Crossfit Mom in Need of TT to Repair Severe Diastasis Recti - Ohio

I am a petite mom of 2. I am 5' tall and both of my babies weighed in at over 10 lbs. I had a c-section with each birth so needless to say my mid section has been thru a lot! I gained almost 70 lbs while pregnant this second time ...yes I said 70 and I was able to lose all the weight (yaay me!!) And as proud as I was of myself for losing the weight afterwards I still looked about 3-4 months pregnant. I went to countless doctors and all told me that the aftermath was just a part of pregnancy and plus I had big babies so basically deal with it because this was normal. Besides the physical appearance of it my core is extremely weak. I always over compensating because I have no core strength so some days the back pain in excruciating. Their reassurances meant nothing because quite frankly I felt like an alien freak. There were woman all around me who had given birth and were not left with what I was experiencing. I was pretty determined that I wasn't crazy and my extended belly was not "normal" so I kept searching. I finally found a doctor that took one look at me, did some tests and diagnosed me with a severe diastis recti (greater than 5 fingers separation). I started therapy twice a week and saw improvement in closing the gap but I felt so restricted. Any "non-approved" movement immediately widened the gap again. Who could live like this?! I have a rambunctious toddler for goodness sake, bending and twisting go along with parenting. I could wear a binder and look relatively normal (provided I had not eaten, the bloating is real!) but you could see the binder under my shirt so I learned to layer but yeah that fashion trick only works in the cold months. After trying therapy for a year I was told due to the severity of my DR the only way to repair would be surgery. Insurance would not cover so I felt selfish spending the money and for taking the time needed to heal and even asking for help while I recover. Fast forward to today and life happens and I haven't been to a box since April (I supremely miss crossfit), I started eating fast food out of convenience and I have gained a little over 20 lbs. On a weekly basis I am asked about my pregnancy but I'm not pregnant!!! I have been anxiously waiting to have a resolution for my belly for about 3 years now. After much prayer and discussion with my husband (who has been awesome thru all of this by the way!) we both agree its time and I deserve it! Currently looking for a surgeon in my area and hopefully will have something scheduled by year end. I've started working out again and eating right. If I can lose 10lbs by surgery time I would be ecstatic. I'm going to take pics and post later.

I am so excited! My surgery date is set for Sept 29. At my consult I was told I have a severe muscle separation, an umbilical hernia, my belly button is off center and I also have some visceral fat. Well I knew I needed to lose a few pounds but the "visceral" part kind of thru me for a loop. The surgeon explained I can still get a good result but didn't believe I would have the flat flat appearance I was hoping for. It would be up to me to diet and lose the weight but even at current weight I was a candidate and would see a great improvement even if I didn't lose any weight before surgery. I have about 7 weeks to lose 10lbs, which is totally doable. I was so busy processing all of the info that I forgot to take pics while there uggghh!

I found this young lady's pic and it very much resembles my own abdomen. No matter how much weight I lose I appear to be pregnant because of the abdominal separation. With such a prominent protrusion is this result common for a tummy tuck or is this an exception and not the rule? My belly often feels hard (for lack of a better way of explaining). Is what I'm feeling my organs or internal fat? I've gotten different answers from doctors and I'm kinda confused now. At one consult I was told I probably couldn't get totally flat and that I had some internal fat. I'm ok not having a wash board flat stomach but what does "not totally flat" look like? The more I think about it I'm not sure what to expect as I dont have a visual to reference. Most pics on PS websites don't resemble my situation