POSTED UNDER Tummy Tuck REVIEWS
4 weeks out - gets better every day
ORIGINAL POST
I am 34 year old mother of 2. My kids are 12 and...
WORTH IT$7,100
I am 34 year old mother of 2. My kids are 12 and 10. I've wanted to have this surgery done since having my second child. I am 5'6" and am currently 127 pounds. When I was pregnant with my children I gained about 75 pounds each time. My skin has little to no elasticity and I was left with a lot of extra, sagging skin, as well as a split abdominal wall. About 4 years ago I scheduled a breast augmentation and a tummy tuck. After looking at pictures of the scars, the drainage tubes, and reading about the recovery of the tummy tuck - I chickened out and only did the breast augmentation.
So here it is, 4 years later, and my stomach still bothers me beyond words. I can't wear a 2 piece swimsuit and the fold of skin shows through tighter clothes. It also looks like a fat roll above my jeans. I've decided again to schedule a consultation, which is this Friday, February 8.
I've spent the weekend reading this sight and I'm starting to get really scared again. The recovery period just seems so long. Not driving for 2 weeks? I'm not sure what I'll do. My boyfriend whom I live with is too busy with his job (he's a physician) to be able to help much with the kids and their dad isn't very involved - so as a stay at home mom it scares me to be out of commission for that long.
If anyone has any "I'm so glad I did it" stories, I'd love to hear them. I'll update after my visit on Friday and, hopefully, will have been brave enough to schedule my surgery.
bestme's provider
Replies (17)
February 7, 2013
Hey! I have my consultation tomorrow with dr. Price. If you keep reading these posts you will become much more comfortable with it. I will be checking on you!!!! Good luck Friday and let me know how it goes. You can do this!
February 7, 2013
Great! We can be TT buddies :). I'm so nervous but the fact that 95% of the people on here say it's worth it in the long run makes me feel better. Surely I can deal with a few months of "yuck" to feel confident about my stomach the rest of my life, right? Lol!
February 7, 2013
Let me know when your surgery is. Since they are in the same office for the support we could schedule ours on the same day!!! To be nervous is common with everybody.... But I keep focused on my Bikini this summer!!! I have done about 20 hours of reading on complications... It appears that anything serious is very rare. And since the PS we are going to have great credentials. So we should be just fine!!!!
February 7, 2013
Great! I'll let you know after my visit tomorrow when he's looking to schedule me. I've had a few friends try to talk me out of it the last few days. What I'm learning is it's like childbirth, everyone wants to tell you their horror stories!! I'm trying to have realistic expectations about the recovery time and process - like you I just keep picturing a 2 piece :)
February 7, 2013
I have moved my surgery up to March 5th. Don't let your friends talk you out of it. Many people who are not educated on the matter or who have heard one bad story about TT are totally against it. There are so many success stories out there and it is going to change your life! Just be happy we aren't one of those people going to someone who offers cheap deals or going to Mexico. WE are going to great surgeons who are experts in this!!! Let me know how your consult went. Good luck! Don't be scared, I hope I have news tomorrow that you put down your $200 surgery deposit:)
February 8, 2013
How did your visit go today? I have been thinking about you! Please let me know.--Hillary
February 9, 2013
My visit went really, really well! Dr. Shaw is awesome. He answered my questions and made me feel much more at ease about the whole process. SCHEDULED!! March 6 :)
February 9, 2013
Yay! I am soooo excited! My date was on March 6th, but has been moved up to March 5th! That would have been awesome if we were going in together! I am so excited for you...And me! LOL
February 9, 2013
Is he doing yours at Cox or a surgery center? He is doing mine at the hospital and having me stay overnight.
February 9, 2013
I wonder why. I had to cancel my consultation and moved it to this Wednesday. I have already put my deposit down though. I will let you know what Dr. Price wants to do with me. Did he tell you why he wanted you to stay overnight?
February 9, 2013
I live in Joplin so its an hour away. He just said that he'd feel better knowing that I don't have to make the hour drive home right after and that I'd have someone taking care of me. (My bf is on call so he could be gone all night.) He's just doing the TT, maybe some muscle work, but he said that should be minimal. The total for him, hospital, everything is $7100.
February 10, 2013
Mine is an overnighter as well, in the hospital instead of the office suite.
February 10, 2013
Thats good to hear - in reading stories I didn't see that anyone was staying overnight. I don't mind it at all, I'm nervous so being in a hospital close to pain meds it ok by me!
UPDATED FROM bestme
25 days pre
UPDATE: I had my consultation yesterday with Dr....
UPDATE: I had my consultation yesterday with Dr. Shaw. I couldn't sleep the night before, I kept having nightmares about having the surgery and things going wrong. When I got to his office building, I was so nervous that I walked into the mens bathroom instead of the womens! Haha!
The appointment went very well. He answered all my questions and concerns, and there were many, very thoroughly and honestly. He showed me where the scar would be (I was concerned about it being too high). He also told me that many of his patients who have had c-sections say the pain/discomfort associated with a TT is not as bad as with the c-section. This made me feel much better. I figure if I can survive 2 c-sections, then I can survive this!
He said because I'm physically fit and in good health then I'm an ideal candidate. He also said that despite what I've been told in the past, my muscles are not as "split" as I thought and I won't need much muscle work done. He said that I will have to wait 6 weeks to go back to my spin class (which I'm a little obsessed with) but that's not as long as I was afraid I'd have to wait.
