Tummy Tuck: Stories

Hi All!
I'm a mom of 2, both being c-sections then I had a Hysterectomy that I was cut the same as the c-sections. I have ALWAYS been skinny and for a long time after I had my kids thought I wanted to be "skinny" again. I don't want the bones sticking out of my chest again and ppl snickering she is anorexic...anyways the thing I miss most is my tummy...I had a nice one. I know I will not look like I did then but my pants will fit nicely and I don't have to keep wearing shirts low enough to cover the "apron" and looking like I'm pregnant again.
I don't have anyone to talk to about this bc no one I know is in "my shoes" and I feel they would not agree with what I'm doing, I have no one to be happy with and feel very alone...my date is coming very quickly as well...
Here's trying to be excited :)
Oh and there are very few places for Canadians to look for before and afters and communities...

Getting ready slowly but surely. I notice a lot of you have their dates set few weeks away... I met with the ps June 29 and booked last week for this week.... Nervous bc I hope I'm not just rushing this. I have been researching for 10+ yrs now so I knew whatto ask. There isn't a lot of ps to choose from here either. Waiting times for consults can be up to 1+yr!

I've added some before pics...very hard for me...Gag! It is completely different looking at yourself like this compared to others...I always see the good side of other ppl's pics but with my own....my tummy was always what I considered my "good" part. I feel like it is not even a part of me, like some foreign object sitting on my front.

Whoa!! Tomorrow this time I will be in Surgery!!!! YIKES & YAY! Just breathe....right? I keep comparing my stomach to those on here and the web...so frustrating bc I know everyone heals differently...Just can't wait to be on the flat side once again :)))

Time can fly now :S Waiting is now getting old! I keep looking at ppl's pics and dreaming :) And the more I talk the more I know of ppl around here that have gotten a TT! I don't feel so bad now :D.
Hopefully an update Friday night...I have to stay over night tomorrow.

Talk soon!

Here waiting patiently for someone to open the door... I'm here 15 minutes early but no one is answering:S

Didn't sleep at all last night and would kill to have some tea ;)

I'm done :))) well I was abt 11:30 am... An hour less than they thought it would be!
The trick is to breathe through the pain and RELAX your muscles:).
I will write more tomorrow:) med time!

Heading home now... Waiting on my prescription. Feelin ok and dopey. I peed before I left but got to now, there is no way I'm going into the store either! Lol! 20 more minutes to my bed and true relaxing!
I will post more of the details tonight, ie waking up etc

Okay so I'm a lil dopey here...please ignore spelling etc ;)
When I went in I was nervous as hell! Then I got to talk to the anesthetiist and he was very nice and answered my questions, he put my nerves at ease. Then I spoke with my ps...he is a sweet heart...very nice...he made his markings and I asked if he had seen worse than mine....he assured me that he has saw a lot more that had to be removed.
I went into another room and downed some pills then walked to the OR. They put my IV in and said something about going to sleep soon as they put a mask on me...I was out. Next thing I was in recovery waking up but groggy as hell...I will warn you now: the burning hurts! It wasn't until they started giving me my regular pills that it started managing the burning sensation. They removed 5lbs of skin and fat and lipo'd 1600 cc of fat (do not know what that is in lbs). When I was in recovery I requested crackers and drank lots of water....key thing is you do not want to throw up (PAINFUL) to soften the blow of all the meds I made sure I had crackers and water.
When I went to my room I had to get off the recovery bed and walk to the other one...I'm not going to lie, it hurts. What you need to keep reminding yourself is the pain is temporary...the results are worth it. You will have to get up and walk around...don't fight it and be prepared to, this helps recovery and prevents clots. I had peed quite a bit so I was able to get my IV out last night.
Getting up and down is the hardest. Once you get in a position you are good. I do get a buring sensation on my left side...to relieve I undo the cg and usually have an ice pack on my tummy.
My bed is really high of the ground so to say I miss the hospital bed is an understatement. I have decided I will set up in a chair for a couple hours during the day and bed at night.

This is all for now...talk soon again!

Night one at home done. I do recommend a recliner or chair if your bed is high off the ground or low to the ground. The worst part is getting up.
Now I can " relax" and boy do I feel the morphine kick in :D thank god! The pain isn't unbearable it's just a pain in the ass,stomach and back! Lol! Yea a Lil stoned here...
I have only been eating yogurt, crackers, ginger snaps, whole wheat toast and water. Oh and bananas!
I take 2 ex strength Tylenol, 1 prescrip med, 1/2 gravol and 2 stool softeners at night.

So true when ppl speak on here of the ups and downs! It is so warm and muggy here... I'm worried abt fever( I don't have one knock on wood) and the next moment I'm feeling optimistic! Maybe it's the drugs too ;)

This community is great and very helpful! Thanks to everyone supporting me :)

Ended up at emergency last night... Fever kept creeping up and just felt blah. I have a urinary tract infection (great) so they gave me anti iotics that covers the infection and if there is one in my incision. It was weird bc the doc told me that ps surgeons like to take off the first bandages and that I basically had to give him permission to remove them. I wasn't comfortable with this, and my bandages were very clean so I told him to wait for my urine/blood results. I'm glad I did :S
I have incorporated liquid advil into my drugs and backed down to half a pill of hydromorphone. I did have my pills every 4 hrs than increased to 4.5 and now I'm at every 5 hrs. I must say the advil helps with moving around a lot

I feel like a Sookie but I'm just honestly scared of screwing up my incision...and I'm not going through this again! Lol

I wonder how my fellow TT are doing??

