Noticing some talk on the post-Abdominal Myomectomy recovery forum about the “muffin top” phenomenon. Actually, I’ve heard women who’ve had C-sections can also get muffin tops so perhaps we’ll get non-AM visitors as well.
I’m going to include a link to the New York Daily News – Daily Dish & Gossip page plus a quote from their story:
…screen hunks can sometimes fall victim, too. Their condition? Stud-muffin top.
Matt LeBlanc has been known to top-out, and at the “Wedding Crashers” premiere, Vince Vaughn was hanging out a bit over his pants.
Here’s a couple of other links for giggles:
Wikipedia entry for Muffin Top
Da Kath & Kim Website (Australian show thought to have originated the term “muffin top”)
I know this probably isn’t much consolation but a number of people (men and women) have “muffin tops” (including me!) and we haven’t had major surgery! 
Tell me what you know about the post-op twist on muffin tops and what can be done about it.
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Related Posts:
How are you feeling after your Abdominal Myomectomy?
How are you feeling after your Abdominal Myomectomy? (part 2)
February 24, 2007 at 5:34 pm
Hum I’ll go first (as usual) LOL so like a geek…wanna be the first at the chalk board lol
I am a HUGH Stinefeld fan so the whole muffin top thing makes me chuckle. I called it “the Overhang” in the previous forums “How are you feeling after your Abdominal Myomectomy I”, Part II and and oh look will we have a part III? I hope so …but only if it contiues to be a source of why I came here in the first place….to deal with why we are ALL here on this website – to get comfort, share our FIBORID experiences and heal phyisically and mentally…..
The “overhang” otherwise know as “the rope” or the “muffin top” or “pouch” that arrives after abdominal surgery. Its not your typical fat zone (like I have lol) or gut – be your slim or not…its this thing that arrives….Yup C-section gals get it, AM gals get it too (My sister and I have that great conversation – both with our battle bravery “bikini” scars – me with fibroids her with a C-section gone wrong)
For me?? that wierd non-feeling zone right above the “bikini-line” incision that stays numb for months POOFS after surgery. Well its been a little over 6 months post AM for me and yes ladies….it does (or can – guess it depends on each women) go away.
Things I did that I think helped it to POOF disappear……
1) massaged the incision ever so gently after a few days. Now if it hurts to much leave the incision alone…. messaging the incision does help to break up the collegen that forms around the incision and internal stiches (I did talke about this in AM PArt I)
2) Take it easy. If you get back to “straining” activies to quickly (I am no doctor, just speaking from experience) you can cause additional pulling of that area and rehealing…so take it easy. You are healing inside as well as out. Worry more if your insides are healed properly………than if you get your 6 pack back
3) I didnt put a lot of pressure on that area. Didnt put on”fitted” pants or tight jeans to quickly.. BIg panties and sweats are GOOD things for a while
4) I gave myself time to heal. Surgery no matter what kind takes a tole on your body. Allow yourself time to heal…relax…your body will get back to normal
I am gald I can put away the glass of milk that I “drake” while the muffin top was there…not its gone and life is better since the fibroids are gone
February 24, 2007 at 6:13 pm
FF,
Glad to hear there is hope for us! What did you use to massage the incision with? Also, you mentioned to wait a bit before wearing tight fitted clothes. Can you quantify this? A month? 2 months? Has the numbness also gone away? Thanks for your input!
February 24, 2007 at 7:51 pm
Hi all of you muffin-top sufferers and hooray for this thread. My muffin-top was a real surprise post-surgery and I don’t like what I see. It is really encouraging FF to read that it does diminish because I was considering what measures to take to get rid of it (including surgery, which I would like to aviod). My “sausage roll” is actually sore, not numb-I think I prefer it this way because “numb” is such a strange feeling/non-feeling!! My muffin top is also a bit solid feeling and I am massaging it according to my surgeon/gyn’s instructions, and putting Vitamin E oil on it to encourage scar healing. My obgyn also mentioned that the muffin-top diminishes and gets better over time. Let’s hope so!!
February 24, 2007 at 8:29 pm
Hi all, yes well the muffin top was coined to me by my neice when I was in hospital, didn’t realise it was a Kath and Kim thing as I reckon I may be one of the only Australians who doesn’t watch it, and finds it a bit ho hum.
Anyway that was what I was hunting info about when I stumbled upon this sight and forums.
I spoke to a friend yesterday, who has had a fair bit of life saving surgery and he showed me his abdominal scar which is a vertical one, he said he also had swellings but in different direction and said it was the way the muscles pull together and blood and other traumatised stuff healing which will settle eventually. A great relief. I also now believe the tightness of the scar brings it in very strongly and helps cause the visual anomally.
I haven’t started to use any vitamin e oil yet as the scar is still too red/new. also having some healing issues with one section where they stuffed up. I will move to how do you feel forum for this.
February 24, 2007 at 11:24 pm
Hi Tina,
In the beginning I didnt really use anything to message – just did it very lightly using just the tips my my fingers for a minute or so on what Sunday called the solid parts of the incision. Then sometiems I would use vitamin e oil (or break open a vitamin E capsule) or vaseline (petrolium jelly). It was hard for a while and then numb-ish for a longer time….umm parts of my abdomen were numb for a good 3 months and then the feeling came back..now I have all the feeling back except some parts (in or two) of the actual scar…..Muffin top gone and scar faded.
I couldnt wear anything tight for a good 6-8 weeks….I could after about 5-6 weeks- its just I woudl be so uncomforable that is wasnt worth it
February 25, 2007 at 9:03 am
Thanks FF. That’s exactly what I needed.
February 25, 2007 at 10:27 am
Can anyone tell me how long to wait to start putting Vitamin E on the incision? In the hospital one of the doctors said “don’t put anything on it for a while” and I didn’t ask how long. Tuesday will be 4 weeks for me…can I start?
p.s. I don’t like the muffin top at all, but am glad to read that it does go away!!
Jess
February 25, 2007 at 1:54 pm
Hey Jess, I was finally given the ok to apply cream on the incision at my 4-week post op follow up visit. You will probably get the same ok. Later!
February 25, 2007 at 2:02 pm
i’m about 2 weeks post, and here is what I observe. The scar is still quite raw, but I feel that I can safely touch it using a light touch. The belly above in general feels heavy and firm, expecially as the day goes on. The skin beneath the scar feels normal; but the skin immediately above is numb. Around the numb area it feels sore. If I press just a little, it’s tight and like a robe underneath the scar. I assume that all is normal. My hypothesis is that the normal “drainage” channel is blocked by the incision, so things accumulate above the incision. In general, I have problem “holding” that upper tummy in. So when I walk around, I tend to hold my hands in front of me to provide that extra support.
My doctor cautioned me against “rubbing” the incision because that might caused more scarring. I interpreted that as rubbing with some force, so I only gently tapping the area. I probably won’t use any oil until 4 weeks after, and will be interested in hearing others’ experience.
February 25, 2007 at 7:02 pm
I didn’t put anything on my scar until the wound was completely scab free, dry and closed. Then I put some Vitamin E oil (break open the capsules, natural E only) and rubbed it in gently. It’s great for healing the scar!!
Sunday.
February 26, 2007 at 6:28 am
Peace everything you have described matches me exactly including using my hands as a basket for muffin support.
Re massaging vit e oil, I have been told not to start rubbing anything into the scar until it actually looks like a scar; so, well healed and not too red. not sure how long that is and can you believe I went to my doc today and asked all sorts of question, particularly about my knees and toes, uh huh, and forgot to ask about that. sheesh….
February 26, 2007 at 8:56 pm
Is it possible to have a tummy tuck at the same time as a myomectomy? Has anyone done this?
I’m considering having a myomectomy I was hoping for a flat tummy afterward is this unlikely??
February 26, 2007 at 10:28 pm
um pam, are you for real, or just joking? My feeling is perhaps not ha, but it never hurts to ask.
February 27, 2007 at 10:35 am
I had my AM in October 2006 and I am working my butt off to get rid of the overhang. The overall size of my stomach has gone down, but the overhang is a hot mess! It’s more than a “pouch” at this point, LOL!
February 27, 2007 at 11:15 am
Pam,
I would honeslty say no to that question ,why would you body through that. All this talk sbout muffin top I agree its not that atractive but I want get back to being myself health wise and then worry about muffn top. I am in my 19 day post op AM and still recovering my real wish is to wake up one morning and say I have no pain at all and do not need any pills. Thats my wish the muffin top can stay for the time being.
DEMI
February 27, 2007 at 2:00 pm
Demi, you are one of the few who doesn’t have vanity issues about their muffin top and, even if my personal thoughts about my body are different, I do applaud you for that. You seem to see the bigger picture. Perhaps I too will take a step back and join you for a while. Thanks for the perspective.
February 27, 2007 at 5:04 pm
I’m trying to do my breathing (Qi Gong) exercise at least once a day. During it I visualize “Qi”, your body’s energy flow through the incision smoothly. I don’t know whether it helps, but I usually feel better afterwards. The above area is still sore, and clearly the normal “flow” is blocked by the incision. In addition, when I lie flat on my back in bed, I’d bend my leg up (my feet under knee, roughly) and lift my hip – it’s usually only my leg/thigh and butt muscle, I am pretty sure. The reverse weight distribution (scar higher than the heavier top) seems to give me some release. I do 5 to 6 of these very slowly.
I tried to put on a pair of jeans yesterday, and wow, that brought me to reality that this muffin top thing is real.
February 27, 2007 at 9:50 pm
Tina,
Trust me I do care for my body, before all this I worked out all the time and worried about any pound put on. For some reason I just don,t care now as long as I am healthy I will worry about that when I go back to work and start my daily routines again. I understand where you are coming from bit like you said just step back and join in.
demi
March 2, 2007 at 5:37 am
It’s a joy to be amongst those of the ‘muffin-top blessed’. I’ve started Aqua aerobics and had amazing results. I think the non-weight bearing aspect of it helps. It is also fortuitous to be blessed at a time when ’smocks’, empire line frocks and blousy pinafores are coming back into fashion! It’s also pleasing to see the demise of low rise denims
Demi
I am so over not fitting into my jeans/pants comfortably. In my case it’s not about vanity at all-just finance. It’s also so disheartening to have to buy more clothes, when you’re expecting to be smaller than before the operation. NO ONE TOLD ME I WOULD HAVE A MUFFIN TOP.
Pam
I asked my surgeon exactly the same thing, the day AFTER my AM! I expected to have a flat stomach after my fibroids were removed! My belly was the size of a 26 week pregnancy beforehand. He said that the scar is even bigger than the AM one, and mine is 9 inches! OW!
Re the vitamin E oil. I slathered that stuff on as soon as the fake skin stuff came off, about day 6 I think. I literally formed a cup with my hand and plastered Pure Vitamin E oil on, then put a pad over it-it works a treat. Ruined my track pants though-still cant get the stains out!
I must admit, I was nervous about touching the area initially. Even now it is still a little tender. I still expect it to burst open at every slight exertion. The numbness is slowly dissapating, and I can almost suck my gut in!!!It is week 14-15 and I can almost control my abdominals! YAY
My chiro showed me a gentle stretch to do to help avoid adhesions. Lie gently on your stomach with palms on the bed at shoulder level. Gently push up, rolling the spine, keeping your ‘front bottom’ in contact with the bed, breathing the whole time, until your arms are straight and your chin is pointing up. Hold and breathe a few gentle breaths then roll your spine slowly back down. Dont do it if it hurts!
March 2, 2007 at 7:59 am
You know,
I’m confused about the adhesions thing. Someone told me that moving and exercise helps and then someone else told me today that doing too much too soon can cause adhesions. Blimey!! What with muffin tops on the outside and potential adhesions on the inside (which I feel a little in the dark about anyway), what is the best solution?
getjules,
that exercise sounds a little like a yoga cobra stretch if I’m imagining it correctly. Is that it? I would like to try it, but want to do it right-dont’ want to tempt those shifty little adhesions.
March 2, 2007 at 11:14 am
getjules
you are right I too need new clothes and I too expected to have become smaller. This is a big disspointment to me too. I agree with your points. Take one day at a time and it will go away. My sister in law who had a c section a year ago with a little exercise and careful eating went back .Thats why for now I just concentrate on being healthy and the worry about this muffin top. I hope I did not offend anybody that was not my intention. If I did I am sorry for that.
DEMI
March 2, 2007 at 5:11 pm
Sunday take it easy, how long has it been for you again, I can’t remember, I am getting everyone mixed up? Anyway, listen to your body, the cobra I wouldn’t do too soon, some of those muscles are still trying to rejoin and you don’t want to pull on them too much in the early stages.work on standing fully upright first if you aren’t already doing so. You can do gentle abdoninals, ie: lie on your back, inhale, then exhale and suck in your lower gut bellow your belly button, hold for a count of 5, do that 5 times, then do the same only with a slight pelvic tilt, that is curl your tail bone ever so slightly upwards as you pull in the lower abs hold and do 5 times. you can do these a few times a day and it also helps to relieve lower back pain a bit. Also do pelvic floor exercises, 3 x a day or as many times as you think of it. You know scrinch your girlie muscles hold for 5, release, do this 5 times, then do fast ones 5 to 10, Some leg stretches and foot rotations are good, knee bends all can be done in bed. Also given to me in hospital to avoid dvt.
The other reason they don’t like you to do too much while your stomach muscles are healing is potential hernias, from over exertion, I met a man down the beach the other day and he had a heap of operation scars, and said half of them were probably from over exerting himself too soon after ops, from trying to do too much too soon.
Adhesions are where as you are healing one part adheres to another, and can cause pain and discomfort, and other problems.
Each one of us is different, don’t forget, even though we also have much in common, you must pay attention to what your body is telling you, It depends on fitness levels, age, hormones, everything which makes us individual. Also don’t forget Getjules is at week 14/15.
I did do a bit of snorkling yesterday for the first time in 4 weeks, went about 200 metres, just gently flippering along. And today I am starting a new eating plan, to shake a few kilos, we will see if that helps the muffin. Also got my period yesterday after swimming. so far all good just mild period pain, totally manageable.
Just a quick reiteration sunday take it easy give yourself what you need for the long term healing, X
March 2, 2007 at 5:13 pm
Ps Sunday, I think we are at about the same stage, is that right??
March 2, 2007 at 10:12 pm
fifi,
I’m not sure if we are at the same stage; I’m quite far along (6 and a half weeks). Thanks for the info, I think those more gentle exercises are a good place to start. I see my gyn on Tuesday and expect that I can resume most activities, but things like adhesions I’m really confused about because I have an idea what they are, but not when they form – straight after surgery or more a long term healing issue? I’m not into a routine exercise program, but I’m walking and driving and all that now. I still feel sore to the touch right on that muffin top and if I overdo it I get sharp abdo cramping too. It’s a longer process than I had anticipated, do you agree?
March 2, 2007 at 11:19 pm
Sunday, yes I agree, it’s kind of like a big experiment day to day. Today I thought I’d have a go and I got on my bike, and rode it, nice and easy, now I wonder if it is too soon as far as what everyone else is going through, but I feel OK, Each foray into activity has been done very mindfully and I try not to overdo it.
My muffin is still a bit sore to touch, strangely, where and why is hard to pinpoint, and it gets heavy and solid as the day progresses, this is one reason I reckon the muffin is not permanent as normal fat doesn’t seem to change as the day gets on. A good thing I presume.
Yeh you are right about our timing I am 4 weeks and 2 days, kinda like that same set of mountain ranges which were actually two different mountain ranges, Ha.
I am not sure about the adhesion timing thing, but we must be going through a lot of stuff on the inside so I suppose caution is a good thing. Which is why I wonder now about doing too much. Hmmm what do you think?
March 2, 2007 at 11:20 pm
Maybe that mountain range thing was someone else…..
March 2, 2007 at 11:20 pm
Maybe that mountain range thing was someone else…..
March 3, 2007 at 6:07 am
fifi,
The mountain range was someone else, but I was there reading it, so I get you. It’s funny how often we use our ab muscles and I guess bike riding would really work out that old core and the constant peddaling could be tough. But you said that you took it easy and you feel alright and I reckon the best thing is to listen to our bodies and if it was too much, then you’ll know tomorrow. I’m the same about being mindful when doing something active. Had a phone call from my gyn and she said that the worst thing to do as far as stuffing up healing, is to pick up heavy stuff from the floor, such as a box of books, but that picking things up from waist height, such as transferring groceries from the back of the car to a table inside, is fine. It’s really easy to forget that you have to take it easy isn’t it? I still get tired.
You know how your muffin top doesn’t feel like regular fat, could it be swelling or scar tissue? The conture of my stomach is strange, not only do I have a muffin-top, but above the pokey outey muffin top, I have a bit of a dint – very wierd indeed. Is that just me?
Sunday.
March 4, 2007 at 12:16 am
yes wierd, and no you are not the only one. Mine dints in under to muffin and the muffin hangs over, but it is a bit smaller than it was, but still wierd. rode the bike again today and walked the neighbours dog just now, phew, now I am ready to chill out for the rest of the day. pretty tired now. Have also been watching what I eat the last two days and making a concerted effort to drop a few kilos before the end of summer.
March 4, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Yes ladies it is a longer process than you think it will be. I think the muffin top is a bunch of things…inflammation from the stiches internally as they close during surgery. Internal stiches and scar tissue forming (just like on the outside incision) the layers of fat redistibuted (well fat in my case LOL) ,Trama to the surrounding area if your doctor uses those spreaders (I dont know that real name but the clamps they use to spread the incision to get to the uterus – My doc did not use them he just pulled that fibroid ladden uterus right on out to work on it)
My doc told me I could go back to work in 4 weeks …uhhh right…I went back at 5 weeks and paid for it all day and espeically when I got home at night… at 4-6 weeks (which is what the Insurance companies set as standard in my opinion) oh you feel better but I tell you there is still a lot of healing going on. THe incision is closed, you are up and about but it takes a lot longer to fully heal. I was tired for the first 2-3 months…sure I woudl get up and go and push myself sometimes…and pay for it. Doctors wont tell you 4-6 months to fully heal…We would all go running from the office…
I was scared to start exercising even though doc said of yeah 6 weeks its ok…so I waited….then I went in for a HSG at week 8 and there was STILL a big ass hole in my uterus where one of the fibroids was removed. I could see it!! It was healing good..but still a hole…it wasnt until 2 months later that it was mostly healed. Now that was just the one I would see. in-uterine..What about the other 5 removed from all over?? Yeah I knew those incisions were still healing too… point is….
Take time to heal…there is no rush…a few months of good healing will work out for you in the long. Women are so used to multi tasking and running and doing We gotta get Back to Things…. You are the “Thing” to take care of….be mindful and take it easy.. allow yourself time to heal..its more than the 6-8 weeks (oh I am sorry that would be 4-6 weeks) doctors tell you it takes to heal.
maybe I was over cautious but ya know better that than to do something to re injur myself
Just a tip for down the road of recovery:
I find that if you strengthen you back its easier to strengthen the ab muscles. A exercise ball works wonder for that. Its very gentle. Sit on one and do small bounces up and down then roll your pelvis back and forth…THAT stregthens your Core ….
March 4, 2007 at 3:24 pm
sorry only meant to paste the first paragraph about muffin tops.. the other was for te AM thread…oh well happy reading…
March 4, 2007 at 6:25 pm
Hi, ladies, I’d like to survey you all regarding when your muffin top (the swelling above incision) started to go down? Fifi, thanks for your feedback.
I’m 3 weeks post-op, and mine stays almost exactly the same. In fact, it feels bigger than right after surgery, and defintely is bigger than prior to surgery. It defintely feels firmer than the normal fat layer. I can squeeze in my stretching jeans, which prior to surgery kind of just hang loose with at least a couple of inches to spare. Frankly, this is a big disappointment. But I guess even if I knew that this were to happen, I probably would still opt for surgery, so not knowing it beforehand really didn’t matter ’cause it wouldn’t have changed a thing. But I thought that people’s swelling started to go down after a couple of weeks, but clearly it isn’t so in my case…
March 4, 2007 at 8:00 pm
I had a myomectomy on Nov.3rd… I still have numbness above the scar and a muffin top. I’ve heard 6 months for numbness to go away is normal and up to a year for the muffin top for most. Unfortunately, I also hear that a little “lip” often remains above the scar that can only be removed with more surgery (mini tummy tuck). I don’t know how often this happens, but I think more often in someone who has had a c-section rather than myomectomy since there was more stretched skin at the time of surgery. I wish I was more prepared prior to surgery… I don’t actually feel too much different since the fibroids were removed – hoping this can still change as my uterus continues to heal. Would hate to think that I went through all this for nothing .
March 5, 2007 at 2:18 am
F F, yeh I will sit on the ball as my back has been really sore, of course it is because of not using tummy muscles and having back problems anyway becomes more evident during something like this, yeesh
Peace don’t worry 3 weeks post op isn’t very long when you consider what your body has been through. I have found that the muffin grows during the day, perhaps gravity, blood gathering, internal bruising, scarring etc who knows. I am at 4w and 5 days, and doing what feels right for me as far as exercise goes, I rode my bike twice over the weekend, today I only walked along the beach so as not to overdo it, but yeh I still get tired at the end of the day. also it is really only the last few days my muffin looks smaller, maybe cause I got my period, have been doing some exercise, but mainly I reckon because I have changed my diet to shed some kilos.
March 5, 2007 at 2:20 am
meaning the muffin hasn’t shrunk, but there is less fat on top of it, ha
March 6, 2007 at 2:16 am
Hi all,
I went to my gyn today and she said that all is healing well for me. I then broached tha muffin top issue and told her that I thought it was very unattractive. Her response was a bit nebulous. She said to wait a few months and with a bit of weight loss it may diminish. She also suggested that it is a cosmetic issue (well ya don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure that out). She said that if it didn’t go away, the answer may be to see a cosmetic surgeon.
I’m sorry, but this doesn’t seem good enough to me. Surgeons really should think cosmetically when they operate and I think they should stand us up and look at how our tummies sit when we are vertical, because all changes when you lie flat.
I really don’t want to have to go in for further surgery and pay an enormous amount of money, so I feel quite angry about this. I really don’t like my muffin top!!
March 6, 2007 at 7:12 am
Give it time…the muffim top will dimish…it took me at least a few months for it to go away… if it doesnt go away well…maybe think about it differently??? consider it a badge of courage or a battale scar in your war against fiibroids
Maggs you didnt go though it for nothing. Trust me I was the same way after surgery…ok the beast are gone but boy I didnt feel any better really….it took a while for the heavy periods to subside (stll have heavy days), the acheyness and pain, teh exaustion (for MONTHS)..geeze I envy hearing women who can do all this activiy post op..I laugh now and say that definity wasnt me…it was hard to even THINK about dong anythign post op for weeks (and I am definelty not a whimp LOL).
It took me close to 6 months for the numbmess to leave. Heck there are still a few numb spots on my abdomen and I still get sore and have twinges of dull pain every once in a while. HEck this mornig my cat walked over my tummy , then sat and boy that hurt. Sometimes I am sore after sex with hubby pressing on top….
It takes a long time to really heal but doctors dont say that…My sister had a c-section and her OB told her it takes women 6 months to a year to heal from c-sections …and that is not cutting somethign growing off or our your uterus…..
but ya know with all that life is so much better WITHOUT the fibroids…I have healed in lots of ways..not just physically, but mentally and spritually. I have my health back and THT and that is the best thing ever
March 6, 2007 at 7:13 am
HERE HERE, nebulous is such a good word, and soo appropriate. Shit my gp was also non responsive to the muffin question, only her face responded and that was with an expression which I still can’t interpret, . the muffin is the reason I ended up looking for a a sight like this in the first place, to find out if anyone else had it and WHAT THE HELL IS IT AND WHAT IS IT MADE OF???. BUT….. I haven’t given up hope yet, I reckon when the scar softens with time, maybe there won’t be so much tension under the belly to create the muffin, you know it kinda looks like I’ve been taken in by a bad tailor, Too tight, they could have done a little pleating or how about some nice blanket stitch. I presume you all went to the same tailor……oh better still how about some darts
March 6, 2007 at 7:16 am
hey Ff what is tht, I know it will be something obvious
March 6, 2007 at 5:03 pm
Sunday — Sorry to hear about your doctor’s response, and the anguish it caused you. Doctors don’t seem to consider these (appearances) as part of their responsibilities. My doctor is the same way. I talked to a nurse, and tried to ask about muffin top (I didn’t use the word), and she was trying hard to gauge whether I’m having an infection. Also, I think that some doctors just do not want to “assure” you with certainty when they’re not sure, doesn’t mean it won’t get better. In all likelihood it will, it will just take time, like Fibroid Free said.
