Arm lift is 6 days away - need suggestions!

So my dragon wings removal (aka arm lift) is next Thursday. HOLY HELL! I am already losing sleep because I am so anxious yet nervous!

Just wanted to know what people wore home from the surgery - they told me to have button up / zip up clothing since it will be very difficult to put on a regular shirt for a few days especially since I will have a drain in each arm. I also have 1 but I will get another sports bra that closes in the front and not the back because reaching around wont be happening.

How difficult or painful/uncomfortable are the arms and for how many days? I plan on returning to work on the 22nd which gives me off from the 11th to the 22nd. Go back on the 11th day after surgery. How will moving around be after the first few days? Any suggestions on what to do and not to do with that and also with clothing/shirts/bras?

I have couches to sleep on and prop myself up on - especially to keep my arms elevated on pillows so sleeping isn't too much of an issue with the drains for the first few days. I fill my RX for the pain killers and antibiotics this weekend to have them on hand.

Any other suggestions? Please and thank you!!!!

Hi! I am having my arm lift on Tuesday!! I am also so anxious and nervous! My surgeon does a drain in each arm as well.

My doctor is going to provide me with a compression garment for after the first few days, but I purchased one from makemeheal.com as well:

http://www.makemeheal.com/mmh/product.do?id=70521

This one has hook and eye closures in the front AND back so that you can put each arm on separately. I am hoping this will be easier for a while. Just thought I would share. 

Wishing you all the best and quick healing! :)

I hope your arm lift went fabulous! Please post when you can about your experience - I go in tomorrow!!!!

Surgery went well. Pain isn't too bad. Mainly just really uncomfortable in my armpits. I have a drain in each arm, but I am still really swollen. I'm just a day out, so I know the swelling is to be expected. Good luck to you tomorrow! I'm sure you'll do great as well! Let me know how you are doing after yours! :)

I had an extended breast lift with brachioplasty a few months ago.  It wasn't bad.  I was in a full vest compression garment and wore a zip up hoodie over it to get home.  I was able to do simple reaching and wash my hair over a sink, but definitely didn't want to stretch or put any weight on the arms.  Get things down to reachable level.  I slept in a recliner.  It was more comfortable to have the recliner arms to rest my arms on than to try to prop them up with pillows in bed.  The pain was well controlled - really not bad at all.  But I did take my pain pills on schedule for the first week.

I went back to work in two weeks without a problem.  In fact, the only surprise was that my arms were still so swollen that there were some sweaters and blouses that I couldn't get on.  I guess the loose skin could just be smooshed into the sleeves, but the swelling wasn't so forgiving!

Best of luck on your surgery.

I had my arm lift almost a year ago. For clothing, you're not going to want to wear anything when at home. I spent my first week ****il the tubes came out) completely naked under a blanket. The drain tubes are the WORST part. I had literally NO pain with the entire experience. Just soreness, there is a big difference. You will walk like Frankenstein until the tubes come out but once they do you feel like a million bucks. You start standing up straight, moving, wearing clothes, etc. Just make sure you keep those arms wrapped wrapped wrapped so there is no sagging during recovery, plus they make you feel secure. I am going in on Monday for a combined tummy tuck and revision on my arms because I had some lumping on them afterward so if you have lumping, don't worry, it can be fixed down the road.
Sleeping SUCKS, especially if you are anything but a pure back sleeper. This is the main thing I actually cried about, the frustration of not being able to sleep comfy. You can't really stretch your arms far and its annoying. this being said, you won't be able to put on clothes that require you to stretch up your arms (such as tshirts or anything thats not button or zip up) for at least two weeks. If you think you're going to return to work in 11 days, you are sadly mistaken. I did not have a physically demanding job at all at the time I had mine done and though my doctor told me I could return in two weeks, he would not let me go back for five, so good luck with that one. lol trust me, you don't want to work for at least 3 weeks post op.

One last BIG point, careful not to OD on pain killers, I did and I thought I had an infection because I had flu-like symptoms. In the end it was my body rejecting and purging all the pain killers. And don't be afraid to shower or change your arm wraps. =] GOOD LUCK!! YOU GOT THIS!! It's over before you know it!

I had my arms done and an abdominoplasy with lower body lift in August. I have to say I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the results! As for the immediate post op period, I was pretty miserable. I had a lot of swelling my arms, and of course, my belly was pretty darn painful! I still don't know which one bothered me worse. My arms were so swollen I had a hard time feeding myself. My doc said my experience is unusual. However, they healed great. Even still, so totally worth it! If you don't have swelling, I bet you will just be sore.

Since my surgery was in the summer, I wore a knit, short sleeve dress that easily slipped over my head. It's super stretch, so didn't require much arm movement to get on, and it worked with the abdominal drains and pain pump I had. I didn't have any drains in arms. 

I slept in a lazy boy for a couple of weeks, with my arms propped on pillows. If I didn't have the LBL, I'm sure I could have slept in bed. I was off for about 3-4 weeks, but if it was just my arms, I could have gone back to work sooner. I think you'll be ok at 11 days. Good luck - I'm sure you'll love your results, too! Worth every bit of money and pain, to me. Good luck!

I had an arm lift BA/BL in July and took off a little under two weeks. I definitely could have gone back after a week (I am a tough cookie with high pain tolerance) but decided to stay home and just chill and not push myself. I slept in my recliner a few days, then slept in the bed propped up with a lot of pillows. Clothing wise I suggest stuff you can step into and pull up to put on since you cannot lift your arms. Sports bra wise I started with the ones that clipped in the front, but found the fruit of the loom comfort bra (I think that's what they called it) were easier to just step in and pull up... and more comfortable. I mainly wore tank tops since I could step into those and then something to cover my arms I could just pull on and was open in the front. I didn't have much pain/discomfort... the drains were the WORST but thankfully I only needed them a week, by my week out follow up I was draining so little there was no point to leaving them in... I also had very minimal swelling.

A few things I never thought pre-op that I wish I had known was how much work an arm lift is... you have to keep the scars covered until they heal, even putting sunscreen on under clothing.. I keep sunscreen in my purse now because I don't want to leave the house and forget... the scars have to be massaged twice daily (when surgeon says ok****il they heal to keep them smooth and flat... you have to get silicone sheets or gel (sheets have better results) and keep them on the scars until they heal... the sheets you have to take off, wash, let dry and then put back on each day.. I am 5 months out and still having to do this. Mind you, the results of the arm list are 100000000000000000000% worth it, I just didn't realize before hand how much work it would be. I have developed some roping in my scars and just had a 2nd round of steroid injections, I have another round in 8 weeks. My one arm has healed very nicely with the exception of a small spot of roping and my other arm is being much more difficult... if after the next round of steroid injections the scar hasn't improved enough it will have to be excised. Surgeon said they pull the skin so tight that it can cause the scar to spread and be irritated... now that time has passed and the skin has relaxed if they do excise it, it should heal up "normally". I had an extended TT in 2011 and I did not have to do anything close to this.. just had to put the silicone on and that was it. I am planning a thigh lift next and have a feeling the healing process will be very similar!