So today I've gone ahead a booked my surgery to have my tummy tuck! I'm excited and terrified all in one. ???????? It's taken me 4 months of researching and meeting with various consultants to finally settle with surgeon I've chosen and feel 100% happy with my choice. I must have read every possible blog on here by all the ladies in the uk who have allowed us to follow their surgery, so thank you to you all. Your experience has helped me greatly and you've led me start my own tummy tuck diary for others to follow if they wish.... So here goes! ???????? Updated on 12 Feb 2017: Building up the courage to post some photos of my hideous stomach!! :-/ Aaaagghhh!! Updated on 5 Apr 2017: So on count down now - 6 days to go until me and my "belly bumbag" get separated for good. Thank god, can't say it's an accessory I've enjoyed dragging about! I've been busy the last few weeks gathering up lots of bits that I think I may need, got a few new sets of comfy Pjs as I don't intend on getting dressed for a few weeks. Went to the pharmacy at the wknd and purchased every type of pain killer they'd let me have and a big bottle of laxative - can't imagine Muscle repair and constipation go well together! My surgeon doesn't use binders either but a few reviews I've read have suggested getting a light support top as helps if you suffer with swelling so got a couple of really good ones from primark of all places and were a bargain £4 each, bonus! Off to the supermarket later today to bulk buy meat etc so that I can make up lots of meals to go in the freezer otherwise my poor children will end up very malnutritioned if left in the hands of my husbands cooking... he actually asked how to make scrambled egg the other day!! Haha!! Updated on 6 Apr 2017: So here goes...... I've taken theses photos over and over again and every time they're as hideous as the last ones. But I need to have something to compare with when I'm in pain and wondering why the hell I felt the need to put myself through this. I can look back at my awful "belly bum bag" and be pleased that it's finally been lopped off!! I've never let anyone other than my husband (poor sole) and my doctor see my stomach until earlier when my best friend asked when I was finally going to let her see it - I think she was a little shocked and her response was "well you hide that well!" Lol! Bum bag you have 4 days to hang about and then your going back to the 1980s!! Updated on 10 Apr 2017: So in 9 and a half hours I'm due to check in to my hospital bed for my long awaited belly blitz! I've wanted this for the last 5 years and now it's actually here I've been questioning myself as to whether I've got the balls to go through with it! Part of me is so excited about the prospect of being able to wear nice clothes and actually enjoy laying on the beach with my friends on our girls holiday but the the other part of me feels so guilty that I could even contemplate putting myself at risk when I have 3 small children at home. Daft I know but I think quite a few mums feel like this (I've read that a lot do) but hey it's something that needs doing not just for cosmetic reasons but also I can't keep getting hernia after hernia repaired for the rest of my life. Today I have kept myself busy, got everything the boys could possibly need sorted out for my husband and mum to be able to find, made meals for the next 2 weeks, chucked out all my awful baggy hide myself under clothes - yes I'm thinking positive and hoping I'll never need them again! Lol and am now soaking in a hot bath before I attempt to get some sleep (yea right!!) I have literally been addicted to this site for the last week checking in 5 or 6 times a day on the ladies that are a week or so ahead of me, your posts and private messages have helped me massively so thank you sooooo much xxxx See you on the flat side xxxx Updated on 11 Apr 2017: I've been back from theatre for 3 and a half hours now and feeling good -dare I say it! I arrived at the hospital this morning at 7.30 and my surgeon and his team were waiting for me. I immediately burst into tears and he was fab, so reassuring and calming. He took before photos and drew all over my stomach answered all my questions and then we were set to go. I was collected at 8.30am and off I went, the whole team were so good and before I knew it I was being woken up. Mr Haywood had already been to see my husband while I was in recovery and told him he was extremely happy with how it had all gone and will come and see me later. He's pulled my tummy muscles in by 10cms and removed just over 2lb of loose skin. I've had absolutely no pain since waking just felt like I'd been on a massive bender, but that feeling has pretty much worn off now. Not sure what pain relief I've had but doesn't appear that I've had the pain pump like he thought I might have, I've been given a long lasting anethstetic in my muscles and my hip to hip wound and just taken some ibuprofen as I am beginning to feel those areas -no pain just a little uncomfortable. Long may that last! Lol! Now about to try some lunch, see how that goes down. Taken a few photos, but will take some better ones later if I can. Xx Updated on 11 Apr 2017: Well that's my first day and night in the bag and it absolutely was no where near as bad i was expecting