I started to massage my whole tummy area lightly (with at least one layer of cloth so I do not stretch skin anywhere), hopefully to help get things moving a little. I also started Tai-Chi yesterday.
Fifi- that “been taken in by a bad tailor” is right on! That’s exactly how it looks and how I felt.
March 6, 2007 at 9:07 pm
Thank you for your honesty….
I found you all by looking on the web trying to find information about this “shark attack”on my stomach. Now I know it is ” muffin top”. I am 6 weeks and I started to massage vitamin e oil on my scar. This is my second surgery. I am 37, my first surgery was at age 19 and my scar is vertical, now I have a large c -section scar…so I truly look like a shark attacked me. I am 110 pounds and YES I HAVE MUFFIN TOP…..I hate it!!
When I first came out of surgery I looked like I was 5 months pregnant, but the swelling has gone down and I am back to work. I highly suggest Pilates. I was doing Pilates before surgery and now I am back again. I am a bit sore today since my first day back was yesterday …but it is like therapy for me. Pilates focuses on your core or muffin top area. I really hope it will help rid me of this problem soon.
Also my periods have been worse than before surgery. Is that normal?
The worst part of it all ….is that most women end up with a baby after this type of trauma…and it makes it much easier to feel you went through all of this shit for a good reason…..now I just look and feel terrible, and probably have no hope for a baby to top it all off…..
Anyone deal with a bit of depression? I have been fighting it off….
March 7, 2007 at 1:37 am
Hi LisaLou and welcome.
I think a lot of us are dealing with a bit of post op depression. The mind spirit body thread is a good one for questioning our future post abmyo. It seems that the operation has kind of revealed stuff about ourselves that many of us had not had time to consider or work through and certainly for me I have many feelings welling up about all sorts of life issues. Good luck with it and trust that most of us look like we have been tango-ing with a shark!!
Sunday.
March 7, 2007 at 6:06 pm
What a great analogy fifi! We all seem to look like we could use a couple of darts… And I can totally relate to your frustration and anger at your gyn’s response, Sunday. I went through a similar conversation with my gyn (very old school in certain respects, but I felt that as a ‘mechanic’ I trusted him to go underneath the hood of my car and put all the parts back in working order, so I went ahead with my surgery). When I complained about my deformity, a.k.a, ‘muffin top’, he made a stupid comment while taking my stitches out about how “I was by no means ‘fat’.” To which I replied, “I know that my weight is not the issue, doctor, but that’s why this ’shelf’ thing is all the more noticeable.” I mentioned that some women, after C-sections, complain that they never quite get rid of the muffin top. He said that this was a bad comparison because women with C’s have had their bellies distended for 9 months when they’re cut. None of this was convincing to me because my sister just had a hysterectomy about a year and a half ago and was skinny as a rail before the surgery and has never quite gotten rid of her ’shelf’. This just confirms even more what Sunday said re: why the hell can’t surgeons also be thinking a bit more cosmetically (and compassionately) when they decide where to cut us. They’re all so concerned about ‘the bikini line.’ I’ve never felt comfortable in a bikini so I could care less about how low the scar is. Perhaps doing it a bit higher would be more favorable to less muffin top. I don’t know, I’m just venting because it’s clear that there is very little consideration for our TOTAL well-being afterwards–emotional and physical. And like it or not, our image of ourselves when we look in the mirror plays a big part in how we feel about ourselves. And noone should feel like they’re being ‘vain’ for being frustrated about this. Our culture raises us to be concerned about this and we’re barraged with it every which way we turn. Looking good makes us feel good. Ain’t nothin’ wrong with that.
FF’s story gives me reason to believe that the rest of us just have to be a little more patient, though. Sounds like we’re all expecting a bit too much too fast which is totally normal. Time moves by slowly when you have too much time on your hands to check out your profile in the mirror. It’s like watching water boil.
March 7, 2007 at 6:31 pm
Hi Gemma
I was having a feel around there yesterday, and it feels like scar tissue to me, I don’t think it is lack of consideration as far as the surgeons are concerned, I really think it is a few layers of scarring slowly healing. I think massaging the scar with vit e oil over time will help, but we won’t know until we try it, and stick with it. I haven’t been back for a post op appointment yet not until the 27th I think, without checking my diary. I saw my GP for a knee problem and asked her about the muffin, and didn’t get a clear response from her.
You know I can’t really see how the surgeons could deal with the cosmetic issue during the myo, as I reckon our bodies make the muffin as a response to the surgery. I’d say they would be more concerned about potential bleeding and keeping us alive during surgery. I also thing ceasars are different, as they take the baby out but not the whole uterus, as they do with us to get to the fibroids, that must have some impact. But these are only my gut feelings Ha,
Your 19 days after me so I guess you’re fresh off the slab, don’t stress too much about it, early days yet. Mine has gone down a bit if that is any consolation.
March 7, 2007 at 6:33 pm
Oh and Gemma don’t start with the scar massaging until it is well healed, you should be able to feel when it is right. I haven’t started yet.
March 7, 2007 at 7:53 pm
Thanks, Fifi, I really appreciate your wise words of advice and your very valid explanation about where the surgeon’s primary concern is and should be. I guess that what I’m really responding to is a sense of “why couldn’t they have prepared us a little better beforehand for all of these very common and natural consequences of our surgery?” I know I’m being way too idealistic here. If only I had read this forum beforehand, I would have had all of my questions prepared for him. If put in their shoes, though, I can imagine that one doesn’t want to dwell too much on things like ‘muffin tops’ when the real issue is how to eliminate a health concern that has become at the very least, a major nuisance, and at the worst, a potentially life-threatening condition (in the case of the fibroid degenerating so much as to become infected and wreaking havoc on the insides). That said, I have to laugh that one of the rationales my gyn used before surgery was “you want to get your anatomy back, don’t you?” After having peformed hundreds of these AM’s, he knew darn well that that statement wasn’t entirely true, right? Perhaps he was speaking solely from an ‘inside anatomy’ point of view. I guess what I’m arguing for here is a little fairness in advertising (in advance) about ALL of the consequences of our surgery so that we can be a little more prepared for them.
I was wondering when the appropriate time for the scar massaging would be. I’m only two weeks post-op right now, so I guess I need to wait at least another week or two. Seems too early to be putting any vit E oil down there. That Biodermis gel strip sounded like a good scar-healing tool also, but for a bit later.
March 7, 2007 at 8:15 pm
I am happy see I’m not crazy for being somewhat obsessed with my muffin top. I can’t believe how much I hate it. My friend, who is extremely fit and slim, had a c-section 2 years ago and still has a bit of a muffin top – her doctor suggested surgery. She’s not as concerned since she is too busy raising her son. 4 months post op – I have no baby, a weird looking gut, my periods are still heavy and horrible, I’ve gained almost 10 lbs, and sex still hurts. In all honestly, I feel somewhat defeated. I am still holding out hope that it may still just be a matter of time….. I agree that I think there should be more warnings on this type of surgery. They make it sound like you’ll be back to normal in 6-8 weeks. There’s really so much more to it, physically and, as evidenced by the response to this blog, emotionally. Not sure if anyone already mentioned this, but LaRoche Posay has a gel/cream called “CICAPLAST” it is an “epidermal recovery accelerator” which is specifally made for post op procedures. My surgeon said I could start using it about 10 days after surgery…. it seems to be doing an ok job so far. My scar is not very red, but I don’t know what normal is b/c I’ve never had surgery before.
March 7, 2007 at 9:39 pm
Hi Maggs
I just did some research on the Cica Plast cream and I actually ordered it from a Canadian Pharmacy. It seems we don’t have it in the US or maybe it goes by a different name here. It is mostly used after surgical face peel, but it helps the epidermal layer repair faster. I am going to give it a try. Thanks for the info.
March 7, 2007 at 11:50 pm
I tried a search on google to see if there is anything said about muffin tops. All I can find is the following:
http://www.dhmc.org/dhmc-internet-upload/file_collection/abdomino_pannicu_1205.pdf
http://www.stmarkshospital.org.uk/Files/09acf15b55814984bb655ee6f366cc82.pdf
All very good advice. But as far as muffin top is concerned, it boils down to: a) post sugery tissue fluid buildup; and b) be patient. I don’t know if anything helps. In fact, mine got better the day before yesterday and yesterday; but worse today. So I was thinking hard whether it’s something I ate, …, oh well, hope that collectively we’ll find small things that help this.
March 8, 2007 at 2:49 pm
Buona festa della donna a tutte!
Happy Woman’s Day to All!
Gemma
March 8, 2007 at 4:19 pm
Peace I just checked out those two documents. I wasn’t given a girdle belt thing and not told to wear one, yet the above document said to wear it for 4 to 6 weeks. I wonder if this helps the muscles to reform in the right way like a pressure bandage to stop swelling after an injury. I wonder if it helps prevent the muffin from being permanent. Isn’t it strange how we can’t find any direct info about this and we only get vague answers from our docs.
Oh yes and happy womens day although I think I am now on the day after.
March 8, 2007 at 6:42 pm
Fifi, I’m curious about the girdle belt or ‘abdominal binder’ as well. It seems to be something that is routinely recommended after tummy tucks (the kind of surgery that Peace’s first document is referring to), but much less frequently recommended after the kind of surgery we had. And since the muffin top is such a common occurrence and complaint of post-AM patients, one has to wonder why it’s not a matter of course if it really has some power to reduce the swelling. The tummy tuck patients have to go back after surgery to be ‘drained’ of fluids, we do not. I don’t know what the answer to the question ‘to bind or not to bind’ is, and I haven’t asked my doctor yet because I can almost predict the response. Someone on this forum used one (FF?) so perhaps she can tell us whether it was a doctor-recommended thing. In the meantime, I’m not rushing out to buy one until I know for sure. Frankly, it seems like it would be painful right now, given the soreness I still experience in that area.
March 8, 2007 at 7:12 pm
Hello everyone,
. I had a c-section with both of my children, only 16 months apart and now I look DISCUSTING! I would like anyones advice. IAs the page was opening I realized the name of this site and woundered what some of you went through. recently I was in the hospital for abdominal pain and they found a fibroind in my uteris. I live in the states and I don’t know anyone else who has ever delt with this. Can anyone give me kind-of an idea what I am dealing with?? I was told I will eventually have to have a historectomy. Please can someone fill me in a little, I gan give you my e mail address if you have advice for me. thank you! 
Im new here, I was actually looking for a way to get rid of my “muffin top” or as I call it my “baby flap”
March 8, 2007 at 7:45 pm
Hi Brandi,
Welcome to the site. The site is a blog so sometimes it’s hard to find your way around. I’ll leave a few links to some of the pages of the site to get you started.
Help! – explanation of the site
Forum – list of discussion topics. You will find general fibroid info, symptoms, and treatments.
Just what are you uterine fibroid treatment options?
Info about the options plus links to the other pages on this site where women are discussing their post-procedure recoveries.
How are you feeling after your Abdominal Myomectomy? (part 3)
This is where you’ll find your “muffin top” sisters discussing their post-op recoveries.
Visit some of the other pages and let us know if you have other questions. You aren’t alone. This site is filled with comments from women all over the world dealing with fibroids.
March 8, 2007 at 7:48 pm
Hi Brandi
Apparently fibroids are very common in women, and many do not realise they even have them unless they cause problems. Also a hysterectomy isn’t always necessary, often you can have the fibroids removed without losing your uterus, depending on various things. One gyno told me to have a hysteroctomy, in my case it was possible just to have the broids out, but it took me to question the situation and look for other opinions.
Gemma
my house mate lent me a belt which is made of wide elastic with a buckle so i can adjust it. I found it was good for walking and being upright as it takes some of the weight of the muffin. I take it off when it gets uncomfortable. Also I suspect tummy tuck doesn’t go through abdominal muscles therefore less layers of scar tissue. I could be wrong, but the fat layer is between ab muscles and outer skin.
March 8, 2007 at 9:18 pm
Hi Brandy,
My friend had three C-sections and was very unhappy with the muffin-top after her second C-section. On the occasion of her third, the obgyn “neatened-up” her muffin top and she is now very happy. Her muffin-top is much smaller in comparison. Perhaps if you have this third operation, or more children by C-section, you could mention this muffin-top question and ask them to neaten you up too?? It’s probably do-able. If I was to have my myomectomy again, I would have had the cosmetic conversation with my surgeon.
fifi,
no mention of a band from my side either. I was not told to have anything around my abdomen, so I just hung-out, literally.
Ladies, don’t be sparing with the Vitamin E-I’m taking it in capsule form too, have been for years and I’m confident that it works well to diminish scar tissue. Good anit-oxidant as well.
Sunday.
March 9, 2007 at 1:42 am
If my muffin was a real muffin, it would be a stodgy, undercooked vanilla muffin – blahh!!! I want it gone!!!! NOW!!!!! GRRRRR!!!!! It goes up and down, that’s strange. Fluid?? Mine’s not big, but it’s long and horizontal and just …THERE!!!
March 9, 2007 at 7:24 pm
Ok I started massaging vit e oil into my scar twice a day as of the day before yesterday. We will see what will happen, I am also massaging around the muffin. And Sunday, yes mine grows as the day progresses and goes down again after a nights sleep. For the last week I have been on for want of a better word, a diet, and as the flesh around the muffin decreases it looks not as bad, although it is still definately there as its own little entity. Maybe we could learn to love them as our own free ranging companions, ie like our special but not invisible friends.
I think it will go away, I can’t bring myself to believe that it will stay, I reckon we just have to be patient and hope Sharon gets back to us about what she has been doing with her phys therapist.
March 9, 2007 at 9:23 pm
Fifi, I may have to find myself a belt like the one you spoke of just to make it more comfortable for me when I take my walks. As for whether it does anything to get rid of our muffins, I’m coming to the conclusion that the answer is ‘no.’ I did a lot of googling around yesterday to see what is said about ‘abdominal binders’ and why they’re used and the best explanation I could come up with is support, mainly for the lower back. And you can be sure that if the product was useful in flattening muffins, the manufacturer would want to boast that fact. But nowhere on their site does it say anything about flattening tummies. Check it out:
http://dalemed.com/ca/abdominalbinder_ca.html
And then I asked my doctor about it today and he said, as I suspected he would, to NOT do any of the things I asked him about: abdominal binders, massaging the scar, silicone gel strips, etc. When I happened upon the post-op check-list for hysterectomies at one hospital, it suggested abdominal binders only ‘as needed.’ Here’s the link:
http://www.hhsc.org/easthi/hmc/forms/Physicianorders/322-0561%20HYSTERECTOMY%20MD%20ORDERS%20rev%2009-04.pdf
I take my Vitamin E in capsule form too, Sunday, but I think it’s too soon for me to start rubbing it on my scar. I’m only 2 1/2 weeks post-op. When did you start putting it directly on the scar?
As for the issue of why the muffin exists, I can only speculate. My doctor told me that when they do the ‘bikini’ incision, they don’t cut through the abdominal muscles. That’s why they go so low–to avoid them. What they do, though, is that they use a ‘retractor’ once they’re in to separate the muscles and give them room to poke around. Sounds to me like it’s that damn retractor and all that stretching and poking around that leaves us with our muffins because the ab muscles haven’t been cut. I can’t remember if you had a vertical or a horizontal, Fifi, but I think yours was a long horizontal, right? If it’s a vertical, then you may have had your ab muscles cut.
Wish I had better findings, ladies, but it sounds like we just have to be patient and mindful of our nutrition to give our bodies the best possible chance of bouncing back.
March 9, 2007 at 9:46 pm
Gemma, The muscle isn’t cut in either bikini cut or a vertical cut. It’s simply spread apart to give access to the abdominal cavity. Isn’t that nice! If the muscle fiber were to be cut, healing may take even longer; and our abdonimal muscle strength will for sure weaken.
Fifi – I envy you, I don’t have a place to go swimming.
Today my muffin top felt so much better, I was out, and my jean felt not as tight. I don’t know whether it’s related to what I did. Basically, I’ve been using a heating pack, and taking 400mg Ibupron after diner. When I lay flat on bed, I also did some exploration of my muffin belly, basically gentle palpation and try to feel what’s going on inside. The top layer (the puffy part) definitely has too much fluid, hence tender. But then i also felt that there was a hard part below my belly button and quite a bit above the incision. I think that ’s the muscle. So it maybe where it started to separate (muscle fiber run vertically, so to spread muscle apart at the bikini cut line wide enough, the splitting point had to start high up), and now it’s healing and felt like a knot. Anyway, I will continue to do these things – heat pad, small IBurpon in the evening, and gentle massage (I tap and/or press gently, I rub only very slowly with some pressure so you don’t rub the top skin layer against lower layer), and gentle stretching (mostly to release my spine). Will let you all know whether it helps in anyway.
March 10, 2007 at 2:03 am
Hi Gemma,
I only started to put Vit E oil on the scar when it was completely healed, no scab, no weeping. My scar was quick to heal and I put the Vit E on as soon as I could. It has done such a great job for me in the past with little burn scars and the like.
For me, the scar doesn’t worry me really; mine’s just a feint red line now, but any further diminishing of it will be a fab bonus. It’s just this damn pokey-outey vanilla muffin top that I abhor – yuk. But I’m philosophical, I think that weight loss will help, as will ab toning and that wonderful healer-time.
March 10, 2007 at 2:05 am
Oh zinc in tablet form (taken internally) is amazing, if you can tolerate it. Zinc is a magic mineral and heals brilliantly. Take it with food; it tends to be a bit hard on the stomach, but I have found Zinc to be really helpful in the past too, and your skin will glow!!
March 10, 2007 at 11:11 am
Thanks, Sunday, I appreciate the advice. I think I need to wait a bit more on my scar, but I’ll be ready with Vit E for that time when there’s no scab. I ordered that Biodermis gel strip after reading of its benefits on this forum. I hope that will be beneficial down the road also. I’m not sure if my stomach can handle the zinc as it’s rather sensitive. I’ll have to experiment with that.
Peace, do you put the heating pack directly on the wound area? All this is so confusing. Some say ice, some heat. My doctor says ‘nothing’ but time. Also, I haven’t needed to take any kind of pain meds since a few days after my surgery. I’m wondering if the ibuprofen has any beneficial effects on the swelling… I hate to take it if I don’t really need it for the pain, but if it helps the muffin go down…..
March 10, 2007 at 5:25 pm
Gemma, I put heat pack on my tummy with a couple of layer of clothing in between. I know that the rule for sports injury is ice within 24 hours, then heat. At least I feel more comfortable with heat right now. I’m not sure if IBupron works, I will cut down to 200mg today and see what happens. My muffin top is still here, but I feel less sore, and I can put on my jean and it wasn’t as tight – but it could just be that my jean has been stretched!:-)
Sunday – I read somewhere that zinc is one mineral that you can take without food, in fact, it’s better that way. I’ve often taken zinc before bedtime, and never had any problem.
March 10, 2007 at 6:53 pm
Hi Peace, maybe Zinc is just a little hard on my particular stomach. I took it for some time and it tended to give me a bit of nausea. Nevertheless, I guess everything is absorbed more readily on an empty stomach. I found it amazing for healing and general skin health.
Sunday.
March 10, 2007 at 8:08 pm
Thanks, Peace. I haven’t had the courage to try and put on my jeans yet. I guess I’m too afraid to see that bump sticking out! Patience, patience…
March 11, 2007 at 6:39 am
Hmm, I reckon there must be a lot of fluid build up around the muffin, with all the manipulating of that area, so perhaps the fluid is part of the bodies protective and healing mechanism.
Are you guys sure about them not cutting through the abs?? I was sure they did, as a matter of fact I thought someone somewhere along the line told me so…. Nevertheless it still makes sense that the muffin would develop from either way. Yes mine is long horizontal incision. Vitamin e oil I started with about 3 days ago, at 5 weeks.
I have been away at a party in the country, they are all still there going into the second night, as it is a long weekend, but I decided to drive back today, I think I did OK staying up all night, but am exhausted now.
March 11, 2007 at 6:45 am
how did that happen, I posted without realising it. A two and a half hour drive back and I’m OK with it. The party was a bit tricky as friends tried to hug me or plafully whack me or swing their hips into mine, you know it’s a bit like if you have a broken foot and people keep stepping on it, I had to keep reminding them to watch it as they got more and more out of it. they’re used to me being more sturdy. first substance extravaganza too. So far so good. Just very red eyes. Ha
March 11, 2007 at 11:43 am
Fifi, glad you made it back safe and sound. I imagine that first long drive was a bit exhausting. I’ve only done a very short drive locally to pick up my mail (all those doctor bills) at the post office, but I’m only approaching week 3 post-op.
As for the abs, my doctor was very emphatic about NOT having cut them. I also remember reading something online which confirmed that they go low precisely so as to avoid the ab muscles. Makes sense because if you try to suck in the area above your incision, it can be done. Those muscles are still working. In fact, even if you try to suck in that awful muffin, you can do it, despite its feeling of numbness. So it would seem that its the stretching and excess fluid that creates our muffins. I think you’re right about it being a protective and healing mechanism, so I suppose we have to let it do its thing as we curse it out on a daily (hourly?) basis.
March 11, 2007 at 1:11 pm
Hi Everyone,
I dont mean to sound Lame, but I am not sure just what kind of surgerys everyone on this site has had. I am 3 1/2 weeks recovering from a full hysterectomy. I got a bikini cut insision. I am so glad that I found your conversations, I have been referring to my muffin-top, as “my Blupper” so I am sure I am suffering from the same thing. I just bought vitamin E oil today and plan to start applying tonight, does that sound o.k. to everyone ? I agree about not pushing yourself, however I started back to work after 3 weeks, its going o.k. however I do still get tired an appreciate the weekends even more so. Another question I have, I asked my dr. when I could start going back to the tanning bad and she said asap, and to do whatever is going make me feel better about myself. So as sof 2 days ago I did. I bought a water babies spf 30 to apply to the scar. Any thoughts ??? Thanks for letting me join in, I look forward to talking with those in the same situation as myself….. : – )
March 11, 2007 at 5:07 pm
Gemma, my jeans is stretching, in fact, all my pants are pretty loose, so now I can fit in all of them. But in my jeans, I show a clear bump. But my jacket/sweaters usually cover it.
Been out having brunch and shopping for a while, and my muffin top feels cool and firm. The jeans’ zip actually make an indension on the muffin top (a sign that it has too much fluid). Time for a hot pad.
Mary – welcome, this is the right board. I’m 4 weeks post, and haven’t used Vitamin E yet. Actually, I used E and desitin together once, and the while desitin stuff basically stick there.
Fifi – yes, muscle is spread apart rather than cut. I saw it on a surgery video (C-section), but a myo will be the same. That’s why a very large fibroid needs a vertical cut, it’s easier to spead out the muscle the same direction as the cut at the skin layer. I’m sure that they all do this for good reasons, my guess is that it’s not that easy for muscle fiber to be cut and then reattach and still retain its stretch.
Do we have people close to 8 weeks? I really hope that the fluid will go down in the next 4 weeks for me.
March 11, 2007 at 7:06 pm
Hi Peace,
I am 8 weeks post today. I have not gotten back into any regular exercise routine and the muffin still goes up and down, but on observation, seems maybe a little smaller. It’s the way the incision kind of looks like it’s biting into the skin, creating a fold that emphasises the little bit of fat above it. That old interupting the normal flow of skin and fat on the abdomen.
fifi: I thought that the muscles were cut too, for some reason. could they do it different in Aus?? We would be using the latest techniques and practice, I have no doubt. My incision is Looooow !! Good party??
March 11, 2007 at 7:13 pm
Hi Mary. you are on the right site, there are also links for women who have had hysterectomies on this site, where you will probably get more specific answers to certain questions regarding that. Here we have had fibroids removed, Myomectomy, but they go in the same way unless you have had yours vaginally removed. But then you wouldn’t have that scar ha, sorry kids still recovering from weekend party, and feeling kind of dense. you will feel various stages of tiredness at different times, sometimes you feel fine and then sometimes you just want to rest. And you should rest whenever your body tells you to.
I have heard it takes our bodies up to a year to get the full effects of a general anasthetic out of our systems. As far as tanning beds go, I am in Australia and we have a big skin cancer prevention awarness here as we have one of the highest instances of it in the world and skin specialists say do not even go to solariums. I also read that you shouldn’t expose your incision to the sun at all so I reckon that would apply to tanning places too.
At work try and take it easy 3 weeks is not that long after having a big section of your insides taken out. And it wouldn’t hurt to make sure your work mates are aware of your recovery time.
