“8 weeks and feeling much better - new pics”

I am a 45 year old mum of three teenagers living in the UK. I have been unhappy with my jelly belly for a long time, even as a child I had a little overhang thing going on following removal of my appendix. Anyway after many weight gains and losses, three pregnancies and a hysterectomy it is now sooooo gross that i just can't bear to live with it any longer.

I consulted a surgeon at the Spire hospital in Worcester and he reckoned I was a good candidate for a tummy tuck. He suggested I try to lose some weight before hand and insisted that I give up smoking. I'm scheduled for surgery on the 18th July, i will also be having a facelift and lower eyelid surgery at the same time.

Has anyone else had a similar combination of procedures, I've read about a lot of breast surgery combined with a TT but not a facelift.

I am particularly keen to hear from anyone who has had their surgery in the UK since it appears we do things somewhat differently here. I am having my procedure done without the use of drains, my surgeon says he uses tissue glue to adhere the skin and muscle into place thus leaving no gaps for fluid to collect. Anyone else experienced this?

Only three weeks to go now, can't believe my belly will be gone for good. Anyone else become obsessed with comparing theirs to all the photos on here to get an idea of possible outcomes? Its all I seem to do these days!!!

Updated on 30 Jun 2011:
got my pre op assessment tomorrow, not sure what to expect really. They have told me to allow an hour for this, can't imagine what they will be doing that will take soooo long!! I have lots of questions which i hope they will be able to answer for me. I still keep asking myself if i am doing the right thing having this surgery done, after all will it really make a difference to my life? It is very expensive and i will be out of action for a while, is it too much to ask that my husband takes time off work to look after me rather than us having a family holiday? I have such mixed feelings about the whole thing, guilt, fear, excitement, they all tumble around together like the contents of a washing machine, and i never quite know which will be uppermost at any particular time. Help!!! it feels like i am going a little crazy with all of this.

Updated on 11 Jul 2011:
Can't believe it - only one week to go!!! This time next week I'll be having my surgery. I am so nervous about it that I keep asking myself if I am doing the right thing. I'm sure many of you are doing exactly the same thing. Thank goodness for all the words of wisdom posted by all the TT vets on here or no one would ever actually go through with it i suspect.

My lovely hubby who works away from home normally during the week, (only coming home for weekends) is taking two weeks off starting this coming Friday. Yippee!! It will be good to spend some time together, shame we won't be able go out though. Hope he makes a good nurse lol.

Going out on Friday night with my best girlfriend to say goodbye to my old face and tummy. Planning on giving them a really good send off, lol, don't judge me too harshly, i only go out once in a blue moon!!

Updated on 14 Jul 2011:
Well I went to see my parents yesterday and told my mum of my plans for surgery. I expected her to be shocked and to tell me I didnt need it, or at the very least to try and talk me out of it. She was surprisingly supportive actually and admitted that she hates her tummy too. She has had a number of surgeries and has a lot of scarring so I felt a little guilty about mine, thinking that it is no where near as bad as hers. She said even before her surgeries she always hated her tummy and wished she'd had the option to get it done. Thanks mum it means so much to have your support on this!!!!

Began what some of you ladies have referred to as "nesting" today. I started with a huge collection of pillows in the spare bedroom where i will be sleeping after the surgery. I thought I should try them out and see how comfy I would be sleeping propped up and with pillows under my knees. Heaven, I might sleep like this before the surgery lol!!

I really need to start getting my bag sorted out to take to the hospital but to be honest I have no idea what to put in it! Whenever i think of something I think, oh well i'm gonna need that before i go, either that or, they will have it at the hospital anyway.

Anyone else completely hooked on TV makeover shows? I have watched Extreme Makeover, the US and UK versions over and over, also 10 Years Younger. i am now hooked on the Biggest Loser too. Even shows like "How to look good naked" where no surgery is involved hold a certain appeal, its all about the transformation of mind set as well as the body makeover. I feel a little like a caterpillar about to go into a cocoon and emerge several weeks (or months) later as a butterfly, maybe not a really fancy one but something a bit better looking than a caterpillar anyway!!

