Grapes
1 Golden Delicious Apple
2, 2x2” pieces Ginger
½ cup Blackberries

Mid Morning Juice
Green Lemonade ok
1 Green Apple
1 ½ cups Spinach
6-8 Kale leaves
½ Cucumber
4 Celery stalks
½ Lemon

V28 I dont like this juice
3 lg Red Beets
2 med Carrots
2 Celery stalks
4 Plum Tomatoes
4 cups Parsley (leaves and stems, roughly chopped)
1 Jalapeno (ribs and seeds removed)
12 Red Radishes


Spinach-Fennel-Cucumber I skip the fennel everything else is Yummy!!!
1 Fennel Bulb
1 Cucumber
3 Celery stalks
3 cups Spinach


Dinner I acutally LOVE this juice!!!!!
Bountiful Brassica Juice
2 Broccoli stalks
½ head Green Cabbage
6-8 leaves of Kale
1 Granny Smith Apple
¼ Lemon (peeled)
1" Ginger root


Meal Plan: Day 3
Breakfast: :
Apple-Carrot-Beet one of my favorite
2 Apple
4 Carrots
2 Beets
6 leaves swiss chard
1? Ginger root

Mid Morning Juice
Great Greens Juice I usually skip the fennel n basil otherwise its good
2 Green Apples
2-3 cups Spinach
6-8 leaves Swiss Chard
1 Cucumber
4 Celery stalks
½ Fennel Bulb
1 bunch Basil (~ 20 leaves)

Lunch: will substitute for another juice probably Pineapple
Tabbouleh Juice
4 cups Parsley
1 Tomato
¼ Red Onion
½ - 1 Lemon (peeled)
½ Cucumber
1 tsp Olive Oil
Dash Sea Salt and Black Pepper (to taste)

Afternoon Snack: I usually skip this juice will probable have sunset blend
Bruschetta Juice
2 Tomatoes
1-2 Garlic cloves (peeled)
1 bunch Basil (~20 leaves)

Dinner:
Green Juice
6 leaves Kale
2 cups Spinach
½ Cucumber
4 Celery stalks
2 Apples
1”Ginger

Well I will try my best !!!!!! Good luck to me

I was inspired by the movie FAT SICK NEARLY DEAD n have tried little by little to incorporate juicing into my life but now that I have this upcoming surgery Im trying so hard to stay motivated n also lose weight. Its so hard for me to lose weight n now I have
TWO WEEKS!!!

Well here is my plan. First Thing in the Morning I have 8-­?16oz of hot water, I add lemon and ginger then follow with 16oz of filtered water. Before work I have a breakfast juice and At work I cant juice so I try my best , I drink lots of water n try to eat very little Usually cup of oatmeal,or cereal,or damn I will admit I will have a bag of chips LOL . When I do get home its usually 12pm so I will have either lunch or the midmorning snack juice or the afternoon snack. Then temptations lure until dinner. I will usually cook and try to be as healthy as possible and before bed I have herbal tea
Just trying to stay motivated~~

I havent posted in a while because I am so unhappy. My primary doctor needed clearance from specialists for me and I dont know if I will be able to get the clearance. I have two appointments this upcoming week but Im still not sure if I will get the go ahead for the surgery. I havent prepared because I dont want to be disappointed. So there u go, nine more days and I still dont have the preop clearance that I need. Hopefully these two doctors will approve me to get clearance for this surgery. Well wish me luck!!!!

I finally received clearance and I will be having surgery 9/14 Friday. I had to get clearance from two different specialists and then show that clearance to my primary doctor. I am very excited and now know my date so I can start planning accordingly. Yippeeee!!!

4 days left and I feel good. Feeling a little scared of not waking up after surgery but I pray I will be fine.
Dr. Xipoleas is gonna be the fellows there he is really good n tells u the honest truth. He does not perform lots of lipo only in your flanks. this worries me because I need lots of lipo!!!
Lennox Hill did appeal to me more because of the private nurse that will care for u after the surgery. I do wish I could go to a private experienced doctor but this is the next best thing!!!!
On wednesday I will go pick up prescriptions from Dr. Xipoleas and to talk a little more of the surgery. Im preparing myself as far as household chores but have not shopped yet. Im very excited and hope and pray my outcome is successful.

