Tummy Tuck/Cosmetic Surgery

I am planning the same. After 3 pregnancies (and each baby being 9+ pounds), and 3 c-sections, my stomach is a mass of loose skin, stretch marks, and sagging. There is no way it will go back to normal on it's own. I'll be planning surgery once I reach goal (at that point it will be a 80-90 lb loss in total).

i too have a tummy tuck planned in the next couple years. i have already gone for a consultation and therefore have quite a bit to save! 2 pregnancies and when i reach goal( another 30lb) i will have lost 80lbs. my stomach is full of stretch marks and lose skin. i pretty much wear shapewear daily.

My sister lost a lot of weight and 4 weeks ago travelled to Mexico for a tummy tuck and arm lift. I know a lot of people are very anti medical tourism, but she did her research and didn't go by price alone. She had a great hospital and amazing care. The difference in her already, even with the normal swelling that takes a few months to subside, is incredible.

A fair number in my Bariatric support group are considering it. I think I'll dodge that bullet, though I've got some impressive soggy bits myself. For me, the sagging is not interfering with what I want to do. I totally understand if you need to do this.

There are several surgeries available like a 360 whole body lift (graphic photos) or a panniculectomy. It all depends on where you end up what you will need.

i have lost ~70 lbs and i have loose skin on my lower abdomen and inner thighs. it definitely causes me distress and unless i see a miraculous change in another year or so, i'm going to have surgery to fix it. it interferes with clothes fitting me properly -- i'm a different size in my abdomen than my chest or my butt, so buying new clothes isn't the joy i thought it'd be once i lost weight. i'm only 24, 5' 4", ~123 lbs and yet still have a "hanging" stomach like i did when i was obese, but i can tell that the majority of that hang is skin now. when i bend over or sit down it's just awful. you can grab it with both hands, it's all wrinkly and folds and squishes... just yuck! that's definitely NOT something i want to live with for the rest of my life. i'm also rather nervous about going under the knife, not only the risk of death that comes with any surgical procedure but also 'cause i know it's going to result in scars and a basically deformed bellybutton. but if it means i can wear the clothes i want and not feel downright ashamed, embarrassed, and self-hating when i look in a mirror then i think it could be worth it.

I'm guessing I'm going to need it so I'm saving up now!

About 10 years ago, I lost 100 pounds and I was left with a little "skirt" of hanging skin. I had a tummy tuck which was not only the tummy, but also wrapped around each hip towards the back. I think it went almost 3/4 of the way all around me. The surgeon also did liposuction at the same time. I was happy at the time even though it was very painful to recover from. I was generally pleased with the result, but even today still have some pain upon contact. I am not sure if this will fade, or maybe it's because my work was so large. I don't know whether this has been anyone else's experience.

Unfortunately, I gained all that weight back...but luckily my same shape remained, my tummy was firm, and I had curves still. You never regain fat back in the same place as you had the tummy tuck and lipo apparently. Now that I have lost 70 pounds again, I have to say that my tummy and hips look better than the first time I lost the weight, due to having had the tummy tuck. There is nothing hanging like the frist time I did this. I beat myself up big time after I gained the weight back, and thought I'd ruined everything. But I guess I will just have to wait and see how I look after the rest of the weight comes off again....this time for good. I am so pumped about having the confidence to commit to this for life.

Although I am glad that I had this surgery 9 years ago, I'm not sure I'd do it again. I guess I will know more once I am nearer my goal, still 65 pounds to go yet. ( I gained back more than I lost the first time around )

It also does result in a weight loss when you have that excess cut off....mine weighed 10 pounds. But be warned.....you won't be able to exercise vigorously for 8 weeks after having the procedure, so it is hard to stay within your plan without gaining some weight back. Also be prepared to wear compression garments to hold you back together afterwards....weird but necessary. I felt like I'd fall apart at the seams if I didn't have it on.

I also liked my new belly button too.

I had my consult yesterday, April 8, and have scheduled a pre-op appointment for Nov.10. I am hoping that by than I will be down to 150 lbs or less. Currently doing cardio and using dumbbells to tone up.