it. At no point have I had any pain, discomfort yes but nothing I'd call pain. My surgeon has been wonderful and came and checked on me 4/5 times before he left last night and the nurses are amazing. As I said in my last post straight after waking I felt really quite ok just groggy and I just sat at watched telly all day. Come 4pm I started to feel pretty pants, quite sick and hot and clammy. The nurses decided that it was probably down to the fact I had a full bladder and that sometimes your brain forgets to tell you it needs to go, so I was given some more anti sickness and we made the attempt to get out to the loo. It was hard but with help I managed to get up and out, I also got dressed out of my gown into my nightie and then shuffled like an old granny to the loo, burping away too! Lol! Got sat on the loo and waited for my brain and bladder to kick in - after what seemed ages it finally did it. But then I had that awful feeling that I was about to pass out. I last remember my mum pulling the emergency cord and that's it I was out cold. Woke up to lots of nurses and an oxygen tank in the loo with me! What a drama! Ha! Got back to bed and immediately felt better. Mr Haywood came to see me at about 5 and was a little concerned as I have a bit of swelling on my right side which is sore to touch so they are keeping a close eye on it incase it's a blood clot. Due to this I had to have obbs done every hour through the night so not much sleep happened, and I'm not a keen back sleeper either - best get used to that! I haven't been allowed to go to the toilet since my fainting episode so they wanted me to use a bed pan..... I was absolutely busting but my bloody body was having none of it though so I tried a commode next to the bed but still no joy so had to have a catheter in to empty it. However I did try again at 3am and bingo my body remembered what to do!! Yey!! Getting in and out of bed hasn't been too bad -probably the worst bit of the whole experience so far has been the dry mouth and having no appetite at all - I love my food normally! Lol! Hoping to get up into the bathroom today so maybe able to get some better pics. Xx Updated on 12 Apr 2017: Just got up and had a good wash and took the opportunity to take a few quick pics. I'm very bent over and you can see my swelling on my right side but I'm really pleased with it already. My scar seems quite high but my knickers are pulled quite far down due to the drains at the side but either way it's so much better than it was! One happy girlie! Updated on 13 Apr 2017: Very uneventful day yesterday really, after seeing my consultant and getting washed etc I spent most of the day resting in my bed. With the help of my hubby I was able to go to the loo by myself. I was told to try and fully mobilise myself so in the afternoon I donned my dressing gown and slippers and went for a walk down the ward and sat in the waiting room before coming back down. It was actually a lot easier than I expected and I wasn't as bent as when I started. I was very tired all day, but that was probably down to no sleep the night before however I just couldn't sleep at all, I think it may have been due to the drugs. Managed to eat all of my meals and came off the strong pain killers, now on paracetamol, ibuprofen and codine. Went for another walk before bed time and then turned out the lights at 10pm, slept through until 6.30am bonus!! Still no pain, tummy very gurgly with trapped wind. Already seen consultant today and having one drain removed, then a shower and then can go home!! Still very happy with everything, soooo pleased I went through with it! Xx Updated on 14 Apr 2017: Was really amazed at how well I felt yesterday morning when I got up for my first wee of the day, getting out of the bed was fairly easy and getting about felt good too. Had one drain removed just after breakfast and then had a lovely shower, washed my hair, got dressed and put on a bit of makeup and waited for my lovely husband to pick me up to go home. Was home by 10.30am and got myself comfy in my reclining granny chair. Still no pain and actually the only thing that's playing me up and causing a bit of discomfort is trapped wind. Lol! I was given codine to come home with to take along with paracetamol and ibuprofen but haven't actually taken any of the codine as I haven't needed it. I really do feel fab and am having to stop myself from doing things about the house that I would normally do. My little boys have been so good too bless them one always wants to hold my hand when I'm up and about and the other carries my drain! Ha! Got up into my bed last night and slept ok really -getting used to this back sleeping malarkey! And again felt good this morning, am able to get about by myself and went and had my last drain removed. Wasn't sure if they'd want to leave it in as it had drained 90cl since I left hospital but they said it could come out if promised to chill out today. Starting to swell up a bit today which is quite uncomfortable but I've been expecting it. Off to a family BBQ later today after Ive had a little sleep I think! Lol! Xx Updated on 14 Apr 2017: Been another good day, swelling is certainly starting to kick in all over my stomach and round my hips and oddly down my right side of my leg at the top. But it's