Great website. Starting to get nervous about my tummy tuck coming up, and I don't even know if this is going through because I haven't been able to write reviews. I've been looking at a lot of pictures pre and post op, have been reading a lot of posts on what to expect. I feel relieved to know that there is somewhere I can go to when I start tripping on having this procedure done.
63 Year Old - San Francisco, CA
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hanalei
- Not Sure
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Cost:
$13,700 - Kenneth Bermudez, MD, San Francisco, CA
Great website. Starting to get nervous about my...
Obsessed
I posted for the first time yesterday, and I don't even know how I'm getting any work done because I've become obsessed with reading reviews and looking at pictures of tummy tucks! I'm having a standard tummy tuck and lipo of the flanks. I checked around before I decided on Dr. Bermudez. I was very impressed with him when I went in for a consultation on March 27. He was extremely thorough in giving me information that I needed in order to make my decision. The quote I received is a little bit on the expensive side, but considering that I will have this done at St. Francis Memorial Hospital, I'm good with it. I'm aware that expenses go up if you are doing this at a hospital as opposed to an on-site surgical center. In addition, I will be spending one night at the hospital. So it adds up!! BUT, for my own peace of mind, I'm really glad I will be in a hospital facility. So back to my list (obsessing really,) of what I will want/need post op: gotta go buy some lavender scented candles, straws to sip all that water I'll be drinking, kiwi and prunes cause I am chronically constipated, debating whether I should borrow my mother's walker without her knowing why (telling her this lady at work needs it!) - my mom has several, and so on and so on. I'm sure I'll think of something else I'll need!
Question
Is it best to wax your mons for the TT surgery? Anyone out there have a personal experience you can share? Thanks
I have question
Can anyone tell me if it is best to wax the mons pre TT procedure?
Ok - I'm taking the plunge! Here are some photos I took yesterday.
Funny how reality hits you in the face when you actually take a picture of your body w/o clothes. Having learned to suck my stomach in, it was humbling to "really let it all hang out". I was brought up to never talk about the body. For example, I thought I was dying when I first got my period! Yes everyone, I had no clue, AND my first sanitary pad was a folded piece of cloth held in place w 2 safety pins! Man that was gross! Needless to say, I raised my 2 daughters quite differently. I made sure they were proud and comfortable w their bodies. Gravity has caught up to me, and in spite of dieting and exercising, I just cannot get rid of my stomach! So I'm doing it - at 63 - NEVER too old, or should I say, young. I'm 5'5" and weigh 143 lbs. I'm SO excited and nervous about my approaching TT and Lipo! What I'm looking forward to the most however, is finally having a waist. All my fat accumulates in the mid-section, and I look forward to being able to wear a top that is tucked in. Thank you everyone for sharing your stories, dreams and concerns. It helps very much!!
Stress Eating
I'm getting more and more excited and nervous. Problem is that I've begun to stress eat. Junk food.
Tomorrow tomorrow - I'm singing The Sound of Music
Just took the last photos of my tummy and non-existent waist. Thank you my body for making way for the new tummy and actual slim waist!
You're all so wonderful
I'm so sorry I've kind of been gone. Today is my po day 5, and I haven't even wanted to open my e-mail. It's been an incredibly hard time for me starting with day 1 po. i just had my first real meal. I am touched beyond words by your words of concern and good wishes. I will do a more complete post in the next few days, fill you in on details and will post some pics. The good news is that is spite of being so swollen, I do like the results. I have been thinking about those of you who had just had your surgery, and the ones who had theirs after me. I wish you a safe and speedy recovery !
It's time to update!
