30 Yr Old Mother of 2, 95 Lb Weight Loss - Columbus, OH

I never posted my 1 year update! I went back and found a couple pictures from a few months ago (I was tracking my progress from the gym w/ pics) that were taken in April, which was my 1 year!

At 1 year I can say that I am very happy I had my TT. I wore a bikini this year, even with my stretch marks on my stomach, and felt completely confident! Every time I put on a shirt I never worry about it hugging my stomach too tight, or when I sit, having a roll on my lap. The confidence I have gained alone is worth it.

The setbacks I have experienced... -I am still completely numb from my belly button directly down (in about a strip 2 1/2" wide) to my TT scar.
-I do have a hypertrophic TT scar. My PS tried to correct it with a steroid injection and I had some reaction that caused part of the area to, almost collapse. It's hard to explain, but now the area is wavy and to fix it I would need fat injected in the areas that collapsed. My scar is so low, that I'm just leaving it alone for right now. I'm thinking of having more plastic surgery in the near future and if I do I will fix it then.
-I still swell right above my TT scar. This swelling can be minimal, or it can be awful looking like a speed bump. The awful times are usually a mix of a bad period with working out or eating something high in sodium. A bad period can make that area swell like nothing I had ever experience prior to the surgery, I don't know what that's about.

Other than those 3 things, it's been smooth sailing. Over the last 4 months I officially saw my abs again! It was beautiful and so exciting. It was completely by accident (I had just got out of the shower), and once I saw those 3 abs lol, of course I had to try to make them flex again so I could take a picture and send it to my parents, husband and best friend! That had been my #1 goal when I started this April of 2014. I don't know when it happened, but I was close enough to a year for it to count as a great milestone!

Good luck to all those thinking of a TT or getting ready to have theirs, and quick healing to those that are recovering!

I haven't been on here for awhile and honestly it's because I have been embarrassed.

I worked really hard to lose weight after I had my children, and still found myself not happy with what I saw in the mirror. I had my TT in April 2014 and thought that it would make me more content, but I continued to pick at myself (the swelling, my butt, my hips, my thighs). I started to feel helpless, like what's the point, no matter what surgery I have or how hard I workout I am never going to be happy with how I look.

I moved out of state for my husband's job in June 2014 and completely got off my workout rhythm. Without my exercise buddies and support system, I didn't see the fun in going to the gym and I always found other things more important to do. Slowly the weight has been coming back on, eating poorly and not going to the gym will do it every time. :-/ I am lucky that it has only been about 10 lbs., with the holidays it could have been much worse.

I am trying to get myself out of this funk. I signed up with a personal trainer recently. I did this knowing if I invested the money and made the appt it would force me back in the gym lol. I know that this will get me back into the rhythm of going and will get me more comfortable with this new gym.

I know that not too many people will be interested in this. I am more so writing it for the one person who, like me, may be feeling hopeless or embarrassed (like a failure), after surgery. I struggled, and still am, with the idea that I spent all this money on a procedure, and then gained weight, instead of it motivating me to get stronger and healthier. I am trying to turn it around though. One pound at a time. I am trying to get my mind healthy too (I have recently been diagnosed with some mental health disorders), and am seeing a therapist to work through some of my issues, one of those being body image. In the mean time I am trying to be realistic with my expectations.

I am still very happy with my procedures (TT and BA). I believe my TT scar is hypertrophic (red and very puffy), it was to be expected, my BA scars are/were (they flatten out and look more normal after 2-3 yrs). I am seeing my PS at the end of this month about my scar and we will see if anything can be done. I will battle my weight with eating properly and trying to build as much toned muscle as I can, that's all I can do right :-).

I hope that everyone is healing well, and if there is anyone out there like me, battling some weight gain or mental health issues after surgery, don't lose hope, I know things can seem dark and lonely sometimes, but you deserve to feel good about yourself, just try and make a plan and take one step at a time, together we will get there!