to be expected and I'm still very happy, makes me even more excited to see what it'll be like once the swelling subsides! Updated on 17 Apr 2017: Still feeling really good, sleeping on my back is starting to take its toll but I'm finding I'm kind of able to get onto my left side for some of the night. My muscles around my tummy button are quite sore today, thinking I've either done too much yesterday or maybe it's just them healing. Either way I've been super lazy and spent the day in bed so far today! Lol! Was just having a quick look back at my before and after pics and I'm so pleased with the results, even though I'm still very swollen. I'm excited to get out clothes shopping soon! Dressings come off tomorrow and I'm looking forward to see what lies beneath! Ha! Updated on 17 Apr 2017: So not had a great afternoon, had a fair bit of pain around my tummy button. Was feeling fab until I woke this morning and now feel like I'm back at day one. In fact I'm moving worse today than I ever have done, and it's the first bit of pain I've had too. I've also been driving myself nuts all afternoon as theres been a horrid smell that I keep blaming on the kids but I now think I've found the source of it..... it's me!!!! My tummy button dressing smells horrid!! (Sorry if it's tmi) Thankfully I'm seeing my surgeon first thing in the morning to have my dressings off but I'm just hoping to god that this isn't all connected to the pain I've got around my tummy button and the suspected blood clot that I was monitored for initially! :-( Updated on 18 Apr 2017: Saw my lovely surgeon first thing this morning to have my dressings off. First thing he asked was how I'd been and so I told him I'd felt amazing up until Monday. I'd been pretty much upright and moving around easily and off all pain medication however come Monday I woke up with a really bad headache and an awful stabbing pain to the side of my tummy button which got worse as the day went on and the swelling has made me huge. I also told him about the horrid smell that was coming from my tummy button dressing. He reassured me that it was highly unlikely that they were connected and that lots of tummy tuck patients experience what they call a "honeymoon period" where they have very little pain for the first week or so and then as the nerves in and around the muscles start to come back to life the pain kicks in. This is what I thought might be going on and he said it normally settles within a few days. He removed all my dressings and my large hip to hip wound looks fab, it's so neat and has healed really well, lovely and low and no puckering which I thought there may be. However I can't say the same for my poor tummy button, basically it's starting dying back -hence the smell! :-/ He explained that all tummy buttons are basically big scars and where he has attached the new skin to the original trunk it hasn't taken. This is mainly down to the fact that I had a collapsed umbilical hernia repaired 6 months ago and that caused a lot of scar tissue and it made it tricky for my surgeon when making my new tummy button. It looks awful but he's reassured me that with lots of careful attention and cleaning twice a day it should eventually scab and scar over. I'm seeing him again next week to decide if I'll need to have any dead skin removed in order to help it recover. I'm a bit gutted that it hasn't all gone completely to plan but I trust him 100% so will just have to give it time. X Updated on 20 Apr 2017: Feeling much better today, the pains have settled down and moving around is much easier. Different muscles are coming back to life daily and paracetamol are keeping it comfortable. The swelling has really kicked in this week tho, within an hour of waking up and getting out of bed my lovely tight flat tummy begins to balloon, by bed time it's quite depressing how it bulges over my scar. The reassuring thing is tho that I know it's just swelling as it's gone again by the morning. Really happy with my scar too, my left side is lovely and thin and healing nicely, my right side has been my problem side from the beginning and the scar is slightly thicker and quite bruised and the swelling is always worse on that side too. But all in all I feel confident that it'll heal well. My tummy button is still like a big black hole but hasn't got any worse so that's good. Had tea with a group of friends last evening and showed them my before and after photos -they were all very shocked and couldn't believe it was the same tummy! -that made me feel good lol! Xx Updated on 21 Apr 2017: So I'm having my first real downer day today. I expected this whole experience to start off being horrendous and slowly get better day by day. However was amazed at how easy and pain free it was for the first week, then the muscle discomfort began but settled down over 2 or 3 days but since then I don't feel like I'm making any recovery progress. Each day is the same or worse than the day before. At the beginning of the week I was suffering with awful headaches and felt exhausted, then yesterday started feeling really out of it and dizzy, couldn't get warm and then realised I had a temperature. My consultant wanted to come and see me to make sure everything was ok and I ended up on antibiotics for a UTI. His care has been