Well, I'm ready for round two! (I had a tummy tuck, lipo and breast lift 6 months ago). I just had my two week pre-op appointment with my plastic surgeon today. My journey is almost complete. I wanted to have lost my last 10 pounds but other than that, I'm almost done with this wieght loss adventure that started a little over two years ago. I'm going to have my arms done, lipo of the thighs, a thigh and butt lift and an anchor revision to my tummy tuck. My doc is estimating about 6 hours for the surgery. I'm very nervous, but excited too. I will post some before pictures soon. So, come along and share my experience. Hopefully, we'll learn from one another!

Sam, never say never... I'm on my 3rd husband (we've been married a little over 9 years now). For me it was like Goldilocks, except I'm not blonde and it wasn't porridge.. The first one was too... and the second one was too much the other way... FINALLY the third and final one fits me just right. :thumbs_up:

Karey,

Congratulations on getting this behind you! I'm glad you're coming out of the surgery grog. It's an amazing journey, huh.

Okay, I'm going to post a picture of my de-hiss. I hope I don't gross any of you out. It's looking a lot better now and it was always small (but enough that I had to stay in a recline). Anyway, since some of you thought it would be helpful, I'm putting it out there, in the name of learning:

Thought after seeing the de-hiss, it might be helpful to see how the tummy is coming along. The incision line has a few red spots but it's coming along well. I think the scar will lighten up nicely. It's so hard to put these pictures up. But here goes. The first one is before my first tummy tuck and the next one is before the revision and the last pix is after the anchor revision.

You are looking great!Thanks for posting the pics. I have looked at everyone's before and after PS surgery pics and never really appreciated the difficulty in posting those pics until I posted mine yesterday. It is very hard to post them. Thanks so much. You look awesome!!

Karey, your looking amazing. I wish my spot looked like yurs, I will try and gt hubby to take some pix tonight and maybe I can get them posted in the next few days, But it makes me want to cry when I see me. Sure I love the flatness of my tummy, and my mons lift is amazing, the breasts are a little bigger then I wanted but it's ok, But when I see my problem spots it makes me so depressed and hard to appreciatte the good stuff right now. I am trying tho. Maybe seeing my before and afters next to each other will help.

Thanks for posting your photos Karey! I hope your dehisince heals up quickly and you look FAB!

Karey,

You look like you're healing up really well. The dehiss thing looks painful, but it also looks like it's healing. Hang in there and thanks for the pics.

Sam

Karey, you look great! Praying you heal quickly.

Thanks everyone. Went out to get my hair done today and lunch with the girls. So nice to get out, but I'm exhausted. I have to remind myself to take little steps. I know life will get back to normal before too long. Every day is better. Thinking positive thoughts and counting my blessings!

Karey, you are one amazing woman! Thank you for sharing your story and your pictures.... you are truly looking fantastic!!! The wound really isn't too bad and it looks as if it is healing nicely, albeit too slowly for comfort Glad you were able to do hair and girls lunch and that your spirits are so good. Bless you my dear! :thumbup:

Karey,

WOW!!! Thank you for sharing your pictures. You look amazing!

Okay, I feel like philsophizing a little today, so bare with me! I think this whole plastic surgery journery is quite a mind trip. It's like before you've lost your weight and you think that when your thin your life will be so different and not only will you look better, but you'll be happier. Now that is true to an extent, but your still the same person and you still have alot of the same problems, you just look and feel better (which is a BIG deal). That is how I have felt after all my plastic procedures. I have these huge expectations and I always feel a little let down. It's wonderful to be rid of the tummy flab and the bat wing arms and the droopy thighs, but now I have the scars and the other body parts that don't look so good and I'm still the same person with the same problems and my husband doesn't love me anymore or less than he did before. Not sure if I can describe the feelings, but it's like coming down from Christmas or a wedding or any other big event, except that there is a lot more pain involved. LOL! Has anyone else experienced this after plastic surgery? If your contemplating ps, you should keep this in the back of your mind. I'm thinking that these feelings are normal (or hoping that they are). There are also the mood swings from the anesthesia, the isolation and the hormone changes (when fat is removed, estrogen is also removed since it is stored in the fat cells). I seem to go from feeling very happy to depressed and tearful in short spans of time. Part of that, I'm sure is poor sleep. Pain disrupts the sleep and than whiny comes next. Anyway, would love other peoples thoughts on this. Hoping I'm not alone in feeling this way!

Karey, I haven't had PS but what you say rings true. I think it rings true for any external changes, not just to body image but also financially as well. We always think that if we could get that great house, that great car, that great job, secure bank account, etc., we'll be happier. The fact remains you are who you are internally, it's the external that's changed. Quite often the outside doesn't match who we feel we are on the inside and once the reflection starts to match our internal image then there may be a brief period of triumph but then the emotions settle back down again and we remain who we are. Hopefully we like ourselves.

You are definately not alone. While I love my new body, I still manage to find and pic out all of the imperfections, and there are still plenty. Just last night I was telling DH that as the swelling goes down I can tell that I still have a little fat on my back. He said "that is very relative". I am very glad I had the tummy tuck, but it seems that the old insecurities rear their ugly heads even more since the surgery. I want to be happy and satisfied in this skin. I don't want to spend the rest of my life wishing that this or that were different. Maybe I can lipo a little here, etc. I didn't think about the hormone changes, but that makes sense. Maybe that's part of it.

Having said all of that, I am very glad I made this choice and I am very pleased with my results. I jsut want to learn to appreciate my accomplishments and beauty without always looking to improve on what's here.

What an amazing journey this truly is.