Updated on 17 Jul 2011:
Well tomorrow is the big day, feeling nervous and excited right now as you can all imagine. Got a phone call from a nurse at the hospital yesterday evening, asking what procedures I was having done. Not sure if it was for her benefit or mine, ie. making sure i understood the procedures or just checking because they had forgotten lol. Anyway she asked me if we had discussed post surgery compression garments when i had had my pre op, i said yes i had been advised that the hospital supplied a standard binder style garment and this was all i would need. She then said, well ah that is not actually the case!! You need to get a large pair of support knickers, right up under boobs down to mid thigh. I was a little annoyed as you can imagine to be told Saturday evening after the shops had closed that i needed to go and buy my own support garments for my surgery on Monday.! Anyway went into town today and managed to get two pairs of Spanx which seems to be what all the ladies on here are wearing. I was very lucky they were in the sale and only £15 each as opposed to £33 which was the original price. Only problem is they are nigh on impossible to get on, can't imagine doing it post surgery with a large incision to deal with!! It will be a little like trying to squeeze a sausage into its skin lol.

I will be in the hospital for a couple of days i imagine since i am having multiple procedures but i will be back asap to post and let you all know how it went. Wish me luck ladies i think i'm gonna need it!!

Updated on 23 Jul 2011:
Well ladies, at last I'm back to update as promised. Been home since Thursday (now Saturday) and I have tried to do it a couple of times but for some reason it would not update and I didnt have the energy to keep trying!! Had a difficult time in hospital, surgery took seven hours and was in recovery for several hours too as was very nauseous and had a really bad headache. Went down to theatre at 9.00 am and didnt return to the ward until 8.00 pm so very long traumatic day for me.

Anyway the tummy tuck part of my op which i expected to be the most difficult has in fact been the easiest so far. I am very pleased with the result at the moment although not seen the actual incision yet, the placement of both it and my belly button look ok. Will finally get to have a look on Tuesday next week when I go for my first post op appt.

It has been my facelift and eyelid surgery which have caused me the most pain and worry so far. My head looks like a rugby ball and my eyes have been swollen shut so very very difficult to do anything. Anyway that is now beginning to improve so thought i should update. I am very pleased with my tummy tuck and muscle repair, which I think looks great. So hard to believe that I have put up with this tummy for so long and now it is gone just like that!! wow amazing. For any of you ladies worried about whether to go for it or not JUST DO IT!!!! You will be amazed at the results. I am very fortunate in that my PS doesn't use drains so i have not had that unpleasantness to deal with, he uses tissue glue which seems to have done the trick in terms of gluing everything down so it is harder for fluid to collect. That said I am beginning to notice swelling now, esp more at the end of the day. Not sure it looks much different but I can feel it and my weight varies by a couple of pounds over the course of the day!! My lovely PS also does not insist on a tight binder or compression garment. He suggested I buy some very high waisted magic knickers, Spanx I guess is what all you lovely ladies over the pond are wearing. I got 2 pairs from Primark only £5 each and they are perfect. Very comfy and offer just enough support without being too retrictive. My tummy muscles are very sore at the moment. I feel like I have done an incredibly tough ab workout and then been kicked by a horse, This feeling is compounded whenever I cough, oweeeee!!! I'm trying to avoid sneezes and hiccupps for the time being but I'm sure it will happen sooner or later.

I've been sleeping in my own bed, (poor hubby has had to make do with the spare room lol) but propped up with lots of pillows and two more under my knees. Difficult to get comfy but i have managed to get some sleep. I have been taking paracetamol and ibuprofen for pain during the day, and taking Tramadol at night because they make me more sleepy. First BM was agonizing!!! Someone posted that they had given birth to a rubiks cube, that is an incredibly description of how it feels!!! Drinking lots of prune juice now in the hope that it improves, wouldn't want to go through that again. !!

Hope all my surgery buddies are doing well, take care and will update soon.

