Home from surgery (long)
All I can say is OUCH! I had an arm lift w/side of chest removal (bra overhang), thigh lift, lipo to my sides with a small revision to tighten the upper part of my anchor cut plus chin lipo on Thursday. I used the Baylor Residency program which consisted of 2 surgeons plus the assistance of Dr Lomonaco. All great by the way. Out of all this, my thighs and my underarms are the only things really bothering me. Out of those 2, the thigh lift takes the cake! My armpits are only sore because I can't really put anything there that stays put so they kind of rub on each other a bit. More of a nuisance than anything. My arms are sore but nothing pain pills can't take the edge off.
I arrived to surgery on Thursday morning and did the basic preop stuff, had surgery, woke up from recovery. As soon as I woke up I felt my compression garment was way too tight on my abdomen. I mumbled something to the drs and they unzipped the sides and I was all better. I either already had ace bandages around my waist or they put some on there. Either way, that was there to support my upper ab work and we just kept the garment on to take care of the hip and thigh compression that went to below my calf since that was fine. My arms are wrapped in bandages and I will move to those bolero compression garments when the swelling comes down a bit. I have my preop tomorrow so we'll see. I only had 1 drain and that was for my abdomen work since that's where it's at. It hasn't been draining much since surgery so that's coming out tomorrow. It was more of a precaution.
The hardest most painful part was getting out/sliding out of bed the first time. Ouch ouch ouch. It's hard enough to maneuver with all the IVs and cords and what not hanging off you, plus I was wrapped like a mummy so even with no surgery it would have been hard to walk! I made it to the chair and sat for a while and reclined. The Dr had helped me up from bed and took his time helping me to the chair. He told me I did great and started telling me how many ccs they had lipod from the different areas. I have to add it up to see how much it was. Anyway, he also told me they removed at least 1.5 to 2 pounds of skin from each arm (my bra overhang was the worst). This was the Dr who had been the resident for my LBL and is now part of the Baylor staff and did this surgery as well since he had started my case with me and wanted to continue with my care for the rest of my surgeries. He must have spent almost an hour with me that morning when he came to check on me. After he left, then a short time later Dr Lomonaco came by to check on me and he pretty much told me the same thing. It was funny because I was afraid to use my arms and had no idea how to get up from the chair (since that was my first time trying to do it on my own) but he said I could push myself up using my triceps but not to use my biceps to lift up. Normally someone could help you up by lifting you up from your underarm but that wasn't possible here. I had help but you still need to use your arms a little. He said I could shower today and let my incisions air out for about an hour. He said it was really important to let the incisions in my groin area air out. So that's my project for today.
The other challenging thing was going to the bathroom. Ouch again. It hurt every time I sat down and put pressure on the incisions. Once you're down it was okay. It was the 12 inches (for me anyway) to get your butt on the toilet seat that was rough. I had ordered the freshette right before surgery and didn't get here to a day or 2 after I came home. There was this one time that it took me like minute to sit down cuz everytime it started hurting I stood up. It's like the anticipation of the pain wouldn't let me go!!! Geez. Plus I had just taken my pain pill and it wasn't working quite yet. So the next time I went to the bathroom I went by myself since was doing better and I decided to spread my legs around the toilet as if I were going to sit down and I peed without having to sit down! That was the happiest moment. No need to sit down and I haven't even opened the freshette now that this works just as well. I haven't had a bowel movement yet so that is going to be interesting since I can't reach around that low yet. I'm sure I'll figure something out but I need to get something to help with that since my senekot-s isn't working.
I've been spending my time in a lift chair which has worked great for me. I've only been able to sleep about 2-3 hours a time for some reason. When I do wake up I always have to go the bathroom plus it's usually about the time for my pain pills. As long as I am on top of the pain pills, the pain is bearable. I move around better when I'm not in pain too. But it does look like I will be using my pain meds longer with these surgeries than I did with m LBL. Yes there have been times during the most painful periods when I think why did I have both of these surgeries together. One of the first things I told my dr on Friday was that I don't think it was a good idea to do my arms and legs together and he just kind of laughed. He said it was a little too late for that! He said anytime people combine these surgeries or a TT with thighs, it's always tougher. But he promised it would get better and it has.....slowly. This is day 3 postop so all in all I'm doing okay. Sorry this ended up longer than I had planned. I just wanted to put my thoughts down as I experienced them.
Thanks,
Melissa
I arrived to surgery on Thursday morning and did the basic preop stuff, had surgery, woke up from recovery. As soon as I woke up I felt my compression garment was way too tight on my abdomen. I mumbled something to the drs and they unzipped the sides and I was all better. I either already had ace bandages around my waist or they put some on there. Either way, that was there to support my upper ab work and we just kept the garment on to take care of the hip and thigh compression that went to below my calf since that was fine. My arms are wrapped in bandages and I will move to those bolero compression garments when the swelling comes down a bit. I have my preop tomorrow so we'll see. I only had 1 drain and that was for my abdomen work since that's where it's at. It hasn't been draining much since surgery so that's coming out tomorrow. It was more of a precaution.
