Been talking about a tummy tuck for years. Now that my husband and I are finished building our family, I figured it's now or never! So, I did it! Along with some lips on my putter thighs. Now here I am 9 days post op. The first week was a *itch! Much more painful than I expected and I am no wimp. The pain meds constipated me so badly I thought I would die. Stopped my pain meds because of this and went to Tylenol. This did nothing for the swelling. Day 8 was an emotional day. Looking at myself in the mirror was REALLY tough. I was really down about this whole experience. Today, Day 9 I think I have turned a corner. Went out with my husband and kids for a few hours and almost felt normal. First thing I would definitely recommend is a walker! saved my poor back from ALOT of pain! Laxatives are a must & Advil, TG for ibuprofen :)
45 Year Old Mom of 2
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arasm226
- Worth It
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Cost:
$12,700 - Stamford, CT
10 days post op
OK, so here we are at day 10. I'm hoping the next 6 mos go that quickly! Swelling is down a bit but still have a ways to go. Started wearing a cami under my compression garment.....wow! what a difference :) much more comfortable :) Looking forward to checking in with my doctor on Friday. Hoping I can start wearing a silicone strip next week. We'll see. All in all feeling really good. Trying to get used to that "tight" feeling but it's soooooo weird feeling. I would love to ask someone who is a year or more out if that feeling goes away.
day 11 PO
Feeling pretty good today. after I showered I was able to get right back into my CG without any difficulty. Didn't have to tug to hard for the clips and it zipped right up with no problem :) I've started wearing a cami under the CG and it's so much more comfortable now. Well, as comfortable as it can be. The zippers on the sides are the worst! Can't wait until my Dr says I can wear something a little less cumbersome. Not really having any pain but continue to swell in the evenings. Still rather hunched over. Also having to keep reminding myself to go slow and take rest breaks is a real pain in the butt for me.....but it's ok.....It's not forever and a small price to pay.
Day12 PO
Feel ok today. Yesterday was my first day back to driving the kids around. I was exhausted by the end of the day! & I mean exhausted! Planning on working in a nap during the day. Didn't have too much swelling last night and that made me happy. Can't wait to check in for my 2 week visit.
Day 13 PO
Today was a good day until I sat in traffic for 2.5 hours. THAT wasn't fun......holy swelling. Goodness I was uncomfortable. Taking a shower was great today. I actually enjoyed it and didn't rush thru it. Up until today I've been in panic mode when I've taken off my CG. So, needless to say, this was a nice milestone for me. Tomorrow is my 2 week followup. I can't believe it's been 2 weeks already. Need to have some stitches removed from my belly button, TG my tummy is still numb. So I shouldn't feel a thing :) Crossing fingers that he'll let me wear something other than this CG. We'll see! I'll take a new 14 day pic tomorrow and post it. It's fun tracking my progress!
Day 14 PO- 2 weeks!!! yay!!!
I swear every day under my belt is such a huge thing to me these days :) Feeling good today. My doctor is super happy with my incision, which I too think looks fantastic. He removed the remaining stitches in my belly button & he reported that looks awesome as well :) Says I'm healing really really well :) He liked the feel of my stomach and said everything is right on course. Swelling will continue to decrease. So happy :) Told me to continue to go easy. No lifting beyond 15 lbs for another 2 weeks and I have to wear this compression garment for 1 more week. I suppose I can live with that :) Also cleared me for having a nice glass of wine this evening :) I detoxed off of alcohol 2 weeks before surgery, so I'm really looking forward to a nice glass of vino this evening to celebrate :) Heres some new pics marking my 14 days. don't think I see much difference from the 10 day but the bruising is much better on my thighs. The back of my thighs are REALLY bruised but can't get a pic of that on my own...sorry! What do ya think?
