Just wanted to reach out and tell someone that can relate to my feelings right now that my Tummy Tuck is scheduled for tomorrow morning, Jan. 3, 2013, at 7am! I'm soooooo excited but getting nervous and anxious. I was doing o.k. until the anesthisiologist called me a minute ago. I am not at goal weight which was originally set at my personal want of 140lbs. I really don't think I can maintain 140 as the last time I was that weight was 10 years ago and prior to my open heart surgery, full hysterectomy, hypothyroidism and Hoshimoto's . I could probably get there if I tried extremely hard but I know that realistically I won't be able to maintain that weight and if I could it would be a constant struggle. I'm at 157 and my plastic surgeon believes that 150 is a more realistic and maintainable weight for me since for the past 4 months I have maintained from 153 to 157 (I'm 5'71/2"). Therefore, since I'm within 10 lbs of my goal weight my surgeon says it will be perfectly fine for the TT operation. My VSG was one year ago on Dec. 13th.

I've already ordered the silicone sheets for after the scabs have fallen off to help the scar look better. If anyone is curious or wants more info. on them go to silon.com. I bought the abdominoplasty shaped sheet that is made for TT's or C-section areas. I watched a Youtube video where a woman had a TT and used the silicon sheets and her scar came out beautifully!

Wish me luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just wanted to reach out and tell someone that can relate to my feelings right now that my Tummy Tuck is scheduled for tomorrow morning, Jan. 3, 2013, at 7am! I'm soooooo excited but getting nervous and anxious. I was doing o.k. until the anesthisiologist called me a minute ago. I am not at goal weight which was originally set at my personal want of 140lbs. I really don't think I can maintain 140 as the last time I was that weight was 10 years ago and prior to my open heart surgery, full hysterectomy, hypothyroidism and Hoshimoto's . I could probably get there if I tried extremely hard but I know that realistically I won't be able to maintain that weight and if I could it would be a constant struggle. I'm at 157 and my plastic surgeon believes that 150 is a more realistic and maintainable weight for me since for the past 4 months I have maintained from 153 to 157 (I'm 5'71/2"). Therefore, since I'm within 10 lbs of my goal weight my surgeon says it will be perfectly fine for the TT operation. My VSG was one year ago on Dec. 13th.

I've already ordered the silicone sheets for after the scabs have fallen off to help the scar look better. If anyone is curious or wants more info. on them go to silon.com. I bought the abdominoplasty shaped sheet that is made for TT's or C-section areas. I watched a Youtube video where a woman had a TT and used the silicon sheets and her scar came out beautifully!

Wish me luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good Luck!

Came through the TT just fine at 7am and in the car to go home at 12:30. The actual surgery was 4hours long. I'm hurting real bad but still not one painkiller. Doc doesn't want me to take the painkillers until it's absolutely necessary. I take extra strength Tylenol and Celebrex. My back is killing me because I have to lay on it with neck flat on bed and no pillows until he removes the drain tubes. I can't wait to see the results! Thank you all for your support!

Came through the TT just fine at 7am and in the car to go home at 12:30. The actual surgery was 4hours long. I'm hurting real bad but still not one painkiller. Doc doesn't want me to take the painkillers until it's absolutely necessary. I take extra strength Tylenol and Celebrex. My back is killing me because I have to lay on it with neck flat on bed and no pillows until he removes the drain tubes. I can't wait to see the results! Thank you all for your support!

Thanks for the update...keep them coming. Hopefully the pain will ease soon.....just keep thinking how wonderful you'll look:).

Wow... I can't imagine the pain. I hope you heal quickly and all goes smoothly from here on out.

Good luck with recovery lady! I'm going in for a LBL hopefully soon and I'd love to see your before/afters.

LOTS AND LOTS OF PAIN! This hurts worse than my open heart surgery and my vertical up the belly hysterectomy! I just took my first pain pill, Tramadol, just can't take the pain anymore. I keep falling to sleep but wake up every 2-3 hours. No, insurance did not pay, all out of my own pocket. I saw the incision for the first time and it is very nicely done. I have never seen a TT with an incision this low before and it's a very fine line. I think it's going to be beautiful! I'll keep you all posted.

Hello Butterthebeans, yes, i had the surgery done locally in Roundrock, TX. My doc's name is Dr. Troy Thompson. He does not advertise including no website other than showing his name and phone number. I went to 4 consults. Dr. Thompson came highly recommended and very reasonable. It cost about $6,000. There were many reasons why I chose him. He is truly a COSMETIC doc compared to docs that just do it for the money and herd people in with little concern as to what the tummy will look like when healed. Dr. Thompson is very tall with real long hair and is definately a hippie in his day. I think he is 48 yrs old and performs a TT with his own special technique wherein he tightens up ALL the muscles from the sternum to the pubic bone. most docs just tighten belly button down. The three other consults all said i needed a full body lift. Dr. Thompson took pics of my backside and said there is no reason to do it because there's not that much skin. He could of told me i needed one and taken the money but he was honest.