Hey there! Had my first Post op today!! YAY! I can tell you I was miserable...BUT don't get me wrong...Having the UT infection and apparently the Hydromorphone made me very miserable. It was like having the flu symptoms x 10. The nurse said to stop the Hydromorphone immediately (which I did) and I cannot believe the difference between last night and tonight. :)) So my original bandages are off...looks scary! (LOL! Very expected bc of the swelling and bruising, I know it will get better). Well hopefully everyone else is doing fine and Normal will come back to me! ;)
Later!

There is a difference from cutting out the Hydromorphone, however apparently it stays in your system for about 72 hrs after :S After waking up about 2:30 am trying to figure out why I'm exhausted but can't sleep, etc I googles it. So now I know it will get better soon enough (hopefully by the end of the week). I find its like I'm fighting sleep even though I want it so bad.
Eating a bit normal again (trying to keep this low and soft considering I haven't been doing any real activities). I walk about the house inside and out, moving at every chance I get.

I wonder when I should try my jeans on ;) LOL!

Well Well!! :D Sleep is great and I'm feeling a million dollars better than I did since my last post. I know I keep speaking of the the Hydromorphone but man that put a huge damper on my healing process for sure! I'm now up and moving about a lot better and I'm actually sleeping at night.
Wednesday was my first real "active" day even though I was still feeling the med effects, however I think I may have over did it. That evening I slept like a baby on my back :)) The next morning I got up before my husband left for work and when I stood up all kinds of "drainage" came spurting out a section of my incision ( a length of a dime at the top of my pubic on the left side)!! Holy shocked since I just had my drain removed Tuesday and my drain never had anything significant in it! I called the nurse and she advised this was normal and fine. So since then it has been draining quite a bit! My poor cg needs a wash so bad but I'm not willing to give it up to get washed yet. The pressure relief is noticeable though and I feel more physically bendable now. My stomach is still hard below my belly button, which I assume is drainage still, but my pubic bone area which was really swollen and redish/purplish is now returned to normal. My BB isn't doing much (thankfully). Aside from the site where the drainage is coming out, my incision seems to be healing great. The funny thing is at this time I feel if this is the way it will look, who cares? I'm happy I'm flat...I don't care too much about the scar being a lil too thick or anything at this point. I wont be wearing belly tops or anything! LOL! (So I say...who knows, I'm happy now and its still swollen...;)).
I have been buying so much med pads and reg pads for the wound! It's very worth it to me (they are not that expensive and I love the non adherent pads bc it makes it that much easier to remove from your wound $0.39 ea). Polysporin, I just bought 2 more...and some sterile strips for my incision line, I have to replace them as they fall off...they will all be removed Aug 1. I'm know only taking 2 aleve first thing in the morning and 2 reg advil in the evening to help with the swelling from the day of activity. Oh and I think my UT infection is almost gone :D
Talk soon :))

Another day feeling better...here's some update on pics...and a gross one of where my incision is draining...Other than this spot my incision is looking great for a little over a week. Down to 2 reg strength advil once a day now :)))
And a lil picture of my "medical bucket"! So glad I went ahead a took some of the advice to buy pads (just plain pads no additive stuff) and the non adherent bandages are GREAT! No pain! ALSO: to get rid of the sticky residue left by the tape use baby oil! Gentle and works like a charm :) Wish I had known this last week!

Happy healing all!!!!!

I haven't been on here for a couple of weeks. I was getting very frustrated at having set backs time after time...I feel because I went into this thinking I got this...it jinxed me. Don't get me wrong, I did not have severe complications...just enough to set me back from doing things. I want to work out soooo bad but with my incision still open (week seven) I'm not allowed to. I do walk and sometimes push a little. Only because I'm so happy with my results I feel that every minute spent sitting on my butt is pounds waiting to jump on me ;). I still have serous fluid leaking at this point, but not severe as it was. At one point I had pushed above the hole to see if it was red and the fluid literally spurted in the air and on the floor, gross I know but if we all had surgeries before we know that is how it goes ;). I'm still very tender in the flanks from the lipo!! I swear that is the hard part now and the nurse said it could take up to a few months to settle down because it is still swollen. I have spent a bit in the way of dressings for my wound because I did not want to take any chances with infection and do not feel comfortable wearing a bandage all day without changing it.

This has changed my life in ways I suppose only you reading this could feel. I know when I was researching and reading others storeys I couldn't believe that it would change someones life that much,but I assure you fellow soon to be "flat siders"...THIS IS FREAKING GREAT!!!! I haven't felt this good in years! I haven't wanted to put so much effort into working out and have the motivation. I want my dog everyday for 2 km (can't do much more till I get a go ahead) and I feel awesome doing it! I wear my clothes without feeling people are judging me and feeling like look pregnant! People I know keep saying how great I look and how happy I look :))) Don't get me wrong...I still have alot to work on and I'm not a "barbie doll"...but I'm happy and that counts for alot in my life :D