26 Years Old, Tummy Tuck and Gynecomastia Removal. Boca Raton, FL

hi there . you looking great . I wish after Monday ( that's my surgery day ) I look as good as you . you looking great ........ a lil more time and to you it will be perfection . so don't stress and count your blessings ........ chat again after im done Monday ... fingers and toes crossed ......

As far back as I can remember..i've always just wanted to feel normal in clothing..I really haven't since 10 or younger lol...I still kind of dont even after all of this..so it's a bit of a bummer and depressing. The lack of activity certainly doesn't help but I have to remind myself that surgery like this isn't just something you decide to do on a whim (I sort of did..but I am only working part time right now and had a month off with no graduate school..the only reasons I was even able to go through with the procedures). Damned if you do, damned if you dont type ordeal to me. I am very curious to see how things pan out once the swelling is mostly resolved...hopefully I am surprised and can move on from feeling like I need a revision

I agree with what you wrote, for as long as I can remember Ive been the fat one and had the fat stomach, I honestly dont remember a time without it. Even after losing all the weight and working out, you finally decide to do the surgery and your expectations are so high. At least thats how I felt. Im fairly happy with how mine turned out, some things that I wish would of been adressed that I may bring up with my doctor. Cant really tell how much fat you have in an area until its gone and you see whats left over I guess. I may also talk to my doctor about some lipo on my upper stomach as their is still a bit of fat there and it bulges out which really bugs me, not too sure. Will have to see with the swelling and all I guess, like you said, damned if you do, damned if you dont lol. IF you really feel you need a revision I would talk to your surgeon!

Yup, I will be doing that..but 6 weeks is way too early to expect much. I go on the 28th to see him and i'll bring it up but I know what the answer will be (swelling will go down, give it 6 months lol). My upper stomach bugs me a little but it's just the fat being pulled closer together that makes it seem like I am puffier than pre-surgery..but that doesn't bother me at all standing or sitting..it's just that feeling of having a "rim" around your stomach that is over your pants line that has always killed me. Besides that I am not too thrilled with the size of my areola's from the gynecomastia surgery but those too I guess may shrink some more over the next few months..my right side I am pretty content with but I have a fair amount of scar tissue on the left that is ruining the entire thing for me. Ultimately I don't mind losing some more weight, I know what works for me and I can put in the effort - I just don't want to end up loose again and just back where I started lol so there's too much what if's on my mind to be remotely content with things right now. But realistically I wish I saw what others did in me and genuinely felt the way they did about how I look - I just dont...so while I always am appreciate of support/compliments its just hard to take them serious when I just dont feel or see it in myself. But things take time to heal..especially emotional wounds...just gotta ride it out and let things happen as they may

hi there ... hope you well . well from your pics you look great . im all done and dusted .. 3 weeks post op . op went well and to be honest no pain at all even to date . yes still very swollen . the belly button has healed and the " scar science " give to me by my surgeon has cleared it up to normal . still with microtapes for the cut . I would say maybe for another 2 weeks I guess and then will start with scar science on that . with all the swelling , still totally excited with the resuls , cos like wow .... no hanging sack anymore :-) .... but im sure will be even happier after the swelling goes . been seen by doc every week , and had to have 50 ml fluid drained yesterday . byt otherwise all according to plan . still with my binder , makes me feel safer I guess . but she says next week , it can go ... but I might keep it for the full six weeks . I must tell u , from what I thought the pain was gonna be , esp cos im such a baby for pain , the pain bit has been a walk in the park .. its more the not moving around too much , swelling and lack of gym that gets to me . driving again and back at work after week 2 . I want to thank u again so much for helping me make the choice to do this and for the support and guidance . really appreciate it .. would like to show u some pics but have no idea how to post em up here yet ... thanks a million :-)

Great to hear you are doing well :) - pain is definitely not the issue with this sort of procedure (which seems to go against logic and reason lol)...but yeah the swelling and lack of mobility are definitely draining emotionally! I'm much happier now that I can at least goto the gym (but my workouts are very VERY mild)..it'll all be over before you know it and you should continue to notice improvements as swelling goes down and your skin reforms, so if you are happy with what you see you should continue to get happier as time goes on :)

after how long it you get back to gym ? asking cos my surgeon cleared me for mild cardio for now and says weights after 4 or 6 weeks post op . but a bit afraid to go in for the cardio yet , so I didn't . yes the swelling is a [RS bleep] as it comes and goes ... esp when I sit up for a long period . standing and laying down is cool .

I started during the middle of week 6 - weights and cardio but honestly I am so tight/strange feeling that I haven't really been able to do much (comparing to what I am used to)...anything requiring actual abdominal bracing is uncomfortable so I have avoided those movements (like lat pulldowns - just doesn't feel right at all) - even tricep extensions felt strange so I didn't do them (and this was with extremely light weight when I am used to 160+ lbs on tricep extension lol). It's definitely an overall weird experience - I hope it's not just me and that this is normal lol I haven't attempted anything that requires laying down either like regular bench press (still haven't slept completely flat either). Best way I could describe it is like everything weight wise becomes an isolation movement - at least for me I can't brace my abdominal wall yet - even doing alternating bicep curls I just couldn't stabilize with my core so I had to greatly lower the weight but the positive was I was genuinely using my biceps LOL...just take it slow when you start - cardio I would say you could do at 4 weeks and be fine but it WILL make you swell more, which is not really a bad thing and it may even help speed up healing long term but you'll be a little more uncomfortable after the cardio til you lay down and deflate

Okay gonna take the advice for sure and guess what u saying makes sense given the type of surgery . Yes the deflating bit must be the crazy part . May I ask u something , do u find the surgery line , like hard ? In the sense the area along the line like hard and ridge like ?

