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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank God you have your boyfriend there for support. I pray the pain eases up soon so you can enjoy your new flat tummy.

Thank you so much for the posts. I have been following your recovery and have you in my prayers.

Wow, you're doing great! Your strength is an inspiration. Thank to SO MUCH for sharing your experience with us. I really appreciate hearing about the day to day.

You're in my thoughts and I wish you a speedy recovery.

Congrats and wishing you the best of luck! My sister is planning on getting a TT soon, and hopefully one day I'll be getting one as well, so TY for the day to day updates!

Today is day 4 and it is amazing how much better I feel today! I'm still on all the meds but the pain has definately dropped to just a level of discomfort. It's easier to walk and can stand a little bit straighter which has taken a lot of the pain out of my back. I showered for the first time this morning and I guess do to more movement and lack of energy I got real dizzy and neauseous. I was fine again after I rested for a bit. Today just seemed like a real turning point in my recovery. I only had two small naps and have been awake most of the day with very little pain. Eating still feels very restricted due to the binders but because I can sit up for about 10-15 minutes longer its allowing the food to go through my stomach more making lying down more comfortable after eating. Drain tubes are producing much less today. The right one only had 18cc's for a total today which is close to nothing. Hopefully it will be removed soon. Called the doc because I still hadn't had a bowel movement by this morning and he said to take a stool softener. I did and everything is fine now and working. Hopefully I'll get some sleep tonight. Changed my binders today and took another good look at the tummy and WOW! It has relaxed some more just overnight and it is looking fabulous!!! I am soooo happy with the outcome so far! The TT was so worth the pain! If the worst is over then 4 days of hell was NOTHING compared to the loose skin I had to look at, work to hide, and live with

before! Just for the record i am following all the docs orders and lying down 90% of the day with legs elevated from the hip. I want to heal correctly and as expediantely as possible so I'm taking no chances. Also, as far as the scar goes...I was worried that the scar would be so gross and unattractive and actually thought that the loose skin might look better than a nasty scar BUT BELIEVE ME the scar is nothing but a line from hip to hip and the whole rest of the stomach is beautiful whereas the loose skin was the WHOLE stomach and there was nothing that I could begin to call attractive. Tomorrow is another day down and another day that I will feel even better! Thanks again for all the support and hopefully in some small way I can help someone make a clearer decision on whether or not to get a TT by giving a real life day to day account of the recovery process.

Thanks again for all the support and hopefully in some small way I can help someone make a clearer decision on whether or not to get a TT by giving a real life day to day account of the recovery process.

You're helping me make up my mind. Hope each day gets even better for you.

No luck with sleeping more than a couple of hours at a time. It must be due to the way I have to elevate my legs...flat on back with no pillow for no head elevation, knees straight up from hips and feet straight out from knees. It doesn't allow for any movement so when you unconsciously need to move in your sleep you physically can't so I think that's what wakes me up. I wake up with the worst back ache and have to get up out of bed and move around for 5 minutes or so and take this time to use the bathroom too. Getting up and down from bed is the most painful part of moving. You CANNOT physically do it alone for the first 3 days. Yesterday was my first day that I could hang on to the headboard with one hand pulling myself up at a partial slant to the side while my other hand pushed down on the bed behind me. Very painful to do but I must be able to conquer it by myself completely by Wednesday because I will no longer have anyone around during the day to help me. I hired a friend of a friend that just happened to have gotten laid off from work not long ago to stay with me during the day to help me out while my boyfriend is at work. Her last day is today, Tuesday, my day 5. I've been paying her $75 per day which sounds expensive but it includes her helping me with everything from the first horrible couple of days when I had to do a standing squat over the toilet to urinate and she

had to hold me up and then clean me up and the floor, give me my meds empty the drain collection cups, prepare my breakfast and lunch and fix dinner before she left. She has had to run to the store for me and does the topical daily house cleaning. She has been a godsend and I couldn't have done it without her! Nobody will be able to do this alone and don't even think about trying it alone! I can do everything myself now just very slowly and movement is still very uncomfortable

BUT again it gets a little better everyday. I made a grave mistake in not taking into account the amount of max strength Tylenol I had left last night! I woke up a couple of hours ago and it was time for my meds, Tramadol and Extra strength Tylenol (Celebrex every 12hours) and I am out of the Tylenol. You are probably saying to yourself that Tylenol isn't much of a painkiller anyways but when all your doc will give you is Tramadol, a very light painkiller, the Tylenol becomes extremely important to help with the pain. So, needless to say the pain will not completely go away and I'm holding my breath waiting for my friend to get here to run to the store for me. Overall I still feel better than yesterday. Progress...day by day.