March 11, 2007 at 7:23 pm
Sunday yep good party all my friends are idiots/dags, a major prerequisite to be a friend of mine. I know plenty of cool people in rock and art world and they generally shit me to death, (not all of them of course).
As far as ab cut, hmmm, maybe when they told us they go through the ab muscles they meant they part them and we took it to mean that they cut them… I will have to ask about how they do it here when I have my post op check which is still a couple of weeks away. I will probably forget by then. Mine isn’t quite as low as everyone elses I don’t think, I would have liked it to be about another centimetre down. Oh well. And yes of course we must be up to date with the latest techniques for sure……I know we are at the top end of the globe (when viewed the correct way) and far away but surely….we invented the hills hoist and the black box….and we are able to talk without opening our mouths to keep the flys out. We must be up there with the rest of them.
March 11, 2007 at 8:21 pm
Hey Peace & fifi,
Thank you for the welcome. I know 3 weeks and I was very surprised about myself. I am in outside sales so as soon as she said I could drive I went back. All my work mates are aware, infact the facilitator there had a hysterectomy a few yrs back and she tells me the same, not to push it and when I get tired, take a break. Fortunately my manager is very understanding, I do have to admit that the 1st few days back I did leave early. I was also disappointed like alot of you, I thought my tummy would be flatter after the surgery, so I guess thats why the muffin is such a disappointment for me. I cant wait for it to go down somewhat. So if anyone has any idea’s that will help me I would really appreciate it. This site is Great and I am gald I found you guys. Have a good evening. Hope to chat with everyone tomorrow.
March 11, 2007 at 8:22 pm
By the way whatever happened to sharon??? I thought we had some hope about the scar muffin issue and here physical therapist??? Posted once only….
YOO HOO shaon where are you????
March 13, 2007 at 5:09 pm
Hi Everyone,
Was wondering if anyone had any ideas about excersixe to loose the muffin ?
March 14, 2007 at 10:59 pm
Hi Mary,
I think that tighter ab muscles would help the muffin top. I haven’t tried any exercise yet. Also I am anticipating that losing weight may help my particular muffin.
Sunday.
March 15, 2007 at 10:14 am
My muffin is HUGE today. Huge huge huge. I am 6 weeks post op and had pain yesterday for the first time in weeks. And now the biggest muffin in weeks. My guess is it’s all related.
I find myself walking around humming “do you know the muffin man”…that’s bad.
Jess
March 15, 2007 at 2:25 pm
Jess, my period is just starting, and I’m all puffed up as well! As I said in another thread, after been disappointed with it everytime I saw it for a couple of weeks, I’m just going to let it go and do the few things that I can do, and let time take care of the rest.
put Vitamin E on last night, then put heat pat on for about half an hour — the scar definitely felt quite smooth afterwards.:-)
March 17, 2007 at 12:57 am
Peace, I like your philisophical attitude. I’m fine so long as I don’t look down in the shower! And when I’m dressed, I can almost forget the muffin altogether.
Sunday.
March 17, 2007 at 8:05 am
Good Morning Everyone,
Sorry I dropped out for a bit. Sunday I think You are right. I have’nt done any excersise except walking yet, I am only 4 1/2 weeks out of surgery, but I think I am going to ask at the gym what excersise would help most for it. I totally Agree with the “not looking down in the shower” May its like “out of site out of mind”, I’ll try it anyway. Peace thanks for the news about the vitamin e, I think I’m gonna try it tonight. I heard one time that it sticks to your cloths and can make things very nasty, even leaving stains. Do you know if this is true ?
March 17, 2007 at 6:55 pm
Mary
Rub the vitamin e in, you can gently massage the scar with the oil and it will be fine, it is ok to manipulate the skin in that area, it supposedly helps break down the scar tissue a bit. I also reckon it will slowly help disperse the fluid in the area. It apparently can take a long time for it to settle down. Also I have noticed a lot of activity and over exertion can make it swell up. I have notice also that by the end of the day it is bigger.
Sharon describes what her physical therapist told her to do on the” how are you feelig after you ab my page”
March 17, 2007 at 8:00 pm
Mary, I use a piece of tissue paper over the scar after applying Vit E, and take it off after a while.
March 18, 2007 at 2:03 pm
Thank You Ladies for the advise on the scar and the vitamin E I am going to start tonight. fifi thanks for the heads up on the swelling at the end of the day, I did not know, I thought the more you did the better and would make it go down a little bit each day, thanks. I guess its the old “read your body” thing.
March 18, 2007 at 9:45 pm
Mary
No worries, I find it is better to check out the muffin in the morning, less disheartening than in the evening, Ha, it gives you a phsychological advantage over it.
I am off to swim some laps now, WooHoo. Probably shouldn’t be doing as much as i am, but I can’t help myself. With the end of summer the outdoor pools close in a couple of weeks, drat, and I must take advantage as much as I can. Do not necessarily follow my example, I am at 6 weeks and 4 days.
March 19, 2007 at 6:48 am
I am one day pre opt . I need to know best things to prep for surgery and hospital stay. Also , what is the deal with the “muffin top”. Does it EVER go away?
March 19, 2007 at 7:56 am
ATM my advice to you is to look around this blog..there are different threads that will help you as you prepare. First, I would check out the thread about “things to bring to the hospital” (or something like that). I would also check out “How are you feeling after your [whatever surgery you are having..e.g., Abdominal Myomectomy]. There are lots of women here who have been through, and are going through, what you are, and we can help answer questions and support you.
As for the muffin top: I’m 7 weeks post-op tomorrow. My muffin is at times pretty much gone, but other days it’s HUGE…depends on how much I exert myself. People DO say it eventually goes away…
Good luck to you and keep posting.
Jess
March 20, 2007 at 6:12 pm
ATM,
I have also hear that the Muffin goes away with time unfortunately patience is not my strongest suit.
I am one shy of 5 weeks, you’ll do Great, good Luck, let us know how it went.
fifi, I think I want to work so hard at loosing some pounds and the muffin because we are going on vacation in the 1st part of August and dont want everyone on the beach to throw up , or keep trying to shove me back in the water
Oh Well, I will just keep checking with you guys for advice and to chat about what we have been through. C-Ya !
March 21, 2007 at 6:44 pm
Mary, have you ever worn speedo swim suits, they work quite well to hold things in place. Anyway if people are so superficial as to throw up when you appear on the beach it isn’t your problem really, but theirs, Ha I find I hold the muffin when I walk around in my bathers, as I am self conscious of its freaky little shape, even though it probably isn’t really that bad.
I added more laps to my swim yesterday, and the muffin is still there, but shrinking. the only really troubling thing is the crease of the incision and how it sucks straight in below the belly, and the little flabby ledge hanging over it. erk.
Um I just noticed your vacation isn’t until august…..that’s ages away, plenty of time to get fitter.
March 21, 2007 at 8:11 pm
Ohhh, I haven’t even considered the muffin top showing through the swim suit situation. I’m a board short girl. My muffin even shows through my skirts, but only I can tell.
I have been using another produce called Bio-oil. Its got Vit E and Vit A and other ingredients which claim to diminish scars. It’s a really light oil and I am also using it on my face and skin. I like it!! It’s worth a try; I found it at the chemist.
March 23, 2007 at 9:56 pm
fifi,
Thanks for the words of encouragement. I titally agree with you about the “hang Over” from the incision. Oh well I guess I need to just be happy that now I am healthy and out of pain. As long as my husband isnt throwing up, than other people I can deal with. Yes, the vaca is August, I hope the Muffin is down by then, but I guess I need to look at the glass half full instead of half empty, this will be the 1ST vacation that I know I wont have my period, like evey other one we have been on ! Have a Great one everyone ! : – )
March 28, 2007 at 7:36 pm
Hi Ladies,
Congrats to those of you just recently back home (and, of course, props to those of you a ways into recovery too).
I’m (finally) scheduled for an ABMYO on April 10th.
My reason for posting here, though, is that I was just at my regular gyno’s office for a chkup & since she’s in great shape & has had 2 ceseareans & tons of patients who go through AB Myos (and C-sections) every year I ran the “muffin top” matter by her.
Her reaction? She laughed and said that this is par for the course but that the area would absolutely go back to normal *but* that 100% recovery (i.e.:all the delicate stuff on the inside & its attendant trauma & swelling) technically takes about 3 full years to heal.
She said this *doesn’t* mean that puffiness will be noticeable for that long…but that it may not go away asap in the months after surgery. She also suggested actively training yourself to Stop Looking mid-fret/self-exam. While this might take some work (especially for those, like me, already prone to OCD or Body Dysmorphic Disorder) it can really add to the sanity reserves.
In all: it was comforting to hear that maybe the bar shouldn’t be so high for aesthetics. Especially given the *major* health & wellness gains….and that total healing *will* happen, over time.
–S.B
March 29, 2007 at 10:02 am
hello,
just wondering if anyone could give me a word of advice.
I just had a mymectomie (surgery) 2 weeks and 5 days ago. i am up and walking around, but generally have to take it easy. As singing (poetry/chanting) is part of my profession I have worked very lightly the last couple of days on vocal excersises.
I have a studio work (one songe) this saturday
and My first pst op gig is on 14th of April… I wondering if all this is too much too soon. On one hand i feel like might be able to do it, on the other I wonder if its wishful thinking.
Any words of advice?
thanx
xja
March 29, 2007 at 12:50 pm
J.A. I sing but don’t do it professionally. So this is what i noticed. By about 4th and 5th week, I can generally gather up strength to sing with projection, but that was exhausting, and I didn’t do much. By week 6, singing was almost just like before, but I don’t quite have the stamina to sing like that for long. That was my own experience. You may recover faster depending on your body and the surgery itself. Still, you wil be about 4 to 5 weeks at your first gig, so I’d say, take it easy! Don’t do it as if you didn’t have the surgery. I dont’ know what options you have — if it’s just a few songs, probably no big deal. Otherwise I’d hesitate if I were in your shoe.
March 29, 2007 at 1:00 pm
thanx peace for the advice,
my next gig is meant to be a 40 minute set…
i will see how i feel i guess during (light) rehersals the weeks before but your feed back is very helpful indeed!
peace and suchness
ja
March 29, 2007 at 1:19 pm
Hi everyone,
I did take someone’s advice as to what to take to the hospital. My surgery was on 3/20 and I feel great. My doctor made a nice incision and it is healing nicely. I do however have the dreaded “top”. Hopefully, as some suggested, it will go away or at least decrease in size. The “top” is far less painful than the almost 6 cm fibroid I lost. I am a officer in NYC, I hope six weeks will be enough recovery time.
March 29, 2007 at 10:58 pm
Hi ladies,
I saw my doctor for my pre-op appointment today (my AM is scheduled for this coming Tuesday).
I asked her about the muffin top. She said that what is not fat is actually fluid and will go away with healing. She also said that the phenomenon may happen when the scar tissue puckers in and thus provides a weird ledge for the regular tissue above it, In that case, a physical therapist who does “myofascial release” (whatever that is) can try to soften up the scar so there is less of a ledge.
I told her how freaked I was about the possiblity of the muffin top, and she said honestly not to worry. I also asked about the frequent comments I hear from people about how their muscles never go back to how they were, and she said that that phenomenon is mostly to do with pregnancy (or perhaps a freakishly large uterus — anything that distends the abdomen for months). For those of us that haven’t done that, the muscles should go back. For those who have been pregnant, they’ll go back as much as muscles go back after pregnancy (I’m not sure how much that is, but I do know ladies who’ve had babies and look fantastic).
So hopefully that will reassure folks.
March 29, 2007 at 11:32 pm
So here’s the explanation my gyno gave me when I showed him my muffin top yesterday (this was during a 5-week post-op follow-up visit.) He said that the ‘muffin’ is caused by “fat necrosis”. In other words, it’s composed of fat cells that are now dead and cannot regenerate themselves (because of the way we are stitched back up). He went through a rather lengthy explanation (since I was pumping him with many questions) of the various layers that he had to cut and why those ‘necrotic’ fat cells create that little pouch when they stitch us back up. I don’t think that I’m capable of replicating the whole technical explanation, but the important thing is that he did tell me certain things I could do to make it go down. First, I can begin to resume exercise and start to work on that area in a way that isn’t too aggressive. For those who do pilates, I’m sure that there must be ‘beginners’ exercises for strenghtening the core. Too many rigorous crunches at this stage wouldn’t be advisable, he said. The other thing he said was that since I was healing nicely and I was already just passed the 5-week point, I could use either an abdominal binder or a girdle to help flatten the muffin. This is something that he definitely did NOT recommend earlier because I was still healing, but now it’s ok and he said that the pressure on the muffin would definitely help it to go down. I wore a girdle all day today and while I’m not used to these things, it actually felt good giving the whole area some support since I was walking a lot more than before. It also seems to have had a fairly immediate effect in reducing the muffin a bit, but I guess I’ll have to wait a week or so before being able to give real ‘hard’ evidence that the thing works. The last thing I learned which went counter to something I had previously thought is that YES, INDEED there are women who have a plastic surgeon standing by so that after the myomectomy or whatever abdominally-invasive procedure is over, the cosmetic surgeon is there to do a liposuction of those dead fat cells so that the ‘muffin’ doesn’t occur. Even though I could never have afforded an elective procedure like that, it would have been nice to know that the option existed. It seems that surgeons don’t mention it unless a patient insists that she wants to come out looking exactly as she did before (my doctor has a patient who’s an actress who requested that this be done). For the rest of us who didn’t know about the inevitable ‘muffin’ beforehand, the policy seems to be: “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
March 30, 2007 at 6:06 pm
Hey ladies,
Ok, I just placed a call to my dad’s plastic surgeon. I’m not sure if he’ll give me an answer, because I’m not his patient and I don’t live near him so I can’t go in for an evaluation. However, if he does give me an opinion on necrotizing fat and whether we all need to try to scrape up the bucks to have a plastic surgeon there at our AMs or C-sections or whatever, I will let you know.
I have been insisting to my doctor that I absolutely want my body to look the same within 6 months (except for the scar, which I really don’t care about), and like I said earlier, she told me not to worry. I really like and trust my doctor, so I am hoping that she’s not hiding the ball on the muffin top issue. I am considering asking her to sign a statement about it, but I don’t want to create a combative relationship with her. She’s been my doctor for years and has always been really good to me.
March 30, 2007 at 9:17 pm
T
Hi all,
I have been very busy, but have still been checking in and reading.
his fat necrosis stuff is a bit scary. My surgeon didn’t mention that. She also didn’t suggest that the muffin will eventually go away. I fear that she thinks it is just part of having the operation. But I’m still unhappy that she did not warn me about it pre-op. I am over 10 weeks post-op and still have the muffin top. It probably is a bit smaller, but it’s still there and I still don’t like it.
Cass, I would really be interested in a plastic surgeon’s opinion about it too; I hope he answers you.
March 31, 2007 at 12:27 pm
Cass, I agree about not wanting to create an antagonistic relationship with your doctor so it’s probably best to not ask her to sign anything re: the muffin top. She wouldn’t sign it anyway because there’s no way she can give you a guarantee on this unless she offers to have a plastic surgeon standing by to take care of the dead fat cells after she’s done. From all the ladies I’ve read on this blog and talked to in real life, whether it be post-cesarean or post-hysterectomy or post-ABMYO, this necrotic fat ledge is practically a given with this kind of horizontal abdominal incision. And it makes sense that doctors don’t want to draw attention to it before surgery because there doesn’t seem to be any remedy for it other than the option of the second ‘cosmetic’ procedure which many women can’t afford. Also, I’m sure that the doctors don’t want to cloud our decisions about an important health issue with something that they consider much less important. Nice of them to decide for us.
Fifi, would you believe that my doctor actually suggested that I could eventually (if the muffin doesn’t ever go away) have a plastic surgeon take some fat from another part of my body and put it underneath the area of the indented incision so as to ‘build-up’ the area so that it would all be even! The idea is NOT to build the area to MATCH the muffin, but to get rid of the muffin. What is it about this picture that our doctors don’t want to get? Perhaps it’s the fact that if we all knew then what we know now, we would have had the plastic surgeons there. Don’t know if that’s covered by your medical system in Aus., but ‘cosmetic’ surgery isn’t covered in the States.
March 31, 2007 at 1:52 pm
Hi Everyone,
Sorry I’ve been busy and not able to check in. I do have some good news however, I am out of suregery from a full hysterectomy incicion and all. I dropped about 12 lbs so far, (those must have been some heavy organs) and I am Happy to tell all of you that the Muffin has also gone down allot. For a long while before the surgery I had been trying to loose some lbs and just could not get there, after talking to my dr and she told me how large the fibroid tumor was and all the masses on my ovaries, now I know why I could’nt drop those extra lbs. It is an extreme and radical thing to go through to loose the weight, (kidding) but……WOW, and the best news is like I said the Muffin has really gone down since I was first out of surgery.
I do have quesiton for you ladies of Wisdom, I love to take my nightly bath. Does anyone know if it is safe to do that, 6 weeks after ? Please let me know.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Mary
April 2, 2007 at 3:05 am
Hi Ladies!!
My surgery is in 33 hours (but who’s counting?) and I am sick with fear. Last night I was fine, now I feel like puking. Argh.
However, I have potentially encouraging info to share re: the muffin top. My husband took me away for the weekend so I couldn’t post it sooner.
So you all know I’m not a doctor so this is not medical advice, and the plastic surgeon who I spoke to hasn’t personally evaluated me so what he shared with me isn’t medical advice either, but here is his take on the muffin top, with which he is familiar because he has fixed them.
In my understanding after the conversation I had, if one assumes a previously slim frame to start with, the muffin top can generally be avoided if the surgeon — who can be your regular surgeon — simply remembers to use long-lasting or permanent sutures while paying extra attention to stitching the “superficial fascia” (otherwise known as “Scarpa’s fascia”) in such a manner that the scar tissue from the abdominal incision heals to that tissue plane (which I believe is primarily fat), instead of scooting PAST THE FAT and attaching to the muscle underneath.
To be clear, I don’t mean that the sutures have to be that type for the whole procedure — I know nothing about any of that. It just sounds like, for this “superficial fascia” tissue plane (aka Scarpa’s fascia), the doctor needs to be extra careful to do a good job, and to use one of those types of sutures. I do not know why the type of suture matters.
So, just to recap because this was news to me, we have skin on the outside, then EVERYBODY has a layer of fat (which I believe is part of this tissue plane he’s referring to), then we have the muscle, then underneath, the organs, including our freakishly large uteri. My understanding is that the muffin top happens when our scars form and instead of attaching to the very next layer of tissue underneath it (which, if it is stitched in place properly, is this Scarpa’s fascia), instead attaches to the abdominal muscle. Then the shelf thing forms and we feel crappy about our bodies.
Again, he has not seen me and emphasized that the situation would vary with varying body types, so please don’t print this out and take it as gospel to your surgeons, ok? We just talked about one hypothetical, a simple case, but necrotizing fat can also be an issue — who knew that fat could be dead or alive? Certainly not me. This is just one piece of information in what may be a more complicated picture.
The good news is, if you already have a muffin top and have the means (or are willing to take a loan or whatever), it seems like it can be fixed by plastic surgery.
I hope this comforts you guys. I know it helped me.
April 2, 2007 at 8:50 pm
Hey Cass, Thanks for the info and Best of Luck to you. I know you’ll do fine and will be up & dancing in no time.
April 2, 2007 at 9:22 pm
Cass, that’s really interesting. Although I don’t want to have more surgery, I find the muffin top pretty unacceptable. Before I run to a cosmetic surgeon, however, Ill try to lose weight and do some ab and core exercises to see what eventuates. Surgeons really should (and I’ve said this before), have some cosmetic surgery training so as not to cause such unsightly outcomes for women. It makes me a bit frustrated, really.
April 3, 2007 at 12:15 am
ja
If you have a 40 minute set, perhaps you could have a seat while doing it or have one near by in case you want to sit down. I reckon you will be ok to sing, I too am a performer but no gigs right now or band for that matter, with me it was a matter of not picking up my bass guitar. Don’t carry any gear, make sure other people do that and are aware of the fact that you are not to be picking anything up. And yes rehearsals will reveal all to you. You know I actually think that singing would be good for you abs and lungs. I was told I could do pelvic tilts and lower ab suck in stuff right away.
Gemma
NOpe plastic surgery is not covered as it is elective surgery, you need mullah for that. I have to say that dead fat cells sounds a bit dodgy to me, if they are necrotic surely it must be a bad thing. Dead stuff in the body isn’t meant to be good I thought…..
I posted something my surgeon said about muffin, in how are you feeling blog 4.
Gee Cass, I wish I had known that earlier, although I did try to lose some weight before surgery, (not enough ha) as my intuition told me some wierd shape may take place if there was too much fat in the area. Oh well c’es la vie. At least you can discuss it with your body taylor aka surgeon when they do your op. In my case there isn’t any mullah for plastic surgery ha, but I wonder if a teensy bit of lypo would do the same thing?
I have been exercising plenty since the op and building up more in the last few weeks, but I must admit, my arse and the rest still seem to have a layer of ahem fat over the muscle. yes I am sure there is muscle there, there must be.
Hey nice to read you all again.
April 3, 2007 at 10:54 am
I got an abdominal hysterectomy due to prolapse nearly a month ago.
I am so depressed about the muffin top, and I am sorry to admit that in addition to post-op depression, it has made me feel my sex life is over (I am a newly-single woman). I also feel confused about this necrotized fat issue because I am not sure how dead fat could possibly stay in the body? Does anyone have info from a surgeon on this? I have tried to read the entire thread, but maybe I have missed something.
Has anyone tried to do liposuction on this?
I am even more depressed after reading this thread because it seems to me that in many people, it does not get better. I myself have spoken to two thin people who had either C-section or abdominal surgery, and they say there is a bulge there still. Is there ANYONE out there where this muffin top thing went away? I am so sad, just depressed, feeling hopeless and that I don’t want to get near a man ever again. Men can be so judgmental, and I am further angry, angry at my surgeon because I could have had a vaginal hysterectomy. But he NEVER mentioned this possiblity to me. He NEVER told me my options. He waited until my uterus fell out and until it was filled with fibroids. For years and years, I had a prolapse. Gave the guy decades to tell me of my options, and I hate myself for not researching it better.
(sigh) Hate, hate, hate my stomach and would you believe I got lipo when I couldn’t afford it . . . for no reason, now the surgery TOTALLY ruined my body. Money down the drain. So sad over this muffin top thing, and the doctor didn’t even reassure me that it would get better. Only said, no, this is how I will stay forever!!!
April 3, 2007 at 11:02 am
P.S.
Also wondering if anyone’s M.T. got better after the stitches dissolved? From what I know, the stitches take up to three months to dissolve. I am assuming after they “let loose,” it would be a bit better, right? Less indent there? Has anyone found this to be true, that with the passage of time and stitches disappearing, it gets better?
April 3, 2007 at 7:53 pm
Hey does anybody know if it is o.k. to start to take my bubble baths again ? Also does anyone know if it is o.k. to into my hot tub ? I am 6 1/2 weeks out of surgery.
April 3, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Hi all
I posted on here a while back asking if it was possible to have plastic surgery at the same time. The response was one of disbelief that you could have a AB MYo or hyster and plastic surgery.
I suggested it because I got a book out of the library about Hysterectomies by an American Gynae. The last chapter in the books says that your insurance company will be paying for the theatre time, anaes etc then why not ‘treat’ (I kid you not) to a tummy tuck, or face lift!!! The only additional expense then is the plastic surgeon.
After reading this I thought it must be routine in the USA for this to happen . I remember a friend of mine who lived there for a few years said that women routinely had tummy tucks after a C-section is this true?
If anyone interested I’ll find the name of the book.
April 4, 2007 at 2:08 am
Hi Pam,
I was one of those who initially reacted in disbelief about the double surgery since I had never heard of it before. In fact, I then found out from my own surgeon that he was working with a plastic surgeon to make sure that an actress came out looking “exactly” as she had looked before, after her abdominal incision (an option he never even discussed with me because I didn’t know to bring it up). But it’s by no means routine for this to happen in the US, hence all the angry and frustrated ladies you read posts from on this site (not to mention countless others who are just walking around complaining outside of the Internet) about why they all have muffin tops. And the main reason it seems to NOT be routine (besides the money factor) is that most women are never told by their surgeons that this option exists. So it’s not a matter of surgeons not knowing that it’s going to happen or not knowing how to stitch us up properly. It’s just that in order to absolutely prevent this ’shelf’ from happening, a plastic surgeon must finish the top two layers of closing us up so that those fat cells can be suctioned off (at least according to my surgeon).
