A year and a half later, still loving it!!

I had my first son at 18 and lost my sexy stomach at that point, but it wasn't too bad. My second son clinched it for me though. He was 9 1/2 pounds. I've hidden my stomach since. I just figured this was my cross to bear. As time has gone on, it's become more and more depressing. My belly button resembles a sad face, which is exactly the face i make when i see it. I'm tired of tucking gross skin in my pants, of being terrified my shirt might accidentally come up. I work out a ton every day and i never see results. I hate seeing my naked body in the mirror. I'm ready to do this for myself now! As soon as my belly button heals I want a belly button ring. I'm seriously going to cry when i see it i think! I'm so anxious and excited!!

I can't believe it's almost here! I changed doctors at the last minute! My original doctor was great, fantastic staff, fatastic bed side manner. I just started to panick, I wasn't really happy with the belly buttons I saw on Real Self. So now I'm with Dr. Tattelbaum. He was fantastic! Sat with me for an hour & a half, went through every detail of a tummy tuck, talked me through exactly how he expects my results. My bb is too high, so the scar has to come up slightly and I have so much skin that the TT will be extended and he will stop it where it seems like I will get a natural looking result. He was really great! His other Real Self reviews are fantastic! I will likely be a candidate for a full body lift at some point, but for now that scares me. I might do the back side further down the road. I gained 80 lbs at pregnancy and have been carrying around this extra skin for 15 years now! SO time to go! My biggest concern has changed from the bb (because Dr. Tattelbaum appears to be a pro at a natural looking bb) to the muscle plication. I have nice upper muscle definition, 2 very defined muscles that I love. The docs like to pull those tightly together to get a "Flat" result. I don't want it to be too flat, I think some soft curves are what makes a woman feminine. I do believe I need SOME muscle plication, but I'd rather have it done to look very natural. I have pretty much no fat, so my stomach is pretty flat on it's own. Don't need to have it pulled tight. Any ideas how to strongly convey that??

So, I'm interested in what everyone is doing for healing now. I just asked the nurse if I could continue taking Vit C, Amino acids and pro-biotics. Anyone doing anything else? She recommended 1 cup of fresh pineapple (not canned)/day until my surgery. I will do that and drink lots of water, eat lots of lean protein and maybe have a protein shake/day.

I feel SO unprepared all of the sudden! I have to clean the house, get some clothes to wear post surgery, get some easy dinners for my family! Also, I'm not telling my boys what I'm doing. I said I had a "girl thing" and my youngest said, "Say no more, don't want to know"... ahaha, I knew that would work!!

So, my husbands car died, had to get a new one. then the microwave broke. i can tell he's thinking that the 7k i'm spending is such a waste. :( i feel guilty, but only a little! its my money we are spending. we spent 6k for each son for braces, 5k to repair my dogs knees. why can't I be selfish and do something that will make me feel better myself? ugh. oh well, im so ready to get the waiting over with!

Tomorrow is the day!! Bleaching EVERYTHING at the house today, packing some stuff to sit next to me in the living room, since the reclining couch will be my makeshift bed for a bit. Going to pick up melatonin and arnica/bromein today, also my prescriptions. Picked up a few soft comfy outfits and I guess I'm as ready as I can be!

Took some pics of the underwear I'm attempting to be marked in! lol.... Cherrybabi says Dr. T might not be happy about this, but I figure if he can manage to hide my scar under these, he's a complete miracle worker. Looking at Cherrybabi and Helenes Transformation, I believe he can make it work. I am also hoping some how my butt gets bigger and rounder during this procedure... hahaha. Since I really don't look that awful when standing, I posted the dreaded sitting pic to highlight what I'm attempting to rid myself of.

My surgery went well! Man, now I know what everyone means by tight! Dr. Tattelbaum was able to completely remove my old belly button! I'm a little nauseous, pretty soever and really tired! They had to keep a catheter in me overnight. :( I will write more tomorrow, must sleep!

Starting to feel better! the pain meds really help. I'm taking mine right at every 3 hours, not every 4. seems to so the trick! I believe I've slept at least 15 hours, heavy sleeping. Sleeping is not an issue with me! NOT sleeping is the issue! lol.

Saw my incision and bb briefly while changing that gauze! I'm so excited, tgerw incision is low, very skinny and straight! My belly button is perfect I think! no visible scar there ar all! Dr. T is a miracle worker, have I mentioned i

Starting to feel better! the pain meds really help. I'm taking mine right at every 3 hours, not every 4. seems to so the trick! I believe I've slept at least 15 hours, heavy sleeping. Sleeping is not an issue with me! NOT sleeping is the issue! lol.