It is now 6 am and Today is my surgery date. I am very calm but excited at the same time. surgery is at 11 am so I have time to take my kids to school take them to Mcds for breakfast and take it slow. I have not been preparing myself too well. I ate mostly junk these past few days so I fear I will pay for it later. Last nite I drank some Milk of Magnesium and Im releasing some right now! LOL sorry if its tmi but i have had surgery before and I suffer from constipation and I fear my first BM so I had to prepare myself. Well I hope and pray all goes well for everyone else and myself who are having surgery today. Cant wait to be on the flat side!!! God Bless and
Happy Healing!!!

sept 16 sunday post op day 2
Im feeling well. Taking percocets every four hours, antibiotics every six hours
I do feel pain where drains are, gas is getting worse and muscles are tight. doctors said they would be!!!! I feel swollen but I am so optimistic that this will all be better not soon but it will be. So Im just focusing on feeling better n relaxing. Im trying not to worry bout how I look well Im tryin anyways. So happy healing to everyone n God Bless

Hi I'm 5 days post op and feeling ok. I must say I'm very emotional just about everything sends me crying. I hope my stiches r good I haven't sneaked a peak i have just taken off the binder every now n then. On friday is my first post op appointment then I will ask the doctor all the details. My percocets are almost done!!! I have to start taking one pill instead of two. I will have to ask for another prescription hopefully he will Happy healing everyone!!!

6 days po its morning and Im still in swell hell. It feels like im so full in my belly area its gonna explode!!! I probably havent helped my body by eating rice with corn yesterday it really was a small amount but today im sticking with juicing. forthe A.M. Im making
pineapple carrot orange- lunch sunset blend and i hope to make something green for dinner i plan to add lots of cucumber to help with swelling. Plus i shouldnt have had visitors both yesterday and day before. I was up and walking sitting up hey I even started sweeping the kitchen . Today I will not get off my recliner unless its for the bathroom.

i just cant wait to hear some sorta news tomorrow when i go in to post op appointment
Before surgery he advised me only one drain will come off in first visit. So Im hoping he doesnt change his mind and leave both in there. I hope he gives me a new prescription for percocets because i have about 6 pills left. I have really been serious about taking my medication on time I just shouldve taken one pill instead of two sometimes.

I called my job n let them know i will be off on fmla for an unspecified period of time. On monday I have an appointment to see my primary doctor and then I will ask him if I can be off until end of October my fmla paper should arrive by then so he neees to fill those out plus my short term disability companies paperwork. I hope it all goes smooth in this department because I need a job to go back to!!
well my first week is almost over n even with uncertainty, pain, swelling all facing me I still feel this surgery is worth it n I will keep on doing everything so it all works out . thnx for all ur get well wishes. Thank goodness for this website!!!

I went to my first post op appt and not feeling too good. Im just not liking all the swelling and now am just feeling a little negative. The swelling is a side effect of the Prednisone I took the day before and the day of surgery. The doctor did tell me before the surgery I would be extremely swollen because of the medicine but I did have to take it so I wouldnt have any complications with my lungs.

I did stay with a lot of stretch marks but I was prepared for that so I dont know why I get upset??? Well my stretch marks got me feeling down today but I will get over it. I dont plan on wearing a 2 pc or anything showing my tummy but I do still feel a little down. Well I did have one drain removed. It was painless and now I am closer to my recovery. The doctor also explained an issue about my belly buttton I really didnt understand too much but I have to clean it out 2/3 times a day and put antibiotic with a gauze inside of it. Dr. x says the belly button is fine just some skin is sloughing and that its pink inside so its alive.