First of all, I want all you faceless, beautiful, and caring people to know how much your comments have meant. The idea that people I have not met actually noticed that I had not been posting after my sx says SO MUCH about the caliber of RS's sisterhood and brotherhood. I had my TT w/lipo to the flanks 6/2. I went home 6/3 in the early afternoon. Unfortunately, the nurse failed to make sure I had peed after taking out the catheter. I said I felt like I had to pee, went to the bathroom, tried, failed, and told her. She should had insisted I pee before been discharged. After not having passed urine from the time the catheter was taken out at 12 noon, I developed a severe pain on my right side and was in the ER at 9pm. A catheter was newly inserted and I went home a few hours later with this in place. I did ok on 6/4, but on the morning of 6/5, I woke up in pain again and my urine was bloody. Off to the ER again at 5am. I had a CT scan done of my abdomen to determine if I had a bleed , a blockage, or if my kidneys were mal-functioning. The CT was one of the most excruciating experiences I've had. They had to lie me flat with my legs lowered as far as I could go. I thought I was going to split open! The good news was that there was no bleeding or blockage, and my kidneys were ok. The bad news was that I had a distended bowel putting great pressure on my bladder. My colon was full of stool - I had not had a BM for 5 days. After 3 failed enemas, being at the ER for 7 hours, I finally was able to go after drinking a huge container of GaviLyte-g. This is what they give you when you're going to have a colonoscopy and they want you CLEAN! I cannot say enough of how extremely kind and thoughtful and supportive the doctor and nurse were. Any kind of modesty was virtually non-existent! So I'm pain-free now except for my pooooor back. Man, I had no idea lipo could hurt so much, and I'm really black and blue! I've been getting bad headaches and trying to stay on top of the electrolytes and Tylenol. So you may be thinking, OMG, is there anything good here? Yup. The love of my life and my grown daughters have been absolutely supportive and non-judgmental - it would have been so easy to say "Why did you do this? You were already perfect!" - Lol. Also, I like what I see so far in spite of the major swelling. So there you are my friends. Believe it or not, I actually omitteded some details in this narrative. I was a little hesitant about putting all of this down because I don't want to scare anybody who's having their sx, but remember, we're all different, we heal at a different rate, I'm MUCH older than most of you, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, I'm in the minority!! You all will do just great!!!
First Doc visit post op
Yesterday was my first post op appointment. I knew I wouldn't be getting my drains out because I'm still emptying a lot. I'm perfectly fine having the drains in longer though if that is what it takes. No problema! My drains are placed at the end of the incision site. I saw my bb for the first time and I think it looks great. My scar also looks good. Overall, I like the transformation of my body and it's only going to get better as the swelling goes down. I'm no longer in pain and my back is not so sore. I'm standing much straighter, although I notice that by the end of the day I'm a little bit more bent forward. The first pic that I posted was from yesterday at the docs office after all the bandages were removed. The rest of the pictures are from today, and I already see a difference. I'm keeping up with the stool softener and avoiding future problems!!
Bruising
Hi everyone. I'm feeling better every day and last night I even had a glass of wine. Man it was good! I'm happy with my incision, except for where the drains are still inserted. The skin there is very wrinkled and inflammed. I think it looks gross. I was wondering, is anybody else as bruised from the Lipo as I am? BTW, someone on RS had mentioned wearing your cg over a tank tank, and whoever it was, THANK YOU! What a life saver! I'm so glad I went out and bought some snug tank tops before my surgery. Posting some pics of my bruising, the drain sites, and my awesome tank top.
Swell hell
No kidding this is why it's called swell hell! Kind of hard to think that there really is a slimmer and shapelier body underneath the swelling! It's been one week nonstop of swelling and I just have to remind myself that this is temporary. I'm doing everything on my part to reduce it: I don't salt anything, I read sodium labels, I drink lemon with cucumber water in addition to TONS of water during the day, and I'm trying to limit my activity. As you can see by these pictures, I think swelling is at it's all time high.
Swelling getting better!
My swelling is a little bit better since yesterday. I've been doing a lot of positive visualization which I truly believe in. You know, the morning I went to the hospital for the surgery, there was a poster hanging on the wall in Admitting, and it made such an impression on me that I took a picture. I'm sharing this with you. In case you can't see it well, it says "A positive attitude is a powerful force". I'm posting some photos from this morning - I'm exactly 3 weeks post op today! I'm going to try to post them next to the ones I took 1 day before the surgery so you can see the huge difference now in spite of swelling. I am happy with the results and it's only going to get better!