Saw my incision and bb briefly while changing that gauze! I'm so excited, tgerw incision is low, very skinny and straight! My belly button is perfect I think! no visible scar there ar all! Dr. T is a miracle worker, have I mentioned i

Starting to feel better! the pain meds really help. I'm taking mine right at every 3 hours, not every 4. seems to so the trick! I believe I've slept at least 15 hours, heavy sleeping. Sleeping is not an issue with me! NOT sleeping is the issue! lol.

Saw my incision and bb briefly while changing that gauze! I'm so excited, tgerw incision is low, very skinny and straight! My belly button is perfect I think! no visible scar there ar all! Dr. T is a miracle worker, have I mentioned i

I'm not srue what happened when I tried to update on my phone. It posted 3 times and none of the times I posted did it say what I really wanted to say, which was I

Now I understand TMI, but i know i'm good company when I say, please lord let me go #2. I've been taking colace religiously, nothing. I think my stitches might explode. Anyone have any good suggestions, please?!!!

Got off pain meds and took MOM to help clear up my overwhelming issue. Now that that has passed, I''m in pain again. Took a pain pill, some insane dreams! Not sure what is worse!

So, I hope it's OK for me to have already tried on my pe-op undies to see how they look now! I probably should've waited to heal a little more, but I was so excited to see how close he got! I put fresh guaze on after so I think I'm OK! I can't believe what an amazing job he did! Seriously, you can't see my scar at all under these undies! I'm really taking it very easy to make sure that the scar heals all the way and stays this small, I'm still so afraid of it stretching. I'm also attaching another picture with a closer look at the scar & belly button. Does anyone know if the yellow guaze comes off on it's own if I'm supposed to go to the urgent care and have more put on or is it OK? I don't want to risk any infection.

Thanks!

Can anyone describe this for me? So far everything has been perfect. I've stopped taking my pain meds because I hate sleeping all the time and i'm really not in pain. All of the sudden though, I feel like my insides are so swollen they might burst through my abdomen. Is that swell hell or due to the lack of pain meds??

Shower chair showed up 2 days ago. Needed bolts though and that took awhile to procure in my current state. seriously, you send a shower chair with no bolts to put it together?!? anyway, got a "shower" which was hardly a real shower but still, anything at this point feels amazing! i smell so nice! my scar looks great still, i keep panicking that one day i will look at it and it will be infected or open or otherwise messed up. i woke up last night with pain, in the muscles of my upper abdomin. must have been a stitch healing. i took a percocet for the first.time in 48 hours. feels better now! my appt. is on Thursday, i hope this drain comes out! im down to 50 cc's/day. i need to try to.get short term disability, the recovery for this is a little.tougher than i anticipated. any advice how to get them to agree to that??

i take my binder off and feel my stomach and it feels like its super soft, but i don't feel my hand on my stomach. the sensation is off. is that normal? i'm assuming so, its swollen and the nerve endings are still re-attaching. just wondering how other people feel!

I'm getting so tired of walking.hunched over! lol, I read.other.people.complain about this and didn't.get it, now I do! Also, I am very pleases.with my bbq'd and incision and lack of stretch marks, my PS is a true miracle worker, BUT i had hoped.to lose.a.few inches.around the waist and so around I'm an inch up. I know it's swelling. wonder how long it.will last! I better be good to go by Thanksgiving, Im hosting about 30+ people!!

sorry, doing this on my phone. real self needs to get a better.mobile site! anyway, bbq'd=bb.... lol!!

So yesterday was really bad. For some reason I got an awful headache and then had bad nausea. I had an appt. for the PS at 11am and i had to cancel. It was my 1 week. He called me and said he really wanted to see me so i made my way in. 1 hour drive and no one could take me. i was so sick I had to get them to bring a wheelchair out to get me. I got in the room and they gave me a bag and i vomited right then. Hurt SO bad! I wasn't in a good position. Anyway, the doc came in, said my incision looks great. He did pull a piece of gauze off that wasn't ready and bow there is a skin tag he said he can fix easily later. then he put another piece of gauze on the skin tag and that guaze is now stuck. lol. ANYWAY no sign of infection, which is really good and he thinks i over did things the day before. Because of the vomiting, more blood started showing up in my drain so now that has to stay. Yay. Then they gave me a shot for the nausea and i made my way back home. had a miserable day/night. But woke uo this morning right as rain! I feel good, took a sponge bath and had my husband wash my hair. put on fresh clothes, ate a good breakfast (which is good because i'm down to 135 at almost 5'8, with my frame that's a decent weight but any less and i will look sickly)

So while I was showbring i noticed half of my scar is pretty dark. Is that normal? Also, my belly button still has dark stuff inside of it, I'm assuming its dried blood and maybe a few stitches. Did anyone do anything to try to clean that out?

