Tummy Tuck needed urgently!

[lumpylisa]

Hi all,

I'm a newbie and desperate measures are needed so please help if you can.

I'm a single mum to 3 beautiful children but I have a belly like the largest muffin top in the world. Its getting to the point where I can't put trousers on properly and skirts are sooo not me.

I want to go to one of the clinics abroad and have it done as its so much cheaper there but its still out of my financial range. Any ideas on how to raise the money would be greatly appreciated. Its becoming an obsession and is taking over my whole life and will not be completely happy within myself until I have done it. Please don't reply with it doesn't matter what you look like its the person you are that counts coz I know that but it just doesn't help. I am on my own and looking for a partner and my confidence is so low at the moment its in the sewers and this would boost me no end. I'm even tempted to start a sponsor a tummy tuck website but wouldn't know where to start.

Any positive comments or suggestions greatly appreciated.

Lumpylisa :rolleyes:

[mummytofour]

Hi Lumpylise, nice to meet you.
I am not sure what to advise right now, but i am more than sure somebody will be along shortly with some help or ideas, to swell your piggy bank.

[lumpylisa]

Thanks for the vote of confidence mummytofour.

[poorandindenial]

Hi Lisa

I'm not going to lecture you on the should you shouldn't you part of this but I would ask you to be careful.

Some overseas surgery is cheap for a reason, also while the surgery is cheap if something goes awry you may need emergency care and that may not be covered by what you are paying so you could also need to have good insurance and many insurance companies would be reluctant (ie charge more) to insure someone who was going overseas for surgery.

My one plea is that you do your research first into the levels of skills and experience in other countries, many are as good or better than the medical profession here, others are not and this goes double for cosmetic surgery as opposed to surgery for medical reasons.

In terms of the money, get yourself over to the up your income board and there will be lots of ideas for raising cash. Sadly there are not that many that will reap you rewards overnight (or else we would all be at them) and you may get a lot of ebay/car boot suggestions.

[starlight_xx]

Have you discussed with your GP about how badly you feel?? Is an NHS referral out of the question?

[Pink-winged]

Hi Lisa,

You should get more help with this on the Health and Beauty board so I've moved your thread across.

Pink

[lumpylisa]

Thank you for airing your concerns poorandindenial when the time comes (hopefully) I will check everything out fully.

Also I have been to the doctors with regard to the problem and all they could do for me was to give me tablets to try and lose weight which haven't worked hence more drastic measures needed.

[tomstickland]

You could do it for free via working it off.

[snails's pace]

i know how you feel, ive had 2 children and loathe my apron stomach :mad:

i've lost the weight and am down to my ideal weight but still it hangs there flapping about, i've tried the gym and certain exercises and the doc said (a while ago now) that it is just excess loose skin :eek:, no way can i afford an op to remove it and i wouldn't say it's an obsession with me but i can fully understand how you are feeling and i wanted to say good luck, im afraid i have no constructive advice specific to your original post.
what you don't want to do though is make a cosmetic problem into an ongoing health problem and worry yourself ill over it or make yourself skint to afford the operation, im sure someone will be along shortly with some advice.

good luck xx

[virgin_moneysaver]

in the same boat - after 2 ceasarians I'm in the normal weight range for my height but with a flappy bit where the muscles have been cut & stitched - the NHS are responsible for my section (long story) & it has been suggested to me that because of this they may do it on the NHS - I know from research that several people have had cosmetic surgery on the NHS due to psychological probs caused by their body disgust

personally I don't know if I'm brave enough to go under the knife again & NHS funds are stretched as it is - even though they spend money on people whose illnesses are caused by smoking etc & even though they get the treatment they still smoke to me thats throwing my taxes away on people who don't deserve it - which is why I struggle to go down the NHS route, there are more urgent cases

[Paparika]

hasn't there been cases that if you can prove you are depressed enough about it, and proove that weight loss and diet does'nt work the nhs might consider doing it.


I hold my hand up to wanting one as i have strong stomach muscles, but... i have a saggy belly where i have lost the elasticality (sp) in my skin

[lumpylisa]

Thank you tomstickland that is so not helpful. If you read the two ladies threads below yours you can see that sometimes no amount of exercise will get rid of this problem area as they have found out.

