Has anybody had one after a c-section? I’m about to have my 4th c-section and after the last things never quite ... went back. I have the shelf and my waist is quite thickened. Do tummy tucks help?

I am the poster who had one after multiples. It was a full six week recovery for me. Mine sounds much tougher than a previous posters. I was completely useless the first week. On so many painkillers I couldn’t function and had full help with my kids. The second week I was not ready to go out but I sat with my kids and did stuff around the house. My husband was still home to do heavy lifting with the kids. Third week I was on my own, able to drive, and got better from there on out. Six weeks until I was 100% and ready to exercise. I couldn’t stand fully straight up the first two weeks. I can’t remember when I got the drain out but I know I had two drains the first week. My scar is not pretty as I am fair and don’t scar well, but it doesn’t really bother me. I have stretch marks and won’t ever be wearing a bikini again.
I think I have an average pain tolerance. C sections were not a big deal for me - used little pain meds and was driving within a couple of days. I hear a wide range of recovery experiences, mine was pretty brutal. I also feel like some surgeons pull them tighter. Mine is still extremely flat years later.

To the PP who had one for diastis, I also want one after a multiples pregnancy did a lot of damage. How painful was the recovery? We live in the city in a townhouse so i am wondering about stairs? How long until you couldn’t be useful with the kids again (help getting them off to school, drive, etc). Any dr recs in DC? TIA

* 2 weeks for driving to feel doable.

I had one, no regrets! Though I gained 20lbs since then and am nervous if it will look different when I lose the weight.

I don't live there so dr. Not relevant but definitely start bringing it up in conversation and ask around. I found someone where i could actually see her scar up close. We sorta bonded over it and are best friends now.

I kept the tape on the scar for a long time, much longer than they recommended and I had like 5 pairs of spanx that I wore much longer than recommended. I credit that and a great doctor to a fabulous looking scar, it is super thin and blends in to my fair skin. My friends is much thicker.

Know that you don't get to pick where the scar goes. Mine had to be a little higher than I would have liked but still is easily covered by most bikini bottoms.

But I'm really happy with it.

Recovery not so bad, I had my kids back on day 3. Definitely will want to have a recliner. (Note you can rent them from medical places). It was 4 years ago but I most remember feeling panicky when I kind of got stuck in my bed and couldn't get up, and terrible pain when my stomach started working again. I had an adult around for the first 12hrs and then was alone. I did need help putting my compression stockings back on after showering the first few times.

Driving was impossible and extremely uncomfortable for a long time, I could not shoulder check.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you lost every single pound you would ever consider losing first, don’t do it.

NP but I'm curious about your answer. Can you expand - why lose "all the weight ever" prior to the surgery?

Because you will get more loose skin once you lose more weight. And because you are getting the skin and muscle cut into, losing weight will result in the “fold over” were the incision is.

A tummy tuck should be the last resort. Only to be used once you put in all the hard work from diet and exercise and are otherwise at your goal weight but due to pregnancies, aging skin, or whatnot, the leftover skin hasn’t completely shrunk as your waistline did.

This may be the right answer for you, but not everyone.
A mini tummy tuck repairs the skin which is what you are addressing. A full tummy tuck repairs the muscle. If you have diastasis, exercise can make it worse. There are some pregnancies that you just can’t recover from without a TT. Someone will come in here and say how they did it with the Tupler technique, but I believe no amount of exercise would have fixed the muscle damage from having triplets, and having the TT sooner rather than later was the right decision for me.

Not the OP, but had an 11.5 lb baby and a 10 lb baby, and am planning on a tummy tuck with full muscle repair in the next 6 months. I welcome any experience you can share, tips, advice, etc. Totally agree that tupler and other programs just do not work for certain level of damage - and its not just diastasis (separation), it's also laxity of the muscles, i basically have no core despite hospital PT, tupler, years of modified crossfit, etc. I look about 5 mo preg all the time, and if I eat it jumps to 7.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you lost every single pound you would ever consider losing first, don’t do it.