phenomenal! My swelling has been getting progressively worse each day, and today I literally feel like I'm going to explode. The bulk of the swelling is around my scar and tonight it's going all black with bruising - does anyone know if this is normal? I know it's going to be a long journey but in my head I thought each day would get easier not harder. I'm sure tomorrow I'll feel better- don't get me wrong I'd still do this all over again tomorrow but just feeling a bit fed up. Xx Updated on 22 Apr 2017: So i think I've fell victim to the "what the hell have I done" phase! I read about lots of ladies going through this and was adamant that I wouldn't let myself but it's got me! Lol! Spent the day in bed yesterday, very teary and totally fed up. My antibiotics have kicked in and I feel much better in that respect but the tightness and swelling around my scar and the total discomfort when moving about is killing me. I'm not one for sitting still at the best of times and now nearly 2 weeks in I'm done. I just want to be able to get up and cook myself a nice healthy meal, my poor husband is doing a great job taking care of everything else but bless him he can't cook a thing and totally forgets that me and the kids need lunch etc! Lol! I think in the last week I've had just about every variation of something on toast! I do know this is just a phase and soon I'll wake up and will have turned a corner but it seems such a way alway. I'm due to go back to work in just over a week and driving is essential as I'm a childminder and need to be able to collect the children from school but I'm panicking as I can't see that happening the way I feel at the minute. I see my surgeon again on Tuesday so I'm sure he'll reassure me that everything is fine and my rate of recovery is normal. My nurse told me as I left the hospital after my surgery "remember you need to walk before you can run!" And she's so right!! :-) Updated on 24 Apr 2017: I'm really finding it hard at the minute with this dreadful swelling. It's now the only thing stopping me for trying to get back to a little bit of normality. Each day it's actually getting worse instead of better. It feels as tho I'm heaving pregnant but it's all sitting on my hips and pelvis making it really hard and painful to walk about. It was initially only really on my incision scar area but it's now very swollen right up to my ribs and not going down much by the morning either. Its like I'm carry a solid ridge ring around my hips. Has anyone had any swelling a bruising like this at all? Mine all started on Friday. I see my consultant tomorrow night and as awful as it sounds I'm hoping he's going to say that it's not right and therefore can do something about it, because if he says it's all normal I don't know how I'm going to cope like this for the next few weeks! :-/ My tummy button isn't looking too great today either which is a shame as it was starting to look a little healthier. All in all an awesome day!! Lol! Xx Updated on 25 Apr 2017: As I'd said in previous posts, not been feeling great the last few days with swelling and hot cold fevers. This morning was spent the same way as every other past day laying on the sofa to try and help the swelling. Was due to see my surgeon at 6.30pm for a check up and to review my swelling. Feeling very tight and swollen and was getting a fair bit of tummy ache low down, at 5pm got up to got to the loo and noticed my tummy button dressing was soaked in blood. Had a bit of a panic and called the hospital who told me to remove it and re-dress with a clean one and my surgeon would review it later on. However when I took it off, it literally flooded everywhere and with 2 mins the new dressing was also flooded. Managed to hold out until 6pm when I headed to the hospital and by the time I arrived the towel I had wrapped round my middle was soaked! I looked as tho I'd be shot walking into the reception! lol!! Turned out that I had had a seroma and the pressure had got so bad that it found its own way out via my tummy button! After lots of squeezing of my tummy and swelling my surgeon managed to get a little extra fluid out and I felt 5 stone lighter. Had my tummy button packed out with a mountain of gause and dressing and sent on my way to return Thursday evening. But within an hour I was swollen and hard again and when I checked my new mega dressing that too was soaked through!! Did as I was told and called the hospital again and was told to come straight in. My poor surgeon had literally just got home and had to turn around and come back. It was decided that he needed to see what was going on inside so with a local anethstetic he would open my tummy button a little wider to see if he could locate the bleeding. Bingo he found the cause, I had a blood clot below my tummy button that was mixing with the seroma fluid and slowing finding its way out. Now that he could get to it he managed to syringe out 300ml of fluid along with lots of old clots. Job done!! I have to stay in hospital tonight and tomorrow so they can monitor any further bleeding and he's coming to see me again tomorrow night and we will do the whole squeeze the fluid out again. Lovely! :-) Updated on 27 Apr 2017: Feeling 1000 times better now than 36 hours ago! I was allowed home from hospital last evening