You will see Day 3 pics and 1 week pics at the end of this page...
And you NEED to look forward to that 1 week mark.... It's a HUGE milestone!
I read and was told that the first 3 days are the worse and then things start to slowly get better.
This is THE TRUTH!
If you are reading this and you are in your first 3 days, hang in there!!
And
remember, your doctor DOES NOT HEAL YOU! He helps your body the best
he can prepare to heal itself. You HAVE to listen to your doctor,
listen to your body and help yourself
to heal up. That plus TIME is
what heals you.
I slept on the couch for the first two nights, but that proved to be uncomfortable. I could see swelling in the small of my back and neither ice nor heat immediately helped the swelling and over all aches I was having in my body.
I
ended up moving to our bed. That felt great! I slept better and with a
lot more comfort. My fiance and I have a Tempurpedic bed and it proved
to be perfect. I still slept on my back, propped up and at a 45 degree
angle but my body and muscles were at least happier.
Taking Care of My Self (With My Fiance's Help) and Following The Doctor's Orders:
I was NEVER in true pain from minute 1 until now. EVER. And the reason why I believe this is because I followed my doctor's orders and took care of myself! I also know that pain tolerance is a player in this too, but you do not have to be Super Woman. Just be Healthy Woman and Smart Woman!
Take
the pain meds as directed to PREVENT the pain. Don't wait until its
already there. I only needed Vicodin for 7 days. That's it.
YES.... In my MIND, it killed me not to be active and moving around. But I listened to my BODY and TRUSTED that my doctor knows best.
Quick Look at Days 1-3 of Personal Care:
-
I took it easy and relaxed a lot! Calming the body and giving it
plenty of fluids and rest helps it to heal! Plus, you will want to nap
often... the pain meds and anesthesia still leaving your body can cause
this to happen too.
- Ice my breasts for 20 min on, 40 minutes off from when I woke up, until when I went to sleep
-
Drank a ton of water, caffeine free diet green tea, small sips on
Ginger Ale if I felt a little nauseous or needed a little sugar
- Took my pain meds and muscle relaxers on time and as directed with water and a few crackers
- Resumed my multivitamin and vitamin c tabs
-
Kept my diet limited to healthy items (plain grilled chicken, dark
green veggies, water, the occasional sugar free Popsicle or frozen fruit
bars
- No caffeine, no excess sugar or sweets, no smoking, no drinking alcohol, and no strenuous activities
- No shower (until the pain pump was removed... My fiance helped with sponge bathing me)
- No laying flat down or on anything besides my back
- No lifting or doing much more than the bare minimum
-
Walking around the house for 5-10 minutes every 1.5 hours (or whenever I
had to get up to pee) to get the blood flowing and muscles moving
Water Is Your Best Friend:
Drink a lot of water! It will help flush out your system and help to avoid bloating! Avoid caffeine and sugar too.
Loss of Appetite But a Fear of Weight Gain:
I
kept reading about all these women who claim the gained actual weight
and looked "pregnant" (due to bloating). This does not happen to
everyone! I fully believe if you are a healthy woman to start and you
are careful and still treat your body well during healing, you will have
NO problems.
Pain
killers also kill your appetite (the pain killers plus not eating
normally also lead to the constipation), which makes matters hard
because you need good nutrients to help you heal. You have to eat
healthy things. It is hard, but you can ration out your intake easily
by taking small bites of good foods throughout the day. It might take
you an entire afternoon to eat the equivalent of a meal, but you need to
keep yourself healthy.
In addition, weigh yourself the morning of surgery. And then DO NOT do it again until you hit the 2 week mark!
Your
body just underwent major surgery. You will have fluid build up in
your breasts and in your body (plus the added weight of your breasts
which out vary from a pound to more, depending on saline/silicone and
size), you may retain some water (and this sounds odd, but drinking more
water will help to flush that out), and, as gross as this sounds, you
will be constipated and after a few good BM's, it will at VERY least
help you to feel lighter.