It would seem that our gyno surgeons don’t want our minds to get clouded with considerations of whether we have the extra cash to pay for a plastic surgeon when from where they sit, the real issue is getting rid of our fibroids and/or dealing with our other gynocological issues. Like I’ve said before, it would be nice to be included in the decision-making process about our own bodies. Why did I have to be an actress to be considered eligible for having my body return to normal after surgery?
As for it being ‘routine’ after C-sections, that’s not true either. Being that a woman is usually encouraged to wait until after her child-bearing is over to ‘fix’ her tummy (my sister-in-law was one of these), most don’t do it right away, thereby necessitating a special operation which is not covered at all by insurance. I don’t know what circles your friend ran in, but most of the women I know don’t normally have $10,000 just sitting around and available for a tummy tuck.
April 4, 2007 at 5:59 am
Hello Ladies…it’s been a while
Gemma,
I’m still laughing as I write at a previous post you wrote re the ‘matching fat’. I’m laughing a true muffin top jiggling, belly laugh. Am also still angry at the lack of information from the surgeon re the muffin outcome
I STILL have the muffin top (myomectomy early November) and despite concerted efforts, it ebbs and flows like the tide. Some days big, some days small. Pre-menstrual times it is at its finest, and I’m doubly miserable. Sure I have a healthy dose of body dismorphia, like many women, but I’m not obsessed either. Just want to look like my ‘normal self’
Commiserations to you all. And when someone finds a ‘cure’…let me know
Hey Mary, jump in that bath! You should be well ’sealed’ by now!…but if the bath water level suddenly drops and that muffin grows………..!
April 4, 2007 at 7:54 am
Hi Gemma
I agree with you completely. Your physical appearance after surgery will surely impact on your sef esteem . Why doesn’t the medical profession have a more intergrated approach. My Sunday paper is full of adverts about plastic surgery, surely if it is so common place then after major surgery you think it would be offered,just for the money if nothing else.
I don’t believe my friends c-section claims she probably knew one person who had it done.
According to the book I read it might be difficult to coordinate a gynae and plastic surgeon at the same time and place, has to be a big hospital.
Anyway I will ask my gynae he will probably think I am very vain…who cares..
take care
Pam
April 4, 2007 at 10:18 am
Pam, you can be sure that if the shoe were on the other ‘foot’ and we were dealing with a dismorphed pecker, the word ‘vanity’ would not come into play at all. It would simply be considered ‘necessity’ to fix it. Why should we be any different? I agree that you should ask your gynae now that you know this option exists.
For what it’s worth, I’ve noticed that there has been a definite bit of flattening of the muffin going on since I was given the ok to start wearing a girdle last week. My surgeon assured me that this would definitely aid the process along with exercise. We’ll see.
April 4, 2007 at 10:55 am
Dismorphed pecker!!! Giggles and guffaws. This part of our bodies where the muffin top is, is (was) a very sexy place, I’m sure we all remember our adolescent flat tummies and how beautiful they were, it is so tied up with our sexuality is this bloody issue: muffin top, not sexy. I have to admit, I feel very self conscious of my muffin top in front of my husband because I find it so yuk. He doesn’t give a toss, but I do!! I don’t care about a scar, but a shelf? C’MON!!! I’ve tried, but I can’t shelf the ’shelf ‘, not totally, not yet.
Yay to hear from you getjules!! So happy to hear how much fun you are having with the jewellery course.
Vanity, who cares? The muffin top has to go!! After Easter, ok; muffin top’s love chocolate.
Hey happy Easter!! We’re going away to the country with about 18 other families for Easter, so I’ll catch up with you all when I get back.
April 4, 2007 at 11:32 pm
Have a great Easter in the country, Sunday. And it’s a bit late for Passover greetings, but I hope you had a pleasant one, Fifi.
Sunday, I’m totally with you on the whole sexuality issue. It doesn’t make matters any better when one has to consider the fact of being single again at this age and having to contemplate the thought of explaining the muffin phenomenon to a person one hasn’t even met yet. I guess I’ll need to meet someone with a healthy sense of humor. Thank goodness for ‘friends with benefits’ who are non-judgmental!
April 5, 2007 at 3:07 am
greetings again ladies,
just checking in after today’s pre-op for my abmyo on the 10th.
regarding muffin states: apart from what i posted above–that my very flat-stomached gyn said that *for sure* this puffing goes away over time (she’s had a c-section herself)–the nurse in my doc’s office also told me not to worry and asked where i was getting all this worried feedback from (i didn’t specify).
this said: she also offered (w/o my prompting) that t is quite common for people to have a tummy tuck and/or liposuction at the same time as this procedure (done, obviously, by people qualified in those areas)…though i took this in reference to women 100% sure that they weren’t interested in any more/any kids (you know, given the tummystretching properties of pregnancy). and, for what it’s worth: what’s common on New York’s upper east side tends to be a little over-the-top with regard to the quest for beauty & i’m not convinced that (as was the nurse’s & my gyno’s point) that time won’t offer the same results, albeit a bit slower.
my doc is away this week but i will inquire more specifically about this matter & get back to you all with one more expert’s opinion. (he has, afterall, been serving a pretty choosy/fussy clientelle for some 35 years…)
more on monday…
SB
April 6, 2007 at 2:34 pm
I don’t know whether it was because I went back to work full time, but my MT, at 8 weeks post op, is puffier than 2 weeks ago. Ugh! Another thing is that I didn’t do my nightly “heat thepary” – you know, lying in a recliner and watching TV while having a heating pad on my belly after applying Vita E and A oil. Anyway, I’m resuming the heating pad starting yesterday. Will report back. Towards the end of my 6th week, the MT was getting much better! This just shows that there is no linear recovery, we have to be careful for a while. It’s quite sensitive — like a place that’s easy to catches water but not easy to drain.
April 8, 2007 at 1:29 pm
Het getjules,
Thanks for the reply, I’ve been “bubble Bathing Away”…..I Lvoe my Baths. So fr all is well with me…the “Top” is still there but growing smaller and smaller with each week. I find some outfits its o.k. to look at myself, others NO WAy… Although since I dropped about 12lbs after the surgery, and people just keep commenting on how much weight I’ve last, thats helps me be able to ignore it a little easier… I hope everyone has a Great Easter…. Bye for now.
April 8, 2007 at 8:11 pm
Mary — 12 lb, that’s great. I’ve gained all my weight back, plus 1 lb or so. How many weeks post op are you? My MT is definitely not making much progress. In a pretty bad mood.
April 9, 2007 at 6:47 pm
Peace I am so sorry to hear you are Glummmm.
I am now 7 weeks post op. Dont worry about it, first make sure you are healing o.k. before you worry about the weight. I was in so much pain before the surgery that it made my recovery so much better, also the dr told me and my family that both my ovaries were weighted down the masses and more Yuck than I would like to talk about. Another thing I think helped was she told me my uterus was twisted into and 8 and pushed to the front of my stomach. So that belly I could never get rid of was surgically removed…..Ha Ha. Really dont be bummed as long as you are well and getting stronger all the other stuff will soon fall into place…Take care and hang in there !
April 9, 2007 at 7:52 pm
Nice smile gal
Your doctor sounds like a real prick, I think you need one with a little more compassion and sensitivity. what a jerk. I don’t believe you are stuck with the muffin forever, I have friends who have had c sections and eventually theirs went away. (mine hasn’t yet and I guess no one else on this site has lost theirs yet, (shit I have forgotten how to spell their/thier, oh their looks right) otherwise we wouldn’t be asking all these questions. So far there is a mixed consensus about all of it. But don’t worry you’ve got us. I too am wondering if there will ever be a man for me whether it be for ….oh hell I am going to be 50 in may and still haven’t found mr right. Muchless any guarantees of future sexual realations….. I am not actually ugly by the way…
Ha Gemma
thanks for the passove greetings, but you know I think I passed it over and forgot about it, I am cat sitting in the country and just looking out at mountains, and eating fabulously leven bread and yum organic produce from nice bakeries and wineries in the region. Woops guess I forgot ha ha.
Hey mary, I think we are all hanging in there literally, isn’t that how this page got started….. hanging….. although I must admit even though I am doing plenty of exercise, I am eating too much good food, and I reckon that has a lot to do with my muffin not being absolutely gone.
I am still doing vit e oil twice a day and massaging the incision area, haven’t given up yet…..
April 9, 2007 at 7:53 pm
Oh just had to stop myself from looking at a recipe for a chocolate meringue torte on yahoo front page……
April 10, 2007 at 11:54 pm
I have not lost weight. I thought that i would! Now I have to go to plan B, actually cut down on the amount I eat and do a bit of exercise. I wish I could ‘magic’ the fat away. My muffin top is still big and quite hard and I wonder if it will actually go away when I do eventually lose weight? It feels different to other fat, probably because it’s scar tissue too.
It’s strange, I have quite a negative body image now and I used to be so happy with my little waist and curves. Now I feel kind of battle scarred, because of this muffin. I don’t feel much incentive to get on any tread mill. For what? So I can be skinny with a muffin top? Eating is a comfort that i take great pleasure in. I’m not obese, infact I’m in my normal weight range, but I don’t feel toned or fit and I have this freakish protrusion. Whinge whinge whinge!!!! Don’t mind me, I’m pre-menstrual, or not, or who knows?
April 11, 2007 at 2:51 pm
Hey everyone,
I am writing this for the ladies that are pre-op to try to prevent or decrease some of the MT anguish out there. The dread of the surgery and the MT aftermath caused me so much anxiety (especially after reading this entire section of the blog) that I was on anti-anxiety medication. The last thing my husband did before I was wheeled into surgery (seriously — I was merely yards away from the operating room) was confirm with my doc that she would close me up “the good way”. I think we nearly drove that poor woman crazy with questions — it is a miracle she didn’t tell us to find another doctor. She is an excellent surgeon so I’m glad she didn’t!
I am now seven days post-op. My waist is completely back to its former size, and my swelling is very much diminished. It’s a bit more in the evening, but in the morning I’d say that there’s about an extra 2-inch layer of liquid in a solid triangle that starts two inches below the belly button and runs above the seams of the leg/abdomen join. So overall, a fairly small surface area that is puffed up. It was a different story four days ago — the external aspect of the healing is going along much more quickly than I’d anticipated. I hope my 17 incisions in the uterus are healing up as well!!
My surgeon made a very, very small external incision — maybe two and a half inches long. She said that it would produce more initial bruising and discomfort, but that it would look much better (MT and scar-wise) afterwards. I am guessing this is because I have will have less of a scar shelf for anything to hang over, should I have any of that hard tissue the other ladies are discussing.
It is possible that I will have an MT, but based on what I am seeing now, knowing this swelling will hopefully go down over time, it doesn’t look like it will be too bad even if it happens — and I have a lot of body anxiety so if I’m ok with it, it is probably objectively won’t look that bad. Maybe I am genetically lucky, maybe I had a great surgeon, I don’t know. I’m just thanking my lucky stars and hoping everything continues to go well.
I just wanted the pre-op women out there to know that it is not inevitable that your body will be upsetting to you after you are healed. You still have time to talk to your doctor frankly about this. Your self-esteem and mental health matter as much as your fibroids, and a good doctor should care about you as a whole person.
If your doctor is giving you a bad vibe — if you don’t trust that s/he will close you the right way and do everything else possible to make sure you heal up well, due either to inexperience or insensitivity, cancel the surgery and find another doctor. I am not sure what advice to give our overseas friends, who may have less choice in doctors. I also know that most of us have symptoms so intolerable that we’re desperate to have them out ASAP — but we have to live with our bodies (the doctors don’t). Based on the anger and anguish the women who have MT are experiencing, suffering a while longer to find a decent doctor sounds worth it.
April 11, 2007 at 9:53 pm
As far as Australia goes, there is a PLETHORA of obgyns, and shopping around is not a problem; we’re not all in the outback riding Kangaroos you know!! We have one of the best health systems in the world, actually.
Perhaps there is also the question of a person’s pre-op condition, how much weight the individual is carrying and how big the fibroid is. Maybe the muffin top is inevitable in some instances. Perhaps it is in the nature of the operation? I know that I have been whinging, but I still hold out hope with regards to the muffin top diminishing over time. I just don’t like it now.
It is good advice to find a surgeon who is aware of the cosmetic element and who will take into account your aesthetic concerns.
Good luck to all the people who are about to have an abmyo. Let this thread inform, not frighten. Recommend it to your surgeon, even. My concern is that many surgeons (all around the world it seems), are not taking the aesthetics of this operation into account. I would be really interested in knowing whether the muffin is sometimes inevitable. Could someone answer this question?
Sunday.
April 11, 2007 at 10:43 pm
Hey Sunday,
I’m not sure if MT is sometimes inevitable, but I think it is definitely true that a really really _upsetting_ MT can be avoided as long as weight before the surgery is not a issue. I’m not saying that only the super-skinny will avoid the MT, either (I know I’m certainly not super-skinny).
By the way, I didn’t mean to imply that Australia doesn’t abound with great docs — I know our English readers often don’t have a great deal of choice in doctor (and often have to wait on a list for the surgery), though, and thought maybe other international readers might be in a similar boat.
The plastic surgeon I spoke with seemed to be hinting around that the necrotized fat issue brought up earlier in this thread could be a problem where more abdominal fat was present. Still, though, if a good doctor knows all about that in advance, something can be done to make MT less bad than it would otherwise be. It honestly sounds to me like some of these doctors who have operated on forum members are just totally clueless and don’t give a damn. It makes me so, so angry.
You are NOT whinging, Sunday! And even if you were, whinge away. That is what we are here for, to support each other. Thank goodness Geek w/ Fibroids has given us this space.
April 12, 2007 at 5:58 am
Cass, you are right about the waiting period for non-private patients with regards to elective surgery. There is an option, however to consult an obgyn privately for advice or to request a different surgeon. Being on private health insurance, I was lucky as I had my choice of gyn. I’m sorry if I sounded snappy, of course you were not implying anything about our docs!! I’m not sure about the health system in the UK, but I’m really interested in how different countries work. Nothing’s perfect, but here we pay pretty large taxes and as a result the various services are ok. Much improvement is needed though. I think we all need to look to the Scandinavian countries and follow their model for great health care, maternity leave and aged care etc.
I appreciate the go ahead to whinge. I think this thread is my whingy one, the abmyo part 4 is my share advice one and the mind, body, spirit thread is my thoughtful ponderous one.
Cheers Cass, will share a whinge soon!!
April 12, 2007 at 10:34 pm
I tried to ask my dr about the whole muffin top thing and he didn’t know what I was talking about. Would anybody PLEASE be willing to take a picture of this phenomenon so I can ask him about it? I know this is asking alot, but outside of the MT I already have when I put on my jeans the week of my period(!), I really can’t visualize this thing.
April 13, 2007 at 11:06 am
The Muffin top models! I knew there would be some future in this. I don’t think that many of us would mind taking a picture of this phenomenon because contrary to what Cass’s plastic surgeon implied, this muffin top thing has little to do with how much abdominal fat was present before the surgery. Everyone has subcutaneous fat layers below the skin (if we didn’t, we’d be dead) and a careful reading of this thread will reveal that those of us who have been complaining the loudest, were NOT plagued by exaggerated amounts of abdominal fat before surgery. All the more reason that the muffin top is so noticeable after surgery.
I also have to say that the concept of a ‘good way’ and a ‘bad way’ of closing us up seems very unlikely. By now, we’ve all had a taste of the rather large egos possessed by most surgeons. If it really were true that there was a secret ‘good way’ that would prevent a woman from having the necrotized fat entrapment spot (MT) afterwards, don’t you think that ALL surgeons would want to boast that they used ONLY that method? Especially in these times when surgeons are using websites to promote themselves? These surgeons may be insensitive to woman’s body-image concerns, but downright stupid they’re not. They just don’t think of the MT issue when they’re presenting us with the health reasons for having the surgery because in the grand scheme of things, it’s not a big deal (at least not to THEM). In fact, it would seem that it’s such a given that this occurs, that they assume all women know about it from their friends/family who have had C-sections and other ab sugeries, that they don’t even feel compelled to bring it up. It only comes up when, as in the case of my surgeon’s patient/actress or in the case of Cass who made it an issue with her surgeon, the patient demands to look the same way afterwards, or else….
The fact that Cass’s surgeon felt so pressured into doing something different and making an incision less than half the size of the majority of our incisions, doesn’t make me buy into the concept that THAT was the ‘good way’. It simply meant that she was so terrified of having a law suit on her hands after surgery (something extremely common in the US) if she left Cass with a big MT, that she attempted a ‘work-around’ that would diminish the chances for the MT. Half the incision size=half the amount of MT. But not all surgeons can do a successful ABMYO with that small an incision, nor would you want them to try. Many factors would preclude using an incision size that small like the size of the fibroid(s), the position, etc. So I would use real caution before suggesting that the only ‘good way’ to do an ABMYO is to use an incision that size. I’m very happy that it worked for you, Cass, but that doesn’t mean that it’s the ‘good way’ for everyone. Each case is very individual.
As for the ‘inevitability’ issue, the anecdotal evidence I’ve gathered both from this site and from all the women I’ve interviewed (re: any time of abdominal surgery), all point in the direction of confirming its inevitability. But that doesn’t mean that women who haven’t done the surgery yet should resign themselves to having an MT. I’ve already explained the option of having a plastic surgeon standing by to a colleague of mine who needs to have the procedure and she was very thankful to know this info in advance. Afterall, as Pam stated, a woman can save on costs in the future by doing the cosmetic ‘touch-up’ at the same surgery setting as the ABMYO because her anesthesia and the operating room are already paid for. She’s just paying extra for the cosmetic surgeon.
And for those of us for whom the surgery is a ‘done deal’, there are also ways to flatten out the MT over time. After my doctor told me that a girdle would help flatten it, I’ve been wearing one for the last two weeks and I’ve seen a definite improvement. It also just feels good to have that area supported since it’s still numb and tender. I also spoke with a physical therapist yesterday who’s going to teach me techniques for breaking down the scar tissue through gentle massage. Many of us have already been massaging the scar area after hearing about it from others on this site. I was also told by a yoga instructor who had the surgery done twenty years ago that using a skin brush to massage the area would help (the brand name she gave me for the product was Yerba or Yorba). Judging from her results (you can barely see anything), I’m going to get one of those brushes today and start using it for massaging the area as well. For those who have had their surgeries only recently (the last few weeks), this massaging stuff has to wait a bit until you’ve completely healed, but at least you know that these options are there for you when you’re ready.
April 13, 2007 at 7:49 pm
Hello again.
I think there has been some misunderstanding. All I am doing is sharing what other medical professionals have told me, in an attempt to empower the women reading this forum. That is what I thought the purpose of the forum was. I had been frightened, saw other women who were frightened, and did what I could to help. I did not mean to upset or challenge anyone by sharing the information that came my way.
In the past, I have mentioned myofascial release (the massaging that breaks down scar tissue) and plastic surgery as possible fixes for those who already have confirmed and persistent muffin top.
My surgeon insists that she did nothing dangerous or unusual in terms of how she closed me — she made one of two valid choices based on my physical condition and my personal concerns. My problem was that I had such a healthy mistrust of doctors after reading this forum that I couldn’t believe that she would close me up well until I consulted with a plastic surgeon to confirm that her method really would produce the best cosmetic result. I am not ashamed to admit that I had these fears and issues, and I am certainly not ashamed that I did everything I could to reassure myself before going into surgery. Advocating for myself did not pressure my doctor into making bad decisions.
In terms of there being one “secret” way to close to avoid MT and/or the MT being inevitable, everyone’s body is different, and of course I am not a doctor. The “good way” I was referring to was not actually the size of my incision (I realize that not all of us will be able to have a small incision for medical reasons), but referred back to an earlier post where I shared information from a telephone chat with a plastic surgeon. From this chat, it sounds like the “good way” of closing tacks down the subcutaneous fat so that the scar, when it forms, attaches to the fat, and not to the muscle beneath. This minimizes the scar shelf, and, if necrotizing fat is _not_ involved, takes care of the MT. Again, this is just what has been told me and I tried to be clear in that post, as the doctor was with me, that everyone’s body is different but that that was the basic theory of MT formation _when_ necrotized fat was not involved.
I don’t know how to respond to arguments about varying amounts of subcutaneous fat and the muffin top that results — I am not a doctor. All I know is what one plastic surgeon told me, and I shared it here in the hopes of giving women some peace of mind or at least some information.
I must disagree with the suggestion that all doctors would of course do things in the most cosmetically pleasing way to avoid lawsuits. I have a chronic pain disease that took a very long time to diagnose. I don’t want to go into all the details, but I can attest from hellish experience that doctors within one medical specialty do not receive the same training, nor do they necessarily keep up with new research. Gynecology is not plastic surgery — it is not realistic to expect that all gynecologists are interested enough in the aftermath of their surgeries to learn the absolute best ways to avoid scarring and muffin top, lawsuits or not. Their primary job is to keep us alive and keep our reproductive organs healthy; those that also leave us looking as best as we can look after surgery are worth seeking out.
If a doctor were truly concerned about a lawsuit, s/he would simply not perform the surgery and refer the patient to another doctor. It happens frequently in this age of high malpractice premiums; barring emergency, there is no obligation to treat unless there is no other doctor available to the patient. To imply that my doctor was frightened into treating me the way she did is not only unkind to me, it’s insulting to my doctor.
April 14, 2007 at 2:24 am
I’m sorry, Cass. My remarks were certainly not made with any unkind intentions. They were made out of real concern for the many women who would read that paragraph in your first post-op post and, not having read anything prior to that, could have easily assumed that the ‘good way’ to avoid MT was contained in the following words:
“My surgeon made a very, very small external incision — maybe two and a half inches long. She said that it would produce more initial bruising and discomfort, but that it would look much better (MT and scar-wise) afterwards. I am guessing this is because I have will have less of a scar shelf for anything to hang over, should I have any of that hard tissue the other ladies are discussing.”
I have seen many comments on these pages and the other related ones that are indicative of the fact that some women treat a lot of our collective suggestions and comments as ‘gospel’. That’s a scary thought given that none of us is a doctor and none of us really knows for sure what causes this muffin top phenomenon and whether it is absolutely inevitable. We can only deal in language like “it seems” and “anecdotal evidence” and all those other qualifiers.
As for your doctor being “terrified of having a law suit on her hands”, I agree with you that that way of putting it was inaccurate, given your relationship with her. To say that she felt a great deal of pressure is more accurate, given your own description of how you and your husband kept at her about this issue, even considering making her sign a statement: “I have been insisting to my doctor that I absolutely want my body to look the same within 6 months”. These words, of course, are what gave me the impression that your doctor might be feeling some heat. I certainly don’t think that she did anything dangerous just to avoid repercussions. I just think that the way you described how your doctor handled your situation could have easily been construed by some as THE way to avoid MT.
My posting was not meant to insult anyone. The only person I think that I may have insulted (anonymously) in my postings so far has been my own doctor and I believe I’m entitled to do so for not having been given certain information regarding this MT business BEFORE my surgery. My response to your post was simply meant as a cautionary note to the many women who might begin talking to their surgeons about ‘the right way’ and “the wrong way’ of closing them up, as if those expressions represented something based on established medical truth.
Is there a doctor in the house? How helpful it would be to have their participation in this discussion! Otherwise, this becomes like that old game of telephone.
April 14, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Hey Cass,
I whole heartedly agree that the most important thing that the Dr’s can do is make sure the suregery is success, and in my case get me out of pain.. You are so so right in saying there most important thing is to keep us alive….I would much rather be out of pain, and healthy after my surgery then to be laid out with a “perfectly flat tummy”, that alternative is Unacceptable. I think most of us will agree vanity comes second to feeling better and being Alive !!!
Bye for now Ladies, “keep Hanging in there” !
April 15, 2007 at 8:28 am
It goes without saying that health comes before beauty and no body here is questioning that. I think that feeling good about ourselves is tied up in our health however. If doctors can take the aesthetic questions into account and inform patients about the forthcoming possible change to our bodies, then women could go into surgery being better informed and therefore able to prepare for the physical outcome of this surgery. It may not have to be an ‘either/or’ situation. Maybe there are ways to avoid the muffin top?? Maybe there are post operative treatments which can be recommended. What I pick up when reading this thread is a kind of unanimous surprise re the muffin top, and an degree of anger that no one bothered to inform us before the operation of this outcome. No one is asking the surgeons to put a patient into mortal danger in order to have a flat stomach, just to inform and advise the patient more thoroughly.
Sunday.