Well hopefully everything will turn out good. I just need to help my body with this swelling!!! Happy healing everyone n God Bless

So I go and see my primary doctor who I had asked for help back in august and now he says he cannot fill out the fmla paperwork!!!Well I have technically been out of work for 5 days and I need more time off since I am only 10 days po. so I have to return this thursday n hope I still have a job. tomorrow I have to go see a doctor to clear me back to work with no restrictions, I will try to ask this doctor to excuse me for the past 5 days n hope to excuse me for one week more???? I already took my whole years time off given by my job for this surgery.
I might be regretting this decision. I only went through with it because I thought the doctor understood that I wanted to put my time off as fmla I did explain it to him and he did agree with me. But this is all my responsibility.
So all I could do now is start to heal fast and get back to work. Oh did I mention my job is really physical kneeling, crawling, lifting more than 20 lbs, stooping, reaching, it goes on and on. I will not stress myself n we will see what happens tomorrow.Oh am I in trouble!!!

So I saw another doctor n thank goodness I will be off from work until beginning of october. I will be 3 weeks post op but I cant let this job go. I have to take care of my family its not enough with one paycheck in the household!!! So starting today I have 10 days to recover,heal, relax, and I am gonna take advantage of every second!!!! It has truly been a journey but I dont regret it one bit. On friday I will have my last drain removed and I should be one step closer to recovery.
I hope my story has helped at least one person see what having this surgery entails in someones everyday life and events.
Good luck to all who will be having surgery and Happy Healing to all those recovering.

Just passing thru Im 13 days po n still luv this site!!! I still keep coming back for tips n tricks n to see how everyone else is dealing.
Im feeling kinda scared b/c I gotta go back to work n I cant even stand up straight yet!!! Well Happy Healing to us all!!!

Hi all. Im feeling so much better after my last drain was removed yesterday!!! I even went out clubbing last nite. Can u believe that??? I know it might have been irresponsible but I had so much fun. I got home at 6am today n slept till 12 pm. I did drink alcohol but I will not be doing that on the regular because I know I need to heal and alcohol and those two dont mix. Well now its time to start taking care of my incision. What are most ladies using to help heal their scar??

Hi all !! Hope recovery and healing is going well for everyone. As for me I am recovering well. My swelling has gotten much better. BUT I will be returning to work on Monday 10/8 so we will see how that goes!!! I have been juicing more cucumbers so Im thinking that has been helping plus I have been lounging. I am still very happy with my TT but I do see areas where I could have had more liposuction. My back needs a lot more lipo didnt get any. Since my upper abdomen didnt get lipo now u can see that fat on my lower tummy Plus I know I have dog ears. But Im still so much better than before!!! We are our own worse critics. Whenever I start to feel down I just look at pics of my before and that helps me gain a positive outlook. Even with all these negatives{ dog ears, fat left in tummy and back} I feel good and look good too. Can't wait to start exercising and just being at my healthiest!!! God bless!!!

6 weeks po doing great!! In two more weeks I will hopefully start exercising, planning to join a gym or just finally start using my treadmill. My weight is stable at 150 lbs. I do want to drop more lbs but dont know how that will affect my tt. But Im still very happy with my decision. So happy to have my overhanging belly gone!! Still wearing compression garment and will start NewGel e silicone sheets on scar this week. Feeling very confident to face everyday and happy about how I look and feel!

So Im about 8 weeks po and cleared to start exercising. But not really sure what or how to ?? Ive never really had a workout routine so Im not clear on what to do. Guess I will just start walking on my treadmill for now.

Hi all!! So I am 9 weeks po and Im still 150 lbs. I know I should have lost weight before the tummy tuck. Now I will need a revision if I do loseweight after tt but I really needed to get rid of that!!. Did u see my before pics!! Horrible!! I have such a big appetite Im just always hungry. I try to juice, juice and eat, or just eat meals and Im still a hog!!! So I saw Dr. Oz show and he actually believes in this pure green coffee been extract as a way to lose weight without changing anything. It even makes u feel full!! I need this help because I have changed my eating habits and still am incredibly hungry. Well I will research this more plus I am also researching corset training. Well Happy Healing or Happy Planning!!!

Well its been a while since I posted. I still have days where I have been extremely swollen after work and eating. I wear my compression garment everyday to work it just feels better for me. I try to focus on the positive but I do have fat that needs to be removed. But its 100% better than before. Anyways so sad over the tragic events its makes everything else other than family not so important
Good luck to all who will be having surgery and Happy Healing to all those recovering.