Nervous and new

 Hi everyone....I am not great on the computer and it took me forever to find this board.  I am sched. for a breast reduction and lift as well as a tummytuck with muscle tightening and lipo on Jan 3. and I am so glad to have you guys to talk to........

I posted once before and got some great responses.

I am worried about the pain being unbearable.  How can you get "comfy" if your boobies and tummy are so sore?   I rented an electric recliner chair to sleep in (?) and I plan on hiring a Nurse for the 1st few days (?)  How much time/daily hrs. do you all think I should plan on having help in the begining?  Will I EVER sleep on my stomach again??

My Dr. would prefer me to go home same day to avoid gems and unnecessary hospital disturbances.  I am only 10 minutes away from the hospital but how will I get upstairs?

Am I crazy to do both at the same time?

I see that lots of you say see my  "profile"  to see pix - how do I get there?  I have only seen photos that are on the post page?

Well - these are the questions that have kept me awake since 5:00am.  Every morning I wake up and think I am going to chicken out from fear......then I come here and I think I feel better?? !!

karen in NJ

Karen,
All very normal feelings you are going through now!  I'm not gonna lie to ya - there is pain involved.  But there are also good drugs available.  Hopefully your surgeon will help you develop a plan for pain management while you are recovering. 
If it were me, I'd rent that recliner again and put it downstairs.  I wasn't allowed to climb stairs after some of my procedures.  I'd just plan to stay downstairs and move your stuff down ahead of time.
My sister stayed with me for a week after my surgery procedures.  We were a comedy of errors figuring out things as we went along.  Having a nurse come by to help you shower and change dressings is a great idea.  How old are your kids?  If they are older they could perhaps help you out some.  If they are younger, know there is a weight limit post surgery and picking up toddlers is not an option.  Also, I wasn't driving for a week to ten days, but again, go by what your surgeon's instructions are for you.  These things will determine how much help you are going to need post op. 
As far as profiles, if you click on a person's picture it will take you to their profile page of blogs, pictures, goals, etc.  If you want to update your own, at the top of the page are options and the MY ACCOUNT has various tabs to update info on yourself.  The HELP option at the top of the page includes great tutorials on how to post pictures and spruce up your profile page.  You can have fun playing around with that and maybe your nerves will settle some.
It is such an exciting time getting ready for plastics.  I know you'll do well.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Cindy

Hey Karen!
Welcome! I have had an lbl, arm lift, and am currently 2 days post op from inner and outer thigh and knee lipo and a mini face lift. so I know pain!

The recliner is a great idea, as you won't be able to lie down or sleep on your tummy for awhile...everyone is different.

Hiring the nurse...even a greater idea! It is a great idea to just pay someone to wait on you, and anticipate your needs...he/she will come in handy.

I don't think you're crazy to do both at the same time...every surgeon is different and if he feels that it's safe to do both procedures at once, then I say go for it. I had my lbl and arms done together, and lipo and face lift together.

You will get pain meds......TAKE THEM!! By doing so, it will get you up and walking which is important in the healing process. I take mine and it really does help me...not to menton the high is pretty cool....LOL!
All the best to you,
Janel

Hey Karen,

Everybody has this kind on nervousness, so don't think it's just you.  I am 5 weeks out from an extended tt with muscle tightening and lipo.  I also had an arm lift.  I went with a friend and she had the same tt surgery as me but with a breast lift, instead of arms. 

As for pain...................we really didn't have much pain, soreness and discomfort, but no "unbearable pain."  It is very similar to a C-section, and I have had 5 of those, so I did not think it was a big deal at all.  We both stayed 3 nights at the hospital which was great........not gonna lie.  Moving around and not having that hospital bed that you can configure to get comfy will not be easy.  But you have the recliner, so make sure you have a bunch of pillows and you will be fine.  Surely someone helping you those first few days will be good, as showering is tough those days.  On day 4 we went to a hotel and were on our own from then on.  We showered, walked to restaurants and shopping and felt fine.  Neither of us took anything for pain after day 3 at all. 

Walking is critical, move as much as you can.  Take your pain meds if you need them, and MOST importantly.....take either stool softeners or a laxative every day for the first week.  You DO NOT want to be constipated.  Stairs were also no big deal so I am not sure what is concerning you about that part.  Go slow, hang onto something if you feel dizzy and just take it easy.  Not with 5 c-sections or a tt did I have any stair restrictions.

While I do think you must have someone stay with you the first few days, it doesn't have to be a nurse.  A friend or family member Will be fine.  Mostly helping with showering.  As for the bathroom stuff, we did everything ourselves from day one, but did have help with the shower and dressing changes those first 2 days.

As for doing those two procedures a the same time, my friend did them and said it was no big deal.  I had a little bit harder time, because without arms it is difficult to get in and out of bed, etc.  Overall, it was nothing anything I couldn't handle.  We are both 50 and felt like it was so much easier than we anticipated. 

Again, we were VERY sore, but never had any horrible pain.  At 5 weeks out, I can now sleep on my stomach for a few hours at a time, but not all night. 

The first two days were pretty much eat, sleep, meds, bathroom, walk and repeat....over and over.  Again, by day 3, we went to the hotel and took care of ourselves.  The restaurants and stores we were walking to took us about 15-20 minutes each way, and we also walked the hallways, etc too.

Of course everyone has a different tolerance, but we were pleasantly surprised.  All in all......was it worth it?           YOU BETCHA!!!     Because we were in Mexico, we had to stay 7 days, so the next day after I was home, I drove to buy groceries, etc.  The first few weeks it can be a bit tiring, but over all I think you will recover better than you think.  Good luck and keep asking questions.  We all benefit from this board, and I have so appreciated every ones input.  Before we go, we each glean every bit of info we can get, so keep reading!

