Mommy Makeover/Tummy Tuck

bvttercvp

Hey guys!

I have about 116 pounds left to lose, and because I've been heavy my entire life, I'm already planning for/anticipating having to have surgery to remove that excess skin.

I understand that I don't know what my body will look like after the weight is lost, but I am a planner, so I have to know all of my options.

I'm just looking to find out information from others who have already gone through this experience. What was the recovery process like for you? How long until you felt back to normal? Are you happy with your results? What's the best/worst part of the entire experience?

coachb2016

i have never surgery but i think losing the weight on your own is a healthy way to go. Many people find success with team beachbody programs. They have programs for all fitness levels and they can give great results as well as overall health benefits. Let me know if you are interested

victoria_1024

How old are you? I've lost 90 lbs and have 4 kids. Yes I have stretch marks and loose skin but I've been happily wearing a bikini this summer so I don't think it's that bad!!

I've heard the surgery is pretty painful to recover from.

eileensofianmushinfine

I'm starting to research it now so I haven't been through it. I'm about 20 pounds from where I want my goal weight to be - and still have quite a chunky stomach/abdomen. the rest of me is a size 16 (down from a 22/24), tight and toned. It will make me feel better about myself -- and maybe I'll be confident enough to get into a bikini For the record, I'm 52, had 3 kids.

DaniCanadian

I plan to get a mini tummy tuck cause having 2 big babies, being short and carrying all out in front has stretched my stomach and I have the "mom apron" on the lower half. It'll probably hurt and it's definitely not a fun recovery (you have to get a drain put in, bleck!) but I think it'll be worth it.
Oh and I'm 5'3, I got to 200 with both babies when I was at my due date so sw would be around 185, current is 171, and goal is around 130-140. Once I hit my goal is when I'll go for the surgery.

ludazatobom

I want one too after I've lost 100lbs+ but hearing how horrible the recovery process is, is making me not want to do it ever. I have never worn a two piece bathing suit in my entire 29 yrs of life and oh how i wish to be in one at least once in my life but unfortunately i know i can't be with my loose tummy skin dangeling about. Ugh!

amyk0202

I had an extended tummy tuck with contouring liposuction (included in the price) in 2014. It was the best thing ever!

I saw 7 different surgeons before I picked one. Make sure you talk to a bunch of them. They all seemed to have slightly different ideas on how to fix my problem areas. Take good notes. It's too much information & too important to try to rely on your memory. I went in with a long list of questions that I asked each doctor. Most of them were free consults, but not all. It was worth it to pay. They all spent a great deal of time with me. My tummy was not the only thing I wanted to talk about, it just ended up being my priority once I saw how much everything would cost.

Look at their before & after pictures online. Read their reviews. Ask about their revision policy & rate. See where they put their incisions. Do they have experience working with weight loss patients? Our skin is generally not great. Look at pictures of women with your body type--surgery will not change your basic structure, so have realistic expectations.

My recovery took a long time but it was mostly just sitting around, not languishing in pain. The pain from tummy tuck itself was not that bad after the first week. I stopped taking the pain pills & switched to tylenol. I have a huge fear of getting addicted to pain pills. I developed a seroma which was a nuisance. I had to sit around all the time & go in to get it drained by needle every week. My doctor said that WLS patients are prone to them. I do seem to get them--I got another after I had a hernia repair last year. The lipo was very painful with movement after I had been still--like when I first got up in the morning--for many weeks . And it itched like crazy & I had to wear a compression garment for about 2 months. Oh, I also had to have my belly button revised because once I started healing, my body just decided that I didn't need a belly button any more & grew skin right over the top of it. That was done outpatient, under local, very quick & painless.

So, it all sounds worse than it really was. It was definitely worth it & I would absolutely do it all over. My doctor did a great job. I had a horrible skin apron that I could grab & pull out from my body a good bit. It was down to the top of my bits--not attractive. I had quite a bit of upper abdominal skin laxity as well. When I bent over, the skin would hang down & it was awful. My tummy is now flat. The scar runs from mid-hip to mid-hip. He put it really low--so from my hip, down into the crease of my leg, over my pubic bone, into the other leg crease, & on to the other hip. It's very thin & is fading now to a silvery scar (like my stretch marks) so it's not very noticeable at all. Some of my abdominal stretch marks were removed, my c-section scar is gone. I do still have some upper abdominal skin laxity. I could have had a fleur de lis tummy tuck (with a vertical incision) or a reverse tummy tuck (where they pull the skin up & put the scar under your breasts) which would have solved that problem. Neither of those options were appealing to me. The skin that hangs now when I bend over is much better than it was & I can live with it.

I love how I look now. It made all the difference for me. Losing the weight just didn't do it. I was still unhappy. Everyone can say that I should have been happy to be healthier, but I wasn't. Now I am. If I had the money, I'd do my arms & neck as well .

shariyahinton

Ive been researching the procedure too just in case I have excess skin. I still have about 60 pounds to lose. Browse realself.com
Lots of info and reviews

robininfl

Not me, but my co-worker did this and it changed my mind about plastic surgery in general. She had delicate skin with bad elasticity so it didn't bounce back after pregnancy and weight gain/loss. She showed me her belly and it was droopy droopy, a thousand times worse than mine though she was 10 years younger than me and had had only one baby, and her breasts were like empty bags.

They borrowed money to do the surgery, it cost as much as a new car! She had tummy tuck and breast lift and it was an amazing transformation absolutely worth the cost and brutal surgery and recovery. Her boobs were as perky as fake ones, her belly was smooth and the scar was about like a c-section scar, a little longer than that but the surgeon was extremely skilled and the scar was just a thin line. She wasn't skinny so there was more to work with, I think, in the end her waist was small, hips bigger, boobs as mentioned full and firm.


I'd say give your skin some time to recover first, stay at your weight 2-3 years, it shrinks some by itself, and may bounce back fine, think about how most ladies recover from pregnancy without blowing up the bellies, skin is often able to recover, and you'd save the money and pain and downtime. If you are still not happy, heck yes, I have seen the results of this surgery and think it is wonderful and transformative, the most bang for your buck in terms of plastic surgery.

ilex70

Agree with checking out realself.com and checking in with multiple surgeons. Chances are fair that you will be best served traveling to a doctor that deals with patients that have had massive weight loss; not a super common specialty.

It can be an awful lot of money.

And agree that it may not be as bad as you think. Varies a lot by person. Also it is hard to say now which areas will be more of a problem/priority for you.

TnZMom

My friend got a tummy tuck and breast augmentation (which included a lift) for $14k. She didn't have a lot of extra skin, tho. Just post-baby belly. She didn't complain too much about pain, but she's stoic, so hard to tell.

Elise4270

I had a tummy tuck with diastasis repair 2.5 years ago. I was off work two weeks. It wasn't miserable. Totally worth it. There are a lot of reviews (including my own) on Real Self.

I had twins and my stomach never recovered.