Armand R. Lucas, M.D.

I am 45 and the mother of 4children. I have always been on the thin side until my last baby at the age of 38..the weight has stayed there along with the tummy. I am currently 5'3 and 139lb. I am not sad over my weight since I eat right and I workout a lot. I am however tired of all the workouts and not seeing the abdomen benefit..since it is not able to bounce back unless it is removed. Some people think this surgery is really about me and my vanity and maybe some of it is but I really don't care because again it is about my body reflecting my work and until they walk in my shoes they need to all just shut up! Anyway I am scheduled for a full TT and MR on 4/10 and could not be more excited and scared. I will be going to the Cleveland Clinic and my Dr is Armand Lucas. I feel very confident with him and the overnight stay just not so sure about his support staff. His assistant seems to be a little cold but maybe she was having a bad day at my consult. I have never had any kind of surgery or any Rx pain meds in my life so this will be the first..very very nervous. I have been stalking this sight for the last month and I love all the support I am reading by all of you. I am very excited to become a part of the April crew. I will post photos later also as of yesterday I obtained a lovely cold sore on my lip from stress.. Have not had one in 5years and so it goes.. Updated on 8 Apr 2013: So tomorrow at this time I will be officially a nervous wreck. I am trying my best to keep my nerves in check. I really did not think I would be feeling so many emotions at one time..very naive of me. So it is normal to be excited and scared all at the same time.?! Updated on 9 Apr 2013: I have to be at the hospital in the morning at 730am. My husband is taking me and claims he is planning to return to work once I am in recovery..we will see if he really makes it to the office in the afternoon. I am fortunate he loves me very much and we both know he will stay as long as I need him to. He really is not all for this but he is standing by my decision and trying to be supportive and I really appreciate that. Today was my last day of work for two weeks and only my close friends know however I did the get comment "remember you have chosen to do this to yourself so I do not want to hear you complain about the swelling" gee thanks for the love now go shut up! wishing everyone a safe journey to the flat side. Updated on 8 May 2013: So I am now 4wks and loving my results. Is there swelling? Yes but it is mostly at night and I can see progress everyday. My cg is feeling bigger everyday and I can see the changes. I really have been very pleased and very lucky. My surgery went well, I was off any rx by day 2 and have been walking pretty upright. I went back to work after 12 days and my colleagues are amazed..so much that one person commented I may have made this look to easy. The best advice I can give anyone is to prepare and stalk this sight. There is a lot of great beauties on here sharing their knowledge. Read it and use what works best for you. Also prepare yourself mentally. This is a long recovery and the results are not instant so relax and listen to your body and Doc. You will be a knockout..trust in yourself. Updated on 24 May 2013: Ps has now cleared me for workouts and I am out of the CG. Thinking about having a ceremonial burning of the CG..

