TT and Breast Reduction - Thrilled! - St. Louis

I have always been large chested (34FF) which created a whole host of issues that had me in physical therapy and a chiropractor for years. I had always wanted a breast reduction. Finally, a friend had lipo and recommended her plastic surgeon. After doing some research, the institution she went to was one of the top in the country. So I go for the consult for the breast reduction and get really excited. Now it is about having the insurance pay for it. I get referrals from old chiropractors, current chiropractor, primary care physician, gynecologist and track down my old physical therapist (office was sold to a hospital). With in a week,the insurance has approved the surgery and is paying for the entire thing!! I am ecstatic. Surgery scheduled for March 30. But I have always had a pooch. Now I am 35 and 2 kids later, ages 14 and 11, had a ton of extra skin added to that. Absolutley embarrassing. I started to worry that after my boobs were no longer big enough to cover them up (while clothed, nevermind a bathing suit), how would I feel? I knew that what I needed was a tummy tuck. I called the plastic surgeon's office to find out about how much one ran. The nurse said it may only be lipo and I should come in and talk to the doctor. We scheduled the appt for March 26th, 4 days before my surgery. I talked to the doc, she said definately a tummy tuck with lipo on the flanks, thighs, hips and bum. They gave me the price. Knowing it would drain my savings, I said heck with it. I am doing something for me. So Friday we decided that the tuesday surgery would include the tummy tuck too. First, let me say that I am SO HAPPY that I chose to do them both together. If I had only done the breast reduction, healing time would have been a lot less. But to get them both out of the way at once is priceless. The drains from my breasts were out the day after surgery. The drains from the TT were out 6 days post op. (That hurt like no body's business, by the way). I still have a bit of swelling, but to see a flat tummy going all the way down, I am thrilled. I was off the pain pills in 2 days. I was probably more sore from the lipo and the bruises that created. It hurt my hips and butt to sit and get up. I wear the "spanky pants" (my name for them, I think it actually just a girdle that is fully body) that the doctor gave me. She said they would feel good and she was right. I know that as time goes on it is only going to get better. The lipo results will continue to improve and so was the TT. I was reading this site the day before my surgery and some posts absolutely freaked me out. There are some people who have had some really bad experiences, either with the results or with the pain. I would say: 1) do your research on your surgeon. If you are going to spend the money, make sure you are paying for a reputable surgeon. And don't just look for what other patients say about them, that could just be family and friends. What do the medical journals and publications say about them? 2) Everyone knows what their tolerance for pain is. Don't be fooled, it can hurt if you don't manage the pain correctly. Go in to it fully aware of that and you won't be surprised when you come out the other side. Other than that, enjoy the results!