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POSTED UNDER Tummy Tuck REVIEWS

Almost One Year Post-Op!! I've Officially Made It ;-) - Columbus, OH

ORIGINAL POST

I am 28 years old and a stay-at-home mother to two...

Bella83September 7, 2011
WORTH IT$6,800

I am 28 years old and a stay-at-home mother to two beautiful children, ages 6 and 3. I've never been too heavy but have always had trouble with my midsection. That has always been the place that I would gain the weight first and then the last place that I would lose it.

While I was pregnant with my first child, I developed preeclamsia. Even though I gained about 30 pounds, I was left with huge stretch marks all over my stomach because of holding water and gaining weight rapidly. This just added to the hideous appearance of my stomach. I have NEVER worn a bikini in my entire life and I am really hoping that once I have my surgery, I will feel confident enough to do it. I am 5 feet 5 inches tall and weigh 140 pounds. I work out 5 days a week. I think I'm pretty toned but stomach just looks fat and grotesque. I'm hoping that I can lose about 10 more pounds before my surgery but I am really having a tough time taking that last 10 pounds off. Do you think I would still have good results without losing the 10 pounds? Anyways, my surgery will be in October and I have so many reservations and fears about it. I worry about the recovery time, about not being able to pick up my very needy 3 year old daughter, and about possible complications like blood clots and infection.

I want this soooo bad though. I just don't want to risk my life having a surgery because I'm being superficial. But I also don't think I can be happy with my appearance with a stomach that looks like mine. I have a "frown" belly button that you can see if I wear anything remotely tight and it drives me insane and limits what clothes I can wear. I am going to post my before pictures tonight so you all can see what I am talking about. I look forward to all the support from this site as I start my journey towards a new, cute tummy! So scared but so excited to have this procedure done.

Bella83's provider

Christine Sullivan, MD (retired)

Christine Sullivan, MD (retired)

Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

Bella83 rating for Dr. Sullivan:

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Replies (0)

UPDATED FROM Bella83
1 month pre

I am adding my "before" pictures today. Try not to...

Bella83September 8, 2011
I am adding my "before" pictures today. Try not to get too grossed out lol.


Replies (0)

UPDATED FROM Bella83
1 month pre

I am adding a photo of me from the back. I am...

Bella83September 8, 2011
I am adding a photo of me from the back. I am possibly going to have liposuction of my "flanks" and so I want to be able to show the difference if I do ;-)

Replies (7)

room2improve
September 8, 2011
I'm with you! My surgery is in Oct. too, and I am also wondering if it's worth the risk. We have very similar bellies, and I too have never worn a bikini. I'm also trying to lose the last 10 lbs. (realistically maybe 5 before surgery). I'm 5'4", 127ish now after losing about 2 lbs. in the past couple weeks. What's worked for me on that front is just eating really healthy foods and limiting portions. It's been working so far, as I was enjoying lots of bad stuff before. I'll be interested in what others say. You don't look bad at all now, and I wonder what kind of improvement we can expect. For me, almost all my stretch marks are below my belly button, so I'm excited to cut those out. I'm also hoping that the muscle repair will strengthen my abs a little. Keep thinking positively, and know that the risks are low for otherwise healthy people.
Bella83
September 8, 2011
Thank you for the encouragement!My PS said that the muscle repair should make me have more of an hour glass figure and that if I wanted to work at it, I could eventually have a 6 pack! That was very excited news to me, especially since I don't really have a well-defined waist right now. I just started this past Sunday with eating only healthy foods (cutting out processed food, breads, sweets,etc.) and I'm down to 138. I think that at your height and weight, you should have great results! I bought this bikini just to do my before photos and I am really looking forward showing my "after" photos in it too. Good luck with everything, I hope we look great!
Mcdonough6840
September 8, 2011
I feel you on the before pictures, but your pictures look much better than mine. Hopefully that will make you feel better. Good luck on your upcoming procedure I am sure you will look great, try and focus on what you will look like after surgery to boost you confidence. I am sure all will go well.
Bella83
September 8, 2011
Thanks so much! This week all of the sudden I started struggling with trusting the plastic surgeon to do a good job. I kept thinking, "what if she has an off day, what if she makes my belly button look too low or too high, what if this and what if that..." lol. This is so much harder and scarier than I thought it would be. Praying that I don't chicken out!
Wish this was already over
September 8, 2011
Thinking of having Tummy Tuck and like you don't want to risk my life just to have a flat tummy. I have 2 grown childern and have lost 57 pounds so a tummy tuck is needed. I am afraid to make the call to take the next step. Hope all goes well for you and you recovery quickly.
Bella83
September 8, 2011
Thank you. The thing that got me to actually go and schedule the consultation and then the surgery was seeing two friends of mine have the procedure done. They both encouraged me and said that it really wasn't that bad and that they had minimal pain and were only down about 2 weeks. However, every person is different and I keep worrying that I may have a low tolerance for pain, or maybe I might have a reaction to the pain meds (I've never taken vicodin or any other drug before), or what if my body takes longer to heal, etc. etc. Worries are always there but right now my desire to have a "normal" stomach is stronger.
San Francisco4746
September 19, 2011
Hi Bella, I got really sick with the vicodin and the the other meds to keep from getting nausea didn't work so I couldn't keep them dowm, ask your doctor for the patch or the suppository for the nauseousness, because it will stay in your system, and that might help, read my story.
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