Embrace and Cami
Well I'm so happy to say that something has happened between yesterday and today! I truly believe that it was the lymphatic massage I had yesterday morning for the first time. My swelling has diminished a lot AND I have amazing energy. These are pictures of the Embrace scar therapy I started 2 days ago, and a picture of the camisole I absolutely love.
2 months
Yay! Amazing how you think this is never going to end, and then one day, all is better. 2 months and doing so much better. Ok, here's the deal: I'm finally wearing my VERY FIRST BIKINI at 63 years old! I've got to admit though, i feel half naked. And I'm not a prude! You know those dreams you have where you're naked in public and that horrible horrible helpless feeling and you can't cover up? Something like that.
Hi ya'll
It's been a month since I've posted so here's an update. I'm coming up on 3 months post op in 3 days, and my recovery has been getting better and better. I still have a little bit of swelling above and below my belly button, at least I HOPE it's just swelling and not permanent! Just kidding because even if that were to be the case, I am NOT complaining because this new me is a million times better than before! Seriously! I was looking at my before pictures and wow, I had some major fat going on! I weighed 142 lbs the day of my tt, and I've been holding steady at 138 since then. You know how some say that it's not the number on the scale that's important, but how your clothes fit? Well I must be living proof because I've only lost 4 lbs., and have gone down only 1 size, but my clothes fit sooooooo much better and I FEEL so much happier with my body! I had tried in the past to do the look in the mirror while naked and tell myself "I love my beautiful body" affirmation - but I never convinced myself. Who was I kidding! Ha! Now, I personally think that my belly button is a little bit on the smaller side but I like it like this. My scar is very thin and flat, my panties cover it up well - Dr. Bermudez did an amazing job sewing me up! As I am on the brown side of the color scale, it is still red, but I am applying HYDROQUINONE 4% cream on it every day per his instructions. I was not familiar with this cream before (it bleaches/lightens the skin). My energy level is excellent, although I find that there are still some body movements or stretches that I still can't completely manage comfortably. The belly numbness abates a bit every day, and some days are better than others regarding the "tight stomach" feeling. I hope that all you post op folks are doing well no matter what stage of healing you're in. Some seem to just sail right through it, while some of us have a harder time. I was one of those but look at me now! It was SO worth it! My good luck wishes, support and prayers go out to all who are reading this and are perhaps apprehensive or scared..... juxtaposed with excited anticipation! I've posted some pictures I took this morning. For the record, I am looking forward to turning 64 in 2 months.
Been a while!
Hi everyone old and new! It's been quite a while since I wrote an update and so here I am and with current pictures. I'm feeling great, and I think I am looking pretty fabulous considering I'm a senior. I'll be more thorough in my next post - right now I've got to get back to work! I've put off posting pictures because "I'm always so busy!" Hope you are all doing great and enjoying your new bodies!
Tight stomach feeling.
I read a recent post addressing the tight feeling in the stomach. It's been 6 months for me now, and yes, my tummy is still a little numb but I sure can relate to the tight feeling! Personally, it doesn't bother me. It did in the beginning, but I have become accustomed to the tightness. Also, I am just SO happy with my new stomach. I started printing pictures of my stomach the day before my surgery and then as weeks went by. I tell you, whenever I start to get a little picky about minuscule "things" or "flaws" that I perceive, I take out the pictures and line them up on my dining room table. I become grateful right away. To all of you who have their surgeries coming up, I wish you the best and a speedy and recovery. To all my fellow tummy tuckers, we did good!! There is not ONE picture I've seen on RS that was not beautiful.
Updated pictures.
Hi everyone. Well, today is 9 months since my tt with flank lipo. I can't believe how time has gone by! I'm doing pretty well, and I must say that the only thing that bothers me a bit is that I wish my waist was more defined. As far as the stomach tightness is concerned, yup, it's still there! My problem is that when I try to do sit-ups, I end up with lower back ache the next day. I try to "hold my belly button to the floor", but I guess that with the numbness and tight feeling, I must not be tightening my stomach muscles enough. I feel like I am getting soft since I don't do ANY type of excercise, but honestly, I just can't seem to get motivated! Anybody else having this problem? I'm just so afraid that I'm going to end up with rolls again! I love not feeling the rolls when I sit down. as far as the scar itself, it's slowly slowly fading. I put Hydroquinone cream on it every day per my surgeon. He had told me that because I have olive skin, it would take longer for my scar to fade. This however, is the least of my concerns! Overall, happy!