I'm getting SO over the recovery period and its only week 1... lol.

SO ready for a normal person shower!

So, first the drain. No pain, no big deal. Felt a pull and that was it. Got cleared for Spanx. Let me say, these were not designed for slender girls with no a$$. (that might be my next venture, pleased with what i have going on in the front, but got no back!) I found one in a medium (looked for a small, i guess they find no need to make these in a small). just as well though, I must've spent a half hour trying to squeeze myself into that medium and it looked AWFUL. My a$$ was literally just an extension of my back and I looked square, like a tall blond female spongebob. I decided no way on that one and spent another half hour getting the stupid thing off. I went out to search for better options and attempted to employ the help of.the lady in the Spanx section, who spoke broken English so dint understand when I said "I need one of these in a medium that have a cut out or less tension on the back, i need my butt to not be compressed", she only very nicely pointed out i was too skinny and didn't need one. umm, ok. So finally, I found basically extra long granny panties Spanx that had no compression in the bum area and actually like a defining line down the middle and on the top. good compression in the middle, i think they will work. brought them home, washed and dried them and took an honest to god full shower. lotion and all. decided to shave and trim up all body hair, I'm feeling pretty good. got a little zealous with the lady parts, not used to their awesome positioning yet and ouch. not a huge calamity, but a little guaze required there. tired to put on my freshly washed/dried Spanx. seriously, that took AS long as the whole shower process!! Some of it is that i'm terrified of doing any damage so I'm sliding over the incision very carefully and its difficult to do. maybe i will employ some kind of rolling method in the future. side zipper would have been awesome. any advice???

I also heard my disability claim was approved! Evidently they don't look at the procedure, just the doctors recommendation on recovery. That's good news!

All in all, other than a little ouchy in a place you don't want one, not too bad a day!!

So, the corset is like a teddy with the snapping crotch and a tummy support panel. I actually wore this to my prom, us my h.s. prom. I felt.like my stomach was pooching and I had a skin tight dress! Why I kept it all these years I have no idea! Can't believe I found it either! It seems to work, but does nothing for the backside. Are there ANY butt type exercises I can do and still protect my stomach?? seriously, through a careful regimine of kickboxing and cross fit, I had turned a flat white girls butt into a decent looking firm white girls butt. Took FOREVER. I don't want it all the way gone!!!

I need to start these things off with the po day. today is PO12 for me. Swelling is minimal really, but definitely there. I think I have minimal swelling because I had no lipo. I am still fairly hunched and i tire fairly quickly when walking around. Other than that, pain is gone. No pain anywhere usually, only slight discomfort at night and sometimes a discomfort and "pulling" sensation in the upper abdomen, like right under my right breast when getting up. Something "catches" there and that hurts. Also an occasional discomfort like at the crease of the pubic area and the leg on my left side. Feels like I'm rubbing a sore raw, only nothing there.

PO 13 - So, I drove 3 hours each way to get my dogs knee looked at, she's having a reaction to part of her surgery, which she had 2 weeks before me. Put on a real outfit, with SPANX under, but still, a REAL outfit. Felt pretty good, driving. As soon as I got out I was hunched over and walking like an 80 year old. I had to go to a McDonald's on the way to go to the bathroom and when I got back to my car, some man came out and said his conscious wouldn't let him watch me leave without making sure I was OK. He said that he could tell something was wrong, but wanted to be sure I wasn't about to pass out... lol. Yes, I look THAT bad walking. Any ideas on stretches or something to help straighten and walk more normal more quickly? I did swell some, not awful, but some by the time I got home. Didn't have to unbutton the jeans or anything. I did eat 1/2 a cucumber and an orange, drank coconut water, a ton of regular water, and took my Arnica. Anyway, pics of me in my regular clothes attached! NO skin muffin top! No funky BB showing through! Also, a pic of me almost 9 mos pegnant with my 9 1/2 lb son. I will be deleting that soon, too painful to look at too long, lol....

