My 1-Week Post Op Appointment

Howdy again!

I had my 1-week post-op appointment with my surgeons nurse on 09/26. 

It always makes me laugh that they leave the room to let me put on the smock-shirt so that they can come back in and have me take it off and look at my boobs haha.  I don't get the point, but whatevs!

The nurse was great.  Everyone in my doctors office is always so warm and so nice.  She took the tape off and cleaned me up (there was a very small amount of dried blood which was totally normal they say).  She checked my incisions and told me they were great.  It was the first time I really got to see them with a mirror.  WOW.  I was really impressed.  I had some good bruising going on on my left side, but by that one week mark it had faded pretty significantly.  It must have been a little more challenging on that side, because that's where I get most of the shooting pains I mentioned in my previous post.  That boob has always been a jerk.  I shouldn't be surprised! 

She taught me how to massage them. I was anxious to get that started because I knew it would help them drop, but I was so afraid to do it because I knew it would hurt.  It totally didn't hurt, but still... new stuff. Plus, I'm kind of a wuss about things like that.  It was totally mind over matter, but it still freaked me out. They were still really high and really hard.  You could feel a definite difference between the actual implant and where my breast tissue was at that point.  She explained to me that my muscles weren't used to having that volume beneath them and so it was going to take a while for them to relax and get used to the implant being there.  She said it takes a little longer with larger implants, but that the massaging will help.  She told me some women just do it in the shower but she told me more times per day for me will be more beneficial.  I was so nervous at first that I would shake while I did it, but as I realized it was no big deal, I got over that pretty quickly.  I massage whenever I think about it now or whenever they start to feel tight. I try to get it in 4-5 times a day. She urged me to continue to take the valium at night so that my muscles could relax and heal more quickly.  I did that for that night and the following two, but that drug gives me some serious constipation issues like, right away, so I decided I'm done with it for now. 

Her eyelashes were mesmerizing so I also left with my 2 free bootles of Latisse.  (Implant company also owns botox, latisse and juvederm so it was a freebie for me.  My consolation prize, if you will.)  I've been doing that for a little over a week now, and I already see some change.  Three cheers for cosmetic enhancement!!!! 

She told me that comfort was my guide for most things at that point.  I didn't have to stay in a compression bra anymore, which I felt was making my rib bones sore.  It wasn't comfortable to me to have that implant smashed up against them.  She said I could find a more structured bra if I wanted to, so I headed to Target and got a soft-cup wireless bra that's basically a sports bra with a tiny bit of structure to it.  No wires, no padding just not smashed.  ONE MILLION TIMES BETTER.  She said still no exercising until the 2 week mark.  She also advised against buying actual bras until my implants had settled and my boobs were where they were going to be.  Bigger bras are expensive and how they look now is not how they're going to look 6 months from now.  Solid advice to which I gladly listened.  A penny saved is a penny earned, right? :) I decided to use bio oil to do my massages to help keep the elasticity of my skin up and that was a bad plan. I broke out horribly from that.  The only thing worse than mutant jelly-bean boobs is broken-out mutant jelly-bean boobs.  Now I just use lotion. 

She scheduled me for my 6 week visit which will be at the end of July.  I actually see the surgeon at that appointment so hopefully he'll say that everything is right where it's supposed to be. 

That night I tried on a bunch of clothes in my closet for my husband.  It was cool to see how things fit and then at one point, the girls were done.  My muscles contracted and got super tight and my nipples pointed straight down.  It was crazy to watch.  Time for a hot shower and some massaging to settle things down.  I chased that with a valium and a giant glass of water and went to sleep. 

We spent the 4th of July at the lake with friends.  I was excited for the first time in my boob-having-life to buy bathing suit tops that actually fit me.  I had no problems with pain, even on the boat rides in choppy water. 

Last night I did my barre method video for the first time in about a month.  It was rough in the sense that I lost a lot of my strength and I had to do almost all beginner level stuff.  I was dripping sweat by the time I was done, but it felt good to move.  I still have some tenderness and things are settling a little bit but all in all, I'm really pleased so far.  Not a drastic change with the dropping yet, but we'll get there.  My skin sensation is still wonky.  It's coming back but I would still call it numb-ish.  My nipples are hyper sensitive right now, but that should calm down over time too.  I'm hoping for sooner rather than later, but we'll see.  I called this morning to ask if I should still be sleeping in a sports bra.  My husband & I thought maybe the compression and the lifting would be counter productive to them settling, but the nurse assured me one has nothing to do with the other.  She told me that at this point it's to help my muscles settle in to doing their new job of holding up all that extra weight.  (Google calculations tell me my implants weigh in at 3.75 pounds each, which is 7.5 pounds total.  That's a lot.)  The bra helps keep down the swelling and allows things to heal internally without having to also support the weight of the implant at the same time.  Makes sense. Plus, it still feels better.  Maybe I'll pick up a couple of those shelf-bra cami's and sleep in those.  Baby steps!  I also asked if it was o.k. if I slept on my stomach.  I'm naturally a stomach sleeper and I've caught myself that way twice now.  She said as long as it's not uncomfortable for me, it's o.k. at this point. 

I'll come back for a one-month update and then again at the 6 week post-op as well. In between I'll try to put together a before and after photo post. 

Stay tuned!

H