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*Treatment results may vary

I've gained weight :(

I've gained a little over 5 lbs since the surgery! I told myself two days ago I would try to get back on track to eating more healthy again after a week of splurging (we were on vacation with the kids and may have over indulged with restaurant eating, ice cream and alcohol etc) but I just can't get it together this week... Ugh!! I find it hard that I'm not able to work out hardcore yet. The lipo areas on my butt still hurt when I try to jog and there is a tugging/pulling feeling on the left side of my belly button... Super frustrating!! I also feel more swollen than I did a couple of weeks ago. It's a constant reminder that you really need to watch your diet when going through this journey because skipping on the water and eating crap will really make you swell like a ballon.

As far as exercise, I am really just sticking to walking and bicycling for now. My ps cleared me to do everything at 6 weeks except my regular exercise class because it involves contact. I can only start those at the 3 month mark. I wouldn't be able to do them right now anyway... I can only do about 5 push-ups as peck muscles and abs hurt too much. I tried to do some lunges and squats and that wasn't so bad. Ab work feels weird so I'll have to start slowly in that area. I'll probably try doing a Jillian Michael workout to get me started again. Hope I can lose those lbs again soon! It's making nervous because I don't want to screw up the results of my surgery... Paid way too much to do that!

A few more pics of 6 weeks post-op


6 weeks post-op update

I'm about a week and a half late in putting these pictures... Oops!

Since I last posted, I've had many ups and downs but things started looking a bit better at 4 weeks post-op when I was finally able to start taking brisk walks. I bought myself a Fitbit as a motivator and that has helped a lot!

Provider Review

Dr. Susan E. Skanes
Overall rating
Doctor's bedside manner
Answered my questions
After care follow-up
Time spent with me
Phone or email responsiveness
Staff professionalism & courtesy
Payment process
Wait times

I decided to go with Dr. Susan E. Skanes. She is the surgeon my family doctor recommended when I discussed wanting a Tummy Tuck. Dr. Skanes doesn’t advertise herself as some of the other surgeons in the region do and when I asked her about it, she indicated that she doesn’t feel the need to do so since she has been doing this for 20 years, business is good and her work speaks for itself. She has a very caring demeanor and I felt she really took the time to listen to me. She encouraged me to come back to her office every 3 to 4 weeks to address any questions or concerns and to discuss the procedure. I really felt by the time I had the surgery 6 months later, that she understood what I wanted and expected out of this surgery. Likewise, I also had a very good idea of what to expect and realistic results that could be achieved which is pretty important as you don’t want to go through all of this and be disappointed in the end. To me, having a surgeon that truly listened to what I WANTED instead of dictating what I NEEDED was very important as I had a consultation with another surgeon in the area who basically told me I needed a butt lift and wanted to put implants bigger than what I was comfortable with. When I suggested smaller implants and liposuction, he just dismissed this entirely. He also did not feel the need to see me again and advised I could deal with his office manager when and if I decided to book the surgery… Mmmhm, NO thank you! Dr. Skanes also has a minimalist approach. The safety of her patients is of great concern to her and she encouraged me to try a less invasive solution before even thinking of taking a more drastic approach (liposuction on the upper butt instead of a body lift or butt lift). She didn’t have a fancy portfolio with before and after photos unlike other surgeons which made me a bit nervous but at the end of the day my intuition told me to go with her plus I felt I would have read or heard something if she were bad. She did manage to find a photo of a breast augmentation she had done and advised that her assistant was in the process of preparing a portfolio of her work.