My GP (doctor) was the one to recommend I look into a panniculectomy as I was getting infection after infection (which has been worst in the hot summer months). In meeting with my surgeon I soon realized that a full tummy tuck was the best option for me. I've had x2 c-sections. After my last child I gained a bunch of weight and as of recently I've lost over 40 lbs in the past 7 months. My second child was a large (large) baby - 12.8lbs and he did quite a number on my belly, the hanging sagging part I affectionally nicknamed my "kangaroo pouch"....but this mama is done carrying babies so there's just no need to carry around my "kangaroo pouch" any longer! Phase 1 is to get the panniculectomy and full tummy tuck. This is taking place on April 13th 2017. Phase 2 will be liposuccion in the flanks area (back fat), love handles (there must be proper terms, lol), and under boob (there I go again!) I'm both excited and scared for the surgery. Excited mostly. But nervous about the anesthetic soft the surgery. I'm sure everything will go smoothly! Updated on 23 Mar 2017: Updated on 15 Apr 2017: So the first 24 hrs were hard. Hurts to move. But I'm at the end of day 2 recovery and I'm able to move around with little to no assistance. They only installed one drain! Yay me! Updated on 26 Jun 2017:
Hi all. My husband of nearly 25 years informed me the marriage was over in June. Total shock. I have always wanted to fix the saggy parts of me and he has agreed to pay for half - guilty I guess! Maybe he is hoping it is for him, but it is all for me. Have had a full physical and got the green light to proceed. Scared and hopeful, I really need to feel better about myself. I also have PTSD from CSA. Have been working so hard on that with a psychologist for a long time and I was doing great until the 'big dump." Go figure, I got into an abusive relationship and have endured it longer than I should. If I had seen more clearly before I would have dumped him instead of the other way around! It truly is good that it is ending and in many ways I feel liberated. And the planned TT is part of the liberation. Saced but hopeful - here is to the future!! Updated on 4 Jan 2016: Well, here are some photos taken on my 50th birthday. Sure hoping I can be improved! I have my pre-op appointment in a few days. I should know more then. Super worried the doctor will tell me he changed his mind and I am not a candidate after all. Hoping that's irrational!! Updated on 2 Feb 2016: Well in 2 days it happens. I am very excited! My ps said I could shower whenever I wanted as long as I took care of my drains. Curious to see if I get the same instructions post op since it seems to be quite different from what others are doing. My ps is so confident! I had lots of questions after reading so much on this site but he told me just to keep living my life the way I normally do. I have some laxatives and muscle relaxants on hand. I was told I would be able to stairs up to my bedroom - is this unrealistic? Updated on 3 Feb 2016: I have switched from excited to terrified. What am I doing? Why am I doing this to myself? And then I am excited again. I wish it were over! It will be so hard to sleep tonight. I am worried about my anxiety - has anyone ever passed out before their surgery? Oh my I can't wait! I think I am excited again! Updated on 5 Feb 2016: First a few stats. The original plan was not to go all the way around the back because it can be tough to heal near the tailbone. I had so much loose skin from the weight loss that he went all the way around. It was a muscle repair and removal of excess skin and attached tissue but no lipo. The nurses afterward kept asking me how much weight I lost (about 45 pounds) because they removed 14 pounds of tissue. That is way more than I imagined! Pain is manageable as I am on top of the meds. I plan to continue with percocet gradually increasing time between doses til Monday then switch to the T3's. Biggest issues are itchiness on thighs and back and buttocks as well as a muscle in my back that keeps having spasms. My only muscle relaxant has ibuprofen in it which I can't use because it is a blood thinner. I'm having difficulty adjusting my binder because I can't lie down to do it without assistance - both my bed and the couch are too mushy. Is it possible to do a binder too tight? I have one drain that fills up every 2 hours, 2 that get half full every 8 or so hours, and one that doesn't seem to fill up at all. I'm hoping 3 will be removed on Monday when I go back to see nurse. I then see the Dr on Thursday. I think my spirits are very good and I am a lot more alert today with the anesthetic out of my system. Updated on 7 Feb 2016: Hi all. Woke up feeling very well today. I think I was out for a solid 2 hours of sleep which is the longest stretch so far. I doze a lot but am not necessarily sleeping. Everyday I am more alert/awake than the day before. My appetite is lighter but I am trying to eat healthfully and regularly. I seem to be having more sensation on my back incision. Before I had more discomfort right side front. I keep trying to tell myself it is normal and not to worry. Tried to wash my hair in kitchen sink - recommend a helper and pots prefilled with water. I'm not sure how clean it is I will check when it is more dry. Twice yesterday when I stood up pee went running down my leg. Don't leave it too long ladies! I didn't have to pee so bad I thought it would be an issue so was really surprised it happened. I am now going regularly just in case. I guess this was from the catheter? Did anyone else have this happen to them? Updated on 9 Feb 2016: Here is how yesterday went. I had a post-op nurse appt in am and she changed my bandages. Everything looked great! Went home in good spirits (except for when road was bumpy) and thought I'd try cutting down the percocet to one pill. Did that next dose but went back to two pills for the dose after that. Meantime I noticed my PJ's were wet in the crotch. Thought I'd started leaking pee again. Seemed to be increasing. Climbed stairs for first time to get to my pads. As I was standing in my bathroom I was non-stop drip-drip-drip. Yellowy-pink. Put on undies and pad. Notice my drain that fills up all the time hasn't. Call surgery nurse who directs me to hospital Tried to tell the triage people I needed to see the PS resident. They said wait and tell it to the nurse. Due to a shift change I waited 45 minutes before I saw the triage nurse!! 