after having my seroma "milked" again! Lol! (Apparently that is the technical term! Ha!) still leaking seroma fluid but nothing like I was before and as my surgeon says "better out than in". Now that the blood clot has been removed the fluid is a lot paler in colour too. It's amazing how much better I felt immediately after having procedure on Tuesday night and the bulk of the fluid and clot was removed. I could walk upright, get up and down from sitting easily, sleep on my sides and the swelling has gone down sooo much. I'm a bit gutted as I've now got 4 new stretch marks on my left side due to the massive swelling I had. I'm a bit worried that all the swelling may have compromised my final outcome as my skin stretches easily but doesn't go back well. I did mention it to my surgeon last night and he sees no reason for my result not to go back to my original outcome but I'm not convinced. However I can already see the change in my shape in the last 36 hours so maybe I should have faith! See my surgeon again tonight for another milking! Lol! Updated on 28 Apr 2017: Went last evening for my "milking" session and by the time my appointment came round I was very swollen again so expected him to get lots of fluid out but no.... literally only a tea spoon full came out! Which is actually fab as it means everything is healing well. He said the swelling on my hips was now just the normal tissue swelling that would settle down over time. He gave the swollen areas a massage which helped no end, so I'm to keep massaging my tummy with moisturiser each time I start to feel swollen to break up the fluid pockets and help with drainage. I'm now allowed to do the dressing myself and just call into the hospital to see the nurse should I need anything. This morning I removed the dressing and it was dry! Yey! And for the first time in 4 days I got to see my tummy button and shape without any dressings and I was amazed. The swelling was really minimal and my tb looked lovely and small. It gave me a great boost. My surgeon suggested that I started wearing Spanx if I felt comfortable enough to and to see how on got on with different types of clothing. So today I put on a pair of jeans and fitted t-shirt and went out for lunch. I even drove myself. The feeling I got made this whole thing worth while - being able to wear nice fitted clothes was my main reason to have this surgery and I'm excited to see how much better everything will get over the next few weeks! :-)) Updated on 3 May 2017: So haven't updated in a few days, not much has been going on really other than trying to get back to a bit of normality. Weekend was really good, feeling better and better. My husband went away for the wknd and my lovely mum had they boys for me so I had a chilled wknd with the house to myself watching box sets and eating takeaway with my friends. Really made the most of it as I'm 100% sure I'm not ever going to be in that position again until all 3 of my boys have left home - so maybe 20 years!! Lol!! Monday I didn't feel too great, very swollen and the heavy feeling that I had before my seroma ruptured last time was back. I couldn't decide if it was in my head or if perhaps I was filling with fluid again (had no leakage since Thursday). However Tuesday morning I felt good in myself again but was still very swollen. I already had an appointment that morning to see the nurse just for her to check my tummy button so explained it to her and she called my consultant to put him in the picture. He said to keep an eye on it and call him if I started to feel poorly again. Popped into town to buy some more compression pants (primark ones are fab and only £5 each!) and then did the food shopping with my mum. Then at 2pm caught sight of myself in the mirror and my dress was soaked! My seroma had ruptured again! This time it was clear/yellowy fluid, had to travel down to Norwich to see the consultant as he was on trauma call out and he patched me up and "milked" me again lol! It carried on leaking until about 9pm but has been dry since. Apparently it's very common for a Seroma to keep building up until the pocket eventually shrinks and my doctor confirmed it's nothing I'm doing that's causing it, it's just one of those things and it would do it even if I lay doing nothing all day everyday. Today I feel like I've suddenly turned a huge corner, I feel pretty much back to normal. My swelling is not too bad and nothing is niggling or causing me any discomfort apart from the huge dressing I have strapped to my tummy incase it leaks again. I've been into work for the morning, visited friends this afternoon, been for a walk (doc said I could start waking again in prep to get back running eventually!) and now about to cook tea. All in all I feel great!! Anyone who's thinking or waiting for their tummy tuck, please don't be put off by the problems I've had with the seroma, it's a real slim chance of it happening and it hasn't caused any problems it's just been a bit of an inconvenience more than anything. And I'd still do it all again tomorrow! :-)) Updated on 3 May 2017: Took a quick pic tonight to show the difference in swelling each day. First pic was on Saturday after doing hardly anything all day and wearing Spanx. Most of my swelling gathers above my incision and forms a