Why I Got My Breast Implants Removed (my experience with explant surgery)
First, a little raw and revealing love note from me to you. This is one of those posts that I know in my heart can help people, and I think it’s part of my responsibility not only as a blogger, but as a fitness professional, to not just share fun pictures of workouts and food, but to show the struggles and obstacles that come along, too.
But letting you in on some of these moments that are more personal and private means that I’m putting myself out there for criticism and judgement. To be totally honest, I wrote this post, trashed it…and then brought it back. So, as you read, please know that I’m as vulnerable as anyone else, and while questions and even dissenting opinions are always welcomed, any personal attacks on me or anyone else who comments and weighs in will be removed.
Why I Got My Breast Implants Removed
Breast Implant Removal Results: My Explant Surgery Story
Why I Got My Breast Implants Removed
Recently, just a little over 11 years after having my breast implants put in, I had them taken out.
Aesthetically, they stood the test of time, and still looked pretty darn good.
They were soft and I had no capsular contracture.
So why the heck did I say goodbye?
They starting hurting almost two years ago, and it slowly turned from a dull pain to a burning sensation.
It started in the fall of 2015, shortly after I had P. I figured it was a fluke from breastfeeding and pregnancy. So I waited it out until she was a year old before going to ask about it. I visited my plastic surgeon’s office in Tucson over Thanksgiving. And had them checked out to make sure nothing was wrong. The doctor assured me it was just hormonal. And that if it didn’t get worse, to leave them alone. Well, they continued to get worse. And it reached the point where I fantasized about ripping them out from my skin. It went from being an inconvenience, to a “these things have to be out of my body now.”
Some Facts About Breast Implants
-According to the FDA, they’re not intended to be lifetime medical devices. You will need to have your implants removed or replaced when (not “if”) you have problems with them (usually pain, rupture, and/or capsular contracture). The life of a breast implant depends on so many different factors. Some women can have them for two years and need a replacement. Others can have theirs for 22 years without problems. The type of implant and fill volume can impact this, too. If you have saline implants, you’ll almost immediately know that you have a rupture (because it will deflate quickly). And with silicone, you could potentially have a rupture and not know. With saline, if they used valves to fill the implant, you could have a “slow leak” and be unaware that it’s rupturing, but the salt water is absorbed by the body. Saline implants are in a silicone shell.
-My plastic surgeon had told me that they would “last a lifetime”. But now it’s commonly recommended that they should be replaced every 10-15 years. Since you need to replace implants, possibly multiple times over the course of your life, I decided that I wanted to be free of them. I could have gotten mine replaced. But know I’d need a future breast surgery (or surgeries) to maintain them, or I could just stop with the surgeries already. I decided to roll with the latter, especially since I had two surgeries last year (one to repair a severed nerve in my hand, and the other was a repair after P was born and I wasn’t stitched correctly. woof) and 6 weeks of downtime sucks.
My Decision to Get My Breast Implants Removed and Bii
When I first got my breast implants, I 100% made the best decision for myself at the time.
I remember riding in the car to surgery and not feeling the least bit concerned about the result; I was so excited to finally have symmetrical, regular-sized boobs! I was looking forward to being *even* again since I had a benign tumor removed when I was in college.
My implants were, by far, one of the best purchases I’ve ever made, and I’ve never regretted it. They’ve been with me through a lot: our wedding, many moves, 3 deployments, 2 babies, and a lot of sports bras and workouts. 😉 Even though I enjoyed them and thought they looked awesome, they never defined me. That’s why I felt similarly going into this surgery: even though I was nervous (anesthesia always freaks me out a bit), I was confident I was making the best possible decision, and was ready to let them go.
Breast Implant Removal and Diastasis Recti Repair
I did a lot of research in the process, and found a Plastic Surgeon in Atlanta who is double-board certified and does implant removals often. When I called the office, his receptionist said he does 4-5 explants per week. And has been for the five years since she’s worked there. He’s so kind, and Facetimed me three times to answer all of my questions. His bedside manner made me feel at ease, especially paired with the fact that he had hundreds of awesome reviews online and lots of great testimonials.
Since I was already going to be knocked out and under the knife, I made another decision: to have my abdominal muscles repaired.
After working to rehab my diastasis recti for the past year and a half, it got to its *best* point, which still left me with protrusion around my belly button and abnormal ab separation. As Katy Bowman would say, sometimes the connective tissue becomes a “quitter,” like an old sock. Friends, my linea alba was a quitter after growing and birthing two babies (one of whom was 10 lb 13 oz and stretched me out to the max). I wasn’t stoked about the recovery time. But my heart was telling me to go for it. So, I did. While he repaired my abdominal muscles, he also got rid of the excess skin from being stretched out so much.
