After a spontaneous appointment with Dr. Haeck, my mother and I decided to submit an insurance request. When it was accepted I was ecstatic and nervous- I'd always thought about getting the procedure but I'd never thought I'd have the opportunity to do it. I decided to go through with it. Dr. Haeck and the nurses were super nice throughout the whole procedure! They answered questions promptly and assured me that I would love the results.
When the day of the surgery came I was nervous, but once they had marked my breasts and put in the IV I was out. I also had an epidural, but I don't remember anything after the IV. Next thing I know I'm in the car on the way home with my mom.
The next day we went in to get the bandage s taken off and I almost cried I was so happy with my new figure! The doctors speculated that I would be around a C cup after swelling decreased. I could tel right away that I still had nipple sensation. And the pain was manageable with the mess.
Currently 2 days post op and I am ecstatic! Happy to answer any questions!
Updated on 16 Dec 2016:
Feeling good- spent most of the past few days lying on the couch watching old movies.
I'm down to half a pain pill every three or so hours (started at 2 pills/4 hours). Tonight I'm going to try to sleep without ambien.
Took my first shower today, had to keep my back to the water and needed help with soap but it felt great to finally clean up a bit!
I'll upload the before pics soon!
Updated on 17 Dec 2016:
Here are some before photos to give perspective. As you can see, my right boob was much larger than my left boob.
Updated on 22 Dec 2016:
Went in today for my 1 week post op meeting meeting. Dr. Haeck said that I was "an outlier" in the sense that the process has gone so smoothly (knock on wood). So I guess that's something to keep in mind when you read my review- I've been experiencing a rather easy recovery.
Anyway, the nurse pulled off the glued on tape. To be honest, this was probably the most painful part of the whole process. Once we got that off the doctor spotted that my left drain hole was opened from the tape removal. It was bleeding a bit, so we bandaged it up and got a prescription for a special healing cream.
Next, the stitches came out. Nothing too painful here. It's amazing to see the scars for what they are though! The nurse showed me how to properly tape up the scars and I was on my way!
Updated on 22 Dec 2016:
Thought I'd give a summary of how my first week with the surgery went.
The first two days, when I was still on a fair amount of percocet were relatively easy. Aside from not being able to lay on my side and stretch, I was pretty comfortable just sitting around all day.
By day 2 I'd started taking less painkillers
and was able to do a bit of activity. I went grocery shopping with my mom. It's nice to get out the house! For the next few days, I'd get periods where I'd get super tired out of nowhere for a few hours. Taking frequent naps helped- I think my body was just working hard to heal, plus the weird sleeping position wasn't helping.
Finally got off percocet and switched to Tylenol on Sunday. Sunday was rough for me. I spent the entire day with my parents at the car dealership. There weren't many snacks so I was exhausted by the time we finally got dinner. I'd worked up a little headache, so sleep was challenging even with the Ambien. I actually woke up in the middle of night to throw up (something that often happens when I get bad headaches). The throwing up triggered a bloody nose and I got a bit worked up. Once I tied everything back to exhaustion and had a glass of water I felt exponentially better. I went back to sleep after that and felt great! Moral of the story: bring snacks, take rests
Now, I've been able to drive and do most tasks without restriction. As long as I keep my arms lower than a 90 degree angle, I'm good. Sometimes turning motions can hurt as the drain holes are really sore. Itching hasn't been too bad, but I'll keep you updated as the scars heal.
So far I'm beyond happy with how my boobs look! I'm so glad I went in for that first consultation with Dr. Haeck- I highly recommend his services to anyone in the Seattle area. His entire staff has been a pleasure to work with! They are all so responsive and knowledgeable- it made the insurance claim a breeze.
I'll upload some pics tomorrow!
Updated on 26 Dec 2016:
Yesterday I went through the scary process of taking off the tape on my own. I did it in the shower so the adhesive would loosen up, but it was still a little painful to pull off. Mostly I was just scared that I'd open up a wound, but I think that's mostly in my head.
Once I got the tape off I tried my best to get rid of the leftover adhesive. I tried baby oil but it didn't really work, I just ended up scraping off what I could with my fingernails and leaving everything else. Once I was dry, my mom helped me put the prescription wound cream on my scars and put on new tape. It's tricky to put on the tape with the cream, but if you just put on the bra right away and try to stay still for a bit, eventually the tape sticks.
It's pretty gnarly to see the scars up close, but I was happy to see that they are definitely healing. I'm sill getting a tiny bit of discharge out of my left scar, closest to the armpit. It's where the bandaid is in the photo. The other bandaid it on my right t-scar, where the doctor recommended applying the scar cream more regularly.
I'm off ambien and Percocet now- just Tylenol and melatonin for me! I was pretty sore today, but the itching is the worst! Not much you can do about it other than shift around.
Anyway- here are some updated photos! Next time I change the tape I'll take photos of the nipples.
Updated on 29 Dec 2016:
Things are going pretty well! I've been applying the wound cream regularly and changing the band-aids, but afters a few days I found that my skin was getting irritated and I was really itchy. Took off the band-aids and saw a visible red outline of bumps where the band-aid had been! I wish I had a picture, but you can see a little in one of the photos. Luckily, I already had an appt with the Dr the next day. He said it was a typical adhesive reaction and prescribed me a topical steroid cream which has helped a bunch! I also got to go the day tapeless, which was kind of a weird sensation. He also said I could get back to all normal activity (including exercise!) in two weeks!
Anyway, the rash is pretty much gone now. I put my tape on this morning all by myself. It was surprisingly easy- just make sure you have a full body mirror! Also, I can now sleep on my sides pretty comfortably which is a nice change from sleeping on my back. :) The only motion I feel restricted in is reaching my arms up at an angle greater than about 135 degrees.
Also- I just wanted to be clear: my doctor has said that my recovery is going extremely well (better than above average were his exact words) so don't be disappointed if it takes you a little longer to heal! I'm on break from university so I haven't had any pressure to over exert myself or get back to work. Dr. Haeck said that my healing is moving very fast (probably just cause I'm on the younger side of patients).
From now on I'll probably do updates every week or so unless anything important comes up. Of course, feel free to message me with any questions!!
Happy New Year!!