Tummy Tuck: Stories

I am 42 and have one child. I am a shapely woman and like it that way but want my clothes to look and feel better. I am having a partial hysterectomy because of severe pain from fibroids which have returned after having a myomectomy (firbroid removal) 6 years ago. The previous surgery left a shelf of flab that no amount of exercise can fix. So I have decided to have the mini TT and hopefully this will solve the problem. I will post pre-op pics later.

I am concerned about the length of recovery, pain during healing, and if I will regret not having a full TT. I wonder what supplies I will need to have on hand to make me more comfortable and help along my recovery.

I am feeling a bit apprehensive as the PS on this site seem to be pro full TT and against mini or modified TT. I am going to talk to PS more to ensure this is the best move at this time. I have also added some before pics. BTW... I was 240lbs and down to 170.

Well I am a full 5 days post op and just starting to feel normal. My first three days, including surgery day I was in the hospital; so I was feeling very little pain. Boy oh boy, day 4 and 5 were so awful in almost every way. Severe nausea, terrible gas pain and did I mentioned the retching?

Today is the first day I feel close to normal. Believe it or not, good ole watermelon and Pepto calmed my stomach. Walking helped get rid of the gas and sooooo grateful the retching has ceased. Tomorrow I have my follow up with PS to remove the tubs. I don't have much liquid and it is rather pale so I am hopeful both will be removed. I will put up some post surgery pics this week.

Question... how long will the bloated and swollen feeling hang around?

I'm Day 8 PO. The first two days were a breeze as I was in the hospital and heavily medicated. I walked a bit on both days but only a yard or so.

Day 3, 4 and half of 5 were horrible. My pain meds were reduced (voluntarily), I walked more, experienced terrible nausea and painful gas. I begin with a Milk of Magnesia and an elevated water intake. Finally, I started to feel better as my gas passed and my stomach queasiness subsided.

Day 6 I was supposed to get my drains removed but my PS thought it was a bit too soon. I don't mind the inconvenience to avoid complications. I hope to have them removed Monday of next week but until then I am monitoring amount and quality of output.

Day 7 was a very laid back day as I did too much the day before. I had a lot of swelling and lower ab discomfort so I rested.

I took some post op pics and think I made a good decision so far. I can tell a significant difference, even with the bloat/swelling. I know some would not be happy but this is a reasonable result as I am not a thin woman. It is still too early to tell.

I am just over 4 weeks post op. I am having a bit of buyer's remorse regarding my decision to do the mini TT with the hysterectomy... just a bit. I am still a bit swollen but my tummy is not flat. What bothers me most is the reaction from my Gynecologist who said it was a waste of money. Before talking to him this week I was ok with the results because I am not a thin woman. I guess I should be immune to his opinion and remain realistic that I will not have a flat belly but I do not have the hanging overlapping tummy... which is what I was after in the beginning.

Well, I am 8 weeks from my min tummy tuck and still have some discomfort and bloating but nothing close to the pain in the first month. I still wear support foundational undies that help with the bloat. However, I do know when I am too active because my lower tummy gets sore. All in all, I am healing nicely but have to be mindful that it is a process. As far as appearance, I look much better. My clothes look better on me and although I have not lost weight I always have folks ask me if I have. I cannot wait until the bloating subsides which may take at least another month or two.