Has anyone had a tummy tuck after weight loss?

Wait a while after you are finished losing. You will see some skin tightening naturally. I am 5yrs after a 100lb loss and at first I was pretty lose and flabby but most of it is gone now. There is still some but I am ok with it now most days. I think I would advise waiting at least 2yrs. You will see most of the improvement in that time and you won't put your weight loss at as much risk by adding the additional stress of surgery before you are fully settled in maintenance.

if only we could save 100 $ for every pound we lose...

I had a tummy tuck and breast lift/aug five weeks ago. I have had weekly doctor visits, plus one extra to have fluid aspirated from my lower abdomen. I also had three drains immediately after surgery, two removed at the two week mark, and the third stayed in until the four week mark. Trust me, this is not an easy recovery. The first two weeks suck. (I do know that some surgeons do "drainless" tummy tuck. Mine does not.) As in all things, YMMV.

Would I do it over again? I think so. Ask me again in a month, when my incisions are more fully healed, when I'm not wearing an abdominal compression garment and sports bra 24/7, and when I'm back up to full strength and stamina. My clothes fit very nicely already, and I do like that!

FitOldMomma wrote: »

On a serious note...I've read that a tummy tuck is one of the most painful surgeries to recover from, but that it also produces the most satisfied patients.

Re the pain factor: my experience wasn't that I was in a lot of pain. I do remember being in the recovery room and needing to cough, and that was excruciating, but it was just that one time. Once I got home, I took a pain pill every four hours pretty much around the clock for three days, but by the fourth day I was stretching the time between to about six hours, and I took my very last pain pill on day ten (only took two pills on days eight and nine). I did take ibuprofen during that period, as well, and maybe stayed on that for a week after the pain pills.

It's not pain, it's discomfort, LOTS of discomfort. You can't stand upright for a week, so my back got really, really sore. It's hard to move (I had a breast lift at the same time, so I had limited use of my arms at first) and I found I just plain got stiff and sore and it was so hard to reposition myself in bed. If you have drains, they come out below your suture line, out of the mons pubis if you're a woman. When they get tugged on (inevitable), it hurts, and the exit sites themselves are very tender. You will become very protective of that area! The suture line itself is not painful, in fact, it's mostly numb, especially in the center. My belly button area didn't hurt at all. I remember burning pain just below my breastbone--I think it's from the stretching. That only lasted about a week.

It's no picnic. It was a bigger deal than I thought it would be. But so far, so good. I'm dealing with fluid accumulation issues now (seroma) and it's a hassle but not painful. And it's getting better. Hopefully I'll be released from compression garments next week!