16 Days PO
Still feeling better every day. Last night my public area (where the drain were) were very sore and causing my some pain. Weird? I'll have to keep an eye on that. Not bothering me today. I still get tired very easily. I went out and did some shopping yesterday with my daughter. We were out for a long stretch of time. I was a little tired. This morning I woke up feeling great, had breakfast, then suddenly was exhausted. Went back to bed and slept for 2 hours! Guess I needed it :) I'm wearing my regular clothing without a problem, which I'm happy about. I didn't do any of this to lose weight. I'm perfectly happy with my weight (5'2, 126lbs) I did this to clean myself up. I love my clothing and don't want to have to replace everything.....although my doctor seems to think I'll be going down a few dress sizes. We'll see, I suppose there are worse things that could happen to a gal :)
19 days PO
Well! I'm feeling great today. Today was the first day that I had no swelling! it was GREAT! Oddly enough I started my cycle today, so I was expecting to be bloated. I'm hoping things stay this way :) Ive been trying to eat lots of protein and making sure I drink LOTS of water. One thing I will mention is my public area, right side seems a bit puffy. Left side is flat, I'm hoping it's not fluid, but can fluid even build up there? I'm hoping that goes down on it's own. Other than that, my incision looks great and so does my belly button. Other than the fatigue I'm stating to really feel better :)
Day 20 PO
OK, so! I feel good AND I feel bad. The good, the swelling has really tapered off, which I'm thrilled about. I'm not using my walker or shower seat any longer and I fit in all of my clothing. Now the bad, The past 2 days I have had extreme fatigue. I feel narcoleptic! I have been sleeping like crazy. Then after my shower today I noticed that a spot on my incision was a little red and had two little white spots. I took a pic and sent it to my dr. I'm not having chills & no fever. The spot is not painful at all. So, the doctor has put me on a strong antibiotic for the next 5 days and he wants me to out bacitracin on it once a day. Really hoping that this isn't something to be worried about. I'm trying to not over think it and worry too much about it. I hope these meds get rid of whatever is brewing. I'm going to take it extra easy until this clears up.
Day 22 PO
Wooohooo! out if my compression garment today! I finally hit the 3 wks mark yesterday! Just wearing control top underwear today and it feels great! I hated that CG. The lipo on my thighs feel so strange to not have them held tight with the CG. Legs are still REALLY sore. Really hurts to sit down. So happy for this milestone :) The antibiotics I'm taking are messing with my stomach but they are needed. My incision is looking much better. Not redness anymore but still have some white puss spots. I'm cleaning it twice a day with wound wash and applying bacitracin daily. I'm also not feeling so, so tired anymore. I see my doctor next Thursday for a follow up. Really hoping the infection clears up by then. Wearing a pair of my favorite pants today and they feel too big now! This makes me happy AND sad. I LOVE my clothing, but now I'm thinking I may need to buy some new things...... bittersweet :) As I mentioned before, I didn't do these procedures to lose weight. I did it to contour my figure. Just wanted to even things out a bit and target my problem, exercise resistant spots. Oh well, shopping is my passion, so I'll have no problem buying new things :) My husband on the other hand won't be so thrilled...LOL!
Day 23 PO
OK, I'm so over "resting" but my body clearly isn't. I've always been someone who heals and bounces back really quickly, so this recovery is REALLY frustrating to me. I just want to hop back into my normal life and I just can't. Everything is exhausting and everyday I wake up and hope that today is the day.....the day I'm normal again. Typically I'm a happy, fast paced person. My glass is always half full, never half empty.....but this, this is really testing me! I'm bored, totally bored. My husband is at his wits end with having to do everything around the house and for me, not to mention that he's always worried about me and how I'm healing. See, I'm the bulldog in the house. I take care of everything and everyone, so now that I'm down, they don't know what to make of it. This part of the equation is hard to me as well. Now as for the infection, I believe the meds are working. My incision goods better. All of the redness is gone and the white spots are fading. The meds make me feels sick to my stomach but the last thing I want is some major infection so I'm dealing with the stomach issues and I'm resting, resting, resting. See my doctor told me to "take it easy" what exactly does that mean? to me, it means slow down, do what you have to do, just slower. Apparently, my hubby, sister, and BBF have a different idea of what take it easy means and they think I have been doing too much. So, I tried it my way and ended up on antibiotics, now I'll try it their way. Sorry for the rant, it's one of those morning and this blog is my only saving grace :)
Day 25 PO
Today is a good day :) I like good days. So, I was really excited to bust out the granny panties the other day but soon found that my thighs are much happier in a pair of spanx. My thighs clearly like to be hugged these days. Seems to help with the pain. My incision is looking better and better every day. I'm really looking forward to seeing my doctor Thursday. I think it will put my mind at ease after he has seen it in person. Now originally he told me that I could resume activity after 4 weeks. We'll see if he's singing the same tune in a few days. I have been dying to get back on the golf course. I don't think I'm ready to play just yet but I'd be really happy if I could just go practice my putting . Crossing fingers. Then I also have a big trip to Cali coming up in 2 weeks. God, I really hope I'm up for that.....but hey, a lot can change in 2 weeks, right? My tt isn't causing me any pain. The lipo on the other hand is a *itch! but at least it seems the pain with that is getting better, just VERY slowly. I'm also ready to resume relations with my hubby, at least my mind wants too.....my body, not so sure! I'm really nervous about sex. I've read on here that some woman jump right back into it. I am totally afraid to try and I think my husband is even more nervous about than I am. Needless to say, I'm going to continue with NOT doing that just yet. My stomach is still pretty numb and my belly button looks weird. My daughter saw it the other day and the look on her face was pretty funny. I'm wondering if it will change from the way it looks now, guess I could ask the doctor. I hope he says yes. Does anyone else feel like their tummy isn't theirs? I swear, it just doesn't feel like it's mine. I know this sounds very strange but ti's true. I think it must be the numbness thats causing this disconnect for me.