Today is actually PO15. I'm getting ready to go back to work full time next Monday, but working from home for the entire week. Today I was sick again... :( I get these migranes, I think it's because I have a neck issue from a car crash years ago. Usually when I feel a headache coming on, I pop an advil and it makes it go right away. I'm guessing because advil has antiinflammatory properties. Tylenol is all my doc is allowing right now and it doesn't cut it. Even the Percocet he prescribed won't work. When the headache starts, it soon turns into a full migrane. I finally broke down and took one advil after 2 extra strength tylenol did nothing. I then slept until 2pm and now I'm finally feeling better!

I'm posting some pics. I'm a little swollen, although you may not notice as much. You can see a little coming over the jeans on the side and also I have a side profile pic that shows it a little more. You can see that my tummy is very flat (YAY!) but it's all sticking out a bit from my hip bones, and more so towards the bottom. This is the swelling I'm currently having. It is pretty minor, although by the time I go to bed the bottom part of my tummy, down into the pubic area, is pretty swollen. All in all I'm very happy with my results! I think the scar, once it fades will blend in nicely with my natural contours. I am still thinking in a year or so, whenever I can save up the money, I plan on getting the skin in the back removed. It still sticks out some over the jeans. My doc says he's not pushing it and he blended the incision very nicely so it's an even transition to the back. We'll see how things look after I can get back to the gym!

Po 16- purchased 5th cg , this time from Victorias secret. a little better, but I'm getting tired of stuffing myself in these things. i hate the way i feel without them though, so i guess i have to wear them. :( they definitely make me walk better, but ugh. ugh.

PO18 - Today I have weird sensations right under the skin of my stomach. Pretty interesting really feels like the tingling you get when you are cold or the hair stands up on the back of your neck. Must be the nerves reconnecting, pretty cool. Felt better, kept a tight cg on, drank lots, went to the store, preparing for "frankenstorm" which hits tomorrow, did some cleaning, made dinner all while almost standing straight. of course now, at 9:30pm, I'm swollen and hunched. feeling wide and i hate feeling that way. my waist is up several inches. I think my waist should be 26", but it's more like 31". i weigh 137, so i know its swelling. can't wait for that to go away!

Here I am at 3 weeks, can't believe it! I'm still swelling at my incision line, and being that it's right above my pubic area, that area is constantly swollen. I worry sometimes it will stay that way! My doc PROMISES me it won't though, so I'll believe him. I feel a lot wider than I did before the surgery, although I'm really not. The main issue I think is that I'm still a little hunched and so the natural curve of my back is gone and my silhouette is not as slender looking as it was before. Plus, there is still some swelling so that makes me feel bigger. I think when the swelling goes all the way down I should be a little smaller than before. As long as I don't eat my way into being fatter while I'm not working out that is.... lol. Also noticed that one side of my scar is darker than the other and has more indentations. My doc says that will smooth out in due time. I see him tomorrow actually so I'll see what he says now. Hope I get cleared for scar therapy and maybe some light exercise!

I'm able to sleep almost flat in my bed now, but almost flat I mean I have 2 pillows under my head and only one under my knees. I can also sleep on my side. I can stand mostly straight, but again, the tightness is keeping the curve of my back away so I look a little more boxy I think. All in all though, I certainly can't complain!

Adding a pic of my doggie, Biggie Smalls. She was a pumpkin for Halloween! :)

i've been cleared for scar therapy! I started as soon as i came home. I got a 1" x 22" silicone sheeting from Scarfx. I like it because its clear, thin and the perfect length for my scar. i plan on wearing this under my compression garment during the day, then at night i will massage my scar with vitamin e oil and cocoa butter. I'll try to take pics every morning so we can watch the progression...

Today is not a great day... :( I'm sor from moving wrong in my upper abdomen. I had that pain right at the top of my abdomen for a long time and it finally went away, now it's back. I feel swollen and fat and I'm hunched again. Going back to work tomorrow. I'm attaching a pic of the other extra skin I want to take care of later. No one believed me that it's there, well, there it is. I'm sure that after all of this I will probably still want that gone, but we'll see after I can start exercising again.

so, at 4 weeks I don't have any of the "pains & zings" yet that my PS has told me about. My back is starting to feel like it might go out though and I do get bloated. It's not as bad as what I see other people have so I'm happy about that. I eat pretty clean and cut out a lot of salt years ago, so I don't crave salty things. Suger though, can't hide chocolate from me! Halloween is usually the start of a sugar binge that last all the way through New Years! I feel less happy about my stomach appearance this week then I did on week 2, so that's kinda depressing. I know I'll feel better when I start working out again!

