28-year-old, First Timer...LONG Overdue - Martinez, CA

Greetings All!

Thankfully, I don't have a LONG update this week. My incisions are healing well and the skin glue is continuing to peel off on its own. Generally, I have bare minimum pain (here and there) each day. I laid on my stomach (with very little resting on my breast) a few days ago, just to see how it would feel to sleep on my tummy. Just as I suspected, I'm still not healed enough to sleep in my favorite position just yet. There is no leakage, holes, etc. Some swelling is still there and I do have a little itching from time to time. I'm still limited on lifting but I am not complaining. It feels good having someone else handle certain jobs/responsibilities for me. :-) All in all, everything is going well.

My next follow-up appointment is on Tuesday, April 15. I will do another update with the PS comments. Until then, I have attached a few photos from this morning. The "crusty" area along the incisions, on top of the scabbing, is skin glue.

Hi,

How is everyone's week going so far? Well, tomorrow I will hit WEEK 2 since my surgery. I'll discuss the pros first....

1. My back/neck/shoulders feel great (although I could use a massage since I'm still sleeping all weird like, making sure I don't put pressure on my incisions).
2. "They" look great braless. Can't remember the last time they were THIS perky.
3. No general post op pain.
4. The incisions have started healing, thankfully. Lots of scabbing, which is a good thing.
5. Very little itching. Thank goodness because I was ready to chop them completely off at one point. :-)
6. The sensation in my nipples is overwhelming...but I'm loving every bit of it.

Now, the cons...
1. Swelling and soreness. Last week, I relocated and did ALL of the packing and a lot of lifting myself. I knew I shouldn't have been doing it but I didn't have a choice. After that, the swelling/soreness that had already subsided came back. I've been resting since Monday, hoping to feel 100% sooner than later.
2. While both are somewhat firm, my right breast is still a fuller than my left and I honestly believe it will stay this way. Hopefully not. They were extra, extra large before...but even. I'm hopeful these will even out over time.
3. Light bleeding. I did not have the drains, so I do still have a little bleeding towards the outside end of the incisions. I'm not sure if it's normal or if me doing all of that lifting last week was a contributing factor. I've been resting since Monday evening and today, there was NO leakage on my ABD pads, so I'm guessing the latter was the cause.

Sill sleeping upright. I try to sleep on my side but (as my photos show) the incisions are longer than "normal", so depending on how I lay, it becomes very tender/sensitive to the touch. There's still a little difficulty raising my arms (especially the right), so I try to keep them down as much as possible. I know it sounds like a lot -- and it is -- but overall, everything is going well. I'm going to FOLLOW DOCTOR'S ORDERS and not lift more than a few pounds and get as much rest as I can this week, so that I won't delay the recovery process anymore than I have already done.

I added some updated pics from today. What do you all think about the healing process?

Good day, all!

First, I want to thank everyone for their comments, advice, concerns. It's a wonderful feeling knowing people genuinely care and wish you the best...

I had my first follow-up appointment this morning. The first thing we talked about was my physical/emotional feelings following the surgery. I told Dr. K my pain level was pretty much gone, although I still feel the soreness, and there is a little bruising. Emotionally, I cried a couple days ago because I felt a little "boy-ish" in the chest region. I still have enough to palm; however, I can't remember the last time they were this small, so it had me a bit emotional. We discussed the itching, which feels unbearable at times. He did give me the OKAY to use a very small amount of hydrocortisone only in certain areas.

Before he did the visual exam, he informed me that, as precaution, the tissue removed from my breasts was tested for abnormalities/cancerous cells. Those tests came back NEGATIVE [thank you, God]. As he began the exam, he confirmed my right breast is still a bit swollen and firm, unlike the left. There is also still a little bleeding and leakage coming from it on the side [I noticed it when I took my comfort bra off for the exam]. He gave me extra ABD pads to keep over it for a few more days so I won't stain my bras.

He clipped the stitched down [it hurt like hell a couple times] and removed the remaining surgical tape. The skin glue is still around my areolas but should fall off in time. If it does not fall off by my next follow-up, he is going to simply peel it off. My next follow-up is scheduled for April 16th. That's when he's going to take photos and we'll do the whole comparison thing. So, overall, everything went great.

Home life is okay. I am able to rest while my son is in school, so that helps a lot. Yesterday, I tried on a dress...braless! The "girls" were sitting very nicely and I was extremely pleased. I'm still not ready to go without my comfort bra but I was so anxious to see how I would look with perky breasts that I could not resist a little sneak peek. :-D I have added photos from the past few days.

How's everyone else healing/recovering??