April 15, 2007 at 12:57 pm
I totally agree, Sunday. The problem is that most doctors don’t seem to be concerned enough with the aesthetic questions to give us the full story of the impending changes to our bodies before our surgery. Imagine my surprise and frustration when my doctor very calmly described how he was going to avoid the muffin top phenomenon with his patient who is an actress (AFTER my surgery had already produced the undesired MT) by having a plastic surgeon close up the last two layers. If the option was good enough for her, then why wasn’t good enough for me? I guess in his mind, since I didn’t make my living with my physical appearance in the forefront, it wasn’t worth bringing up. And perhaps I would have opted to do exactly as I did anyway, without a cosmetic surgeon present. But the full array of knowledge about options and post-surgical appearance should have been offered to me and to every other woman BEFORE her surgery and WITHOUT us having to initiate the conversation based on various comments we’ve heard on sites like this.
April 15, 2007 at 9:06 pm
I found this blog very informative, much more so then my “ho hum doctor” and other sites about fibroid surgery. I had 7 fibroid tumors removed on April 4th and honestly had no idea I was going to end up with a”muffin top.” After examining myself in the full lenght mirror yesterday I was horrified to see what I looked like. I have a muffin top! and my stomach looks like a 90 year old’s! Prior to my surgery I took spinning classes 4-5 times a week and yoga 2-3 times per week. While I am not a spring chicken (being 47) and at 5′ 1″ and 139 lbs not exactly skinny, I was in pretty good shape. I was not ready to part with my uterus after hearing horror stories from other friends about fallen bladders, etc. after hystertomies and thought this was the way to go. I wondered why these could not be removed vaginally but after asking my doc he said they could not be removed that way because of their location in the wall of the uterus. So my choices were to live with a stomach that looked 4 months pregnant, or have the fibroides removed.
I still feel pretty crappy. The worst thing was the 15 staples they left instead of the good old fashioned black stitches. The staples were simply unbearable and I looked like Frankenstein. Thankfully 5 days after the surgery, those came out. While the pain was managable with Motrin during the day, at night I resorted to the Vicodin which prompty (even on a full stomach) made me throw up. I cannot sleep on my side at all without feeling like my innerds are “falling” inside my body. I tried putting a pillow under my knees and sleeping on my back, but feel like I am in a coffin and when I wake up my knees are killing me. I sleep about 2-3 hours wake up and then cannot get back to sleep. I long for an eight hour stretch of sleep.
The heavy feeling inside is incredible. Almost like a very bad period. Also, I still have a stabbing pain like feeling but only on my left side for some reason. And why was there no vaginal bleeding afterword? You would think with all the slicing and dicing going on inside you would have vaginal bleeding.
Even urininating is not the same. I feel like I really have to go and then when I go it is not that much, why? Plus, the painkillers have wrecked havoc on my bowels.
I cannot wear anyting but sweat pants and loose dresses and actually dread putting on real clothes. (Not that they would fit with the muffin top anyway.)
I have my post op visit with my doc on Thursday of this week and plan to bombard with a list of questions (hope he blocked out a good chunk of time.)
The most interesting thing about all of this is that I am convinced birth control pills lead me to these fibroids. I have 2 sisters and 1 sister whoose husband had a vasectomy never had developed fibroids. Me and my other sisters who have been on birth control for over 27 years both develped fibroid tumors. Her’s was the size of a grapefruit! Are there warnings about BC pills causing fibroids?
Cat
April 16, 2007 at 12:44 am
Woah. It didn’t read to me like anyone was digging at anyone else.
Gemma, your comments about myofascial release has had me researching on the net about it. It sounds very logical, and I would like to find someone who practises this therapy who does not charge the earth. I still hate the idea of the necrotised fat. did the doc who told you about that say that losing weight and exercising would make it go away, or is it trapped there forever?forget plastic surgery in this instance as financially it is not an option for me.
My intuition before the op told me to lose that excess belly fat before the op mainly as I thought when they stitched you up it would cause a ledge which I hadn’t actually heard anything about before hand. It was looking for an explanation for the muffin which brought me to geek before it ended becoming a forum page of itself. this is why the necrotised fat thing bothers me. Have you had myofascial work yet?
April 16, 2007 at 10:26 pm
Fifi, I haven’t ‘officially’ started the myofascial work yet because the physical therapist I want to see was booked for the next 10 days. I’ve been working with the skin brush, though, because it was recommended to me by a colleague/friend of this same physical therapist. This friend, by the way, is the same woman who had abdominal surgery many years ago and used these brushing techniques (as well as stretching) on herself. You can’t notice any ’shelf’ whatsoever on her. Below is a link to a site where they explain the technique of using the skin brush and, of course, they sell them.
http://www.yerba.com/skinbrush.asp
I follow the instructions that they give, but I also spend more time on working the area of the scar/muffin top. Since the brushing is to be done dry, you think that it’s going to irritate the skin at first. But as long as you’re working with a brush with all natural bristles and you’re not rubbing too hard, it actually feels quite good.
As for my doctor’s recommendations for reducing/eliminating the muffin top, he stressed exercise and wearing either an abdominal binder or a girdle (not just for cosmetic or support purposes either. He maintains that it will actually make the muffin go down over time). The girdle is easier because it’s less restricting than a binder. Remember that belt that your friend loaned you? Your instincts were right about that too. My doctor didn’t stress weight loss because he didn’t think I needed it. I, however, can always justify losing a couple of extra kilos. I’m sure it couldn’t hurt.
I’m anxious to meet with this physical therapist/osteopath because I want to get specific instructions on what kind of exercise/massage techniques will help this problem the most. As soon as I find out, I’ll let you know.
April 17, 2007 at 9:49 pm
I had my myo on April 6th. It was hand-assisted lap — removing a 13.5 cm/10 pounder. My stomach went flat right away — the bouncing baby fibroid was right in front. Now, 10 days later I’m plumping up above the bikini incision. I hope this is temporary! I’m sure most of the surgeon’s handiwork is hidden away. No idea how much, though. The thought of rubbing anything or doing excercises makes me laugh (not too hard, though).
April 18, 2007 at 10:17 am
Sue,
the muffin top is not just swelling, it has a little signature look all of its own. Imagine bread dough rolled out flat and then about an inch is pinched up along a 10cm horizontal line. The pinch just sits there looking doughy, standing out. It is also called an overhang or a ledge. Lovely eh? Remember ‘Hope’ is the last thing to emerge from Pandora’s Box! We live in hope that the muffin is on the way out.
April 18, 2007 at 2:42 pm
LADIES I AM SO GLAD I FOUND YOU
I had my AM on March 27th, 2007 and cried all the way into the OR…never had surgery before allI knew was that thing doubled in size n six months and i said it’s gotta go, went in throught the navel and wouldnt you know it there were eight the biggest the size of a half watermelon…where was that! Ladies I got to keep everything and I dont have children so I am so glad….I was worrying about all kinds of things and just reading your comments clamed me down so much…they are sick of me at the doc’s office…..My parents took me ome for two weeks after surgery and let me come to my own house…not married…so I MISS MY MOMMA…..went to class on last Saturday….In grad school, came home saturday afternoon and stayed in bed until Monday afternoon missed church…I am a minister I dont miss church but I bet you I missed it that day! I am so thankful to you all my sisters
I have felt on top of the world one day and then like it was dropped on my head the next…..the night sweats OH MY LORD….I said to my mother who checked on me all through the night….did i get up and go jogging??????? I work out and walk three miles a day…for a while couldn’t walk three steps…doing better now BUT I CAN NOT WAIT TO THROW THOSE GIRDLES AWAY. I had to wear them with everything and my back hurt all the time and now its gone…did not know all that was there….you know i was in pain and had severe pressure and now I feel so hollow and my friends say YOU SHRUNK…… THANK GOD FOR YOU ALL!
Write me back ladies PLEASE
April 20, 2007 at 11:38 am
Welcome, Kymmy! So happy to know that you made it through your surgery successfully and that you got to keep all your reproductive organs. The night sweats immediately following surgery are normal after the adjustment that the hormones have just gone through. If you go up to the top of this page and click on the other site “Comment on How You are Feeling After Your Abdominal Myomectomy Part 4″ (at the right of your screen), you’ll find many more comments that pertain more specifically to the post-op phase and how women are coping with it.
Actually, based on what you said about your doctor going in through the navel, it sounds like you had a laparoscopic myomectomy (as opposed to abdominal myomectomy) and therefore, you probably won’t have to deal with the dreaded ‘muffin top’ that all of us have been complaining about because you had a few half inch incisions instead of the bigger, lower horizontal one that the rest of us had. I don’t know if there are any swelling issues that accompany the post-op phase with laparoscopic myomectomy, but you may want to ask that question on the Part 4 site since you might find someone else who has had the same procedure you had. The advantage with the laparocopic procedure is that the recovery time is quicker.
In any case, be thankful that you had the courage to take care of this problem and that you now can have your life back.
April 24, 2007 at 1:10 pm
Oh My God, Thank god for this forum. I had an ectopic pregnancy and didn’t know. I was suddenly rushed to hospital and had a laparotomy approx 6 weeks ago. It actually erupted and that’s why the surgery was done so quickly.
Since then my six pack as I am a runner, cyclist and swimmer has become a huge belly like I’m 5-6 months pregnant. It sticks out more because the rest of my body is so small size 6-8.
Its so good to read this forum and see that others are experiences something similar even though its for a difference type or surgery. I’m pleased with the incision and it’s very neat, but the bloating huge belly feeling is driving me crazy. As someone said on the forum thank god for the fashion of big baggy dresses etc. I can’t fit into any of my jeans as they are generally low cut skinny fit and my t shirt tops are small size 6.
I feel horrible but am getting about and doing a bit of swimming. Back at work this week doing approx. 3 hours a day. I will keep an eye on this forum and thanks to everyone for there comments. It’s like a mini cyber support group.
I have also been taking Vit C supplements and Arnica a homeopathic remedy for healing.
I’m not sure when to start doing something like yoga or Tai chi any suggestions like I believe Sunday said I’m scared of exercising and hurting myself from working out 6 times a week to nothing is seriously depressing me.
Mwah! To everyone with muffin top…….!!
April 25, 2007 at 4:37 am
Gemma
thanks for that, I am not checking in as often now. so I will check out that site. I actually have a natural brush which I use for body brushing when I am motivated once in a blue moon.
LikkleMissGutted
Yep this is a great cyber support site, You may want to check out some of the other pages regarding the type of op you had and recovery time.
Kymmie
wow! half a watermelon… how did they get it out?
May 1, 2007 at 8:10 pm
Has anyone had discomfort from the muffin overhang? I find that my belly jiggles and it is uncomfortable…I haven’t been able to find much in the way of tummy support.
May 2, 2007 at 9:41 am
I had a complete abdominal hysterectomy 6 weeks ago and I did experience jiggleness and discomfort. I had to sleep with a pillow up against my stomach at night. I did read previously in this website about a tummy support item. You might want to read back through the conversations. It’s so much better now. What procedure did you have done? how long ago?
May 4, 2007 at 5:12 am
hi all, i just had my AM 10 days ago. it was great reading this blog as i prepared for the procedure. i just wanted to post this link to the hyster sisters website for an abdominal binder they sell for “swelly belly,” or as it is also known, “muffin top.”
i got one for my sister but she never used it, so she’s now passed it on to me. i ahve not used it much so far. my dr. said no.
https://www.hystersisters.com/xcart/product.php?productid=16139&cat=0&page=1
i was also wondering about using tea tree oil on the scar. everyone is talking about vit E, but no mention of tea tree….
thanks all
mg
May 4, 2007 at 9:15 pm
I had an abdominal hysterectomy 4 weeks ago today. They took the uterus and one ovary…I had fibroids and was bleeding profusely…had to have a transfusion and bleed for 56 days straight with one week break…been having hot flashes for 4 weeks straight since the surgery. I have had a great recovery…(lots of people praying for me) I am back at work and this week I could tell I turned a corner.
I was wondering when is it ok to wear my jeans? I have been wearing loose clothing for the past 4 weeks.
May 5, 2007 at 11:05 am
thank you all – for your comments and suggestions. i realised that i am not the only one with the feeling and feel nice that i am not alone and there are a lot of people with me.
thanks
May 6, 2007 at 9:52 pm
Hi – I just scheduled my AM and am quite a wreck…I called my Dr. about “muffin top”. He seemed a bit annoyed and said that it only happend in a small % of patients. In reading this it seems much more common. Do ALL of you have MT? Should I schedule someone else to close? The other thing that is freaking me is the anesthesia. Have all of you had to have the breathing tube put in? I look forward to your advice!
May 7, 2007 at 2:44 pm
rg…So many of us were terrified of the anesthesia also…the fear of the unknown…but the nicest part is that you won’t know ANYTHING about what happens to you while under the anesthesia. When you wake up, it’s all over…you have NO memory of anything that happened while you were out. Yes I had a breathing tube, but I only knew because they told me…you do have a scratchy throat for a few hours post surgery. The anesthesia is a godsend…it is easy and it gets you through the whole thing in the blink of an eye. (I probably should direct you to another thread…we have talked about stuff like this on the How are you feeling after your Ab Myo thread.) Stay strong and remember you WILL get through this.
Oh yeah, and about the muffin top…I did have one. Many of us did. Mine has been much better, I don’t notice it anymore. It took about 2 months I’d say.
Jess
May 7, 2007 at 4:21 pm
I too am worried about being put under…I ‘ve been dealing with fibroids for more than 5 years. Finally the heavy clotting has started that I’ve heard about…I know I’m anemic again (even with the iron supplement)…and pressure and crampy feeling
May 8, 2007 at 7:21 pm
I have been under anesthesia 3 times and I agree that it is wonderful. It’s like heavily sleeping through the whole thing and when you wake up it’s over.
One thing that comforts me alot is knowing that I am in God’s hands. He has a plan for my life and when I surrender to Him I can give up worrying since it doesn’t really change anything except to stress us out..! Try praying and trusting Him…..He is Good Always!
May 12, 2007 at 6:46 pm
Hi ladies, wonderful finding this site I have had numerous abdominal laparotomies, I have bin left with a 14 inch scar that runs from my breast bone to my neither regin(pelvic bone). My belly button looks like it is in parenthesis, I have a lot of pulling and wrinkled lines pependicular to my scars, but I have worked my abdomen back into shape. I have myofascial release done to keep my tight scars form being to painful. I have bin having emu oil massaged into the scars, but they are still purple and raised, and all the staple marks look very bad, but I do want to wear my bikini very badly, what do you think? I am worried that I might look like Frankenstein bride. My scars are older, and are still very sensitive when touched or my jeans rub them.
May 27, 2007 at 10:32 pm
Hi Everyone my name is Vanessa, Ness for short and I just wanted to say
Thanks for sharing all your experiences….I am having an AM next month and am terrified of the muffin. I did some research and this is the only thing I found that said helps “flatten the tummy” so I thought I would share. I am ordering one today. Hope you find it helpful. Thanks again for all the great info.
http://www.amazon.com/Post-Delivery-Girdle-Belt-Maternity/dp/B0002UCERUProduct Description
Product Description
Worn over or under a panty, the post delivery girdle helps in the healing. It alleviates symptons associated with post delivery stress and discomfort, flattening the tummy, supporting your lower back, and preventing pain. Made from a three tiers of three inch elastic band and Velcro® closures, this belt is easy to put on and take off. Color: White
——————————————————————————–
June 9, 2007 at 6:01 pm
Hello everyone! I’m 33 years old and I’ve been dealing with fribroids for 5-6 years now. I’m on a raw vegan diet and excercise like a crazy person to try and beat the stinkin’ things naturally but they have now doubled in size and are causing too many issues so I’m interviewing doctors for an AM so I can preserve fertility….hopefully I will get it done in August. What a process! I do my research and I ask tons of questions and as you know, doctors don’t like that too much! I was happy to find this site and get input from others in the same boat (sorry to see there are soooo many of us!). I have a few questions…1) has anyone used a barrier over the uterus to help prevent adhesions? If so, what are your thoughts on it after it’s been done? Did anyone have any majore complications? The doctor I like the most says I’ll be back to “normal” work in 4 weeks….that seems really soon too me. Women that have c-sections, which is rough but not as invasive as a myomectomy, are required to stay at home 6 weeks…what are you guys running into? And let me just say I know it’s vain but the dreaded muffin top is what scares me most! lol So I’m open to suggestions to prepare before during and after if you’ve got them! I wish everyone on here the best recovery and health!!!!
June 21, 2007 at 1:40 am
You guys,
This is such a fantastic place for information and just peace of mind. My doctor didn’t tell me any of this stuff for what to expect afterwards. I am 7 days post op and was almost panicking over what this muffin top thing was. I thought my sutures have split on in the inside. I have an infection and it’s build up. I’m going to look like this forever. He didn’t prepare me at all. The hardness above the incision and the weird numb feeling. This is such a godsend to know there’s others out there that have experienced this and know what this is and I’m not alone.
All the information on when to remove the strips, which I accidentally did today I was so flibbergibbed by this hard knot and weird numb indention in my stomach. Wah!
But I’m grateful. This is the first time I’ve ever had health insurance and it couldn’t have come at a better time. I had a stroke in February. Went home and then was bleeding like a mad woman to which they found after going to the emergency room, I had 13 fibroids several of which were quite large. I’ve always had very heavy periods and took strong doses of birth control but not once did the doctors tell me I had fibroids. Of course, and unfortunately for those who have to use this, I was going to Planned Parenthood. They were good for minimal things but a good gynecologist cannot be overlooked. You have got to have one.
I am blessed to be recovering from both the stroke and the AM smoothly and fairly quickly. I am lucky to be able to work from home. As an independent contractor now and looks like without insurance as my job is going to release me soon since I’ve been gone from work since February. But they’ve been more supportive than could have been expected.
But I am okay with everything. The universe provides just like it did this website, just like it did with the insurance which I’d never had, and my swift recovery and the ability to provide for myself and basically be my own boss.
Thank you to all you strong, amazing women. Thank you for starting this website and providing me with this information and giving me the peace of mind I needed. I ask blessing and smooth recovery for all you ladies!
June 22, 2007 at 12:35 am
Not sure if this has been mentioned, but the Muffin Top is not fat or swelling, it’s caused by your internal stitches. You can feel them if you press the area lightly. My doctor showed me this when I asked her when the “swelling” would go down. She also said it would take 6 months for the stitches to melt. I’m just about to hit month four and it’s better, but definately not all gone yet. Other than that and trying to get my belly back to flat and lovely, all is great!
June 22, 2007 at 1:21 am
After my above comment, I had more time to read through people’s comments about the muffin top and I am shocked at the ridiculousness of some of you! Are you forgetting the pain and misery you felt before having your fibroids removed? Does finally feeling good again mean nothing to you? Are you really going to let a damn bump over your incisiion that WILL fade in time bum you out post surgery or scare you out of having the surgery?? I mean, some people here are talking about calling in a freakin’ plastic surgeon are you kidding me??? What an insult to your surgeons, harping on the darn muffin top before you have surgery! Good Lord people, get your priorities straight! Stop whining about a stupid little bump over your scar, okay? I have one too so it’s not like I can’t relate. Quit your whining and instead, be happy that you are on your way to feeling better and whole again and not dealing with bleeding constantly or all the other horrible things that come along with having fibroids. Instead of complaining to your doctor/surgeon, send him/her a freakin’ thank you card for giving you your life back.
June 29, 2007 at 6:13 am
NONE of the comments of the above women are ridiculous!! It is not insulting to our surgeons to be dissappointed in the discovery of a muffin top. It is not just internal scarring according to my surgeon, rather, it’s a disruption of the flat plane of connective tissue being disrupted by the incision. I am 5 months post, and my muffin top is still there. I don’t like it and I’m certainly not ridiculous, or unreasonable, just not in love with the way my abdomen looks at present. A women’s choice to seek some sort of advice about treatment for the muffin top is just that, her choice and these different perspectives from the many women on this site, should be respected.
Who’s saying that we all don’t appreciate feeling good AS WELL as not being happy with the aesthetic result? These situations are not so black and white. It’s not for us to simplify another person’s self image and all the complexities that influence how we feel about ourselves. Ladies, I want to register that I think it’s ok to feel unhappy about this change in our bodies, especially because a large percentage of us were not warned about this possible outcome. Most of us felt that we were not as well informed as we could have been.
I’m not such a regular contributer now, and I hope you are all well. I am still nursing my muffin-top and hope that it will decrease over time. WHINGE WHINGE WHINGE!!!
Cheers,
Sunday.
June 30, 2007 at 4:55 pm
Hi ladies,
Sure, having the muffin top brought out vanity issues but at the same time it was more than just vanity for me. I was going to have an AM to make everything right that was going wrong inside me: heavy flow, tiredness, back pain. I was planning to go in for an AM and come out completely ok, not with yet another thing to have to deal with (ie the muffin top). So when this flap developed over my incision, it just caused a whole new set of anxieties. Here was yet another thing I had to deal with!
But there is some good news: it’s been just over 5 months since I had an AM and I am pleased to say that all signs of a muffin top are gone. In fact, I can barely make out the incision. There’s hope for us all!
Tina
July 11, 2007 at 9:40 am
Hi Gang,
Thanks for the posts and info. At the risk of being another “whiner” as described by an earlier self-righteous poster, wanted to add my two cents. I had my AM on 6/11/07. Easy recovery – back at work in two weeks, playing tennis soon after that. Feel great, but don’t look so great! Muffin Top Central here! It feels as though my skin has been sewn into the uterous. I know that’s preposterous, but it’s how it feels. I’m just running on faith that it will go away – it’s great to hear that the MT has diminished for so many others. Thanks again.
July 20, 2007 at 7:12 pm
Wow, I just stumbled here, as I am two months plus post my surgery and the only concern I have is THE muffin top. Hat off to you, Sunday, for your fantastic words. I agree, not ridiculous at all. I feel great but I don’t like my MT and would rather it went away soon. And this site is for whining, and sharing and all of it!!! So when you feel concerned or down you can just read about similar experiences. Being crabby about my MT does not diminish the joy I otherwise feel about my fibroids being history!
I just started running again and started a crunch routine as well, will see if that helps with the MT
Please, don’t hesitate to whine !!!
blessings,
Jo
August 13, 2007 at 9:24 pm
Hello all. I had my AM on June 27th and I am happy to say that my MT is a great change in comparison to the huge poochie belly I had prior to my AM. I am fully recovered and my MT is going down (almost 7 weeks post-op). My first period was HORRIBLE, but I am hoping the next will be better. Life is so much better with out fibroids! I am sure the MT will go odwn, but be careful about doing too many intensive crunches until you are fully recovered.
August 27, 2007 at 4:30 pm
Hey everyone!!
I am 3 days shy of 4 weeks post-op and yes I have this huge bulge just above my scar. Its very depressing, cause my stomach looks worse than it did with the 7 fibroids that were there.
I read here that it can take months for it to go away, is this really the case? What can I do to speed up this process of the Muffin Top?? LOL Also everyone seems to think that I’m going to have this flat stomash, and I have to keep saying”oh I’m still swollen” For how long??
August 31, 2007 at 6:02 am
Hi gee. Gee what a great name!! Well I had my abmyo on 16th Jan this year, and I still have a muffin top. It is little, but is a strange fold of skin with what seems to be internal scar tissue. I hope that it will eventually calm down. I am not a super exerciser, nor have I dieted and lost weight (and I do need to lose a bit). So for me not much has changed muffin-wise. Me of the former flat stomach and iron abs too!! Well, I don’t want to consider cosmetic surgery yet, because I just want to give it time. Maybe the muffin will disolve and maybe it will improve when I find the time to do some exercise. I’m sorry to be the bearer of not so sweet tidings, but if you read back a bit; some gals have lost the muffin top completely and others don’t seem to think it is an issue at all. Blahhh to that. I do want it gone. If you find a miracle cure, let me know, will ya????
Sunday.
September 1, 2007 at 2:33 am
Hi
Firstly, I’m happy to be counted among the ‘vain’ and ’silly’ women who give a damn about how their bodies look as well as about their health! I asked my specialist about the MT (I’m due to have my AM 28/9) and she basically said that in her experience it’s the luck of the draw – some women get it and some don’t but if you get one it takes at least 6 months (or more) to go away. I’m willing to take my chances and am trying to get into the best shape I can before the procedure. What more can I do?