Thoughts About Plastic Surgery
I’ve always been an advocate of making the best decision for yourself; no one else. If you have the means and desire to change something, do it! Excess skin following weight loss and ab separation post-pregnancy are things I’ve seen so often with my personal training and postpartum clients. They hit their goal weight. But are left with a lot of loose skin which honestly will not likely disappear over time. With DR, sometimes you can repair it to the point where it’s within a normal, functional, range again. Other times, it can be so stretched out that the tissue doesn’t have the ability to fully recover. My doctor told me my abs were still a solid 3 fingers apart, and that’s after 8 months of Physical Therapy and daily rehab exercises.
Women on Instagram and celebrities will sometimes say they look awesome because they “work their ass off.” They also got lucky. So many women work hard, eat clean, and are super consistent, and left with things that will not change, no matter what they do. You can’t change skin elasticity, and you can’t physically repair connective tissue. I have to admit that it was really frustrating to work daily on my core rehab, work out wisely, and eat extremely clean, and know that nothing I did would change the appearance of my skin or the protrusion of my stomach.
Even though having smooth skin again is awesome, I really wanted the functionality of my core to be restored.
I’ve been modifying exercises for so long, and wanted the freedom to do everything I used to do, without feeling like I was compromising or overcompensating. If I did the full ab series in my barre classes, I looked pregnant afterward. Because it was so much stress on my connective tissue. After filming the HIIT workouts for our last Winter Shape Up, I was severely bloated and had back pain for the rest of the week. Any time I did anything that wasn’t DR-friendly -and most of the time I was really good about sticking with *safe* exercises- I paid the price, usually with back pain, or uncomfortable intense bloating.
Honesty and Transparency
I wanted to share this story with you and be completely honest with my situations. And I wanted to share this for any of the mamas or friends out there who may be having issues with their breast implants, or struggling with abnormal ab separation postpartum.
I feel like there’s a lot of dishonesty in the fitness world, and the online world in general.
There are Instagrammers who post these gooey decadent food photos. And throw them in the trash to eat chicken and broccoli instead. There are fitness celebrities hawking a healthy diet and exercise plan when they’re loading up on steroids and fat loss pills. There are a LOT of people who have gotten plastic surgery, and haven’t said a word about it. It’s all “Buy my diet plan!” even though they had lipo and a lot of Photoshop.
This is where the gray area comes in. If you have Botox, and someone comments on your beautiful, smooth skin, do you HAVE to tell them you had Botox?? I don’t think so. But, if you make your living promoting healthy skin and selling a skin rejuvenation program, I think it would be important to share.
This is one of the reasons why I want to share this story. (In addition to the fact that I’m an oversharer and like being real with you all.) You guys know what I look like. I eat well, I exercise, I enjoy life and drink a lot of red wine. Also, I promote health and fitness, and doing what’s best for you, and what makes you happy. I want everyone to live their best and happiest life possible.
My Body After Plastic Surgery
I had something done that altered my boobs (they’re tiiiiiiiny again! and they also don’t ache and burn anymore) and my stomach is totally different, though I’m the same size. (My separation is repaired, and my wrinkled skin is smoothed out. I also have a visible scar. I also got a breast lift at the time of explant so I wouldn’t have deflated water balloons.) But you guys who know me and read the blog know I didn’t do this as a way to swindle or cheat anyone. I’ll continue to promote my post baby bod plan; all of the photos within are indeed my post baby bod. And I have zero plans to reshoot them.
But now you know any pictures from now on where my stomach looks different, it was the combo of my hard work over the years, plus the repair from Dr. Ghazi. He ended up not needing to do lipo (which is awesome because I heard it could be painful). And just stitched my abs back together, pulled my skin down and made a new hole for my belly button to live. While my breasts look tiny compared to what they were, they feel amazing. They’re free of the large bags that were making my entire chest ache and burn. And I feel a lightness. I can take a big, deep breath again, and man, it feels awesome.
Just after surgery:
What I Learned From Explant Surgery and Diastasis Recti Repair
During this whole experience, I fully realized that health is wealth. My boobs looked great, but were causing me significant pain and symptoms. So I was happy to get them taken out. Now that the implants are gone, I LOVE my new (aka old) boobs. They’re small and perky and cute, and ME. I couldn’t be happier with the results.
