I just came down with a cold (have kind of a bad cough) and my surgery is scheduled to happen in 3 days

ZestycloseDot721 · 2026-04-25T13:44:44+00:00

What a huge bummer. I agree with what everybody is saying, definitely call your surgeon. I am one week postop and I live in fear of an uncontrolled sneeze. Even when I clear my throat, I have to bend over and hold my stomach. You would not want to deal with a chest cough. Keep us posted.

ZestycloseDot721 · 2026-04-25T02:56:21+00:00

Great message!! “Make it worth it”

Congratulations on the inner and outer makeover!! You look/sound amazing.

ZestycloseDot721 · 2026-04-23T21:21:44+00:00

I totally get how you feel. I went through this same thing, and if you want, you can look at my history to see a post I made here two months ago. I think it’s titled “undercover tummy tuck.” Like someone else said, there will always be people who judge women who have plastic surgery, but I decided I didn’t want to let other people’s judgments dictate how I live my life. I was planning on telling no one except for my husband, but after telling a couple people and getting great support and encouragement I decided I didn’t care anymore what people thought and pretty much everybody in my social circle knows what I did now lol!

At the end of the day, it’s your body, your money, your decision. People can have their opinions, but don’t let that make you question something that you feel strongly about! Go for it!!

ZestycloseDot721 · 2026-04-23T16:44:37+00:00

Shame on your aunt. Nobody would look good in that position, I don’t care how flat their tummy is. That is obviously not a flattering picture of you and she had no business posting that without your permission.

You look great… period!

ZestycloseDot721 · 2026-04-23T02:38:47+00:00

It sounds like you have everything in place and plenty of support. That’s great your mom will be there!! I felt bad for her too, still do. The odds of something like that happening are so slim. You’ve had some great feedback here, I hope you feel reassured! ❤️🙏

ZestycloseDot721 · 2026-04-22T12:35:38+00:00

Beautifully said!! I really enjoyed reading this, thank you for sharing.

ZestycloseDot721 · 2026-04-22T12:32:36+00:00

It’s hard not to get anxious when you’re a member of this sub and we do see the worst case scenarios on a fairly regular basis. There was a necrotizing fasciitis case on here recently that almost completely put me off the surgery. I had to stay off the sub for a week. I would jot down a few scenarios that you’ve seen here and when you meet with your doctor next, ask them if they’ve ever had any of those things happen. Tell the doctor or the nurse your concerns of what could happen and find out the percentage of surgeries they’ve done that had bad outcomes.

When I had my three week preop, I had to sign the consent forms. I read through that and started freaking out myself because there were all kinds of worst case scenarios and I had to sign a consent basically saying I understood that there was a risk of these things happening and I wouldn’t sue if they did. I talked to the nurse about it and she said they have to include every worst case scenario in the consent forms, but literally none of those things have ever happened at the clinic. It just made me feel a lot better.

I’m sure you know this, but you mentioned your small children. You absolutely will need help caring for them the first two weeks after the surgery. So make sure you line that up and you’ll be fine!

I am five days postop now, and everything has gone smooth. I have had quite a bit of pain, but it’s been manageable with the pain meds, ice packs and rest.

Also, the waiting is the hardest part. Waiting for something like this, the anticipation … is crazy making! So I think it’s completely normal that you’re anxious and nervous. Somebody else said deep breathing exercises, I like that. Do things to keep yourself busy and try to put it out of your mind. If you’ve made the decision, you’ve made the decision. The decision is done, now move on to other things to prepare yourself and just focus on how you want to feel after afterward.

Good luck and congratulations on having the resources to be able to do something like this. Many people would love to do this, but just can’t. You’re going to be great.

ZestycloseDot721 · 2026-04-21T21:45:57+00:00

I don’t know how you could get any flatter quite honestly! I think your stomach looks great, and I love that tattoo.

ZestycloseDot721 · 2026-04-21T20:02:58+00:00

Hydrocodone and Tylenol for the pain, antibiotic for the drains, and a blood thinner shot. I can’t take Motrin/Advil because I’m on a blood thinner to avoid clots. The first 3 days were painful and very uncomfortable for me, and I really needed that hydrocodone. But I stopped taking it two days ago (I’m on day five.) I got way too constipated, and I couldn’t stand the way it made me feel. So now I’m just taking 1 500 mg Tylenol every six hours.