1 month PO
Wow! where did the month go?! In one breath it feels like my surgery was a million years ago and the next breath like it was just yesterday! Does that make any sense? LOL. Anyway! I saw my Dr this morning. He is more than pleased with my results. He tells me that I do not need anymore antibiotics! today is the last day of those :) yay!! He said the area that was red was my wound opening but it was a very little bit, so he's not concerned. It is not infected :) Doesn't want me to use any scar care on it yet until this wound area is completely healed. He does want me to massage a little vitamin E on the ends of the scar every day. There is a little puckering but it's very little and he said it will even out over time with the massage. I'm not too worried. He's super happy with the lipo and said that my thighs will continue to improve over the next few months :) he told me to massage those as well. I got the OK to walk! up to a mile, slowly. No power walking. I also can go to the golf course and practice my putting! THIS makes me super happy because I LOVE playing golf and have really been missing it. Hoping I can actually play in a couple weeks. I also got the go ahead for sex! eek! this makes me happy AND scared. I'm thinking I'll wait until the open wound is completely healed for that! My husband is still way too worried about me to even try that yet. Last night was the first time I was able to snuggle up to him in bed, it was so nice. We're a very affectionate couple & I've missed him a lot. I'm feeling pretty darn good today and I'm happy to report that my swelling has really been very minimal the past few days :) I hope it stays that way. I'e been wearing a light pair of spanx everyday, not for my tummy. That doesn't bother me at all. Its for my thighs, I'm still having a lot of pain from the lipo and the span help with that a lot. I just ordered bathing suit for my upcoming trip, I can't wait to try it on :) I want to post some pics but seem to be having a problem. I'm gonna try again later.....
5 weeks PO
Wow! Seems like yesterday that I was dreaming of hitting this marker! I'm feeling really good. Not really wearing my spanx on a regular basis anymore. I will say that my legs feel better when I do. The lipo areas are still really sore and tender. Just as ALL the time anymore. Hopefully next month they will be a faint memory. My stomach is doing well. The tightness is pretty much gone for the most part. I still feel swelling at the end of the night. But it's deal able now and doesn't really bother me anymore. I'm not on this site a million times a day which tells me I'm not thinking about it every second of my day anymore. Thank God! My incision is still a little tender and the numbness has subsided a bit. My public area where the drains were are still very sensitive to the touch. I still feel pretty tired by the end of my day. That's improved, but still an issue. Haven't started back at working out just yet but plan to get going in that department very soon. That's about it for now. Hope everyone is doing as well with the road to recovery. Once again I'm having issue with loading my pics. Pics to follow.....
7 Weeks PO
Tomorrow makes 7 weeks. WOW! just can't believe it's been 7 weeks. I really can't. I'm going to take some new pics in the morning and post them. I went to see my dr today. He's pleased with my progress and given me the ok to start my scar treatment. So, I've begun to use my silicone strips today :) I also got the ok to exercise, run, play golf. Only restriction is specific ab work. I will not be busting out the bikini this summer. Dr. doesn't want any of my scars in the sun at all. I'm ok with that. I feel really good now. Fatigue has subsided and my swelling is great now. I usually get a little swollen around the scar in the evenings but it's no big deal at all. My legs still hurt a lot from the lipo and the doctor tells me that could last for a few months. Its rather annoying but it's worth it. I also spoke to my dr about my love handles or my bumps as I call them. I hate them now. I guess now that my waist and my butt/thighs are smaller the bumps really stick out...ugh. Doc tells me lipo would be the best way to fix that but there is no way I'm doing more lipo now that I know how much the recovery from it hurts. So looks like I'll be cool sculpting the bumps. He seems to think I can get the result that I'm looking for from that and it's non invasive and no down time. I wish I would have thought about this before my surgery so I could have lipo'd it then : Anyway, the numbness is still there on my tummy, although i think it's gotten a bit better. I still get weird pains in my public area at random times but for the most part I'm pretty much feeling good. I think it's safe to say the worst is OVER :) I don't go back to my Dr for 2 months :) Like I mentioned I'll post updated pics tomorrow.
