Tummy Tuck: Stories

Well ladies!! I am going to join the flat side finally, and I am excited, nervous, and have about a billion different thoughts and emotions going on right now. I have been looking into a tummy tuck since my last baby was born and reading all of your stories on here and stalking the internet about any and everything to do with a tummy tuck.

I have went to three different consults here locally and had 1 over the internet, in the end I am going back to the plastic surgeon that did my breast augmentation about 10 years ago, aside that i already new him he just seemed to be on the same page as me with my goals and his procedures etc. plus he has you stay the night in a care facility in case of any complications (this for me is fantastic cause i tend to freak myself out pretty easy) lol..

I am 27 will be 28 in May, I have been married to my best friend for 4 years now and have two amazing little ones a little boy that is 3 and a little girl that is 1 (both will be having birthdays in Aug. I had my son early and had to have an emergency c-section. So with my little girl I had another c-section and carried her for 39 weeks and nothing has been the same since. Even when I was younger and thin 5'7 and 125 lbs my stomach was big compared to the rest of my body so now with age weight and two pregnancies things are not looking good. I am currently 5'7 and 168 pounds.

I am sooo excited yet feeling a little guilty that i am spending so much money just to make me feel better about myself along with not being able to pick my babies up and hopefully not traumatizing them seeing me not feeling well and being the on doing everything for them like they are use to.

They are starting me on Iron pills and stool softeners from today forward and planning on pre op appointment the 27th or 28th of Feb. when i take them the rest of their money in cash so I can the cash discount.

I really appreciate everyone who has posted their experience and their journeys it has helped me to research and to try and know what to plan for even though i know everyone handles pain different and heals different etc. It has been my own support system since no one except my mom seems to understand why i am wanting to do this so badly.

I will try and post pre op pictures shortly i need to work up the nerve to do that first though.. but thinking of doing it seems easier knowing that it will not be what anyone sees after my surgery :)

Okay.. i had my pre-op appointment yesterday morning on the way there i had too many thoughts going through my head my doctor probabaly thinks i am a crazy person by now lol.. But he addressed all my questions/concerns and made me feel much more confident in my decision to go ahead with this, not that I am actually doubting doing it but once it changes from a want to this is really going to happen it puts things in a much different perspective.

So I paid the rest of the surgeon fees and i will pay the surgery center fees the day of surgery ouch..lol so full tummy tuck with muscle repair and lipo of hips flanks and lateral thorax (bra fat).

I have also been researching about after care things to make my life easier once i come home i see a lot of people saying a recliner well i have 4 technically that are built into my couches but my concern is there is no bathroom on the floor the couches are on so i would have to make my way upstairs to go the bathroom.. would it be worth it to get a recliner to put in my bedroom close to the bathroom or am i over thinking things? Thanks in advance

Ok so i have finally worked up the courage to add pre op pics look at your own risk lol... now i am just hoping the post op are sooo much better that it was worth showing everyone the bad pics!!

I am getting so excited my surgery is next week!! But i have really been debating on getting a recliner to put in my bedroom, ii have reclining couches but for one I am worried about my dogs jumping on my stomach in the middle of the night and the other is my couches are on the main level of my house so to go to the bathroom I will have to make it up about 15 stairs and a hallway. My hubby don't think I will need it cause he thinks i handle pain well but I dont know how confident I am in myself with handling pain and I dont want to mess up my results by over doing things or extend my healing time..... any suggestions would be very appreciated!!

I cant believe but by this time next week i will be back home from surgery and the overnight stay at the surgery center probably tired hurting and sick to my stomach wondering why i would have done this to myself lol.. so excited I just wish it was tomorrow instead of next Wednesday !!

Well the surgery center just called and told my i need to be there a 6 am on Wednesday eeeeekkkk surgery is to start a 7 am then it will b about 4 hours of surgery wow that seems so long!! She also said to expect at least 4 hours of recovery before family can see me, does that sound right? Cause I know i am going have a very anxious husband and mother waiting to see me. I am so excited to get this done i thought i wold be more nervous but I am sure that part will show up tomorrow night lol..

Well tomorrow is the big day!!! I have ti be at the surgery center a 6am surgery is suppose to start at 7am i guess today has been the calm before the storm so to speak lol... I have been way less anxious today than I have been kinda odd i figure its because I have been a busy busy bee making sure everything that i wont be able to do is taken care of so life isn't so hard on my husband or my kiddos while i'm out of commission..by the way I decided to go with a recliner I went with a power lift chair and have it in my room.. well going to finish all my last minute things I need to do tonight.. see you on the flat side!!!!!

First post op appointment today day 5 everything is looking good according to my doctor. I am still unsure i feel like my scar is high and i look fat i know its all very swollen front and back so hopefully it gets flatter and flatter and smaller and smaller!!!! I got my horrible right drain out today though so that was a plus..

Today was my 2nd post op appointment 2 days shy of 2 weeks post op. I got my last drain tube and o man it feels amazing not lugging that thing around anymore and I get a real shower tomorrow (thats the best part i am so excited). I got all my surface stitches out across mt incision, belly button and lipo areas on my back side, then was covered with a bunch of tape!!

