I had my tummy done (forgot the medical name) on Wed. March 26th in Goshen New York after loosing 115 pounds since August 206. I feel fine, but the drains are disgusting. Not such a bad surgery.

Fran,

Congratulations! I had mine done a few years ago and I love the results. I had a huge seperation from having my 3 kids and they were able to pull them back and give me a great hourglass shape. I know you will love how you look in about 3 months time (after all the swelling is gone). My recovery was also not so bad. I hated the drains! They were the worst for me too. I had to keep mine in for 3 weeks- it was terrible.

I'm glad to hear that you are doing well. If you have any questions for me, I'd be glad to speak with you about my experience with this.

Fran, send us pics when you heal. Congrats. My TT is 4/21. How is the pain?

Thannk you so much for your words of encouragement. I just do not believe I might have to live with these drains for three months-UCH.

Be well

Thank you for your kind wishes and offer of support. I just do not believe I might have to have the drains for three months. I want a shower so badly-ha ha.

Be well.

Fran

Hi Julie,

The pain was not bad at all and I did not take anything for it. I would rather have some pain then the after effects of the medication. I had the surgery on Wed. and went back to work today, SUnday. I am a little nuts, but I felt fine enough to do so. The only draw back are the drains-UCH> Be well and let me know how your tt goes.

Fran

Fran,

I had my TT with lip to tummy, waist, back and thigh one day after you (Thurday, March 27th). I feel very good. Did you have muscle repair? I didn't. No drains, either. I sure am flat. I see the doctor tomorrow.

Cheryl

Hi Tami,

Thank you for your answer. I am out 10 days now, the drains are out, but the scale is up and I have not eaten anything to make it do so. The surgeon is not very talkative and just says it will level out? Where will the excess weight go? He said the lab reported removing 5 lbs. of skin-isn't that an instant weight loss? Thank you and stay well.

Fran

Fran,

I had my TT with lip to tummy, waist, back and thigh one day after you (Thurday, March 27th). I feel very good. Did you have muscle repair? I didn't. No drains, either. I sure am flat. I see the doctor tomorrow.

Cheryl

Hi Cheryl,

My doctor is not very talkative, and I am kind of passive and do not ask a lot of questions. I do not know if I have had muscle repair. Did you have your thighs done, and if so was that painful. I am just very upset at the scale going up. I am eating great and not using junk at all. Thank you and be well.

Fran:redface:

Fran:

If you are eating right don't worry about the weight gain. You are probably retaining fluids from the major shock your body is going through. I haven't had plastic surgery yet, but after I was banded I gained 9 pounds in 3 days and I was only on liquids. It took about ten days before it started to come off.

Chin up and drink alot. Weird how drinking makes our fluids flush, but that's what they tell me.

Take care.

Sue

I am looking at a TT in the next month. My Dr. is the opposite, he is a talker!!

He told me the average is 4-12 pounds of skin and tissue to be removed and lipo'd. Then he went on to say to expect to go home from the hospital up by as much as 20 pounds!!! He said not only do they pump you full of IV fluids, but the body retains Fluid to try to heal you. Which is why the drains are usually used. He said it will slowly dissapate, and be absorbed into the body, and you usually will find at about day 10- day 14 you find one day you spend an inordinate amount of time in the bathroom, and your body flushes the excess fluids quite quickly. He said from that point on, your swelling should begin to reduce quickly.

I was in his office for 45 minutes discussing every aspect of what to expect, and he told me stories. One of the reasons he is the one I chose, I felt I could ask him anything!

He went on to tell me about the mons lift, and how not doing it vs.doing it, left patients feeling. That was the deal maker. He was someone I felt I could call up and ask any question under the sun, and not only get an answer, but also, not feel like an idiot asking it!

Can't wait to get mine done!!!

Kat

Hi Tami,

Thank you for your answer. I am out 10 days now, the drains are out, but the scale is up and I have not eaten anything to make it do so. The surgeon is not very talkative and just says it will level out? Where will the excess weight go? He said the lab reported removing 5 lbs. of skin-isn't that an instant weight loss? Thank you and stay well.

Fran

Fran,

I was told, similar to Kat817, that the fluids would be absrorbed and eventually flushed out. I was also told that the scale would not show signifigant changes for a few weeks out. bacause of all of the swelling. Week by week the scale will move. Don't obsess. Look at the changes in the way your body looks and how your clothes fit. By the time I took my after pic at 3 months out, I looked like a different person! My doctor even posted my pics on his website- that's a little embarassing! :tt1: lol.

Take care

Hi Fran,

I weighed 115 lb. (no clothing)the day of surgery. The day after surgery I weighed 128 lb (some clothing). I now am back down to 115 lb (with some clothing). So, I'd say I'm probably down a pound or two since surgery. I had expected to be down more. I didn't have drains and am a bit swollen still. I think will be a while before I see the 'real' results. I am 1 day behind you, so we should compare how we are doing, feeling, etc. Did you have the full tummy tuck or the panneculectomy?

Cheryl

Kat:

So what specifically did he say about the mons lift and how people feel about doing it versus not doing it? Is the mons lift part of the tummy tuck or is it a separate procedure? I'm guessing that the tummy tuck they pull down and cut all the excess and with the mons lift they pull up and cut the excess off. Just a guess....

Sue

Kat:

So what specifically did he say about the mons lift and how people feel about doing it versus not doing it? Is the mons lift part of the tummy tuck or is it a separate procedure? I'm guessing that the tummy tuck they pull down and cut all the excess and with the mons lift they pull up and cut the excess off. Just a guess....

Sue

i cannot imagine having the TT without the mons lift for me...

they pulled my tummy down and my mons and hips up... my surgeon made me VERY VERY tight and there are days when im cursing his name cause its so tight, but ummm ... at night DH and i are singing his praises cause of the Mons Lift ...

seriously though, my surgeon 'threw it in' ... so glad he did.

Sue---my surgeon said that to do one without the other, left people so unhappy, he does it as part of the procedure most of the time now. He said some minor lipo, then simple skin manipulation of the mons would do it for me. Warning this might well be TMI----but following my chemo, not a lot of pubic hair regrew--so he said my pubic hair line being nonexistant will allow him to make a smooth transition without much problem.

He too discouraged one without the other. He said we might not notice the bulge of it now, being hid under the belly---but after it is gone, if they do not do the mons lift, it is highly noticable, in cases like mine anyway. So it is getting done as well.

Mine is going to just be hip bone to hip bone he is not extending it. My hips, my back, and my butt are all in fair shape for what hell I have put them through!!! I do not have love handles, or muffin top problems--------just a hanging belly.

Right now it is a huge shock that I don't just fall on my face and lie there, all my weight is in the boobs and belly!!!!!

Kat