36yo, 2 Kiddos -Tummy Tuck with 2.6" Diastasis Repair, Hernia Repair, and Flank Liposuction with TAP Block

I was tired of not being able to wear a bikini and having such a large tummy despite losing 35 pounds and remaining on a no-added sugar/low carb diet (Trim Healthy Mama here!). I looked good with clothes on and wore a size 8 pants, 143 lbs., 5'2" tall prior to surgery.

I underwent TT with diastasis repair, lipo, and an umbilical hernia repair with a TAP block on April 3, 2017. I knew at 1 day postop when I removed my binder for the first time that it was worth every last penny of the $10,600 I paid. Immediate results. I am 11 days postop as I write this.

Managing Preop Anxiety:
I didn't find this website until maybe a day or two before surgery. I was getting just a little nervous about what the postop period would be like, and I thought reading about others' experiences would help calm me. It did help. I read about one woman who claimed to be "miserable" and it scared me a bit. I had to remind myself that I was having a TAP block, and maybe she didn't have one (a TAP block is relatively new; it is a series of injections into the abdominal muscles given during surgery that block postop pain for up to 3 whole days, making managing postop discomfort more manageable). I kept waiting to get anxious about surgery--I was more anxious about having anxiety than anything else, LOL. I don't tend to be an anxious person, but this was a pretty big surgery. I'd never been under general anesthesia before and was afraid to go to sleep. So, the morning of surgery, I told myself to just stay in the moment and not worry about what's coming. Am I fine in this moment, right now? Yes. And that's how I spent the motning if surgery. I took my phone in with me and listened to music on my headphones and reminded myself frequently that in this moment, I feel good and am fine. I hoisted myself onto tbe surgery table without one ounce of anxiety. My surgeon held my hand as I went to sleep, and in an instant, I was already waking up with a nurse at my side. Easy peasy. Really.

Time off work:
I highly recommend 2 weeks off work. I am a teacher, so I planned mine during my 17-day spring break. I could not have returned to work after just one week. Two weeks is perfect.

Postop Discomfort:
This is the part I was worried about. I'm tough. I am a trooper. I didn't even have pain meds after my c-section because they made me too sleepy, and I hated that. But how much pain would I really be in? My doc advised me to have someone with me the first 2 days. I would actually advise you have someone with you for at least 7 days. My husband was with me for the first 9 days. The first 3 days, I pretty much sat on the couch; it wasn't miserable - but remember, I had the TAP block and recommend you do, too. Getting up to use the bathroom was probably my biggest struggle. The first 2 days, I had to stand to pee. Showering I could never have done without my husband's help and a shower seat. I'm a prissy girl--I like my showers and daily shaving. I even flat-ironed and did my make-up from the couch even at 1 day postop (the nurses said I wouldn't care about doing that! Ha!).

At 3 days postop, my TAP block wore off. This was the first day I cried. My husband made me laugh, and I wasn't prepared for how it would feel to laugh - it hurts. I have a sense of humor and laugh often, so for me, this sucks the big one. I cried for 20 minutes. Later on thr 3rd day, I started having a tearing/burning sensation under my rib cage - it was white-hot make-you-pass-out pain that would rip through me for about 30 seconds and then pass. I was almost out of Percocet and freaked out at the idea of what that white-hot pain would feel like once the Percocet ran out. Eek. So to the doctor we went, who said this was my nerves regenerating and the fact that my TAP had worn off. He prescribed a nerve pill, gabape tin, and that has worked like a charm. No more white-hot rip-me-apart pain. Highly recommend asking your doctor for this medication if you experience nerve pain postop.

I also recommend - as hard as it will be for you initially - that you get up and MOVE often. The more I get up and move, the more normal I feel. The more I sit, the more I feel uncomfortable and crampy.

Laughing hurts. I can't wait until I can have a good belly laugh without holding my abdomen and begging whomever is making me giggle to please stop because they are inflicting pain. Coughing hurts. Sneezing feels like I'm giving birth to satan through my abs...but only for about 30 seconds and then it passes. My biggest discomfort has been getting comfortable to sleep. Even after 11 days, I prefer the couch recliner. But I am sleeping through the night now. First few days we were up doing pain meds during the night, and getting comfortable enough to sleep for more than a few hours was a challenge. I don't like sleeping on my back, but I cannot yet sleep on my side.

I do have a drain in place, still, even after 11 days. It's not a big deal and is easy to care for and empty.

I have a binder that I will wear for the next month, and it helps. More comfortable on than off.

I have an incision hip-to-hip, and it doesn't hurt at all. Not a big deal. It is completely hidden under underwear.

My abdominal skin is numb. I was told prior to surgery that this would happen and it would be this way for up to a year. It feels weird. It's one thing to be told this would happen and another to experience it. It's like going to the dentist for novocaine...but your entire abdomen. Not bad, just different. It's weird to have someone touch your abs and not be able to feel it. Still adjusting to that new sensation.

My doctor told me that the first two days, I would be thinking, "WHY DID I DO THIS TO MYSELF?" I can happily tell you that I never once felt this way. Will you have discomfort? Yes. Is it worth it? YES, YES, YES. Am I gorgeous and excited to rock my bikini this summer? Oh, hell yes. It's so nice to not have any fat or skin hanging over my undies already. I've spent a lot of my postop downtime shopping online for bikinis. ;-) I fit into size 4-6 undies less than 10 days postop.

Doing well! Walked 2 miles yesterday and enjoyed every minute. No more hunching over - standing up nice & straight!! Feels good! Feeling pretty normal!

Here I am in clothes, rockin' my drain still and a much slimmer profile. :)