Tummy Tuck: Stories

OK, I am 29 and will be 30 on in May! This will be my birthday present to myself as I am having my surg May 17th!. I have two kids ages 5 and 7 and have wanted a TT since my 7 year old was born but knew I wanted another child. So, 5 years later, here I am ready to get it done. I am 5'8'' and weigh 180 lbs. Before pregnancy, I weighed 168 and was comfortable although I am in much better shape now and do feel better.(spent a lot of it going out partying overseas). I am also in the military so that is a big factor of my worrying with this surgery.

I HAVE to get back into shape within a certain amount of time and I HAVE to continue to do sit-ups. Did I forget to mention I am deploying again in the fall? I worry about if sit-ups will always be so painful for me even after months of recovery(I have to do as many sit ups as possible in a minute time and I have to make it to a minimum number or I fail the physical test and can get kicked out).wow...soo much stress about this major thing to me.

I have never been over weight as a kid, teenager or adult except when I gained 80 lbs while pregnant. I didn't have any stretch marks prior to this either, so after my first child was born, I was left with a body I did not recognize and still don't. Honestly, I don't think my stomach looks so terrible if I am butt naked.. It is when I have to put on clothes is when you see parts sticking out of places they shouldn't. Like pants for example, If i want my pants to not fall down to the ground, my muffin top has to show its presence, and to add to it, the muffiin seems to try to push my pants off. This girl is NOT wearing high waist pants to avoid this..It isn't comfortable. So here I am having to do the shake while I am pulling up my pants so the crack wont show. :)

I am not doing this so I can wear a bikini again.That would be a huge perk though :).. I feel like this is a foreign body to me and I want to reclaim as much of ME back again. I come from a line of work that if something is broken, I fix it. So this is me repairing my body. I know it wont snap me back into my pre-pregnancy body, but I think it is a major step towards it.

my worries for surgery

1) not being able to do sit ups without it feeling like I am ripping my muscles apart causing me to have to be discharged from the military.

2) my belly button sits high and I hope I don't have a large vertical scar in order to have the horizontal low OR the horizontal scar is very high because most of my skin is below my belly button.. where is it going to pull down from?!!

3) I like my belly button now and hope it will look as closely as it does. (thought about just doing a mini tuck with lower muscle repair but I know I wont be happy because there is some skin to be tightened above)

4) I am only taking 11 days off. I know from reading though this site, it may or may not be enough time but I am in a situation where ANY time isn't a good time and I can't afford to take any more than 11 days off from work.(I did have flank lipo done a few years back and took a total of 9 lbs out) I went back to work after 4 days. I felt fine but sore. I know this is much more of a major surgery. My doc seems to think I should be fine.

5) This is a very silly worry but one I think about... I paid to go skydiving last year with a few friends but our schedules are horrible and still haven't gone. I am worried even after a few months recovery, it isn't gonna feel too hot flying stretched out falling to the earth. Silly, I KNOW!!

I leave to go out of country for a few weeks so it will keep my mind off of this for a while although I know I will still think of it cuz the date is getting very close.

One week count down starting today. It still seems unreal and just like a date in the future. My mom will be taking care of me and she just informed me that if all goes well with my surgery and I get a good outcome, she is going in to get one too!! Funny! I guess I am the one who she needs to see go through it in order to make a decision.

My compression garments are in the mail and i still need to get everything else on my to-do list this weekend. I think I am not so consumed by this as others are because my mind is occupied with my upcoming deployment in the Fall. Me leaving my kids again gets me more anxious and nervous than getting cut open and in pain for weeks.

ok, well, tomorrow is my day and I have been surprisingly calm. I mean, I do think of it and always think, "this is the last time ill be doing this for a while" but I think I am so ready. Even with the pain that will come. There just isnt anything i can do anymore to prepare or prevent anything.

I guess ill check back in tomorrow or whenever to give another update...whew

Day 1 PO:
Hey my ladies!! My full tummy tuck with muscle repair and lipo of upper abs and flanks is DONE!! right now i feel really good sitting here... Pain at 0). Just isnt so great when i gotta get out of my recliner (Pain at 7-8 when i stand up at certain times.). I am only taking a half of percocet every 3-4 hours and that is fine for me. I dont like the way it makes me feel. Hopefully I can switch to tylenol soon but i am paranoid that the REAL pain will set in tomorrow and ill regret not taking the stronger stuff. People are right when they say the drains are a pain in the ass. I only have one and want it gone. My PS says maybe by Monday..

On a good note.. He was able to cut out my whole tattoo so i dont have anything partial left over. Thats great news for me. Still cant see my scar or belly button because of my garment. I dont think i want to see it at this point. I can be patient right now.

for some reason my left arm is kinda numb...it may because of the position i was on the operating table...