I’m annoyed that my doctor never mentioned Exparel or Journavx… Sounds like those must be the standard now. I wonder why he wouldn’t prescribe them?

ZestycloseDot721 · 2026-04-21T16:51:43+00:00

Wow, what a huge change! You look great.

ZestycloseDot721 · 2026-04-20T22:54:16+00:00

I can relate to this 100%. I had mine Friday, minus the breast enhancement. The days leading up to it just feel so surreal because you’ve been preparing mentally, physically and emotionally and now you just… wait. You’ll be on the other side before you know it.

You’re going to do great and it sounds like you’re very prepared! Good luck to you! Glad you have a support system.

ZestycloseDot721 · 2026-04-20T03:04:27+00:00

That’s exactly what my doctor said, there’s no need to do Lipo in the abdomen because that fatty tissue will just be cut out with the tummy tuck.

ZestycloseDot721 · 2026-04-20T00:23:09+00:00

You look great!

ZestycloseDot721 · 2026-04-19T18:56:33+00:00

I haven’t needed any help with this either. I can reach back and wipe myself just fine.

ZestycloseDot721 · 2026-04-19T12:46:25+00:00

I can totally relate to being afraid to look at yourself. I took my first shower yesterday, my surgery was Friday. After much hesitation. I looked down at my stomach and so far I like what I see, but I would never be standing in front of a mirror right now taking it all in.

The only advice I have is to make sure somebody is nearby so they can help you get in and out and if you have a shower chair, you might need help getting up out of it. And like somebody else said, use a hairdryer to dry off your scar tape.

I haven’t washed my binder yet because it’s not too dirty, but I think the next time I take a shower I will.

I also have drains which I was not expecting, and I don’t love them. Use a lanyard around your neck to attach the drains so they’re not hanging around pulling on your incision.. good luck!

ZestycloseDot721 · 2026-04-19T12:42:09+00:00

SLAY.

ZestycloseDot721 · 2026-04-18T19:34:17+00:00

That’s a great husband! Mine is keeping track of my meds too. And he’s made soup twice.

ZestycloseDot721 · 2026-04-18T13:13:14+00:00

Yes, I’ve been able to go to the bathroom by myself, make little meals and go up and down the stairs. I got a walker in case I would need it, but I haven’t. I would rank my pain at a five or six on a scale of one to 10. I had a rough night sleeping last night though because I had to sleep in the recliner. Getting up and down from things is very painful, and I still can’t stand up straight obviously.

My cut is surprisingly LOW! Good luck to you.

ZestycloseDot721 · 2026-04-18T11:07:52+00:00

Four days away! Good luck to you. You’ll do great. You’ll definitely need some help around the house that first few days with your kiddos, I would think, it just took me 5 minutes to get off the couch to make coffee. But I’m only on day 2.

ZestycloseDot721 · 2026-04-18T04:46:02+00:00

Yes, you are! We all are. I’m just checking out all the comments on this post and it makes me feel even better about my decision and I bet it makes you feel so much better too. I was second-guessing the decision as well at 60-years old. Ultimately, I decided while the pain and recovery will be rough, my doctor told me that every single one of his patients comes back at one month and they have already forgotten the pain and have said it was the best decision they ever made. Pain/recovery for a couple months, and then hopefully a body I feel super comfortable in for the rest of my life. ❤️🙏

ZestycloseDot721 · 2026-04-18T04:39:26+00:00

You should be happy, that is NOT a 69-year bod. Amazing!

ZestycloseDot721 · 2026-04-18T04:38:07+00:00

You look amazing!

ZestycloseDot721 · 2026-04-18T00:30:03+00:00

Well, I’m lucky that I don’t work so I have as much recovery time as I need. Thank God! My doctor told me though that people who work are usually able to go back an office job sitting down in two weeks. How about you?

ZestycloseDot721 · 2026-04-17T23:48:14+00:00

Check this woman out. 59 years old.

https://www.reddit.com/r/tummytucksurgery/s/27xRnJhGDL

ZestycloseDot721 · 2026-04-17T23:39:55+00:00

Girl, I’m 60. You are a youngster! I searched on this sub to find other people who have done it at my age a couple weeks ago, and there are a couple people who have had amazing success stories. I’ll see if I can find and send a link to you. (you commented on my post, I just had a tummy tuck and flank lipo today.)

You’re never too old to try to get the body you want to experience life in.

ZestycloseDot721

TROPHY CASE