As far as the implants go, I’ve done a lot of research. And started to discover that thousands of women all over the world are having problems with theirs. When I asked my naturopath if he had any suggestions about how I could heal the pain they were causing me, he said that the burning and aching was an immune response to a foreign invader. Some people do well with implanted devices in their bodies, while others start to reject them.
Breast Implant Illness
I also learned about breast implant illness, which is how I found the Facebook group I’m currently in. I learned that thousands have suffered various ailments from the implants (silicone and saline). Including pain in their joints, weight gain, headaches, brain fog, gut issues, and hair loss. I feel like they definitely may have contributed to the fact that I had chronic fatigue, had increased depression and anxiety (I always had anxiety but didn’t suffer from panic attacks until the summer I had them put in), numbness and cold in my limbs, and dry, red eyes. Over the past couple of years, I got comments saying I looked tired or worn down. I felt tired and worn down.
I couldn’t help but wonder if it was the pain and inflammation in my body, or the fact that I am indeed getting older. You can’t really pinpoint what caused what. But I can say I feel markedly better after having them removed, which is all the matters. The constant pain and burning is gone, so I’m calling it a win. When I told a good friend and teaching coworker that I was having mine removed, she told me that she had also gotten rid of hers after they began to wreck havoc in her body, and it was the best thing she ever did.
I don’t want to share this story to freak anyone out who has breast implants.
If you have them and you feel great, that is amazing news. This is just my story; it doesn’t necessary mean it will be your story. And I’m just sharing my experience. My implants had reached their figurative expiration date. And my body was letting me know. I don’t hate on plastic surgery at all -I just had some more to fix my core!- and wholeheartedly believe that it’s a personal decision.
My husband is the best man in the world, and I’ve never felt so loved on by our tribe.
When I first told Tom that my implants were hurting, he was like, “How do we fix it?”. And has supported me along the entire way. He wanted me to get them out as soon as possible, and made me feel so cared for and loved while I was recovering, with drains sticking out of my body and scars and bandages everywhere. He lifted me out of bed when I could hardly walk, set alarms for my medicine, changed wound dressings, emptied drains, REMOVED said drains (I was terrified but it was NBD), and it brings me to tears when I think about how much love and support he gives to all of us.
My madre was here, helping us wrangle the girls, making food, doing laundry, giving everyone baths, and here to keep us company at night. We were helped out so much by our friends here in town. And I feel overwhelmed with gratitude and love for all of the wonderful people we’re so blessed to have in our life.
What’s Next
I originally wrote this post at 5 1/2 weeks after surgery! It’s was hard to take time off from the gym -gosh, I love those endorphins- but I walked in between Netflix sessions. I’ve enjoyed just being: enjoying the girls, relaxing, just taking it easy and loving on my family. I can’t believe it’s been 7 years since I had them taken out and no regrets.
I’m not going to flood the blog with posts about this, but I do have a post about recovery + some tips that I may be publishing in the next week or so. I just wanted to wait and see how this goes over with everyone. (aka if people are being hater-y about it, I might just let it be.)
So there’s my story. Thank you so much for reading and for your kind and heartfelt comments as I continue to heal. I’m thankful to all of you for being here, and for all of your support on life’s crazy adventures over the years.
xo
Read about my recovery and healing timeline after surgery.
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Thank you for your honesty and transparency, as always! It’s not easy to put yourself out there to internet land, but you are always so open in order to help others! I’m a fellow mil spouse, and was wondering if Tricare covered your surgery for the DR/loose skin repair?
Thank you for your honesty. You are a wonderful, inspiring, real lady. Glad you had the support and help to take care of yourself and heal. All the best!
Well, I just love you! You are so real. I hope you feel so much better and I’m sending you hugs! What a great blog ??
Thank you for your honestly and realness! After losing 100lbs, I went from DD breasts to saggy skin sacks that just hung on my chest and a ton of loose skin on my stomach that made me very self conscious… I had a breast lift, implants and a tummy tuck done last October. Best decision EVER! I worked my ass off for my weight loss (literally) and I still work hard at exercising and nutrition but that loose skin was something I couldn’t change with diet and exercise no matter how much I tried. I don’t have any problems telling people and don’t hide it at all. I finally feel confident and like my outside matches all the changes on the inside.
