Tummy Tuck: Stories

8/30/12: I just turned 40 this year and my oldest daughter (22) is about to get engaged! My youngest two (13 & 14) were born 10 months apart and I gained 70lbs total that I have just never lost. Well, I decided with this the year of milestones, I would finally take charge of my health and emotional well being and do something about it! I started eating healthy (Not a big change) and exercising regularly (Huge change...desk job!) and I decided that I was going to finally get a tummy tuck next year. I've had my saggy-baggy belly due to 3 c-sections for over half of my life now!! I avoid being undressed in front of a mirror at all costs!

I went in to see my ps just to get an idea of where I needed to be and what costs, etc. would be. To my surprise, he told me that actually I carry most of my weight in my legs, so that I am an immediate candidate for a TT ! He said I was wasting efforts with diet and exercise on an area that he could take care of for me. He said it would make me look better, feel better, and my goals of weight loss would be easier achieved. He was so very nice, I really felt at ease with him and didn't feel like he was pressuring me at all.

Sooo....I'm now booked for surgery on September 18th! :) My pre-op blood work is next Wednesday, the 5th. I could actually have scheduled earlier, but in able to get the time off work, I had to move days around (I don't want to take vacation pay) and work extra.

My personal goals are not weight loss...I would just like to NOT have this embarrassing hang-over. I would like to be able to wear regular panties instead of briefs stuffed full of tummy...See, it doesn't even sound sexy! It's not! I once tried a bikini wax, but couldn't keep up with it at home because a razor in one hand while the other is trying to lift away belly just made me look like a Cirque de Soliel contortionist. I'd like to not have to keep diaper rash cream and powder on hand for rashes.

I'm nervous because I'm squeamish...But the funny thing is, I'm mostly anxious about the IV. I have teeny little veins and always have trouble with nurses finding them. Other than that, I've been through 3 C-Sections and a gall bladder surgery. I can do this :)

Sep. 4th: Night before Pre-Op: I am a nervous wreck today! Suddenly I've got the worry in my head that they will find something in the blood work that will make me ineligible for surgery after I have my hopes up. This is, of course, a silly fear because there's never been any issue with my blood work before. But, once something gets in your head...Ahhhhh!!! haha.

I also make my payment in full tomorrow and get all my prescriptions and instructions. It's finally going to be real! I'm sure tomorrow I will be much more relaxed.

Pre-Op = DONE :)

I have a whole booklet filled with papers: Prescription list & when to take them, pre-surgery instructions & post-surgery instructions. I saw a drain and got information on how to work it. (Oh, and now I keep wondering what if it gets bumped or squished...will it pump all that fluid back IN?! But, I digress...). I had bloodwork done at the lab and they took my before pictures (That sucked). All in all it was nice to have all the information from my doctor instead of just guessing what I would need. Surgery is in 12 days...

6 days until surgery: Tonight I start washing with the special antibacterial soap the PS had me buy, so reality is starting to set in.

But, I find myself doing the weirdest thing: Suddenly I'm defending my stomach!? I keep looking at it in the mirror and thinking that "It's not that bad" "It doesn't look that bad" Don't get me wrong, I still am 100% excited and wanting the surgery...I think maybe it's a little bit of guilt over having this big procedure done. I will post my pics back up today, I took them down because I was embarrassed to see them. Maybe it will help get those "It's not that bad" thoughts out of my head!

Day 1 post op. Doing pretty good today, coughed last night and that was very bad. I was so sure I reipped verything open :(

Saw PS today he said everything looks great and cleared me stand up straighter, lie down straight and can shower tomorrow. Will have drains for 9-10 days he said.

Have 3 drains, he removed 7 lbs of skin! He said I have about 50 stitches on my abdominal muscles and 300 on the outside. Wow!

Days 2 and 3 post op:

Day 2 I slept most of the time, pain was at incision line but totally manageable with meds. But I coughed again and I can't describe how terrifying it is! It hurts, but it feels like you just tore stitches open so there is the panic too. I'm hoping not to do that again!! sleeping in the recliner still even though ps cleared me to start sleeping straight. I just find the recliner with pillows under my knees to be extreme sly comfortable.

Day 3: Uh oh...gas pains. Spent the better part of the day moaning and whining. Feels like really bad period cramps. But my aunt is a nurse who did her thesis on cramps after abdominal surgery and here is the key: ROCK. If you have a rocking chair to recliner, sit and rock as much as you can. It helps move the gas through your system. Rock while sitting on the toilet and it will help you pass gas. By the afternoon I felt well enough for visitors.

Oh coughed again, still hurt but noy quite as bad. And my favorite treat: pineapple smoothie with protein powder. Happy healing!!

I've heard the first 4 days are the worst, do I think I'm almost out of the woods :)

Day 4 post op: BM! No pain or problems, so much relief :). Gas pains are nonexistent today. I've been taking Dulcolax since surgery day and drinking tons of water. Tonight Im going to hit the shower, I've been scared to remove the cg. I see so many awesome day 3 and 4 pics but I don't have any...till tonight :)

Hope everyone is healing fine

Day 5 post op: went out to breakfast with my husband this morning at a restaurant :). Of course now I'm sore and back to resting in the recliner, but it was nice to get out for a few.

Happy healing!

