5 1/2 months post op and going back for revisions. New pics

I am 41 years old and have an 18 year old leaving home soon. I have struggled with my weight for most of my life and at my absolute highest weighed in at 260. I'm 5'6 and over the past 8 months have lost about 45 pounds. My current weight is 196. I hope to be down to 185 by surgery day. I'm very active and over the past couple of years have really tried to adopt a more healthy lifestyle. I run, bike, swim, I even did an international distance triathlon last year and have plans for another one this summer right before my surgery. I also rock wall climb, box, do latin dance and hip hop and spin classes. I try to eat healthy most of the time. I have always felt though that for someone who is so active and fit my body just doesn't reflect who I truly am; most specifically my abs and midsection. After my son and years of sitting on the couch doing very little I have stretch marks on top of stretch marks and a hanging, ugly pooch that I have tried and tried to get rid of for years with absolutely no success.

For as long as I can remember I have wanted a tummy tuck but never had the nerve or the money to do it. Now I am finally ready to do this for myself so that my body on the outside will match how I see me on the inside and maybe I can finally look like a real athlete. Yesterday I scheduled my surgery and paid my deposit. I will be having a TT with Vaser lipo of my abs and flank area on June 14th. 6 weeks and counting!! I am so excited and nervous already. I did my homework and I consulted with 4 surgeons who came highly recommended to me. All were very different. The doctor I decided on is fabulous and I have complete faith in what he can do. I have seen his work first hand and it is beautiful. He is truly an artist and I know he will give me a fabulous result! He is one of the best in the field and I feel very safe in his hands. We clicked right away and he and his staff have been wonderful. June 14th can't get here soon enough for me! Finding this site has been such a blessing to me. I have spent hours reading other people's experiences and I have learned so much already about what to expect and how to prepare for what is to come. I'm very grateful to everyone here for sharing their stories to help the rest of us. Hopefully my story can help someone else too. I will post some before pictures tomorrow, but it's really late here and it's been a very long day. Time for bed now.

I got brave this morning and took some before pictures. I am very good at camouflaging my midsection in pictures. Over the years I have become quite good at hiding it and figuring out exactly how to stand to minimize it in photos, so it was hard taking these pics and even harder posting them but here goes. I know that soon when I take a picture I wont need to figure out the best angle to hide my big belly. I can't wait to be able to post the after pics.

I had my pre-op appointment today. It went fine except that I am up 10 pounds from a month ago. I have been stress eating and have had family visiting from out of town for my son's high school graduation. That and the stress of waiting for my TT and worrying about whether or not I will have problems getting the FMLA to cover my time off is making me nuts. My exercise and eating habits have suffered to put it mildly! The pre-op, before pictures were hard to see. I just had to tell myself that I will never look that way agan. I can't wait to see my new body. I decided to go for it and get the lipo of my back as well as the lipoabdominoplasty and lipo of flanks. I am hoping for a better result by getting my back done as well. The only thing that worries me is that I am not sure how I will be able to sleep with both my back and my front hurting from surgery. I guess I am going to be very uncomfortable for a while. My PS said I probably wont like him very much for at least a week. LOL. But he assures me I will love my results.

I also found out today that my PS wants me to stop taking my Premarin the week before surgery. That will not be good. Hot flashes and mood swings here I come! My PS promises me that it will all be worth it in the end. I am gonna spend some time researching what natural remedies I can use for the probable hot flashes and crazy mood swings. Can anyone give suggestions for things to try to help reduce the nasty discomforts of not taking my Premarin? I had a full hysterectomy a year and a half ago, so there is nothing left to help prevent the worst post menopausal symptoms.

I can't believe I am down to only 12 days to surgery. It's coming fast but not fast enough for me.

Tomorrow I am going to take before bikini pics and post them for comparison after surgery.