Mommy Makeover: Stories

Well i have 6 children(all girls) and i have gained with each one over 100lbs each time. it took a toll on my body and now it needs to be fixed. I am scared and wondering if its the right thing to do. Can i really be that vain? What if i die! What if im not put all the way under and i can feel it but cant communicate?! What if i wake up in the middle of the procedure?! what if in recovery i move just right and pop open and bleed to death?!! All different types of things are going through my head hence the reason why i havent had it done yet. Ive been researching proceudres doctors, ambulatory facilities, surgical facilities, office base facilities, researching PS and anesthesiologist credentials. im doing my homework and trying to get some courage to actually go through with the surgery. if i could only stop freaking myself out. Anyways, ive seen 2 PS so far and schedule to see 4 more all in feb. Hopefully i can find one i trust and that i feel comfortable with.

I just wanted to clarify from the original post that I have always lost all the baby weight and currently at a stable healthy weight and all my stats are very good... I go for a consult again on the feb 7th to meet another PS. I went at the end of jan to meet with a patient coordinator but not the PS i meet him on the 17th of feb. but the PC was a little off and going a mile a min, she really wouldnt let me get anything in really. But she did tell me she had a tuck with this PS and he is very good. But who wouldn't say that to get you to spend your money there. anyways, i just hope i get a better feeling with the doctor than what i did the PC. Im still weight lifting and doing my cardio alot still not seeing that scale budge though, give it time right. lol. I'll up dated again on the 7th after my 3rd consult(but technically my 2nd with a PS that operates on everything, the 1st just did fat graphs nothing else.)

Well i was not able to make my consult on Feb 7th, my kiddos got sick so i had to cancel. Calling later on today though to reschedule that consult around the 20th of Feb. I've been talking to a patient of this PS for alittle while now. She speaks so highly of this PS(ill call him DR.O) hes very thorough; the eased alot of my fears and concerns. She also LOVES her results. I guess I'll see when i go in. i'll update again when i go for these consults at the end of the month.

just wanted to make a quick update. Im scheduled to see a PS on FEB 21st with Dr.O and again on the FEB 22nd with Dr.D. ill up date again then to tell how the consults went.

Well I went yesterday to my consult with Dr.O. He is very nice and explains all the procedures in detail. His patient coordinator was EXTREMLY RUDE she i did NOT like one bit. But back to doc he told me he doesnt do lifts and augs together. So I would have to come back in if i still want a aug(3months time). So my hopes of getting the tummy tuck and breastlift/aug all in one shot, was tossed out the window. And he also found a hernia(didnt know i had one). So looks like i'll be getting the MM done sooner than next year. Or maybe just the tuck and hernia repair gotta see what I can afford first. But he did say that with the lift ill be a size Bcup (im a small D now) I was like WTF i havent been that small since i was 12yrs old. I don't think Ill like that one. Well i go this friday to see my primary carephysican to ultrasound my hernia to see what excatly is going on. Im scared about that now. I was advised not to work out, walk excessivly, not to lift anything over 20lbs, and of course no sex! Dont have any idea what im going to do. All my muscle is going to go byebye. DAMN IT! Anyways, I go for a consult with a different doc on the 28th now and then on the 1st of march. Im also on a waiting list for another doc to see if i can get in sooner. Well with this Doc i seen yesterday he quoted me with a lift and tummy tuck to be around 11,789.00 and to do just a tuck is 6,884.00. Both those quotes include cosemtassure insurance and the garmet that they recommend. I'll update again around friday to let everyone know what my PCP says about the hernia.