September 1, 2007 at 9:27 am
hiya, i had a AM in march and i am a slimish girl, (only 8st) anyhow i didn’t know anything about the muffin top untill after surgery and then i asked the consultant what it was, it looks hideous and you can even see the roll through my jeans! The consultant said that it is unfortunate but permanent, and no amount of exercise will get rid of it, what will make it less obvious he said, is plastic surgery! i am not a happy bunny. Good luck, hope you don’t end up with one!, donnax
September 4, 2007 at 4:03 am
I am 5 days post op and have been worrying about my scar as it is vertical. Will it be harder to acheive a flat stomach?
Can anyone else who had a vertical incision let me know how it will improve
September 20, 2007 at 8:30 pm
I am currently 15 days post op and had what was considered to be an extremely uncomplicated open myomectomy procedure. I do however suffer from Irritable Bowel syndrome unrelated to my fibroids & was told by my ob/gyn that this could be contributing to the abdominal swelling i currently have. Any feedback on whether there is any truth in her statement? I was doing of Pilates on a 2 to 3 week basis prior to surgery so i am hopeful that this might assist the swelling in subsiding once i am able to resume working out.
September 21, 2007 at 4:49 pm
Wanted to submit an update to a previous post. I’m about 3 months past my AM (June 11) and the MT is MUCH better now. I feel that the underlying scar tissue is much looser now, and so the skin falls more naturally around it. Sometimes I would massage it while I was lying down – who knows if that helped. It really does look better now…
September 25, 2007 at 8:58 am
Hi all this is the first time I post here and it is because I am so distressed with this tummy bulge that I was ggogling and found you all. i am now 4 weeks 2 days popst operative AM…. and my stomach is still huge. I feel it is like a baloon. It is not just the Muffin Top but also a sensation of bloating in my whole stomach up to the navel. Is this normal??
September 25, 2007 at 4:51 pm
NAN-I also have the swollen belly and I am 9 wks post op. Everyone tells me it’s normal and that it just takes time. In other posts, people have mentioned having a drain the first few weeks….I didn’t have a drain so I am curious if that’s why my belly is so bloated…..maybe it’s just taking time for my body to absorb the excess fluids from surgery.
September 26, 2007 at 5:30 am
Well Michelle, I did not have a drain either (or stiches to take out for that matter)!! However I have bee maintaing my weight for the last few years with no extra kilos at all and thenNow I have an extra 3 – 4 kilos on the scales!!!! (and that is only in 4 weeks!!!) I feel it is getting worse I had expected a flatter stomach after the operation but what do I know!!!!
September 26, 2007 at 6:38 am
Nancy, about rubbing the incision: I’ve been wondering about rubbing too …. I saw a man who had had knee surgery two months before and I was amazed that his scar was *completely* flat and it wasn’t even red any more — his wife mentioned that they were told to rub it every night (though I don’t think right away) and that they had done so faithfully… I had an ovarian cyst removed when I was 20 (I’m 51 now) and had a full 6″ horizontal incision under which I *still* feel some harder tissue….
One nasty thing about my old incision (I haven’t had any more since)… is that when I put on weight years later, it just stayed the same —i.e. it didn’t grow out with the rest of me… so my muffin top became worse over time
It was always my impression that the doc took away some of the fat on either side of the incision to make it easier to sew shut…. and that that is also why I had more of a dent to begin with, and why fat didn’t have a place to go there when I put on weight else where…. (I’ve been trying to remember if I had a “muffin top” 30 years ago… and don’t remember…but I do remember having a ‘dent’ of sorts even though I really wasn’t overweight. I guess i got used to it over time, though never really happy about it, and self conscious at first with new partners. Oh well.
One question I haven’t seen addressed, but I guess I’ll ask in the ab myo page too: Has anyone had a second surgery? Do they use the same site, or cut a new line? I’ve been wondering what they’ll do if I end up having an ab myo….
October 13, 2007 at 11:25 pm
I read through all the comments. Thanks so much to all for contributing to this discussion. Anyone have any updates on progress with their MT?
October 17, 2007 at 11:21 pm
just an FYI for those of you using vitamin e….STOP! Vitamin E will PROMOTE a scar so will hydrogen peroxide. Use Mederma or vaseline and keep the area moist, don’t allow scabbing and keep the area covered. Rubbing and massaging will work, but be consistant and rub in a circular motion.
October 24, 2007 at 5:43 am
I am at the third month of my abdominal myomectomy. I had a huge subserous fiibroid which was almost the size of my uterus. Even though i am supposedly healing internally the abdominal discomfort exists as in the numbness or the soreness, my muffin-top is growing out of all proportions, and there is a constant stiffness at the lower back. Are all these symptoms common? Can anybody give me some advice? Can I start exercising?
October 24, 2007 at 11:41 am
Sanjukta- I haven’t had the surgery, but I think it will help others to know what you mean when you say your muffin top is “growing out of all proportions? ”
Even though I haven’t had the surgery, it seems to me that it probably shouldn’t be “growing”, and at three months I would imagine your back shouldn’t be hurting constantly. Perhaps you should seek a second opinion…. Best.
November 7, 2007 at 12:05 am
Hi! I am so happy to find your site. I had surgery to remove an adrenal gland in July. It was laprascopic (sp?) and the surgeon had to move my pancreas around a bit and removed a wedge of my liver because it had some benign tumors. Upshot of this is that I have, what I have discovered from this site, is indeed, a muffin top! Everything seemed to be healing ok, but about three weeks ago, after a unusually active day of stretching and moving about, etc., I experienced bloating, pain and just feeling like crap. I have had numbness and swelling and great sensitivity with light pain since the operation. At any rate, I haven’t been feeling well since. Lots of swelling and sensitivity and pain to touch. I have been to the doctor for follow-ups since the operation and as far as they are concerned, all normal.
So, it was great to read about everyone else’s experiences. It helped me feel like what I am experiencing is normal, albeit, something that I can handle and try to help overcome.
Has anyone out there had anything similar with these symptoms? Thanks!
November 24, 2007 at 1:55 pm
i just stumbled here and i love it.
my AM was Nov 13; this morning, i tried on a pair of cute jeans i had altered the day before my surgery and the frakking things don’t fit anymore! after just one week!
i’m so upset i can’t deal with it. before the surgery i was well on my way to being down two dress sizes and NOW i’m up one. i am a big soft girl so every aesthetic loss is felt very keenly – arrgh.
but i’m glad i found other women who’ve experienced the same thing. i guess i just have to be patient. (but if i don’t fit into those jeans by christmas i’ll lose my shit.)
November 25, 2007 at 6:52 pm
I had my myomectomy 9 weeks ago. My scar is begining to settle now and my muffin top is also evening out.
I am very surprised howeveer at the amount of tenderness i still have around my abdoman. If i press my tummy I still feel really bruised in certain areas (not near the scar, higher up between my scar and my naval) Does anyone else experience this? I am unsure if this is normal and will just disapear.
I was very bloated until about 3-4 weeks after surgery but the swlling does go away and you will fit back into your jeans. I have only been comfortable in my ‘normal jeans and trousers’ for 2 weeks.
December 1, 2007 at 4:45 pm
I am now 3 months after my operation and yes, my stomach is very tender to touch especially around my navel not near the scar! It is also bloated and astill a bit swollen n that area (around the navel and just below) so my jeans really hurts:( When will allthis go away??????
December 23, 2007 at 11:44 am
I am almost 6 months post-op. Ladies, it will get better. My last two periods were a breeze- 4 days verses 14- I will take that any day. I was in a bit of discomfort, but NO PAIN. My muffin top is there, but not as bad as 2 months ago. The swelling will go down. Strech every morning and do light ab work- Denise Austin workouts are great. I have dropped a 13 pounds since my surgery. STAY FOCUSED, EAT HEALTHY and ENJOY living fibriod-free!!
January 4, 2008 at 1:03 am
I can’t believe I found this website. I’ve been noticing this “muffin top” and it’s been driving me crazy. I asked my doctor about it and she said it would go away but it’s been 5 weeks. I do think it gets heavier towards the end of the day. It’s been 5 weeks since my surgery and my doctor has advised against any abdominal exercises or physical activities except walking and stairs until next week. I think partly it’s because I lost close to 2 pints of blood during surgery and she doesn’t want me to over exert myself.
I am going to buy a heating pad and try rubbing the area and see if it works. I’ve already seen the doctor 3 times since my surgery and I have another follow up in 3 weeks. I’ll have to ask about the muffin top if it hasn’t gone down.
January 10, 2008 at 11:48 am
Hi Everyone,
Just a quick FYI from someone who is almost 1 year post-AM. The muffin top GOES AWAY. I left it alone, kept it dry and rubbed nothing over it and – voila – all gone!
Hold on ladies and your flat tummies will come back!
Hugs to all and a great ‘08!
Tina
January 10, 2008 at 5:43 pm
THANKS FOR THOSE WORDS. REALLY MADE MY DAY,TINA
January 10, 2008 at 6:39 pm
I am 5 months post op….and less than an inch away from getting into my old pants (before my fibroid grew like crazy). I was also getting frustrated with the slight muffin top but have learned to adapt…bought a size bigger in pants and boxed up my old pants. I am getting back into a regular exercise routine….seeing I have been babying myself FOREVER. Ladies…it does get better but it takes time.
January 20, 2008 at 6:43 am
Hi everyone,
I just thought that I’d put in my two cents here too. My muffin top (which I hated), has reduced in size and severity too; YIPPEE. I am just past one year post op like Tina, and the progress has been good. Losing weight helped me. You know, it’s ok to express that you are unhappy with the muffin top. I have been reading the abmyo thread and it seems that some people feel that they shouldn’t express disappointment in having a muffin top! Hey, a person can be really thankful and relieved that the fibroids are gone AND AT THE SAME TIME feel a little miffed about the resulting aesthetics of the operation. IT”S OK ladies if you want to express disappointment; this is a support site and everyone should feel free to express their uncertainties and body image issues as it’s not a weakness to do so. I know I’ve said something like this before. Good luck and stay well.
Sunday.
January 23, 2008 at 11:39 pm
Over 2yrs ago, I had an ultrasound/MRI and discovered these alien objects called fibroids. There was also a cyst on my ovary. Two yrs of research, and I was able to put myself on a supplemental-holistic/herbal program for a short time, in addition to cutting things out of my diet, and the ultrasound results revealed the cyst was hardly visible, and the fibroids decreased in size. In Dec 2007, after my annual pap, results were all good, but my doc felt the fibroid & sent me for another ultrasound. Sure enough, these alien-fibroid-thingies were back, and the cyst was at a size where my doc recommended surgery. I didn’t want the surgery since I knew it would have to be performed via abdominal incision vs other. I felt great, so why get these things cut out- they were malignant, and I could deal with the heavy monthlies- it became a way of life. However, a week ago, I decided to trust my doc & allow her to remove the fibroids (on the left), along with the cyst on my uterus (on the right side). Jan 15, 2008, was the day of my surgery. My mother was killed in a car crash when I was 3, and I haven’t had that maternal instinct, though I’m older than most of you on this site. Nevertheless, if I were to meet the man of my dreams, have passionate sex all night, and be pregnant (I’m on birth control pills, so fat chance), these fibroids & cyst would create complications & the chance of miscarriage would be high. Why take a chance of losing a baby? I’m not planning on getting pregnant, but we never know what the future brings. I mentioned my mother being deceased because I wanted to explain why I’m probably more fearful than most women about the female reproductive system- I really haven’t had a mother to talk to about these things, & there there’s a sea of info on the internet, still, there’s nothing like real-life experiences & knowledge. The whole area of the reproductive system is foreign to me, I haven’t made a point to concentrate on babies, uterus, fallopian tubes, etc. In summary- I was scared out of my mind. Something about the abdominal area- cutting on it- I was frightened stiff, & I truly thought it would be the end for me. I didn’t think I’d survive. All the things about blood transfusions, etc., with my luck, I’d be the exception who wouldn’t live to talk about it. I rode my harley up the coast of the Pacific Ocean after pre-op, and felt if God wanted me, He’d take me then – doing something I love to do, rather than on the operating table. It’s exactly one week and one day after surgery, and I found this site in hopes of reaching out to people more knowledgable than I. This muffin top theory is cute – but I hope my puffiness goes away. I left a message for my doc to call me, but I’ll see her in 2 wks and ask her about it. My first day back, after 3 days in the hospital, I was overjoyed that my bully breeds (dogs) didn’t jump up on my incision & burst it open. My house mate (partner) was wheezing, coughing, & sneezing, for everyone in CA seemed to be rushing to ER w/the flu, according to the news on the t.v. from my hospital bed. Dear Lord, how I hoped my immune system could stay strong- but yesterday it happened- I SNEEZED! Yes, it felt as if someone was burning and ripping my stomach open. Overall, though, it’s been good. I was anemic, but was given a perscription for Iron, & I walked the dogs throughout the day on the 4th day of post op. I cleaned a bit, but didn’t lift too much other than the water hose, but I bent over a lot to clean up the yard- wondering if this is what created that muffin top ya’all are talking about. Does anyone know if bending over directly after surgery contributes to the puffiness and swelling? I’m not taking the pain pills, & I feel pretty good now that I’m not overdoing it with dog walking/hiking: I stopped doing so much when I started feeling feverish and dizzy. I know enough that we should all listen to our bodies, for it’s always trying to tell us something… I have none of that gas I’m reading about, & no constipation. I’m resting for the first time in my life, trying to eat 3 meals a day, & I’m taking the same combination of vitamins before my surgery, only more disciplined now and on a regular basis. The first thing I’ll do is get on my harley & ride to Church and thank my pastor in person for praying for me- he called me the day OF my surgery, and the day after. I never told my family members back east about the fibroids, but I’m planning on it now that I’m a survivor. Everyone should be aware of these aliens, which are sopposedly normal in females, & if I can help someone else, I’m here to do it. My dogs have jumped up with me in bed, bumping my tummy, but I have no bleeding, and the stitches seem to be in place. They removed my naval ring prior to surgery, which I am VERY unhappy about, and I’m planning on sending the bill to them once I’m ready to have it repierced (it was totally unnecessary). Do you believe I’ve had the piercing since 9-11-2001, and 2 days after my surgery, the bottom hole had healed over???? THAT IS SOME SPEEDY HEALING! My pastor did say he was praying for a supernatural recovery. Love to everyone who posts on this site to offer advice & support to those of us like me who live a private life without a lot of people to discuss these female issues with. Sorry to go off on a tangent, but I felt compelled to just share my story. To reinterate my question: Does bending over (actually bending over so far that I’m touching my toes) contribute to the thing you call “muffin top”?
January 28, 2008 at 10:08 pm
OMG! I feel so much better knowing that I am NOT going CRAY-ZEE!! I had my myomectomy 11 days ago and I spent an hour today crying b/c I had to go buy more sweat pants b/c I cannot fit into my regular clothes. My husband became very quiet and finally said that he’s never seen me cry this much the whole 8 years we’ve been together. Don’t get me wrong, I had a little belly before the surgery but now it’s all above the scar line – Muffin Top! I figured I was going crazy and that something was just messed up. I am eager to start working out and I’m already walking like 30 min a day – very slowly but moving nonetheless. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! to all of you ladies who were kind enough to share their story and help ease some of my fears. I read every one of your posts and just sat here w/ my eyes filled w/ tears b/c now I know I am not alone. My gyn never said anything about this and I don’t have a mtg until Feb. 13 so I’m gonna do the heat and do the massage and keep walking and hopefully keep coming back to this post to continue to be inspired by you ladies. THANK YOU again for all of your help!!
So good to know that I am not crazy!
January 29, 2008 at 11:35 am
i had tummy tuck 4 weeks ago and im not happy at all people keep asking me when im going for surgery my navel is so swooling it does not look like a navel and stomach is lumpy and hard in places ive also got an infection and open sores around my belly button.
January 29, 2008 at 9:30 pm
I am almost 10 months post-surgery and am happy to report that I have no muffin top. I’m so glad to see so many posters reporting the same thing — before my surgery the mood on this particular topic was more gloomy and scary.
That said, I have hard scar tissue below the suture line that makes me look (to me) a little puffy — objectively it’s really not bad but it bugs me (it adds 2 or 3 inches of bulk overall to the lower ab area). I’m working with a physical therapist who is doing some sort of painful massage to try to smooth out the scar tissue, and it does seem to be helping. Scarring seems to be a genetic thing — both my parents form scar tissue easily, too. Weirdly, though, my actual incision line is totally flat and is a very very pale pink.
Unfortunately, despite my surgeon’s efforts to find even the teeniest of fibroids hiding in my uterus, I already have another one. Blah. It’s still tiny though, so hopefully I won’t have to think about surgery for a while. And hopefully hopefully, our options for surgical techniques will get better.
January 29, 2008 at 10:24 pm
I realized after I hit “submit” that I didn’t describe things very well and it might sound like my scar tissue is a “reverse muffin top.” I don’t want to scare people.
To be clearer, the slight “puffiness” (which is actually really hard tissue) is very smooth — there’s no dent by the scar or anywhere else. The puffiness just gently gets less and less as you go north out of the surgical area and it looks normal. So while I am not thrilled with it because I know what I looked like before and still hold out hope of getting that appearance back, it’s not weird looking, and doesn’t even make me look fat. Well, not to anyone but me.
)
January 30, 2008 at 1:51 am
Cass, did you have the MT after surgery and in time it went away, or you never had one after the surgery??? My MT is getting smaller, but I want to get in my shape way before the AM…I am working out and have always have, so will this make the MT go away….
January 30, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Hello all,
Has anyone been advised to, or not to, use a waist support/slimming belt after their 4 week post-op?
I am a first-timer, on the blog, and being under a knife. This whole MT phenomenon is amazing to me because it feels and looks so strange. Mine is quite pronounced because I am a small/medium build; my scar is hardly noticeable, but this bulge is quite a different story. It swells – I feel like a blimp, especially after I eat – and please, let’s not talk about gas; it feels numb, but tingly and “burny”, all at the same time. I have bitten my lip and put on a belt today, but I just want to see if anyone else has attempted this also. I was cleared today by my gynocologist to go back to work when I’m ready; I am 4 weeks post abdominal hysterectomy. Thanks, in advance for your advice.
February 3, 2008 at 5:12 pm
someone please post muffin top stories… especially if you had it a year ago…
February 10, 2008 at 2:13 am
Had fibroid surgery 3 yrs ago and muffin top developed and though I was crazy and lazy until this site; now I know I may have to have surgery to get rid of the MF.
February 14, 2008 at 2:25 am
I screwed up in my original post- I must’ve been so mental, and overly sensistive from my surgery that I wrote the opposite: I wrote that my growths were malignant, and that’s opposite – they were NOT, so I wondered why have the surgery? My fibroids were large enough for my doc to suggest surgery, but I didn’t really have pain, other than heavy periods. The MRI showed a cycst large enough for surgery, yet NOT malignant- it was benign. At my 2wk post op appt, my doc said it turned out there was no cyst on my ovary… so I guess the MRI result was incorrect? The day after Valentine’s Day will be a month post myomectomy, and I’ve taken a few of the pain pills- I feel better when I take one when I’m active b/c it takes my mind off the pain. I haven’t gained any weight in my stomach, but that deformed look is there, which I guess is called Muffin Top? My doc never said anything about massage or heat. The incision/scar is warm to the touch, so ice feels better than heat. Nobody ever answered my question about bending over- whether bending over picking things up right after surgery will contribute to a larger Muffin Top, and why does the doc tell us not to lift things? I am planning to step into the dating scene, where men judge based on every imperfection, and I’m wondering what to tell someone new when he sees how deformed my tummy is; it was so flat prior to the incision. Also, does a glass of wine or a margarita with dinner hurt you after this surgery? Everything seems pretty fine except it took so much out of me mentally, esp. sneezing right after surgery with the burning/ripping feeling of my stomach ripping open. Everything seems to be good, though, and I can’t wait to start hitting the gym, doing an abdominal crunch, and riding the harley. I’ve been hiking up mountains, though the doc advises not to for 8wks. I tried on dresses & high heels today vs sweat pants or jeans, and it was fun. Looking forward to the summer months, but Muffin Top will force me to keep my string bikini packed away. There’s always a one-piece. Does anyone have a slightly small tiny bumpy feeling on a small sectionof the incision? Mine is smooth all the way across except for one teeny area. I have photos of my fibroids if anyone cares to see them. The photo will make you lose your appetite, so beware. Praise God these things are out, but I wonder why the docs say they are ‘normal in women’??? They say they don’t know exactly what causes them, so why can’t they test them once they’re removed, and figure it out?
March 15, 2008 at 10:24 am
Hello!
I am new to this blog and can’t even begin to say how relieved I was to learn that a lot of what I’ve been going through seems to be normal.
It’s been about 2 months since my myomectomy where they removed a 15 cm fibroid (shape of a huge 6 inch deformed potato) and drained a cyst on my left ovary. I left the hospital after 3 days with a 7.5 to 8 inch horizontal scar below my bikini line and plenty of painkillers. Basically I was told no stairs for 2 weeks and to try and stay in bed during that time. Of course I wasn’t very good about following orders, but was lucky and didn’t suffer any consequences. Like others I did the same thing with grabbing my tummy when I needed to walk for the first 3 weeks and only pjs or sweat pants for 4 weeks. I definitely have a couple of hard bumps along the line, but my doctor told me that that was normal and should go away as things healed. She also suggested massaging the area and that oil would help.
My last doctor’s visit I was so preoccupied with the bumps and when I could start working out that I forgot to ask about the numbness. So to hear that numbness is normal and should go away makes me extremely happy. I have noticed some improvement, but look forward to having complete feeling back. As far as working out goes I’m almost back to normal, well about as normal as you can be after surgery. Basically I’ve been pretty much listening to my body and not pushing things if it starts to hurt in that area. The last 2 weeks I haven’t had any problems with yoga, running, abdominal exercises and running. Apparently everyone is different and the healing time simply differs from person to person. As far as a muffin top goes, I’ve been pretty lucky in that department. The only thing that’s been bothering me, besides the numbness, is the swollen look my tummy seems to have post surgery and the weird dent the incision has created. Hopefully that will disappear as well.
For anybody who is worried about the surgery, don’t be. It was the best decision I’ve ever made. What led me to that point I wont even go into since it is emotionally painful, but I am glad I listened to my doctor. Couple of quick things to look forward to: 1. Post surgery my periods have been light (FINALLY!). 2. Pre surgery stomach pains are almost gone and 3. My husband and I can think about conceiving again in 2 more months.
March 16, 2008 at 1:27 am
Hi Sunday, Remember me?
It’s been almost 16 months since my AM and I STILL have a bit of a MT. I can now do all the exercises/crunches, yoga etc that I want to without pain, but STILL have some numbness on the ‘ol MT. I can reassure you all though that it DOES reduce over time, and acceptance of your body is a part of it as well. My point is that I wasn’t told!!!
March 17, 2008 at 11:18 am
Hi new to this
I had a Myomectomy in January 07 so over a year ago now
i still have a muffin top and it shows no sign of moving!!
I was wondering of anyone still has slight tenderness if they push their tummy, gently of course?
March 22, 2008 at 7:21 pm
HELP. Can ANYONE TELL ME IF THEY SAW IMPROVEMENT BETWEEN THE 6 month mark and 1 year?? I feel like the MT stopped improving after the 5 month mark.
April 12, 2008 at 9:39 am
Heeeey Getjules!!! How are you? I just went onto this site to check it out and have a bit of a catch up read. I had no idea that I’d hear from you. I’m glad that you are doing well and that your MT has improved, as mine has. I’ve managed to lose a lot of weight and to tone up a lot too. This really has helped my MT and I think that it’s probably still relatively early days. Keep in touch every now and again and let us know how you are doing.
Sunday.
April 17, 2008 at 11:50 am
I am curious, is a muffin top referencing the raised area around the incision or the enormous belly I now seem to have after surgery? I used to have a flat tummy and now I look 4-5 months pregnant.
April 21, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Hello ladies, I had my abdominal myomectomy march 24,so I am 4 weeks post op as of today. I am thankful for finding this site( a few weeks ago) It has helped alot. I now have come to terms with having a “MT” longer than I ever imagined. I feel great !!! Still waiting for 1st period after surgery. I did have bleeding immediately after surgery for 5 or 6 days. But it will be interesting to see the improvement in my cycle since surgery. I had 2 fibroids and 1 cyst removed. My periods were always very heavy with many many blood clots..Now for my question…I love to ski and would like to get 1 last day in, since right before my surgery. If I go easy ( 2 hours lets say) and stick to easy terrain, do you think it would be ok???? It’s truly something I love, but I am not a reckless crazy skier..any thoughts? thanks
April 23, 2008 at 11:01 am
Lisa,
I just have to say WOW, you are already thinking about skiing? I wasn’t that far along at 4 weeks. It took me until 4.5 weeks before I really started to notice improvement. I am jealous. Everyone’s body is different and I really don’t know what to say. Have you seen the doc for your post-op? My doc didn’t lift my restrictions until 6 weeks. I would say to call the doc and see what he/she says. I would be a little worried because my doc said that it takes to 6 weeks for your insides to heal. I wouldn’t want you to cause yourself any unnecessary problems.
