It's my Turn! -Bellevue, WA

It's my turn! I'm a 31 year old mother of two ages 10 and 15. Yea that's right, started very young and ruined my smooth flat tummy from that point on. I've wanted a mm for the past 5-6 years since I ended a very long relationship with my children's father. Fast forward and now have been married to my (now) beloved hunny for 3 years. I've never been very comfortable with him seeing my naked body so I've resorted to covering myself, turning off lights and blocking his hand moving towards my flab etc. He reassures me that I don't need any work done and loves me just how I am (as they always say) however finally agreed to support my decision for a mommy makeover since I'm dead set on it. I went to two ps consults in the same day and chose Dr E. bc he was very knowledgable and will address all my areas of concern. His office, surgery center and staff alike met my high standards. The other doctor was very nice and had great reviews but fell a little short. My surgery date is January 13th 2014. I will have an extended tummy tuck with muscle repair, lipo of the flanks, silicone breast aug under muscle through breast crease and left inverted nipple repair. My breast are a small A Cup and I don't know what size implant as of yet. The dr thinks he can prob go about 350cc but I will find out for sure on my pre op date Jan 2nd what the verdict will be. I only have so much boob skin to stretch and already have stretch marks as it is. He will extend my tummy incision around to my back because a hate how my flanks are loose and stick out making my butt look squarish. I'm looking into renting a lift recliner for the first week then using wedge pillows thereafter. Will get a shower chair but not toilet seat riser. Feel so unprepared! The holiday season is preoccupying my mind and this doesn't feel real, yet. This site has been a godsend and you ladies are wonderful! Sorry For the rambling. Will post preop pics and stats in the near future.

Applying for leave of absence is proving to be so annoying. Was denied medical leave because it's elective and not emergent or whatever but now I need to apply for personal leave, instead. Of course I won't have any answers till Thursday and it's making me very anxious. I'm not going to make my full payment till I know for sure. I'm actually looking forward to having five weeks off. Haven't taken vacation in two years. I'm a registered nurse and work in a hospital setting. I love my job but am pretty exhausted these days. Balancing work and family with a special needs child doesn't leave any room for me. Yep! It's definitely time for me. My husband is the only one who knows about this surgery. We are a military family and don't have any other support here. I sure hope it's not too much of a burden for him. Anyone have any advice I can give him?

Yesterday was my preop apt and made my payment in full. Yay! It consisted of reading and signing TONS of forms and let me tell you I'm glad I did my research prior because I feel confident and prepared. The nurse went over them in great detail. My Rx consist of keflex, Percocet, scopolamine patch, Vicodin and Valium. I ordered a head and leg wedge pillow, shower stool and heated blanket. My strategy is trying not to think too much or hard about it. I'm one that will escalade my worries and drive myself looney. Gosh I want to be out of surgery and in recovery already. I've waited so long for this what's 10 more days.

What's the easiest way to get up and down? Im not able to get a lift recliner so will have to figure out a technique. Any one have nausea issues while using the scopolamine patch? I'm just wondering if I'll need something extra in case it isn't effective.

I'm trying really hard to not think about my upcoming day....but nerves are starting to hit hard! I'm more worried about the implants. Do they feel heavy? Get in the way? Or do you go about your day and not even think about them until you see them in the mirror? I know I want them. Guess I wasn't as mentally prepared as I thought.

So many mixed feeling. I'm impatient yet scared. The nurse at PS office called to make sure all was well and gave me quick reminders. She said to take a Valium the night before to help me sleep, if I like. I feel so alone about all this that I told a friend of mine from out of state. She's been very supportive which makes me feel a bit better. Meds are filled and everything is in place. Now all I need to do is take care of myself. Hope you all are doing great.

Arrived at 6am started 7. Did leave the surgical facility till about 2:20. I woke up from anesthesia completely disoriented. Vomited all over my bra garment and was given versed so they could change it all again. Anyone wake up with rough jerking? Super tight burning pain. At incisions. Muscle plication an lipo sited sore. Breast are sore but feel numb to the touch. Gtg. Drifting off again.

Lots of burning incisional pain. Percocet and Valium are life saving. Still feeing dry. Sucking on ricola lemon drops and lots of water. First post op apt the dressings were changed and dr E said it all looks great. Still waddling looking like a duck/granny. I have to say that today is much better than yesterday. No nausea yay!

Trying to to relieve itchiness over numb areas seem impossible. Such a weird feeling

Drains out today. Tummy numb and didn't hurt much thank goodness but still having back spasms. Valium with Vicodin working wonders for it. Still pretty hunched but remember my incision goes just about all the way around my back. Only bruising is on right areola. My steri strips were changed and I'm able to shower tomorrow. Constipation is a BIG issue. Daily colace (stool softener) dose doesn't do crap (no pun intended). I've added Miralax and dulcolax. Time to get things moving. Hubby well instructed on breast massage but they're still pretty tender. When I get extra swollen tummy from eating high sodium, I chase it with a large 1L bottle of water then all is good. I try and take daily walks down the street a short distance but get winded, weak and sweat. I'm happy of the results so far but know I have a loooong road ahead.

As far as pain, my boobs are sore and I'm not a fan of massaging them. Tummy numb and tight wearing the abdominal binder mostly all the time. I hate the unsupported feeling when I take it off. My lower back hurts like a mother trucker with the lipo, ext incision, hunching but standing much straighter. I'm not sure if it's ok but I use a heating pad on my back at night using a medium heat setting. The Valium works wonders for it too. I'm off the Percocet and trying to go down to one Vicodin every 4-6hrs. I'm not happy to report how those narcotic pain pills created the most painful constipation EVER! I tried all types of oral laxatives then made the decision to go the other route. Uh...yep. Glycerin suppository worked in 10 min but my gah, would of thought I was in labor! (Sorry for the gross visual) BUT since post op till now, THAT was the most painful of the whole experience. I think I might be the first to say that my first post op shower (at POD 8) was awful, unlike others describing it heavenly like. I sat on my shower stool and was ok with that but no matter how scalding hot I got the water, I was freezing, shivering all over. Yelling at my poor hubby to hurry the heck up. I have a lot of hair and it's very long as he cluelessly tries finger comb out the major knots I had. As he did my head I scrubbed the rest of me while feeling tight, aching and limited. I came out with the most dry, tight, itchy skin from head to toe. I marched my miserable self right down to the kitchen and whipped a fresh batch of DIY body butter and slathered. I feel like a negative Nelly but I should most notably add: my incisions are healing beautifully. I LOVE how I'm shaping. I actually have a flat tummy! Sexy boobies!! NO love handles!!! Woohoo! My plan is to take 3 protein shakes a day. I've lost a lot of muscle mass and gotta work on that protein intake and of course fiber. Hope everyone is doing well!