Went last week for an ultrasound on my abdomen to get a better look at the hernia also got cbc,thyroid, cholesterol panel done. I'm just waiting for the results on all of those. Went and seen a PS Dr. D yesterday he was nice felt around alot educated on procedures as well didnt feel a hernia. But his PC made me feel like she picked the size of implant for me and not me actually picking it. I had the feeling she wanted me to be porno big; thats not what i want. But this PS is including lipo on inner and outter thighs his total for everything is 16890"(BL,BA,LIPO of thighs,lovehandles and pubis, tummy tuck) not bad at all and he does loads of financing as well. The PS i seen today is Dr. A paid 45 for a consult and spent a total of 10-15mins with him, the rest of the time is with his nurses. He was nice as well, he educated the procedures to me he did not feel a hernia but just like the other PS said if there is one I can repair while im in there. I believe he spent more time talking and trying on boobs than anything else. I did try on boobs, I made the choice on the size. HIs nurses are all very nice and helpful. I ended up choosing 375cc on left side and 450cc on right side. All his staff has had work done by him and they all looking amazing and young but they are all older than me but look younger than I do, which is crazy. One of his nurses let me feel her tummy rock hard and she dont work out. She told me that it was definatly worth every penny though. She looks amazing her boobs are huge but i guess thats cuz her waist is super tiny now. Anyways, I loved his staff all super women! Dr. A is very nice and funny. I do love how all his work looks. He only does 2 financing options which sucks but what can you do. His quote for everything (BL,BA,TT,lipo of the abdomen and pubis) it came to 17052. Not bad I think. If i choose to do just one procedure lilke tummy tuck that one came to 7350. his quote is only good for 14days from today. im going to schedule 2 more consults with 2 different PS and go from there.

