Finally Going to Happen : ) - Altoona, PA

I'm 40 years old, married with 3 children. I was to have a TT about 3 years ago, but after walking 4 miles a day, and watching everything that I stuck into my mouth, my husband decided that we couldn't afford it and backed out of it. So of course my excitement level decreased and I eventually stopped caring. So here I am 3 years later and I have my very first appointment this coming Wednesday. I'm super excited and can't wait. I am 5'1" and am currently 124 lbs. ( heaviest I've been in many years ) I work retail, which means I am constantly on the go. Not sure if I'll have a job after this or not, but I truly could care less. I will have all of the support from my family to get through this, and I know that it's summer, but if my husband is saying "yes" I am NOT backing out of this. lol. I had a C-section with my first child, so I do remember some of that pain, I've read that it's similar? I'm very uncomfortable with my body, I can't wear anything nice t's b/c of the roll of fat that shows, and the newer style of low rise jeans just do not look great when you've got a belly. I tend to wear sweatshirts a lot. I'm so happy to have found this site, I've been reading and reading and I love the stories and the before & after pictures are amazing! I look forward to being part of this on-line community. I've uploaded a few photos. This is a huge step for me, I hold my gut in and hate to have my husband see my body, I'm always the first one under the covers. My husband says that my body is beautiful, and that he loves me no matter what. I on the other hand hate it, and it makes me sad to see it in the mirror. I have tried to get rid of the belly, but even getting down to 113lbs, I still had it. (sorry I tend to ramble) I'm so nervous that the Dr. is going to tell me that he will not be able to remove it, and that I'm destined to live with it forever.

. I was terrified when I first went back , and was honestly on the verge of tears streaming down my face and had a crackling voice. But within a few minutes of chatting with the nurse, her name is Chris. :( She was great though, and made me feel at ease. She showed me some before & after photos, and we discussed different aspects of the bodies on the screen. Dr. Loutan came in and I found him to be really nice. I was sooo nervous to open up that paper robe, no man other than my husband has seen my body for over 23 years... But it made me feel good that he didn't think "it" was that bad, and I also loved when he told me and repeated it again that NO amount of exercise would remove what was there. And that he feels that I will have a great result, with a full tummy tuck and lipo. I just have to decide if I want the low scar or one that will go up further, but will bring my waist in tighter, and will lift up some of my lower area, and thigh area. ( gosh I think that's how he explained it to me ) I know that I will never wear a bikini, bc of the stretch marks on my upper thighs. My oldest daughter says that I should go with the higher scar, b/c she doesn't want her mom prancing around in a bikini. She says it' bad enough that her guy friends already think I'm hot.. lol... We paid the money down that was needed to set the date of surgery, it's July 28th. They were going to set it up sooner, but my husband has vacation during that week. So it worked out perfectly. Dr. Loutan informed me that he will use some type of injectable pain medicine, and that it will last 48 hours? Again, I have a terrible memory on names of things. It all happened so fast. But it's a done deal, and there's no backing out now : ) I'm sure there was more said, but my mind is going crazy right now.

Thanks ladies for your kind words and funnies : )

At my appointment, Dr. Loutan offered a W to M type of incision, he said that it would work out better for me and give me a much better result, a more shapely result rather than a straight looking result. ( did that make sense? ) I want to have a little bit of a curve at my waist. The downside is that I'd never be able to truly hide it. My goal is to be able to wear normal t-shirts without the roll and muffin top showing. I do have stretch marks on my upper thighs, so I highly doubt I'd ever be comfortable in an actual bikini bottom. I do have board shorts and the longer tankini style top that matches. I am not quite sure if my tummy stretch marks would get pulled down far enough either. So my question is this. Are there any other tummy tuckers out there that have this type of M - W incision scar? If so, what are your thoughts on this? I know that I have a whole month away before I have to decide, but I've been truly over obsessing over this.