3 weeks after Sugery

This has been quite an experience but one I would not have traded for the world. I have not gone back to work yet because I am still not completely upright and walking long distances is quite a challenge. I cannot imagine showing houses. The swelling is more than I expected and lasting longer than I ever thought. I think I wasn't listening that day. This is taking a lot more out of me than I thought it would. I thought I would bounce back in a week to 10 days. Part of that is my fault. I was not in shape when I had the surgery and that would have helped. Also, the lipo of the back and the bleph on top of the tummy tuck was a lot. My stomach is still so tight feeling making it hard to stand straight up. The scar still scares me but I am doing a VBeam laser on it on Monday which will help flatten it out some. Dr. Hunstad's staff has been absolutely wonderful. Dr. Knott is fantastic and has been so wonderful to me! I have has trouble finding the Spanx I need to wear everyday and I wish I had done all that before the surgery as well as bought more clothes that had no waistbands. Dr. Knott assures me the result at 3 months will be well worth it and that I look great for where I am. I plan on going back to work on Tuesday and I am looking forward to getting back into it. This has changed so many things in my life and shown me just how strong I am. I will never regret having the surgery or the choosing Dr. Hunstad!

I have waited over 10 years to have a tummy tuck with. I turned 44 yrs old 2 days after my surgery which was August 13, 2012. I have three girls that are 16, 14, and 11. I had scheduled and cancelled the surgery about 5 times. I was scared to death. However, I hated my stomach, mainly due to liposuction indentions. The way my stomach looked kept me from enjoying the pool and beach with my children. I also had indentions in my buttocks. I had consulted with several surgeons and knew that Dr. Joseph Hunstad was the only surgeon I would want to do the procedure. He and his staff have been super over the last few years as I scheduled and then cancelled, rescheduled and had to cancel again. Finally, I went through with it on Monday. My surgery was at 1pm and scheduled to last 6 hours. He did a full abdominoplasty with muscle plication, liposuction of stomach, full back, arm pits, fat grafting to buttocks and lower eyes. I knew if I didn't do it then I probably never would. I stayed at his facility that night and a hotel close by until Friday. Honestly, the worst part was the nausea I felt. I had a pain pump and two drains. I only have one drain now which will come out Monday. I have had very little pain medication. It is very tight and I am bruised by the lipo and eyes. Thursday, I felt 200% better after the nausea finally went away. Today, the worst for me is my back. My stomach doesn't really hurt. I am SO GLAD I finally had it done. There is still a lot of swelling but the scar(which scared me as much as the surgery), already looks better that I thought it would! Dr. Hunstad prides himself on his scars and creations of belly buttons! I chose him for that reason as well as knowing he had done so many tummy tucks that he would be well prepared for any possible complication. Plus, he is so reassuring and comforting, taking time to answer any question I may have at any point up until the time I went to sleep! I cannot say enough how happy I am that I finally did it and how much I know it will change my life for the better! I will post pictures Monday and follow with more updates!