Down 70 lbs and before/after tummy tuck pics

mjemerson

Hello to my fellow MFP's I wanted to post my before and after surgery pics. My journey started a couple years ago when I started losing weight. I was at my highest of 235 and I am currently at 165 now, a loss of 70lbs!!! Like some of you out there I got unlucky in the genetic department and found that the more I lost weight the worse I actually looked because as you can see in my pics after having 2 pregnancies and 2 c-sections I stretched out horribly and my skin lost all it elasticity. SO my only option to get rid of it was to have surgery, otherwise known as a Tummy Tuck. I had some other medical factors that made it "medically necessary" as well, an umbilical hernia, about a 4 in. muscle separation that needed repair and back problems.

I know that surgery isn't an option for everyone and some people are so completely against it but as I say to each their own. Honestly I wouldn't recommend this surgery to anyone and really only to the people that have a severe case for the simple reason that it is a HUGE surgery with a long recovery time and there can be complications. I was one of those people. When I cam out of surgery I was feeling fabulous, had gotten up and moved around a bit even. Then about 4 hours later things started to go down. My blood pressure dropped dangerously low and I started to bleed internally. I was then taken into emergency surgery again where they stopped the bleeding and gave me a blood transfusion. Since then things have gone well for me, and I am recovering well just VERY SLOWLY! I am the exception to the rule most people have the surgery and go home the same day. I don't want to scare people but I do want to be honest and realistic.

I know for some of you it can be very frustrating that no matter how much weight you lose you feel like you will always have that belly. Well a good rule of thumb is that if you stomach STICKS OUT then it is a good bet you will be able to tone and flatten it but if you have a lot of stretch marks and your belly HANGS DOWN then no matter how many crunches you do it wont go away.

Now that I am seeing my new body I am of course ecstatic about my results. i I know I will never have a beautiful stomach or ever be able to wear a bikini and look like a model. That was not the point of the surgery for me. I needed to do it for the medical reasons but also to get rid of that "fold" that made it look like I have a second butt in front.

Please don't take this post as an advocacy for plastic surgery. This is just my own unique story and journey that I went on and I wanted to share with others that might be in a similar situation. I will always tell people that eating right and exercise should always be the way to lose weight and get healthy. I believe surgery should only be a LAST resort. Having said all of that, lol here are the pictures!

The after pictures are post-op 2 weeks and there is still quite a bit of swelling. I have been informed there will be for about 6 months. I plan on taking pics about every 2 weeks to see the progress.

At my highest weight - 235 August of 2006


The merged pictures are night before surgery and 2 weeks post op:
front view


side view

mjemerson

oh my those pictures are a lot bigger then I expected them to be. Yikes that is scary looking at myself like that, lol. The lines on my stomach in the front view of the post op picture is from the "binder" that I have to wear for 6-8 weeks to help hold my stomach in as I recover and control the swelling. it is pretty much a corset. not fun to wear to say the least!

SabrinaG1986

Oh wow! You look great.

Goal_Seeker_1988

wow, now i def know I wanna get a tummy tuck to take care of my loose skin. thanx for sharing!!!

jennajocummings

Inspiring! Thanks for sharing your story! It's truly motivating!

jennajocummings

Inspiring! Thanks for sharing your story! It's truly motivating!

jpamplin28

Congrats on your weight loss. I would love to keep up with your progress. I am going to see a surgeon next week since after losing so much my abdomen has major issues that no amount of exercise is going to fix. Good luck with your recovery.

Captain_Mal

Well you look great post op.

liz3marie

you do look good !!! and wow it was really wierd seeing your before pictures because your body looks exactly like mine!! expecially your tummy, thats crazy

dls06

Congratulation! You lood great.:flowerforyou:

CMmrsfloyd

bump - no time to type now but I have questions to ask for later

OSUalum

Congratulations on your weight loss! And thanks for sharing your pics.
I am hating the loose skin I have now from my weight loss. Every once in a while I consider the surgery but I've wondered if the scars would end up looking worse than the skin.
Keep us posted on your healing!

Sepa

Thanks for sharing. You look really good

amandakoch2537

Wow! Your progress is coming along! You are looking great. You have come a long way by losing 70 pounds yourself. Keep it up

docHelen

you've done a fab job on the weight loss and looks like the surgeons have done you proud too.

cweiler4

Congrats! You look great and you will start to feel better soon. I got a tummy tuck in 2007. It was the best thing I ever did to get rid of loose skin. Unfortunately, your recovery was lot worse than mine, but everyone is different. Even after my surgery, I got up to 165lbs which was my highest weight and I have now lost 30lbs.

