Tummy Tuck: Stories

I've recently turned 30 years old, am 5 foot 6 and weigh approximately 190lbs. I've had seven children who were born weighing between 7lbs and 10lbs 2oz. As a result of this I have a LOT of loose skin on my stomach and exercise and diet seems to make it worse rather than better! After a few years of contemplating, I have finally decided to have a tummy tuck. I'm not really interested in being supermodel thin, I like to have some jiggle in my wiggle, but I really want the loose and hanging skin gone and to be a more even shape all over. So the current plan is a full tummy tuck on the 13th, with follow up lipo to my hips and thighs on the 14th...

It's 18 days away now and I must admit I don't feel in the slightest bit worried or nervous. I am super excited, and just want it to be the day now! LOL I'm fed up of waiting!!! I am flying out very late on the 12th with my mother (who is seeing Adam for Lipo on the 13th too) and my husband who is coming to take care of us!

I will update this as I go along! I'm taking my camera and laptop with me so hopefully I will be feeling well enough to keep relatively up to date with everything!

2 Weeks until I fly to Poland! I am still not nervous in the slightest, just super excited. I have a few parties over the next few days and then come Monday I'm going to start a serious detox, up my protein, eat super healthily and get back on track again!

Today I am going to go and buy a little suitcase thingie - I don't intend to check any luggage, so it's carry on bags only and Ryan Air are really strict on size and weight so I need to buy something small and light. I am only taking the bare essentials with me and will be buying the extra things I need out there (like pillows to prop myself up on).... So today I am going to go and buy some loose clothes to slob around in after the surgery and some underwear that isn't tight.

I've also booked myself in for some serious waxing next week (7 days before my op)... I'm getting my underarms, my legs and also having a Hollywood done for the first time ever - think I'm more nervous about that than anything else. They said I have to be shaved down there, and I hate shaving so am opting to wax it all off instead! LOL

3 days to go now until my tummy tuck, 2 days until we fly... I'm still not nervous about the procedure itself, just excited to see what my stomach will look like without all the flab and hanging skin... However, I am seriously stressing out over every other little thing. I am next to useless around the house right now, just running around in a flap getting myself worked up and giving myself headaches.

I am almost all packed, the house will never be clean enough, I have checked us in for our flights online, our taxi's are all sorted and our accommodation knows we're coming... So we're pretty much all set! LOL

About to leave for the airport in a little over an hour and a half. Feeling quite teary and upset at the moment as I just said goodbye to my two youngest children and my baby was hugging me and saying "I gonna miss you Mummy" over and over again and looked so sad. The rest of my kids get home in just over an hour and I'm going to have to go through the goodbyes all over again with them as well... I already feel emotionally drained and I haven't even left the house yet. :( This is turning into such a long day. I swear I've cried more today than I have in my entire life. I never cry. What the hell is wrong with me???

We've arrived, all safe and sound! Our apartment is beautiful, I can't believe how pretty it is actually! It's now 11:44pm and our taxi is coming at 9:10am! I can't believe it's so close now!

Well, I'm back at the apartment. We arrived at the clinic around 9:30am and were seen almost immediately by Dr. Kalecinski. He took us into a side room and asked us a couple of health related questions before asking my mum to pull her trousers down so he could take a look at the area to be liposuctioned. He then did the same with me and we agreed that all my surgery could be done in one day instead of over two. We finally agreed on a full tummy tuck with muscle repair, liposuction to my stomach, thighs (inner and outer) and my knees...

We then went and had our blood taken before being told to put these blue covers over our shoes and being shown to a room with two beds. We were both told to shower and then put on disposable gowns before we could touch the bed. Mum showered first as she was the first surgery of the day and then Adam came in and drew on her explaining all the while what he was going to do and why and then almost immediately they took her through for surgery.

Roughly 2 hours later they wheeled her back in and told me that there was one other very quick surgery before mine...

Finally at around 3:40pm Adam came and did his drawings on me, explaining again what he would do, why and what I could expect from the results in the best and worse case scenario...

Then at 4pm they came and walked me through to theatre, where I lay on the bed whilst they hooked me to a drip, took my blood pressure, oxygen levels etc. All the while chatting and laughing to each other in Polish. Then the Dr came in, gave a nod and they put me to sleep. I woke up back in my room.

I was quite groggy and felt quite sick, infact I vomited twice during the night... Thankfully the nurse was really nice and let Hubby stay with me the entire night... She even brought him coffee and breakfast when she brought ours through!