I highly suggest checking out the website Real Self and looking through the tummy tuck reviews. It has them listed by location and doctor (if the person doing the review included it). Not only will you see pictures with real results (it follows people before, during and after their surgery), you'll get tips on what to expect during the healing process, medical complications that can occur, and you'll know who NOT to go to. You can look on there for surgeons in your area and see if they have reviews and if anyone has used them. A tummy tuck is a very big (and painful!) surgery. I personally recommend going to a highly rated doctor and NOT making a decision on which doctor to used based on the lowest price.

I just had a full tummy tuck and breast lift with augment on the 17th of April and am doing great. Word to the wise, search for a board certified plastic surgeon (of course) one who preferably does a quilting stitch closure WITHOUT drains. I have lost over 115 pounds and had tons of extra skin in my midsection and my breasts were a sad story...real sad. Anyways they also used Exparel which is injected into the muscle during surgery and is slow release pain med for 72 hours. At no point during my recovery have I had more that a 2 out of 10 as my pain level. My PS was shocked on Monday when I came in walking straight up on Monday after only having surgery on Friday. Stopped taking Dilauded on day 2, it made me itchy...just been taking Mortin. The whole thing cost me about $12,000 which will vary by surgeon and region ( I live in VA Beach). Never pegged myself as a plastic surgery kinda gal so it was weird for me, but I have no regrets and can't wait to see how I look in a few months, so pleased so far. Feel free to add me as a friend and I can send you pictures if you'd like.

Ladies for those of you who have had it, what was the pain level like? How long before you felt "normal" and could drive, walk straight, etc

Yes. I had mine in Dec. I have had 2 kids, I got hernias with both pregnancy's. I decided to have the tummy tuck when the Doc told me that he would have to do muscle repair with the hernia surgery and the top half of my stomach would be flat but I would always have the loose hanging skin. I couldn't live with that. So I had my surgery when my son was 6 month (so I could do it in the same year since I had met my insurance deductible and the hernia surgery would be free). It was challenging, but by Christmas I was moving around pretty good. It was a great decision! It allowed me to get my confidence back (which my husband is happy with;0) and I was motivated to get back to the gym and try to get my body looking even better. I would be happy to answer any questions

vision2012 wrote: »

Ladies for those of you who have had it, what was the pain level like? How long before you felt "normal" and could drive, walk straight, etc

I had a drainless TT with muscle tightening. Drainless is the way to go in my personal opinion. I agree with one of the other ladies who replied, the pain was excruciating, and I also have a pretty high pain tolerance. I only took painkillers for the first few days though, because I don't like how they make me feel. It's very hard to move around, even moving a little bit hurts and takes a long time. I wasn't able to stand up straight until around the end of week 4. I planned on going back to work after being off for a week, but I developed a blood clot in my leg from the surgery and was out another week because of that. (Note - If you are taking birth control pills before your surgery, you need to come off of it! You are already at a higher risk for clots being on the pill, and the surgery increases that risk even more.) I also wasn't able to do ab work for the first six months, but I was able to start working out again after three months. One thing I noticed with my surgery was that the true results didn't show until around the 9 month mark. There was a lot of swelling and stuff that had to go down, and it took so much longer than I expected it to.

Just be realistic with your expectations of how you will look after the TT. I think a lot of people expect to have a super flat stomach with no pooch when they sit down, and that's not necessarily realistic if you have body fat (which most of us do). That's why I recommend the website Real Self, because everyone's results are different and you can get an idea of what to expect.

One piece of advice for those of you who have not yet had the surgery but are going to - get a 10 pound bag of bird seed and put it in a pillow case for after your surgery. Lay that across your stomach while you are sitting and laying down, even when you are wearing the binder. The pressure will help keep the swelling down and the birdseed easily shapes itself to your body, so it gives you an extra feeling of support and stability. When you go in the car, take it with you too! If for some reason the person driving has to stop quickly, the seatbelt will tighten around the birdseed and not your incision. My surgeon recommended it to me, and it was a lifesaver!

Thank you for sharing, everybody. This is a very interesting thread. I am hoping not to have to go the tummy tuck route but I don't know what lies ahead for me. This is not me but is pretty representative of where I am right now. My foldover is slightly larger with it starting over my hip bones. Like the woman in the picture, I am pretty fit everyplace else on my body so I am a bit worried about how much more weight I'll need to lose the stomach. I still feel a lot of fat in there so it seems like I have a ways to go but I think it's impossible to tell ahead of time.

Bumping this because I know at some point I may consider it although I hate pain, had c-sections with horrible recovery. Anyone who had in the last few months?