Bloating:
Again,
I kept reading all these horror stories of women claiming the bloated
up and looked 2-4 months pregnant. I do not know how healthy they were
to start with and how they treated their bodies during the first few
critical days of healing but I did not experience anything even remotely
that bad.
Yes,
I did notice marked swelling around the small of my back for 2 days
(that went away with the help of ice, moving from the couch to my own
bed, and short walks around the house several times a day).
I
also noticed a little bloating in my lower abdomen, but it was very
very minor. And I do think some of it had to do with the fact that I
wasn't standing and carrying myself like I usually do because of the
soreness, pressure, and tightness of my chest and upper body. You know
what I mean... when you slouch or totally relax your muscles, your body
shape in your core can look more puffy than when you are standing or
sitting upright and holding those muscles tighter.
This
look and feeling lasted maybe Weds, Thurs, and a little into Friday.
But, with the little walks, drinking plenty of fluids, removing the pain
pump, starting to be able to hold myself upright (you won't believe how
hard it is to contract muscles around your chest, armpits, and core at
first) I started to look and feel more normal.
And,
as gross as this may sound, after taking a few good healthy BM's, any
worry or look of bloating dissipated by Sunday (5 days after surgery).
So don't freak that you will terrifying. Just BE HEALTHY
and listen to your body. If you are not a healthy person now, I would
suggest getting healthier prior to your surgery. It will only HELP you!
Constipation:
It
took me until Saturday to actually produce a BM (bowel movement). My
last BM was the night before surgery... So I went 5 days! I started to
take Peri-Colace on my 3rd night (Thursday) and took it as directed for
two days. Even with that, it still took 2 days for it to work and help
me out! I finally had a few healthy BM's by Saturday. By Sunday, I felt
"cleared out", lighter and happier.
Incisions: (3 Day and 1 Week Pics below... be prepared!)
My
incisions are under my armpits (transaxillary) stitched with dissolving
stitches, and covered by surgical tape. At my post op appointment, the
nurse told me that I need to leave the tape on for at least 3 days and
after I take out the pain pump and shower, I can let them come off in
the shower.
She did add that the tape MAY come off on its own sooner
and that is ok.
Well, the tape sweated off all on its own by Thursday. And I was not expecting the incisions to look like they did.
Now,
I was warned that the incisions could look puffy and rather gross for
awhile while the skin and nerves heal up. But I was rather taken back
on how gross my one incision looked. (And it doesn't help that you
can't shave your armpits for awhile... probably about 2 weeks due to the
soreness and the incision! So gross!)
Prepare yourself.... These are kinda gross.
And yes, the images have been blurred some... I blurred out the armpit hair... It make the pic even more gross, I hate body hair, and it is just icing on the cake of gross. LOL.
LEFT Armpit Incision 3 day Mark 06/29/12
RIGHT Armpit Incision 3 day Mark 06/29/12
Yes, there is some bruising, but it is mild. And that is the ONLY bruising I have, even now, 1 week later.
1 Week Armpit Incisions
Yes... still can't shave... and yes, it blurred that out. Ew.
LEFT Armpit Incision 1 Week Mark 07/02/12
LEFT Armpit Incision 1 Week Mark 07/02/12
As you can see, minus the blurred out armpit stubble, the incision scars are looking better.
Removing the Pain Pump: http://youtu.be/SCkMCICEZpY
The
above Youtube link is NOT me, however it will give you an idea of what
its like and what to expect. Beware... it could make your a little
queasy.
My doctor told me that when the pain pump runs out in about 3 days and I can go ahead and remove it myself.
The directions were as follows:
-
When the pain pump is empty (all the juice is gone and there is just a
hard small cylinder in the middle of the clear plastic bag with the On Q
written on it) it is time for removal.
- Carefully pull of the surgical tape holding the tubes in place.
