One week post-mommy makeover. AMA!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What does your DH think?

Don’t have one. This was a birthday present to myself. My stomach was destroyed and I’ve been The Girl With the Huge Boobs since I was twelve. I’ve earned this. However, my ex-husband said I looked great and my kids said I’m still the prettiest mommy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Be wel, OP. You’re still in the thick of it.
Just a question out of curiosity - what does extended mean? I had a full and I’ve heard it called mini, but not heard extended before.

Thank you! It’s no joke and I definitely underestimated my recovery journey.

Extended means that they had to fully repair my abdominal wall. You could toss a baseball through my diastasis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What does your DH think?

Don’t have one. This was a birthday present to myself. My stomach was destroyed and I’ve been The Girl With the Huge Boobs since I was twelve. I’ve earned this. However, my ex-husband said I looked great and my kids said I’m still the prettiest mommy

Good for you, OP. I’m personally scared of plastic surgery but genuinely happy for people who get it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How long were you under anesthesia? Were there any complications? This is what I am most concerned about.

Second concern. Can you walk post op? How soon? How much can you do on your own immediately after & how much help do you need?

Also, are you local DMV? If so, did you like your surgeon & could you share their name?

Thanks, Twin Mom with extra belly skin and flat boobs.

6.5 hours. Seriously. I’ve never been under that long. I woke up extremely confused and even had hallucinations. But no complications.

You will be walking within several hours. This is an outpatient procedure. Your caregiver should have you on your feet within eight hours post-op. It’ll hurt like hell. But yes, you’ll be walking. I recommend getting a walker. Mine has been a lifesaver.

Surgeon was Dr. Douglas Forman. Would go with him again in a second.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good luck OP! I know several people who developed wound infections from the abdominoplasty that required wearing some kind of drainage pump for 6 weeks. They were overweight though, so probably affected their healing.

Thank you! So far, so good. Last drain comes out tomorrow. Going in at a healthy weight makes a huge difference.

[Anonymous]

OP here - as far as who should be your surgeon, we are really lucky in the DMV to have a lot of good options. For me, the choice came down to talking to people who had the same issues I did and who had good results. I also noticed who had repeat customers. Obviously this is a place where doing your homework is really important. To the greatest extent possible, do not pick a surgeon based on cost. You will get what you pay for. I have seen so much awful PS that looks like it was purchased with a Groupon that it made me pretty snotty about who I chose. I’m not trying to look like an inflatable girlfriend, I just want to not fold up my stomach like a damn balloon animal to get it into my pants.

But as I’ve mentioned in a couple of previous posts, I chose Dr. Doug Forman and would recommend him to anyone. He checked all my boxes. His office is very organized, everyone I worked with was professional and pleasant, and he answered every question I had. I basically showed up with a list of interview questions and he was totally cool. He’s also just really damn nice and very attuned to what brings someone into his office. There was none of the smarminess or artificiality one might expect from a plastic surgery office. There’s a real professionalism and sensitivity that comes through and I knew from the first time I spoke to him that I would pick him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How long were you under anesthesia? Were there any complications? This is what I am most concerned about.

Second concern. Can you walk post op? How soon? How much can you do on your own immediately after & how much help do you need?

Also, are you local DMV? If so, did you like your surgeon & could you share their name?

Thanks, Twin Mom with extra belly skin and flat boobs.

I forgot to answer the help part of your question - you will need a LOT of help because you’ll need crazy amounts of drugs to manage your pain. At the very least, you need someone with you for the first 72 hours. You won’t be able to do household chores for over a week. My kids have to hug me very gently. No lifting anything over five pounds. And no driving for 2-3 weeks. If you have a mother, sister, spouse, whatever who can basically move in for a few weeks, take advantage of it. I’ve had some help, but have done a lot of this on my own and it sucks.

[Anonymous]

Congrats, OP! I did this when I was 27 after losing a lot of weight with gastric bypass surgery. After going through that, I feel like I can handle anything!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How long were you under anesthesia? Were there any complications? This is what I am most concerned about.