5 days PO: 2nd BM today with no problem at all! :). Seem to have blood clotting in one of my drain tubes but milking it makes me so dizzy :(. My next appt. is Monday and maybe I will get one out. Nervous about that but would love to wear panties again!!

I'm generally just sore and tired, no real pain to speak of except some stinging at drain sites. I feel lucky that recovery seems to be going well. I'm still shocked I went through with it, I'm such a chicken normally :). I love my results so far, I'm so very thankful. Only 1 person has given me a little bit of a hard time about it, and really it's just a sour grapes old friend..also who cares!

6 days post op: PS said everything looks great and decided to remove 1 of the 3 drains (The 2nd comes out Wednesday and the last one in a week). I was so nervous that it would hurt or feel so weird that it would make me feel sick. Guess what? She told me to take a deep breath in and then let it out and said "OK" and it was done! I didn't feel a thing, I thought she was going to pull it out after my breath...So, for those of you who may be worried about it, don't :)

Last drain comes out tomorrow morning :). Today is day 9 and I drove today for the first time which was no problem at all! Bought a pair of jeans that are a size smaller than I wore before the TT and they fit great! Went to the fair with the family, brought a wheelchair but walked a lot. Off pain meds for a few days now, have been showering and feeling wonderful.

I am still swollen which will make my tummy feel sore overall, also itchy and tingly from healing.

So, hang in there girls, it's really not that bad overall!

Well....Thursday night I went to the fair and while I had a wheelchair, it felt so good to wal that I walked for a couple of hours. That increased my fluid draining by about 5cc the next morning. When I went to get my drain removed, the nurse was worried about the 25cc drain in 12 hours and I already had another 6cc in the bulb. I asked her to just leave the drain in until Monday (which was the original plan anyway). But she decided to remove it because she said my skin at the suture site was looking inflamed.

She then tole me no twisting and to move like a robot for the next week so I don't develop seroma. She also basically put me on bed rest over the weekend and I go back tomorrow at 8am to see how I am doing.

And, I felt like I had been doing so well :(. I read that seroma is common, and she said they'd just remove it with a syringe...but that just seems terrifying to me!! I've been so emotional about it I have been crying all weekend. Today is day 12 post op, so I know it's still early in recovery but I just want to feel okay to move without fear. I was on top of the world Thursday and now I'm down in the dumps. Oh the emotional roller coaster!

Went back to the PS on Monday and I didn't have Seroma or anything that required needles. Yay!! :) He said everything looks great and cleared me to return to work on Wednesday. I even got to switch to Spanx. I have a pre TT pair that fits nice but the new ones I bought seem to hit in all the sore tummy spots :(

I've been doing well yesterday and today at work but at about 3pm I realize how swollen I am. And swelling = sore. Hoping that stops soon. Otherwise I'm feeling really good.

3 weeks post op: For the most part I'm feeling better each day :) I did have to stay home from work yesterday because I moved around a bit too much the day before and felt so sore. I don't have a lot of pain and am completely off of pain killers, have been for weeks. But, I feel sore. I feel like my whole stomach area is bruised and it's tender and hard to move sometimes.

The PS saw me a few days ago and said everything looks great and gave me the OK to start on scar cream (Which by the way is $70/tube) and my next appointment isn't until November. I'm so happy that I was able to get through everything with no complications *Knock on wood*

Let's talk about shopping! I have no idea what size I am anymore, my jeans literally fall off of me so I wear a lot of sweats lately, but even some of those are much too big on me (Yay!) But because I'm still healing/swollen/losing weight I have vowed not to shop yet. But, with that said, it's fun to try on clothes!! I'm at least 2 sizes down which means I've moved back down to the regular misses clothes instead of having to shop in the woman's section. My self esteem is through the roof!! I'm including a picture of a pretty little nighty I tried on. ;)

Week 4 Post OP: I'm moving around so much better. Walked around for 6 hours at an amusement park Saturday night (No rides!) and did pretty well. I'm just barely brave enough to sleep on my side at night. PS had me start on scar treatment gel and I'm still under orders to wear my CG 24/7. I think that's okay, I feel "Safe" and "Secure" in my Spanx haha. Overall I'm so glad that I had this surgery, I'd do it again in a heartbeat. My self esteem is still wonderful!

Tomorrow is 6 weeks post op! I did it! :) I am feeling great, still get a little tired but the swelling isn't too bad anymore. I can't believe that just 6 weeks ago I was fresh out of surgery. The only thing is I will have to have a lot of new clothes, my old pants and shirts are just too big (Darn! hehe). So happy that I did this. I'm happy to be done with it, but a small part of me is a little jealous of the TTers who are just headed into surgery, nothing beats the first time you reach to brace your stomach and find nothing there!! :)

12/19/12: 3 Months post op and I feel fantastic! No pain, no issues, no swelling! I have this incredibly gorgeous flat belly and my hopes for this surgery went way above and beyond what I ever expected. I was just hoping to not have the hang over, well...I don't. What I didn't realize was how much my life would be changed. I have self confidence I didn't even realize I was missing before. I feel like a normal person, I FIT in clothes right, I can move better than ever before. I can jog and do sit ups and squats with none of the movement restrictive problems that I had before. I am no longer shopping in plus size stores or sections, I'm completely into misses sizes and those are even getting big on me. I can shop anywhere!!! This surgery was the best thing I ever did and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.