[lumpylisa]

when i mentioned it to the doctor before I just got told the NHS is overstretched as it is. I am also under the doctor for depression so they know how it affects me. Have to keep positive tho.

[TAG]

I know of someone who had it done on the NHS. She had to lay it on really thick though and at was quite a few years ago.

I know what you mean about no amount of excercise will get rid of it. My tummy is the same. In fact with baby no4 I'm sure I got stretch marks on my stretch marks. And the trouble I have with clothes. Skirts just look awful and it's not practical to where the 'magic' knickers in the middle of summer.

Good Luck to you xx

[tomstickland]

Thank you tomstickland that is so not helpful. If you read the two ladies threads below yours you can see that sometimes no amount of exercise will get rid of this problem area as they have found out.
It just occured to me that surgery was being viewed as a magic solution that would suddenly make things wonderful.
Firstly consider the risks of surgery.
Secondly question whether it will really transform your life, or whether it's pinning hope onto a single action.

[shimmershelly]

As a suggestion of where to go, the Elyzea clinic in Belgium is supposed to be pretty good (I know someone who had breast augmentation there). Their prices are around half what we would pay here (a mini tummy tuck is listed at £1820) and they have consutants based in London and Manchester. I think if you are going abroad its important to be able to contact someone in this country for your aftercare if you do have any problems.

[Savvy_Sue]

I do think tom's second post makes a good point. Please try not to make this into the ONE thing which would turn your life around / make you happy / find you a new partner / improve your sex life etc.

Because you said in your first post you couldn't be completely happy without having this done - but really, how many of us are completely happy? What if you have it done, but you're still not completely happy, maybe because you didn't get the result you expected, or just because you're still not completely happy?

Also you said you hadn't managed to lose weight, even with tablets: I don't want to be a scaremonger, but the risks of any surgery are greater if you are overweight, so while you're saving up for this, please don't give up on the weight loss front. Move more, eat a good diet. See if your GP surgery does a referral scheme for the local gym, or can offer other support with weight loss. Join one of the weight loss threads on MSE.

I'm not saying that losing weight will sort the problem out to your entire satisfaction, but NOT losing weight certainly won't help. But please don't obsess about that either ...

[vix2000]

if you are interested I know a very good surgeon in belgium who charges £2500 inc. muscle tightening and liposuction.

[lumpylisa]

Thanks vix2000 can you PM me with the details? I'll save them for when the time comes.

[katiepops]

What if you have the surgery, and it doesn't work out how you expect? What if you end up with a bodge job and a nasty scar?

I do know precisely how you feel - I am a big girl, and I have what I believe is described as a 'gunt' - which is a horrible, horrible word that makes me feel sick. I am under no illusions that I will ever get rid of it, even if I do manage to lose loads of weight.

I won't start with the 'it's the person you are inside' stuff (even though it's true), but I would just like to observe that I have never had any problems finding a man (not that I need one, I'm quite happy with the one I've got); but my best friend, she's got plenty of saggy and baggy bits after losing weight, but men do, and always have, flocked round her like bees round a honeypot.

I can and do get really down about my size (I suffer from depression too), but the one thing that keeps me going is knowing that other people don't really care about it - I know that my friends see ME for the wonderful, caring, fabulous and sexy human being that I am, not the size of my belly ... it doesn't matter to them, and if it doesn't matter to them then that tells me something.

I'm not saying you shouldn't have surgery - you're the only person who really knows if it is really what you should do. What I would say is that before you contemplate going under the knife that you should learn to love yourself as you are now. Very few women who have had three kids have washboard stomachs. Even skinny celebrities are shown to have cellulite! Just remember that your friends and family love you regardless of whether your stomach is flat or flabby, and having a bit of a wobble doesn't make you any less of a person.