Tomorrow I will add scar pics after 1 week of scar therapy. I think it's smoothing out nicely, but still pretty much the same color. I have a lot of spots along the scar that feel like maybe there's a stitch under it.

So, my PS likes small bb's. I like the way my bb looks, but it was kinda small to begin with so I'm worried it will get smaller and look too small. Trying to decide if I should start stretching it some to be sure. I don't want a marble in there or anything, don't want a perfectly round bb, but maybe something else to make sure it doesn't shrink too much. Let me know what you think!! :)

I'm adding some week 5 pics, I feel like the swelling is going down some, or I'm able to see more definition this week. My stomach was feeling really hard the last few days, but today it's relaxed some. I'm waiting for this "dump truck" feeling that women are saying they have. I guess the stomach relaxing comes with more pain? I don't know, but I guess I'll see! The stitch pop is still sore, but getting better! I'm also adding pics of my scar. I started silicone sheeting (which you will see on in my 5 week pics) as well as massage of the scar in the morning with cocoa butter and in the evening with vitamin e oil. I think the scar looks and feels more flat, but it looks more red. My understanidng is that it will be red for as long as the swelling persists. You can see I'm still swollen becausee the indentations on my skin from my cg. As for CG's, I highly recommend Walmarts Cupid Waist Cincher. $15 and it's perfect, at least for me! I tried some from Kohls, Victoria Secret and Walmart had the best one...

I'm back to my regular life pretty much, feeling much better. Still have good days and bad days though and swelling / discomfort definitely increases throughout the day.

Oh, meant to mention the other thing I'm worried about! one is the "dump truck feeling", not worried, just not looking forward to that. The thing I'm worried about is I saw this woman on youtube who did a chronicle of her tt journey. She looked great in the beginning, but as the swelling subsided she was left with this skin that looked gross whenever she sat down! So far when I sit I look OK still. But now I'm worried that when the swelling goes down maybe I'll have weird skin when I sit! I know I had the best surgeon possible, so if anyone could have kept that from happening it would be him!

5 weeks, 3 days PO.... I'm SO over the bloated stage! I guess I have another 6 weeks maybe of this?!? This bloated stuff is really bad for fashion and also for appreciating my new stomach. I feel fat, not sexy. When will I feel sexy again?!? That said, I'm loving my belly button and my scar is looking better. I think I'd rather be fat and have this cute belly button than what I had before. That's only partially true though, because I want to ditch this cg and rock it out with my cute / flat belly! I was cleared for light cardio. So far I only did that once.. :/ My work has been crazy right before the holiday and I have to get shopping done, ect... I will have to do a fast after Thanksgiving I think and get myself back on track!

Oh, I wanted to tell everyone that the dump truck thing never happened. My stomach did soften and one day I felt like I had been punched in the gut a few times. I have had stomach issues in the past though that would make me feel like that (eating dairy or soy specifically), so I didn't really notice it as anything too out of the ordinary. When I started thinking about what I could have eaten to cause it though, nothing came to mind, on top of that my stomach did soften, so I assume that was the "dump truck"... lol...

PO week 6! (Well, it will be week 6 tomorrow, I'll be too busy eating for pictures though!) My scar is fading nicely, I've been religious with scar therapy. Swelling comes and goes. I still have no feeling in my lower belly. I added some pics in my lowest pair of underwear. I would never wear anything lower than this! Even though you can see the scar, I think it doesn't look that bad because it blends in nicely with my natural contours. I think it will fade and be hardly anything soon enough! I wish I could say the same for my stretch marks. Anyone have any miracle stretch mark remedy??? Dr. T tried the best he could to get them all, but there were just too many! At least now it's just a few, below my belly button. But I have a lot on my thighs and some on my hips. I think they will probably keep me from wearing a bikini in the near future... :(( Right after turkey day I'm going to start back to a more normal workout routine. So far I've been too busy trying to finish things for work and get my house together for the holiday! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