5 minutes with nurse and I was in a wheelchair being wheeled to the after hours surgery clinic where a Dr was waiting for me. As I suspected the drain was plugged somewhere. He and the nurse "milked" my drains and were surprised I had not been instructed to do that. Maybe I was but forgot due to the anesthetic wearing off?? I really did not know about needing to do this so I think maybe Noone told me to...I've remembered everything else! Anyway all seems to be well. I really want to cut back on these meds. Last night I decided to sleep until I woke up instead of using my alarm to keep on schedule. That has resulted in 2 five hours apart doses. I can live with the ab discomfort but I have a bad headache. Has anyone else had headaches? I'm guessing it night be dehydration? So post op day 4 was not my favourite. Hoping today goes well. Updated on 10 Feb 2016: Hi. First off thank you for the supportive comments. I need them! Today has been tough. I threw up after taking my antibiotic. Not fun. I'm worried it was the percocet which i cut to half doses yesterday and discontinued altogether today. Called nurse who said I was likely responding to the harsh antibiotic and make sure I have some food in my tummy first. I have almost no appetite and have yet to poop. One more thing to worry about. I did take a T3 mid afternoon due to pain. I might take another before bed. Today I feel depressed. I see Dr tomorrow in pm. I hope everything is healing well and I'm not sick. Updated on 11 Feb 2016: Hi all! Saw my doctor today who said everything looks great. He took only one drain out which felt really weird. I am feeling much better today. Pooped this am which was fine although it was the first in a week. I think I feel better due to that as well as taking fewer meds. I am much more alert during the day and I am sleeping for longer amounts of time at night before waking up. Thank you for the best wishes everyone. I am hoping I am over the hump! Starting to get excited about the future again!! Updated on 15 Feb 2016: Hi all. Sorry pix are crooked can't seem to fix it. Generally okay not painful. Stiffness after sitting. Sleeping is interrupted. Sick of drains. Pretty happy about my new look altho the incisions are quite high. Updated on 26 Feb 2016: Over 3 weeks and my one drain is still accumulating nearly 200 mls a day. Has anyone else dealt with a drain this long? I hate it!! It pinches my pubis somehow and the drain has come out an inch. Should I push the tube back in? I think my incision is healing really well but is the swelling is bad I think? What am I doing wrong??? Updated on 12 Mar 2016: Hi well the stitch on my drain let out awhile ago and then my body pushed the tube out. Don't laugh but I tried to duct tape it into place and my body beat the tape!!! Anyway I was supposed to watch for "water balloon" swelling and I saw it so went to hospital. Resident agreed and tried to drain it but was unsuccessful and declared it was just swelling. I felt good and relaxed. Had check up with Dr buchel who said he will drain it 1 poke and I felt fluid draining down my leg he stuck in a catheter and over a LITRE was drained. He is awesome!!! I need to wear CG 24 hours but I don't care. I feel cared for. I had major surgery. Updated on 17 Mar 2016: Well still filling with fluid. More drained today and still need to wear the CG 24 hours a day for at least 2 more weeks. Spirits are good but I'm not allowed to return to work and I'm not allowed to go back to yoga yet or anything. Bodies are so different. I think the nurse missed this problem when it started. I feel good now talking to the surgeon and confident there is a plan in place. The procedure did hurt today and now it aches. Updated on 31 Mar 2016: Hello realself friends! I must say this is quite a journey - but I am so happy to be on it! I am still dealing with fluid and am going ton get drained again tomorrow. It is definitely decreasing though so I am starting to get hopeful that CG freedom is within reach! I still need to wear it 24 hours but I bought myself some super tight shape wear so I can go out feeling less self conscious about how my clothes are fitting. It should also be cooler than the CG I hope. Definitely frustrated I can't back to activity. I'm not heavy into working out but there is a 4 mile path I used to walk almost daily and I also tried to do yoga 2-3 times a week. I'm really missing this activity and worrying about gaining weight. I am really delighted so far with my result. I must say that it is weird to have my body be different. I am uncomfortable when people notice me or look at my body. I did this for me and I have a shy nature. I have tried to shop a couple of times but it is like I have lost my shopping confidence. I am drawn to over sized clothing that disguises me - but I am working hard to challenge myself to wear something more fitted. Clothes do look much better on me which is fun. I didn't realize until recently how much my ex has eroded my confidence. He had opinions about how I dressed and now I have to discover my own opinions. I need to learn to trust myself. As I said at the start of this post - what an amazing and liberating journey to be on! I am so glad for everyone's support. Updated on 1 Apr 2016: Quick update. Went for fluid draining today. Good news! Only removed about 40 mls. Wonderful improvement! Maybe only 1 more draining? I can hope lol!!! I still need to watch and go in for more draining. I didn't schedule because I couldn't anticipate when that would be necessary. I think one more time at least. I am so hopeful! I still need to wear CG 24 hrs a day and still no exercise/activity and am worried about returning to work in 3 Days. I will take it easy I promise. I also need to try on old wardrobe and figure out works. I'm not ready to 'reveal' myself. Such a difficult process for me. I want to be better for me not for others. I'm not ready to share the new me yet. Updated on 8 Apr 2016: Hello friends! Well I went to get drained today and guess what - nothing to drain!!!! Yippee!!! I have permission to start walking (start slow and work up) but no yoga yet. Fyi I power walk a 4+ mile path that takes an hour so it is not just a simple stroll. I can officially go half time with the binder. Another hurray!! Of course I seem to like wearing it now lol. I did gain 2 lbs this week that was stressing me out but I seem to have peed it away. Is that swelling? I have no pain but sometimes feel pulling at my incision. I have lots of numbness that I am hoping will improve. Belly button looks great and the pinkness is starting to fade just the last couple of days. I think taking the binder off helps with that. When people get revisions what exactly gets revised? What should I be watching for?
