Its this horrific flap of skin over my incision, didn't have it with my first and its doing a real number on my self-image. Anyone have one? Did it go away? Ever? 
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My mom still has hers (I'm 30 now).
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@avivoca: Oh god. Thanks for responding!
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@Autumnmama79: To be fair, it was the 1980s when she had her sections, so her scar is much, much bigger than they are now (it goes all the way across her stomach). So yours might disappear, but that's my only frame of reference.
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Just had my second C-section 7 months ago and have the shelf, big time. I feel so good about myself every time I look in the mirror! Or have to pull my undies up over it.
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I did have one - cant remember when it went away but my youngest is 5 and its gone
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@LulaBee: for sure the undies have to go over it - can you say granny panties? Ugh. I just put on some spanx..,
@avivoca: I'm confident the incision itself will disappear as my first did but I don't know how or if I can get rid of this flap! And I really hate exercise
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@Mamaof2: woot! Did you do anything special to get rid of it?
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@Autumnmama79: not that I know of - I go thru spurts of exercising and eating healthy but don't know if that actually helped or if it just went away on its own
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Googled imagea and I have the shelf. I figured with exercise it would become more of a pouch. In clothes I don't notice it at all. I'm more dissapppinted with the keloid scar I feel when I rub my hand over where the staples were.
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@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: I've read that scar massage helps with keloid. I did massage mine regularly for about 2 months after my incision healed, but haven't done in it much lately and it feels tougher, more bumpy.
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I have the shelf bad. The only time it went away was when I lost a lot of weight after my first with diet and exercise. I never got rid of it after my second and now I'm pregnant with my third and will have another RCS. I'm hoping hoping hoping I can get rid of it but I think it get harder as you get older and the more the skin gets stretched out.
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I have it and always suspected it was from the c/s now I know I'm not the only one! I wish there was a way to get rid of it.
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I have one. 17 months out. Not major, but noticeable for sure. When I asked my OB about it, he shrugged his shoulders. My hippie friend did this new thing called dolphin neurostim and swears it helped, but I have no idea if it's legit or not.
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My shelf got mich worse with my second. I feel like my body was more swollen and like something the surgeon did makes this one worse. but, I don't really have anyway of knowing....
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I have it. DS1 was 2 when I got pregnant with DS2. It was still there despite a lot of effort to get rid of it. DS2 is almost 1 now, and it's still there.
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Ugh the shelf! I am almost 8 weeks pp with my second c section (1st baby was c section 4.5 years ago, 2nd baby vaginal 2 years ago and then this one). I never noticed it after my first but definitely have it now but I'm sure that is because I've had multiple children. I also have some stretch marks on my belly from this pregnancy. I agree it's not helping my body image either. I am really skinny everywhere else so I really really notice it. I don't really know how to dress "it" if I put shorts higher I get this under the waste band muffin top thing but if I have pants lower around the c section it still feels a little tender. I really don't know what I'm going to wear when I go back to work. I'm hoping that it just magically hoes away. Ha ha ha! I only nursed for a very short period with this baby and I believe with breastfed babies the uterus shrinks in like 6 weeks versus 10 weeks with formula fed babies so maybe I will see some improvement later on. Probably wishful thinking. I mean diet and exercise would probably be my best bet but yeah that's not happening!
So now that I've rambled on.....I feel ya mama! C section shelf solidarity
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Oh boy. Sorry so many of us are stuck with this unsightly shelf
Thanks for sharing all you stories though, somehow it always helps to know you're not the only one. After doing some reading online it seems that besides diet and exercise theres not much to be done with this eyesore. And even then, that might not get rid of it either...I'm going to keep wearing my spanx when I can and am going to try on one of those belly bandit things this week to see if I want to get one of those.
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@Autumnmama79: I've never owned a pair of Spanx (crazy, I know!) But I think they're going to be a must for work now
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@LulaBee: thanks! I didn't know this was even possible! http://www.livestrong.com/article/508271-how-to-treat-scar-tissue/
@Canoli: me too on the stretch marks! I didn't see them when my belly was big, but bam I see them now. Red Raspberry Leaf tea is supposed to help shrink the uterus.
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I do! and my youngest is almost 4. I don't think its going anywhere. I actually think its worse because I had the c-section with my first and a vbac with my second. So my belly really stretched north of the scar..
It did pretty much go away before I got pregnant with my second thou.
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I have it really bad but I am also overweight so it's more like my C-section scar was as good a place as any for my fat belly to fold over
I am working on losing weight but don't have much hope of losing the flap altogether.
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I didn't have a C-section but I have a really unsightly section of skin right where an incision would have been. It is flappy and loose and terrible looking, ha.
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For all of you with the flap, is it straight? I swear my scar is crooked and as a result my flap is way worse on one side compared to the other.
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@Boogs: mines also a little bigger in one side. Same as my belly was while pg. I think it's cause baby stayed on one side the whole time.
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@Autumnmama79: @boogs: my second c section scar is much bigger and I feel slightly crooked on one side too and it was definitely because he favored laying on my right side. The doctor even commented before surgery they could tell exactly where he was because my belly was uneven. Big boy was 9 pounds 13 ounces!
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@Autumnmama79: Took a few months to get a whole bunch smaller, and many months to go away. Funny enough, I got the shelf again for a short while after my VBAC--just hanging out from the old scar tissue. Gone in about 4 weeks this time. Weird.
ETA yes, it is crooked, and ever since my c section over 4 years ago, my belly wrinkles a little crookedly even when I'm skinny!
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Care to post a pic? I will share mine. Its huge
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