“BYE BYE MEAT APRON!! Bikini pics added!!! Panama City, FL”

I am 40 and have carried three 9 1/2 lb babies...all three were c sections. I was fairly thin before my first was born 20 years ago but steadily gained weight over the years, my largest was a sz 24-26. I lost 54 pounds last year through diet and exercise and have the same meat apron I've had since my first csection. My personal trainer said nothing would help but a tt, so I approached my reg dr about it. He had just had a patient with the same insurance as me who was approved for a tt so we started the documentation of the problems I was having wIth the extra skin and fat. After a couple of months, he sent the referral to the ins company and lo-and-behold, here I am! I'm a size 18 right now, ( I'm a big girl anyway- 5'9) and am ok with all of my body except my tummy. I had my final consult Appt yesterday and doc says it's a go for my surgery date of Nov 14!!!! I have read that some are not telling people about their surgery but I'm telling anyone and everyone! My first post op outing will be a roundabout at the mall to see the clerk at Dillards who has helped me with clothes through my weight loss, my friend at Vic Secret who helped me pick out my first non-plus size thong for post surgery and all the folks at many stores who are excited for me and want to see how great it looks! I'm not nervous at all... Just super excited. I'll keep you all updated as things progress. It has really helped me feel confident with my decision to read others' experiences on this site.

Updated on 3 Nov 2011:
11/3/11
Well after a close call with the insurance saying my referral had expired, I was panicking but we got that all straightened out. I can be a pain in the neck when I want something!!! I just realized that I have less than 2 weeks and feel like nothing is done. I've been keeping my belly moisturized so my skin will stretch well. My PS says I have plenty of skin, so not to worry, but just in case... :) My PS says he will do "aggressive" lipo... hope that means he's getting a lot of the fat out! My pre-op was rescheduled to Nov 7th, so I'll update more on Monday.

Updated on 7 Nov 2011:
11/7/11
So here it is, a week before my TT. I am so excited thinking this time next week I'll probably be coming out of surgery with NO meat apron! My pre-op is this afternoon and I've been writing down questions that come to me as I read other reviews and the November TTers page. I keep hearing about all the swelling that takes place. My doc says that I'll leave 2 sizes smaller than I am now due to the massive amount of fat/skin he's going to remove, so even with the swelling, I will be much smaller through all of this that I am now. I hope that's true! It seems like most say they swell up bigger than they were to begin with but I'm thinking they are small people anyway. I have taken my measurements but want to take them again one more time before I post them. (Yall will be shocked! LOL) I moved the recliner to the bedroom today, and OUCH... the plasma tv (those things are HEAVY) fell on my ankle. I played pitiful for several hours and got hubby to finish things up for me. (He should have done it in the first place LOL). I'll go purchase my compression garment this afternoon after the appt. They say it's a Spanx, but I haven't been given more info, so I'll get that today. I'm so glad insurance did the right thing and extended my date. I need to send them a complementary comment on their website. I'm trying to get things tied up at work to make it easy next week on everyone, and begged my mom to do some of my laundry. She said yes, bless her!!!! I have Friday off and I think I'll spend it hanging out with the kids and hubby, doing something fun. I'm unsure about Thanksgiving, because I don't know how I'll feel 10 days post op but hope I feel decent enough to go see my family for a little while. I'll update more after the pre-op.

Updated on 11 Nov 2011:
11/11/11-so, at my prep I saw the nurse for my surgery center info. She went over the risks, what kind of Spanx to get, how to wear the drains, etc. She suggested the Spanx with the crotch hole, so I can pull the drains through the hole and pin them so they're not against my skin and cutting off my circulation. She also said another patient suggested getting a kitchen funnel to help me go pee without splashing it on the Spanx. Lol! I went to the surgery center and my time is 1030. Doctor has me down for surgery from 11-330, which seems a long time to me, but I guess he knows better than I do. Recovery is forecast to take 2 hrs,so I should be home around dinner time. I'll post when I can.

Updated on 13 Nov 2011:
11/13/11
I have my little recovery area almost ready with my recliner, table, lamp, etc in the bedroom. I found a wedge pillow at Ross for 12 bucks. I didn't get my bloodwork done until Fri due to drama going on at work, so the PS office called me Fri afternoon to ask about it. I felt like I was in trouble or something but she said they would get it by Monday in time for surgery. My PS doesn't use the lidocaine inside the surgery site which is making me a little nervous, but his nurse says he is the most gentle she's ever worked with, so he doesn't need to. Went to the surgery center Thurs and got my report time of 1030 with the OR scheduled for me from 11 til 330. Seems like a long time but I'm hoping that includes set up and clean up time. Everyone keeps asking if I'm nervous, but I'm not yet. This time tomorrow I'm sure I will be! I'll post my measurements after I take them later today.

Updated on 15 Nov 2011:
Nov 15- I'm feeling great! They didn't take me back for surgery until about 2:30 yesterday and didn't get home til about 8. It took me quite a while to get out of the anesthesia...I think that's the longest I have ever been out. I went in to the surgery ctr and got hooked up to the IV while my doc ate lunch (wanted him to make sure he was well fed and happy!). They took me back to the OR and marked me. I made a joke about bringing a thong for them to put me in at my post-op tomorrow and everyone laughed... that's the last I remember until a horrid nurse woke me up from a very deep and wonderful sleep. I didn't have any pain killer at the surgery ctr, and my doc doesn't use lidocaine. But the pain was not bad at all. Went to my post op today and they took the binder off and WOW! it looks great. My doc showed me the skin and fat he took (he took a pic on his cell phone lol)and it looks pretty significant. I have 2 drains, one should come out on Thurs and one next Tues depending on how much drainage I have. I'm going to take a shower in a bit and will see if I can get pics. My thought at the PS offi e today was WOW, I can see my hooha for the first time since my first daughter was born! I'm in TED hose for 3 weeks and down to 1 pain pill every 5-6 hours, so I think I'm doing really well. I would say the pain is comparable to a Csection, only it's spread out instead of in one place. The lipo areas are stinging a bit, and sometimes when I move it feels like I've been punched in the gut, but the pain is less than I expected, and definitely manageable. When I take my shower, I'll post the measurement change... can't wait to see how much difference there is!

Updated on 19 Nov 2011:
So I'm five days post op and can say that my PS was very wrong when he said this was less painful than a csection. I would have to say its worse, or else I recovered much quicker than normal csection patients. Maybe bc I'm older now I'm not recovering as quick as I did then but whew! Starting tues night I had some pretty intense discomfort, and was mostly miserable through wednesday with some brief bits of relief. By Thurs I was ok and today, day five, I'm feeling pretty good. The more I get up and move the better I feel, and the more I look at my flat( although swollen) belly the better I feel. I have some bruised and sore pain in the lipo areas and general muscle soreness in my belly area but the rolls are GONE! I'm swollen more today than any other, but still smaller than I was. Will post pics when l take more. Still worth it even with the pain being more than I thought.

Updated on 20 Nov 2011:
11-20 so tonight I finally felt up to taking bathing suit pics and put on a two piece I bought a few yrs ago and never had the guts to wear. Surprise! The bottoms were way huge and I had to fold them down for the pics. When I saw the pics I had tears in my eyes bc I realized I seriously may be able to wear a two piece to the beach this year! This has been a long eighteen months of going to the gym and working hard for my weight loss, fighting the insurance company for six months to get help paying bc this would not happen if I had to pay it all, and finally getting this surgery. I am so excited about howi look....trying not to be vain or obsessed but I'm so very happy! Almost no pain at this point. Muscle soreness and getting tired easily is about it. So glad I did this!