The biggest thing he told me was that he wanted to do my surgery in the hospital, rather than his surgery center, and that I would be staying overnight. He said that because I live an hour away and don't really have anyone to "care for me" that night, that he'd prefer it that way. I agreed. I'm all about having a nurse there the first night to make sure I'm not in pain!
So surgery is SCHEDULED! March 6!! I'm so excited - I can hardly wait. Scared, excited, nervous, happy - so many emotions. I just have to not psych myself out the next 23 days...
The appointment went very well. He answered all my questions and concerns, and there were many, very thoroughly and honestly. He showed me where the scar would be (I was concerned about it being too high). He also told me that many of his patients who have had c-sections say the pain/discomfort associated with a TT is not as bad as with the c-section. This made me feel much better. I figure if I can survive 2 c-sections, then I can survive this!
He said because I'm physically fit and in good health then I'm an ideal candidate. He also said that despite what I've been told in the past, my muscles are not as "split" as I thought and I won't need much muscle work done. He said that I will have to wait 6 weeks to go back to my spin class (which I'm a little obsessed with) but that's not as long as I was afraid I'd have to wait.
The biggest thing he told me was that he wanted to do my surgery in the hospital, rather than his surgery center, and that I would be staying overnight. He said that because I live an hour away and don't really have anyone to "care for me" that night, that he'd prefer it that way. I agreed. I'm all about having a nurse there the first night to make sure I'm not in pain!
So surgery is SCHEDULED! March 6!! I'm so excited - I can hardly wait. Scared, excited, nervous, happy - so many emotions. I just have to not psych myself out the next 23 days...
Replies (8)
February 9, 2013
My visit went really, really well! Dr. Shaw is awesome. He answered my questions and made me feel much more at ease about the whole process. SCHEDULED!! March 6 :)
February 13, 2013
Hey, I have been to my consultation. My surgery is scheduled for March 5th, I am the 4th person to go in. I am having breast augmentation, lipo my hips and a little on my back. Dr. Price was great! I will have two drains. Both will have to be kept in for 7 days. He may remove one of them after 7 days however, at least one will be in for 10 days. My surgery is going to be done on an outpatient basis. I think your doctor is having you stay because you do live an hour away. How are you doing with everything? Are you holding up well?
February 14, 2013
Yeah I think that's why he's keeping me overnight - mainly because I live an hour away. I'm doing well - working my butt off 4 nights a week in spin class and really watching what I eat. I want to make sure he can get every extra inch of skin there is! LOL!
February 14, 2013
Geez I wish I had that much enthusiasm. Since we are doing lipo on my hips, stomach and back. I am kinda enjoying myself and not running like I normally do!!! I am still trying to lose 5 pounds before my surgery so I will have better outcome....But once I think about it, what is 5 pounds really going to make better? If I was only doing TT, I would take try to very hard to lose the weight.
February 15, 2013
Enthusiasm/obession... depends on who you ask! LOL! I scheduled my pre-op yesterday. They are going to do it over the phone since I live too far away - which I'm very thankful for!
February 13, 2013
Also, I forgot to tell you that Dr. Price doesn't think my muscles will need repair by the physical examination. He said that once he gets into surgery then he will be able to tell. So that is still up in the air.
UPDATED FROM bestme
19 days pre
Made my pre-op appoitment yesterday! Schedule for...
Made my pre-op appoitment yesterday! Schedule for the Monday before the surgery. They are going to do it over the phone to save me another trip down there. I signed up to be my daughters' teams volleyball coach - and then on the way home realized that I'll be having my surgery during the season. I'm hoping I'll only be "really down" for no more than a week or so - but I guess we'll see. That's also why I'm working out so hard - he said the better shape I'm in, the quicker I will recover. So have been hitting the gym 4 days a week. So excited!!! Hurry up March 6!!!
Replies (5)
February 15, 2013
I am at 2 1/2 weeks post op right now and I was only really down and out for about a week. I went back to work after 7 days. The only thing I have going on now is it hurts to sneeze. Not super bad but enough to where I hold in my sneezes. That and I am swollen to all heck! But I feel fine. Like you I am 5ft 5 in and I weigh 118. I think that being in fairly decent shape before hand helped out. I dont work out like you do ( in fact I dont work out ever ha ha) but I try to stay active with the kids. Good luck!
February 15, 2013
Thanks for that! Good to know that I can (hopefully) be up and around after about a week. Both my kids are involved in so many activities - if I'm down too long I don't know what I would do! I'm trying to get down to 120 before my surgery - at 125 for the past 2 weeks and things just aren't budging. I know I've put on muscle but still aggravating! Lol! So you're happy with your results so far??
February 15, 2013
I am very happy so far. I am just getting impatient with the swelling. I know I have a long time to go before it goes away but that is the only thing that I am annoyed with. But honestly, I would rather have swelling than that horrible saggy skin I had before.
February 15, 2013
I looked at your before pics and it looks just like mine! I hope I have results as good as yours!
This is the best thing I ever did for myself!! Â And I would do it all over again if necessary. Â Yes, the recovery is long and hard but so worth it. Â Everyone is different so what was hard for me may be easy for you. Â
Keep moving forward towards the body you have wanted for a long time. Â It's time to reclaim "You".