ledge, and is always worse by bed time. Second pic is tonight, and I'm relatively flat still and my scar looks really good (photos make it look a lot darker than it is) the swelling is much higher up swallowing up my waist entirely! I look a bit like a tree trunk! Lol! Also my tummy button finally doesn't look so manky! I'm so looking forward to being able to get out and start working on toning up and getting a better shape to my tummy. The wrinkly looking skin and red patches are from the huge dressing I've been wearing all day incase I leak anymore. Updated on 8 May 2017: So today I've officially been back to work, I've been popping in and out over the last week and spent Friday there too but today was my first proper day back and also collected all the children from school etc. Feeling pretty much back to normal now and swelling has settled a little. I'm being a good girl and following my strict orders not to lift especially my 1 year old, which is tricky as he doesn't walk yet and so I can't get him into the car but we have our new routine licked. With a little help he can climb into his pushchair so I walk him round to his childminders each morning before I take the others in the car to school and then once home we walk back round and get him. All in all feeling fab and absolutely love my results when I'm not swollen! :-)) Updated on 29 May 2017: Tomorrow I will be 7 weeks post op, it's gone so incredibly quickly and I'm now totally back to normal activities. In fact I have been pretty much from week 5. I've now been signed off from seeing my consultant until my 3 month check at the end of August. It'll be strange not seeing him for that long as I've seen him at least once every week since my Op! :-) Anyone who has followed my journey will know that I've had my fair share of problems along the way and unfortunately it doesn't appear that they have come to an end just yet. My seroma continued to rupture from my tummy button weekly every Tuesday at about 3pm. My consultant and I had a running joke going as it was honestly like clockwork, even if we didn't have an appointment booked he said he always expected me to rock up on a Tuesday afternoon. It last ruptured at week 4 and since then had no problems. On removing my dressings one week post op we discovered my new tummy button had died, I was told not to panic! As long as I cleaned it twice daily and saw my consultant each week to monitor it everything would heal perfectly. I had some dead skin removed at week 2 and he was right my new tummy button has healed and looks wonderful! My consultant was always very honest with me right from my first consultation. Which is what I liked about him. He made sure my expectations were realistic and he went through all the possible things that could happen. I knew that I would never have a completely flat stomach and that my scar may need to be a little higher than normal due to a vertical hernia scar that I already had above my tummy button. But he felt that he could drastically improve my silhouette and I could be confident in clothes again once he had got rid of my huge over hang. And he certainly didn't disappoint! I couldn't be more happy with my result and in fact it's 100 times better than I could have imagined. I can now wear tight fitting tops, and skirts. I've even been on a night out wearing a bodysuit and jeans! I haven't done that since I was about 13!! :-)) However my tummy looks nothing like it did in the first few weeks when it was completely tight and smooth. Over the weeks the skin stretches and settles and it's now a lot softer and more normal looking. Whilst it's a little disheartening as it felt awesome to have such a tight tummy, I was warned that this would happen. My hip to hip scar looks amazing and is very fine and has healed very well. I've been applying bio oil since week 5. But where my seroma has been causing me to swell above my scar line along with the general swell hell period it has left me with more stretched skin. I made an appointment to see my consultant last week as I thought it was seroma fluid building up but was given the bad news that it was actually new loose skin. (The laxity of my skin is really really bad which is just down to bad genetics) my consultant told me not to worry and that he would do a simple revision surgery to correct it for me and remove the extra 2/3 inches of skin. It's barely noticeable but my consultant wasn't happy with it. So hoping to get this done maybe October time. I'm having my first session with my new personal trainer this week who's going to help me strengthen my core muscles especially the ones down my sides as these have stretched a bit since having the muscle repair and it doesn't look as good as it originally did. Making these strong should help pull the area above my tummy button up to my chest flat again. Plus a bit more weight loss would be a bonus, I've somehow managed 1 stone loss since surgery but another 1 would be fab!! :-) I'm also hoping to be able to get back to my weekly park run this week, I've been back running since week 5 but struggling to get back to my normal distance of 5k. All in all, even with my mishaps along the way my experience has been so positive, I've never once been in ANY pain and my consultant has been first class, so kind