31 Years Old, 4 Kids... FINALLY Decided to Do It!! Tummy Tuck W Lip by Dr Hochstein - Miami, FL

After having 4 wonderful kids, it was time to get my body back. I work out pretty frequently, HIIT, running etc but no matter what type of change and improvements i saw in the rest of my body, i never was able to get rid of my gut. Like most of us on here, I stalked everyone elses reviews and experiences. I struggled with my own conflicting feelings of REALLY wanting to do it, but being TERRIFIED of the surgery, the recovery, having to pause my life as a wife and mom to little kids, potential complications etc. I met with Dr Hochstein for two consultations and his calm and confident manner helped put my mind at ease. His staff has been wonderful. The nurses are so sweet and totally do their best to make you feel as comfortable as possible. Christine, the patient coordinator I was dealing with has been nothing short of awesome. She patiently answered all my questions and emails and went above and beyond to make me feel confident in my decision.
Dr Hochsteins surgery center is beautiful, clean, organized and well run. I know some people say that they had long wait times or that he is impersonal, but I never experienced that. He is a wonderful man and a fantastic doctor who is confident in his craft.
I arrived at 11 am today for my procedure. The nurses took me in right away to take care of my vitals and to get the IV in. She went over everything with me and was so so sweet. I thought I would be crazy anxious but I was excited to get the party started! The anesthesiologist was kind and thorough and before I knew it I was being woken up in post op.
I was shaking like crazy, which i guess is a side effect of the anesthesia and I was definitely in pain. Dr H puts in a pain pump and the nurses gave me a double dose of pain meds through the IV. It settled down. I was also so loopy from the meds. I made it home, into my bed with a lot of pillows behind my back and under my knees. Took my first doese of percocet and tried to eat. The pain is there, but its been ok. The worst part is trying to change position or get in or out of bed. But it subsides. It feels like i got punched in the stomach or that I am VERY VERY charley horse. I am hoping that it gets better as the days go on though. The binder is on, I haven't seen anything yet. Emptied the drain once so far. Have been taking arnika forte and laxatives with my pain meds and trying to eat some toast. No appetite so far and the pain meds are actually making me kind of dizzy. will upload after shots when i go to the doctor.
any recovery tips or tricks? feel like i could use some!

Switched from Percocet to extra strength Tylenol because it was making me dizzy and nauseous. Set my alarm and got up to walk around my bedroom every two hours as instructed. I can get up and down by myself but it's pretty sore. This morning had a BM! Big news now I dont have to worry about that lol. Trying to drink a lot. The pain is definitely there, but it's
Tolerable. I hope it only gets better each day.

i was weirdly more nervous for this appointment than for the actual surgery! i was just so anxious to have the doctor check everything to make sure the healing was going ok. the nurses were great, they took out my pain pump, didn't feel a thing and it was so liberating to get rid of it. they took off the binder and i had my first look... OMG! i can't believe this is my body. Im super swollen and sensitive but i can't wait to see how it progresses. the scar looks scary but they said its totally normal, my belly button looks perfect. i got the ok to shower and wash my binder and i feel like a new person now that im clean! the only thing im nervous about is that there is one spot on my incision that stings (the rest is totally numb) and maybe its my imagination but it looks more red than the rest of it. but the nurses said its all part of the healing process and some parts take longer. so im on top of my meds and keeping it covered and dry, and i just pray it doesn't lead to an infection. anyone have a similar experience???