Wanting tummy tuck, but terrified!!

I'm about three years post op from RNY and i recently had a baby boy. I really want to get a T.T. I would guess i have atleast 15lbs of excess skin. But im very scared of the recovery process. Ive had several surgeries and recovered okay..or should i say dealt with the pain ok. Im just nervous and would like to hear some stories ao i know what to expect.

I'm recovering from a LBL and BL, and I can honestly say that the tummy tuck part was the hardest part to recover from. 

Are you finished having children?  I don't know if I'd do a tummy tuc****il all the babies are done.  All in all, of the few surgeries I've had, this was by far the hardest recovery, but also the most fun!  I do not miss that skin!

I had 3 sections and WLS and Hysto...in the end, this surgery did me in.  I am done going under the knife.  I had a fleur de lis TT and BL at the same time and the recovery was difficult..I was prepared for pain, no biggy on that one but the need to rely on someone so much is what did me in.  Drugs help the pain, but I needed someone to help me shower/ change my underwear/ day to day things...that is what kills me and my A type control issue personality!!! 

Now that I am 20 days out, the pain is not a problem but I am still tired at the end of the day.

 

 

Part of the reason that I went with Dr Sauceda, was the after care in the clinic and the stay at the Hampton Inn with his RN coming daily to help with my shower and getting ointment and gauze and squeezing me back into my compression garments.  I was a week at the clinic and a week at the hotel.

All my body work - LBL, BL, arms and sm thigh were relatively pain free, the face lift was a different matter.

I was off for 8 weeks, no heavy lifting for 6 weeks.  I was 58 when I had my PS done.   

Pain control after surgery is a process and a plan that changes depending on your responses to various therapies and even your emotional status.  It starts with a careful history of what has and has not worked for you in the past and may change as time goes on. Certain types of meds work well early on, whereas others are better after a week.

I think a LOT can be done to minimize the pain after TT.  Injecting the surgery site before tightening the muscles, then soaking the area in numbing medication for the first three days goes a long way to decrease pain.  If I can "fool" patients into waking up and not realizing the had surgery (i.e. not feeling pain as their first feeling upon awakening), it changes the whole recovery process for the better.

Using a PCA (patient-controlled analgesia) pump for IV narcotics is also a good help for many, and allowing pills to be taken the next morning when the fear of stomach upset is lower also helps. Judicious use of a muscle relaxer for patients who get stiff laying in one position also goes a long way to increase comfort.

Pain control is really a program that should be custom-designed for each patient.

Ask your doctor what their plan for controlling your pain involves. No key fits every lock  so the answer can't just be the name of a medication that may or may not work for you.

I have found the Real Self community a pretty good source of recovery stories so you may want to consider poking around over there a bit:

http://www.realself.com/review/houston-tx-body-lift-dr-lomonaco-great