Had follow up with surgeon today...

I had my follow up appt with my surgeon...he said the incisions all look good...that the swelling in the breasts actually isn't too bad...and my tummy has a ton of swelling still...he confirmed that we will definitely be doing a bit of a revision in a few months when the swelling has gone down and I've healed some more...I have brusies in places that I have no clue how I got bruises...and I mean black bruises....he says they are nothing to worry about and that it could actually take weeks for them to go away.....

Today's appt. wiped me out...who would of thought riding in a vehicle and walking a little would wear someone out so much...well by the time I got home I was exhausted...been sleeping all afternoon and I'm still exhausted...the surgeon removed my steristrips, cleaned the incisions and put on new strips...for the most part everything was numb...but there were a couple spots that made me want to smack him...lol...I kept myself under control...he said my drains need to stay in until at least Monday...we'll see where things are Monday when we go back in....overall he was happy with my progress....he told me to put neosporin on the area where the drain tubes go into me....so i started that today...but man does it hurt....that area has gotten very red and irritated....and it seems to pull and tug on the stitches there a lot...anyone have any ideas on hwo to relieve some of the pain from that area?....i'm sure it'll get better when the tubes come out...but in the meantime it's just really hard to get comfortable at all....

Nina

Glad to hear everything is healing like it should. I found just not moving a lot or quickly helped keep the drains from moving too much. I guess it depends where they are located. Mine weren't too bad.

My drains are located kind of in the hip/groin area on each side....right where the front/outer thigh connects to the hip/torso....so of course anytime I bend or move my legs or bump the hip area with anything...blankets, pillows etc... it messes with the drains....they are pretty red/irritated...and the stitches feel like they are constantly pulling...I do have them taped to my thigh and then curved upward and under my binder....trying to hold them as still as possible...but because of where they are they wiggle or move a lot...I guess I could just never move my legs...lol...ok yeah that wouldn't work....and they happen to be just low enough that the binder doesn't really cover the entrance area well...so I am using tons of padding on each hip that is tucked up in the binder to hold it...but is low enough to cover the area as much as possible....

Nina

I felt so much better when my drains come out. I can tell you that this, too, shall pass. Take care of yourself and get plenty of protein in, even though you probably still don't have much of an appetite. You are through the worst of it already!

You're right...i'm amazed at how little of an appetite I have...and then when I do make myself eat, the binder being so tight seems to compress everything and it seems the room I had for that little tiny bit i could eat to begin with, now is next to no room at all without feeling sick...so I've been sipping on protein drinks all day long....blech...and I hate protein drinks....LOL..but honestly even with all that, today I feel pretty good...a bit woozy on my feet...but lot less pain and I have figured out a way to tame these drain tubes so they aren't moving...and they let me spray the skin aroudn the tubes with Bactine as needed and it's numbing it up nicely....so the world isn't so bad today...lol...the drugs are helping too...LOL

Nina