- Place your fingers as close to the tube entry near your skin and slowly start to pull the tube out
- Repeat on the other side
He said not to worry, there will be no pain but I might feel the tubes moving and sliding out from inside my breasts.
He also warned that there could be a drop or two of blood by the entry site and have a tissue or gauge ready.
Well,
it was removal time and I was grossed out and queasy at the whole
idea. My fiance helped out though and made it easier for me.
Removing the tape was the only painful part. That stuff is on there like glue!!
Once
the tape was off, he started to pull the tube. It felt like he was
pulling forever and I 100% felt that tube sliding around in my breast.
It was rather freaky! It DID NOT hurt, but was just such a crazy gross feeling.
After
he got the second tube he showed me how much was actually inside me....
The better part of 8 inches of tube in each breast! Crazy!
I did feel a lot better after the pain pump was removed but I really think it was all psychosomatic...
The idea in my mind that the removal of the pump was a sign of getting better, not needing it and moving on with healing. That, and it felt so good to not have to wear the fanny pack, carry the pump around, having all those tubes taped to me and risking getting caught near the fanny pack, etc.
Either way, by Friday afternoon, I noticed a HUGE improvement on how I felt!
But, I am GLAD I got the pain pump. I HIGHLY
suggest it! I do not know how I would've felt without it, but
considering I was never in real pain, I am guessing it had something to
do with making that happen.
Wow... This is real and this sucks! It was something I read about and I was prepared for just in case.
And I am glad I did.
Here is how I felt following and when it hit me...
The
moment the bandages came off I was rather apathetic to the look.... I
was neither excited nor upset because I knew going into it that it was
not going to look like the final product and that I have at least 3
months before they get more normal. So I was ready for the "great
unveiling".
But after I got home and things settled down and I realized how weak and sore I really was, I started thinking.
When
I could barely pull my own shorts up, couldn't open the fridge door,
couldn't shower, stuck inside resting, couldn't shave or wear
deodorant... My breasts were so swollen, hard, and tight. I felt like I
got hit in the chest by a baseball bat, my body felt swollen and my
body ached, and I started to really wonder if I did the right thing....
That's when I looked down at myself and thought, "What did I do?? I "disfigured' and maimed myself!"
I felt like I'll never be able to go for a run, lift weights, do push ups, or even hug anyone normally!
When
I looked down I just saw these two huge massive breasts that jutted out
so far, looked uneven and hard and on top of it, I felt like EVERYONE
who looked at me would see these and know they were fake. I even said
at one point that I wish I had never had the surgery.
I felt unattractive, disfigured, grotesque, weak.... and I felt ashamed to show my body to my fiance.
He
was wonderful through it though. He did his best to make me feel good
and told me how good everything is looking. He reminded me that what I
am feeling is normal and it will get better.
It took until about Monday (6 days after the operation) to start to feel better about how I look and feel.
But
once I started to feel better, the tightness and soreness started to go
away and when I started to feel more like myself, things started to
perk up.
I now am over the post-op blues and I know that over the next few weeks and months, things WILL continue to get better.
Hang in there... you WILL feel better!!
Exercise:
My
doctor said after 3 days, I can start to resume light exercise, like
take 30 minute walks a few times a day to start. And I was walking by
Saturday. That really helped to make me feel better. I have been
walking 30-60 minutes every day since.
The first few walks I did feel tight and it was uncomfortable. But each day, that gets better too!
I also have resumed doing normal things at home, with caution. I have been able to do laundry, cook, clean, etc.
It also makes you feel better to get back into a normal routine.
Sleep:
Sleeping has been... interesting....
Now
that I am feeling better, during the night, my body keeps trying to
turn over onto my side to sleep. I still have my pillows on either side
of me that keep me from flipping totally over and also help to support
my breasts if I do turn. It has seemed to help too.
The following are 3 day pictures and 1 week pictures for comparison. It's getting better!
Next update will be the 2 week mark on 07/09/2012