Dr. Kalecinski came to see us at 8am and checked us both over before letting us return to the apartment... And I am currently lying on the sofa trying to convince Hubby and Mum to let me take off my compression garment on my stomach so I can take a proper photo! LOL

Pain wise I am in quite a lot of pain. Sitting up from lying down is painful but once I'm up and walking I'm OK... My drains are draining nicely although one hardly is draining at all, the other is filling quiet a lot now... Apparently he intends to take them out on day 5!

Day two, I was in agony yesterday. Literally got worse as the day went on but this morning I have been to the clinic to have my dressing changed. Had a quick chat with the lovely Chrissie who was also having her dressings changed as well... Today I am walking a lot easier, and even standing almost straight with just a slight hunch. The main area that hurts is my muscle repair, which hurts like a bitch. All the rest of the pain is manageable but the muscle repair really is very painful. I had no idea how heavily a person uses their stomach muscles in everyday life. Even tiny movements that you think nothing of doing daily seems to send a bolt of lightening through my stomach muscle repair..

A word of warning for those thinking of doing this... If you're planning a tummy tuck, with lipo to your legs - do them separately... NOT together. Having several sets of compression garments is a real pain in the posterior when you're struggling to get to the toilet before you have an accident!!! LOL The only benefit I've found to have had my lipo done is that the lovely compression leggings they've put on are very handy for tucking my drains into!

Oh yesterday I drained 160mls from the left side and 60mls from the right. I have no idea what that means, but I know by 10pm we were panicking a bit as my left drain was almost full and we weren't sure it'd last until the morning. Thankfully it did... Hoping to have them taken out sooner rather than later. They have to come out by Tuesday anyway because we're flying home then so let's pray that it starts to slow down or whatever they're supposed to do so Dr Kalecinski can take them out! LOL

Day 3 PO:

Despite what the nurse told me yesterday, Dr. Adam wasn't in today so no drains removed. :( My right drain had under 10mls and my left had about 30-40mls... She said she thinks he'll remove the drains tomorrow assuming I don't suddenly start filling them up again overnight! LOL

I met the lovely Chrissie and DelightfulDee today at the clinic. I forgot to warn them about my sense of humour though, so I'm sorry girls if I offended either of you. I've got a rather wicked sense of humour - my mother always tell me that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit... :P LOL Probably explains why I failed miserably at school! :P

Last night the pain was awful. I don't remember whether I passed out or fell asleep from the exhaustion of the pain but I did sleep a tiny bit better... Today I can actually sit up on the sofa! That doesn't sound amazing but I have been in so much pain I could only lie down on the sofa, and only moved to go to the bathroom or first thing in the mornings to go to the clinic, and on and off throughout the day just to move my legs a bit in an effort to reduce the risk of clots. I'm a bit gutted actually as the other girls are coping so well and considering I have a high pain threshold (didn't even realise I was in labour with most of my kids until a head popped out, and didn't realise I had multiple PEs filling both my lungs until I nearly dropped dead) and have lived my life in pain generally from various health issues, I am like a bloody baby. Constantly whining, begging for more painkillers, in constant pain... I can't move much, definitely couldn't go shopping or anything and yet everyone else is coping so much better than me! LOL I feel like a right old woman! I'm terrified of the flight home as evenings are the worst for me and I am reduced to tears most nights. Our flight home is at 10:55pm! How the Hell am I going to cope??? And we're being kicked out of our apartment at 11am, where are we going to go? What are we going to do? Especially considering I am so immobile from the pain...

On the plus side I managed to go BM today without needing anything for constipation and without any pain issues... So that's something! :P

4 DPO:

Feeling gutted and depressed today... Still got my drains in because despite draining nothing the last couple of days, overnight they both drained approx. 30mls and Dr. Adam said no to taking them out. Tomorrow they definitely come out though as we fly home in the evening.

Plus points:
Pain is a TINY bit more bearable today.
I managed to sleep on my side for the first time since surgery.
I don't seem to be bruising as much as I thought I would.
I had a shower despite being told not too, and now I feel clean once again.
I saw myself standing up and without the compression garments on for the first time.
I'm flying home tomorrow.

Minus points:
I'm still in a LOT of pain today.
I have discovered I have a mild allergy to surgical tape and am now covered in blisters.
I saw myself standing up and without the compression garments on for the first time!
I'm flying home tomorrow.

I know there's a lot of swelling and I didn't care about being thin, I just wanted the loose skin to go away, but I was hoping I'd look a little better with underwear on than I do... I guess the swelling doesn't help or the odd standing position but still. Depressed right now!

5 Days PO.

I finally had my drains out today! Yay! And what's even better was I didn't feel a thing - I was so busy talking that I didn't realise it had been done! LOL And I've got to say, now the drains are gone I had no idea how bad they were making me feel. The pain has eased, I can stand straighter, I feel more confident moving around, and it's just so much better.