NP but I'm curious about your answer. Can you expand - why lose "all the weight ever" prior to the surgery?

Because you will get more loose skin once you lose more weight. And because you are getting the skin and muscle cut into, losing weight will result in the “fold over” were the incision is.

A tummy tuck should be the last resort. Only to be used once you put in all the hard work from diet and exercise and are otherwise at your goal weight but due to pregnancies, aging skin, or whatnot, the leftover skin hasn’t completely shrunk as your waistline did.

This may be the right answer for you, but not everyone.
A mini tummy tuck repairs the skin which is what you are addressing. A full tummy tuck repairs the muscle. If you have diastasis, exercise can make it worse. There are some pregnancies that you just can’t recover from without a TT. Someone will come in here and say how they did it with the Tupler technique, but I believe no amount of exercise would have fixed the muscle damage from having triplets, and having the TT sooner rather than later was the right decision for me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you lost every single pound you would ever consider losing first, don’t do it.

NP but I'm curious about your answer. Can you expand - why lose "all the weight ever" prior to the surgery?

Because you will get more loose skin once you lose more weight. And because you are getting the skin and muscle cut into, losing weight will result in the “fold over” were the incision is.

A tummy tuck should be the last resort. Only to be used once you put in all the hard work from diet and exercise and are otherwise at your goal weight but due to pregnancies, aging skin, or whatnot, the leftover skin hasn’t completely shrunk as your waistline did.

This is just dumb. If you want a tummy tuck, just have one. It doesn't have to be a moral issue, like resulting from protestant work ethic or something.

Actually, i'd recommend getting to the general shape you want but NOT trying to take off the last 15 pounds. Because the tummy tuck will get rid of those fat cells for you. If you lose it first, those fat cells will still be lingering in your tummy ready to be reactivated the minute you start eating again.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you lost every single pound you would ever consider losing first, don’t do it.

NP but I'm curious about your answer. Can you expand - why lose "all the weight ever" prior to the surgery?

Because you will get more loose skin once you lose more weight. And because you are getting the skin and muscle cut into, losing weight will result in the “fold over” were the incision is.

A tummy tuck should be the last resort. Only to be used once you put in all the hard work from diet and exercise and are otherwise at your goal weight but due to pregnancies, aging skin, or whatnot, the leftover skin hasn’t completely shrunk as your waistline did.

Have you had one?
I had one to fix diastasis after a multiples pregnancy. Later changed my mind and had two more pregnancies after the tummy tuck. The skin loosened up a bit but not much and definitely not enough to “fold over”. I think it would take a significant amount of weight gain to do this.
It would be ideal to lose all the weight but I wouldn’t let that stop me if I was within 15 lbs or so.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you lost every single pound you would ever consider losing first, don’t do it.

NP but I'm curious about your answer. Can you expand - why lose "all the weight ever" prior to the surgery?

Because you will get more loose skin once you lose more weight. And because you are getting the skin and muscle cut into, losing weight will result in the “fold over” were the incision is.

A tummy tuck should be the last resort. Only to be used once you put in all the hard work from diet and exercise and are otherwise at your goal weight but due to pregnancies, aging skin, or whatnot, the leftover skin hasn’t completely shrunk as your waistline did.

A woman I know did this, and because her waist is now relatively slim but the rest of her is still heavy, she looks weirdly proportioned. I think she should have tried longer with the diet/exercise route before she resorted to surgery.

Anonymous wrote:Unless you lost every single pound you would ever consider losing first, don’t do it.

Np. What about for diastasis recti?

Anonymous wrote:Unless you lost every single pound you would ever consider losing first, don’t do it.

NP but I'm curious about your answer. Can you expand - why lose "all the weight ever" prior to the surgery?

Unless you lost every single pound you would ever consider losing first, don’t do it.

Would u do it again? How are you dealing with the scar? How long before the scar isn’t so obvious? What surgeon did you use?