One day if my implants hurt or need to be replaced I would probably just take them out as well because I’m still left with the lift which was the biggest issue, but for now I will enjoy them 🙂
I couldn’t wait to get back in the gym either after 6 long weeks off! Happy working out <3
This is an incredible post that took a lot of strength to write. I totally agree on your stance that as bloggers, we overshare, but not everyone includes the struggles with the perfect persona portrayed online. I so appreciate this, as I know many others do, too. And hey, there were several instances where I almost had my boobs done (back in my NBA dancing days) and reading this simply confirms that I made the right decision on passing that by. Thank you for putting yourself out there! Praying for a speedy recovery and sending over all the hugs! xo
This is going to sound weird from someone who has commented a grand total of maybe 5 times in all the years I’ve been reading, but I am super proud of you. I have been a long time reader in part because you are an honest over sharer. One of the wonderful things about the digital age is that people know that almost anything they are going through is a shared experience. I am sure women will be helped by this post.
I also love that you allow yourself to evolve. I am sure the day to day is a little messier than what you share, but it’s clear to me as you learn, you allow yourself to change. I remember your raw food, Insanity days. You set a beautiful example of when you know better you do better. Your girls are very lucky to have such a role model.
I am glad you are feeling better! Thanks for being brave!
This is why I love to read your blog, your honest and real! Glad to here your surgery/post surgery is going good!
I love and appreciate your honesty and bravery. Thank you so much. This is why I continue to read your blog.
You need to do what’s right for you and I commend you for sharing your story! Implants DO have an expiration date (maybe they didn’t know 10 yrs ago?)and it makes total sense to take them out for the long term. Hopefully this informs others about Diastasis Recti repair and encourages them to get theirs checked out too. I’m glad everything went well!! Hope you heal up fast and enjoy the results!
I love your blog and I love how real and honest you are! Thank you for sharing your life with us! I’m glad you are on the mend xo
Good for you! And, yes, I’m sure there will be those that judge this decision. But, guess what? You didn’t do it for their approval or disapproval. You did it for you and I think that’s awesome. I don’t know a single woman (or man) that doesn’t want to feel good in their own skin. If this is what it took for you to be at that point, then so be it.
I’m glad recovery seems to be going well and you’re very lucky to have such a wonderful support system. You’ll be back at it in no time! <3
Thanks for sharing, takes courage but makes you so relatable- it’s why we read the blog Glad you are on the mend.
I had no idea you had breast implants but thanks for writing this. I’m built almost exactly like you and have had small breasts my entire life. I have never had any desire to get implants but always thought how are these thin women always so top heavy? At least now I get it!
Awesome, Gina! I’m so glad you’re recovering well and that you’re feeling like “you.” Sending you lots of love from PA.
You are amazing and brave! I wish you the best of luck with your recovery. Thank you for always being so open and honest! I can only imagine how challenging that can be at times.
Loved this post so much. When it comes down to it, you gotta do you! <3
Thank you for sharing! Thank you for sharing your story on this sensitive topic. Even as a health professional, I learned a lot. Hang in there — you’ll be back in the gym in no time!
I appreciate your honesty. Internet can be a dark place sometimes and I hate when people think they can say whatever because they are not face to face. You do what you think is better for you and thats all that matter. It is always being a figth not leeting others “decide” what I do, and stories like your make me more determine to stop that, so thank you. Your daugthers will be proud of you.
This is why you are one of my fav reads each day. Kudos to you for sharing to help others even though it could (hopefully not) open you to negative comments! I wish you have a speedy and painless recovery<3
I’ve been reading your blog from Cape Town, South Africa for many years now and have never commented. But I did want to say what a brave and honest post this was. Thank you for opening up on that part of your life. Wishing you all of the best for your recovery. Nicky.
You are very brave to share with all of us. Thank you! Love to you and you little fam.
Glad you’re feeling better. I applaud you for always being so candid – you don’t have to be – but you always are, and it’s the reason you have a solid, longtime reader base. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for your honesty. It is refreshing.
I wish that we did not live in an image-obsessed society that plasters womens’ photoshopped, surgeried, and make-upped bodies and faces all over! It would be interesting to know just how much all that we’re surrounded by affects how we feel about our own bodies. It’s pretty much impossible for any women to know what she really *wants* versus what society is telling her she *should* be.
It’s interesting to think that just decades ago, you could dislike your body all you wanted, but there was no surgery to change it. I think we may have been better off then–forced self acceptance!
I was going to type a lengthy response but I’ll get to the point instead: I really enjoyed reading this post, and you friggen just do you.
