Tummy Tuck: Stories

I am in tip-top shape, yet need a muscle repair and a tummy tuck to get rid of the extra skin on my belly. I keep vacillating about going through with it due to an autoimmune illness I have, which can be impacted by antibiotics. Other than that, additional concerns include the amount of money it costs and my feeling vain and selfish for spending the money. Albeit as mentioned above, my health is the greatest concern. We'll see if I end up going through with it. Yikes!

Okay...so I am not sure if I am in tip-top shape, really! But I know for sure that I need a muscle repair, a new belly button, and to get rid of some stretched skin. I am going through with the surgery, although I will not have lipo. It took much thinking this through, as I do have some fat around my flank and back...and I hate it! But...I figure that if it bothers me too much, I will just have lipo when I change my implants in five or so years.... I am just excited to have a flat tummy and to be able to sit down without having to pull my stomach into my pants. I have been following stories on this website for two years...and I finally get to go through with it. The doctor I chose is truly great...from what I have seen of his work, and he is always accessible. My pre-op is the 15th of March...so in three weeks I shall be suffering like many of you have. I am so happy with this decision....so excited to not have a pooch in everything I wear.

Went in for my pre-op today and it made me somewhat nervous to think that I would be coming home with drains, pain pump, and a catheter, which I have to remove. I also have to inject something on my thigh for 10 days to prevent blood clots. This seems a lot more than what I thought I could handle (i.e., drains/wound healing/constipation/etc). Also, he leaves the drains for 11 to 12 days, no matter how much you are draining. Yikes! I can only imagine how maddening it will be to have those things in for 12 days. So mentally...I am starting to prepare for all of this...which is a ton.

Well...went in to surgery today and was able to come home around 1ish pm. I have walked a couple of times, hunched over of course...and I am trying to eat, but do feel some nausea. Trying not to get sick to my stomach. My hubby is the best! In times like these, I realize what a wonderful man I am married to.

Had my surgery yesterday, and I say "thank the Lord for the pain pump!" It is scary to look down because it looks so bad currently, although I am glad I made it through surgery.

The day of surgery was okay pain-wise. The first day post op was also okay in the morning...towards the evening it got a bit more uncomfortable. Today is 2 days post-op and I have been sleeping a lot, and walking around when I am able to. I do feel nauseous with the Oxycodone and am thinking of transitioning to Tylenol, although when I do feel pain, it is still pretty intense...so I am afraid to stop the Oxycodone. I hope I continue healing and hope the discomfort subsides soon.

So...water went down the wrong way this morning and oh my goodness, the cough alone almost killed me. OUCH! Besides that, I am trying to walk around the house as much as possible and rest as much as possible. Today I am able to take a shower....not that I want to, but I think I need it. I feel yucky and stinky...so my hubby will help me. We'll see how it goes. I am still taking my pain medication and my laxatives daily...thank goodness I have had no problems with BM. I hope it continues that way.

So I took a shower today (3 days post-op), and I must it feels great to feel clean. It was no walk in the park, but my hubby made it so much easier. I am glad I did it!

It is 4 days post op for me today. I went into get the pain pump removed, and it did not hurt at all. All seems to be going well and my next appointment is next Monday, one week, to get drains removed. Taking it one day at a time..is all I can do.

Today I have more energy and am in the phase where I am really getting tired of feeling this way and not myself. I am trying to be patient, but it is difficult. I pulled one of my drains today and it hurt terribly...don't do it if you can help it. :) I do like that my muscles feel itchy, as if they are beginning to heal. That makes me happy. Six days until these drains are removed..and I cannot wait! I have noticed that I don't need the pain meds as much and I have not taken any since 3 this morning. Yay!

Showers are the best! A great way to feel new again. Nighty night all tummy tuckers...

It is 6 days post op and I have five more days for the drains to come out. I can imagine it will be somewhat normal once the drains come out. The doctor said that even though there isn't a lot coming out of the drains, he keeps them in for 11 to 12 days to prevent seronomas. My stomach feels itchy and like it could be healing, which makes me feel very happy. If you are feeling down and not very good...take a shower! It is amazing how good I feel after a good ol' fashion shower. Today I am heading to my mom's so that my hubby can go for a run and take a break from me and the kids. He needs a sanity break from taking care of our two kiddos and me. He has been heaven sent, but even an angel needs a break. I can totally feel and see the drains through my stomach...it is soooo weird and gross. Things just don't look very pretty. I have noticed that when there is more skin to take off before surgery, the outcome looks so much better after surgery. Since I did not have a lot of skin to take off...my outcome just does not look that great as I have seen in comparison to some ladies. I guess I will have to wait and see what my final results will be in a few months. Patience is a virtue...I need it at times.