THANK YOU all for making me feel so much better.

I LOVE you and am thrilled to have found this site.........I really thought it would be so much worse than you've all said it actually is.  

I figured I'd be "out-of-it"  for 2-3 weeks.   It sounds more like after the 1st week - I will be okay.  I know I will really be okay now that I have found you all.

My husband TRIES to help but has no clue and ends up making it worse (?).

Thanks for being here and I'll keep reading here daily.         Love, karen

My opinion is if you can afford to hire a nurse do it. I was lucky I didn't have to hire one because my mom is an RN. She stayed w/ me after my LBL & Brachio for the 5 days. The expertise they bring is very nice. I really didn't have an issue w/ pain but she was very structured w/ pain meds and drain output. Also She was ther when I had my first shower and it was a good thing b/c I almost passed out. Also if you lay down flat on your back they know exactly how to help you up w/o causing pain due to the incisions and muscle tightening. I was pretty much walking around my neighborhood at a week out w/o any help or feeling very bad. I don't think it's a problem doing multiple procedures together. Both of my PS round consisted of 2 procedures. For me it was important to stay in the hospital for the first night but I had some issues w/ anesthesia and naseau so I was glad to have the round the clock care w/ people checking in on me. I actually had to stay an extra day b/c of it. If you come out of surgery and feel fine you should be fine going home the same day.

Good luck w/ your procedures and hope your recovery is fast and uneventful.

Sonya

Lots of great advice from the other posters.

Here's my experience...the first day out I felt great.  The second day I let the pain get ahead of me and it was hard.  Don't be fooled by a great first day and follow your surgeon's advice about pain meds.  If he says every 4 hours, do it.  ;0)

The only time I had trouble with stairs was that second day when the pain got ahead of me.  I did the stairs in my house after that no problem.

I used a recliner chair too - slept in it for about 5 days.  My bed is REALLY high - so I couldn't get up into it.  After 5 days I slept in the bed with a BUNCH of pillows - under knees, behind my back (slept almost standing up) and under each arm (I had an arm lift with my TT).  I'm 5 weeks now, and I haven't tried sleeping on my tummy, but I can turn and sleep on my side or sleep flat no problem...so I'd assume I could sleep on my tummy if I so desired.

My surgeon hired a nurse to come to my house each day for a week.  She  usually spent about 30min-1 hour.  She checked my drains, changed dressings as needed, re-did my compresssion wrappings and eventually removed the drains.  Once they were out, she stopped coming.  That was nice - as no WAY  my husband wanted to touch any of that stuff.  My husband fetched for me, carried stuff, and helped shower me the first time as I held the lanyard of drains...I know what you mean about husbands...you just need to tell him EXACTLY what you need!! ;0) 

Good luck with your surgery!

My response is only based on me asking myself how I would handle a given issue personally. That is not to say that my way is the only right way, but I will answer in the context of what I personally am comfortable with.

First, ask and make sure that part of your pain management for the abdomen involves 3 things: (1) a muscle relaxant (like Flexeril) 3x per day. This helps take the spasm out of the musle repair; (2) an On-Q pain pump or comperable device for the abdomen. This is a balloon filled with a long acting local agen (like Marcaine) and I lay this catheter of the pump over the muscle repair so as to numb this (at least some). This makes a tremendous difference to be sure! I like On-Q because they have (a) long "soaker hose" catherters (2) that dump the medicine at  more than one point along the catheter length, and (b) they have a high volume resevior that I over-fill (from 400 to 520 cc). This allows for 5-6 days at least of pain management via this method. The 3rd pain management source is a typical pain med (Lortab, etc.)

Secondly, I have no knowledge of the hospital facilities there near you in NY. But I personally am far from comfortable with doing 8 hours of surgery (abd and breast red.) plus lipo and then sending someone home. WIth the abdomen and lipo esp, there are just far too much in the way of fluid shifts and the like. I like to have my patients with 8 hrs of general anesthesia spend the night (23 hours) and going home the next day. Then, you get a 4th source of pain management: a morphine pain pump. I set these so a paitent can push a button to get a delivered dose of medicine. This helps immensely for the first 24 hours. Plus, I get to come to the hospital to see my patient rather than them having to come see me the next day. I ALWAYS insist on viewing the abdominal flap at 24 hours to assess for any early signs of wound or blood flow problems,.

I follow this protocol of pain management on ALL my belly cases and 23 stay is a must for 8 hours of general anesthesia in my practice. Safetly first. The argument of sending a patient home "same day to avoid gems and unnecessary hospital disturbances" is not a good argument, as just 23 hours in hospital should not create an issue. Now if the hospital in questinon has a problem with MRSA or the like, then you may want to reconsider your location of surgery.

Again, all of my response is based on my personal comfort zone, not a "this is the only right way" to do it. The two procedures together are fine, if done with the proper safeguards and if you are in very good to excellent health. Is your hemoglobin normal or normal-high? Is your protein intake adequate? Also, I should say that I personally put in every stitch. I do not use PA's or partner physicians, as I want every incision closure to the very best possible. And no matter what's ever said, there's no way a PA can close an incision as well as an experienced plastic surgeon (so a big belly surgery and breast reduction is 8 hours or close to it).

Good luck!

W. John Suber, MD
Foothills Plastic Surgery, LLC
Greenville, SC
SuberMD.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/WJSuberMD