I DID IT!!!!!

Pics one week and five days prior to Tummy Tuck....Can't wait to get rid of this jelly belly!!!

Well, I am counting down the days. I have one week from tomorrow before I get my long time awaited TUMMY TUCK! I am so excited, but still so sick of the time passing so slowly. I feel like it is all in slow motion still. I have been trying to keep busy, but I just can't get it off of my mind. I think I am obsessed with the thought of a flat tummy after not having one for 19 years. I am so excited. I just can't explain how much I want this. I get nervous about the outcome not looking as good as I might want it to, but I have also come to realize that anything is BETTER than what I have now. So, I am ready!!! I wish I had more time off of work because I would take it prior to my procedure just to find something to do to help pass the time...just to hang out with my Girlfriends who don't work would be nice. I have bought pretty much everything I need for the procedure and recovery period I think. The one thing I don't have that I so need is a new mattress! You would think if I could spend 6500.00 on a TT that I would have the money to buy a new mattress before I am stuck laying on the bad one for a few days most all day, but hey, I have my priorities! LOL! I am so glad that I have such a great group of people to go through this with....so many have been an inspiration and I don't know what I would have done without this forum and these great women! Thanks to everyone and I wish you all the best....FLAT TUMMY here I come!

Well, I am two days away from my surgery and I have become a cleaning fool. I think I have wiped down every base board in my house. My kids have been tortured with the words "take your shoes off and don't touch that" all weekend. I am not sure why I am in this mode, but I am ready for it to end. I think I am just trying to use up all of this nervous energy. The things stressing me right now are crazy...things that should not even be important....like the thought of people trying to take care of me...I don't like it at all. I have this fear of my girlfriends coming over and cooking or trying to pick my house up while I am sleeping etc...I don't like people doing for me...I like doing for THEM! Just the way I am. To be honest, I think I would like it more if I just had everything (meds, drinks, snacks etc) within reach and everyone else just went about their lives with work etc and acted as though I didn't have surgery. I don't mind the hubby doing things for me, but others, I just have a hard time letting pamper me. Outside of all of that crazy stuff, I am so ready to get this done. I have heard good stories and I have heard bad ones, but let me just say...BRING IT ON! I have wanted this for way to long and it is about to happen! I will trade almost anything to keep from tucking my muffin top in my pants or keeping my pants from making me look like I have PLUMBERS BUTT! lol I am READY!

Well today is the day and I must say I did not sleep much at all lastnight. I am a little more nervous this morning, but I must say I am honestly more excited than anything! I am so ready to get this over with as it has been a LONG time coming! I am ready for a new more confident ME! So, bring it on and let the fun begin! :-)

Hello everyone! I made it to the flatter tummy side! YAHOOOO! I am not going to lie and say it is a piece of cake, but to hear my hubby say "WOW, you already look skinny" while in recovery made up for any pain. It hurts, but it is doable. I get this burning sensation when I move around, any my abs are so sore (he did have to tighten the muscles after all)BUT more than anything, my back hurts from being bent over and staying so tense. I have snacked throughout the day, but after the surgery meds, NOTHING taste right or good. I have one drain. I have to be back at my follow-up in the morning at 9:30. Even though I am going through this, I have no regrets other than the fact that I didn't do it SOONER! Time to take meds and get back to resting, I will post again as soon as I can.

well, I am now five days post-op. I feel better today and haven't been as sore as usual. It has been tough, but I know well worth it in the end. I am just ready for all the swelling to go down and for my PS to take my one drain out. I have noticed more swelling on my right side close to my belly button. I am wondering if that is because I use that side more when getting up due to being right handed etc. I am also swollen all across the bottom lower part...under the incision....it is almost hard and puffy feeling. I am scheduled for my follow-up on Wednesday. So, hopefully he will address those issues if any then. I will say so far, it has been worth the pain each time I have seen that I no longer have that over-hang or front butt anymore!

I am posting my 12 days Post-Ops pics. Finally, I am beginning to feel like myself again both mentally and physically. Thank goodness. I wondered a few times over the first week or so if it was all worth it and now I can say 100% YES! It does take a toll on a person though I will admit, but when that part comes to an end there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel! I am so happy I did this and I would do it all again given the choice. I am ready now to get past some more of the swelling and get out of my compression garment, but all in all, I am one happy camper!

I went to a baby shower today and wore my jeans. They are my pre-ops jeans and just as tight as they were before my TT but they fit differently due to the TT...it was nice to not see any muffin top and to see my upper and lower tummy still very flat even when I sat. I have no regrets whatsoever!! I am still swelling some throughout the day, and not 100 percent healed, but I love it already! I did buy a waistnipper at JC penny and I like it much better under my cloths when I go somewhere, but I do come home and put back on the one the doc gave me just because he hasn't told me yet to wear something different. I am sure it is okay since the new one supports me very well, but I want to hear it from him before I start wearing the new one all the time. I hope everyone is doing well. I have posted a new pic of me in my jeans from today. Happy TT everyone!

