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My name is Nicole and I am 37 years old. I have...
My name is Nicole and I am 37 years old. I have had 5 children.
I have always wanted a tummy tuck. My youngest of all my babies is 10 now, my oldest being almost 21. I had a breast augmentation 8 years ago, and wished I had done it then. But was too afraid. I have always heard horror stories of tummy tucks and how invasive it is. I have a low tolerance for pain so another reason I knew it might not be a good idea for me. I decided last year after the summer was over that I was done walking around in a bikini and having a some what decent body but just thrashed and ruined stomach with my stretch marks. My stretch marks were so thick I had tried every lotion, ointment, maderma, you name it I tried it. Nothing worked. I had a child come up to me at a public pool while I was laying out trying to get a tan say to me..."what happened to your stomach" my kids and husbands nick name has always been tiger for me as well. Because I have stripes on my stomach. So last year I decided no more. I went back to my wonderful doctor who did my breast augmentation Dr. Kilaru in Fremont California. And he did a consult and said lets do it. So I scheduled my surgery date and from then on was the worry and excitement stage.
I went through so many emotions just making this decision. It was difficult emotionally I think more than anything. I chose not to tell everyone, only people who I trusted and loved. You will get mixed signals from some people in your life. so be choosy who you tell. I researched and read as much as I could but not too much because I didn't want to scare myself out of it. This site I found most helpful. There are allot of honest women on here sharing their stories and it really really helped me prepare for my surgery. That's Why I decided to share mine.
The day came of surgery and I was a basket case. Crying, scared, and trying to tell myself I would be able to get through it. Managing my pain was the scariest thing for me. I have a low tolerance for pain but also everything upsets my stomach. Especially pain medication. Even Advil upsets my stomach so I was overly scared that I would be in too much pain and not be able to manage it due to my sensitive stomach. So I expressed this concern to my doctor and he reassured me that anti nauseous medication would help with that and he would prescribe that as well. If I can stress one thing... Make sure you have a good doctor. Make sure you research them and they are certified . That the facility which they operate is legitimate and the anesthesiologist is certified as well. Make sure your doctor understands all your concerns and needs as we are all different. I have to say that if I didn't have such an amazing doctor and his staff. l I would not have went through with it. It is because of them and their willingness to work with me and help me through all my concerns that I even went through with this massive surgery.
Now on to the surgery itself....
I honestly don't remember much from the first week at all. That's how heavily medicated I was and how much I just slept. Which is good. Sleep if you can. Stay in bed! Don't move too much. As long as you rest and follow doctors orders you will be ok.
I'm not going to lie it was rough. I am on week 4 now and its still rough sometimes. The first week is the hardest. Its not so much the surgery that is the worst part. Its everything the surgery causes that is the hardest part. I'm going to go over a few of the things that were the hardest for me and what helped each of them....
1. Your back is going to hurt!! Not a little, probably allot. If you can get a hospital bed cheap from criagslist, sometimes they are even giving them away on that site. Or rent one. I got one and it was a life saver. I set it up in my living room so I wasn't tucked away in my room and forgotten about. I wanted to be with everyone and all the craziness of my family, its what helped me allot. I also kept a heating pad right next to me at all times and plugged in so all I had to do was reach over and push a button to turn it on. The heat will bring some relief. Also Showers. When your doctor says you can take a shower... take one its amazing. I also put a plastic outdoor folding chair in my shower to sit on while I took showers. It will feel good to rest your back and sit up straight and then add the water its great! Set your drains on your lap or across your legs.
2. Constipation! This was by far one of the worst things I had to deal with!! I took the stool softeners prescribed by my doctor. I tried drinking MiraLax. and nothing. 5 days went by and I thought I was going to loose my mind if I didn't go to the bathroom! So Milk of Magnesia, Phillips brand particularly saved my life. Literally. Drank the most dosage you can drink and an hour later I was on the toilet. Not going to say it was easy but at least it worked. But caution don't drink too much, or you will go from one problem to another!! If you know what I mean.
3. Drains. These were the next hardest thing I had to deal with. They are extremely annoying and painful at times. They may get irritated around the hole of the entrance and where they are stitched in. I found that using neosporin around the areas after a shower was helpful. But honestly they will just be a pain in the ass until they come out. And when they come out how glorious it will be!! They are there for a reason...so just let them do their job. You will feel like your stuck with them forever but I promise you. You aren't.
4. Appetite & Eating. This will be very different for a while. I didn't have much of an appetite. I would find myself wanting something and as soon as it was brought to me I didn't want it. everything tasted funny to me, and rather very spicy. It was weird. I stuck to a toast and crackers diet and that's about all I could tolerate. DRINK WATER! If I can stress one thing you need to drink water! lots and lots of it.
Those were the worst of it for me. The rest is tollerable. Sometimes the things I mentioned above would almost send me over the edge. There was allot of crying and frustration those first two weeks. Once you get past the first couple weeks and get the drains out you will feel like a new woman.
I'm not going to tell you its easy because its not. It is by far the hardest thing I've ever put my body through. Be patient be patient be patient. I still have to tell myself this. I am still not fully recovered. I can almost stand up good and straight now. Back to driving, and some light house work and errands. But as soon as I do too much in a day I'm in pain. My back will start hurting and my muscles will start hurting and then I start feeling an all around yucky. And I have to stop what I'm doing and rest. So if I can give any advice its to prepare for your surgery the best you can. Get you family and a good support system on board because your going to need the help. REST REST REST. If you start to feel better don't over do it. Take your med's and your pain medicines! Follow your doctors orders and be patient. In the end it will all be worth it. There is light at the end of this long tunnel!