and caring. Nothing has been too much trouble for him. And I would do it all again tomorrow! I will update again at the end of august once I've seen my consultant for my review. If your considering having a TT and have any questions please feel free to contact me!! [RS bleep] Updated on 27 Jul 2017: So I thought I'd just quickly share with you how things are for me now. I absolutely LOVE my new body best thing I have ever done for myself. It's not perfect, far from it and now that it's all settled I still have wobbly bits and stretch marks but I look normal.... like a normal woman who has carried 3 wonderful babies. I have just got back from our annual girly holiday and for the first time in 7/8 years I had the confidence to wear a bikini! I hadn't planned on it and took swimsuits and tankinis to wear but reluctantly put in one bikini top just incase. Laying on the beach a friend and I were people watching and all around us were women of all shapes and sizes not giving a toss what they looked like. (Good for them!) So I thought sod it and I whipped up my top and revealed my new tummy scar and all for everyone to see! And it felt amazing!! :-) I still have a lopsided tummy where I need the revision mainly on one side due to the skin getting too loose and I'm looking forward to having that done but my confidence has never been higher. I've got my head round wearing fitted clothing now (I struggled to begin with) and the last 3/4 events we've been to I've worn body con dresses and the compliments I've had have been awesome. If your booked in to have a tummy tuck or are even contemplating one, I honestly couldn't recommend it enough.
I'm a 35 year old mother of one living in Norfolk, UK. I've followed so many magical surgical stories here on RealSelf and I am MEGA excited to finally be sharing my own! I'm scheduled to have a tummy tuck with muscle repair on 14th February 2017 (it's my Valentine's Day gift to meeee!) and I'm aiming to log my as much about my journey as I can. For a better surgery result I could do with losing 15lbs - I have roughly 7 weeks so I'll hopefully be able to do this. I've included my awful before pictures (Eeekk!! - I've just realised that they're now "before" pictures and not "Im'a have to live with this flapping tummy for the rest of my life" pictures! Wooohoooo!) and I'll do my best to post more as we go along. Here we goooooo.... Updated on 28 Jan 2017: I'm a little over 2 weeks away from having the most incredible and transformational surgery - but I haven't been able to lose the weight I wanted to. I feel like I'm going to go through this entire surgery/healing process only to still have a massive tummy, and it's all because I can't get to grips with my emotional eating. I'm so excited, but at the same time I'm kicking myself for not being able to lose the extra weight. I've read that crash dieting/cleanses etc are a bad idea before any surgical procedure as they can interfere with the healing process, but I feel like I need to do something. Does anyone have any experience with weight loss before or after tummy tuck surgery? ?????? Updated on 10 Feb 2017: Took some more "jiggly pics" - I can't quite believe that by this time next week it'll be mostly gone. I keep walking past the mirror and scrunching my tummy trying to get an idea of what I might look like (yep, strange!) but I have absolutely no idea how good a result I might achieve. I've seen a few other Real Self'rs who seem to have started out looking like me and have had INCREDIBLE results after their TT - fingers crossed my surgeon can work that sort of magic on me! Had my surgical pre-assessment last week, for a moment my surgery nurses were questioning whether or not my surgery could go ahead due to me being anaemic. Happy to say that I found out yesterday that my iron levels made it into the "safe zone" (by the teeniest amount but whatever, I made it!). Wooohooo! Due to go in at 7am on Tuesday for a 10:30am surgery so this weekend I'm sorting out the house to make sure absolutely everything is prepped, washed, ironed, folded, cleaned, tidied, dusted, hoovered, polished, stocked and ordered so I can stay out of action for 2 weeks. I have my fiancé taking the first week and a bit off of work to help me and take care of our 5 year old son, for the second week I'm slightly stuck for help so I hope I feel a little better. A friend of mine is doing the school run for me before and after she goes to work so that's a help, other than that I'm going to just need to take things verrrryyyyy slowly! I'm a bit concerned as I found out very late in the day that my surgeon doesn't use binders (I thought everyone used them so I didn't question this) and now I feel like the lack of support might be quite uncomfortable. Does anyone have any experience of a TT with MR and no compression/binder garment? Updated on 14 Feb 2017: It's been 18 hours since my surgery and I'm just managing to post - I can't believe this "apron" I've been carrying around in some form or another for 18 years has just vanished. I AM OVER THE MOON! My surgeon said he managed to remove 5lbs of tissue and tighten muscles by 12cm - I'm very pleased with that. Have managed to get up and walk to the bathroom myself over the course of today (I'll admit that my first attempt at