I had my three week and one day post-op check-up this morning. PS said everything looks great. My tape over my incision finally wore off enough last nite for me to remove it and see my scar for the FIRST time. I was very pleased as was my hubby. The PS said that my incision is going to heal nicely. I am holding him to it! ;-) I saw one little pucker on one side at the very end of the scar...it isn't big, but I can see it an feel it when touching it. PS said over time that it it will soften and look normal like the rest of the scar. There are no raised areas anywhere else on the scar and it is pretty light colored right now in my opinion compared to what I was expecting. It is without a doubt though HIP-TO-HIP plus a little more. lol. I will post a pic tonight if I can. I begged PS to release me to at least walk enough to get my heart rate up and to participate with my girlfriends in an upcoming three mile run/walk fundraiser event that will be held in a week from this Saturday which will put me at 4 weeks and 4 days post op that day. He asked me if I was trying to win some type of tough woman competition....lol. I said "No, but dang it I feel better and I am ready to walk!" So, he said laughed and me and said Okay! lol. I am going to walk when I can in the evenings and then see how long I can make it this weekend. I don't want to get in the middle of the race and have to stand on the side of the road until someone can come take me back to my car. ...I know when to stop and I am not going to push my body. However, the PS did give me very strict instructions on no lifting of any weights whatsoever for at least another three weeks or longer. He said he may release me to do that when I come back in four weeks. I also have to wear my binder/garment for three more weeks (he likes for his patients to wear it for 6 weeks total). I wore my new waiternipper from JC Pennys it was only $28.00 as I got the Maidenform brand since it was a little shorter waisted and I am only 5.2...even it still comes up at little to far under by boobs and down over my hips, but it is GREAT and it was cheaper than the other brands. I did have to get it in a large though since I am wide through the ribcage and hips. It fits much better under my cloths and that is the best part. The one the PS gave me was bulky, harder to hide when wearing and made me look bigger in my cloths.....I mean who wants that after a TT? As if my weight hasn't been crazy since the procedure anyway. I gained at first and I am just now losing some of it.

I still have some problem areas that I see, but I am hoping diet and exercise will cure all of that. It is amazing how much more pumped I am to actually start exercising now...I used to come up with every excuse in the book because I knew that no matter how much I exercised and diet that it would never fix my tummy area that was such a huge issue for me. So, I would get pissed and give-up. But, now, I am so motivated!! Time to work on these thighs now....lol. Amazing how I notice them more now that the attention isn't drawn to my tummy. However, I think I can fix those small issues with diet and exercise and stay away from the knife for a while...if not forever! I will say though that with my flat tummy, my implants that I got a year before my TT seem so much larger than they ever did before....but I am just going to see if I can get used to them...it is almost like they are new to me again as well. I guess I should just look at it and say...WOW I got double the effect for one price! HA!HA! Oh, and the best news of all, my PS said I can SLEEP ON MY SIDE now! OMG, that made me almost as happy as the TT. :-) I hope everyone is doing well. A little word of advice for those who are "blue"...I went through the same thing...but once I got well enough to just leave the house if only to ride with a friend while she ran into walmart or to just get someone to take me to Subway for 30 mins etc I did it, and I PROMISE, for ME, that was the trick to curing the depression part of the TT aftermath. I felt better just to cook my family dinner...even if it was quick spaghetti...Just to get up or get out and get moving (without over doing it) was so much better for my spirits!!! It was amazing how much the outside noise, lights, smells etc helped make me feel normal again mentally. Staying as busy as possible helped me overcome the blues mentally and it also helped me work out some of that soreness physically! Sending all my prayers and love to all my TT girls!!!! Together, we can do this!

I decided to take a few photos tonight since today was the first time I was actually able to see my scar. Also, some had asked about the implants I got one year previously to the TT....I wish I had done the procedures at the same time or had the tt first. Before the TT, my implants fit my short stocky build....now with the TT by implants look larger than life to me. Seems more people are now noticing my boob job from a year ago instead of the TT.....so here are so new pics. I am also at the very end of the day after working etc in swell hell still.

Well, I was six weeks PO this past Tuesday. I go back to the doc for my month check-up next week. I am ready for him to release me to exercise (more than walking) and I am so hoping he does. I have noticed some hardening of my scar and the area above is harder than normal. It seems like I am swelling more again. I am sure it has something to do with the fact that this past week, I have been eating everything under the sun....hormonal binge eating as I call it...that I do once a month! Gotta get back on track. I can tell that it doesn't take as much to make me feel bloated as it used to. Which is a good thing because it keeps me more aware of my weight. gaining two or three pounds now makes me feel like I have gained 10. I have one dog ear that is worse than the other....it seems to hurt a little more. I hope it goes away and begins to look like the other side. I also notice that when I stand up my tummy is flat but when I sit it still has some saggy skin around my belly button and a little bit of muffin top (just not anywhere as big as before). I guess I am a little disapointed by that, but the last time the PS said he couldn't pull the top part to tight because he had to pull the bottom so tight where I carried most of my skin and weight in the lower tummy. But hey, I still love it a ton compared to what it did look like! I hope everyone is doing well. I've posted a new pic of me trying on a new bikini! I haven't worn one is about 18 yrs. I have always worn the tankini with the little tennis like skirted bottom. lol time to venture out ladies!! ;-) Love to you all and hope everyone is doing GREAT!