My doctor told me it takes a good year to really see the results of the surgery. Wear that binder as long as you can. I wore it the first time I tried to workout. Go easy on your tummy muscles. They will cramp up very easily when working out!!

Congrats and go easy on your recovery.:happy:

mjemerson

Thank you for the support! I was really nervous that people would be negative about the whole "plastic surgery" thing. I know there are a lot of people out there that are in the same boat that I was before the surgery and they are too embarrassed or nervous to talk about it. I am hear if anyone has specific questions or just wants to talk about their situation, feel free to friend request or message me at anytime!

ShellBell4281

I think you look amazing! I know of a great support site for this surgery. I, myself had a tummy tuck and I couldn't have done it without the support of the friends I've made on this site. Message me if you'd like to join

songofserenity81

You are doing fantastically . I have come to the conclusion you are right with your rule of thumb, and am pushing my GP to start the process for applying for funding if at all possible for my TT.

cjwalker81

That's awesome!!! You look great!! There is a tummy tuck in my future. My mom had one already. My oldest sister had the verticle sleeve surgery then had basically a full body make over!! So I saw what they went through, mom my had some complications, but I know it's something I want. My tummy hangs very very bad

A_New_Horizon

You look great even with the surgery. I can't wait to see more after more of the swelling goes down. I have also had 2 babies (naturally), and I have the same fold - It has gotten alot smaller but it is still there even 56 lbs down. I don't believe it will ever go away - they will permanently be my scares from my babies (wouldn't trade them for the world though). I carry all my weight in my stomach (my whole life), but I will just do the best I can. Surgery really isn't my thing, but I am so happy it worked for you (especially since it was medically necessary). Keep us updated on you, so we can follow your journey through your healing process.

brit49

I love the way you explained this, you did what you felt you had to do. You do look great, nice stomach

irunforfun

Thank you for sharing your story with us. I have full intentions of getting my problem areas reconstructed once I can comitt to a time to "rest" post-surgery (right now my fitness goals are too important)...this kind of makes me want to think things over. I am sorry you had such a rough recovery with your surgery though. You look great though and should be proud of your results!

Cindy311

You look absolutely fabulous!!!! I can't wait to see the finished product...haha! It's great that you shared the ups and downs of your experience since it helps people factor everything in before they decide if it's for them or not

hamiltonba

Not to sound rude, but how much does it cost (aprox.)? It looks great. Also, is there a reason why you didn't wait until you lost more? I was told that you get better results if you are within 10 lbs of your goal weight. - You look great so please don't take this the wrong way!

Ayla20103005

Thank you for sharing
Good on you for having the surgery and being open about it.
I too have a bad overhang, and I will be having surgery someday once ive finished losing weight. I am waiting for a letter from the local hospital actually with an appointment to get it covered under our medicare possibly since I also have a separation in my abdominal muscles, after my 2 boys. Even with exercises from my physio it has not closed, and my core strength is not great. This is why they may cover it, if not our health insurance will, so just have to wait now, and finish losing weight.
Did you have a muscle separation repaired too? Or just the lose skin?
Looking good
Are you just 2 weeks post surgery now? Sorry your recovery has not been great, fingerscrossed its all up from here.

Ayla20103005

opps sorry should have read properly, I saw you had to have a hernia repair too.

mah1963

YOU LOOK GOOD AND I'M TRY TO LOSE 70 POUNDS .I HAVE A BACK INJURY AND ARTHRITS HAVE GOT IN MY BACIK ITS CAUSE ME A LOT OF PAIN,SO I'M HAPPY FOR YOU

carlad1234

Good for you !!!! It is totally an individual's choice .... We each have to live with who we are so why not feel your best !! I joined a while ago and well just slowly let 35 ibs creep on. I met my soulmate earlier this year and we recently became engaged I am so happy and he thinks I am perfect... lol... I need to lose this weight for myself so here goes I am on track as of today.. thanks for sharing your story!!

Bankman1989

Congrats on the weight loss and you look so much better. Glad to see you are living a healthier life!

carlad1234

Just thought I would say hello and I can relate to the back and arthritis pain. I was rear ended in a car accident almost four years ago and as a result have back pain as well as fibro malayisa (spelling whoops) so it takes so much for me to get motivated but last year I started walking to and from work it was about 20 min each way at a good pace and I lost over 15 ibs in a short amount of time, unforturnately I gained it back because I stopped walking so today is my day to get back on track! Good luck to you!