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18 Days Post-Op & 2nd Check-up
Here is my experience since my previous check up, which was 2 days post-op. I went for my second post-op check up with Dr. Rapaport today!
PAIN
I was off pain med by Day 5 post-op. Completely off. There was still some discomfort beneath my chest muscles and in my incisions, but probably only about 3-4 on a scale of 10. I was back to work on Day 6 post-op, and was wearing heels already!
On Day 7, exactly a week after, I went on a business trip by plane. I wasn't supposed to lift anything heavy, so I asked my colleagues or the people around me in the airport for help. It all went quite smoothly. Except that in the evening of Day 7, I accidentally lifted my suitcase onto the luggage holder in my hotel room. It pulled a little bit but didn't hurt. Thank God!
On about Day 10, the pain/discomfort level went down to about 2 out of 10.
HYPERSENSITIVITY
Though the pain became very manageable, I developed hypersensitivity in my nipples and my breast skin. Well better than going numb! Dr. R said it may take 3 months for it to go back to normal.. So long!!
CONSTIPATION
Was bad.. Didn't have real bowel motions till Day 6 post-op!!! So bloated!! It was pretty much back to normal around Day 8, but somehow I felt as if I gained weight on my stomach..
INCISIONS
It was hard for me to lift up my arms.. Can only do it slowly. I can feel a strain from the incisions. Dr. Rapaport said I can shave now very carefully, and to apply deodorant around but not on the incisions. The scar got slightly lighter than before but not by much.
LOOK
I m absolutely in love with the new boobs!! I went shopping for new (wireless) bras the other day in Victoria's Secret. I am now a DD! But of course their sizes are inflated.. Definitely a confidence booster!! Love my new boobs and bras!
LIPO
The bruises have subsided A LOT!! I think the Arnica gel really helped! Magical I bought the one that is fast absorbing, so I don't have to wait for it to dry before putting on clothes!!
Uploading some pictures for you ladies to check out!
PAIN
I was off pain med by Day 5 post-op. Completely off. There was still some discomfort beneath my chest muscles and in my incisions, but probably only about 3-4 on a scale of 10. I was back to work on Day 6 post-op, and was wearing heels already!
On Day 7, exactly a week after, I went on a business trip by plane. I wasn't supposed to lift anything heavy, so I asked my colleagues or the people around me in the airport for help. It all went quite smoothly. Except that in the evening of Day 7, I accidentally lifted my suitcase onto the luggage holder in my hotel room. It pulled a little bit but didn't hurt. Thank God!
On about Day 10, the pain/discomfort level went down to about 2 out of 10.
HYPERSENSITIVITY
Though the pain became very manageable, I developed hypersensitivity in my nipples and my breast skin. Well better than going numb! Dr. R said it may take 3 months for it to go back to normal.. So long!!
CONSTIPATION
Was bad.. Didn't have real bowel motions till Day 6 post-op!!! So bloated!! It was pretty much back to normal around Day 8, but somehow I felt as if I gained weight on my stomach..
INCISIONS
It was hard for me to lift up my arms.. Can only do it slowly. I can feel a strain from the incisions. Dr. Rapaport said I can shave now very carefully, and to apply deodorant around but not on the incisions. The scar got slightly lighter than before but not by much.
LOOK
I m absolutely in love with the new boobs!! I went shopping for new (wireless) bras the other day in Victoria's Secret. I am now a DD! But of course their sizes are inflated.. Definitely a confidence booster!! Love my new boobs and bras!
LIPO
The bruises have subsided A LOT!! I think the Arnica gel really helped! Magical I bought the one that is fast absorbing, so I don't have to wait for it to dry before putting on clothes!!
Uploading some pictures for you ladies to check out!
2 Days Post Op
Sorry for the delay here in updating my post ladies! Been pretty caught up with work. Here goes my experience on the day after surgery (Day 1) and the day after that (Day 2). I had my first follow up appointment with Dr. Rapaport on the morning of Day 2 as well.
RECAP
As was mentioned in my prior post, I passed out pretty much right after getting home around 6pm after surgery. I slept till 9:30pm, had dinner, then went back to sleep, getting up every 3 hours or so to use the bathroom or to drink water.