Hi,
Its been awhile since i have updated my profile. Since the last post I did see 2 more PS. I went to see this on PS im going to cal lhim dr. I. Well he seemed very cocky and he acted and looked very tired. The whole time during the consult he was leaning up against the wall. I asked him some questions that were concerning, like how can you avoid perforationg my arota when you do lipo? Well he said that they dont know why stuff like that happens it just does "When I was in med school I seen some patients die just getting a catheter put in". I said, What! How does that happen?" Then he said with his famous words, " I don't know it just did." I didn't get to try on any implants he made me feel very uncomfortable. Just because you have all this education and experience doesnt make you a godsend. that's what i was thinking. So anyways he was definatly a no and his price was the highest of all of them. The last consult that i went on was with Dr. G his staff was nice and he was too. I did feel like i was being rushed through everything thing. He also did work on his staff. I didn't get to see any before or afters that part bothered me. I didn't really get to ask anything, i had to keep on reminding him why i was there(for what procedures). Then he said, you dont have to do this but alot of my Mommies that get their makeover they complain about having this( which was the back fat on the lower part) its optional. You don't have to do it but you can if you want. He also said i had a nice figure and once i get the tummy tuck it will be even better( the reason why he told me i had a nice figure is because i have the hour glass shape, i do work out alot always have). That part was nice to hear though i always thought that i do have a nice figure just the belly that hangs due to lack of skin and now my boobs just aint good anymore. But anyways, He was very nice educated me on the reason why he would like to do a breast lift first then come back for implants is because that the blood supply is "cut off" with the lift in 2 different areas so when you add a implant the last and 3 areas that draws blood to the breast is cutt off as well so there is a chance for nipple death. He said," if you were my daughter i would recommed doing a lift first, get those symetrical, perky, and nice. Then in 3months time come back and get the implants, so that you can have nice full breast to go with your new figure". I did like him alot, i just didn't like his price nor did i like his patient coordinator. She was nice dont get me wrong but she sucks at her job BIG TIME! i emailed her the next day after my consult and never heard a response. Just as bad as the first doctors coordiantor i called her that same day of my consult and never heard from her again.
So since that i have not choosen a PS yet, alot of things have happend with home life, that i had to put this whole makeover on hold for awhile to see whats going to be going on. I hope that i will still be able to get the MM done next year. but that all will have to wait and see what happens this year. I hate making plans because something tends to happen to derail your plans majorly. I see everyones post and you can see that their confidence has come back and they are happy as can be, and that is so awesome! Because i know once i'm able to get mine done i will once again be confident in my own skin. I seem to of lost my self and my confidence right around when i got pregnant with my 6th child. Everything was going wrong at that time in my life with my marriage and to top it off i was pregnant and not feeling confident cuz i was huge. After the birht of my 6th daughter(i gained 55lbs with her that has been the least amount of weight that i have ever gained in a pregnancy) i had lost over 65lbs with in 2months of having her. I felt so good that the lbs were just melting off my body, i felt sexy i felt confident, i felt like i was doing something right and proud of myself that i lost over 65lbs. But leave it to a man to f***k all that up for you. AT that time in my marrage s**t was getting worse than what they were while i was pregnant. I was trying everything to fix it and to grab some damn attention. But i finally gave up, i had had enough of his crap. Of course he blammed me for this and for that and he had to walk on egg shells around me and i didnt make him happy anymore blablabla. And this whole time hes complaining and whinning to me about me, i was thinking does he not SEE all that I do for this family and for him?! Does he not see that I'm not me anymore?! Does he not see that stress and depression is getting the best of me?! Maybe he does see but doesnt care. Does he actually think hes going to find someone beter then me?! Do I really want to through everything away that we had built together? I was pondering alot of things while he was talking and i told myself, let him go. He doesn't deserve you or this family, if "friends" is what he needs then go right ahead and have them. Will your "friends" keep you warm at night, do everything for you? I THINK NOT!!! so needless to say i let him go his merry way. We "seperated" he stayed in the living room and i stayed in the bedroom. we werent sleeping together nor were we sleeeeping together. Why should i give up the cookie, he dont deserve it. lol..
Anyways, that went on for a week or so, then guess what! He decides that he wants to be with me because he realized he was an a$$h**E and he was putting everything on me. And he really was blamming me for everything and in reality it wasnt me at all. But the damage had already be done(emotionally). He had told me that he is very much in love with me and wants to spend the rest of our lives together and making it up to me; and that I am the best woman and wife he could of ever asked for but he was too stupid to realize it at the time. Well duh i told him that, I knew that all along. But did I want him back after all that? I do love him very much and he had not done the ultimate betrayal; He just was lost for awhile(if he were to do the ultimate betrayal oh HELL NO there is no comming back after that in more than one sense). Anyhow we had gotten back "together" and ever since then he really has changed, he really has been trying to make up for all the times he was a jacka$$ to me and making me feel the way he made me felt.
Just recently i had a break down i had gotten really sad and depressed and just wanted to cry my eyes out. My husband asked me what was wrong and of course i said nothing( me not wanting to bother him with my feelings, not that he doesnt care because he does deeply, thats how i am). Well he finally got it out of me and i told him i wish i could be the way i was physically and mentally when we had met( which was 3kids ago, i had 3 children when we met). jAnd i told him that I know my self confidence will go up once i have the MM. I did tell him part of the way i feel is because of him on how he was and what happend the last 2 yrs. but the other part is how i am because i dont feel sexy. He tells me that he loves my body and im very sexy and he loves the way i feel; he tells me im beautiful and sexy everyday at least 10times a day. Which is very nice to hear and i do love hearing it. Its nothing that your doing wrong now its how i see myself. Some days i can look in the mirror and say , "I do look GOOD, all my hard work is paying off". but other days, i dread looking in the mirror, i dread wearing certain clothes, i dread making love my husband the love of my life. Because when i feel and can hear my hanging skin hit my body thats a turn off(sorry so graphic its grooss i know). Or when i look in the mirror and have to suck in my gut and lift my boobs and say this is how im supposed to look at 27yrs. Its depressing and overwhelming. I love my children and i wouldnt change them for the world. but i would change my body.
i want/need to be able to walk with my head held high, i want/need to be able to wear jeans and have them fit comfortably, i want/need to be able to shave my pubic region without lifting my stomach up to do it(gross i know sorry again), i want/need to be able to make love with my clothes off, i want/need to be able to walk around naked(in my house), I want/need to be able to do jumping jacks, burpees, jump rope, sit ups with out strapping in mine stomach. I want/need to be able to stop cutting myself down and comparing myself to my mom( i dont want to look nothing like that woman). i want/need my back to stop hurting(due to lack of muscles in my abdomen and my stomach is trying to hold up the hanging skin and it doesnt work so therefore my lower back comes into play).
Now that I am re reading what i wrote thats alot of wants seems like i want to much. Well lets change those to needs. ok there i did it. Am I asking for too much? Am I risking too much? Am I being to vain? Why am I so focused on my body? Why can't i just be happy the way I am? Will having this procedure make me feel better about myself? Am I being selfish?... People wear makeup to enhance their looks and to feel better about themselves( i do wear makeup occasionally, it does make me feel better to a point), so why couldn't I have a cosmetic procedure to make me feel better about myself? Why would these procedures make me any more selfish or vain than wearing makeup would?... 1 you spend 50 bucks on the other your risking life and alot of dough.
What I do know is that i'm not happy with myself on physical reasons and it does need to change. I believe once i do get the procedures done i would be a better person, woman, wife, mother. And ill be able to workout better! Sorry about that i guess I just had to get alot off of my chest lately. Well take care.

