Finally! Plastics time! Tell me everything!

[JamieLogical 8,684]

Also is there anyone here that had a TT and regained weight? How does that work? Does your tummy stretch again or do you gain and become out of proportion?

Here is what I looked like at my highest weight pre-TT at 265 pounds:

I then had my Tummy Tuck done at 180 pounds, but regained most of the weight before being sleeved.

Here is what I looked like pre-sleeve at about 240 pounds:

So, you can see that even with the regained weight, my stomach remained very flat. I put most of my weight back on in my butt, thighs, hips, and back.

Here is what I looked like at goal of 165 after re-losing the weight with my sleeve:

[NewSetOfCurves 1,553]

@@Daisee68, I think it is doable! You stay two nights, in the hospital. You leave with some serious drugs in your system. So, you will most likely sleep the whole way back. My husband filled my pain medication prescription while I was still in the hospital. Whoever is traveling with you could do the same for you, and you could take you next dose on the road. The hospital that Dr. Fisher operates at, has single recovery suites that have a "room within a room" to house whomever is staying with you. That way they can sleep through the night and rest, and not have to endure the comings and goings of the nursing staff throughout the night. I had a two hour drive home and I slept through it. When I arrived home, I went right back to sleep (those meds are pretty awesome).

I want to add that the hospital was AWESOME! GREAT staff, and my husband meals were included! He did not have to leave to eat. They had a huge menu to select from, It was not some prescribed meal, you actually got to choose from a menu what you wanted, restaurant style, from french toast to hamburgers. His "room" even included his own television.

[Queen of Crop 1,103]

Wow....thank you so so much Jamie....Fabulous before and after photos and thank you also for taking the time to write so much and so honestly...I'm trying to prepare myself for the recovery but time goes by so fast that I hope I will be up and about before too long.

[Elode 8,093]

@@Chrystee What insurance do you have? Maybe I should check that out?

[Spiceyfrog 269]

@@Queen of Crop, I am interested to see how your procedure goes and see the amazing results. I had a brachioplasty and breast augmentation/lift in December and am going to have a Tummy Tuck and inner thighs in December 2016 (have to wait this long for insurance to cover the TT). Like you, I do not have much hanging skin, just flabby and lumpy :-) Best of luck to you.

[NewSetOfCurves 1,553]

I have to agree with @JamieLogical. The pain from the TT is overwhelming, but SOOOO WORTH IT!!! I had a TT coupled with a full body lift. I did not feel any discomfort from my breast augmentation, other than the fact that they were HUGE with the swelling; and very little discomfort from my spiral lift. The girly bits in the nether region would swell, but the doctor said that was totally normal and it was not painful. It took almost 3 weeks for me to walk straight. I used a walker for the first week and my husband bought me a recliner with a lift (I've seen posts where people talked about renting these), that way I did not have to engage my abs when getting up or sitting down. I also had one of those handicap chairs that you can place over the potty (if you remove the bowel). The heightened potty chair really helped me avoid having to engage my abs when having to go to the restroom. My husband would help me in the shower and help me with my dressings. While he was at work, my mom, mother-in-law, and a close cousin would rotate and come over to help with things around the house while I was sitting in my lift/recliner chair, recovering. After the 3rd week--before the week was even up, actually--I really did not need help anymore. I was still moving around slowly, but I could manage on my own.

Swelling--or the "Swell Hell", as I called it--is frustrating. The first week (obviously) is the worst, but it lasts a good three months before you see a major decrease. By the 6 month most of the swelling is gone other than flare-ups here and there. He said those "flare-ups" are pretty common up to the first year. I will say that I did go on vacation 7 weeks post-op. We took the kids on a mini beach vacation, we even enjoyed a Water park. I was able to keep up and no one would be the wiser that I had recently undergone a major 9 hour surgery. I even got to sport a bikini! Rocked it even with the swelling. My tummy was flat and smooth and I felt like a million bucks!

It really is worth it. Worth the pain, discomfort, and even your having to rely on others. It is a small amount of time to pay for the years of joy and happiness your new figure will bring you. Good luck! Keep us posted!

[JamieLogical 8,684]

I have to agree with @JamieLogical. The pain from the TT is overwhelming, but SOOOO WORTH IT!!! I had a TT coupled with a full body lift. I did not feel any discomfort from my breast augmentation, other than the fact that they were HUGE with the swelling; and very little discomfort from my spiral lift. The girly bits in the nether region would swell, but the doctor said that was totally normal and it was not painful. It took almost 3 weeks for me to walk straight. I used a walker for the first week and my husband bought me a recliner with a lift (I've seen posts where people talked about renting these), that way I did not have to engage my abs when getting up or sitting down. I also had one of those handicap chairs that you can place over the potty (if you remove the bowel). The heightened potty chair really helped me avoid having to engage my abs when having to go to the restroom. My husband would help me in the shower and help me with my dressings. While he was at work, my mom, mother-in-law, and a close cousin would rotate and come over to help with things around the house while I was sitting in my lift/recliner chair, recovering. After the 3rd week--before the week was even up, actually--I really did not need help anymore. I was still moving around slowly, but I could manage on my own.