POST-OP DIET
The doctor said its very important to be hydrated. So I drank a lot more than I usually would, mixing in about 4 packs of Metamucil in total throughout the day, in anticipation of constipation.
There was no specific food groups that the doctor recommended me to take in more than others. But being the over killing health nut that I am, I researched online and concluded that I needed a diet rich in protein and fiber. Protein to rebuild tissues, and fiber to alleviate constipation. Boyfriend then summarized a ton of recipes to cook for me, including that split pea soup mentioned in the prior post, as well as oatmeal with fruits, black been-tofu-chicken soup, chia-berries-apple smoothie, whole wheat pasta with chicken and veggies, and a couple other ones. They all turned out to be really yummy too! Let me know if you want the recipes!
Other than that, I also found that dairy may make constipation worse.. So avoid that, except for yogurt, which has probiotics that would help digestion.
PAIN
It was completely manageable with extra strength Tylenol and the prescribed pain med. As mentioned, I try to avoid the prescribed med as much as possible since it would cause constipation.. As this point you probably know I'm really scared of constipation haha. And it definitely made me nauseous!
I exceeded my 6 pill quota (per 24 hr) from the pressuring soreness on my chest, so I took 2 more of the prescribed pain killer on both Day 1 and Day 2. My underarm incisions have not started to hurt much yet. Lipo areas are just sore as well.
There was no dizziness when I sat down or stood up. But lying down and getting up from bed were still hard. There was a strong pressure when I try to use my upper body muscles, so boyfriend had to lift me up and lay me down.
LIPO
Yes I totally leaked.. Out of the incisions from right underneath my buttock. The doctor/medical assistant had places padding in the lower body compression garment to absorb the draining, but was so thankful boyfriend places 2 towels underneath me the 1st and 2nd night. I was told to only sleep on my back.
POST OP CHECK UP
I went back to see Dr. Rapaport on Day 2, 2 days after the surgery. Rachel the Angel was there also. I saw my new boobs for the first time!!!! They were pretty large, hard, and a little cone like. I was especially surprised at how wide my upmost chest area became! Doctor said that's very normal since it's still swollen, and he taught me a scooping massage to help stretch the lower pole skin and to help the implant sit.
The scooping massage was very uncomfortable.. I didn't like the pressure into my new boobs at all! I was supposed to do it 1min at a time, switching between the boobs, for a total of 10 mins. It was so uncomfortable!
Besides the scooping massage, the doctor said there was no need for any other massages, much to my surprise. He said it was because I had chosen the textures implants. Well that's good to hear!
He said I can shower that day, and take off the surgical lower buddy compression garment for good. He also gave me a compression band to strap around my upmost chest area while sleeping. Supposedly this would also help the implants sit better, and would help the swelling go away.
Dr. Rapaport also asked me to try to lift up my arms. It was uncomfortable and I was scared to do it, because I could feel a lot of muscle resistance. But I eventually lifted my arms up, albeit slowly. He said that your brain had to now relearn that you can do that (arm lifting).
The doctor said the incisions looked very good too. I could see the marks he had made in my armpits. The marks looked long and dark! Not sure if it's the marks or the actually cut!
SHOWER
Boyfriend helped me take off the lower body surgical garment right after we got home from the check up. I was so nervous because Dr. Rapaport said that the skin underneath would look like "wrinkled bruises" (here goes his usual zero-sugar coat..).. Well there was definitely a lot of bruising - a bigger area that I have anticipated the lipo to have effect on. But not as gross looking as I thought they might be.
Boyfriend sat me down on this shower stool he bought and washed my hair. I was very particular with my hair routine but he did a great job.
Since I "relearned" to lift up my arms, I finished the shower off by conditioning my hair, and soaping and rinsing my body. So nice to be clean again!!
The surgery marks the doctor made on my body weren't washed off.. Maybe because I didn't rub my skin too hard! They didn't bother me that much anyway.
NIPPLE AND BREAST SENSATION
Completely there. Actually a little more sensitive to the touch than before the surgery. Maybe because the skin tissues are more stretched now?
Overall, the first 2 recovery days were pretty smooth. I m thinking about also uploading the timeline boyfriend made for me, indicating when to do/not do certain activities pre/post surgery. This would be for your reference only so that you don't have to duplicate much effort. However, listen to your surgeons' advice first and foremost, since your situation could be very differ from mine.