~Nicole
I have always wanted a tummy tuck. My youngest of all my babies is 10 now, my oldest being almost 21. I had a breast augmentation 8 years ago, and wished I had done it then. But was too afraid. I have always heard horror stories of tummy tucks and how invasive it is. I have a low tolerance for pain so another reason I knew it might not be a good idea for me. I decided last year after the summer was over that I was done walking around in a bikini and having a some what decent body but just thrashed and ruined stomach with my stretch marks. My stretch marks were so thick I had tried every lotion, ointment, maderma, you name it I tried it. Nothing worked. I had a child come up to me at a public pool while I was laying out trying to get a tan say to me..."what happened to your stomach" my kids and husbands nick name has always been tiger for me as well. Because I have stripes on my stomach. So last year I decided no more. I went back to my wonderful doctor who did my breast augmentation Dr. Kilaru in Fremont California. And he did a consult and said lets do it. So I scheduled my surgery date and from then on was the worry and excitement stage.
I went through so many emotions just making this decision. It was difficult emotionally I think more than anything. I chose not to tell everyone, only people who I trusted and loved. You will get mixed signals from some people in your life. so be choosy who you tell. I researched and read as much as I could but not too much because I didn't want to scare myself out of it. This site I found most helpful. There are allot of honest women on here sharing their stories and it really really helped me prepare for my surgery. That's Why I decided to share mine.
The day came of surgery and I was a basket case. Crying, scared, and trying to tell myself I would be able to get through it. Managing my pain was the scariest thing for me. I have a low tolerance for pain but also everything upsets my stomach. Especially pain medication. Even Advil upsets my stomach so I was overly scared that I would be in too much pain and not be able to manage it due to my sensitive stomach. So I expressed this concern to my doctor and he reassured me that anti nauseous medication would help with that and he would prescribe that as well. If I can stress one thing... Make sure you have a good doctor. Make sure you research them and they are certified . That the facility which they operate is legitimate and the anesthesiologist is certified as well. Make sure your doctor understands all your concerns and needs as we are all different. I have to say that if I didn't have such an amazing doctor and his staff. l I would not have went through with it. It is because of them and their willingness to work with me and help me through all my concerns that I even went through with this massive surgery.
Now on to the surgery itself....
I honestly don't remember much from the first week at all. That's how heavily medicated I was and how much I just slept. Which is good. Sleep if you can. Stay in bed! Don't move too much. As long as you rest and follow doctors orders you will be ok.
I'm not going to lie it was rough. I am on week 4 now and its still rough sometimes. The first week is the hardest. Its not so much the surgery that is the worst part. Its everything the surgery causes that is the hardest part. I'm going to go over a few of the things that were the hardest for me and what helped each of them....
1. Your back is going to hurt!! Not a little, probably allot. If you can get a hospital bed cheap from criagslist, sometimes they are even giving them away on that site. Or rent one. I got one and it was a life saver. I set it up in my living room so I wasn't tucked away in my room and forgotten about. I wanted to be with everyone and all the craziness of my family, its what helped me allot. I also kept a heating pad right next to me at all times and plugged in so all I had to do was reach over and push a button to turn it on. The heat will bring some relief. Also Showers. When your doctor says you can take a shower... take one its amazing. I also put a plastic outdoor folding chair in my shower to sit on while I took showers. It will feel good to rest your back and sit up straight and then add the water its great! Set your drains on your lap or across your legs.
2. Constipation! This was by far one of the worst things I had to deal with!! I took the stool softeners prescribed by my doctor. I tried drinking MiraLax. and nothing. 5 days went by and I thought I was going to loose my mind if I didn't go to the bathroom! So Milk of Magnesia, Phillips brand particularly saved my life. Literally. Drank the most dosage you can drink and an hour later I was on the toilet. Not going to say it was easy but at least it worked. But caution don't drink too much, or you will go from one problem to another!! If you know what I mean.
3. Drains. These were the next hardest thing I had to deal with. They are extremely annoying and painful at times. They may get irritated around the hole of the entrance and where they are stitched in. I found that using neosporin around the areas after a shower was helpful. But honestly they will just be a pain in the ass until they come out. And when they come out how glorious it will be!! They are there for a reason...so just let them do their job. You will feel like your stuck with them forever but I promise you. You aren't.
4. Appetite & Eating. This will be very different for a while. I didn't have much of an appetite. I would find myself wanting something and as soon as it was brought to me I didn't want it. everything tasted funny to me, and rather very spicy. It was weird. I stuck to a toast and crackers diet and that's about all I could tolerate. DRINK WATER! If I can stress one thing you need to drink water! lots and lots of it.
Those were the worst of it for me. The rest is tollerable. Sometimes the things I mentioned above would almost send me over the edge. There was allot of crying and frustration those first two weeks. Once you get past the first couple weeks and get the drains out you will feel like a new woman.
I'm not going to tell you its easy because its not. It is by far the hardest thing I've ever put my body through. Be patient be patient be patient. I still have to tell myself this. I am still not fully recovered. I can almost stand up good and straight now. Back to driving, and some light house work and errands. But as soon as I do too much in a day I'm in pain. My back will start hurting and my muscles will start hurting and then I start feeling an all around yucky. And I have to stop what I'm doing and rest. So if I can give any advice its to prepare for your surgery the best you can. Get you family and a good support system on board because your going to need the help. REST REST REST. If you start to feel better don't over do it. Take your med's and your pain medicines! Follow your doctors orders and be patient. In the end it will all be worth it. There is light at the end of this long tunnel!
~Nicole
Provider Review
My doctor is one of the most amazing men Iv'e ever met. I told him he had magic hands because he really does. He changed my life, now twice and I can't thank him enough. He is also very kindhearted, explains things to you so you can understand them and is fair in all his prices. He is truly amazing.