I slept on my side again last night and I was so comfortable I even managed the entire night from 12am until 7am with NO painkillers! Woop! Go me! Go me! LOL

Flying home tonight at 10:55pm and just realised we're flying with Chrissie! LOL And even better we're either sat in the same row, or they're sat in the row behind us! How cool....

As you can tell, today is a good day. A VERY good day. :)

I have a tummy tuck journal available to read if anyone is interested at http://mytummytuckjournal.blogspot.com/

Day 6 Post op and back in the UK.

I was really dreading the flight home yesterday but actually it wasn't as bad as I imagined. Hubby had rented us a hotel room and I was able to rest and sleep all day. The driver came and picked us up at about 9:35pm and we got to the airport in good time, walked right through security and straight to our boarding gate. And it seemed like we got on the plane quite quickly. I struggled in the air a bit as I was so uncomfortable but it was OK. Manageable. Then we landed and had to walk what seemed like a hundred miles to get to passport control and our driver was waiting outside for us. The worst part of the whole journey was the car ride from the airport to home.

Today I am exhausted. I haven't been able to get out of bed at all. I'm in quite a lot of pain today as well. But I'm so, so, so happy to be at home, in my own bed, surrounded by my beautiful children who have been so wonderful to me since they realised I was home this morning when they woke up.

Anyway I probably won't update as often unless I have something much worth saying... But I'll still be around to answer questions and post occasional update!

10 days Post Op
I'm sorry I haven't updated the last few days. I felt like I was stuck on repeat for awhile with nothing new to update with. Pain, lack of movement, tiredness, boredom setting in. LOL

The last couple of days I've been up and about a few hours a day. I went and got my nails done one day, went to my Mums another and today I went to a charity fun day and then to my Mums again before I was so tired I had to come home.

I'm in the middle of swell hell right now too which doesn't help... It's bizarre and I'm wondering if I'm developing a mild seroma or something? On the left side of my stomach it's kind of sore, in the middle it's numb, and on the right it feels full... And if I tap one side of my stomach the whole thing wobbles like a water bed. I have a major ken doll too and my lower stomach is seriously swollen. My legs are bruised and sore too and I feel so stiff right now.

I'm about to head up to bed now for a short while and take a few pictures. I might even try and get some video footage of my water bed stomach so you can get an idea of what I mean! LOL

Only other thing to mention really is these bloody compression garments. I'm sick to death of them already. The ones on my legs aren't tight at all, and seem pretty pointless... And the one around my stomach is so thick and itchy and uncomfortable. Tomorrow I'm going to try wearing a tank top underneath it and see if that makes a difference. I can't wait to get rid of these bloody compression garments now, I'd prefer to wear something like spanx instead. I can't imagine wearing these for two whole months... Urgh.

Oh, I think the surgery set my cycle out of whack (that or the menopausal symptoms are playing up) as I am overdue my period. I've heard that this can happen, but didn't think it'd happen to me. I thought I'd go the other way, and end up with my period pitching up early like the day after surgery! LOL So girls, if this happens to you - don't panic - cos I know for a fact I am most definitely not pregnant. Between the menopause, and my whacked out cycles, and my mirena there's no way I can get pregnant (been told I'd need IVF and donor eggs to get pregnant anyway!)... It's a shock to the body to have this surgery, and this is one of the things it can set off kilter. Just be aware and don't panic!

2 weeks post op!!!

I'm still here and still alive! LOL I'm doing OK, have been incredibly busy this week and so haven't had much time to rest or relax much. As a result I am totally shattered today and in quite a bit of pain. I was naughty last night and slept without my compression garments. My stomach has been feeling really hard and uncomfortable, to the point of being sore the last few days, so I took my compression garment off (partly I must admit because Hubby and I were having some "adult time" *wink, wink*) and felt so much better without it on that I fell asleep and didn't wake up until this morning. It seemed to have worked though because when I woke up this morning I was nice and comfortable and my stomach was nice and soft and not painful at all.

Today I went shopping with a personal shopper and was totally rocking the next dress size down, despite the compression garments and the swelling! I can't wait to see the end results now... I went out looking for one outfit as I am at a wedding all day on Saturday and ended up buying 3 short and cute (and tight!) dresses, a bolero top, a tight fitting cami top and four pairs of shoes!!! LOL

My confidence is sky high right now. I feel sexy and gorgeous and confident. I had no idea before my surgery that I would feel so good afterwards, no concept of just how miserable all that disgusting flabby skin made me feel, or what a difference getting rid of it would make to my life...