Good luck,
Lisa
April 23, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Lisa, thanks for responding to my post. I guess I jumped the gun, so to speak. I called by doctor, and he said absolutely no skiing. I am following his advice, although I am disappointed. I am a bit of a type A personality, and am getting antsy. I suffered way to long with the fibroids really effecting my quality of life, so part of me feels so much better psychologically, that I think I can do more than I really should do. I did ask if I could vacum, because a messy house makes me insane. Well I did some of that, and I am completely exausted, and my stomach area is a bit more sollen. I guess I learned my lesson, before I did anything really, really stupid to hamper my recovery. I am hoping to get my period very soon, perhaps I’ll be less anxious….And it’s great to have this website to vent with others going through similar feelings and experiences!!
April 23, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Lisa,
I am glad that you called your doc. It is true, you don’t want to do anything to cause any damage. I am getting really impatient with all the swelling. I just don’t want to have to buy new summer clothes if I don’t have to, but how do you know when the swelling with disappear? There is no way to tell. I am doing a lot of bending at work and lifting files which causes me discomfort and swelling, but at this point the doc says I have no restrictions, so I guess my body just needs to get used to it again. It is very hard to know especially when you haven’t experienced it before.
Take care,
Lisa
May 1, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Hi everyone , i googled muffins and here i am ! ive just had a massive fibroid removed 5th April , i was on injections to shrink it for 6 months , the doc told me it was well over 22cm! the scar i have is about 12 inch . im really pleased its out and im on the mend thing is ive get the dreaded muffin!! arghh .. i havent really noticed it until the past week or so , my scar is healing really well and my surgeon has done a really great job . i was going to go se my doc but doesnt seem much point after reading these posts just looks like its part of the op and hopefully it’ll go down after a while , im thinking of going swimming in a few weeks and do some aqua areobics maybe that might help . im short at 4ft 11 and under 8 stone but have a budda belly lol. although im peed off im trying to stay positve and just so please im over the op and on the mend .
good luck to all those who are about to undergo treatment , you’ll be fine, you’ll soon be up dancing again x
keep your chin up ladies x
p.s thanks for a great site with some fab comments
May 5, 2008 at 8:57 pm
I have my AM schedule for May 27th and all of these posts are giving me a lot of additional anxiety. However, I read horror stories about Lupron and I’m not having any problems with that. I’m hoping that my luck holds out re: the MT.
I’m putting my two cents into this forum to say, I understand that all of you are horrified to have your bodies looking funky… I have been feeling the same way for the last year because my fibroids have been causing horrible abdominal distention that I just can’t bear. However, I don’t think that jumping into an exercise regimen early on is the solution!!! Please don’t push it, ladies. The last thing that you want are adhesions!! If you are all truly motivated to look and feel better, please put that motivation into doing the right thing and letting your body heal in its own time. I’ll be dying to do some crunches post-op too, but I sure won’t until my doc says it’s ok. I would much rather have things look bad on the outside for awhile than have them look bad on the inside.
Also, there seems to be a lot of controversy on this site regarding loose clothing vs pressure. My mother’s plastic surgeon is quite adamant about the fact that pressure causes scars to heal BETTER, and he made his case with a photo of a woman’s abdominal scar (vertical) and the difference in the way it had healed above and below the line of her jeans. Amazing difference; the lower part that had had all of the pressure on it had healed at least twice as well, looked much smoother and better than the upper part.
Anyway, consult a plastic surgeon if you can before you do your surgery or quickly after and see if there are non-surgical things that you can do to improve healing and the appearance of your incision, that’s my recommendation. I’m going to have a long talk with my mom’s fellah and I will definitely talk to my surgeon. Of course regular MD’s will be less concerned about this kind of thing than plastic surgeons– it’s just not their area. But they should certainly be sensitive to OUR concerns. Even though we feel like crap, this is still an elective surgery in the end.
Personally, I will be ordering the post-delivery girdle (after having it approved by my mom’s doc). Besides hoping that it will promote attractive healing, I’m sure that the support will be a good idea.
Best of luck, all!
May 13, 2008 at 8:14 am
had a raidcal hysterectomy almost 5 months ago, still numb in abdominal area and still muffin top. I heard it takes up to six months to go back to normal. still anxiously waiting
May 14, 2008 at 11:14 pm
Hello,
I had a myomectomy about 8 weeks ago. 2 weeks ago i started exercising. It seems that after exercising and also after any strenuous time (like my daughter’s graduation), my tummy swells up and is more sore. I guess this is just from overdoing it? If there were an infection, i would have a fever right? So, should i do more gentle exercises?
I read through all these posts and really appreciated hearing everyone’s stories. Today, as it is very swollen right after my exercise class, there is no “muffin top”. It was only a slight bulge before.. and in fact i was getting quite slim.
I have no constipation problems. In fact, maybe i am eating too much and this is fat? I have been ravenous too the last couple weeks.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated,
Alexandra
May 16, 2008 at 9:37 pm
Hi Alexandra –
I am at about 6.5 weeks today and have the exact same issue. I think it’s totally normal. I am up to walking one hour a day – and same deal for me. I wake up and my belly is just slightly swollen, but I have a buddha belly by end of day. And definitely the more I do, the more I swell. I’m hoping in another month it will start to subside. For the record, I had to go out and get a new wardrobe for work. Bought some cute pants w/drawstrings and elastic waist. I’m back to work on Monday and am on my feet most of the day. I feel like it’s all worth it though, just accepting it’s part of the healing process. And we’re now officially ‘roid free – that’s what really matters!
June 11, 2008 at 6:33 am
Hi everyone,
I would like to know if anyone has had AM for fibroids 7cm or under. Some gn have suggested to wait and see if they grow but the main symptom is the bloating-I feel like I am carring triplets and is quite uncomfortable. Have others felt this way for a fibroid of 7cm or smaller? Also does anyone know if a laparoscopic mymo could be done instead of am for 7cm fibroid?
Thank you, its a great site.
June 11, 2008 at 6:47 am
Thank you for all the information everyone.
July 7, 2008 at 12:21 am
When do you know if you have a muffin top? Is there a picture somewhere? I am 6 days post-op and don’t know if I have one. My stomach is not inflated just slightly rounded. I can feel a dent under the taps on my inscision. I’m so confused by this.
July 15, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Greetings all.
First off. I’m about 2 1/2 weeks post AM op… had a doozy in my belly. 16 cm all around. The picture (that I asked for) looks like a baby’s deformed head… a broid full of broids.
I’m proud to have a mini muffin top, considering the bulge I suffered with for about a year and a half prior. I’m only 29, and in the entertainment business.. so hiding the bulge at times was impossible, leading to many uncomfortable moments onstage. I’ll gladly take a mini muffin top and mask it with a light panty girdle any day!
Lisa23, it may be a week too soon to see your muffin top. I was pretty swollen for the first week. Terribly distended due to all the wonderful issues that come along with lack of ability to hold your muscles in and passing gas.
Now my question. I know to wait for the 6 week mark before I start exercising, but just wondering what exercises anyone did, once they got to go ahead?
Also, any singers/dancers on the board? The hardest thing for me is NOT singing. doc says I have to wait til September. I’m quickly losing my mind. I guess I should take these questions and concerns over to the post op thread.
Any input is greatly appreciated.
July 26, 2008 at 11:34 pm
I am 9 weeks post op. Went back to work after 3 weeks (working from home the 1st week), back to the gym after 6 weeks and tried out Boot Camp after 8 weeks. Only issue in the class was getting up and down.
Biggest concern at this point is the giant muffin top. None of my trousers fit me. Hoping personal training and boot camp will get things back in order.
Dr said could take up to 16 weeks for the swelling to go down. Crossing my fingers as I am completely discouraged.
July 27, 2008 at 2:33 am
In the past I had 2 c sections for my children and was left with a muffin top which I just accepted to a degree of being a mother although I found it unattractive to look at. Recently however I had a further abdominal surgery along the same incision area and knew shortly after returning home that something was not right. Within two days of being home I had a faeces like substance leaking hugely like a tap from my stitched area. I was rushed back for further surgery (within a week of each other) and again opened in the same incision area. Due to the 1st surgery an abcess had formed and burst. I was let home with an open unstitched abdominal wound 12 inches in length and 9 cm deep. Nurses coming daily to dress. One side of my stomach has been cut deeper that the other so not only am I left with a deeper cut that my c sections but now have a lop sided muffin adding more lack of confidence to myself and body shape. Nothing cosmetically has been offered and the muffin is causing rawness, irritation and odour due to the covering of overhang. It has been 4 months from last surgery now and although the wound has closed itself, it has become infected again due to not being able to breath because of the MUFFIN…………..
August 27, 2008 at 2:19 am
Everyone gets the “muffin top” it will go away in time. I was really freaked out about it. I have a few friends who are Dr’s and they all said that it will go away and working out does help. My Gyno also said the same thing. I am hoping they are right! I just had my follow up today and had the tape removed and the muffin top is more visible. I hate seeing it but I know in a month I can ease into a work out and slowly loose it. Crunches are what I was told would help. If you are not sure what it is because you have not had your myomectomy yet, it is just a small ridge that develops above your stitches.
Does anyone know what the best scar cream to use is? I bought vitamin E and have that on my scar with a bandage over my scar (about 8″) to heal the scar. Not sure if there is anything better. The vitamin E I have is by Natures Bounty 30,000 IU per bottle.
If anyone has any questions regarding their upcoming surgery I will be happy to help. I had 12 Fibroids removed. One was 9cm large. I’m 35 with no children so it was important to preserve my fertility. I can say it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be.
August 27, 2008 at 9:46 am
Fleura Bella, I thought a muffin top was the fat that stuck over the waistband of your pants after surgery.
For the scar, I have been using ’scar gel’ which has onion skin extract in it. Seems to help my scars.
September 28, 2008 at 1:29 am
hello ladies…i have come here to be honest and tell the truth about the devistation i have dealt with as far as the myomectomy results and the way my doctor has weasled his way out of giving me an explanation every time i asked him why my stomach is still “swolen” 7 months later. my procedure was on february 28th, 2008, and i explained to my doctor my concerns over the c-section scar i would suffer due to the myomectomy. i am an extremely active 33 year old (at the time, i was 32) with fantastic skin elasticity and no children, and had not only a washboard stomach, but a very athletic figure. he assured me that i should not be too disappointed with my post-surgery appearance, and that i should be more concentrated on the fact that the surgery would put an end to all the pain i had suffered due to the fibroids; heavy bleeding and passing clots, consistant abdominal pain and pain with intimacy, fatigue, anemia…and i tried to, but still, i was concerned about my post-surgery results.
…well, needless to say, directly after the surgery, i was shocked over how much my stomach ballooned out of control, but i kept in mind that this was only temporary. by april, my stomach had gone down, but i still had a pudge, and a lot of numbness. during my follow-up, i asked the doctor if the pudge was going to go down, and he kept saying “the scar looks very good, its healing nicely”. i knew that, but thats not what i was asking. by august, 6 months later, i scheduled another follow-up because although internally i was feeling better than ever, the pudge had only gone down a little bit more and the numbness was still there. i asked him how much longer he thought it would take and he said “well by now, what you are seeing is your final result”. i asked him “how could that be? how could i have a completely flat stomach before the surgery, and a pop belly AFTER you remove multiple fibroids? that doesnt make sense to me.” he suggested that i do moderate exercise and to give him a call if i had any questions, and then he shot right out the room. i couldnt understand it. i gave it some more time, but he was right- the pudge till this day is still the same size and so is the numbness.
last week i had my anual primary care appointment to address all of my health concerns. i inquired about my post myomectomy pudge, and got the shock of my life. my primary doctor along with her assistant reminded me that when we lay down, our abdominal fat spreads in different directions, and basically, what the surgeon did was change the direction of the fat distribution in my abdomen by closing the scar while i was spreading upward. this is why when i lay down you dont see a pudge, but when i stand up, my skin flaps over above the scar, and then under the scar there is absolutely NO fat. i asked them for any advice, and they told me to consult a plastic surgeon. i am so incredibly devistated, because although i feel 100 times better on the inside, i feel 100 times worse on the outside. now i have to spend more money doing liposuction to correct the problem. are there any other ladies who have had this same experience?
September 28, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Disa,
I am sorry to hear that you aren’t happy with your post surgery tummy. I am 33 and will probably face a myom. some time soon..hate to be vain but post surgery appearance is def a big concern.
I hear alot of ladies talking about the “muffin top” on this site. Is it pretty much a given you will get this after surgery and be stuck with it?
September 28, 2008 at 2:57 pm
NI, thankyou for your apologies. you know, after finding this site, i stayed up till 5am reading the posts and i mostly see ladies saying the muffin top will go away, but they are also only a few weeks post-op, stating they were assured the muffin top will shrink signifigantly and not to worry. im telling you, i got the run-around by my surgeon 3 months before my surgery, and for 7 months after until realizing that the entire time, he pretty much ignored my concerns over how i would look after my procedure. this has definately put a strain on my work. please dont judge me, but i am going to be completely honest with you ladies- i am an exotic dancer. ive had always had a trim body- ive always eaten healthy, worked out, and taken multi-vitamins. now that i have this muffin, i have to wear a stupid chain around my waist to fill in the indentation where the flap ends and the scar begins in order to make it seem like theres no flap, but as i move, it shows and its so incredibly embarrassing. my co-workers rememeber my flat stomach and think its crazy that i have a solid muffin top now, as if i had one too many beers or cheeseburgers. guys will look at my shape when im dancing with approval, but once they see my stomach and scar, they focus on it and start looking at me with disgust- something ive NEVER dealt with because i was always seen as having a hot figure. at first the girls made jokes at first saying “are you sure your doctor didnt ADD fibroids instead of taking them away?” whats even more hurtful is that customers and new co-workers dont ask IF i have any children, but ask how many i HAVE, because since i have this scar and muffin top, theyre almost sure i gave birth by c-section. and when i say i dont have children, they either think i had a baby and it died, gave the baby up for adoption, or lost custody of my children to a spouse or the state…either way, they think im lying about never having given birth. so they look at my stomach with pitty, and then i have to give an explination before the rumors start flying like before when i would just keep my mouth shut. and it hurts because ive suffered more than a few miscarriages, so when people drill me on why i have signs of having a child with no children, it tears me apart and reminds me of my losses.
my sex life? forget about it. any act of intimacy facing my boyfriend where he can see my stomach is out of the question. all acts are with me facing away. i dont let him look at my naked body below my breasts in the front. at one time i decided finally address the “pink elephant in the room” and stand up and show him my scar, because i was tired of us both acting like nothing had changed when it clearly had. i almost cried when he said “put it away. trust me, ive already seen it” and then promptly changed the subject.
i have since discovered that ive developed a serious social anxiety disorder. i sweat bullets whenever im at work and i know somebody’s about to see my stomach, when im intimate with my boyfriend, or even when a guy gives me a compliment on the street because i know that i have this flap that would make them take their compliment back if they saw it. its become such an emotional issue for me that i have an appointment tomorrow morning to start taking zoloft, an anti-anxiety/anti-depressant medication, and i also have an consultation with a plastic surgeon in the beginning of october for a possible liposuction to correct the problem. i spent almost my entire life eating right, working out, and taking vitamins to be healthy and stay in shape…i wouldve NEVER suspected it would be a surgeon who would make my stomach fat =[
October 1, 2008 at 5:48 am
hi ladies, i had an AM on the 9th of september and i had 15 fibroids removed. i have developed the muffin top lol. and was glad to see this forum cos i was wondering what the hell it was and whether it would go away at all. having said that i think we should all focus more on having succesfuly gotten through the operation alive cos i know people who have died having it. It’s great to have other women to discuss these things with cos sometimes u feel as if no one else has been through this experience but u. i am almost 3 weeks post Am and i feel i’m healing well so far. take it easy ladies and thank God for being alive and well!
October 1, 2008 at 2:58 pm
i feel you, obiageli, but im sorry, ive worked very hard to keep in shape all of my life. i look extremely young for my age from head to toe, but now i have this stupid muffin top that my surgeon gave me and for the first time in my life, i feel unattractive. yes im glad to be alive and well, but “at least youre not this and that” dont make me feel any better about this muffin top. my cosmetic surgery appointment is in a week, and you best believe im going to get rid of this thing!!!
October 10, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Hi Ladies, its true self image is extremely important, after the releif wears off, u realise u got the MUFFIN TOP!!!i d hope the muffin top will go away with time and exercise. unfortunately in my country, cosmetic surgery isnt as widely available . cos if it was and we could afford it i can assure u we’d go for it too. we all love to look good and the Mt does NOT look good!!! well i’m 4 and a half weeks post opp and i cant wait for 6 weeks so i can start exercisisng and see if this Mt will go or at least improve. I’ll try the girdle wearing too. You go Disa!!!
October 16, 2008 at 3:10 pm
thanx “O”
i had my consultation and the doctor quoted me a price of $3165 total. he asked me if i tried exercising, and i told him i had, but what happens is that the muffin top just swells up and turns red. from what the plastic surgeon (and everybody else that knows me) can see, my obgyn doctor trapped too much fat into that area to the point where extensive exercise could maybe help a little, but not very much. there would always be a buldge because im already very muscly in every other part of my body. i am now 8 months post op. i would tell you to remain positive about things, but dont let anybody lie to you and give you false hope…
October 24, 2008 at 11:25 am
hi i am wondering if anyone on hear has had a hysterectomy for fibroids. i have 5 fibroids, andeomysis, and 4 hernias i am getting taken care of next week.. my stomach has been misshaped and bloated for so long i am hoping for some relief after surgery. but now i am scared it will be worse. I am having the hernias fixed and a hysterectomy at the same time. I have a previous vertical scar from 2 c-sections. i have a side ways muffin top on one side and a huge hernia on other side from doing to much to soon. after the c section this time i am going take the 6 weeks at least to heal….i guess my stomach couldnt look any worse than it does now….anyway was just wondering if anybody has had a hysterectomy for fibroids and how are they feeling after. I have had my period for almost 7 months straight from them and am extremely anemic…looking forward to no periods at least. any comments on this will help going for surgery nov 5th
October 27, 2008 at 2:50 am
oh dear ouraqt53, how awful! i will keep you in my prayers. now, although ive only had a myomectomy due to 7 fibroids which also visibly mis-shaped my stomach, caused long heavy periods, painful sex, anemia, you hame it- you have clearly gone through so much more. however, as far as the muffin top, my sister has told me something very interesting about what took place when she delivered her daughter by c-section. she told me that health insurance may have been the divide between how her stomach and scar was monitored after her c-section versus how i was pretty much left swelled and butchered from the myomectomy with the same type of cutting procedure. she told me that they keep track of her stomach and scar and occasionally took “the longest needle you have ever seen in your life” and sucked yellow fluid out, and they did this repeatedly after delivery. i asked her if she requested this, and she sed no, that she didnt even know what this process exactly, but she knew it was helping out with the swelling. she was blown away when i informed her that this was actually liposuction. she told me she had blue cross blue shield, and asked me what insurance i have- my answer is government assisted insurance. she said this had to be why i was not taken care of because they would look at my scar just to make sure it wasnt infected and that was as far as it went. they didnt even address my stomach even though i begged them to- they said it wasnt priority and that it would go back down to its normal size, which turned out to be a serious lie. my sister told me she was also concerend about the swelling, and they told her she would be taken care of, which she was. they pretty much brought her stomach back down to a decent size and made her whole again like she was before. im telling you all of this because maybe this is also something you want to discuss with your doctor, especially if you have good insurance. i didnt have good insurance, so i was pretty much ignored when it came to all of my concerns as far as my looks. you said your stomach couldnt get any worse than it already is- dont be so sure about that! but they may even make you look better than before, you never know. yes, were going through and have gone through our surgeries to get better on the inside, but how we look on the outside is very important also. my doctor robbed me of my self-esteem and that hurts me. dont let it happen to you, please! ask your doctor how he will be monitoring your stomach and scar…
October 28, 2008 at 12:49 am
DISA,
Have you decided to go ahead with the surgery to get rid of your muffin top? I would be interested in the results.
I had a myomectomy in May 2007, after which I had almost no muffin top to speak of, maybe just a hint of one. Then I was pregnant and had a c section in July 2008 and now I do have a muffin top. I had good insurance but nobody came and removed anything from it in the hospital, like they did for your sister. They just checked my incision daily. My muffin top decreased in size a little since July, I am hoping it will go down some more in the months to come. My OB said it wasn’t just fat tissue but also connective tissue that makes up the MT. Good luck in making it go away!
November 14, 2008 at 6:09 pm
I underwent surgery in July 2008. I was fine then, but now after 2 months, I have put on lot of fat. What am i supposed to do, its been three months now, can i do regular exercises now, like running and cycling.
November 23, 2008 at 8:23 pm
Hi all,
I had myomectomy surgery on Tuesday (5 days ago) for 3 orannge-size and one lemon-size fibroids. I’m doing ok (maybe even better then I thought) but I had a few questions for you all. Is it okay to sleep on your side? Or, could that damage the internal stitches, etc? I have been lying on my side a little bit (as that’s my preferred way to sleep) but when I wake up that way, my stomach kind of hurts. Thoughts? Don’t want to create any unnecessary problems for myself.
Also, other then walking around in circles around my condo to get exercise, is there anything else I should or could be doing to get myself back in shape (I was pretty physically active before my surgery)? My fiance thinks I should get on a tread mill (walking only, of course) but I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Not sure how much walking I should be doing. Because it’s so cold out, I was thinking about having him drop me off at the mall tomorrow — just so I could walk around and get some exercise (and out of the house!) Good or bad idea??
Last question, when did all of you start driving again? Not sure when I will be up to this but I’m hoping in another week or so to do this.
Thx!!!
November 24, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Hi EJW,
I am keen to learn how your recovery goes. I will be having a myomectomy in January to remove a 13.6cm x
11.2cm x 9.8cm fibroid. Some of the previous postings about muffin top are making me nervous!!!
How long were you in hospital for?
November 25, 2008 at 10:24 pm
I am not a Doctor but I have had enough surgeries and taken care of friends who have had surgeries. I am wrapping my self and have notice that the muffin top is going away. I just had the AM surgery 4 days ago and noticed a muffin top pouch. I had a flat stomach before the AM surgery even with my (7) fibroids totaling to about 2 lb’s. I thought I would lose weight instead I gained 10 lbs and a muffin pouch. I wrapped myself smooth so the muffin top is flat and even with my stomach. It seems to be working for me. You must wrap correctly. I believe you could form your body when it is in recovery. Women used to wrap their feet in China. God knows I have wrapped friend’s implants and they look real. I am known as the queen wrapper. So I am wrapping my mid section. I unwrap it in-between wraps to make sure I wrapped correctly and than rewrap. If you unwrap and it is still puffy you wrapped incorrect rewrap until correct. My friends who had lipo had to wrap the area and it worked for them the stomach is no different. If you could use a girdle belt and wear it for 4 to 6 weeks. I believe it helps the muscles to reform in the right way like a pressure bandage to stop swelling after an injury. I believe it helps prevent the muffin from being permanent. In addition I had my nose done and took off the bandage to soon than I developed scar tissue. If I would have kept it on longer the scar tissue would have not developed. I believe in wrapping and forming your body. When I was in my teens I used to enter beauty contest and I would always wrap my body the night before and believe it put everything in the right place. Maybe it is Natural Plastic Surgery Thank God for the internet!!!!!
