Absolutely, Positively Worth It! I'd Do It Again 5 Times if I Had To. - Baton Rouge, LA

I don't even know where to start. This site has was my saving grace from the time i first seriously considered getting an abdominoplasty until-- well now. I still like to check back here and see how other people feel and look at the same post op marks that i am at.

I am 29 years old and i am 5' 1'. I started gaining weight around high school and reached my highest weight (not counting pregnancy lbs) about 4 years ago at 187. When I got pregnant i weighed 187 and was very fearful of gaining a ridiculous amount of weight during the pregnancy so i was very conscious about eating an exercise throughout the entire pregnancy-- which was good because 4 days after i gave birth i was 10 lbs under my pre pregnancy weight. That kickstarted my weight loss journey. 8 months after giving birth i got down to 137. I noticed the more weight i loss the more disgusted i felt about my stomach fromt he sagging skin, and no matter what i did no matter how much i worked out and lost-- my belly was always protruding. To know that i worked to SO HARD to lose 50 lbs and i was still stuck with very unsatisfactory results was pretty damaging mentally. I was so horridly self conscious-- to the point where i never wanted to do much of anything that required getting dressed and leaving the house. I hated that i felt this way about my body. i longed to feel "normal", to just throw on a shirt and not have to change five times and tug at a shirt and analyze it in the mirror for 20 minutes before i decided that it hid my apron of skin and protruding belly well enough to leave the house-- and thats when i started considering a tummy tuck. The thought of this surgery was not THAT scary to me as i also had a breast reduction at age 23. I started researching online and and my husband (who is the most supportive person EVER) and i discussed pros and cons with and i finally decided i wanted to go a step further and make a consultation appointment. A lot of what held me back from making that appointment was just the embarrassment of what my stomach looked like-- having to show it to someone made me feel so uneasy and self conscious - even if it was only to a Doctor. I also feared that my tummy wasn't as bad as i thought it was in my own head, i was scared they would think it was not bad enough to suggest surgery. I know it sounds so silly but these were my thoughts.

I went to my consultation and the doctor surprisingly stated that i was a very good candidate for this surgery and that he would suggest an "extended abdominoplasty" (which basically means he will remove skin almost all the way around to my back) and that he would also want to fix the diastasis-- which is the separation of abdominal muscles that happens very commonly during pregnancy-- and the diastasis is what was causing my stomach to protrude and no amount of abdominal exercises or weight loss would help with that aspect. I was very excited to hear all that the doctor told me, but when i learned the cost-- i was upset. No way we could afford that! I went home and discussed all the info with my husband. We thought about it for a couple of weeks-- finally decided that even if we had to be in debt for years it'd be worth it. i very nervously called to schedule the surgery and the only thing they had available was two weeks away, and my pre op appointment was only a week away. I was SCARED but excited. With it being so soon, i had to hurry and make arrangements for my husband to take off of work and someone to help with my 2 year old.

The night before surgery i got hardly any sleep at all. I was nervous, scared and just thinking about all the things that could go wrong during and after surgery, wondering if i made the right choice, etc. For a while i was really worried "What if i find something else to hate this much about my body, what if i will just never be satisfied?"

Morning of surgery we got to the office not-so-bright and early-- it was dark and 5:30 am. Surgery was scheduled for 7 am. Did all the pre op stuff and managed not to cry one single tear- which is quite the accomplishment for me. When i woke up of course i was in pain but i was also very very out of it so it wasn't excruciating. Got home and into my recliner pretty painfully but again i was still out of it. I was told that they took 8 lbs of skin and liposuctioned (which was part of the body sculpting process) about 2 lbs. My husband took very good care of me checking on me and trying to feed me crackers and my medications, helping me go to the bathroom, etc. For the first couple of days i needed his help doing pretty much EVERYTHING.

The recovery went well for me, very painful but that was totally expected. I was not happy with how everything looked after taking the bandages off the first time (2 days post op) off but i had to remind myself what my body had JUST went through and how far i had left to go with my recovery. I think it was just mental and physical exhaustion from it all and was very normal to feel that way-- because as healing process went by that feeling went away. I got my drain out at 10 days post op-- that was heaven!! I noticed that 90% of the pain was solely from the correction of my abdominal muscles-- not the actual incisions. My abdominal muscles felt SO tight that it was hard to breathe in deeply. I was absolutely exhausted 24/7 from this surgery even up until and probably past the 6 week mark. I started some light light walking in my neighborhood around 4 weeks- it was rough and extremely exhausting but i knew it would help with the healing process. My ab muscles were sore for a very long time, they felt bruised to the touch at times too-- even up until about the 4 month mark.

Here i am at 6 months post op now. I cannot express to words how much this surgery has changed my life. I would do it all over again, pain and all. I feel more confident than ever before. Doing things that i would never had done before due to a severe lack of self esteem. My friends and family have even noticed a huge change in me (and not talking about just physically). I don't dread shopping anymore, i actually enjoy it now. I don't dread parties, weddings or crowds of people anymore-- i even hosted a baby shower (something i would have NEVER done before).

I'm sharing my experience with you guys in hopes of helping someone on their journey as this site, and all of the experiences i have read helped me out so much. Please feel free to ask any questions!