Well I haven't been on any consults again. I have been thinking about going in for 2nd consults with the same doctors that I have already encountered. I am having a terrible time on what to do. Maybe my expectations are too high, idk. Like i said before i had a few PS wanting to do a BL first then later down do a BA, then the others are willing to do it all together. My fear with the outcome of what it will look like. 1. if i decide to do the BA/BL together, what if my nipples look lopsided(pointing in different directions) then i wold have to get a revision and go under once again. 2. One boob is higher then the other and wont drop. 3, What if both boobs are sitting too higha and have a weird shape to them. Now what if i only do the BL first. 1. My boobs will be too small and I'll be disappointed. 2. what if they have a square look to them an not a round look. 3. What if the PS didnt get them symetrical the 1st time, than i have to do a revision to even them out( appear to be even anyways). 4. What if my nipples are too high or too low or pointing in different directions.
Maybe those are all normal fears that every woman has when trying to figure out what to do. What I do know is that i would like to have perky full symetrical boobs. I do know that just a BL will not get me to where i would lke to be. I do know that I would like a PS to listen carefully to all my questions and concerns and maybe just maybe ask me what I want to achieve with this plastic surgery. What do you want your breasts to look like, "well i would like symetrical, perky full breast and have my nipples in the same direction" " oh and that I would like for you to take some breast tissue out of the left breast cuz it gets rock hard now and i would like to min that with implants". What are your concerns with the tummy tuck? " Well my concern is that i don't want it to pulled up to where my pubic area sticks out of my pants/underwear" " I dont want an oblong belly button, I would like a normal or close to a normal BB" " I really would like a low scar, I obviously want muscle repair cuz thats one of the points of a tummy tuck, i don't want loose skin on the tummy afterwards; thats what i paying you for to min that issue". " i definalty do not want dog ears so try to min that as well". " Oh doc one more thing, i do not like my inner thighs cuz they touch each other and rub and my saddle bags i would like gone can you do that as well or does that have to be in a different surgery'? " I have some pics of tummy tucks and BL/BA that i would like to be similar to or better, do you think that is doable for my body type"?
I imagine that is how a consultation is supposed to go and none of mine went like tht or even similar. This is why Im thinking that i should go a redo the consults with these 5 surgeons and try to get another feeling on them. This is a tough choice to make, i have to trust this person with MY LIFE! This for me is not a easy thing for me to do. When i was pregnant with my children and had to choose a OBGYN i thought that was going to be very difficult because you have to trust this person with your life and child. I always though oh great im never going to find one. With children 1 through 4 it was actually pretty easy, I only met with 1 and I knew that was my OBGYN. Then I had moved far away from that OBGYN and i had gotten pregnant again and i went to an OBGYN in the new state i moved to. Right off his staff was terrible( they yelled at me and oh boy i yelled right back then they changed their tune with me) and i was thinking oh this doctor better be good because i had to put up with that unprofessionalism and disrespect i dont think so. Then I met the doctor oh my god cold rude just everything you wish NOT to have in a doctor. Well I only seen him once because i was on a path to find the right OBGYN for me. I knew i wanted a doctor who practiced VBACs and i wanted a OBGYN that was similar to my old obgyn. I called around then made an appointment to go met him. Well just by 1 visit I knew he was the one for me. He reminded me of my old obgyn but he was a little bit better( that was a plus) and he was willing to do a VBAC(another plus) he is very kind and compassionate and sympathatic and funny.
Well that's how I think choosing a Plastic Surgeon would of been but it was not for me. Maybe Im just picking at them cuz i dont like what they have to recommend. I keep on replaying the consults in my head and 3 of the 5 keep popping back in my head that i should definalty go back for 2nd consults,but their staff sucks, i also have been thinking about going to see 2other docs who dont advertise as much as all the other doctors, but their consults are expensive( i dont like throwing away 100 to 200 away if i decide i dont want to go with them ya know). What to do, what to do. If anyone has any more or other tips on how you choosed a PS please feel free and let me know. Thanks. Prayers be with you all going into surgery and recovery.

