After having my 3rd child , and undergoing 3 c-sections with all of my kids, I am finally ready to get rid of these scars, extra hanging skin, and fat. My big day will be 1/26/17. @ 7:30am. I am so excited to finally do something for me. As women we sacrifice so much for our kids, our spouse, work, parents, siblings, and friends that sometimes we forget about ourselves. I am learning as I get older that life is just too damn short to walk around and not be happy. Enjoy your life, and celebrate you sometimes cause I'm definately going to celebrate me!!! I am confident that I have chosen an excellent Doctor. Dr Calloway in my opinion is just hands down the best surgeon in the Jacksonville area. I've gone to several consultations with different PS and although some were good, Dr Calloway out ranked them all. He is very professional, attentive, and knows his stuff. I feel blessed to have finally found the right surgeon. I am hopeful that my surgery, recovery, and end results will surpass my expectations. As my day gets closer, I'll be sure to keep everyone updated!!
Updated on 17 Jan 2017:
Hello Everyone, I have decided to keep you updated on my progress from beginning to end. I realized how doing so may be helpful, and inspirational for someone else. I'm posting some before pictures of how I look right now before my surgery. Currently I weigh a whopping 165lbs, and I'm 5'5. I am hoping after I have the surgery I will at least drop 5lbs.
Updated on 17 Jan 2017:
I can't believe how complex it was just to add and edit my photos.
Updated on 17 Jan 2017:
Before pics!!!
Updated on 19 Jan 2017:
Only 7 days away from my big day, and man do I feel the nerves. It seems the closer and closer The day approaches, the more anxiety I get. The other day my stomach was in knots. I mean I was literally in pain. I kept trying to figure out if it was something I had eaten or dranked, and "nada"! It was just nerves. Any who I'm still preparing myself for the surgery at home, getting time off work approved, soliciting help with my kids, and myself. When it comes to supplies, and things needed after surgery so far, I have a recliner, I even ordered a 360 degree bed wedge that inflates from Amazon. I figure since the night of surgery I'll be staying at a hotel that does not have a recliner, I'll be more comfortable laying on the bed wedge then trying to get the right position using tons of pillows. I just want to make this process as painless as possible when it comes to sleep/rest. However knowing what other supplies I may need is where I'm falling short. Can anyone offer any tips or maybe show me their lists?
Updated on 23 Jan 2017:
My big day is almost here, and I'm getting prepared. Yesterday, I made a list of things I will need for my recovery after surgery. I was able to find most of the medical supplies, and personal hygiene items at Walmart. If anyone needs the large post-surgical dressing pads(5 x 9 in) Walmart had them for $3.83 for a box of 12 in the Curad Brand. I thought this was a pretty good deal based on what I've heard from other women who have paid $10-12 bucks for just one box of these. Yikes...!! I still need a few more things but hopefully I'll be able to get the rest of the items I need today. Also I started taking my surgery vitamins, I purchased from VitaMedica, and drinking as much water as I can to stay hydrated. My Doctor also wants me to start drinking protein shakes so today I've gotta go find some I can tolerate. Does anyone have any recommendations?? If you do please let me know.
Updated on 26 Jan 2017:
Today is the big day!! Yay!! I'm still nervous but it's now or never. My surgery is not until 7:30a.m. However, had to be here at 6 a.m.. I had my pre-op yesterday, and everything went great. I filled all but 1 of my prescriptions thanks to Dr Calloway and his wonderful staff who made certain I had everything I needed prior to surgery. I will be sure to update you guys with photos as soon as I'm feeling up to it, bye everyone.
Updated on 30 Jan 2017:
Hello Real Self Family,
Today I'm 4 days post op, and feeling pretty good. Yesterday and today I started taking just 1 pain pill every 6 hours instead of 2 pain pills every 4 hours because pain was starting to become manageable however I ran out of medicine in my pain pump, and noticed sensation coming back on my tummy area& the flank area I had lipo at.also, started getting muscle spasm so immediately had to start back taking 2 pain pills again until can get to the Doctor. Today was my 2nd pre-op appointment since the surgery and all went well. Dr Calloway refilled my pain pump so I won't need to use as much pain meds, and he said my belly button looked pretty good. Because I still need the pain pump we decided not to remove the drains today to avoid excess fluid collecting from the pain pump. However, everything will come out Wednesday, Yay!!