You truly said it best … “but to show the struggles and obstacles that come along, And this is the number one reason why I continue to come to read blog daily & make all your delicious foods + put those workouts you share to use! So much RESPECT for you, Gina! I wish more people in the fitness industry would share things like this! I’m so glad you have so much support from your husband + family/friends. If you don’t mind asking, (maybe you will answer this in another post) Were you with Tom together/dating when you first got your implants? Just curious how he felt about you getting them (if you were together from the beginning). Thank you for being an oversharer 🙂 xo Sending healing your way! xo
Good for you, Gina! Thank you for sharing and for always being real. So glad to hear you are feeling better!
Gina I just love your blog so much! I’ve never commented before (I don’t think!) but read everyday from Mosman in Sydney, Australia. You’ve inspired me through new mamahood and I adore this post and the way you have shared everything!! Thank you thank you for blogging and being so generous with yourself to the world!
As a physical therapist myself, you absolutely did the right decision regarding your diastasis recti (as well as the explant)! Eliminating your sources of pain will lead to a better quality of life. Thank you for sharing!
Aw, I am sad that you have to worry about haters. People are mean. You are awesome for the transparency and who knew that implants didn’t last a lifetime. I have been thinking about a lift after I wean my third but maybe I’ll wait until we are sure we are finished. I am so happy that you don’t have regrets, that is the most important. How amazing to have such a supportive amazing husband and family. Hope you are feeling great now. I have been blessed with elastic skin and the ability to “bounce” back quickly however my poor belly button took a beating when my last baby was stuck en route out and I busted all my blood vessels in my eyes, broke my tailbone and now have an umbilical hernia (all totally worth it for my precious son).
Thank you so much for your honesty! You are so brace to have the surgery and to share it with everyone. You were so sneaky about it too. I never suspected a thing. Prayers for a healthy recovery!
Thank you for being so honest and sharing your story, Gina! I think this is such a well-written post – you did a great job being so open; I’m sure it was difficult to be so vulnerable, but it’s really heartfelt (and why I’ve been reading your blog since the initial Valdosta days!).
So happy you shared this! I’m 2.5 weeks post up with an abdominoplasty and am about your same size/height. While I didn’t have a ton of extra skin, it bothered enough as well as my DR to do something about it. I’m SO happy I did! Congrats to you and can’t wait to read your upcoming recovery post!
You go girl! You gotta do what makes you feel good and it sounds like this is already paying off! I was particularly interested in the DR part as I am pregnant with my second, already way bigger than I was with the first, and wondering why DR and pelvic floor issues are not a bigger part of the little postpartum care we receive. Thank you for bringing more light to this and sharig your experience. And good for you for putting this out there to the world Im sure it was not easy. Xoxo
You are so incredibly brave to put yourself out there like this! I was JUST talking to patrick about implants yesterday, because nursing 3 babies has left me with wrinkled skin flaps. You’re so right in that I’ve worked my ass off and clawed my way back to getting in shape after these kids but sometimes there’s only so much you can do.
Prayers for a speedy recovery!!
Gina, thank you for posting real life posts. The authentic posts that show real life are my favorite posts because they are so much more relatable. It can be discouraging when some bloggers make it appear like life is perfect and happy all the time with no obstacles. You did what was right for you and were brave enough to share it — good for you!! Hugs and high fives for being a rock star. 🙂
Thank you for being so open and honest Gina! I love that you listened to your body. And I’m so glad you shared this experience with us! Who could be hater-y about this?! (I’m sure some lunatic will crawl out of the woodwork but nevermind them!) this is the reason why I’ve read your blog for YEARS!!
Thanks for your honesty, social media (blogs included) are too full of ‘body positive’ speeches while showing just ‘perfect’ bodies of hard-working but also ‘lucky’ women.
After my two pregancies (the 1st was with twins), my abs did the best they couls but I have to be super careful because, yes, I too have ‘quitters’ in my belly. All the doctors I saw told me that surgery was the only solution to totally repair it. As for my breast, if I can say, I went from little to tiny to….almost non-existant, which is quite depressing. I had…have…had (??) the thought of surgery in the back of my mind but I’m worried about the safety (I don’t want to ‘hurt’ a healthy body), besides I’m not sure I’d totally feel ‘me’….So I kinda cheat with bras, try to convince myself that I’m not less of a woman….and thank my loving hubby!
Have a great recover!
I’m not a commenter but just wanted to applaud you for this post – thanks for being so real! I can see how the information you provided may help others and it must have been pretty scary to make yourself vulnerable by putting this out there. I respect your honesty and your personal decisions to do what is best for you!!
