How am I going to get the time off for a tummy tuck?

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Sep 4, 2011

I don't mean to sound crass or rude but why don't you try it the old fashion way (that's my suggestion). You could save yourself money and see results in 3 to 6 months if you stick to a plan. What makes you think a tummy tuck is the answer ... I know 2 nurses who had tummy tucks and 1 year later; well you guessed it. The discipline has got to come anyway to insure success.

No always true. The muscles in the abdomen can become to stretched apart from having kids and the loose skin after losing a lot of weight can still be there. Right along with all the stretch marks endured from the pregnancy's. In some cases it doesn't matter how much weight you lose and how many crunches you do, the flab in the belly will still be there.

decembergrad2011, BSN, RN · Sep 4, 2011

Sigh. I wish we lived in a world where appearance was not so important and women did not feel pressure to "maintain" themselves to look like teenagers well into menopause. Or the opposite end of the spectrum, where 11 year old females dress and wear make-up like college students. Both situations and the physical standards placed on the female gender disturb me greatly.

I will never be able to justify any amount of money, let alone the risks accompanying surgery and anesthesia, to physically alter my appearance for aesthetic alone.

That being said, dear OP - this is just my opinion and I think after 10 years, you're well aware of the risks and benefits. Best of luck.

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Sep 4, 2011

Sigh. I wish we lived in a world where appearance was not so important and women did not feel pressure to "maintain" themselves to look like teenagers well into menopause. Or the opposite end of the spectrum, where 11 year old females dress and wear make-up like college students. Both situations and the physical standards placed on the female gender disturb me greatly.
I will never be able to justify any amount of money, let alone the risks accompanying surgery and anesthesia, to physically alter my appearance for aesthetic alone.
That being said, dear OP - this is just my opinion and I think after 10 years, you're well aware of the risks and benefits. Best of luck.

It doesn't have to be about anyone else. It could be that the OP wants to just feel good. She had kiddos (sadly they don't come with a warranty on your body or upgrade) sounds like she lost weight and now she wants to get rid of the flab left over from that. Might have nothing to do with anyone else.

Some days I sit around my house looking tore up and I feel tore up. Some days I decide to do my hair and wear real clothes and put on a little make up. When I do that I feel great inside. Doesn't matter if I left my house and doesn't matter if anyone noticed, it just makes ME feel good about MYSELF.

robby5313 · Sep 4, 2011

I don't mean to sound crass or rude but why don't you try it the old fashion way (that's my suggestion). You could save yourself money and see results in 3 to 6 months if you stick to a plan. What makes you think a tummy tuck is the answer ... I know 2 nurses who had tummy tucks and 1 year later; well you guessed it. The discipline has got to come anyway to insure success.

This was what heard from people and it was soooo frustrating! I don't care how long i worked out....my stomach was not going to get better. It was a lot of loose skin. Had my tummy tuck and never looked back. I went back to work after 6 days....BIG mistake. Take the time off. I probably would have been okay after two weeks but I wasn't pushing a med cart. Good luck! You'll be glad you did it!

decembergrad2011, BSN, RN · Sep 4, 2011

It doesn't have to be about anyone else. It could be that the OP wants to just feel good. She had kiddos (sadly they don't come with a warranty on your body or upgrade) sounds like she lost weight and now she wants to get rid of the flab left over from that. Might have nothing to do with anyone else.
Some days I sit around my house looking tore up and I feel tore up. Some days I decide to do my hair and wear real clothes and put on a little make up. When I do that I feel great inside. Doesn't matter if I left my house and doesn't matter if anyone noticed, it just makes ME feel good about MYSELF.

We all have different things that make us feel good, I suppose. I feel better all sweaty at the end of a day of volunteer work than I'd ever feel in a pair of heels, black eyeliner, and a skirt. I know that when I got rid of cable and stopped reading beauty magazines, my desire to wear extravagant make-up and dress up plummeted. There is definitely a media message that increasingly places more value on women for their aesthetic beauty. The standard is raising higher and higher with the advent of plastic surgery, airbrushing/video editing, and beauty procedures (I suppose for everyone, but women are still more sexualized than men at this point in time). There was a great article about how this is affecting our youth featured in Ladies Home Journal not that long ago that I read while in a waiting room: http://peggyorenstein.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Fear-of-Fatness.pdf.

Of course, plastic surgery is a long way away from doing your hair and makeup and wearing something besides scrubs. That's working with what you've got with some temporary changes that hold little to no risk of injury.

I want to reiterate that I am not asking the OP to change her mind nor defend her decision, and I do wish her still the best of luck.

tyvin, BSN, RN · Sep 4, 2011

Alright, alright already people; I get it. I wish I had the money to have my tummy done too but I just live with it. Good on ya etc... etc... Now that we know the majority of the RNs on here have had plastic surgery let's get on with another subject. Y'all don't need to justify why; it was just a suggestion. There are plenty of us who have the flappy mommy belley skin and live with it.

