I had my surgery on Tuesday, Aug. 25th. Prior to the surgery, I had completed a phone assessment where the nurse went through my medical history and took note of any prescriptions I was taking.
The surgery was performed at an outpatient surgery center which is located right across the street from a major hospital. (I guess if something goes wrong they can just stretchers down the sidewalk and into the ER! Wouldn't that be a sight to see!) This was the first time I had ever been under general anesthesia, so I had no idea what to expect and was very nervous. The nurses were so sweet and helpful; they really put me at ease. I changed into a "lovely" hospital gown and was given some stunningly fashionable(!) mesh underwear to wear. I should have taken a picture of those - they were quite funny! A local anesthetic, then something to relax me, then the surgeon came in and marked me up with a permanent marker. Some of the marks are still on my skin . . . I need one of those puppies! That's all I remember until I woke up in the recovery room.
The next thing I remember was telling someone that my pain was a 6 on a scale of 10. They must have given me something for it, and I woke up about an hour after that, groggy but generally feeling OK. That's when the nurse told me, "Well you should feel a lot lighter now - they removed over three pounds of tissue from you!" I was shocked! I mean, I knew my breasts were heavy but three pounds?????
I must have looked down, because then she told me, "Oh don't worry, you've got plenty of boobage left." Yep, she said boobage! Cracked me up! - and it hurt to laugh. Ugh. Anyway, her guess at that time was that I was still at least a C cup if not bigger. Three pounds gone and STILL a C cup? WOW.
They put me in a post-surgical bra. Note to anyone considering this procedure: you will NOT want to wear that thing any longer than you have to. All the closures were Velcro and were very, very itchy and uncomfortable. The nurse recommended that my husband go to Target and buy me at least two Champion sports bras in style C9. She said that I could shower as early as the next day and could change into that bra after I showered. I was given a prescription painkiller and antibiotic. We headed home and arrived at about 3:00 pm. DH helped me into bed, and I think I slept until the next morning.
In my next installment, I'll tell you about my first shower and more about my recovery. I hope this is helpful information for somebody out there! Please feel free to ask questions in the comments.
4 comments:
I think this will be really interesting for those contemplating this procedure....my daughter is one of them....having back problems for years...best of luck with your recovery and I'll be back to see how it's all going...
That's my goal - to put my personal experience out there in hopes that it might help someone else.
Thank you so much for putting this out on the net - it is very helpful - my surgery is scheduled for a month from now and you are answering so many of the questions floating around in my head - the bras, the anesthetic - right down to the front button white shirt - it is amazing, but the idea of the shirt and the pretty lacy bras I will be able to buy seem like such wonderful goals to look forward to. I will also only get a week or so off from work - hopefully no one can see the maxi pads, etc in the event you are wearing a suit jacket? I'm worried about being in public with the drainage, etc still continuing - I spend much of my day in a business suit and in meetings ... anyways, thx a ton for your guidance and insights - they are very helpful.
I'm so glad this has been helpful to you! I only had a week off from work too, and that was fine. And as for the pads - don't worry. They will go underneath your breasts, where your incisions are, so no one will see them. Just be sure to get "super long" (Stayfree and Always worked well for me). The drainage tapered off dramatically after about a week and a half, and now I'm only using the pads at night and am using non-stick gauze during the day. Good luck to you!
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