Thank you for always keeping it real. I’ve read your blog for years and have remained a true reader because what you post here is always awesome – from the workouts, recipes and just real life. I would defiantly like to hear a post about recovery tips. I have a similar muscle separation that I’ve been too nervous to have repaired. I’m glad you are feeling a lot better. Health is something that gets taken for granted often. Just continue your healing journey. It sounds like you have an amazing support team!
What an awesome post. I applaud your honesty and vulnerability not only about your own story, but also about what goes on out there on social media. We all have our own struggles, and we all try to make the best decisions for ourselves. I always say, “no one else has to live my life,” and therefore, they truly have no right to judge my decisions. I recently had surgery to remove my fallopian tubes – totally elective because I do not want children. It is the best decision I have made for myself health-wise because it allowed me to finally, after nearly 20 years, quit taking the birth control pill. Nevertheless, I brace myself when I share this with others because you know, everyone has an opinion. But as much as I love kids, many years ago I decided I did not want any of my own (I have furbabies instead), and that is the best decision for ME. It is risky to be yourself online, face-to-face, really anywhere in this super-judgmental world, but you keep doing it, Gina, because judging from the comments that have been posted, MANY MANY people are very grateful to you for doing so, including me.
Love this post and hope you get nothing but love! As someone who has contemplated implants I really appreciate this perspective (how I wish there was an exercise to make breasts grow haha). I’m slowly coming to terms with my body and what it can do for me, focusing on health over image, but realizing that it’s okay if I decide to do plastic surgery for ME in the future.
Thank you for sharing your honest story! I love that you spoke the truth about all the unrealistic standards that exist on instagram fitness feeds and shared your story.Wish more women in the fitness community would be more real.
Gina, I’ve only left a handful of comments over the years – this post is another example of why I keep reading year after year. It’s your honesty and authenticity that keeps me coming back. Thank you
I LOVE these posts! I agree that the fitness world creates this smoke and mirrors culture where everyone is perfect and chiseled. These posts are necessary to show the transparency that is often lacking from the internet culture. So many people see photos and believe that these people are perfect ALL THEEEEE TIME! It’s not healthy and it’s extremely damaging. I love when you post these real and raw posts.
Thank you so much for sharing your story.
I actually disliked the feeing of my implants from the beginning. I had burning. I could feel them shifting around under the muscle. I couldn’t sleep on my stomach. My chest felt really weak and weird when doing any sort of chest exercise. After a few years, I started getting all these weird symptoms. Rashes, achy joints, red eyes, fatigue. At some point the doctors were thinking I might have lupus because of lab work. After much research, I also started reading about other women with the same symptoms. All related to implants. I eventually decided to explant and it has been one of the best decisions I have made. All of my symptoms are gone and my lab work is back is normal.
I had no idea you had a tumor removed in college! I love your honesty and I’m happy you’re happy!
SO glad you shared this!!!!!!!! I am so glad you feel you can be yourself! I am so proud of you.
I have never commented on a blog post ever, but thank you so much for this post. I am considering explant surgery after I wean my second child, and there is not a lot of information especially personal experiences out there. I do hope you’ll post that follow-up post about recovery, I am really curious about recovery especially with small children and how recovery compared to the implant surgery. I’d also love to know how you feel about the end result, I know it is very personal, but just trying to get an idea of what my body would/could look like after. Anyways, thank you so much for your transparency and honesty – your story has helped me a lot. Thank you.
I just wanted to add my sentiments to Team Gina! You are always so authentic, informed, and caring of your readers. If this post helps 1 person ( and I’ll put $$ on it helping many more) you’ve done a fantastic service. Thank you for being you and for sharing with us.
Wishing you the best recover!
This is amazing! Thank you so much for being unbelievably honest! I’m 5’1″ and although I didn’t have a 10lb baby I did have an 8.5lb one so my stomach is nowhere near where it used to be. I have an umbilical hernia… is that what you mean by a protrusion by your belly button? We’re not done having kids (but I doubt it will fix itself when I get pregnant again ) but I would love to have it fixed after. I’m so self conscious of my belly button that I usually don’t wear tight fitted clothing much because you can see it… I can’t thank you enough for being real and sharing your story, it really is so refreshing!
Gina! I’m so happy you shared this. I also had a 10 lb turkey, and even after losing the baby weight I’m left with a “mother’s apron.” I’ve been dreaming of a tummy tuck for years, haha. Thanks for your honesty! So glad to hear you’re feeling better and recovering well!!