Thought that I should update my profile. I just recently went to a 2nd consult with one of the previous PS that I have seen before. This time I took my husband with me, so that he could look at before/afters, get a feel of the office setting and the people, but most importantly get a feel for the Plastic Surgeon. This time I was able to look at the PS before/after photos and I was able to ask him my questions. I had asked him if what kind of lifts he does and he pefers to do the Anchor LIft its the best one to do overall. I asked if he does "high tension" sutures with the Tummy Tucks(high tension sutures is just layers of stiches inside so that it doesnt pull, tug, burn, sting everytime you move) and yes he does do those( 10+pts for him). I had gotten naked so that he could relook at everything and he said that he would just take very very very little tissue off the right but mostly skin( right is much smaller than left) and then he would take tissue and skin off left to even them out, also that he would down size my areolas( he did tell me that when you do downsize the areolas that they do stretch a little bit when they start to heal). Also the TT will be to hip to hip extending more towards the back( but not all the way around, the scar will be long due to the over hang on the sides) he did recommend lipo of the flanks( he said alot of his MM complain about that area after they had the TT done so he recommended it but its not mandatory). It was a bit odd he rememebered me, he said, " I remember you pretty well" . I just thought that was funny that he remembered me out of all the ppl he sees on a daily basis that he remembered me( i guess i made a real good first impression). My husband liked him and the fact that the PS included my husband in the conversation and he addressed him by name when entering the room. After the PS left i asked my husband, "would you trust this doctor with my life'? He said, " I trust him with your boobs". lol But with this doctor i would have to do the Lift first then 3months time do the Augmentaiton ( he doesnt do both together due to the chance of nipple death, most PS will do all together and some will not). If i decide to go with this PS I don't think that I'll do the lipo with the TT and BL. I would go back and do the Lipo with the BA( I think). My husband and I will be going to another consult on Tuesday( this is another 2nd consult with a previous PS that i seen by myself, now Im taking my husband so he can get a feel for the Doctor). I will post that when it happens. But Dr. G is still in the running to be my potential Plastic Surgeon.

hi,
Well I went on another 2nd consult with Dr, A with my husband. IT took 2hrs for this consult, everything went fine. The first time I went to this Doctor i was quoted around 18000.00 but now the 2nd consult went to 11000.00 Dont get me wrong thats nice but Why did it go down so much? Is it because of the economy and the Dr. wasn't getting much buisness and decided to lower the rate or did something happen ( major complications or death) as to why the fee was lowered. the PS explained how he would do the BL and Aug and went in to great detail he explained it for my husband as well. Then i asked him my questions and he answered them all in detail( hes a visual doc) He showed my photos of the patients he had recently on his phone before/while/ and after the procedures. I asked my husband what he thought of this doctor and he said he seems ok hes professional. I asked him if he could trust this PS with my life. And of course he says, " I trust him with your boobs". I said, " great I'll have nice tits and be dead". I then happen to ask him did you trust my OBGYN with my life he then told me no. He also added that he only trust him with my life but hes not a doctor. He did help me choose size of implants though. I went too big and he went to small i think but we ended up meeting in the middle. The doctor said that I would look too top heavy with the implants i pick and i did feel that too. So we met in the middle that would even me out. I don't want to be too small nor too big. I don't want to have nothing but i also dont want to be porno big. Im very broad for a woman so i want something that will look like i have boobs. I also asked the doc that i have an hourglass shape will i lose that with the TT. He said with an old fashion TT that i would but he doesnt do the old fashion way, but the way he does it will enhance more of the hour glass so i would look like the Kim K and Jennifer Lopez look witht he small waist and vavoom everything. So that nice as well i really didnt want to lose the hourglass shape. I have one more consult with Dr. O it will be my 2nd with him So after this consult my husand and I will choose who to go with for the MM.