7 weeks PO - every year I gain 5 lbs during the Holidays, this year I'm adding sitting around for a month and a half, doing nothing. (Actually it was longer because I really started doing nothing like 2 weeks before my surgery). I got on the scale last night, I was up 5 lbs from surgery, but figured I was swollen. Got on the scale this morning after the swelling went down, still 5 lbs up from surgery. Crap. I need to get my butt moving and cut back on the sweet potatoe casserole!!! (Luckily I finished the last of it this morning...) I guess I should look at it as, I was 3 lbs lower than my normal weight after my surgery. So, really, maybe I'm only up 2 lbs. I don't know! I wish I had had something lipo'd so maybe I could see some weight loss!! LOL

ANYWAY, I had a follow up appt. with my PS yesterday. All went well. He said that I looked fantastic and could start resuming normal activities, paying attention to my body. He said though that where I was now, I couldn't do anything to mess up my results. That's great, but I'm still going to be careful! Last thing I want is for something to go wrong and for me to wish I had just been patient and let my body heal. I did a lot of cleaning & cooking over the Holiday and I was REALLY swollen just from that! (or maybe it was the eating, I don't know)

Yesterday I went to the Redskin's game, which consisted of several hours of beer & brats, chips / salted peanuts, ect. NO swelling and I was not wearing a CG! I think I'm done with the CG now, except when working out! I'm also starting my Dr Oz 3 day detox. So far, I'm missing coffee! I'm TIRED (of course I didn't get home until 3am yesterday, that didn't help). I liked the breakfast shake, the lunch shake was weird and there is A LOT. I mean, a whole cucumber, cup of kale, almond milk, 1/2 a green apple, celery stalks, coconut oil, pineapple. Who thought this would really taste good? I am forcing it down though! The dinner shake looks interesting. Can't wait to try that!

I thought I was good to go with no cg for a minute there. Not so much. Tightness, swelling and some pain has returned... :( So far I've lost 2.5 lbs on the detox though!

PO 12 weeks - The holidays have come and gone and the 8 pounds my scale says I gained appears to be staying. This is my usual holiday weight gain, so I know it will come off in the next few months! My mom's baking gets me every year! The nice thing is, even with the weight gain there are no rolls! My stomach still looks great! I'm adding some pics from 8 & 10 weeks. You can see the definition is going away, time to start ab exercises again! My swelling is down for the most part, but I have a cold right now and I appear to be swelling again, I'm thinking because of that. I still have no feeling on my stomach It was coming back above the belly button, but now that I'm swollen some again, the feeling is gone again. My scar is still pretty dark, I'm hoping it will lighten soon! I'm seeing a dermatologist next week to get advice on how to make sure I get the best possible scar, which I'm hoping is no scar! :) I'm also going to ask about the few stretch marks I have remaining to see if I can do something about them too. Happy New Year!

PO 15 weeks! Can't believe I made it here! The other day I went to the dermatologist for a consultation on my scar. She was amazed by my results and my scar and said that she thought Dr. T did a great job! My scar is very flat and even though it's still red/purple, that should fade in the next few months. She said that the way Dr. T. did my incision, the kind of V shape or whatever you would call that shape, makes it so that the eye doesn't see the scar as easily, it cuts up the line of vision and follows my actual shape (at least that's what she says, we'll see in a few more months!) She told me that she does not recommend any fancy scar products. She doesn't believe in Mederma or silicone sheeting if the scar is flat. Silicone sheeting or taping is good to help make the scar flat I guess. She recommends now, for me, massage with oil or cocoa butter. That's what I've been doing anyway, so I was glad to hear that! She said that she normally tells people about the 5/5/5 rule. It was massage the scar for 5 minutes, 5 times a day for 5 months (I think it was 5 months, can't really remember what the last 5 was all about!!) :) So, I'm posting a picture that I just took. I don't think anything really looks that diferent, but you can see the scar progression. You will notice the red line on my stomach. That is a stretch mark I still have. I'm currently trying Retin A on the stretch marks to see if that makes any difference. I've read some things about that where people have said it can sometimes help. I figure there are still a few more months until summer, might as well try! Initially, for the first 2 weeks or so, there was no sign I was putting it on. Then this redness started. I'm hoping that my body is finally going to send collagen to the site to help repair it and MAYBE that will help with the appearance of the stretch mark. We will see!!

Starting to slowly get back into my workout routine! MAN, that's a slow progression. I wasn't prepared for the recovery. Totally worth it, but I just still don't have the same energy level as before yet. I'm not tired or anything, just can't work out at the level I was before yet and my motivation is down. Some of it is probably the normal winter thing I go through though.

Hope everyone else is doing well!!

