Full Tummy Tuck, No Muscle Repair, No Lipo - Ontario, CA

I have struggled with being overweight my entire life. At 26 and several diets later (over 40lb. weight loss) I am able to maintain a healthy lifestyle, currently weighing between 130-133lbs, and have for over two years now. I hope to lose another 5-10lbs., but after several visits to my family doctor and two PS', I knew the only way to get my stomach where I wanted it to be was through a tummy tuck.

A tummy tuck is something I've been wanting since I was 18. Initially I was told to hold off as my family physician feared I would want children. Though I did not want children at the time and still do not (never say never though), I held off. Finally, eight years later, and after months of browsing this site, I decided to visit another PS for a consultation. July 28th I met with the Dr. and knew instantly that it was the right fit. Luckily, within a week, I was able to book an opening that had just become available two weeks later due to a cancellation. My PS performs his TT's without drains, and I do not require any muscle repair. According to him, my stomach is as flat as can be and requires no lipo whatsoever. I am sincerely hoping this means my recovery will not be overly terrible. I have read countless reviews about variations of tummy tucks from the best to the worst to help prepare myself as best I can.

With all that said, tomorrow is the big day! Seeing as there do not appear to be too many cases similar to mine on here (no drains, no muscle repair, no lipo), I wanted to share my experience in hopes of providing some insight to others who are wanting to undergo something similar. I am not an overly superficial person, but truly feel that tomorrow is the first day of a new beginning for me. My physical appearance has always eaten away at my confidence, and now it is time to take control.

Tried to post an update last night but apparently it did not work! My surgery lasted two hours and went as well as it could according to my PS. The scariest part by far was the anesthetic, but maybe that's just me as this was my first surgery of any kind.

I was home within about 3 hours of the surgery being completed. Very slow to move around, but not too much pain luckily, and only at the sight of the incision. When I stand up I feel a bit of stretching throughout my stomach area but nothing bad at all. The worst part so far is that I am still feeling the effects of the anesthetic, so moving around makes me very dizzy. Sleeping last night wasn't terrible either, but I would recommend sleeping on anything that will prevent you from wanting to roll over on your side, which is generally far more comfortable!

When I woke up this morning the pain, specifically on one side was the worst it has been, but it went away fairly fast and was still tolerable. I have refrained from looking at my incision area (except to make sure there is no bleeding) because I do not want to get discouraged. With that said, I am quite swollen! Really hoping that will subside quickly.

When the anesthetic subsides and I have more energy I will post another update with pictures. The lack of energy is on par with all the other posts, it's hard to believe how the simplest things are so exhausting.

Good luck to anyone else who will be going under this week. Just remember, this time is for you. Let others take care of you! I cannot imagine how I would be managing now without the help of my dad who has been so supportive throughout this whole thing.

Day two post op is now coming to an end, time for a quick update! Tomorrow will be my big reveal, when I can finally shower and take off my bandages which will give me a much better idea of how everything looks.

The pain was not bad at all today and I'm walking fairly quickly. If anything, I'm finding it more difficult to contain my nausea when I move quickly than the pain. I try to get up once every two hours, but do not go too far. Slowly but surely my appetite is coming back, though my energy is still fairly low.

Swelling....it's really hard to tell how swollen I am because of my bandages, so again tomorrow will give a better indication of that. Looks like there is quite a bit, Hopefully not though.

Until tomorrow...huge thank you to everyone who is posting their stories. When I feel as though I'm by myself on this journey, I'm reminded of all the strong women (and men) who are going through, or have gone through something similar.