Updated on 25 Jul 2011:
25th July - exactly one week post op. What a change from last week. I was so excited about my new flat tummy, where did it go?? It now appears to have doubled in size and feels really tight and stretched. I don't think I have any specific collections of fluid, i.e. seroma, just general overall swelling. Guess this is what you have all been calling "swell hell" It starts off not too bad at the beginning of the day when I first get up but after a couple of hours it just seems to get bigger and bigger and bigger!! It really does feel as if I might burst, the only thing that seems to relieve it is lying down, (well propped up) in bed for at least a couple of hours. Trouble is then I start thinking about what I have done to myself and is it all worth it? My face hurts a lot and is still so swollen I can't see properly, I find myself crying a lot at the moment and wondering if I will ever look normal again. My hubby doesnt understand, he says it is early days yet, and that I knew I would be swollen, so where is the problem. That is all true but he doesnt get the fear that goes along with it. What if I am one of the few for who these procedures don't turn out well. The tummy I can hide, but what about the face? I would not recommend to anyone considering these procedures to getting them done together. Yes it saved me 20% of the overall cost by combining them, but the emotional cost is huge. I feel very down about my swollen tummy, but I cant pop out for a bit of cheering up because I look like the elephant man. I can't sit and read or watch tv easily because of my swollen eyes, and it has taken me hours on high zoom to get this update done. Ladies if you are going to mess about with your face, take plenty of time off work, you will need it just to look normal, and don't do it in conjunction with something that has as tough a healing process as a tummy tuck. It is just too much. I can't believe my PS said it was fine, even after I expressed my doubts and regrets. He said well, while you're worrying about your face, you won't be obsessing about what your tummy looks like!!

Anyway on a more positive note I have my first post op appointment tomorrow and my dressing will be removed so I should be able to see my incision for the first time. It is a little sore across my hipbones, hope everything is ok under there. My belly button is another issue, its hard to tell exactly where it is under the dressing i have on it, but it does seem that it is indented above and may be oddly placed. Guess i will find out tomorrow.

I had some issues with the hospital where I had my surgeries, I don't feel the standard of care was very good. I didnt see my surgeon or the cosmetic nurse until two days post op, and the general nurses who were taking care of me couldnt answer my questions. My catheter bag was left unemptied on several occasions, to the point where I was worried it was going to overflow back into my bladder (gross but true) and on one occasion the nurse who emptied it didnt close the tap and it leaked urine all over the carpet next to the bed for a whole evening before being noticed. Needless to say the cleaning staff had gone home for the day and the nurses just placed large incontinence pads over it to soak it up. It was right in the bathroom doorway which meant I had to climb over it to use the toilet. That combined with their inability to supply me with a simple lactose free diet made my whole stay with them somewhat strained and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone else. Since coming home I have had several phone calls to try and get to the bottom of the issues I had whilst in hospital but the simple fact is that I felt judged for having cosmetic procedures and uncared for. Anyone else here in the Uk have any similar issues?

Updated on 26 Jul 2011:
26th July - day 8 po. Been for my first follow up appointment today with the cosmetic nurse at the hospital. She removed the dressing on my bb and incision and said that it all looks ok, just a couple of little red sore areas where the dressing had irritated the skin. My bb looks kind of odd to me, very long and slitty, but it was always like that anyway, dont know why but i expected it to be different somehow. I am concerned about the slight discolourtion of my skin around my bb and along part of my incision, to me it looks like the very (and i stress very) early signs of a potential wound healing problem. Perhaps i am just paranoid because i was a smoker previously, although gave up in advance of this surgery. I also used to be a nurse which i think adds to the general feeling of worry.

My face is healing better now too, I actually put on a bit of lippy and left the house for my appt without feeling that i would frighten anyone who saw me. That doesnt mean to say however that it wasnt obvious to anyone seeing that i had had surgery, but at least i can now pass for human again lol.

I will try and post some pics of my incision tomorrow although it is till taped but you can see slightly more of it now. Still swollen and very very tired after my little trip out this morning.