3 days po:
well, im standing up straighter but my back is killing me. last night was rough too. the recliner just stops being comfy and i want to sleep in a new position. i have ony drained about 50ccs total in these three days with my one drain. cant wait to get it out. i feel it is holding me back.

day 4 po:
well, I am feeling really good today. I honestly can say I feel normal other than extreme tightness and warmth in my belly.. its kind odd feeling. I get my drain out tomorrow so I hope that makes me more mobile. I am afraid to do too much out of fear of pulling out my drain. I still havent seen my belly and im fine with that for now. I can kinda see where my belly button is but have no clue how low or high my scar will be. I can already notice a difference in my legs and i can also say that I have had a vagina lift. lol!!! If anything, this is all worth it to get rid of the fat, saggy vagina.. Still no shower and still in the same sweats i wore home from surgery. Tomorrow hopefully will be a shower day. Sponge baths dont cut it. My mom took my kids to her house. It has been nice having silence and just me and the dog hanging out. Back is feeling better too but that is probably because i am not nearly as hunched over. I dont know if i am suppose to be trying to stand straight but i am going on what is comfortable. Oh and first BM today too. I was kinda sweating it but it went ok..

day 4 po:

I saw my tummy today! It was so nice and flat and tight. My scar was really low too. My ps did tell me that during my surgery he only had to fix a small ab area around my belly button. Possibly why I am not as in much pain as I am reading others to be in on PO day 4. So he took my drain out and I took a shower when i got home!! It wore me out though. Just because my stomach is so tight and i am hunched over still. So, tomorrow, I am assuming mother duties by myself and see how it goes. Updated pics too!!

day 5 po:

Hey, slept a lot today. Took the dog to the vet to get spayed and when i got home, I was wore out. Tried sleeping in my bed last night which was more comfy than the chair but i kept waking up. This swelling is no joke. My PS instructed me to clean my bb with peroxide to avoid infection but it is sore. probably the sorest part of this whole thing. I go back again in two days for another check up. I just want to stand up straight...just a simple thing!

7 days po:

I went back to my PS today. everything is going well except he told me to get some tighter spanx because i was too puffy. Best advice because i feel so much better now that my stomach is squeezed in more. I even have more energy and can move much better. I dont have that 9 month pregnant feeling without the big belly. :) Last night was the first night i could sleep on my sides but i woke up every time i rotated over. Maybe with having my tighter binder on, i can sleep better too. I feel like i can go back to work as well but not due back until Tuesday.

10 days po:

A few days ago I slept in my bed and on my sides. I dont know if it had anything to do with it but when i woke up. I had bled from my belly button and it soaked through two garments i had on. Since then, Ive been sleeping on the couch which i get much better rest on. Ive been cleaning my bb with peroxide too but i can see the site where i am oozing and where i bled. Hope it heals soon. Today I also notice less swelling. It is still there and still cant get my pre surgery pants to button but it feels good not to be as swollen as ive been this past week.

I sometimes also get some sharp pains from my incision site. I dont know if they are stitches pulling or what but it hurts! the only thing that hurts with this surgery now. thats it. I will post pics at my two week mark this Thursday..

see my photo. It is just a bit sore.

My vacation ended yesterday and I am finishing up an 8 1/2 hours work day. It has gone very well. I think it has a lot to do with not having a lot of muscle repair. But i sure as heck have all the swelling. When I went to the doc about what I thought was an infected belly button, he informed me i needed a tighter compression garment. I can't imagine anything tighter than what i have now. So I am going to get something tighter and see how it works.. My next normal appt is this friday.

attached pics. All is going well. I have a doc appt tomorrow to hopefully get my strips removed.

this is going to be a rant.. It is over two weeks post op and i am happy with the results so far.. It is just this dang swelling. I feel completely normal except for that. I read about all the ladies who drop pant sizes right after surgery and those who dont. WELL, i am one who isnt.. I only fit into two pairs of jeans and they were my loosest and now are pretty snug. All my other clothes have to be elastic waste. This is very frustrating for me because I have to wait longer to see more of a result. I am also anxious to get out on the softball field because i feel like i can do it but i dont want to make a big mistake and split something open. I am also tired of wearing my garment. I know i am only two weeks and need to suck it up. Just venting my annoyance feels better I guess. This is still worth it to me but I have been having impatient days lately. This lower abdomen hard swelling needs to GO AWAY!!

I feel really good. I am getting really anxious to start running again. I havent been eating that great either. Excersice helps me beat the cravings.

So it is two months and I have been back to regular activity for a while. Even working out hard with weight lifting and running. The only thing that bothers me about the outcome of the surgery is on of my sides seems to have loose skin. I dont know if its just fat or swelling or what and will go away if i lose more weight.. I will ask today at my appt. Maybe a revision when i get back from my deployment this spring. I take my pt test this sunday too so once i get over that hump, my worries will be gone with this thing.

I passed my Air Force PT test!!!. My abs are sore today but I did it and it was the thing stressing me out the most about doing this surgery. The lady who tapped my waist said my belly button looked infected. When i told her that i actually had a tummy tuck 2 months ago, her reaction was "good for you!"...hells yeah good for me!! I am happy!

5 months post op and still worth it but so over the swelling. To make things worse, since i am deployed to a HOT place and a lot, I see the swell hell all the time. Maybe when I get back home, I can see what my hard work has done when swelling subsides. The area right below my belly button to my incision is also still numb. you know that feeling at the dentist when your lip is fat and numb? thats what it feels like.. I think it contributes to the swelling too. I posted pics. you can see i am more bloated in the lower area of my stomach than i was in my last pictures a few months ago. I am also hating on my celulite but working on it. That, i can change on my own. I am also still bothered by my right side and how lumpy it looks. Doesnt seem the doc made his incision back far enough and its left over loose skin that can be tightened. If its still the same after i get back from this deployment (and ill be a year PO), I will see if i can get a revision of that area or if he wont do it for "free", then ill pay for it. It bothers me that much.