While you're saving up, you should consider joining a gym or finding some way of incorporating exercise into your daily routine. You might find that if you can really tone up and maybe even improve your posture, it might make all the difference to how you look - strong muscles will make a difference, I'm sure.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[~daisy~]

first off - a tummy tuck is in NO WAY A WIEGHT LOSS SOLUTION

sorry but really need to make that clear - i have recently had my second tummy tuck
i had my first 20 months ago in a clinic in belgium and was very unhappy with the results - yes it was better but not what i expected
maybe my expectations were too high - but i know it wasnt right and once the clinic had my money they were unwilling to do any revisions
at this point i must point out i did all the research and spoke to other patients so thought i had covered all bases

after that i saved up and had it all done again by a uk surgeon in january at a further cost of 5 1/2k but worth every penny

it is a life changing surgery - when done correctly
i wish you luck but would really advise you to reconsider going abroad - thats from someone whos seen both ways
in belguim they never even took my bp after surgery - i had a heamatoma that then forced its way through the incision and ended up with an infection which caused a deep pocket on the incision - this took a further 12 weeks to heal from the inside out
whilst i accept this could happen in the uk or abroad - i know i would have had proper care and support from a uk surgeon and not have to fend for myself and rely on my gp nurses

if you have any other questions im happy to help

[Savvy_Sue]

I'm not saying you shouldn't have surgery - you're the only person who really knows if it is really what you should do. What I would say is that before you contemplate going under the knife that you should learn to love yourself as you are now. thank you for saying what I was trying to say earlier, only much better. Surgery will only fix one problem, and although it's easy to fixate on ONE thing and think everything would be find and dandy if that one thing were fixed, it's rarely true ...

[~daisy~]

thank you for saying what I was trying to say earlier, only much better. Surgery will only fix one problem, and although it's easy to fixate on ONE thing and think everything would be find and dandy if that one thing were fixed, it's rarely true ...


and the irony is - once you have a perfect tummy - you start noticing all the other imperfections !!

[virgin_moneysaver]

and the irony is - once you have a perfect tummy - you start noticing all the other imperfections !!

totally agree - we were talking about this in work when discussing what we'd spend our lottery win (when it happens!) on - I said as far as cosmetic surgery goes they can start at my ankles & work their way up!

there are somethings that even surgeons cant fix - genetically you can be given a dodgy nose or small boobs & these can be put right - I genetically have very curly hair & there is nothing on earth & no amount of money that can make it permanantly straight!!

[cazac71]

Hi Lisa

I'm not going to lecture you on the should you shouldn't you part of this but I would ask you to be careful.

Some overseas surgery is cheap for a reason, also while the surgery is cheap if something goes awry you may need emergency care and that may not be covered by what you are paying so you could also need to have good insurance and many insurance companies would be reluctant (ie charge more) to insure someone who was going overseas for surgery.

My one plea is that you do your research first into the levels of skills and experience in other countries, many are as good or better than the medical profession here, others are not and this goes double for cosmetic surgery as opposed to surgery for medical reasons.

In terms of the money, get yourself over to the up your income board and there will be lots of ideas for raising cash. Sadly there are not that many that will reap you rewards overnight (or else we would all be at them) and you may get a lot of ebay/car boot suggestions.

I know someone who went overseas for cosmetic surgery, (Boobs and Tum) both times she ended up in hospital back in UK due to infections etc, please be careful!

Oh, and i know you wont listen, but having your belly done will NOT change how you view yourself...Yep, i know you dont want to hear it, but these things are deep rooted, you`ll only find another thing you "Hate" about yourself after your`ve had this done. Mind you you`ll be offered (or should be) counselling before having it done.
I`ve probably p*ssed you off no end now:(

Best of luck hun
Caz

[ladystardust]

how about writing to one of the magazines thatdo free surgery/make overs. seems every week in the mags i buy someone s had a major body op! worth a try. not for me-i cant have a blood test without fainting so im stuck with my jelly belly! lol x good luck with whatever you decide

[twise]

There is a plastic surgery school that offers discounts because for want of a better word you are worked on by trainee plastic surgeons (obviously watched by professionals...i hope!)

Website is http://www.icr-surgery.com

I believe they had a 15 week programme on the discovery channel at some stage and the principal Dai Davies is a well respected plastic surgeon.

I'm saving up my pennies for this.

twise