Well after some real hard thinking my Pros and Cons list, I have finally decided to go with Dr. G. The reason why I picked him is because he really made me feel comfortable and he really listend to me about my concerns with the breast. I believe that he will do a great job making them even. Plus I am able to see myself being calm going into the OR with this surgeon. He gave me the same feeling that my OBGYN did.The reason why i still was undecided was because i kept on going back and forth with Dr. A because he's willing to do everything in one shot( TT,BA, BL, LIPO) and DR. G is only willling to do the TT and BL first then the Aug. As much as i will hate not having breast for 3months after the MM i believe this is the safest way to go. Hey you never know I actually might like not having big boobs for once in my life. But I keep on getting this little voice in the back of my head saying, " You will hate not having no boobs go with the other doc". Then I get to thinking and say don't get greedy girl thats when things go wrong. I probably wont lilke not having boobs but right now its just skin some tissue(breastfeeding takes a toll). The other day i was laying on my stomach and my chest started to hurt and i was like oh man whats going on then i realize my breast was under me and not up where they should be but thats what was giving me pain, lmfao! I was like yup i need a lift badly can't wait. I can't belive its came to the point where it hurts to lay down on the stomach always have to make sure im wearing a bra or have them pushed up while im laying down. Anyways, Dr. G does financing through a few different places so I am waiting to apply witht he medical financing place( thats what its called is Medical Financing) I want to raise my credit score like 40 more points before i do the whole financing situation. I want to be able to finance the MM, Aug, and extra for revisions if need be. I already have a nice limit on the Care Credit but I don't want to use that unless i absolutley have to. Thats why i wanted to do it through the MF first and hope that i get the amount I want. Yes this doc is alttle expensive but he is the only one i actually believe and feel that he has MY best interest at hand. Yes it would be easier and nicer if i could get it all done at once but just wasnt in my cards to do it like that. I actually might end up doing a fat transfer into my breast instead of a implant. I do know i wanted it injected into my butt later on for a BBL, thats awhole nother situation thats the last part of my total mommy makeover. I know once the front looks good and tight that the back half of me will no longer look like it belongs to me. First is the MM then the BBL( that will take the fat from my bra line, saddle bag area, inner thinghs, and little from the lower back, and of course tummy area, still thinking about my arms but hopefully by then they will be more toned then what they are. I got muscle in there but cant seem to get rid of the fat off of them, so lipo is an option there). Some areas are just really hard to tone up( I've been trying since high school to get the toned arms and still cant get them) but i decided to do the INSANITY workout and thought yes this will help me tone my arms and innner thighs because before this workout i was donig my cardio but i have awlays been into weight lifting so i was doing leg curls of 50lbs and bicep and tricep dips of 20lbs. I love my weights! but since i've been doing INSANITY (theres no weights to this workout just your body weight) I have lost 6inches and 3lbs, not what i expected. I wanted to lose at leas AT LEAST 20lbs in 60 days but no way jose i only lost 3lbs and i keep losing and gaining that same 3lbs but the 6inches stayed off so far(knock on wood). My husband actually has lost the 20lbs that I wanted to and hes lost 4inches( WTF), Im glad that he lost all that but I am so mad that I didnt. I know men lose weight faster than women but I actually put my all into this workout plan and he half assed it and sitll lost. I did lose focus finally and thought screw it why eat healthy and stay the same when i can eat crappy and stay the same. But i crawled real fast out of my pitty party cuz i was feeling fat and lazy so i got right back up on the horse and got back into my workout plan. Next week I am adding weights to this program and hopefully that jump starts my body into losing some poundage soon. But if i dont oh well at least tone some more would be GREAT! Ill update again when I get approved for my financing for the MM.