Will your Dr not prescribe something stronger for you to take at night? You really need rest to heal. Have you asked him why only tramadol after major surgery?

I sure hope your days get better!!!

Yes, I've asked him 3 different times now. I explained to him before the surgery that I have a high tolerance to painkillers due to being on them for various operations and for long periods of time. His reasoning is that they keep you too sedated for his liking. He wants his patients alert and aware and not sleeping all the time. He said he wants movement, not alot, but enough to also prevent blood clots and he said that his experience is that his patients heal faster and get back to normal daily activity if they are not on painkillers such as Darvocet or Demoral. He wants me to get up out of bed every 1-2 hours and just walk around for a little bit. So, it's hard to understand right now but it makes sense and I am coming along pretty good so maybe he's got it right. I am getting plenty of rest though since he also requires me to lay down most of the day. It's just that the sleep is on and off throughout the day and night for short intervals. I don't feel tired really just would like to sleep some of the pain away...

Ahhh that makes sense!! I'm glad your days are getting better. I can only imagine how excited you are to have had this done !!

I really hope some day I might be able to do it as well.

That sounds very similar to post op recovery for VSG and many other surgeries in and of the torso. The more you get up and ambulate the quicker you recover and the less chance of complications.

Yes, Butterthebean, my VSG directions were very similar. It just kind of stinks but knowing it will increase the possibility of healing quicker than I will certainly put up with it! Today was much better than yesterday as it seems to be the pattern. My friend that has been coming during the day and helping me had a job interview today so I actually was on my own the whole day for the first time since surgery. I did fine with no problems. I can get up and down from bed with little pain now. It still hurts doing it but the stomach is less soar and I've got the technique down on how to position my body and how to pull up on the headboard to lift myself up and lower myself down. I found that it's just much easier to stand up while eating. Sitting just hurts the stomach and it feels like I might split a stitch or something. I just stand at the breakfast bar leaning over of course. It's also better because the food goes down easier. The binders really restrict food passage especially sitting down. The nurse emailed me today telling me that I can now start taking the drain tube fluid measurements twice a day instead of three times. That means that the drainage has reduced enough that I don't have to keep as close track of it. YaY! Drain tube removal is just around the corner. The best part of the day is changing your clothes in the morning. After wearing them and sleeping in them all night your body actually aches from the binders being in the same place so long. It feels so good to remove them and put them back on. Since I'm in bed 90%of the day I just wear sweat pants and a cammy that is long enough to pull down to the top of the thighs. You really want your shirt to be that long so you can wear the binders without them rubbing you raw or giving you blisters. I have to wear two "3 panel" type binders and one has to be wrapped around the groin area and the other overlaps the bottom one and goes up under the ribs. With all the stretching your stomach is very numb so the binders can give you blisters without you even knowing it. The day after surgery you can take off the gauze or bandages. There is paper tape covering the incision. So that the binders don't rub the incision raw or open I use 2 thick generic maxi pads. I wear the sticky sides out so they stick to my cammi and hold

the pads in place. Their a lot cheaper and fit just perfect. Well, another day down and one more day closer to a bikini swimsuit this summer!

DAY6 and everything is going great! I can stand a little bit straighter and I actually slept through my 2 am med schedule which means my pain level is down and I actually got to sleep longer than the usual 3 hour interval I'm going to take a few pics today so that at the end of my recovery I will post pre, during, and post TT pics.

That's great news!! Wishing you more wonderful speedy healing!!

I can't wait for you to post pics!