PO 4 months. FINALLY feeling pretty normal! I don't really have a ton to update other than I still swell, which is pretty annoying, but not horrible. I only notice it because I feel a little bloated, like when I was pregnant. Before it was like I was 6 mos pregnant, now more like 3, but still. It doesn't really show up that much, just feel it more. I'm finally starting to lose some of the weight I gained, but I'm still up 5 lbs! It should come off over the next few months though. Other than that, doing well. Scar is healing nicely, it's fading in some areas and where it's fading I can't even really see it anymore. I hope it all fades completely away! Oh, I noticed bikinis are starting to show up! :)

Hope everyone else is doing great!!

I'm still pretty numb from my sternum to my pubic area. its right along the line of the muscle repair. on the sides of that my feeling is pretty normal. Anyone else still numb like that at 4 mos PO??

So, today is 5 months exactly! :) I knew I would make it! Things are going great, still massaging the scar, which really looks great. I truly believe it will disappear completely, since the BB scar already has pretty much. There are parts where I can still see it, but it's fading fast. The massaging seems to have really helped, the scar is SO flat to my skin that there is no difference between my skin & the scar, only a slight color variation. In the pics I'm uploading I did put a little cover up on it because it is still a little pink. I'm still pretty numb and still swell daily. I think that's mostly because I'm really active now, I work out at least 1 hour (cardio & weights) a day. It's SO nice putting on my work out clothes and actually feeling that I look as fit as I really am! That's really why I did this, I was SO tired of hiding in the dressing room or being afraid that my stomach would somehow show during a workout. Don't worry anymore! I'm also attaching a picture of me sitting (yes in my sink, I've been sitting in my sink to do makeup since I was a teenager, haha), but you can see even sitting that crunched up doesn't cause my stomach to look bad! :) Yay, Dr. T! I'm planning on trying on bikini's soon, just waiting to get a few more work out sessions in and maybe do some self tanning or something... :)

PO 5 1/2 months. Not much new to report. I just wanted to post pics of the scar for everyone without coverup. I put coverup on it sometimes to see how it will look when the scar lightens. It's definitely looking a lot better but there's still a way to go. I started Bikram again finally and it's feeling pretty good! We'll have to see how that changes things for me in the upcoming months. Hopefully less swelling while working out! Hope everyone is doing well!

I can't believe I'm wearing a bikini this weekend, so crazy! Overall I'm happy with my results, although I'm still working on gaining the definition I had prior to my surgery. That's a little frustrating, but working out has been a slow process. I still swell after every workout and my stomach is still pretty tight. I'm also a solid 5 lbs heavier than before, which is hiding some of the definition. :( I'm starting to work out daily though so hopefully things will improve quickly from here! I saw Dr. Tattelbaum and my check up went well. He told me that being numb is still normal and may resolve, although some of it might stay permanently. That's fine, as long as it gets a little better, I'm still numb above my belly button along the muscle repair and completely below my belly button! He also told me he continued swelling is normal and I can tell it gets worse depending on what I'm eating and how much I'm working out. Also, my time of the month makes it worse. Recently I ate a ton of cheesy bread because it was my time of the month and I wanted comfort food. I thought I might explode. My scar is definitely fading quickly! It's still a little red, especially at the bottom. I still have silicone strips on it and it's really flat and hardly noticible on the sides. I do wish it was lower, but I know Dr. T had to keep it up higher on me because I had an unusually high belly button and he didn't want to have to do a float. I'm sure he did what he could for me and maybe I can get it lowered down the road if I really want to. Also of course, still have some stretch marks, but they look SO much better than before!

I think the bikini actually looks decent on me! Although it's ridiculous how you see more imperfections once you correct one. I'm waiting though to see how things look when I'm finally able to get the definition back from before!

I took the picture as kinda selfie so you could see the belly button better and also if you look close, you can see the scar above the bottoms on the right & left side. It's SO faded and flat though it pretty much blends completely in. There are a lot of lines from clothes which I think means I have some swelling today, unfortunately.

Hope everyone else is doing well!

