40 Years Old and Have Wanted TT, BL for 13 Years!!! - San Francisco, CA

I finally have booked my TT/BL surgery and have paid the deposit!!!! I have been dealing with loose, wrinkly stretch-marked skin for over a decade now :( These stretch marks are on my belly AND my boobs :( Clothes have not fit right since my first son was born. I am always trying to suck my belly in and am so self-conscious about the skin. My waist just always looks "thick".
I find that the stretch marks look even worse whenever I lose weight!! The fat fills out the stretch marks and makes them a little less wrinkly.
My boobs look like I am 80 years old...grade 3 ptosis :(
I am shy in the bedroom, and never want the lights on...my poor hubby probably cannot remember the last time he has seen me walk by in a bra and underwear, nevermind naked LOL When I work out at the gym I never get undressed anymore and I shower at home as I have had perfect strangers approach me and comment to me about my stretch marks (such as "I bet you had a big baby with those marks").
I have not bought a pretty set of lingerie in over 14 years. I have also not worn a dress in all of these years either.

I weigh 163.5 lbs this morning. I am hoping to lose another 15-20 lbs before my surgery. I will have to be super strict and keep active to reach this goal. I have already lost 26 lbs in the past 3.5 months, so I think I can accomplish what I am setting out to do as I want the best results I can get.

I will take some pictures at my current weight and will update at 155 and 145 lbs.

All of the reviews posted here have helped me out so very much, so I wanted to contribute as well :)

I will have some before pics to post later on today. It is so hard to believe that tomorrow is the day! I can feel the butterflies in my stomach (despite taking ativan LOL)! When big time nerves start up I usually get IBS, and that seems to be right on schedule. I have no appetite either.

I guess at this point I just want it to be over with!

Th weight loss went okay...I weighed in at 149 this morning...so a few pounds shy of my 145 goal, but I am still proud of myself for sticking it through all of these months. I started at 185 about 6 months ago, so 36 lbs total. I look extra wrinkly now...my stomach looks like a testicle when I bend over I kid you not!!

The OR is booked for 6 hours...I think that is what scares me the most. That is a long time to be under. I opted out of lipo to flanks as I didn't want to push it further with my anxiety (I do have general anxiety disorder). So I am just getting TT (with MR) and BL with a partial reduction as they are uneven.

I have all of the confidence in the world in my surgeon, I am healthy and at my goal weight, so I will just think lots of positive thoughts tonight and tomorrow :)

I have not taken any after pictures yet, but on my next shower I will so I can post them. I do have my before pictures that I kept as a reminder, when things got tough post op, of why I did this. Those pics have worked many times when I was feeling down and guilty about getting the surgery LOL I will have to get the before pics up as well.

I now weigh 1 lb less than when I went in. I do not have too much swelling...it definitely peaked around day 4,5,6. Lately, the past few nights, I can see that swelling is decreasing then as well. I can fit into my old clothes, but now there is no roll hanging over...no stretch mark laden muffin top overflowing over my waist band to be seen :) I am still swollen, so I think I will drop a size eventually down the road.

My recovery has been pretty much uneventful. The first 2 days were tough, but once I got on top of the pain meds....then everything was much better! I definitely found days 1 and 2 to be the most difficult. Every day since then has been gradually better :)

Drains were out on PO days 5, 8. At first I wore just the abdominal binder with a large sheet of gauze under, but after drain removal I now wear a spanx-like compression garment under my abdominal binder with a piece of foam sandwiched in between them both, and there has not been any additional swelling after drain removal. Eventually I will just be in the spanx :)

I want to cry every time I see the new "girls"!!!!!! I did have a slight reduction as well as a lift. I have always had breast ptosis, even before having kids. I always had to wear extra wide bra bands, huge/industrial strength underwire etc. Back pain was constant. All of this is gone!!!! I have never had boobs that were perky!!! I am just in awe whenever I see them :) My PS did an amazing job on them!

My scar is doing well...I need some scabbing to fall off, then I guess in 2 weeks can begin scar therapy. My PS did an amazing job of giving me as low of a scar as she could. I had so many stretch marks that went way above my belly button, but most of them are gone except for a few which are below my BB now. I am high-waisted, so was worried about looking too boxy, but for the most part I have kept my shape, so am happy about that! I just wanted all of the loose, floppy skin GONE!

I am off pain meds for the most part, and only take a regular tylenol when the back pain sets in from hunching over. I still have to work on standing straighter. I think a lot of it is psychological at this point and I have to just make myself stand straighter and believe that my incision will be fine LOL

I walk around my home and yard about 20 min every hour or so, and climb stairs with no problems. I am now sleeping properly and no longer need naps....overall, I am really just starting to feel more like myself. I still have to be careful on outings. I can begin feeling energetic, but all of a sudden can start to feel light headed if too much walking has been done. I find this to be true with showering as well as it doesn't take much to wipe me out when having one.

I will post pics in a couple of days once I get my post op ones taken. Just have to get hubby to edit my face out and resize them LOL