Before & after-7wks out
Before & after photos always seem to make me feel a bit better about things. I must keep this picture around when I am complaining about my bumps (AKA love handles).
9 week PO update
OK, so 9 weeks out is a good spot. I pretty much feel normal. I don't really have any swelling. Just a little below and above my incision at night. The tightness has eased up a lot. My clothing fits fine. My dress collection has me a bit down using as nothing fits that well anymore. I need to go down a size because of my waist. Even XS is too big. I know, i know, there are worse things in life to be sad about....but you haven't seen my dress collection....it's pretty amazing. Definitely feel like I've had a butt lift. I've always had a big butt and have never liked it....this has not changed for me..LOL. I love, love, love my flat tummy! I love that I can wear a tight shirt, bend over and not have a big roll. Its awesome. I'm a little concerned with my belly button scar. My belly button is pretty dark now. Hoping that will get better or at least improve a good deal over time. I wearing a one piece bathing suit this summer. I don't want ANY sun to touch these scars for a good long while! I'm using silicone strips but to be honest they are a pain in the butt. I've been out of control tops for a few weeks now which it GREAT! I feel completely fine in regular underwear now. I've also spoken to my Doc about doing some cool sculpting on my love handles. They gotta go. I'm planning on doing that in September when my kiddos are back in school. Nothing else to report. I'm so happy I did this for myself
10 weeks PO
Feeling good. My stomach is still pretty numb and if feels "fake" because it's soooo tight. Still have a little swelling above & under my incision. My scar is looking good but still concerned about my BB scar. Trying not to think about that until next summer. I know I need to give it a lot of time and scar therapy. I'm going to be scheduling my cool sculpting for September. I'm very nervous about it.
12 wks PO
3 months! All is pretty good. Still swell a bit daily. Usually starts around 4ish. It's dealable. Just recently I have started having some weird pains on the right side on my incision when I go to sleep at night. I usually sleep on my right side and I'm finding that I can't do that now. Need to sleep on my back. I'm thinking it's just still healing. I'll mention it to the Dr if it continues. You'll notice my stomach is pretty white in these pics I'm posting. The one piece bathing suit I'm wearing these days makes for a very white tummy :)
16 wks (4 mos) PO!
Wow! 4 months....really?! I'm feeling great. Still swelling a little now and then, mostly in the evening. Nothing thats too bad , but the skin on my stomach gets pretty tight and that feels a little uncomfortable. I'm finding that the skin on my stomach is finally feeling softer and I'm so happy about that because before it was soooooo tight it just didn't feel real and I think it looked "waxy". So it's finely starting to feel like my stomach. My belly button is also starting to look and feel better. I was so scared that it was going to remain that ugly hole. I just hope the dark pigment lightens up a bit. I haven't been wearing any compression for a long time now. I just don't need it. The scar is looking good and I'm still wearing the silicone strips on them. I'm going for my 4 month follow up on Monday and while I'm there I'm having cool sculpting on my love handles. I'm nervous about doing it but I really hope it helps my bumps because I just hate them......the thought of doing lipo on them make me cringe. No way I'm doing that again. Don't get me wrong, it was totally worth it but the recovery with lipo SUX. I'm posting some new pics but I've taken them just now and it's 4pm so I'm a little swollen from the day.
Cool sculpting!
Finally had my cool sculpting done on my love handles! I didn't find it to hurt at all. Even the massage that everyone seems to complain about was a breeze for me :) I will say that when my skin started to warm up, that was a little uncomfortable but it wasn't too bad and it passed quickly, maybe 10 minutes at best. The treated areas are still a little sore and it's been almost 2 weeks now. Dr told me to forget about it for at least 2 months. I hate having to wait 2 months to start seeing results :( maybe it's in my head but I think I already see a difference :) I'll post some more pics in a couple weeks.
1 year later
Well, it's been a year! I feel good. I love my flat stomach & am so happy with my result. I expected more from the lipo on my thighs and I now have a dimple on each thigh that I hate BUT my thighs are better than they were, so I dont regret doing it. My scar looks pretty good. I always have issues with scars due to my dark skin. I'm still spitting stitches and my doctor tells me that can happen for up to 4 years! Not really a big deal. All in all it was worth it.