that, coupled with an impromptu cough HURT LIKE HELLLLLLL- I've never felt pain like it and I've given birth!) - on my 3rd outing I thought it would be a good idea to brush my teeth too - massive mistake, I almost passed out (people here aren't kidding when they say don't do too much too soon!) Surgeon thinks I'll be well enough to go home tomorrow. I have two drains, hopefully we can remove one, if not both before I leave. I'm taking pain medication religiously (morphine, codeine phosphate, paracetamol and ibuprofen), even though I do have a high pain threshold I just can't be a hero at the moment. Everything is exhausting - even talking! I'm managing to get a few hours sleep here and there but my body definitely tells me when it's time for more pain meds so sleep doesn't last long. I managed to get a picture and will post more tomorrow when I can. Verdict so far? Hurts plenty but I'd do it again tomorrow if I had to ???? Updated on 15 Feb 2017: Surgeon came round at 7:30am and said he was happy with everything so he could discharge me. He also said I could have both drains removed before I left (wooohoooo!). I was able to have a shower then had my dressings changed before having some lunch (chicken salad ) and setting off for home. Drive home wasn't too bad. My gorgeous fiancé has bought me a bell so I can ring for attention (I feel like I'm in Downton Abbey ????). I'm currently comfortable and resting in my recliner and still feeling on top of the world. I am so glad I've had this done ???? Updated on 16 Feb 2017: Not much to report today. Been feeling pretty crappy on account of not quite being able to manage my pain very well. Managed to get upstairs today and had a sponge bath so felt much better for that, but that was an entire project and now I'm exhausted. Have included another picture of me, still nowhere near standing up straight and I think I'm so swollen it's like I haven't had a tummy tuck at all which is a bit depressing...just trying to remember "this is all temporary...in the summer you'll look and feel great". Fingers crossed that's how this all works anyway... :) Updated on 17 Feb 2017: I know i'm going to be swollen like this for quite a while and my result is likely to be different after 6 months, but you can't help but think that this is your final result, and to be honest I'm that swollen it's like I'm back where I started ????. The upside is I am already considerably stronger than I was 2 days ago - still easily exhausted but I'm moving around A LOT more comfortably. My pain is changing from achey muscle type pain to stingy incision type pain with muscle twinges. That being said, I am managing to come off of the codeine and stick to ibuprofen and paracetamol on rotation. My appetite is beginning to return slowly, and I'm craving starchy stuff which probably isn't great, but whatever - macro counting can begin next month when training begins again. Not much else to report - still very glad I've done this ???????? Updated on 18 Feb 2017: Losing track of my days here :) Got a weird looking itchy rash all over my calves on both legs, possibly from the silicone in the compression stockings? Feeling blah today - I don't know why? I'm managing the pain well, and I'm still super happy with my results so I can't think why I'm feeling like this ???? Updated on 24 Feb 2017: So I'm 10 days post op and doing well - I'm up and about, managing light chores around the house, no painkillers needed, muscles seem to have settled down nicely, HOWEVER...my belly button won't stop weeping! I'm having to change the dressing 2-3 times per day and it's all a bit gooey. There's no pain or smell and it hasn't gone green yet, but I'm thinking that might be the next stage. I'm due to see my surgeon again in 4 days so I'll wait until then to talk to him about it. I'm still getting quite exhausted after doing simple things (I changed the bedding and felt like I'd done a 10K run!). My swelling has gone down a little so I'm starting to see my result and I'm really happy - to be honest if the swelling didn't reduce any further I'd be happy with what I've got. I'm still porky and know I won't have a flat stomach, but the belly apron has totally gone and that's what used to bother me! *Kym does the no-flappy-belly celebration dance* *...carefully(!)* - will post more pics shortly ???? Updated on 25 Feb 2017: I HAVE to drink more water. I really really must. I've hardly drunk anything since having my op and I think it's a subconscious thing - firstly, I don't particularly like water and secondly, I don't want to drink because I don't want to have to keep getting up to pee! I have been paying for it though, possibly feeling even more low in energy than I should and very constipated. I NEED TO DRINK MORE ???? Have added a couple more photos taken after my shower today. I'm assuming there's still swelling there - if not I'm going to need to get my bum back in the gym as soon as possible!!! Updated on 25 Mar 2017: Still swelling quite a bit but my incisions (including yucky belly button) are healing beautifully. I'm a little bit itchy but other than that I feel back to normal. I'm looking forward to starting to exercise properly again (I've only been walking so far) and will be back at the gym next week working on a summer body of sorts ????
