4.5lbs of Skin and Fat off - Culver City, CA

I had my tummy tuck about eight days ago and it looks great. I have one child but after so much weight loss was left with a droopy stomach. I dieted and exercised until the point that my legs and arms were too thin but I still had skin hanging on my belly that stood out. I had been wanting the procedure done for over for years because I never felt like a normal teenager. As a child I was overweight and after I had my child at 17 I wasnt happy with the way I looked. I exercised and reached my weight loss goals but was still unhappy with the fact that I would never wear a two piece. Even in intimacy I chose to place a pillow over my stomach. I felt no confidence as a young woman I felt ugly no matter how many sit ups.

On the day of my surgery I arrived and changed into the surgery items. The nurse too pictures of me and then asked me to wait. Later the doctor came in, drew on me, and I asked a couple of questions about scar placement. I was taken to the surgery room and layed down. An IV was done with the anesthesia and before I know it I was passed out

Waking up from surgery was awful. I heard a nurse say its all done. My stomach felt on fire and I felt nauseous. Getting off the recovery bed was impossible without help from the nurse. My stomach ached. I was wheeled off to the car. I was out of it I couldnt pay attention to anything because I was concentrating on not throwing up.

I went to mothers house to recover. I couldnt lay down with out a mountain of pillows propping me up. I also needed pillows behind my knees to be comfortable and not stretch out my stomach. Pain medication was needed every five hours. I only took half the dose. I slept and had no appetite. The first day was all rest not much food but wheat animal crackers and cheeze its.

Day three and four I gained appetite but developed a horrible cough. I purchased halls because every time I would cough my muscles ached and I felt like my incision was coming apart. It was painful. No laughing or sneezing either.

Day five to eight went better eating normally and found that gatorade is great to not feel weak. It became easier to get up and on day seven and eight I needed no medication. In my post op visit the nurse told me to shower and remove the yellow tape on my incisions. Now I just apply triple antibiotic ointment on the wound and put gauze pads and then put on my garment.

As of today I am comfortable. My stomach looks great but it is so swollen. My incision looks a bit high but I know it will drop as swelling diminishes. Im also upset my drains will come out until the 16th. Im going to have my drains for 20 days I heard a lot of people have kept them for only a week.

Today is day 24 and I had my drain removed. The suture removal hurt more than the pulling of the drain. I took tylenol before yhough just in case. I mentioned to the nurse that I dont think my belly button was healing well. She just said, " oh I have to remove the stiches". It was a bit painful. My belly button looks great now. I wish I could upload pics but for some reason I dont see how I can do that. I have old pictures too so if I am allowed to upload pictures later ill upload all of them with post op dates.

It has been close to 2 months since I got my tummy tuck with muscle repair. I got no lipo so was hesitant about the decision to not get it. I weighed 164 before surgery and now I am down to 146. I have been running about a mile a day doing stairs and weights. I enjoy the gym. Now that I have lost weight my abdomen feels a lot tighter and uncomfortable at times. I seem more bloated now that I have lost weight in other areas. I can feel stitches inside my skin and Im hoping these are the dissolving kind. my belly button looks weird and small but Im sure it will heal with time. I will be posting new pictures soon. My clothes looks wonderful now and I feel more confident.