Second concern. Can you walk post op? How soon? How much can you do on your own immediately after & how much help do you need?

Also, are you local DMV? If so, did you like your surgeon & could you share their name?

Thanks, Twin Mom with extra belly skin and flat boobs.

I forgot to answer the help part of your question - you will need a LOT of help because you’ll need crazy amounts of drugs to manage your pain. At the very least, you need someone with you for the first 72 hours. You won’t be able to do household chores for over a week. My kids have to hug me very gently. No lifting anything over five pounds. And no driving for 2-3 weeks. If you have a mother, sister, spouse, whatever who can basically move in for a few weeks, take advantage of it. I’ve had some help, but have done a lot of this on my own and it sucks.

Why not expect your dad or brother to help?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How long were you under anesthesia? Were there any complications? This is what I am most concerned about.

Second concern. Can you walk post op? How soon? How much can you do on your own immediately after & how much help do you need?

Also, are you local DMV? If so, did you like your surgeon & could you share their name?

Thanks, Twin Mom with extra belly skin and flat boobs.

I forgot to answer the help part of your question - you will need a LOT of help because you’ll need crazy amounts of drugs to manage your pain. At the very least, you need someone with you for the first 72 hours. You won’t be able to do household chores for over a week. My kids have to hug me very gently. No lifting anything over five pounds. And no driving for 2-3 weeks. If you have a mother, sister, spouse, whatever who can basically move in for a few weeks, take advantage of it. I’ve had some help, but have done a lot of this on my own and it sucks.

Why not expect your dad or brother to help?

Omg please, don’t even start.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How long were you under anesthesia? Were there any complications? This is what I am most concerned about.

Second concern. Can you walk post op? How soon? How much can you do on your own immediately after & how much help do you need?

Also, are you local DMV? If so, did you like your surgeon & could you share their name?

Thanks, Twin Mom with extra belly skin and flat boobs.

I forgot to answer the help part of your question - you will need a LOT of help because you’ll need crazy amounts of drugs to manage your pain. At the very least, you need someone with you for the first 72 hours. You won’t be able to do household chores for over a week. My kids have to hug me very gently. No lifting anything over five pounds. And no driving for 2-3 weeks. If you have a mother, sister, spouse, whatever who can basically move in for a few weeks, take advantage of it. I’ve had some help, but have done a lot of this on my own and it sucks.

Why not expect your dad or brother to help?

Op literally said a few posts above that she’s not married ........

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, OP — please share cost & who did your surgery. I’m done having kids and look like hell. I have diastasis from twins and my stomach is awful.

NP: If it is just the diastasis that you want to correct, have you considered minimally invasive surgery? I had robotic laparoscopic repair. It’s a much shorter recovery time than a traditional tummy tuck. But it doesn’t remove excess flesh - just does the repair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, OP — please share cost & who did your surgery. I’m done having kids and look like hell. I have diastasis from twins and my stomach is awful.

NP: If it is just the diastasis that you want to correct, have you considered minimally invasive surgery? I had robotic laparoscopic repair. It’s a much shorter recovery time than a traditional tummy tuck. But it doesn’t remove excess flesh - just does the repair.

NP. Yeah, but a distaste repair with twin skin on top of it would still look like crap.

[Anonymous]

How does the scar on tummy look? Think you'll ever wear a two piece?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, OP — please share cost & who did your surgery. I’m done having kids and look like hell. I have diastasis from twins and my stomach is awful.

NP: If it is just the diastasis that you want to correct, have you considered minimally invasive surgery? I had robotic laparoscopic repair. It’s a much shorter recovery time than a traditional tummy tuck. But it doesn’t remove excess flesh - just does the repair.

,


Not to highjack the thread, but a question to PP:

What was the name of the surgery? And the surgeon if you don’t mind?

Fellow mom with diastasis and over 15 lbs extra post baby... considering options...