Here are a few photos for you all too see, I'm still very swollen.
Updated on 1 Feb 2017:
Today I'm 6 days post op, and I am so so tired. This morning it took all the energy I had to give myself a bird bath. By the time I was done washing myself off, brushing my teeth, emptying the drains, and emptying the drains, I was ready to take a nap. I mean I literally felt like I had just ran a marathon. Anyways today is also the day I went to Doctor to have my drains, and pain pump removed boy it is such a relief not to have all this crap hanging from my neck. I feel like I'm 5 lbs lighter just from the weight of the pump and drains being home alone. However, removing the drains was a different story. I hear people say all the time comment about how painful the drain removal process was for them, and ladies I am here to tell ya, they are not lying. It is horrible!! I mean it was so painful coming out I literally wanted to scream but I didn't. Please , take a Tylenol or pain pill before you go to have drains removed bc ouch...your gonna need it.
Updated on 2 Feb 2017:
Finally made it through my first week. Boy was it tough, but I made it through. Today, I was finally able to take a shower, and not have to worry about drains..it felt so good! Thank God for the shower chair, and the removal shower head my husband purchased for me. It made taking a shower so much easier. I am still a little hunched over and unable to stand up completely straight however each day I've noticed is getting easier. I'm still putting on my binder that I got from my Doctor's office however, I am thinking of ordering another one from Marena group. The one I have currently is constantly bulking and folding in the back. I don't think it gives the best support however I will continue to use it until I can get something a little better. Anyways I posted new pics without drains, I'm still very swollen as you can see.
Updated on 15 Feb 2017:
Hello Everyone,
I know it's been a little while since my last post/update but I needed time to heal. It will officially be 3 weeks tomorrow but I decided to update you on my recovery today. I'm feeling a lot better than I was on week 1, and I'm now walking a lot straighter too. I would like to thank first God for this, but also the compression garment I purchased from Marena Group.
Boy oh boy, I cannot say enough about this garment. First off it feels amazing on my skin. It's very comfortable, it compresses, and helps tremendously with the swelling.
After I spoke with my Plastic Surgeon about my garment, he okayed me to wear it but because it is considered a "second stage garment", he said I will still need to
continue to wear the original binder I was given right after surgery. And in addition to this, He said it was ok to wear the binder on top of my Marena garment since the binder alone was not giving me the back support I needed. However at night, I sleep in the binder only!!
As of now, I am still quite swollen but it is starting to go down a little, and I am starting to see my sides come in a bit so I'm pretty excited about that. I still have the stitched in my belly button but I should be getting these removed on Friday at my next Doctor's appointment. I have added below some more post op pics for everyone to see my progress. Happy healing everyone!!!
Updated on 2 Jul 2017:
Hey guys, I'm back!! I know it's been a while since my last update, but I've been doing well. I feel a lot better, I don't really have much pain unless I'm on my cycle. For some reason it hurts a lot worst when I'm on my cycle after having a TT than it did before having one. I am still swollen in my hips, lower abs,flanks, and lower back which can be frustrating sometimes. Especially during the summer months when wearing your compression garment feels almost unbearable. In the morning I don't have much swelling but after work& gym I tend to have more swelling. I'm also concerned about my right side which seems to be more swollen than my left side but it's all the time. No sure why this is happening but I plan to ask my PS at my next visit on Wednesday. My scar is healing well too. I've been getting laser treatments to help mature the scar so it thins out, & fades quicker. My PS provides these treatments to all his tummy tuck patients which is a bonus for me. In combination with laser treatments Ive been applying the scar guard to my scar as well. Overall I am very happy with how I look and feel in my clothes but I can't wait till the swelling stops so I can finally see my final results!