18 I Don't Want Breasts Getting in the Way of my Life! - Austin, TX

Healing's been going well. I've had no complications yet. I know I'm still very swollen, but I'm a little worried about if I didn't get enough taken off. I don't look nearly as small as I thought I would. It's definitely a vast improvement though, even if I end up bigger then I thought I would.

So, earlier this week I realized something kind of crazy. I have no horizontal incision! My surgeon and nurse definitely made it sound like I was going to have one, but sure enough, I don't. I didn't notice when my bandages were taken off, because the adhesive from the surgical tape I had on the underside of my breast kept me from being able to lift my boobs up enough to see underneath. The only reasons I can think of that would explain why I have no incision is that my surgeon either decided that he could remove enough tissue without doing that incision, or I have some kind of internal stitches instead, if that's even possible.

By the way, in case anyone that sees my pictures was wondering, my surgeon used surgical glue over my incisions, which is why I no longer need any sort of gauze or bandages. I'm liking the glue so far, I don't have to worry about it in the shower and it's low maintenance. The glue is also the reason I still have dried blood around the incisions ( The blood is trapped underneath.).

Something to add as a quick note, my left side had more removed then my right. I'm not certain about the exact numbers, but my right side had .8 or .9 lbs removed, and my left side had 1.3ish lbs removed. I think this is why my left side has been more swollen and sore.

Also, here's a poorly lit photo of me after working out a few days before surgery! I'm wearing several sports bras in this picture (of course), but I think it really portrays how I felt I looked.

So I haven't updated in a while but my reduction was on Feb. 16th! Two weeks before surgery, Dr. Scott Haydon advised me to begin taking; 3 tablets, 3 times a day of *arnica montana* which is a homeopathic medicine for reducing bruising, swelling, and pain from a soft tissue injury (As stated on the bottle), and a daily vitamin. Based on my lack of bruising, I would suggest asking your surgeon if they were ok with you taking arnica montana tablets. I'm not sure if they'll work for everyone, but I look great! I'll try to summarize my first week after the surgery in the following paragraph.

So, to start, my surgery was at 1:30 pm and my surgeon advised me to not eat or drink before so I was fairly hungry and thirsty. However, I was so jittery and excited It was hardly the first thing on my mind. At 1:30, my mom drove me to the surgeons office in which I received some lovely sharpie ink on my breasts which slightly resembled tribal tattoos (haha). After, I actually had to drive to a different location for the procedure itself. I found that kind of odd, but they were pretty close so it wasn't really a problem. I got my IV through my hand, a nurse began strolling me off, and in the blink of an eye I was waking up in the recovery room. I was very thirsty, and in some mild pain, but the woman helping me was very kind and helpful. I was the last patient of the day, so the building was mostly empty, and the workers had no one else to attend to. After a while of talking with my parents and the woman attending to me, I got dressed, and I tried standing. I got super nauseous and dizzy, but it passed. Within two hours, I was home and sleeping.

Day two I had some nausea, but I still managed to eat two whole meals. I was uncomfortable, but it was very manageable. I was told I could take 1 to 2 Hydrocodone tablets every 4 to 6 hours, 3 Advil tablets 3 times a day, 3 Arnica tablets 3 times a day, a multivitamin AND a stool softener. I took everything as recommended, except for the pain medicine, which I went much lighter on. The days kind of blur together, but three or four days had passed since the operation, and I had had no bowel movements whatsoever. Thus, I took 3 Dulcolax, a laxative. While my family and I were
re-watching The Martian, I began getting sever stomach pains, and bolted towards the bathroom. I sat on the toilet for nearly 2 hours, unable to really move because of the pain from my constipation. I felt like I would pass out. Fortunately, my problem finally alleviated via a bowel movement, which was unfortunately followed by 4 days worth of diarrhea. Lets just say it sucked.

The rest of my week was fairly uneventful, until today, which was my first post-op appointment! My nurse, Wanda, removed my bandages. I didn't think it would be that bad, but getting my tape removed HURT. She examined my breasts, and said I looked great! I have very little bruising as you can see in my pictures, and I had zero blood or goop of any kind on the tape. Now, I'm not totally sure why my stitches look as dark as they do, but she said that was OK, and there was nothing wrong with it. I have surgical glue over the sutures, so I won't be needing tape or gauze anymore unless something comes up. This also means that I don't have to worry about now getting anything wet in the shower, it's totally safe to face the shower head if I want too. The glue will eventually come off on its own.

That's it for now, I'll try to update sooner next time! Thanks for reading!