This time, it's purely cosmetic.

Every time I drop into the low 170s I start looking and feeling sick, but the damned roll won't come off the middle. I finally broke down and went to talk to a plastic surgeon today.

He said that I've done a great job, but that the best way to get rid of that roll is to take it out via lipo. Fortunately my skin has rebounded well, and so no major cutting will be required.

His work looks good, his own staff has had him work on them and is happy, and the price was pretty decent. So, I'm scheduled for 9/22 -- which is just under 2 weeks away!

We'll see what happens.

It's so easy to forget where we were

I was browsing my photos and found the ones taken the night before the surgery. I've been obsessing over a small bulge and some swelling. Looking at these photos, and it's very apparent to me that the $5600 was probably the best money I've ever spent.

wow wow wow .... you look amazing!

Wow Manatee - you look amazing. Congratulations - you must be sooooo pleased!!!! I bet you can stop obsessing about the swelling and puffiness now. Great results.

WOW, you look great!! Congrats!!

You look amazing! I am totally puffed and swollen still too. I think we had surgery about the same time. Good stuff.

You look great. I have been reading your posts for awhile now. You have accomplished quite alot. I find during this process, its hard to enjoy any successes very long. There is always "Thanks, but I still need...ect ect". How can we learn to ever really be happy with our body image?

Thanks for all the votes of confidence.

I want to look like this guy, but I think I'm 20 years late.

Still, doing ok. See the guy in white in the second pic, there in the center? That's me in Oct 2006. Those are 48" pants in the waist...

When I first looked at that pix, I thought you were the guy in the blue. Then I read the caption,

WOW you are a whole new person!!! That's awsome!!!

Great job on the weight loss! You look awesome and it's good to see how quickly you are recovering.

That guy is a stranger now. As for the pic of the stud... well you sure look ALOT closer to it than before.

1261 miles

So I drove to Mississippi and back this weekend. It really inflamed the area, but all is well now. Finally out of the compression suit during the day, still have to wear it at night for 3 more weeks.

Doc pulled off 45 cc before he run, and an additional 70 cc today.

The whole area is getting very hard. When I sit down, it feels like there's a lumbar support under the lower back. There's nothing there, but the doc says that the feeling is normal. I'm still not happy with the overall shape, doc says that another 6 weeks will show the true shape.

I'm pretty impatient at this point.

Doc has cleared me for lifting weights, but we all remember the biking fiasco. Going to talk to the trainer this week and see what he thinks.

Manatee, first of all, you will have to come up with another name because you no longer resemble a manatee in the least!

Secondly, I've read in the PS threads here and on "Ask Dr. Schulman" that it can take up to 6 months after a TT before you see the final, final results. That being said, even this soon asfter surgery, you look phenomenal.

Don't you wish for one minute you could be in someone else's shoes so you can truly see yourself through an objective lens?

How do I feel?

I have gotten several questions from different places about how I am doing post-tuck. I debated posting all this, but then I figured that those who might follow would really want to know.

So, here it is, take it for whining if you want.

I hurt ALL the time right now. The pain runs from a dull ache in the morning to agony as the day moves on. If I exert myself in any way, I feel like I'm ripping in half. Walking for a long time inflames the abdomen, to the point that all I want to lay down. I didn't even get to finish the whole Graceland complex tour.

I am effectively an invalid in many ways. I cannot run, cannot lift more than light weights, cannot ride my bike, and have to be cautious of every move. I move like a 70 year old. Because of this, I can feel my physical conditioning going away. I'll be a jellyfish before I can get back to the gym.

All of this would be OK if I were happy with the results, but at this point I am not. I know that I am supposed to be patient, and the doc says things are on track, but I look in the mirror and I still see that damnable roll sitting there, mocking me. I can hide it, mostly, with clothing, but the whole point of this thing was to look good in the nude. Now I'm just a fatty with a scar

I'm certain things will be better in the future, but for now, I'm not all that sure the work was worth the cash.

Oh Manatee, I'm so sorry you are in so much pain.

I'm also sorry you are experiencing buyer's remorse but I know it will go away as your healing progresses. I plan on getting PS when I reach goal so I've been following many PS threads and they all say it took several weeks for the swelling to go down noticeably and several months for the healing to be complete. Most of them were extremely happy with the results 6 months out.

Are you just feeling swollen bloated and fat or are you unhappy with the scar and the job the surgeon did? Almost everyone I have ever met didnt seem happy with their plastics until at least 6 months to a year out. Think about how long it took you to get to where you are at now. The 6 month to a year wait shouldnt seem that bad in comparison. I am also on the outside looking in as I have yet to go through what you are doing. But soon..

I hurt ALL the time right now. The pain runs from a dull ache in the morning to agony as the day moves on. If I exert myself in any way, I feel like I'm ripping in half. Walking for a long time inflames the abdomen, to the point that all I want to lay down. I didn't even get to finish the whole Graceland complex tour.

All of this would be OK if I were happy with the results, but at this point I am not. I know that I am supposed to be patient, and the doc says things are on track, but I look in the mirror and I still see that damnable roll sitting there, mocking me. I can hide it, mostly, with clothing, but the whole point of this thing was to look good in the nude. Now I'm just a fatty with a scar

I'm certain things will be better in the future, but for now, I'm not all that sure the work was worth the cash.

Manatee - i'm really sorry you are still in a lot of pain. it does take awhile... really...

and the results - i am STILL seeing positive changes in my body from my TT/lipo in FEBRUARY. i know its difficult to be patient, but you just gotta be....

hang in there.