Had to meet doc at his office to look at my left drain that has not drained a drop since surgery. He removed the drain stitches and about another inch in and found that there was a manufacturer defect in the tubing. There was little plastic tabs that were inside the tube so he cut them out up to the point that he could get to and thank god it started to drain. Doc said he has used the brand for over 10 years and inserts them 8-10 times a week and has never seen any defect before. LUCKY ME!!! Had to get about 10 shots of Lidocaine in the hip area so the doc could work on it and that was the most painful part. All is good now. Still have pain and taking meds religiously. Still can't sleep more than 2-3 hours at a time due to the pain waking me up. I can walk better and get around on my own better now. The most painful part is the back. Incision still looks really good. A few puckers but doc said they will go away with the swelling. Another day down and every day i feel a little better. I'll keep you posted!

Thank u so very much for sharing ur experiences with us. I'm sorry about the drain. Hopefully ur pain will ease up as well. I'm wishing u a speedy recovery. Take care!

Sent from my iPhone using VST

Thank you for your well wishes! Before my surgery i searched for information on someone's day to day real experience with a TT but there wasn't much available so I figured I will do a day to day blog for anyone who really wants to know. Today is my third day and it really does get a little better each day. I walked to my kitchen alone and made my protein drink, drained my tubes and took my meds. That was about all the energy I had so laid back down and fwll asleepmfor 2 hours. My back hurts all the time like back labor pains and it's from lying on it all the time and the position you have to lye in. My doc says no pillow or elevation of the head at all, the knees have to be straight up from the hips and then the lower leg straight out from the knee. It also doesn't help that you have to stand and walk bent over from the hips. Still no bowel movement so may have to take measures soon for that. The incision still looks good. I hope the pucker right down from my belly button goes away. I showed it to my doc yesterday and he said we are just concerned about healing at this point and we'll worry about what I don't like once it's healed which didn't give me a warm fuzzy. Will post again later!

Frumpnomore... Soooooo excited for you!

Had a little mishap tonight... My boyfriend was trying to help me sit up from a lying position and instead of pulling me up to a seated position he pulled me up too far and i slid off the bed on to the floor. It felt like every stitch inside and out busted open!!! For the past day my right drain tube's liquid has been a yellowish/orangeish color but a few minutes after the slip there was red blood in the tube. I watched it for awhile and it never amounted to much in the bulb so it seems to be o.k. I guess I probably busted a few inside stitches or something but i'm fine now. GEEZ! As if I didn't already have enough pain! I just keep telling myself...tomorrow I'll feel better! I want everyone to know that through all my trials, tribulations and pain that i have been through I would do it all over again! When I changed my binders today I actually felt good looking in the mirror! I am so happy with the way my tummy looks! I have NO REGRETS!

Thank you so much for sharing your day-to-day story. I haven't seen anyone share the good, bad, and ugly, so I really appreciate it. Hope you keep getting better :wub:

Here it is...2:45 am and awake again. I wish I could sleep for more than 3 hours at a time! Pain killers have worn off and everything is hurting right now. Got to sit up and take my meds. Damn how I hate trying to sit up and trying to lay back down again! I'm getting real tired of the constant pain. Yes, it's different levels of pain and discomfort but I am getting weary of it at any level. I don't think I've mentioned how terrible it is to eat. The binders restrict the amount of food you can eat at one time and you can't stay sitting up for any great length of time either. So, you sit as long as you think is safe which is never quite long enough for the food to leave the tummy so it keeps coming up the esophagus siince you have to lie flat on your back and you keep fighting to keep it down. I've read that docs have different restrictions and some want your head elevated but my doc says no head elevation at all if I want to insure no seromas. You must eat very small quantities at a time each time you get up to go to the bathroom which for the first 2 days seems to be quite often from all the fluids they pump into you during the TT. Anytime You have to use your stomach muscles there is pain so I have my bedside table as close to my bed as possible so I cqn reach everything lying down. My boyfriend built this contraption for me that he attached to the bed much like the arm that hangs over a hospital bed that holds a little T.V. But mine is to hold the ipad I'm using. Since I have to be on my back the ipad hangs upside down over my head so i just look straight up and type lying on my back. It's been extremely helpful and made it possible for me to continue to communicate whenever I want. Well, I'm going to try and go back to sleep and hope this pain subsides soon. Still lots of pain but longer times in between the real painful moments but still NO REGRETS!

Does not sound fun, but you will come out the other side so very pleased with the results.