“A Gift to Myself: New Tummy! - Hickory, NC”

Hi everyone. First off I love this forum and have found so many inspiring people and their stories are very helpful. Thanks guys!

I am 28 yrs old and a tummy tuck is my birthday gift to myself. I deserve it. I have no children but all the years of being overweight had really done a number on my belly. Always been chubby I finally lost the weight through pure diet and exercise and a good dose of sheer will and determination! 4 years later and I'm left with sagging skin on my tummy. I hated it. I was nice and slim until I bent over and the skin just flops down. No matter how clean I ate or the hours at the gym it just wasn't responding. Also a previous abdominal surgery(splenectomy that left a long vertical scar) didn't help! So...here I am...its the night before surgery and I'm on here to share my story with you all.

I'm scheduled for March 30th and am super excited! I will post up pics soon.

Wish me luck :)

Updated on 30 Mar 2011:
Finally! Whew...I feel great despite the bit of pain I have. Its tender at the drain site and I am very annoyed it :)

I'm 3-4 hr post-op and will see my ps tomorrow. So my pain level is 6. Pain meds are helpful so I am making sure I'm taking it. I will post of pics soon.

Updated on 4 Apr 2011:
I am now 5 days post op and I'm feeling great. I went into this expecting a rough and painful recovery from all the research I've done and by reading the reviews on here. However I have to say that so far...I've been doing great. The first two days were the worst. It was difficult getting in and out of bed and I just couldn't get comfortable. I slept most the time but got up and moved around quite a bit so I won't get stiff. My back was sore from hunching over but I'm already standing up straight. All those deadlifts at the gym really paid off! Actually all the weight training I do has helped me bounce back. I am down to taking pain meds once in the morning and good ol' ibuprofen so its not the meds that's keeping me going. I even drove today and got some light grocery shopping done! I'm still being cautious moving around but besides that I feel pretty normal.

My abdomin is really itchy and tingling. Trying not to scratch is so hard! My biggest complaint are the drains! I despise them. The drain holes are tender and just wiggling them hurts. Can't wait to get them out.

Updated on 18 Apr 2011:
Hello everyone. Today I am 18 days post op. Here's a few pics of my belly so far. So far I have barely any swelling. So glad! I usually have a lil bit of swelling in the evenings right along my belly button if I over-exert during the day.

I'm still wearing paper tape along my incision and old vertical scar because as it heals its sensitive so it just feels a bit better. My PS had to make tiny little incision along my old vertical scar to help it stretch when he redraped the skin. I chose not to revised that scar til a later date. Let me know what you guys think! :D