That is exactly why I am so grateful I had my plastics in Mexico and stayed at a recovery house for two full weeks with 24/7 nursing care. They had all the special equipment (motorized hospital beds, raised toilet seats with handles, walkers....) and the nurses helped me with getting to the bathroom, showering, getting in and out of my compression garments, changing my dressings, etc. I can't imagine having to rely on my husband or friends/family to do all of that! It was bad enough having paid professionals do it, I felt so guilty. My low point was when one of the nurses had to put in a suppository because the Constipation from my pain meds got so bad. I would have DIED before asking my husband to help with that!

By the time I went home two weeks post-op I was mostly able to fend for myself. Just needed a wedge pillow for sleeping, but no other special equipment. My mom came and stayed with me for a week, but she had just had a hernia repair herself, so she wasn't exactly tending to me or anything. We did have a funny episode where we tried to go to the grocery store together and realized we couldn't buy a gallon of milk, because neither of us was allowed to lift 8 pounds.

[NewSetOfCurves 1,553]

@@JamieLogical, I agree that it is an inconvenience for family. I am very fortunate that I have such a tight nit family that is very supportive, loving, and did not make feel like I was an inconvenience. And, my husband has seen me birth all four of our children. I am not ashamed or embarrassed of my husband helping me in the manner that he did. For those planning on major plastics, make sure that you have a plan in place. Either a recovery center, willing family help (if you are comfortable), or hired help. The tummy tucks, body lifts and leg lifts are especially taxing.

Edit: I also want to note that I was fortunate to have had the handicap potty chair and walker on hand (they were my grandmother's) and were not expenses that I had to incur. The recliner chair was an expense that I could afford, but it is not necessary. Plenty of people manage without one.

[JamieLogical 8,684]

@@JamieLogical, I agree that it is an inconvenience for family. I am very fortunate that I have such a tight nit family that is very supportive, loving, and did not make feel like I was an inconvenience. And, my husband has seen me birth all four of our children. I am not ashamed or embarrassed of my husband helping me in the manner that he did. For those planning on major plastics, make sure that you have a plan in place. Either a recovery center, willing family help (if you are comfortable), or hired help. The tummy tucks, body lifts and leg lifts are especially taxing.

Edit: I also want to note that I was fortunate to have had the handicap potty chair and walker on hand (they were my grandmother's) and were not expenses that I had to incur. The recliner chair was an expense that I could afford, but it is not necessary. Plenty of people manage without one.

Oh, for sure, people can manage without special equipment and do every day. Everyone finds their own path through recovery. It was a real shock to me how much I HATED being helpless and relying on other people. I never knew that about myself until I was in that situation. I thought it would be a nice little vacation and I would feel spoiled having people wait on me hand-and-foot. It was a true revelation to me. And yeah, my husband and I have worked to keep up some of the "mystery" in our relationship (or at least had up to that point, this was 5 years ago mind you, we weren't even married then, just engaged!). We still, to this day, will not use the bathroom in front of one another. It is always door closed! One time when we only had one bathroom in our old house, I think I peed while he was in the shower with the shower curtain closed, but that is as close as I've ever come to using the toilet in front of him. Of course, there was no sparing him from the incisions and the dressings and the compression garments and whatnot post-op and he handled it pretty well.

[Elode 8,093]

Ok, so my surgeon here has quoted me at $18,000 for a full Tummy Tuck, breast lift & silicon implants. I send my pictures to this surgeon in Mexico who is US board certified and the same procedures but with gel implants is $7,500. WTH? Cancun here we come (in May)

[JamieLogical 8,684]

Ok, so my surgeon here has quoted me at $18,000 for a full Tummy Tuck, breast lift & silicon implants. I send my pictures to this surgeon in Mexico who is US board certified and the same procedures but with gel implants is $7,500. WTH? Cancun here we come (in May)

Mine was around $8500 with all over Lipo and fat grafting in addition to what you are getting done. Two weeks in the recovery house was another $1500 or so. So in total I was right at $10,000 plus air fair to San Diego. Let me know if you want my surgeon's info.

[Elode 8,093]

@@JamieLogical Yes, give it to me! Do I have to fly there for a consultation? Would I have to stay a whole two weeks?

[jess9395 5,448]

I had TT with muscle repair, brachioplasty and lift with augmentation all at the same time last June. I'm on my way to yoga so I will post more details and pix later but it was definitely do able and my recovery wasn't bad at all honestly. I had no liposuction (didn't need it) so I'm told that's part of why I had an easier recovery AND was able to have so much done at once. Mine was done outpatient believe it or not!

[JamieLogical 8,684]

@@JamieLogical Yes, give it to me! Do I have to fly there for a consultation? Would I have to stay a whole two weeks?

I was able to do my full consultations by submitting photos and email/phone calls. She was very specific about the photos, having me take specific angles and positions, which my husband helped me with.

If you have all that work done at once, I think she would really advise you stay the full two weeks (I was VERY glad I did). Travel too soon post-op would be hard and you'd have to make sure you had someone in the states to pull your drains for you if you left any sooner than that. Being in the recovery house for the two full weeks was a huge blessing to me. I didn't have to worry about anything other than recovery, I had all the resources and care I needed, and my surgeon came to check on me every single day.

My surgeon was Dra. Laura Carmina Cardenas and I stayed at the Beauty Care Recovery House.

[Queen of Crop 1,103]

THANK YOU JESS9395!!! I was starting to freak out....you have given me hope that maybe my TT (that's all that's being done) will not be so bad.....Yikes, only a few more days.

s