I have wanted to have a tummy tuck since 2006. I am scheduled March 20th and after reading these stories I am worried... I do not want to take pain meds, and I will need to return to work rather quickly after my surgery. Half of the stories on here sound like people have been off of work for months, and still continue to need pain meds... Are there any positive stories?? Updated on 4 Mar 2013: Just reading the stories on this website is not enough. After personally communicating with other women I am feeling more and more confident that everything will be okay. I realized today that I was totally unprepared for my initial visit. I should have had more questions ready so I had the answers I was seeking. My advice to everyone will be to research PRIOR to scheduling your first visit!! Pre-op was today, Surgery is scheduled for March 20th. The countdown has begun! I added some before pictures today. Close-up's of my jiggly belly sure do make me want to have this procedure! Here is a little more history on why I really want this procedure. I had two children early in my twenties, which of course stretched out my body. But I have always been a big person. I am 5'9" and at my heaviest I was 275, at my best, 135. I began losing weight in 2004 when my youngest daughter turned two, and I had just recently gotten divorced. I couldn't keep-up with my girls and it was time to make myself healthy and fit. I lost 100lbs in the first year. I leveled out around 150, and stayed there for years. I remarried a few years later and was at my lowest of 135 on my wedding day. It was GREAT! The only problem was I spent more on the garments I wore under my dress than on my actual wedding dress. This floppy belly would not budge. So, after a few years, and some extremely stressfull life events, I decided it was time to shed some pounds and get back in shape. I worked hard again, and hit the same wall. I have realized I keep losing this weight, reaching my goal, then failing horribly when I see what is looking back at me in the mirror. In clothes, I look great! I look tall, long and lean. Once I shed those clothes it all falls apart. I am a confident outgoing woman, and I cannot stand that I am so insecure of what is hiding under my clothes. So it is time to change this pattern. Good bye belly - hello new me! Updated on 19 Mar 2013: Within hours I will have joined all of you beautiful women on the FLAT side! Yay!!! Updated on 21 Mar 2013: Well, I've arrived. I think so anyway, I haven't seen the proof yet! I'm rating my pain at a constant 2 or 3. It's unbelievable that its done! My pain is coming from the MR. I've been in and out all night, this hospital sure does want me pain free :) if anyone in this area is looking, the Cleveand Clinic, and Dr Lucas, have been beyond wonderful. Every single person I've interacted with has been so very nice. I'll be heading home in the next 6 hours.... A little anxious for this hour long car ride! At this point- I should be able to endure anything that comes my way!!! Updated on 27 Mar 2013: Well I am PO day 7 and everything seems normal. I went back to work on Monday and made it about 5 hours, then had to go home. Tuesday I only lasted about 4.5 hours. Today, I am working from home. The pain has been minimal, and the drains are pulling less than 30 cc a day. I finished my antibiotic yesterday. Here is my big complaint: I have this awful pain behind my left eye, through the back of my head on the left side. It goes down my neck, my ear feels clogged, and the left side of my throat feels swollen. I do not feel sick. This is just a horrible pain that is constantly nagging. It was the reason I left work twice. When I stand or sit-up straight for a long period of time I start to feel pounding in my head and become quite dizzy. Its just so weird. I had totally expected the physical pain of recovery from a major surgery. I did not, however, expect to feel this. It scares me. Of course, it makes me jump right to the worst case scenerio... do I have a blood clot? Knowing nothing on the subject, it pops into my head simply because they warn you so much about them while in the hospital. I have called my surgeon twice now today and the number just keeps ringing forever. I haven't seen or spoken to my surgeon since I was discharged from the hospital on the 21st. So tired of this pain. Three days now. I had stopped the pain meds last Saturday, but took one yesterday when I came home, and two more at bed time. They did not even touch this. So, I am just going to sit here on the couch today and work from home.

had my surgery on December 13 so I am 6 days PO and I am getting drainage removed tomorow. I had a full TT amd hernia repair without liposuction. The first few days of recovery was brutal. Not that much trouble standing up but I was in and out of it most of the first 4 days off the drugs. I have had 5 kids and developed a hernia and had so much extra skin on my stomach and it really didnt go with my small frame. When I first got pregnant I was only 110 bls and at the end was 160 lbs. After the pregnancies I was kind of left with this out of proportioned stomach on a frame of 130. It still looked as if I was pregnant most of the time. I am really happy I had this done! Updated on 9 Apr 2013: Went to the doctor yesterday and all was well, he informed me that I did still have slight swelling at bottom of my stomach but other than that I was doing great! I asked him why did sometimes it felt like I was being ripped apart at mt incision though? He asked wut I would be doing before this happens since it only happens at night? My respone was working out so he told me to not go so hard on rhe abs. So ladies dont do to much. Somebody told me to ask a question I completely forgot what it was tried to find it too while I was there, so if you remeber tell me and I'll call and ask! Cause i dont go back for 6 months, Other than that happy healing

I am a 43 year old stay at home Mom of 4. I have always felt I needed a reduction since I went from an A Cup to a D Cup in one summer of high school - I eventually ended up as an F Cup. My back and neck have ALWAYS been hurting with headaches too. I don't know if the insurance is penalizing me because I don't have indents and constant rashes under my breast. I have always been careful to wear large padded straps and minimizers to keep me from sagging, now I wish I hadn't;( I have appealed the ruling and am waiting on their "Almighty" decision (arghh). If they don't approve it, I am considering getting the surgery done in Columbus through Ohio State's Resident Surgery program. They will do it "out the door" for about $4600 - paid ahead. The ONLY way I can do that is to borrow the $ from my Mom who desperately wants me to have it... anyone ever go this route? I'm concerned about the 2 hour drive home after the surgery and the pain/nausea level. I may consider asking a nurse friend to spend the night with me down their in a hotel near the hospital until the drainage tubes come out. Is that one or two days after surgery? THANK YOU for hearing my story and I would appreciate any input you have. Updated on 5 Sep 2011: Here's my update. No insurance coverage even though they say it's medically necessary. Only covered if cancer. I will be going in at the Clinic on Oct.5th with self pay. Got a great quote from a veteran surgeon. I'm thrilled. Will keep you posted. Updated on 7 Sep 2011: Yeah! Going in on the 5th of October at the Cleveland Clinic. Have to self-pay due to NEW and (UNimproved) insurance plans that aren't covering reductions at all unless you have cancer. They better not decide to take THAT away too - that would be a horrible outrage...