I am virtually off the painkillers now, although I am still uncomfortable and having some back pain but I think that's because I've been quite SO active this week and haven't rested and found I am slouching more and more as the days go on, than I do if I rest properly. I also ordered a better compression garment so I can actually wear some nice clothes instead of being stuck in tracksuit bottoms and tank tops!

15 days post op:

I feel awful. I'm tired. I feel sick. I've definitely got a seroma. I've overdone it this week. Stupid, stupid. I'm supposed to be at a wedding tomorrow and I can't imagine how I'm going to handle it... :(

Lying in bed, just don't feel well. Wishing I was somewhere I could get proper care and not at home, so I could just sleep and sleep and be pumped full of whatever it takes to make me feel better, feel healed.

Hubby emailed the clinic and the surgeon this morning but so far as I'm aware we haven't had a response yet.

Will update when I hear... Right now I don't know what to do with myself.

Heard back from clinic. Apparently it's normal and quite common to develop seroma's in the place I have. My surgeon advises to leave it and watch it for another week or so and if it's still not gone or if it gets worse to call him back.

The feeling crappy with nausea and tiredness is as a result of having done too much the last few days. I need to rest (that ain't gonna happen I have to go to a wedding tomorrow)...

I feel a little better having heard from them... It was pretty much the answer I was expecting having worked with patients with seroma;'s before...

3 weeks post op:

I can't believe I'm already three weeks post op. Seems like only yesterday I was waiting what felt like a million years for my day to come and here I am. I'm feeling fabulous. My confidence is sky high. No pain anymore, although my scar is a bit itchy but for the most part the scabs are falling or have fallen off to reveal new skin underneath. My seroma is still there and Dr. Kalecinski said if I wanted to fly over he'd aspirate it for me, but I'm going to give it a little more time to heal by itself first. The swelling is killing me - I look pregnant right now! LOL

Yesterday I went and had my hair coloured. I've only ever had highlights/lowlights twice before and they were so subtle nobody could even see them. I figured yesterday that I've got a whole new lease on life and a whole new me, so I went and had three bold colours put in, with a view to next time going all over bright copper!

Hubby even took me out for a pub lunch, I was totally rocking a skin tight dress and my hooker shoes and I got eye-balled by a group of men!!! Nobody has given me a second glance in years, so it was a major confidence boost although I must admit I had no idea what to do with myself so just scuttled to my chair and tried not to look at them and hid! LOL

I am just emailing the clinic now to find out how soon I can go back for a breast lift and augmentation. I kind of wish I'd had it done at the time but Hubby wouldn't agree to it, so I didn't go ahead. Now he kind of has I want to get on with it! LOL And I also need to get my teeth sorted out. I want a hollywood smile make-over. I hate my teeth so much! LOL

Anyway, I was hoping to take pictures today, but it's going to have to be tomorrow now seeing as hubby is in a less than helpful mood with photographs today.

2 months post op:

Tummy tuck wise, my scars looks fab! It's quite a vivid red at the moment but I think that's partially just part of the healing process and partially the fact that I have been running around like a blue arsed fly for the last few weeks and haven't really stopped at all. I still have the bulge to the right of my stomach, but it doesn't really bother me right now.

Liposuction wise my scars are well healed and fading by the day, I don't think anyone would actually notice them at all now unless I pointed them out!

I'm about to up my exercise now as well, as I signed up to do the Full London Moonwalk in May next year. 26.2 miles speed walking! And I'm also already signed up to do the MK Midnight Moo which is another 10 miles in June I think. As you can probably tell, I like walking! And I like walking even more at night! LOL Plus the Moonwalk is done in your bra's and not only do I have a hot new body, but I'll have nice boobs by then too - wahay! LOL

I've got a rowing machine in storage that I'm about to pull out as well, as I'd like to tone up a bit now. Especially my inner thighs as the skin is quite loose there where I had the liposuction...

I need to go clothes shopping as well soon as most of my clothes are now too big. It's a struggle to find anything to wear most days as everything looks kind of baggy on me now. What a problem to have hey?! LOL

I'll try and take a photo of my scar today for you all to see...

2 months, 2 weeks and 4 days post op:

I've just posted some new pics above of my tummy tuck, 2 and a half months post op. I'm still so pleased with the results, it was totally worth it to have the body I have now! I'm especially loving my curvy waist and my love handles. I thought they'd bug me as they make me look bigger but I actually think they're kind of sexy!

My scar is healing well although it's going through a very red phase. And my belly button looks super cute in my opinion. I've got a new confidence I never thought I'd ever have. I am in no pain now, and no real complications or problems although I have noticed I have a ridge on the right hand side above my scar. It never goes up or down so I'm pretty sure it's not swelling... I'm going back to Poland in January for a breast lift and augmentation so I'll ask Adam then what he thinks!