Also saw the matron of the hospital who was really disappointed with the care that i had received and she is helping with the process of making a formal complaint. not sure it will do much for me but if it helps someone else feel more cared for than i did then it will be worthwhile.

Updated on 29 Jul 2011:
well here i am again, 11 days po now I think, I have posted some new pictures to try and show how much swelling I have. Not sure they fully capture it but let me tell you, when they say swell hell, it really does mean that lol. What a pain!!!

Talking of pain, my tummy is pretty much ok, not been taking any pain meds at all for the last couple of days, not even paracetamol. I can walk around, bend, stretch within reason all without any pain. I do have a lot of discomfort from the swelling though. My skin feels very stretched and tight, as does my muscle underneath. Most of my swelling seems to be sitting real low, just above my incision on my hip area, much less further up and above my belly button, although the more I do , the further up my swelling seems to spread. Don't really know if my big Primark knickers are man enough for the job of controlling it. I have an appointment on Monday with the cosmetic nurse and i will ask whether I need something tighter to try and reduce the swelling. I am still getting very tired if I try to do a great deal, don't know whether that is because of having three procedures at once though. In terms of the tummy tuck, for anyone wondering about doing it, just go for it, it really is not too bad at all. Glad I don't have to work for a living I couldn't imagine having to go back on Monday if I did, (that would be two weeks) I just don't think I would be up to it.

Updated on 29 Jul 2011:
Just got back from an unscheduled visit to the hospital to see the cosmetic nurse. My incisions behind my ears have been very tender and a bit oozy overnight, called this morning and they said to go and have it checked. Turns out I have an infection, and also an eye infection from my blepharoplasty, so now I'm on a course of antibiotic tablets and drops for my eyes. Tummy still massively swollen and uncomfortable so on a bit of a downer now today. I really thought that by now I would be feeling much better. Still can't believe though that the tummy seems to be the least of my problems, I really thought it was a massive procedure compared to the face lift and eyelid surgery.

Updated on 2 Aug 2011:
So now I'm two weeks and one day post op, very mixed feelings about the whole thing to be honest. I love the fact that my tummy is now so much flatter, however my waist is much bigger than before and struggling to get into clothes at the moment, wearing baggy dresses with no waistline, couldn't imagine wearing shorts or anything with a waistband at the moment, just too uncomfortable. I expected by now to find that each day would get easier and easier but it seems I have been stuck since about the end of week one. Still can't do much, or i just get really swollen and exhausted. Oh when will I start to feel more normal and get some energy back. My bum and thighs are getting huge from sitting around and I feel really flabby and unfit.

On the upside I went to the hospital yesterday and saw the cosmetic nurse. Got my facelift stitches removed, boy that was a marathon session, there must have been somewhere between sixty and eighty stitches, I lost count as the tramadol I had been advised to take beforehand began to take effect. I had a splitting headache for the rest of the day yesterday and didnt sleep at all well, I think the tramadol keeps me awake, however today it feels better and my face feels less tight than it did before. Still v swollen and eyes looking odd still.

Talking of odd eyes I had a weird thing happen on Sunday. I had been crying (again) and felt a little hard lump on my lower lid, i rubbed it thinking it was just a bit of scab coming off or something (gross I know) but it didnt go away. When I looked in the mirror it was a loop of stitch that had popped out!! Really freaked me out seeing this thing poking out of my lower eyelid so close to my eye. I didnt know what to do with it, tried pulling gently but it was still attached inside, so i did the only thing I could think of and cut it off with scissors, not easy when you're as blind as a bat without specs or contact lenses. When I told the nurse about it she said it was fine, and asked if I wanted the one the other side trimmed off too!! I hadnt even realised that one was sticking out a little too.

So now I've got to the point in this recovery thing of being really bored and fed up. There are so many things I want and need to do, my house is a tip!! teenage boys are not good at keeping things clean and tidy and my hubby has gone back to work so not home again until the weekend. My parents are coming to see me on Thurday and although they say don't worry about the state of the house, of course I will. Trying to gather enough strength to sweep and mop the floors downstairs. Its all wooden floor and at the moment it is filthy with dog hair balls floating around like tumbleweed. Not sure what they will think when they see me looking all swollen and weird. Hope they're ok with it because any little wobble on their part will start me off crying again and I think I might not stop the way I'm feeling right now!! Anyone else having trouble keeping ther emotions in check? the littlest thing seems to upset me at the moment.