November 25, 2008 at 10:26 pm
EJW, i wouldnt suggest laying on your side purposly, try to put as little pressure on your stomach as possible…SEA, i was in the hospital for three days from my myomectomy, and that is with no complications…but as i said, make sure you are CRYSTAL CLEAR about your concerns over the muffin top. i was clear, but my concerns were grossly ignored. you do NOT want to face what i am going through. i will be having liposuction sometime in february to correct what my doctor did to me- an extra $3000 i have to spend to bring myself back to the way i looked before the myomectomy. i love the way i feel inside now (meaning no more pain, costipation, heavy periods, fatigue, etc.), but this was at the expense of the confidence i always had for my outward appearence which was reduced to zero, so its like a wash. i hate my doctor for what he made me look like, and i wish i could sue him, but i cant- obgyn surgeons dont have to make you look good after your surgery, they only have to do their job- safely remove the fibroids. i will keep you updated on my cosmetic surgery details for sure. during the consultation for liposuction, i simply showed the doctor what i looked like before the myomectomy because that is what i want to look like again- myself…
November 25, 2008 at 10:37 pm
SEA
I was in the hospital for 24 hours. I strongly recommend you stay 48 hours. Do not be scared. I wish I found this site before my AM surgery. I am in recovery. I have plenty of time to educate myself and tell my experience to other women who are going to have the procedure done. Make sure your doctor has done at least 50 of this type of surgery. The good thing is that you found this site before your surgery. I was very scared and put it off the surgery for several years. I am very happy that I have done it because the fibroids where actually larger than what my test results showed. I had seven and my test showed I had two. After everything I have read I believe this is the best procedure. My doctor was very proud of his work and was walking around the hospital showing the other doctors
November 25, 2008 at 11:03 pm
EJW,
I normally sleep on my side also. I think you should wrap your stomach however you sleep ask your doctor if it is o.k. to wrap. I wrapped my stomach so the insides do not move when I sleep on my side. I found it much more comfortable to lie on my back with my legs up on top of several pillows and my chest up on top of several pillows. I move around a lot when I sleep.
In regards to being active: Be careful I am very active also. It is driving me crazy not to be able to run or do a spin class. I feel like a slug. My sister had the same surgery and started working out she missed up her insides and is still having problems. Remember it is your insides that need healing. You may feel great and ready to rock and roll, it is the drugs. If you stopped taking pain medicine and feel great ask you Doctor when you could start a program again. Do not do any major exercise until you are off the pain medication, Good luck.
November 25, 2008 at 11:41 pm
Does anyone have discharge problem? i have had a clear discharge since day one. I am using about 5 Always overnight pads a day? No blood it looks like water? Is this normal? I am on my 4th day.
November 27, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Virginia, I had a hysteroscopic d&c and ablation and had a discharge for over a month…. so I wouldn’t be surprised to have one with a myomectomy. As long as it doesn’t smell bad and you don’t have a fever, you are probably fine… but if you are really worried, trust your body and ask your doctor.
December 2, 2008 at 3:00 am
to VIRGINIA; wow, wierd; my initial test showed i had two mango sized fibroids, but during the surgery, they actually found 5 additional golf ball sized fibroids. i wonder why that happens? after all, they did an MRI- wouldnt that show everything within the uterus in multiple dimensions? that confused me…but as soon as they advised i have the surgery, i went ahead with it. yes, i was concerned about everything down to “what if i dont make it through this alive?” (which was probably taking it a little too far, seeing as a fatality due to myomectomy is extremely rare), i knew that the longer i waited, the longer i will have the pain, the heavy bleeding, the fatigue, etc etc…the fibroids were growing and began to put serious pressure on my bladder, causing frequent urination; my colon, causing constipation; my spine, causing back pain; and oh, the painful periods! i swear i felt like i would have contractions and give birth to bloodclots! but heres a question for everybody- as far as my menstral cycle ive always had it every 28 days. before the myomectomy, i would have my period for a week where it would be strong and heavy until the 5th day, and ease up and be gone by the 6th or 7th day. several months before my procedure i was placed on birth control to moderate my cycle from being so incredibly heavy. just recently, a few months ago, i was curious to see what my cycle would now be like naturally, meaning without birth control, so i stopped taking the pill, and now i can see that my period seems to be even heavier but only lasting 5 days. on that 5th day, it will just stop- no easing up, just all of a sudden, its gone. has anybody else experienced this? is this normal???
December 4, 2008 at 2:38 pm
I am finally having my abmyo on 1/19/09. Can you please let me know what wrap you are referring to? Is this like an ace bandage of sorts? I too am scared of this muffin top, my doc assures me that it will do away, however from the looks of it, it might not all go away. I know my sister had an abmyo many years ago and she still has one and it is not very appealing, now I understands why she said she got butchered by her doctor. For a while there we thought she had this done by some fly by night doc but I guess it looks like it is almost the norm
I am so scared!
December 10, 2008 at 3:34 am
delia, i dont think any of us want you to be afraid to have the myomectomy, but at the same time, i myself want to be honest with you about the muffin top biz. it seems as if obgyn doctors feel we should be mostly concerned about health, not appearence, and i think its wrong to dismiss that fact that we as women still want to be as attractive as we were post-op as we were pre-op, and thats not too much to ask. its not like we want them to improve our looks. if there is a way i could show you pictures of my before and after, let me know. i put together several before and afters to show some of my female family members and close friends just to show them i was not exaggerating like they thought i was…
December 31, 2008 at 10:04 am
To all interested:
I have just posted my whole AM experience at http://blog.geekwithfibroids.com/2007/03/25/how-are-you-feeling-after-your-abdominal-myomectomy-part-4/
and would like to copy here a part of it regarding MT and scars:
“I worried before my surgery about the dreaded muffin top and also about the scar itself because of my keloid/hypertrophic scars from the past. Once I have found out about the plastic surgeon fees (in my case 1/3 of the fees of the gyn surgeon or about 1/12 of the total invoice amount), I have decided to have him close my wound, so the gyn operated on me the first hour and the plastic surgeon was closing the wound for another hour. I did not have any stitches outside and until now, no muffin top. I don’t have any keloid so far but a part of my scar is slightly hypertrophic. The plastic surgeon gave me an antibiotic ointment for 1 week and a special sheet of fabric to wear on my scar from day 3 post op, almost 24 hours daily for ca. 3 months. I am happy with the result because with my history of keloid scars I have expected much worse. My scar is less than 9 cm long but I was told it would become bigger during pregnancy and the scar from c-section would also be bigger. For c-section they would do the cut just below this scar.”
I forgot to write that plastic surgeon later gave me a low dose of steroid shot into my scar, to 2 spots where hypertrophic scar is forming, twice.
I hope this info helps someone.
March 13, 2009 at 4:39 am
Hi ladies,
I’m so glad to have found this site!
I’m 27 single and went for a laparatomy to remove bilateral endometriosis cyst from both of my ovaries.
After the operation, I thought I look like I am 3 months pregnant and my abdomen is literally bloated up like a ballon and the incision dent in! I have no idea this would happen after surgery, my doc warn me nothing until i found out about this website! You are all right that the appearance and cosmetic cause is the least concern for the doc! I asked my doc why is my stomach grow so much and the Muffin Top (what a name! I was having trouble describing it when i was googling!) and the doc said that is how your originally stomach and skin is! I mean it’s good at least I would be informed this would be the side effect of post-op!
And I could understand where DISA comes from! It totally effects my self-esteem and how I feel about my body. I’m single, so everytime I go for date I would feel like ‘right ..but I got this ugly scar and muffin top that you are not aware of, would you mind about it?’.
I’m in my 6 weeks after surgery, and ladies, my stomach has shrink alot (ALOT! i mean, my stomach probably back to where it was used to be) but the incision still dent in and still abit of flesh hanging out. But comparing my first week and now, it has shrink down more than half of the size. So I’m hoping that the muffin top will be gone, if it’s ever possible, by time grows by!
I’m so glad to be able to share it ad read about the same experience that we are going through
March 17, 2009 at 12:22 am
Hi everyone
I am 5 days post AM and yes I have the dreaded muffin top as well. But not surprising because I found this site before my surgery. I’m 30, single and had 10 fibroids removed, the biggest being 5 cm.
I’m looking into how to reduce it and I’m hoping that with time it does because its weird to be worried about cosmetic issue when I’m mainly fibroid free but we’re ladies, its normal to feel this way.
March 22, 2009 at 8:21 pm
I just found your site. I had surgery in Nov. 08. I too am larger now than before the orange sized benign tumor was removed. Battling depression, self-esteem and unattractiveness. Only married for 1st time last April. I am 49. My belly is large, hard, but my scar really isn’t that bad. It is normal to me. However, I did approach my doctor about this. She asked me if I had a male surgeon, who was from an East Indian descent as she is. I said yes. She explained that this culture has a lot to do with how women are put back together. She stated that after watching many operations they do not “tack” things back into place to support the parts internally. She said it is quite distressing since as a woman, she too would want things placed back properly and supported. She also stated to take it slow on doing any abdominal exercising as not to strain and slow the internal healing process. So 4 months later I have not. I have taken some great tips from the other comments. Thank you.
April 1, 2009 at 9:58 am
hi all, im fm singapore and i had my myomectomy in nov 2008. removed 1 big & 2 small fibroids, was the best thing i’ve done for my health as my periods are no more heavy waterfalls and im becoming less anaemic as time goes on. i’ve 2 kids and given birth natually. had a c-section to remove the fibroids due to their position. yes, after the surgery, do expect your tummy to SWELL like as though u are 5 mths preg, and there is an indent, leading to a muffin top. but yes, there are normal ways to get rid of it, do not despair. u need not do rought exercise or grill your body, just follow a normal course and takre care of your health, choose wise food to put into yor mouth, and u will be ok. in the first place, to ensure the darn fibroids never ever return, pls stay away fm anything that might be linked to animal hormones (injected) or steroids. do not eat chicken wings or drink non-organic milk. do not feast on beef steak (esp US beef) and stay away fm cheese. choose wise stuff like vege or tuna pasta, leave out the butter in your bread. at nite, drink a cup of warm diluted honey, this is to ACTIVATE your liver to work while u sleep and rid your body of toxins. 1 cup of coffee daily is ok, but STOP THERE. no 2-3 cups. once u take charge of what goes into your mouth, the tummy will NATURALLY start to slim. then the next thing, WALK ALOT. if u drive, do not drive everyday. if the stairs are short, take it. walk down to the nearby store, do not drive. this is help to sort-of DISLODGE the indent of the muffin top, and it will slowly decrease. today i’m 5 mths post-op, NO swelling, NO muffin top, just my usual small tummy (i was never ever flat tummied). but no sticking-out stomach when i wear my clothes or swimsuit. i used to read this website post-op (especially during my 1-mth home stay) and i got alot of encouragement fm u ladies, all the way fm USA. THANK YOU !! now i want to give back, pls remember to EAT SMART (do not – do not starve yourself) and also WALK WALK WALK. the muffin top will dissappear, really it will, do not give up. God Bless !!
April 3, 2009 at 7:52 pm
portu-gal,
I have my surgery on May 18 so I want to thank you for your advice. I don’t want a muffin top…
April 8, 2009 at 9:55 am
KC, most welcome.
i will say a prayer for u, don’t worry. close your eyes and u
will be better, all geared up for a new beginning ! God Bless.
April 8, 2009 at 8:03 pm
I appreciate the prayers. I will definitely let you know about my recovery once I have the surgery.
KC
April 10, 2009 at 12:15 pm
KC, my surgery is on the 12th. hope to stay in touch on here and pray things go quickly and well for us!
i am so grateful to have come upon this site!
April 18, 2009 at 11:47 am
shayjay & kc, don’t worry too much. be prepared for a little pain after the surgery, but it’s nothing painkillers can’t handle. make sure to eat right immediately after the surgery. here in asia, we believe to avoid eggs/chicken for 2 weeks as it ‘interferes’ with the healing of the scar, and also the body’s ‘heatiness’. once u’ve past 5 weeks, pls endeavour to Walk alot and take lotsa vegetables. make sure your surgeon is really qualified, esp if u are anaemic (due to all that heavy menses). if the surgeon is average, don’t be shy to change him before u place your life (your tummy) into his hands. the way he stitches u up will play a part together with your diet, to eliminate the miffin top faster. eating right for the first 4 weeks will speed up the elimination of the muffin top, not to mention clear our bowels more smoothly. here we have abit of rice with light gravy & different vegs. you could substitute with whole wheat bread or small amt of pasta with veg, but not too much of ‘cold salad’ as i feel that it tends to leave us a little ‘dis-satisfied’ and reaching for salty or fattening foods.
btw, im just curious, how much does such surgery & hospitalisation cost in the US ? in S’pore it’s about S$9000 for a very good surgeon (US$5400).
April 27, 2009 at 2:48 am
I had the laparotomy to remove a 7cm cyst near my left ovary. The cost surprised me. $5700 + $37000 us dollars. Lucky, i only paid $200, insurance paid for the rest.
April 28, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Hello – I’m new to this site and am so glad I came across it. It’s amazing!
I have a 9×9 intramural fundal fibroid that needs to be removed ASAP.
Portu-gal – I notice you’re in Singapore. I’d be so grateful if you could tell me who your surgeon was? I’ve seen one doctor but have a couple of doubts and would like to get a second opinion, however I have no idea who to pick out of hundreds of gynae’s in Singapore. Any advice you have would be very much appreciated.
Thanks
May 1, 2009 at 9:36 pm
hi CCinSing,
My doctor was Dr Jazlan Joosoph of Raffles Hospital. He’s been there for about 2 years, but he’s had loads of experience fm KK Hospital. He will tell u the facts and he painstakenly removed 4 minute fibroids that were ‘just sprouting out’ together with the 1 big and 2 small ones.
There are also other ‘more Senior’ surgeons in Raf Hos, but there is absolutely no necessity to see them, as Dr Jazlan is very qualified and professional indeed. I was put at ease with his bedside manner, and also how he briefed both hubby and i about the procedure. He was also featured in the Straits Times last year.
I stumbled upon him by chance, as my own gynae fm East Shore was on leave, was quite desperate as it was holiday season and ALOT of gynaes take leave in Nov/Dec.
I prayed for a solution and a relative drove me to Raf Hos, and Dr Jazlan was available, and turned out to be very professional and i was really in good hand.
Good luck, do make an appt to go and see him, no regrets.
God Bless.
June 3, 2009 at 1:23 pm
yahoo i am 7 month post op tday.
My tummy is back to the 4-month size presurgery, and again ppl hv started taking notice of it. In fact it never really reduced. The scar size has reduced from 8 down to 7 inches however now it looks v small against my big tummy.
The surgeon told me I would need C-sections in future, however I am unmarried n no such plans right now, however just wondering what should i do about this big tummy.. Exercising still hurts..
June 12, 2009 at 12:40 am
hmmm, cant seem to make a post…
June 12, 2009 at 12:44 am
ok here we go- i had a miomectomy on feb 28, 2008 to remove 7 fibroids. i was concerned about what my outward apprearance would be after the surgery. my surgeon insisted i would look the same with the exception of the scar. after my procedure, i was horrified with the way my stomach blew up. i looked about 6 months pregnant, but was assured this was normal. a month later, it went down a lot to where i only looked about 3 months pregnant, but as time went on the progress began to seriously slow down. about 6 months after my surgery after doing all the right things, i still had a buldge that made me look 2 months pregnant. i asked my surgeon when i could expect this to go away, and he said to me, “right now, you are seeing your final result. just do more exercise and youll be fine. i asked him, how could i have 7 fibroids with a flat stomach, and now have no fibroids with a pop belly? that doesnt make sense!!! his response was, it will be fine, you’ll see. call me if you have any questions. take care…, and shot right out the door. i was horrified. i looked to have a consultation with other obgyn surgeons to find out what happened, and they told me. in the laying down position, my skin spread up and out, and when stitching me back up, he permanently stitched my stomach in that direction, trapping excess fat into my belly that spread up from my groin area, because i am also much flatter in that area. i really think obgyn surgeons ought to be required to take a course in reconstructive surgery before they earn their license to practice.
June 12, 2009 at 12:48 am
just to let you ladies know, i tried to work off the buldge, but since i am so muscly, my muffin top blew up with muscle after exercise. i had another talk with some top obgyn surgeons, and they had two suggestions- try to live with it, or consider cosmetic surgery. ive decided to do the surgery, and it is actually scheduled for 10 am this morning. i cannot wait to get rid of this belly. i will keep you all updated on the progress. wish me luck! pray for me
June 12, 2009 at 12:08 pm
I had my surgery on May 18 and I must say that my swelling is going down. I still have a little bit of a muffin top but I am hoping that I can take care of what’s left once I am able to exercise.
DISA, good luck on your surgery. I can’t wait to hear how it turns out. Not to be too personal but is the cosmetic surgery very expensive?
KC
June 12, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Portu-gal,
I wanted to let you know that surgery went very well. I am recovering well and trying my best to eat good foods. I had 6 fibroids removed and one was the size of a 5 month pregnancy. My doctor took photos and they are unbelievable. this site is the best and i could not have known half of the things that I do without you and the others on here. Thanks for the prayers, they worked!
June 12, 2009 at 9:41 pm
KC; i did have my abdominal liposuction surgery today to rid the muffin top and needless to say i cant see anywhere near what my final result will be yet, but even in the surgical girdle i can instantly see a difference. im currently menstrating, so i have to take the girdle off to change, and i did this at the hospital before i left. it was extremely painful, but let me tell you- the myomectomy scar is there, but the muffin top seems like its gone because my stomach is swolen in even proportion. but i wont to get ahead of myself. i have to wear this surgical girdle for 3 weeks straight with the exeption of bathing, mentration and using the restroom. i’ll take a peek every time i do that to let u no what i see. as far as the cost, i paid $2000 to the doctor and $1057 for the hospital fee, totaling to $3057. and i got this money from a settlement i recieved from a car accident…
June 13, 2009 at 11:21 am
DISA,
I am glad everything went well with the surgery and I am sure that you will love the results once you heal. I don’t know why I was thinking that it would be a lot more money than that.
I love being able to hear from others, it definitely helps knowing others know what I feel. Thank you so much for sharing.
June 13, 2009 at 12:25 pm
KC,
no problem!!! i took the sugical garmet off today to shower and boy, am i swolen and bruised lol but like i said, i cant get ahead of myself, i am just going to wait for my final results. in the longrun, if u chose to have a cosmetic surgery for your abdomen, it should not cost more than about $4000 all together, and u can finance it if your credit is good (mine is not lol). i feel it was worth it tho, because after my fibroid surgery, my self-esteem went out the window…
June 14, 2009 at 6:31 pm
DISA,
You’ll get there in time. I am glad that you will be able to feel good and get your self esteem back.
June 18, 2009 at 8:41 am
KC,
sorry for the late reply, i’m so glad you are alright! Do stay away especially fm chicken wings, as they inject the wings with hormones to make the chickens grow faster, due to the high demand for chicken meat everywhere. i’ve been doing a little research here and there, and found that chicken wing eaters are more prone to fibroids. Have non-fat or organic milk if u can. Take care !
June 20, 2009 at 1:58 pm
portu-gal,
thanks so much for the information about the chicken wings, i had no idea. i want to do everything that i can to make sure that i don’t have a return of the monsters.
how are you recovering?
KC
June 25, 2009 at 9:29 am
hi KC,
as i’ve never been flat-tummied even b4 kids, although i’m quite small, size 10, 46 kilos. however it’s great not to have waterfalls of menses. and to enjoy food while being careful.
i’m 99% recovered, no muffin top, but still my everlasting small tummy will always be there
recently i’ve been reacing about ‘hormone residue’ in our bodies if we eat too much meat or drink too much milk, do moderate and cut down whenever possible. i hv started to eat lotsa fish and drink ice green tea instead of ice coffee with milk. good to be normal again and not fear going out with a heavy and unpredictable flow. gynae says my womb has shrunk to about 6 cm x 5cm, as compared to a ‘4 mth pregs’ womb with the fibroids inside.
take care & God bless u…..
Portu-gal
June 27, 2009 at 3:24 pm
DISA, glad to hear it seems to have helped! I think you’re the first to post about that here. Just curious, I also thought the cosmetic surgery would be more! Was it all liposuction? Are you in the USA? Thanks, and keep on shrinking!
July 1, 2009 at 8:19 am
HEy everyone,
Thank you for all your posts on here, it’s really helped me. I had my AM 4 weeks ago to remove one 10cm x 8cm fibroid, my tummys beginning to go down, but is still heavily swollen just above the scar. The swelling feels more solid that fat though, so im thinking its guna be still the swelling around the internal stitches…who knows? Anyway, my op was a success, and thats all that matters… to be honest i think my surgeon did SUCH a good job, and was probably more worried about keeping me alive and making sure i didn’t lose too much blood, than thinking cosmetically! Good luck to everyone, thanks again for all of your support on this, i wish I’d seen it before my op! I’m just hoping the swelling will go away soon!
July 6, 2009 at 1:36 am
to amy and all,
to all of u that are interested in my pictures, copy and paste this link…http://www.realself.com/review/Liposuction-LIPO-TO-REMOVE-MUFFIN-TOP-CAUSED-BY-MYOMECTOMY-SURGERY-DID-IT-WORK. i created a forum post in a cosmetic surgery website i joined for support of my procedure. i took the 1st picture the day before the myomectomy. the 2nd picture is six months after the myomectomy (did any of u other ladies have this final result??). the last two are after my lipo, but keep in mind they were taken days later so i am far from my final result. tell me what u ladies think because i was horrified over what my fibroid surgeon did to my stomach. erin, i am glad u are doing well. i, too, was more concerned over comming out alive and well. but look what my surgeon did to me. and what is worse is he couldve easily prevented this according to consultations i had with other obgyn surgeons to get answers since my own surgeon wouldnt give them to me straight. i worked out all of my adult life to maintain my shape, and my obgyn surgeon set me back bigtime in a matter of hours simply because he did not care. he made me look like i had a baby, and i cannot even have children. its not right…
July 6, 2009 at 1:42 am
amy,
thanks for ur congrats. i am in boston, mass. my cosmetic surgeon is in salem, mass. but (realself.com) lists many different board certified cosmetic surgeons that u can research. if u ask them any type of cosmetic surgery question, u will get random answers from up to about 12 surgeons from all parts of the country and beyond, its so cool
July 9, 2009 at 1:08 am
I too am disappointed with my new muffin top, so heres my MT story (I have just posted my whole very wordy hysterectomy experience in the “hysterectomy experience to share’ thread)..
6 months before the op I had got fit, was exercising daily, had lost 15 kg and had dropped 2 dress sizes. I was the same size as my 15 yo daughter, and very pleased with the result. At the time I didnt know about the fibroid and was putting up with the pain and discomfort every month.
Then I discovered the fibroid and decided to go ahead with a hysterecomy after research. I waited 4 weeks to have the op, and by this time my tummy had rounded out and I was finding my clothes a bit tight.
After the op, my surgeon told me that the op had gone well and that the fibroid had grown since she had last seen me. The uterus was enlarged to a 16 wk pregnancy size so the fibroid had grown at about the rate of a normal pregnancy. I shudder to imagine how big it might have grown. She also fixed up the cyst and told me I had endometriosis as well. I hope that was fixed too – I need to ask when I see her.
Immediately before the op, my tummy had formed a nice, rounded appearance that I would have been very proud of, had I been pregnant! After the op, my surgeon happily informed me that I had a lovely flat stomach now. While lying down, my stomach is indeed nice and flat, however it’s a different story as soon as I stand up. The full muffin top was revealed to my horror when I removed the waterproof dressing 5 days post op. My formerly loose skinned tummy now hangs out about 1 inch from the incision line, exactly like a muffin top. Its now 2 weeks post op and the muffin top is getting a bit less tender to touch. I notice both my waistline and muffin top area expands over the day by about 2 inches.
Like lots of women who have posted on this site, I am concerned about the muffin top. I called my surgeon and described it to her as feeling like swelling above the scar; with the skin feeling like it was full of fluid. She was only concerned about determining whether I had an infection. She said that she couldn’t understand what I was describing and that she had never heard anyone describe swelling or fluid (unless it was caused by infection). Talk about making me feel stupid!
My tummy was never flat, in fact it was a bit flabby with loose skin from having children and losing weight, but this muffin top along the bikini line is really unsightly. I hope it goes away! Thanks Tina, for your entry 1 year post op (Jan 10 above); there is hope…
July 9, 2009 at 2:17 pm
“http://www.realself.com/review/Liposuction-LIPO-TO-REMOVE-MUFFIN-TOP-CAUSED-BY-MYOMECTOMY-SURGERY-DID-IT-WORK”
ladies, please copy and paste that link and let me no if any of u had the same result i had from removal of fibroids. i joined a cosmetic surgery site call realself.com. this link is to a forum i created with pictures before my fibroid myomectomy, after the myomectomy/before liposuction, and directly after liposuction (im still healing). i couldnt take the muffin top any longer…
if u do not trust the link, u can go to reaself.com, and in the upper right hand corner in the search box, type in “liposuction muffin top”, and u will see my forum- “liposuction to remove muffin top caused by myomectomy”. there is also another helpful article that pops up entitled “the rise and fall of the muffin top” that u may find interesting….let me no what u think…