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Original poster

How do I get rid of the overhang?

18 replies

bebeboeuf · 21/05/2019 17:24

Baby is now 2 years old.
I have a dreadful c section overhang.

I did low carb diet last year and lost 4 stone and got back to beneath my starting weight but the overhang still remains.
It’s so bad it m hangs from hip to hip and if I lift it I look 6 months pregnant with it.

Is surgery the only option now?

OP posts:
Justmuddlingalong · 21/05/2019 17:32

My youngest is 22. Years not months.😳 I never had a section but have a saggy, baggy overhanging belly. I'm 9.5 stone but the belly remains. I was accepted for private surgery. Bottled out and just live with it now.

SpeckledyHen · 21/05/2019 17:38

My youngest is 21 , I had 2 c sections , I am size 12 with a large overhang that is hidden by long tops and skimming styles .
Welcome to the club !
I had no idea that this was a ‘ thing’ until I joined MN and realised I was not alone ...

Parvuli · 21/05/2019 17:40

Tummy tuck. It’s just skin so ignore anyone who tells you that exercise will get rid of it. It’s like when you blow a balloon up; it’s just different when it’s deflated.

Ohyesiam · 21/05/2019 17:43

Mine has improved HUGELY with blood sugar diet and TRX , an amazing exercise class that they run at my local authority gym. Every exercise works the core as well as whatever but you are working on.
I’m on my 50s so it could work better for you?

SirVixofVixHall · 21/05/2019 17:44

My youngest is 12 and I have a shelf (2 sections, I only got it after the second, the first one seemed to have been stitched differently, is this possible? ) i hate it. I am a size 12, but that is big for me, so I do need to lose weight and I am dieting , but even when I was slimmer it showed through clingy dresses.
I don’t want to have surgery though, too scary and risky. I remember a famous footballer’s wife died after a tummy tuck .

UpToonGirl · 21/05/2019 17:56

I hate mine, I will be having surgery once we've made a final decision on whether we are having one more baby. I am about 3 stone over the weight I was before my third, can't seem to shift it this time, he is almost 2! But even if I lost the weight I don't think it will look any better.

Agree with pp, it's skin which you can't tone with exercise or magic creams unfortunately. Pilates and planking exercise will help you tone generally though so may make you feel better.

Does anyone have any good outfit suggestions (with links hopefully!) to disguise the overhang?

WomblesWeArent · 21/05/2019 18:00

I have always had a bit of a flab overhanging on my lower belly, even pre-kids. Needless to say, three babies later, it is not great. I have found I could mitigate a lot by doing Pilates style deep core exercises, particularly tightening my transversals. However all three of my deliveries were natural. To make my lower belly perfect, yes, it is a tummy tuck job. But I will be happy with good enough or passable. This overhang is what tells a woman who has had children from the one who has not. I see ladies who are slim, yet I can instantly tell they have had children by the way their stomachs look. Unfortunately, pregnancy stretches the bejeesus out of the skin and the muscles underneath it.

For me, I am going to exhaust all my exercise and diet possibilities. I suspect by then my stomach will be vaguely acceptable looking, or not horrendous enough to justify a major surgery with a long and painful recovery.

Bloomburger · 21/05/2019 18:03

I'm a PT and have battled for years to get rid of mine. No exercise works let me tell you so I had it chopped off a couple of weeks ago. Best £££££ I have ever spent!

TheAssemblywomen · 21/05/2019 18:04

Count me in, twin pregnancy and c-section. I generally wear long tops and a control wear swimming costume when at the pool.

Original poster
bebeboeuf · 21/05/2019 18:15

@bloomburger - are you able to send me more information on the procedure? I think it’s something I will be seriously considering now

OP posts:
Bloomburger · 21/05/2019 19:27

Ok I'm 3 weeks tomorrow post op.
Cost was £8400
I did a lot of research before choosing who to go with and chose a surgeon that people who I know had already used.

Had an abdominal repair also whilst I was under.
Had Brazilian abdominoplasty which meant no drains and quicker healing time with less chance of infection. They do a bit of lipo to define the waist and get rid of the under boob bulge too.

Will send photo of what it looks like now after I've dealt with kids and feeding time. I don't have a pre photo but it wasn't dreadful, I didn't have an apron and if I breathed in you would have thought I didn't have a problem but I've always had a very flat stomach up until DD and needed a c section so advised DH that if I didn't get back to how I was before we would be going down the surgery route. I dieted, worked out and did everything I could and got as fit as I could be and it was still there.

Not been in a great deal of pain, I would say discomfort more than anything. Bed rest for a few days but been up and about since day 3. Have done long walks and gone back to work for a few hours.

Got to wear a corset thing for another 3 weeks but I have two of those so one to wash and one to wear and been wearing pants underneath. After 7 days they took the bandages off and I just had the corset thing on.

Am v v pleased with the result. Still swelling to go down. He said you won't see the full result for about 18 months but it is already looking pretty amazing considering it's only been 3 weeks.

Can't think of anything else.

catdogoifrog · 21/05/2019 19:45

I have it and no sections so far. I was very slim pre child. Prob an extra 10 lbs on now. It's just stretched skin and it won't go back. I'm sure it might lie a bit better if I lost the 10 lbs, but the skin would be slightly looser. It's like a wobbly jelly and my mums stomach is the same.

Inliverpool1 · 21/05/2019 21:05

Gordon Strachans wife died in surgery, I’m pretty sure she had the money for the best surgeons and I’m pretty sure her family didn’t give a fuck if she was a bit fat and alive

SirVixofVixHall · 21/05/2019 21:11

Mine is a shelf where the scar tissue digs in like wearing very tight bikini pants.

Celebelly · 21/05/2019 21:25

I'm 14 weeks post section and suspect surgery is the only way I'll get rid of the overhang in future. But I feel uncomfortable with putting myself through optional surgery when I have a little girl, so I'm not sure what the solution is. Suck it up (and in!) I suppose.

Original poster
bebeboeuf · 21/05/2019 21:58

@sirvixofvixhall - that’s a perfect description of how mine is

OP posts:
SirVixofVixHall · 21/05/2019 22:20

I did read about some radio frequency thing that was supposed to help flatten the shelf slightly ?
Most of my friends who have had two c-sections say they have a shelf, but one is as flat as a board ! She is slim, but so are some of the others, so I think stitching plays a part.

UpToonGirl · 22/05/2019 08:27

Yes, I've heard of the section surgeon takes their time and does a particular stitch it's much better but unless they also cut excess skin at the same time I don't think it would be the same as a trip.

It might have been one here I read it and the poster described it as more of a basket weave I think.

I had what I thought was an over hang after the first section but actually it was a tiny pooch that I could get rid of with dieting and exercise. Second c section had taken it to a whole new level! Getting dressed in the morning has become depressing.

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