Peace :smokin:

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Sep 4, 2011

We all have different things that make us feel good, I suppose. I feel better all sweaty at the end of a day of volunteer work than I'd ever feel in a pair of heels, black eyeliner, and a skirt. I know that when I got rid of cable and stopped reading beauty magazines, my desire to wear extravagant make-up and dress up plummeted. There is definitely a media message that increasingly places more value on women for their aesthetic beauty. The standard is raising higher and higher with the advent of plastic surgery, airbrushing/video editing, and beauty procedures (I suppose for everyone, but women are still more sexualized than men at this point in time). There was a great article about how this is affecting our youth featured in Ladies Home Journal not that long ago that I read while in a waiting room: http://peggyorenstein.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Fear-of-Fatness.pdf.
Of course, plastic surgery is a long way away from doing your hair and makeup and wearing something besides scrubs. That's working with what you've got with some temporary changes that hold little to no risk of injury.
I want to reiterate that I am not asking the OP to change her mind nor defend her decision, and I do wish her still the best of luck.

I am not even talking about extravagant make up, a pair of heels and a skirt. Shoot a skirt would be a surefire way to make me feel down on myself and I don't wear heels. My point is that wanting to do things that make you feel good about your outward appearance doesn't have to be because you are doing it for others or because the evil media made you feel you had to. It can simply be for yourself.

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Sep 4, 2011

Alright, alright already people; I get it. I wish I had the money to have my tummy done too but I just live with it. Good on ya etc... etc... Now that we know the majority of the RNs on here have had plastic surgery let's get on with another subject. Y'all don't need to justify why; it was just a suggestion. There are plenty of us who have the flappy mommy belley skin and live with it.
Peace

I think it was more so the suggestion that 3-6 months of dedication and hard work could get rid of it is what ruffled some feathers.

decembergrad2011, BSN, RN · Sep 4, 2011

I am not even talking about extravagant make up, a pair of heels and a skirt. Shoot a skirt would be a surefire way to make me feel down on myself and I don't wear heels. My point is that wanting to do things that make you feel good about your outward appearance doesn't have to be because you are doing it for others or because the evil media made you feel you had to. It can simply be for yourself.

Again - I believe your comparison is flawed. Plastic surgery is a step beyond wearing a nice blouse and slacks and straightening your hair...or whatever you do to feel good about your outward appearance with temporary enhancements. It's a permanent, expensive, and potentially dangerous surgery. To me, that indicates an extreme insecurity regarding the part of the body being altered. Otherwise, I can't imagine why someone would do it. Insecurities normally come from judgment from or comparison to others. While some of the increase in plastic surgery can be attributed to higher availability and lowered costs, some of it must also be attributed to the idea of meeting an ever-rising beauty status quo. I'm sure there are outliers, but I don't see many confident women with high self-esteem and positive body image going under the knife.

I can only speak from my own anecdotal experience, but several of my friends have had plastic surgery. They all had an issue with the body part that was modified beyond simply wanting to feel better about it. (The exception being a friend who had a nose job while getting surgery for a deviated septum because they were already putting her under anyway. She would not have gotten it done otherwise.) In a few cases, the surgery did not help the underlying issue. And I'm not making judgments - these were their own spoken feelings on the situation. I used to want to be a plastic surgeon and shadowed one for a semester in high school; I changed my mind when I saw how the industry preys on the insecurities of the women who sit in those offices and promote an ideal. This probably plays a large part into my viewpoint, and I will admit that.

But we have reached an impasse, and I will kindly bow out and stop threadjacking. Thanks for the conversation.

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Sep 4, 2011

I would agree that plastic surgery has gone to some pretty far extremes.

I just don't see a person that lost weight or has a large amount of loose skin from having kids, and that person wanting to fix that, the same as someone that is contiuously altering their body to fit hollywoods image of what a girl should look like.

decembergrad2011, BSN, RN · Sep 4, 2011

I would agree that plastic surgery has gone to some pretty far extremes.
I just don't see a person that lost weight or has a large amount of loose skin from having kids, and that person wanting to fix that, the same as someone that is contiuously altering their body to fit hollywoods image of what a girl should look like.

Blah, so bad at not replying if someone replies to me...

I was going to write something long but I'm sure people are sick of it so instead I'll just say this: Come on, Hollywood definitely has a "hot mom" ideal - it's called the M*LF! :lol2:

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Sep 4, 2011

I'm not saying that they don't. Just saying I don't think that's what is behind the reason of a of moms doing it. At least not the ones I know. In fact no one was even going to know. It was for themselves.