Updated on 11 Aug 2011:
Ok so now I am 24 days post op, still feeling very swollen even if I do the smallest amount of housework. My belly immediately above my incision gets very tight and hard, feels warm and pink. The only thing that seems to relieve it is doing bugger all for a few hours!!

Does anyone else seem to have discolouration of the skin on their tummies, I thought mine was due to bruising immediately following surgery but it still looks very blotchy and strange. My belly button is really tight but not healed enough yet to do anything about stretching it out at all.

Have tried waking on the treadmill a few times ( have one at home, wouldnt dare go to the gym at the mo!) started off ok, doing half a mile quite slowly, did this for a few days with no prob so tried a bit further. On Monday I walked a mile at 2.5 miles an hour, doesnt sound like much but later I was so swollen and in so much pain, its taken me three days to recover, wont be doing that again in a hurry. I hate thi feeling of being totally useless, I feel really fat and horrible. I wish I could just have one day off, be like I was before surgery, run around , get all my jobs done, walk my dogs and just be free from pain and swelling!!

My incision is causing me a bit of trouble at the moment too. The paper tape which I have to use on it is causing the skin around my incision to peel off, its really sore. The nurse at the hosp said that the tape is still the best thing to use and I should just leave it longer between changes, but it gets all tatty aand creased up after a couple of days. Anyone get any suggestions? My incision is really raised and dark purple at the moment, doesnt look as good as most peoples seem to after a similar amount of time. It really grosses me out to be honest, can't imagine ever feeling remotely sexy again. i just feel disgusting. My face is still swollen and bruised too, have been back to the hosp twice now because I have found stitches which have been left behind my ears, hope they have finally got them all out now.

One positive note to finish with, I am driving again. Although cant really go anywhere because I still look like the elephant women! lol - someone help - I am going mad with the frustration of waiting!!!!!!!!!!

Updated on 14 Aug 2011:
Four weeks po tomorrow. So much for the driving again!!! I drove to my parents house on Friday, (about 45 mins away). I was feeling uncomfortable by the time I got there, but I put a brave face on it and managed to stay for lunch. I just couldn't get comfy though wherever or however I was sitting. I had my big support knickers on and they felt like they were digging in my bb although they are actually much higher waisted than that. Anyway I stayed for a couple of hours before thinking I really have to get out of here and get home before I burst. I got about half way home and was really in so much pain that i had to stop and buy paracetamol (the only thing I could get from a garage). I got out had a little walk around (all hunched over and nearly in tears) before setting off again. By the time I reached home it was all I could do to make it upstairs and collapse on my bed. My incision was burning and the swelling on the left side around my hip area was huge and quite red. I had to take tramadol again for the firt time in weeks. I really was in so much pain that I just didnt know what to do with myself, it was like being in labour again!! I lay down, got up and paced around, lay down again, cried a lot, by the time my hubby arrived home I was in such a state that he wanted to take me to the hospital. It eventually settled when the tramadol kicked in, but that is an experience I certainly don't want to repeat. Don't think I'll be driving any distance at all for quite some time. Does anyone else have experience of such severe pain, at nearly four weeks, I honestly thought I was long past the really painful stage. i am worried I may have a seroma, since my swelling is usually much worse on one side and is quite painful. Should it hurt?? My big knicks seem to be more of a hindrance than a help, they don't actually stop me swelling, just squeeze and hurt when I do. i am not wearing them overnight and my swelling is much less in the morning.

Can't wait for my PS appointment next Monday (22nd) I hope he will be able to answer my questions with some useful advice. Not entirely convinced though, I think he will be just the same as the cosmetic nurse, full of meaningless plattitudes. I know it all takes time but I want to know what is normal and how long this awful swelling and pain will last.

