Tummy Tuck: Stories

I am 41 years young and the mother of two adult sons (ages 21 & 23). Both were delivered via C-Section. The appearance of my stomach has bothered me for a long time and I have been contemplating a Tummy Tuck for at least 10 years now (or longer). My husband is very supportive and now that the kids are grown, he thinks I should go for it. I am both, excited and nervous. Finally Doing Me

Hello RealSelf,
It's been a while since my last post. I am still very excited and can't wait for my new look! However I do have some concerns that make me nervous. 1) Since most cosmetic surgeries are not medically necessary, they are not covered under FMLA. I am just curious as to how some of you went about requesting time off work. My PS said I should be able to return to work in 2 weeks. I have plenty of sick time and can be approved for regular Medical Leave , but unless it's FMLA, I won't have job protection...and I DO need my job... This is stressing me and I would appreciate some feedback on your experiences in this area.

OK...I apologize for doing a poor job of keeping everyone updated, but I am elated to say that "I did me"...finally!! This site has been a blessing and comfort to me as I have found the answers to so many questions and concerns during my journey. Now, I hope my experiences will be of help to any newbies. I have loaded some 'before' photos and will have some 'after' shots by this weekend.

So, March 8th @ 7:30am was my BIG day! We live exactly an hour away from Dr. Jimerson's office, so my husband & I decided to avoid the morning traffic by driving up the night before and staying at the Holiday Inn Express. Although I was nervous, I slept very well. On the morning of surgery, we arrived at 6:45. We said a prayer and headed in. We were greeted by Gheeta (nurse) who asked me to change into the gown, socks and lovely hat. She went over my medical history again, took my vital signs and started my IV. I met with the nurse anesthetist who again went over my medical history. I explaind my concerns about my high blood pressure during surgery and nausea after surgery (did not want to rip my muscle repair-lol). She was very knowledgeable and explained that my blood pressure would be monitored closely during surgery and that she could control it if it went too high. She explained her entire role and said she would give me something extra for nausea..

Dr. J. came in and said that he had just finished a good work-out and he felt good and was ready to work. I said, "good, that's what I want to hear." LOL
He made his markings, answered a few questions and he told my husband to go enjoy breakfast. By the time I kissed my hubby, I felt a burn going through my IV. The nurses walked me into the OR where Usher was playing on the radio. They helped me onto the table and that was it...Until a couple hours later when I was awakened by a nurse and my husband; they dressed me and put me in the car.

During the ride home, my only discomfort were the bumps in the road. I was surprised that I wasn't in any real pain. Once I got home, I was still sleepy so I ate some soup, took my meds and did some major napping in my recliner. For the next two days I did as I was advised by other RealSelfers.. I stayed on schedule with my meds as I don't do well with pain- at all!! On day 3, I missed a dose and it doned on me that I still wasn't in any pain. So, I abandoned the pain meds altogether. It amazed me that I managed to escape some thingsalot of others had complained about- I didn't have ANY pain from theTummy Tuck (just soreness in the lipo areas and lower back) and I didn't have ANY problems with nausea. YES!! HOWEVER, I had major swell hell!!!! From day 1, right off the table I was swolen. Although I had read about it, knew it was part of the process, and expected it.......this still bothered me. I stayed patient but I kept seeing photos of others with flat tummies during the first 3 days...I thought, " this is some Bull Shit". I almost looked pregnant!! My husband said it looks nice be patient. At my 1st post-op appointment I was told by the nurse, "it's swolen, it's just been a week". I know I was probably overeracting but it just looked big to me. I am now almost 3 weeks and the swelling has gone down some but I still have a "pooch" in the lower abs right above the incision area. So I think I have Swell Hell at it's worst.. Don't get me wrong, I look so much better than my before photos and LOVE my results so far. Tried on some jeans and my belly does NOT hang over the top. YAY!! But I just hope it is just swelling and not leftover fat.. Will post pics and you ladies let me know
what you think.

Overreacting.......spelling, sorry

MARCH 25TH began my 1st week back at work. It was a drag. The mornings started off ok but by mid day I was tight, slightly hunched over and walking slow. Of course this caused some looks. When I made it home I was out of breath and worn out. I wish I had said 3 week off..But, I made it .I echo the statements of other ladies on this site when they say that they are ready to feel "normal" again.

Today makes 3 weeks post-op!!! Yay!! I have posted some photos and if I may so so myself, "ol' girl looks alright"...LOL I am still swolen but it has gotten better. MUCH better than the before pics. The "pooch" in the lower abdomen that I mentioned before is not as noticeable as a few days ago. :-)
As long as it continue to go down, I can say that Dr. Jimerson did his thang!!!Overall, I am very happy with my results, the swelling can only get better. Worse case scenerio is I'll have to get some lipo in the abs. I know this recovery is a long road so I'll just be patient. Check out my pics ladies and let me know what you think.

Oh...On Wednesday, I started this taping treatment on the incision using 3M Micropore Tape as recommended on this site. I am curious to hear from anyone who has tried this.

OK, so I went to my 6 week PO appointment yesterday. FOR THE RECORD: Overall I am very happy with my results. Much, Much better than the before so for that I am so grateful to both, GOD and Dr. Jimerson. I love Dr. Jimerson; he has a great personality. He came in and greeted me, gave me a hug and told me I look great. I still feel like he does great work BUT...I am still not happy with the lower adbomen bulge. He said at 6 weeks some of it is "probably" swelling, but could be fat since he did not lipo the ab area. Well....at my consultation he told me I did not need lipo to the abs (just flanks and back bra area). Now he says I may need "a little lipo". This is so not what I expected. I wanted this to be a 1 time deal not to mention extra money it will take. He also said to massage the area in case there is any scar tissue. So the bottom line is that there are 3 possible things it "could be"- swelling, fat or scar tissue. No definite answers. I know he is not a magician and he's not GOD and I am sure he did the best he could but I wish I would have been told in the very beginning to get ab lipo then I could have worked it in the budget during the planning stages. Just venting... Well, I am still just 6 weeks so I will stay hopeful and start working out. Again...overall, I still love the new me and am grateful