Have you had a tummy tuck?

[Anonymous]

If you've had a tummy tuck would you mind sharing any "lessons learned" or things that you would have done different or glad that you did in regards to your recovery, etc.? Did you sleep in a chair - did you sleep on the first floor of your house, etc.?

My kids are going to our parents for the first week post surgery and my husband is able to take the first 2 weeks off work. My mother is coming to stay with me to help with the kids for the 3rd week after surgery.

Any helpful hints on getting through this would be appreciated. I've heard the recovery is pretty miserable.

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

I haven't but my best friend did last fall. Two things: make very sure the person caring for you isn't at all squeamish. Her husband was supposed to bleed her tubes but couldn't bring himself so they had to hire a nurse for like 2 or 3 weeks. It was very expensive.

Also keep an eye out for any sign of infection. She got a really bad one and ended up back in the hospital for a night. Of course the same thing happened to me when I gave birth, so it makes me think sibley is just a dirty hospital but you never know.

All in all I think she's glad she did it but it was definitely brutal. The worst thing for her was the corset, I think she had to wear it for 4 or 5 weeks?

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Just curious--how bad is your stomach? how many kids have you had?

I'm 40 with a 2.5 year old and a 5 year old. Vag. deliveries, not c-sections. I gained and lost 50 lbs with each of them. I was fortunate not to get stretch marks. I have a tiny bit of loose skin--but it isn't that noticeable. I have always worked out pretty hard and this year I have been really hitting the ab-core and other ab machines at the gym.

[Anonymous]

OP here: thanks for your insight - really appreciate it.

For the PP: I have a petite frame and while I weigh less than I did before I had kids - I still look like I'm about 5 months pregnant with a singleton. I have 3 kids - first was almost 9 lbs. - my body recovered from that pregnany fine. But then I had my twins which I carried to term and combined they weighed about 13 lbs. I literally looked like I swallowed a huge beach ball because I carried them so low and out - my skin was stretched out way too far (don't get my wrong I'm very thankful I carried them to term).

My body hasn't recovered from that pregnancy still. I've gone to a couple different doctors - all of said my ab muscles have separated and that no amount of working out will help. I have an immense amount of sagging skin - I can grab it by the handful - all in just my belly area.

[Anonymous]

OP, you deserve a tummy tuck and so much more! Please let us know how it goes!

[Anonymous]

I had multiples too and the muscles were damaged beyond anything exercise could fix, and had a tummy tuck about 2 years ago. I also had a breast lift at the same time. It is a brutal recovery, but it sounds like you are realistic about it and have a good amount of help lined up. I naively thought I was young and in good shape and would bounce back after the first week. I did absolutely nothing for the first week. The second week I was able to do a little more but bare minimum. By the third week I was taking care of all the kids on my own and driving them to school, etc, but was exhausted. Things got progressively better after that but any time I overdid it, it hurt like heck. You do need to wear the binder for weeks. I think it took close to 6 months before I was OK back in the gym doing ab exercises.

I did it outpatient but my husband is a doctor so I was comfortable with that. If he's at all sqeamish I would definitely stay the first night or two in a hospital/aftercare. Tuckthattummy and makemeheal have good message boards. Good luck! I feel so much better about myself after getting fixed back up.

[Anonymous]

I have the exact same problem...petite frame, carried huge babies very low...and now I look 4-5 months pregnant because my body is petite but my belly pooches out. I also have tons of extra skin, like one of those wrinkly dogs, and my belly button is a wreck. I didn't realize that the recovery from the tummy tuck is so brutal. Is it worse than a C-Section recovery? Also...how much does it generally cost?

[Anonymous]

For me, the tummy tuck was 10 times worse than a c-section. Really, it was no comparison to me. However, I've heard other women who didn't think it was that bad.
Cost was 8K.

[Anonymous]

OP here again - thanks for everyone's insight. For the PP - I was also quoted almost $9K for the tummy tuck.

For those of you that had them - did you go home with a pain pump? Were you on pain meds for several days or was it longer? Did you sleep in a recliner type chair? Were you able to go up and down stairs at all? Just trying to figure out some of the logistics of where I should plan to sleep, etc.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I did not come home with a pain pump but had some good pain killers. Percoset maybe, can't remember for sure. I stayed pretty looped up the first week. The second week I started to taper off and use tylenol more, but still was taking at least one dose of the painkillers each day. By the third week just tylenol. Stairs were not a problem for me. We didn't have a recliner so I just propped up a bunch of pillows in bed, but yes it would probably be helpful. You are going to be walking hunched over for a while. I think for me it was almost two weeks before I could fully straighten up. Make sure you use the spirometer thing they give you so you're getting some deep breaths and try to get up and walk around as much as possible.