8 days post op and still have the wonderfully, comfortable drains. Not! At least getting closer to getting them taken out..3 more days to go. Yesterday we all went to my mom's and it was sooo nice to get out of the house and have the best d inner ever! Family is the best in times like these. I am still trying to stay positive, although I definitely have gone through the thougts of why did I do this..is it worth it...could have spent the money for something else, like for the family...etc, etc, etc.... It is difficult to be so confined to the house because of the drains. There is only so much I can do. As I listen to all of the wonderful stories of the girls who had surgery the same day I did and have their drains out..and how they say they feel, I can't hope to think that is how it will be for me on Monday. Ahhhh...I will continue waiting and dreaming.

I am 10 days post of, and yesterday, Saturday night, I e-mailed my ps to tell him how painful my drains were. The area where the drains went in hurt terribly..they were oozy, scabby and just plain painful all over. It hurt while I sat, while I walked, and when I touched it...it was awful! He e-mails back and says, you can meet me at the office tonight or wait til Monday. I could hug that guy right there...my hubby drove me out there last night, I took three pain pills and off we went. At 8:15 PM, I got my drains removed and I could begin wearing spanx. I love my PS...that was so kind of him and thoughtful to meet with me on a Saturday night to remove these horrible drains. Yes, even with three pain pills it hurt horribly. But once they were out, I did not know if to laugh or cry...I was in shock. Thank God...they are out and I feel much better. I am unable to walk straight...but I can definitely try now, without having these painful drains pulling on my skin. Happy Easter all......and happy healing.

11 days post op...and feeling better. Still unable to stand completely straight, which is kind of a pain in the butt. I took some pictures and I like what I see, although there is still a lot of swelling. I look wider than before surgery, but I am sure once the swelling is down in a few months...things will look wonderful. I like my lil' belly button, although I still think it is kind of low. Oh well...some of us can't be 100% happy with the results. :(

I am 13 days post op and I am feeling a little bit better. Yesterday I was supposed to go back to work, but decided to take a sick day..as well as today. Thank goodness I work two days a week and was able to do that. My kiddos are spending the morning with their grandparents, and I was able to sleep in until 10:40 yesterday and 9:45 today! Wow! I had not done that since before I had my kiddos...five years ago. I felt renewed yesterday. I was able to wipe down and clean the bathrooms and make dinner for my family...it felt great! I was feeling so great I decided to try on my skinny pants..not a good idea. I could not button my pants and it did not feel very good, but it made me realize that there is a lot of swelling going on. So...I weighed myself thinking I had probably gained a ton of weight, but I had actually lost a couple of pounds, yet do not fit in my pants. I guess I will stick to loose dresses since it is spring and I will not try on my pants again until July. :( I have been sleeping on the bed and am able to stretch a little bit more, which feels great!

Yesterday was a tough day for me. The PS said I could remove the tape and begin using Mederma. After removing the tape, the middle of the incision where the vertical incision meets the horizontal looked open and was bleeding. It is not a good feeling to see your incision that way..yucky! The PS said it was fine and to use Bacitracin..which I did and now it does not looks as gross. But that was not fun. The ends of my incision are wrinkly...like he could not get the skin to be smooth along the incision and I am already seeing some thickening of the scar in those areas, which means dog ears and him going back to fix things (hence cutting, stitching, etc), which I do not want. Even though my belly button is somewhat low, I did not want him to fix it..so I was getting used to the idea of living with a low belly button. Now I notice that it is not centered correctly. It is not significantly obvious, but I can tell it is more to the left. I am soooo frustrated with this. All morning yesterday I was running around making breakfast, getting kids ready, taking son to preschool, teaching daughter and playing with her. By 1 PM I was worthless, and that is how I remained for the rest of the evening. Then, my son crawls in front of me(why, I don't know since he is 5 years old and is acting like some kind of animal) and trip and fall. Not fun. Since I am PMSing...I get very frustrated with him..not good either. Then I get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and I pass out. I don't remember anything except coming to with major pain in my stomach & trying to answer my husband's questions. I must have fallen and tried to sit up using my stomach muscles without thinking & that is what woke me up...the pain. My PS says to stay very hydrated...and yesterday I did not do that. So..it is partly my fault. Anyway..thank you for letting me vent. Not having a good two days...this surgery is definitely a roller coaster ride of emotions, doubt, uncertainty and frustration. I will try to hang in there.

