Question:
Please tell me about the abdominoplasty
I`m having my abdominoplasty done on 05-17-04 and was wondering if anyone could share their experience and how the pain was after the surgery and what to expect. — Marti M. (posted on May 4, 2004)
May 3, 2004
Tough a** surgery but worth every bit of it!!! Read my profile for
details! Good luck to you!
gail @ goal
— Bama Beach Girl
May 3, 2004
I had my abdominoplasty on Apr.22. Now, just 12 days later I feel like a
million bucks! I'm back at work full-time and am back to taking care of my
4 kids as normal -- just no lifting or straining. Everyone's experience is
different, but for me, this was by far the easiest surgery/recovery I've
ever had. I had a full tummy tuck, with 8 lbs removed, abs tightened,
anchor incision. I had the surgery at 11am and went home the following day
at 5pm. For recovery at home, I was given percocet for pain but haven't had
to use much of it. The only real pain I've had has been in the lower back,
but the more I'm up and around, the more manageable it is. I had my drains
removed at one week post-op and yesterday my stitches were removed. I'll
continue wearing the binder for 4 more weeks. It's amazing to look in the
mirror and no longer see that large apron! I am very, very pleased with
the results just 12 days after surgery, and am thrilled by how great things
have gone. If you have any further questions, feel free to email me. Best
of luck to you!!
— Mary W.
May 3, 2004
Everyone's pain will be different, however I remember when I did have pain
the drugs were awesome! 20 min after taking them...NO PAIN! Best of luck!
— ZZ S.
May 4, 2004
I had mine done 3/31/03 along with a breastlift and my arms. Your going to
get lots of different answers since everybody processes pain differently.
Also, it depends on how much muscle tightening you need done. I didn't need
alot since I've never had kids and I have good muscle tone. (Dr. said I was
'built'!). My pain on a scale of 1-10 was about a 3. Some people say its
worse than RNY, some say it was a piece of cake. Your going to have lots of
good drugs so the first couple of days are a fog. Its worth every bit of
the pain! I love my new flat tummy!
— Kris T.
May 4, 2004
Marti-
Email me in a week and I will tell you! Haha! I am schedueld for my Lower
Body Lift a week from today! Next Tuesday, I am scared to DEATH! I have
heard much worse than RNY and much easier. We will see.
— heathercross
May 4, 2004
I thought it was a pretty easy surgery. Pain scale of about a 3. I was
able to stand up erect the next day. I had 2 drain tubes (both in my
crotch). They did a hip to hip incision only and I went back to work in 3
weeks to a sit down job and could have easily went back at 2 weeks. You'll
be in a support garment. I wore a panty girdle for about 3 months to make
sure all of the swelling disappeared.
— Patty H.
May 4, 2004
The best piece of advice I received was to take my pain pills faithfully
and on time for the first week. I did this, and my combined lower body
lift and breast lift was a breeze. TAKE YOUR PAIN PILLS! Whether you
think you're huting or not. Don't be a martyr :) It's much easier to stay
on top of the pain than to try and get rid of it once it hits.
— mom2jtx3
May 4, 2004
It was a completely different experience than the open RNY. Not nearly as
traumatic but ALOT longer getting over. I had a hernia repair at the same
time with mesh and I dont know if that had anything to do with it or not. I
took my pain medication religiously (a little too much maybe--had to renew
my scrip 3 times) The abdominoplasty generally has alot of muscle
tightening with it and my stomach muscles burned pretty good for 2 months.
I went back to exercising in 4 weeks so it wasnt that bad (i gained inches
in my butt so I jumped to it pretty quick) My doctor said that it is the
nerves that get cut that is the culprit. He told me to be glad I wasnt one
of those that felt like worms were crawling in me!!! It took 6 weeks to
sleep in my bed again. That part sucked!!! I hope I didnt scare you but I
think most people want to know ahead of time the funky part too!! Good
luck to you.
— Marilayne M.
May 4, 2004
I am 11 days post-op abdominoplsty w/ muscle repair and a breast lift. The
first 3 days I took my 1 percocet religiously. Day 4 I went wedding dress
shopping with my daughter (loose shirt as I had 2 drains) Day 5 I got the
top stiches and drains out, Day 10 I returned to work on light duty as an
RN. On day 4 I quite the percocet due to constipation. I will wear my
corset-type garments for 19 more days than I'm FREE! Just in time for
summer, too. I cannot lift for 30 days or mow the grass and I am supposed
to try to limit bending over, too. Good luck!
— Connie M.
May 4, 2004
An awful lot has to do with how extensive your surgery will be (amount of
skin to remove) and your particular tolerance to pain and pain meds. I had
a LBL 10 weeks ago with 19 lbs of skin removed and a bunch of fat lipo'd.
I'd definitely choose having WLS again before going through with another
LBL that extensive. However, I do not regret it and would do the same
thing given the same circumstances.
<p>I was mentally prepared for a ton of pain, which I had but the
pain was from the tight skin. Never in my life have I experienced
something like that. 90% of the pain was a burning pain from the tight
skin. They started giving me Torodol, which has some anti-inflammatory
properties through my IV and that was by far the best for me. It would
knock the swelling down a little and numb out the pain enough that then I
could get in and out of bed with minimal discomfort. Just the morphine
wasn't working for me after about 24 hours. When I would hit the PCA
button I actually would have a painful burning sensation in my gut area so
I just stoppped using it. Finally they removed the morphine and did
darvocet with the torodol and that worked quite well. Unfortunately I only
had the darvocet once I went home. But that said, I was taking extra
strength tylenol only for pain within less than 7 days, so that's not too
bad. My biggest problem was if the skin swelled the tinyest bit the pain
was awful. It was most noticeable where the skin is pulled tight over the
hips. You won't be cut 360 degrees so it likely won't have the same degree
of tightness of the skin. I could not believe how tight the skin was over
my ribs either. I just wanted to scream the first day. It's all still
tight today but typically does not hurt. Occassionally it will hurt a
little or burn if it swells, but fortunately that is getting to be less and
less. The compression garment they gave me to wear really was a life saver
at times. I wore it pretty faithfully for the first 6-7 weeks and then
usually at night till about 8 weeks. Then it was just getting too darn
warm to wear. Mine went from my calfs to just under my breasts. It has
hook and eye's all the way up and then zippers over that. It's referred to
as a stage 1 garment, which means it doesn't have to be pulled up over the
incisions because of the zippers, thereby making sure no damage is caused.
<p>All I can tell you is no matter how bad the pain, you will survive
it and in the long run you will be pleased with the results and glad you
did it. Some nasty pain is worth having a nice taut body and no more
hanging skin.
— zoedogcbr
May 5, 2004
Check out my profile and website. There's too much to tell here...it may
be interesting to you regarding my breast and arm surgery, and my TT and
thigh lift. I am very pleased with the results.
Diane N
www.WeightlossSurgery.ws
— DianeN
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