sit up day after update. - North Little Rock, AR

16 days and counting! I'm scheduled for abdominoplasty December 5th at 9 am. I can't wait! I never thought I'd be excited over having surgery but I am! I've wanted one for years, after I lost about 75 pounds. I was thin as a kid and young adult, but after I had my son who weighed 9 and a half pounds I kept slowly gaining weight. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and placed on medication. It kept the weight steady but I had a hard time losing it. I fluctuated between 180 and 195 for about 10 years. Finally I had a doctor really get onto me who didn't coat his words, he flat out told me I was fat! Like I didn't know that, ugh.....anyway that was the push I needed, he recommended the low carb diet, which I'd never tried. It took me about 8 months to get down to 140 from the 195. I stayed around there for a few months then lost on down to 125. Now I stay between that and 130, and I'm 5'1" and 39 years old, so that's about right. I just cannot get rid of this belly, its awful. I've exercised and eaten right (for the most part) for years, and no matter what I do it just won't go away! I've been so frustrated at times that I just cry because no matter how hard I work it won't budge. It'll shrink down some but doesn't go away. I've had several doctors tell me surgery is all that will fix it so here I am! My boyfriend and I have a Florida trip planned with a group of friends in May, so I wanted to go ahead and do this so I don't have to wear a skirt to go swimming. I would love to be able to go and just enjoy myself without trying to make sure I'm covered and worrying about what people think of me, and comparing myself to other women with their "normal" bellies. I'm happy with the rest of me, I'm fairly toned from all the exercise, and I think once I have this done I'll be ecstatic! I went for my consultation last week and the surgeon gave me some good news, he said I had such good muscle tone in my abs that I won't need them tightened, and I won't need lipo either. So I'm hoping maybe it won't be quite as painful of a recovery. I had 2 consultations with 2 different docs, and I liked this one better. He sounded like he uses some common sense and doesn't just go along with what all the other surgeons are doing. When I asked how long do I have to wear a binder, he said he doesn't use binders, that they don't fit right and cut off your circulation. They also have a pre-op protocol just for medical personnel. (I'm an RN). When I was filling out my paperwork it asked "do you work in the medical field?" I thought that was an odd question and wondered why they would want to know that. He said medical people are exposed to staph and mrsa etc, and they don't want their OR contaminated, HA!! I have to put antibiotic ointment in my nose every day for several days prior to the surgery and take prophylactic antibiotics. I also have to scrub with hibiclens in the shower every day 5 days prior and the morning of, but I think that may be everyone, not just medical personnel. He has a less than 1% infection rate in the last 5 years, which I thought was pretty impressive. When he was examining me he said he would put my belly button back where it's supposed to be, I said hell I didn't know it WASN'T where it was supposed to be! I've never had surgery in my life, never been under general anesthesia, so I'm a little anxious about that but I don't really feel scared. I'm so excited about having it done and the end results that it's overriding the fear. He told me I would see "dramatic results" even on the first day! My boyfriend is an RN also, he's going to take care of me post-op. At least he knows nurses make the worst patients! I'm sure it's premature but I've already ran out to victoria's secret and spent way too much, but I wanted something to encourage me if I do get scared, and wanted something to remind me why I'm doing it. I want to feel confident walking around in my bathing suit, my underwear, and naked! I've never let my boyfriend see me naked standing up, it's just too embarrassing, and we've been together almost 2 years. When I lay down it spreads out, so that's ok, haha! I want to be able to walk through the house in something sexy and feel good about myself, I want to be able to wear clothes that look good on me, I want to be able to go to crossfit and do the exercises without worrying about my shirt riding up where people can see my belly, and I hate the way it jiggles when I'm running and jumping rope. I worked hard to get this weight off and keep it off, and feel like I deserve this. I'll try to post some pics soon, if I can get up the nerve to let my boyfriend see me, ugh. Wish me luck!