It is 19 days post op and no my muscles do not hurt, but they do feel very tight & I continue to get those uncomfortable contractions. My incision has mostly healed, with the exception of the middle area. I continue to apply Bacitracin and hope it does the trick. It is still uncomfortable to sleep well in bed, and if I stretch a certain way, it hurts a little bit or feels uncomfortable. I am wearing whatever fits, because right now, not much is really fitting very well. My belly button looks the same, although it hurts at times. I wonder if a stitch needs to be removed...hmmm? Besides that, today was my first day at work & it is actually less work than it is staying home with the two little ones. Soooo...I am enjoying it today and tomorrow, my only work days, and then real work begins on Thursday. I also have this cough..don't know why. It doesn't hurt much when I cough, unless it is a deep cough,which I try to prevent. I am sure going to have to be patient with all of this, and it is not easy.

I saw my PS today and he snipped some stitches and pulled some scabs from my BB. I am okay overall with my results, with the exception of the little butt I have in the front from the vertical scar. He said to wait some months to completely heal, and if itt needed to be revised, he would fix it no problem. I am still undecided because I have not been able to wear my jeans/pants to enjoy NOT seeing the bulge....so until that occurs, I am going to hold off on the "worth it" check. Also, since I did not get lipo...I don't know how much of a muffin I have on my back with my jeans on. We'll see.....

I am happy with the fact that my horizontal scar is so low...love that I can wear my lil' black bikini bottoms. Yay! I am still pretty swollen & today was the first day I went Spanx free...it feels weird, but it is nice not to have the tight garmet on all day. He also said I could take baths...another yay! I missed my baths so. As I do heal, it is so difficult getting on RealSelf...yet it is so nice getting on and hearing your stories and to see how amazing everyone looks! Thank you for letting me share my story and for being so kind and supportive.

It has almost been six weeks, and it is so nice to see on RS how everyone is progressing along in their healing. It is amazing to see how awesome everyone looks..truly! I am still undecided about this surgery, just because there are things I am still unhappy about. The only thing that keeps me hopeful is that it does take a very long time to completely heal, lose the swelling, and for the scar to fade. I am trying to apply BioOil daily by massaging it for about 30 minutes, and at night I use Mederma. I still wear the Spanx, yet some days I don't and it feels good. As most of you ladies, I swell like mad in the evening. My belly button seems to be getting bulgy and looks like an outie most of the day. My pants rub on it and it does get irritated. According to my PS that is normal when you are thinner, yet he will fix it if it needs it in 6 months. I still hate my frontal mini-butt from the vertical scar. I am unsure how he did it, but it does look like a butt. It is mostly due to the fact that there are still stretchmarks in that area and the vertical scar elongates due to the softness of the skin. My PS said he would fix that in 6 months if it did not change. Soooo...with those two things perhaps needing to be fixed, I cannot decide whether I like the results or not. Of course, the ends of my incision are totally wrinkly..but I am not even going to go there. I am sure I can go on and on..especially since my belly button is off center. Okay, I am done venting. Thank you for listening to my rant.

On the other hand, I went for a walk with my hubby and kiddos and wore my short and a tank top, without a bulgy belly. That was nice! I lifted my tank top and asked my hubby to take some pictures so that I could share them on RS...and from afar with the scar hidden, it looks okay. I am glad the bulging belly is gone...although it is still swollen and it is hard to see how it will ultimately look. Still waiting....

It has been two months and I guess overall it was worth it. When I am dressed is when I notice a HUGE difference...no more blubber belly hanging over my bottoms. Naked, it is a different story, as I am not completely satisfied with the belly button and the very top of the vertical scar. I must say that my PS is receptive, and is willing to go back and fix those two things six months post op...so that makes me happy. I will definitely get them revised, even though it is a pain to have to heal specific areas again.

Sooooo...all you ladies who got their TT almost a year ago...how are you doing? I notice from posts that some of you are super happy with the results, while others are in the "happy in some areas" with their results. What I have noticed is that my sides sure have widened. What the heck? I did not get lipo on any area, just the TT, but my hips and waist are definitely expanding. I am unsure if I like this. Have you ladies noticed any weight gain in other areas after the TT? Overall my tummy looks great when I am dressed. Undressed, well, that is another story. My bellybutton is not centered correctly & my vertical scar is wrinkly due to stretch marks he was unable to remove. Soooo...when I bend over, the bottom of my stomach looks terrible. I just hate the thought of having to go back in to get dissected. Anyway, I don't know if he can do anything with the to the left bellybutton and the vertical scar.

I hope you are all doing great! I look at most pictures and think about how wonderful everyone looks....just wondering if any of you have had any problems with your TT. Take care & thanks for listening & sharing.