Post Op Appointment 06/27/2012 @ 10am

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Written at 4pm on 06/27/2012, 25 hours after my surgery

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First of all, after a pretty decent first night, I was very sore when I got up this morning. My whole body was tense, tender, and achy from head to toe.

Part of the tenderness was from trying to stay propped up all night. Some was from trying to hold still and not jostle myself around. And of course, some of it was from the overall trauma on the body caused by surgery and my body trying to start healing.

My fiancé helped me again this morning get cleaned up (I cannot shower yet) and dressed (I still cannot move about freely without mass discomfort).

I was a little grouchy to him though and I feel bad about this fact. I think it's a combo of not sleeping soundly, the pain meds, and being so uncomfortable.

I can say this as a 100% truth... Words cannot describe how glad I am that I have a pain pump and stayed close to my doctor's office.

I still will not call what I feel constantly as "pain". It is still just a tightness and overall soreness with a little pinching under the arm put near my incisions.

But, again, I have a pain pump and I am taking my pain meds, antibiotics, and muscle relaxers around the clock as prescribed by my doctor. I also follow each pill time with a few whole wheat saltines and have not felt nauseous. I am not really hungry though.

I am also continually drinking fluids (Gatorade, water, Crystal Light, ginger ale) and today I resumed my Once a Day Vitamins plus Immunity Support Gummies (my body seems to tolerate these better than other OTC vitamins) and 2x a day Ester-C 1000mg Vitamin C pills.

I cannot say if the two vitamins are helping more at this point yet but my doctor did suggest taking them prior to and after surgery. And he has been right so far.

After he got my cleaned up and dressed, we checked out of the hotel and got in the car. The walk actually felt decent after I got stretched out some.

The car ride was a different story. I felt every bump, dip, acceleration, brake, sway, curve, slight elevation change, etc. And my fiancé was so careful driving. He couldn't have been any more cautious.

We got to the doctor's office and I was immediately brought into an examination room. The nurse asked me a few questions and after I gave her the good news on my "pain" level and how I was feeling she told me I was about to feel better.

She had me remove my hoodie and she started to remove the bandages. It was instant pressure relief; like the pressure was reduced by 80%. It wasn't painful, but the weight of the breasts unbound was a weird feeling.

After it was all removed I got my first glimpse of them in the mirror. They did not look as bad as what I was expecting.

From reading other people's stories and the "warnings" from people's experiences and doctor's info, I was expecting the worse. But it wasn't too bad.

They were swollen and looked bigger than what I wanted, but I was expecting that already. The implants were not sitting too high though and they already have a good shape. My nipples were not pointing down or tweaked in any way. The nurse was pleased and so was my fiancé.

She gave me the breast band in case the implants start to ride too high with instructions to call the office before I put in on. She said that I don't need it now but just in case, the doctor wanted me to take it.

The nurse also said that the doctor approved me walking for short, 30 min walks starting today if I feel like it and if I feel like it will help.

The doctor had an emergency that he needed to address so I was unable to see him today. I wasn't thrilled with that but what can ya do? I have faith in his staff and I can always call if I need something.

The nurse said to pull the pain pump out Friday and once it's out, I can shower. She said to be gentle because of the sutures under my armpits and the tape covering them. I guess they'll take up to month to dissolve. But on a positive note, I can wear deodorant starting on Monday or Tuesday.

I asked the nurse how long the incision is but she said she didn't know. And it's too sore to lift my arms to look. That and the tape is covering them.

I made my next appointment with the doctor for July 9th (12 days from now).

Man, I am worried about pulling the pain pump tubes out on Friday....

The Two L-O-N-G Weeks Before Surgery

As soon as I walked out of my pre-op appointment, I did what almost all nervous people do before a surgery...

I got on the computer and started researching, read, and in some cases, freaking my self out!

The links I provided in my Welcome/Preface page really helped me.  There is a lot of good info in there.

I also started reading about other women's accounts to see what I might expect.  This was a double edged sword.  It helped because if everyone said that they felt better in X amount of days, then I felt good I might feel good then too.  But reading about the darker side of BA's and even though my surgeon already talked to me about all of it, it still made me anxious.

My fiance kept yelling at me to stop because I was just getting myself worked up, but for whatever reason, I couldn't stop.

I  started to have anxiety dreams/nightmares.  I guess that is pretty common.

I also had an idea of what I MAY expect after surgery and that actually helped.

Things that I prepared myself to (or that I might) experience include but were not limited to:

- Knowing the 1st 3 days after surgery will be the worst
- Post Op blues (please see my post "The Post-Op Blues" specifically on this topic http://ej339cc.wordpress.com/2012/07/04/the-post-op-blues/ )
-My breasts will be extra big and NOT the final/right size due to the swelling for awhile

- They might be sitting too high and may need a band to help pull them down

- My nipples might point down or be uneven for awhile
- I could be bloated for days to a week or two (usually due to anesthesia/pain meds)

- I could be constipated (usually due to anesthesia/pain meds)

- My breast skin could become extremely shiny
- My breasts and/or nipples could be numb and/or hypersensitive
- My incisions could look puffy/natural/pretty gross and produce yellow crust
- My breasts could heal at different rates, drop at different rates, soften at different rates, etc
- Not liking what I see for awhile/feeling unnatural/feeling regret
- What to do to prepare myself and my house for coming home from surgery

So for days before my surgery, I read and read.  I do not know if it hurt anything, but I think it helped a lot.

I was also able to better prepare my fiance for what to expect both physically and mentally for me.  I know that helped him.

I also got my medications filled and went to the grocery store to be sure I would have everything I need as soon as I got home.

I knew that icing your breasts is a big help and to plan for that I got these cool gel like cooler "sheets".  They were light weight and covered my whole chest from armpit to armpit and collarbone to lower ribs.  

One of the cool and fun things I did get to do was that I gave my best friend my collection of Victoria's Secret "Miraculous" bras (the ones that make you two cup sizes bigger).  It was a really col thought to me that I wouldn't need them anymore.

After all of this, I just waited until my big day came!