1 Year Post Op
Wow! I just can't believe that a whole year has already gone by since I had my tummy tuck with muscle repair. I've been so busy with family matters that I've not been posting like I would have liked to. In addition, Iv'e been having major upper respiratory problems. But here I am now with pictures I just took today. My healing has gone well considering Iv'e going back and forth between gaining and then losing 3-4 lbs. BUT, I have not done ANY form of excercise for the entire year. I just started riding my bike again a couple of days ago, and considering my quiescent year, I rode 26 miles! Yay for me!! Ok ladies (and gents), ta da!!!! I will be turning 65 years old in 4 months - I've been receiving TONS of Medicare mail, and I am going to be officially a senior, so not bad right? I mean starting my riding again and still looking pretty good if I say so myself! Here's what I have going in my favor: I had an expert and meticulous PS. I have really good genes. I have olive skin. I love my belly button. My metabolism hasn't slowed down too much considering getting oooold. And my body has good memory when it comes to starting to excercise again after such a long time. Now, for the cons: I feel like I've gotten a little "soft" if you know what I mean. I am not as toned as I'd like to be. I've done nothing, no sit-ups, no stretching, I'm not a walker, no gym, zilch, nada. Now, remember the tightness that somebody on this site was bothered with? After a year, I still have it. It's like a constant reminder to suck my stomach in! Who knows, maybe subconsciously, I HAVE been doing a little form of tummy control excercise all this time!! Also, my scar is still quite visible as you can see. This doesn't bother me in the least. My panties cover it very well and the only person who sees it is my wife. She doesn't care and has been nothing but supportive of me throughout this journey. We just celebrated our 18th year anniversary in February! I knew going in that my scar would take a looooong time to fade because of my olive skin. Dr. Bermudez was very forthcoming with me in giving me all the info, good and bad, that I needed In order to make my decision to go ahead with this surgery or not. So that's it for now my fellow tummy tuckers - I hope this update helps those who are considering this surgery, and it is my sincere desire that all the rest of you, whether you're having your surgery tomorrow, next week, next month. -- are ALREADY post op and in the healing stages. -- or are my fellow June 2015 sisters and brothers, love and listen to your bodies and do what's right for YOU.
P. S.
Forgot: remember those genes I mentioned? I still don't have ANY grey hair (except a few where the sun don't shine), I hardly have any face wrinkles, and today I went and got my nails painted. I NEVER EVER paint my nails. Conservative for my feet. Boooooooooold and crazy for my hands! I'm SO tempted to take it off..........my pretty hands are the only thing that really tells my age!
65 year old
It's been quite a while since I posted. I had a tt with muscle repair 1 year and 9 months ago. Can't believe I'm coming up on my 2 year anniversary! I've stayed pretty consistent as far as weight, and I'm embarrassed to say, lack of exercise. I've been reading on RS how many people still have post op tightness of the abdomen. I still do. More than numbness, it's actually a tightness that just hasn't abated. Quite frankly though, it's not a big deal for me. I'm just so happy with the results that this is not an issue. That doesn't mean however, that I'm not empathetic to those who feel this is a problem for them. Aside from this tightness, I'm very happy with the results. I'm 65 (and 1/2), and I've never been happier with the way I look. My best wishes to all of you who are thinking of having this procedure, or who are in the process of healing! Here I am as of today.
I'm so glad that I chose Dr. Bermudez to do my tummy tuck with muscle repair and flank liposuction. It's been a little over 5 months now, and the results are absolutely great! From the beginning, he explained the procedure and the WHY. You see, when I initially consulted with him, I had planned to only get liposuction. Dr. Bermudez was thorough in giving me information that I needed in order to make a decision as to what would be most beneficial and permanent. I love how I look, and I love how he is a perfectionist. I highly recommend Dr. Bermudez.
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