I am still back and forth on how i feel.. at this point i look 100% better than before but this swelling is playing mind games with me no doubt!! At first i thought my scar seemed to high now it is settling i no longer feel that way and i realized my underwear just seemed like they set lower before cause they were constantly rolled down from the flap of nasty fat/skin hanging over them lol.. then my belly button seemed a little of center like more to the right of my stomach but i have had more swelling on my left, the doctor said it is being pushed that way due to swelling and will resolve once my swelling goes down. My Dr. and nurse assured me things will just keep getting better so i just have to try and block out the mind games of the healing process!!

Also what is everyone wearing for a stage two garment i have already went through 2 garments that have outgrown me lol and the current one i have the nurse said could be a little tighter for better results since she could fit her hand down it when i had it on.. but i think the next size down will be to small so do i go with a binder or spanx?? I will try to get some new pics uploaded soon.

So i have decided that I am loving my results every day gets better and better (minus the mind game swelling)... my doctor absolutely what he gave me the results he said he would and then some!! Now to get past this horrible swelling by the end of the day though i know that's a long road..Posting new pics taken yesterday 1 day shy of 2 weeks post op wearing my pre op jeans yay!!

Serously hate swelling.. yesterday i felt amazing then couldn't sleep last night just couldn't get comfy.. woke up swollen must have ate something way high in sodium but n a brighter note i found (by accident) my scale that had the hubby hide from me i am 11 pounds less than the morning of surgery ad i measured myself at my belly button a few days ago and i am 6 inches smaller than before!!!

I still feel lie my lady stuff is 'taller' than before and my scar is a bit higher than i had hoped for but overall i look 100% better than before s i guess i cant really complain. I am always covered in tape so cant see my incisions most of the time i also cant get my butt into my stage 2 compression garment umm it says its the same size as my stage one that has been to big i just cant get it on and t ireally hurts my tummy when i am trying.

Went to my 3rd Post op appointment yesterday!! Dr said everything looks great, him ad his medical student seemed pretty impressed with my results so far. The appointment was mainly to make sure fluid wasn't collecting since they took my last drain out the week before. Now i don't have to go back for a month that will be nice cause its a little over an hour drive to get to his office from where i live.

I have questions about swelling though it seems like every other day i swell up, don't know if its cause i am over doing it on the days feel better (not so swollen) so it causes swelling the next day or if ts what i am eating but man it sucks!! I felt amazing yesterday today i am sitting on the couch feeling bad for myself lol.. i even took my compression garment off cause it flt so uncomfortable due to the swelling.

My skin is so dry on my stomach any suggestions other than trying to keep lotion on? My Dr has you keep tape on for 3 months so its mostly around the belly button where the tape comes of all the time. Also tanning?? I am in serious 'need' of a tanning bed how do i tan without darkening my scars? Will the tape keep the scars safe or do i need to put sunblock or?? Also i have heard my newly stretched skin will be more prone to burning true or false?

Well I am happy with my results... but man does the healing process require A LOT of patience more than I had planned on lol...One day i feel liKe a million dollars and love my results the next day I feel like the girl that turned into a blueberry on Willy Wonka and am not sure of my results.. my stomach changes on a daily basis I swear. I feel that my pubic area is raised too high but then question if it is because i am not use to seeing it?? My belly button also seems off center to the right.. Dr says its cause i am more swollen on the left so the swelling pushes my belly button the other way? Plus i was a little to the right to begin with according to the horrid before pictures he showed me.

So they belly button can deal with for the most part but the taller/longer than i am use to pubic area mmmm i dont think i can deal with this not long term any ways so what are my options is there a revision i ca do to shorten it back where i feel it should be.. will it move down as i heal? Am i just being crazy 'i tend to be crazy about things' I should also mention there was some lipo od my pubic area as per my request so it didnt bulge at all but now i am facing a different issue of feeling like its too high.

I know should just be grateful that i have such amazing results so soon, i love getting dressed in my pre op jeans and super tight girl shirts.. plus my boobs look huge and amazing (in a really good bra lol) my mom and hubby both told me its probably good i didnt do my boobs at the same time as my tummy tuck like i had wanted to do, cause they think they would have been way too big now that i dont have a huge belly over shadowing everything else lol..

So i have had what i thought was indents from my compression garment and swelling since like 2 1/2 weeks post op.. well lately i havent been wearing my garment as much so i actually can see my bare stomach before i now i never seen it much i was always wearing my CG. Well i slept without my CG lastnight go to get in the shower and i notice the indents are still there after not wearing my garment all night so i start to really examine things and yup a bunch of tiny stretch marks what the hell!!! I asked my DR specifically if i could get stretch marks from a tummy tuck he laughed at me and told me no.. and wouldnt be so upset but its like a patch in a circle right above my belly button i am so upset cause i know there is nor reversing nasty stretch marks and almost all of mine we gone from before any i had left could be covered by underwear now i have them above my belly button??

Well even though I am very upset over my new stretch marks ABOVE my belly button (and yes they are new they were not kinda sorta maybe there before) .. and of course the swelling sucks some days I feel amazing and tiny and then the next day i feel like a water soaked sponge :( . I still havent taken a bath how long before its safe to bath? I am trying to wean myself from my compression garment until i go without it for a day then think i need to buy a new smaller size (it helps wit my swelling so much) i love it and i hate it at the same time, i have also had 2 stitches get spit out one in my big incision and the other in my belly button. but here are some new pics any how!!