Still Can't Believe I'm on the Flat Side! -Ontario, CA

FYI -- my doctor is listed under Troy Andreason MD here on real self.
http://www.realself.com/find/California/Plastic-Surgeon/Troy-Andreasen

I'm a 37 yr old mother of one (20 yr old) who has never had a flat belly. I was a young mother and as a teen never worried about body image as I never had issues with weight however my belly was never flat but I was "ok" with that. Unfortunately, I had to endure a c-section at the age of 16 and my dr didn't do a great job stitching me up so I was a little lopsided per say. As yrs passed and I gained weight and my belly grew and grew. I did a pretty good job hiding it with bigger sized flowy tops but over the last 3 yrs it started bothering me. My husband, who is the sweetest and most supportive man, never said my belly looked "gross" but I was embarrassed and refused to undress in front of him. I had been talking about a tummy tuck for yrs and he told me that if I wanted one, that I should do what makes me happy. Over the last 2 yrs, I did lots of research and talked to 3 dr.'s who told me the same thing "no form of exercise will get rid of your belly". I had my BA done by dr. Andreason 4 yrs ago and although I trusted him, I saw 2 other dr's for research purposes and I knew I he would be the one to perform my TT but I wanted piece of mind. I went to an Athenix office in Irvine and the "consultant" made me feel 10xs worse then when I walked in. She told me my face didn't match my body and that I should do something ASAP! Not only that, she quoted me $13k for the TT and once I told her it was out of my price range, she lowered it by $2500. Ridiculous. I'm a size 8 and she told me I needed to lose 20 lbs yet my dr. told me I didn't need to lose any to achieve great results. Hmmm....

On to my surgery. Today is day 4 post-op!!! yay!! I had been reading stories here on real self and wanted to post my story pre-op but I was just scared of the whole surgery and was having 2nd thoughts. Im a natural worrier but this scared me beyond belief. I kept thinking "what if i don't wake up". I kept talking myself out of it was convincing myself my belly wasn't that bad. Additionally, my surgery was scheduled for June & had to be rescheduled a month out due to my anemia. Dr. Andreason preferred I took iron pills for 30 days o raise my levels which, I appreciated but I felt it was a sign that I shouldn't do it. Due to my schedule, I had to move it out another 30 days but I'm glad I did. Still scared so I think that's why I kept pushing it out. I finally came to terms with it the day before and knew this is what I wanted & tried not to let my nerves get the best of me. The husband told me to cancel my surgery cause I was freakin out but I overcame my anxiety & I'm so glad I did.

Day 1 - my dr. still felt my iron levels were still slightly low and preferred to err on the side of caution and didn't perform the lipo on me as we had discussed. I felt comfy with that and after the surgery he told me he didn't think I needed it and that the results were beautiful & that he knew I would be pleased. Btw - the staff at the med clinic were outstanding!! It felt like I was asleep for 5 mins. i woke up quivering from he anesthesia wearing off and had slight discomfort but one of the nurses gave me some pain meds and a few mins later, i felt fine. My husband helped me get dressed, I was wheeled out to our car and had no problem getting in & out. I was also awake on the ride home & was hungry. Lol. I had some soup and slept for about 2 hrs. The pain was seriously nothing like I expected. I had no pain whatsoever. I was waiting for the drugs to wear off and for the pain to hit me but nothing. I took half a Vicodin to help me sleep at night but other than that, no other meds.
Day 2- same as day 1. I was walking hunch back but I didn't need pain meds. I even sat up to do my makeup and felt great and went in to see my dr and he was so gentle and amazing as always. He gave me a sneak peek and I almost cried. I'm swollen but my belly is flat. Woohoo!!!
Day 3- still waiting for the pain to kick in. I am a little sore but it's nothing like I anticipated. I am excited and happy and can't believe how easy this has been so far. Don't get me wrong, it's a little uncomfy walking around hunched back and having drains attached to u but overall,it isn't bad. It just feels like I've done a 1000 sit-ups. Took a shower today and feel clean!! Yay!
Today- day 4: still feeling great, a little tired and sore on my back but I'm not complaining. I'm draining well under 30 ml's a day so my dr anticipates both drains will be out next Wednesday.

I'm including my before pictures and will add some "afters" on Monday.

Thanks for reading my review. My advice to those who have 2nd thoughts, do your research and do what makes u happy. The recovery may be long & uncomfortable but its not as bad as you may think. So far I'm extremely happy and glad I moved forward with my TT.