Yup was a full tummy tuck...right from hip bone to hip bone - I am pretty happy in the very early mornings when there's very little swelling but I guess I underestimated the fat I had left on me so I guess that is going to be my issue going forward but it's tough to say..fat + swelling = messes with the mind. I just want to sit down and not have skin/fat rolls pushing over my pants..my belly button area is fine but left and right of that not so great but I swell quite a bit so there's no telling how it'll end up. Something else I had don on me is the fact that pre-surgery I guess I was in the habit of sucking my abs in and just keeping myself like that..I can't do that now (muscle repair inhibits me wanting to do that). So either way I feel much different than I did pre-surgery but of course my skin is much better than it was...but I do feel like I should have had some sort of lipo towards my flank area or maybe even a slight extension to my scar and more skin removed to tighten that area..i'm going to run these by my surgeon and see what he says

Yessir, was able to Wednesday/Thursday...was a weird experience and the funny thing was my university gym underwent a facelift/got new equipment (pretty much everything brand new) and had just reopened when I decided to go LOL a new me and a new gym..freaky stuff. Very odd with how my abdomen feels and lack of muscle control to say the least - kept everything super light and avoided any sort of laying down (no flat bench etc for now)...overhead movement was tight and interesting (was doing some overhead tricep extensions and nearly dropped the weight on my head from lack of being able to brace LOL, plus felt like my skin was being pulled kind of) But felt great to get moving and be in the gym

Yeah..it's an emotional roller coaster though once you start to actually "recover" - swelling comes and goes and is depressing. In my case prior to surgery I was fairly happy with the little bit of abdominal definition I had..I don't think I will have that anymore going forward unless I lose another 5-10 lbs since the skin is pulled so tight and the repositioning of my muscles from the repair seems to have pulled together lumps of fat so now they are covering my abdominals again completely..kinda annoying..or it may just be swelling..time will tell I guess..I mean I plan on going back to hardcore gym time once my body/surgeon allows so it's just semantics and patience/time at this point but I am so damn stir crazy from being inactive its very demoralizing at times lol

im sure when you gets the thumbs up to move on , all the swelling should have passed . I guess in my case having to get rid of so much skin , would be get to loose it all . booked in for the 19 jan .... the time has comet o get this done :-)... stay positive , that's half the battle

Very wisely put - I'm definitely trying to keep my chin up its just so hard to find positive when I've been so negative about my body since I can remember. Its emotional healing as well as physical - I guess I underestimated that but either way I am happy I went through with the procedure I am better off no matter what and am definitely happier than I was and feel like there's no anchor on my shoulders - just those random moments of doubt that crop up now and then to deal with but I'm sure I'll be free of those soon enough. Keep me updated - I wish you a speedy and smooth recovery :) and I'm here if you need someone to vent to lol

lol ... thanks and i'm sure I will take full advantage of that . thanks the nerves are all over the place couple with so much of excitement :-) .... will do some before pics in the week and send to you , u will see why im so excited cos mine is a lot that needs to be removed . and im sure by the fgg week , im gonna be on this roller coaster of emotions . stocking up on my dvds , loose pjs and reading material ............... cos generally I cant sit still . you take care ... and anytime you wanna scream .... go for it .. im here

It'll come and go and you'll be happy you had it done :) Just be weary of constipation though seriously lol..you're going to want to use your narcotic pain medication and it will pretty much guarantee constipation..I would suggest just using milk of magnesia and be close to the toilet and don't just rely on slow acting stool softeners like I did (made it a long painful process). The sitting still is definitely a hurdle but it really isnt hard to do once you realize the severity of the surgery and your body will make sure you don't want to move anyways lol just make sure you have somewhere/something comfortable to lounge on and be weary of tailbone pressure/soreness like I had unless you have a nice recliner or something to lay in.

I never had a problem with constipation... some green drinks and tons of almonds and a stool softener, just in case, all seemed to do the trick. Echo that tailbone warning, got one after seeing yours here, feel like i am sitting on a cloud now, so thanks. congrats on the healing, looks like it is coming along very nicely!

Glad I was able to save your ass (yuk yuk) lol Still think I should've just bought a recliner to lounge in >.> but hey such is life! Definitely so far so good..the separation in the middle of my incision is a bit concerning but it should heal okay (assuming I don't start to spit out a suture or something). We'll see how it goes..had to clean it up the other day since it was oozy and not so pleasant. I'm mostly enjoying sitting and not having rolls of skin flopping everywhere lol

Yeah had to take out my earrings/nipple rings..didn't consider asking about plastic ones but they probably would have had me keep everything out of my nipples anyways..no real issue since putting them back in but my left nipple was a little sensitive(still is) since putting them back in. You have to remove them if they use the electrical cutting tool (forget the technical name) because they ground you so it works as intended lol otherwise the piercings would burn you or whatever.

Ohh :( I will ask my doctor about the plastic ones then :) Thank you and I hope they heal faster :)