Wow, Was That Painful, but Still Worth It - Raleigh, NC

I am 6 months post-op from a full tummy tuck and breast implants.
Pros: my insecurity is gone, I had a lot of loose skin around my midsection and it really bothered me
I now have really great breasts that I had never planned to do, it made the recovery of the tummy tuck that much less crappy because at least I have nice boobs!
Cons: It did cost a little more than 10 grand
It is a LONG and painful recovery
There is a lot of swelling and it takes a while until you see the light.
If you are used to being active it takes a while to get back to where you were

After I had my son I lost the 50lbs I gained pretty quickly only to discover a lot of extra skin and lower abdominal fat. Despite running faster, being in better shape and getting even thinner than before having my son, I was depressed. My body seemed to look uglier and my lower stomach hurt while running. For years I would save the money for a tummy tuck and then do something else. Finally, I got a break in my schedule and decided to just do it.

For the first 3 months life was really difficult. It was hard to stand straight I couldn't work out very well and sneezing was the worst. I am glad I decided to get the breast implants because at least something turned out great right from the start. it helped with the depression that can set in after the first few weeks after surgery.

Now that most of the swelling has gone down I fell a lot better and I am back at working out and running.

I wish I had changed my diet before I did this, i did end up gaining weight in my thighs and the rest of my body because I was eating the same as when I was working out all the time. I also wish I had worn 2 Spanx from the beginning this would have helped with the swelling a lot and it took me several weeks to realize that (even though my doctor told me to do it from the beginning). I also wish I had maintained a liquid diet for the first week because using the bathroom was really painful.

I am mostly glad i did this because I am no longer obsessing about my stomach. I am just living my life and my insecurities have fallen away.