The hardest most painful part was getting out/sliding out of bed the first time. Ouch ouch ouch. It's hard enough to maneuver with all the IVs and cords and what not hanging off you, plus I was wrapped like a mummy so even with no surgery it would have been hard to walk! I made it to the chair and sat for a while and reclined. The Dr had helped me up from bed and took his time helping me to the chair. He told me I did great and started telling me how many ccs they had lipod from the different areas. I have to add it up to see how much it was. Anyway, he also told me they removed at least 1.5 to 2 pounds of skin from each arm (my bra overhang was the worst). This was the Dr who had been the resident for my LBL and is now part of the Baylor staff and did this surgery as well since he had started my case with me and wanted to continue with my care for the rest of my surgeries. He must have spent almost an hour with me that morning when he came to check on me. After he left, then a short time later Dr Lomonaco came by to check on me and he pretty much told me the same thing. It was funny because I was afraid to use my arms and had no idea how to get up from the chair (since that was my first time trying to do it on my own) but he said I could push myself up using my triceps but not to use my biceps to lift up. Normally someone could help you up by lifting you up from your underarm but that wasn't possible here. I had help but you still need to use your arms a little. He said I could shower today and let my incisions air out for about an hour. He said it was really important to let the incisions in my groin area air out. So that's my project for today.
The other challenging thing was going to the bathroom. Ouch again. It hurt every time I sat down and put pressure on the incisions. Once you're down it was okay. It was the 12 inches (for me anyway) to get your butt on the toilet seat that was rough. I had ordered the freshette right before surgery and didn't get here to a day or 2 after I came home. There was this one time that it took me like minute to sit down cuz everytime it started hurting I stood up. It's like the anticipation of the pain wouldn't let me go!!! Geez. Plus I had just taken my pain pill and it wasn't working quite yet. So the next time I went to the bathroom I went by myself since was doing better and I decided to spread my legs around the toilet as if I were going to sit down and I peed without having to sit down! That was the happiest moment. No need to sit down and I haven't even opened the freshette now that this works just as well. I haven't had a bowel movement yet so that is going to be interesting since I can't reach around that low yet. I'm sure I'll figure something out but I need to get something to help with that since my senekot-s isn't working.
I've been spending my time in a lift chair which has worked great for me. I've only been able to sleep about 2-3 hours a time for some reason. When I do wake up I always have to go the bathroom plus it's usually about the time for my pain pills. As long as I am on top of the pain pills, the pain is bearable. I move around better when I'm not in pain too. But it does look like I will be using my pain meds longer with these surgeries than I did with m LBL. Yes there have been times during the most painful periods when I think why did I have both of these surgeries together. One of the first things I told my dr on Friday was that I don't think it was a good idea to do my arms and legs together and he just kind of laughed. He said it was a little too late for that! He said anytime people combine these surgeries or a TT with thighs, it's always tougher. But he promised it would get better and it has.....slowly. This is day 3 postop so all in all I'm doing okay. Sorry this ended up longer than I had planned. I just wanted to put my thoughts down as I experienced them.
Thanks,
Melissa
Melissa, I'm so glad you are home and it sounds like things are progressing for you. I so remember those first few days after the arms and thighs. It's not fun. It was the same for me. Going to the bathroom was the most painful. You feel like you're going to pull everything apart. It does get better and you'll find yourself feeling more flexible as the days go by. I stood over the toilet too and I used a plastic cup with the bottom cut out those first few days. It just felt so much better to stand. I had some removable sutures that went into my butt cheeks and once those came out thngs felt so much better.
I had to take my pain meds longer than I did with the TT and breast lift. It's a lot of work at one time and they are long incisions. Find a laxative to get you going and then stay on stool softeners until you stop the pain meds. I hope things get better everyday. I know they will. Hang in there, you're going to love the results!
I had to take my pain meds longer than I did with the TT and breast lift. It's a lot of work at one time and they are long incisions. Find a laxative to get you going and then stay on stool softeners until you stop the pain meds. I hope things get better everyday. I know they will. Hang in there, you're going to love the results!
Renee
I
My DS SW/263 CW/136 GW/150
Well guess I can't tell you not be scared after all that! LOL I went into this knowing there was going to be pain. I wanted to do it all at once to get it overwith and only deal with one recovery. I just took a shower so I feel better. Everything looks good but my arms look scary. Lots of bruising there and on the side of my breast. It took about 30 minutes to get back wrapped up after the shower. The compression has to be just right. Just stay on top of your pain pills and you'll do fine. The first 24-48 hours are the worst but that was true with my LBL too. I'll let you know in a couple of days how I'm doing.
Melissa
I am so Happy you are home safe and well.
did you type all of that (if you did your good)
hopefully in the next couple of days you will feel really better.
not to ask too many questions, are your arms wrap down to your
wrist?
just take it easy and relax (Like you can do anything else)
force sleep, is a good thing.
wishing you the best
Deb
I am so Happy you are home safe and well.
did you type all of that (if you did your good)
hopefully in the next couple of days you will feel really better.
not to ask too many questions, are your arms wrap down to your
wrist?
just take it easy and relax (Like you can do anything else)
force sleep, is a good thing.
wishing you the best
Deb
Yes I did type that up. I did it the morning which is the better part of the day. I had to wait until I could sit at the edge of my recliner long enough to type on my laptop. I also couldn't put my arms close to my sides due to the bandages and discomfort. That made it hard to type. The bandages go from my armpit to my elbows. My hands were swollen the first couple of days but it's better now. I don't have sausage fingers anymore.
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