Updated on 23 Aug 2011:
five weeks post op now and really starting to feel more myself physically. I have less pain and discomfort and can move pretty much freely. Tried lying on my stomach in the garden yesterday to try and tan the backs of my legs (the fronts are lovely and brown from sitting in the garden, but the backs are looking a bit pasty), anyway did manage to lie down but couldn't stay there for longer than about ten minutes. Everything felt really stretched out.

Saw my PS yesterday for what should have been my six week appt. It was originally booked for the 12th Sept, nearly eight weeks because of his holiday, but I didnt want to wait that long, I still have some issues and questions regarding my facelift which I wanted addressed so I changed it to yesterday.

He said my scar was healing beautifully, not sure I agree with that but he's the expert. He told me not to use the tape anymore since I was having a reaction to it and told me I no longer needed to wear the compression garment if I was finding it uncomfortable. He advised waiting a couple of weeks before beginning massage therapy for my scar because of the redness and soreness from the tape. He really doesnt mind which oil or cream I use and said that anything which allows massage without pulling on the skin is fine. The puckering over the ends of the incision should improve with some serious massage. I also asked him about the "ledge" which I seem to have developed. It is an area of swollen tissue (or fat?) directly above my incision, when I bend or sit it seems to roll over just like my belly used to before the TT. He said this is due to the tight ridge of scar tissue which prevents everything from settling nicely and lying flat. The answer apparently is firm massage for at least 5 mins twice a day and it should be fine in about six months. Thats an awful lot of massage!!

Like some of you other ladies on here, i have gone from being over the moon with my results to questioning whether I am really happy and was it all worth it? Not sure what the answer to that is at the moment. My upper abdomen is still a bit flabby, some fat still, but then I didn't have any lipo so I knew that it wouldn't change I suppose. I am hoping that getting back into exercise will help with that. Also I am desperate to lose the "ledge" but can't help thinking that once the swelling has gone and I have lost some weight, am I going to be left with loose skin again. Anyone on here got any experience of weight loss post op?

Started walking on the treadmill a little more energetically today, I did a mile at about 3 miles an hour, doesnt sound much I know but after my previous experiences I don't want to overdo it and be in pain. If I am ok later I will do it again this evening and then up it two miles in one go tomorrow and see how that works out. I used to do 3 or 4 miles daily on top of walking my dogs and can't wait to get back to it. My weight is exactly the same as it was before surgery but my legs are definitely more fat than muscle at the moment. I am hoping that not having the belly anymore will mean that when the weight starts to come off, it will come off from other areas, like my arms and back. Wishfuol thinking perhaps!

Anyway enough waffle from me, hope all you ladies are doing well and starting to feel good about your new bods! x

Updated on 12 Sep 2011:
well ladies here I am at eight weeks post op and on the whole feeling sooooo much better about things. I am getting back in to exercising (god knows I need it!!) and can now do most things without any problems. Still swelling if I overdo things but mostly its ok.

Went for a girls night out on Friday and wore jeans for the firt time in several years, not a big thing to most people I imagine but for me it felt great.

Still not entirely happy with my scar but I can at least see now that it is improving. Since I stopped using the tape at five weeks it has improved a lot. The redness seems to be settling down and I have less of a ridge now than before. Although on my left side I can feel a series of hard lumps under the skin. It feels like a string of beads or dried peas (daft I know but can't think how else to describe them!) Oh well keeping on with the massage and hoping they will go along with the dog ears I still have.

like so many of you on here I am still hating my hips!! They seem so much bigger than before. I could easily feel my hip bones prior to surgery, but now they seem to be covered in a layer of fat, since I had no lipo I guess when the PS pulls down the upper ab skin, the underlying fat comes with it and gets redistributed over the lower area? Seems like the only logical reason I can think of for now having fat rolls over this area. I also think, like many of you, that one side is bigger than the other but trying to be patient and wait the full six months before passing judgement. On the whole feeling happy and looking back to how I was before it is definitely a vast improveent.