Cosmetic Surgery: Right or wrong?
jnorth1007 posted 10 weeks 5 days ago —
Cosmetic Surgery is one of those touchy subjects that people try to avoid at cocktail parties. Is it right to make changes to our bodies simply because we want to enhance our beauty? Is it taking the "easy way out" for people to have tummy tucks? Who decides whether or not something is necessary or voluntary? I am on the side of cosmetic surgery. Why? Because I have been there and done that! I am not what would be called an addict. I had one surgery that involved two procedures. One was a medically necessary procedure called breast reduction and the other was by choice and was an abdominoplasty. Here is my story and my argument for the benefits of cosmetic surgery.
I have three children. These children are 6, 5 and 4. I had three children in 4 years. The smallest of my children was 8 pounds and 13 ounces. The largest was 9 pounds and 11 ounces. I had difficult pregnancies and c-sections for all three. Once I had recovered from my last c-section I decided that my body was going to me mine for a while and I was going to get back to the size I was before children. YEA RIGHT! I changed my eating habits and began to eat more vegetables, fruit, nuts and fish. I cut out all soft drinks and sweets and most carbohydrates also. I began to walk every afternoon and I also went to the gym 3 days per week and worked on the machines ad treadmill for an hour. The scale said I was losing weight. I was 30 pounds lighter according to my scale. I felt better and I could see it in my face. What was the problem? I had enormous breasts and would suffer horribly each night from the pain in my neck and shoulders from exercising with these weights on the front of my body. I had horrible rashes underneath my breasts from the rubbing while exercising. I couldn’t wear smaller shirts because my arms and back were smaller but my breasts were still huge. I had been under a doctor’s care for years for the pain of caring around these things and now it was just getting worse. It was at this point that my doctor suggested that I see a surgeon about having a breast reduction. She said that it would change my life and make me more mobile and an overall happier person. I took her advice and found that my insurance felt that my condition was causing enough of an issue that they were willing to pay for my reduction in order to give me a better quality of life and also to cut out the need for all of the medications I was taking just to make it through the day. It was during one of my pre-op appointments that my surgeon and I discussed the issues I was having with my stomach. After carrying three large children and losing 30 pounds it resembled the back of a neck of a pug dog. It was horrible. I was beginning to get infections in the area where my c-section scar was because it was constantly covered by skin. I couldn’t wear smaller clothes even though I had lost 30 pounds because I had to stuff my tummy in to the top of all of my pants. I think I was having more issues than I did as an overweight person. I decided that I would go ahead and have my tummy tucked while I was getting my breast reduction.
Was it the right thing to do? Absolutely. Was it painful? Absolutely. Did I ever regret it? YES right up until they removed the drains. Now? I love it. I was able to jump on the trampoline and ride bikes with my kids last summer for the first time. I have been able to ride my horses again which I had given up because the bouncing was just too painful. I am able to so much I couldn’t do before. As a plus I am also able to buy clothing at almost any store I choose. I can sleep on my stomach. I can wear a bathing suit. I am not skinny by any means. I am healthy. Could I have gotten there without the surgery? No I couldn’t have. I could have lost more weight for sure. I could not have gotten smaller breasts. The breasts and the tummy would have continued the way they were or they would have deflated some and left me with even more needless skin. This wasn’t an easy decision. I had to worry that I was going to leave my kids without a mother. I finally realized that in most senses of the word they were without a mother already. I was unable to participate in their lives or mine. Now I have a life again.