I can't believe it's been 9 1/2 months! I'm just doing a quick update so I can post a few pics. I'm still about 8 pounds heavier than after my operation, so that is impacting the result a little I think. The scar is kinda thick, I have a close up of it for everyone. I think it's because my doctor REALLY pulled tight to try to get rid of all the stretch marks he could . I still have a few, but they look SO much better and mostly hide under a bikini bottom. The scar is really flat and nearly gone as far as the color goes. It doesn't look bad at all! I'm doing Bikram Yoga and Kickboxing, I can go to Bikram in just a sports bra & yoga shorts, I'm not embarrassed to change in the locker room. All in all I'm REALLY happy I did this! I still swell if I eat too much salt or work out a lot, but it's getting better every day. My muscle repair is still pretty tight and I'm not 100% back as far as core strength, but getting there. I still am doing scar therapy, wearing silicone strips. I plan on doing that until I reach 1 year I think. Hope everyone is healing well!

I really like this comparison to see how far I've come! It's amazing the difference, yet Dr. T made it look like it was always my body!

Finally feeling the itchy feeling other people talk about. Can't itch it, too deep of an itch In my lower abdomen. I'm just happy I'm starting to feel something there, nerves are waking up I hope!

Here I am 11 months and I liked my belly button better earlier on. Anyone else feel that way? It looked more natural then, now its flatter or something. Anyone know if this is still changing or if I need fat injected to give it more depth and make it look more natural again? On a plus note, I wore a bikini around my family! My son told me I looked good (he doesn't know),, but my sister in law kept harping on "how flat" my stomach was. Couldn't help but think she somehow knew! Hope not! Hope everyone is doing well!!

Yea! 1 year! Actually its 13 mos... I still have some redness in my scar, it is fading though. Im actually currently have enrolled in a laser scar therapy clinical trial being performed in D.c so things should look better soon! Im also on the hunt for a good bbl doc. The backside needs improvement still.... :) SO beyond happy I did this! It was wild ride, but I love my flat stomach! No situps needed and I actually wore a bikini and my told me I looked great (never told him I had this surgery)

Saw Dr. T. He said hes loving my results and disagrees that I need butt enhancement. .. ummm.. yes I do. Hahaa.my love handles hang over my jeans. still and my butt is just sad... Lol. But my tummy looks AWESOME!!!
Hope all you ladies have been doing fabulous!

So, im part of this clinical trial to show which laser scar treatment shows the most improvement. I understand they are both pretty similar. I get 3 free sessions. . :) im patient 20 of 20. So far results have showed good improvement. This is through a DC Dermatologist office.

So, I fill out the paperwork and am waiting for the doc. He comes in and he's REALLY cute!! And young. Our eyes lock and things were awkward. Then I have to roll down my tights to show him my tummy tuck scar. Awesome. Haha... ohhhh well. Here are some pics. One of me with a bit of my face. This is a good sexy view of my tummy. Other one is straight on of the scar after treatment. NOT SEXY. I will keep you all posted on the results! Next treatment in 5 weeks

Ps. the ticket for expired tags in DC Is $100. Found that out today.....

So, I got no lipo, dr. T said I didnt need it. However I still have fat at the hip area and at my waist. This makes me look like I have no curves in jeans. Should I request a revision for that lipo??

I see some improvement! Just going to post the progression in case anyone is interested! :)

First, I am SO thankful to be real friend! This was really just a way for me to learn more about my procedure and get some support. It's turned out to be such an amazing experience! I feel like I should be giving them something! Anyway, I got some fantastic skin care samples, which Im super excited about trying and blogging about! I got 4 samples from the Paula's choice line also got this great little book from Paula's Choice called "20 Beauty Myths Busted!" It has some cool stuff in it. Today I decided I would first try Paula's Choice "Skin Perfecting BHA liquid" and maybe alternate with the "RESIST Intensive Wrinkle Repair Retinol serum". Will keep you all posted on my results!

Also, my second laser scar treatment is coming up. So far there has been very little change....

Chau!

So first I want to say that RealSelf was a way for me to research my procedure and then get support after it. It has been much more! I have had a fabulous experience and feel like I should be giving RealSelf a gift! Thank you RealSelf!!

So, I got a box that had 4 trial sized samples of Paula's Choice line. I am a skincare fanatic so this is awesome! I got "Resist C15 Super Booster", "Resist ultra light Super Antioxident Concentrate serum", "Resist Intensive Wrinkle Repair Retinol Serum", and, "skin perfecting BHA Liquid". I also got this awesome book called, "20 Beauty Myths Busted". I'm kinda not sure how I'm going to try these. Like shouldI do one at a time, alternate every day, use one in the morning, one at night. Who knows! So far I tried the BHA liquid and I think its too soon to tell anything. It felt nice and light and a little cool on my skin.

Also next week is my second laser scar treatment. So far I have zero change after the first one....