More to come!
RECAP
As was mentioned in my prior post, I passed out pretty much right after getting home around 6pm after surgery. I slept till 9:30pm, had dinner, then went back to sleep, getting up every 3 hours or so to use the bathroom or to drink water.
POST-OP DIET
The doctor said its very important to be hydrated. So I drank a lot more than I usually would, mixing in about 4 packs of Metamucil in total throughout the day, in anticipation of constipation.
There was no specific food groups that the doctor recommended me to take in more than others. But being the over killing health nut that I am, I researched online and concluded that I needed a diet rich in protein and fiber. Protein to rebuild tissues, and fiber to alleviate constipation. Boyfriend then summarized a ton of recipes to cook for me, including that split pea soup mentioned in the prior post, as well as oatmeal with fruits, black been-tofu-chicken soup, chia-berries-apple smoothie, whole wheat pasta with chicken and veggies, and a couple other ones. They all turned out to be really yummy too! Let me know if you want the recipes!
Other than that, I also found that dairy may make constipation worse.. So avoid that, except for yogurt, which has probiotics that would help digestion.
PAIN
It was completely manageable with extra strength Tylenol and the prescribed pain med. As mentioned, I try to avoid the prescribed med as much as possible since it would cause constipation.. As this point you probably know I'm really scared of constipation haha. And it definitely made me nauseous!
I exceeded my 6 pill quota (per 24 hr) from the pressuring soreness on my chest, so I took 2 more of the prescribed pain killer on both Day 1 and Day 2. My underarm incisions have not started to hurt much yet. Lipo areas are just sore as well.
There was no dizziness when I sat down or stood up. But lying down and getting up from bed were still hard. There was a strong pressure when I try to use my upper body muscles, so boyfriend had to lift me up and lay me down.
LIPO
Yes I totally leaked.. Out of the incisions from right underneath my buttock. The doctor/medical assistant had places padding in the lower body compression garment to absorb the draining, but was so thankful boyfriend places 2 towels underneath me the 1st and 2nd night. I was told to only sleep on my back.
POST OP CHECK UP
I went back to see Dr. Rapaport on Day 2, 2 days after the surgery. Rachel the Angel was there also. I saw my new boobs for the first time!!!! They were pretty large, hard, and a little cone like. I was especially surprised at how wide my upmost chest area became! Doctor said that's very normal since it's still swollen, and he taught me a scooping massage to help stretch the lower pole skin and to help the implant sit.
The scooping massage was very uncomfortable.. I didn't like the pressure into my new boobs at all! I was supposed to do it 1min at a time, switching between the boobs, for a total of 10 mins. It was so uncomfortable!
Besides the scooping massage, the doctor said there was no need for any other massages, much to my surprise. He said it was because I had chosen the textures implants. Well that's good to hear!
He said I can shower that day, and take off the surgical lower buddy compression garment for good. He also gave me a compression band to strap around my upmost chest area while sleeping. Supposedly this would also help the implants sit better, and would help the swelling go away.
Dr. Rapaport also asked me to try to lift up my arms. It was uncomfortable and I was scared to do it, because I could feel a lot of muscle resistance. But I eventually lifted my arms up, albeit slowly. He said that your brain had to now relearn that you can do that (arm lifting).
The doctor said the incisions looked very good too. I could see the marks he had made in my armpits. The marks looked long and dark! Not sure if it's the marks or the actually cut!
SHOWER
Boyfriend helped me take off the lower body surgical garment right after we got home from the check up. I was so nervous because Dr. Rapaport said that the skin underneath would look like "wrinkled bruises" (here goes his usual zero-sugar coat..).. Well there was definitely a lot of bruising - a bigger area that I have anticipated the lipo to have effect on. But not as gross looking as I thought they might be.
Boyfriend sat me down on this shower stool he bought and washed my hair. I was very particular with my hair routine but he did a great job.
Since I "relearned" to lift up my arms, I finished the shower off by conditioning my hair, and soaping and rinsing my body. So nice to be clean again!!
The surgery marks the doctor made on my body weren't washed off.. Maybe because I didn't rub my skin too hard! They didn't bother me that much anyway.
NIPPLE AND BREAST SENSATION
Completely there. Actually a little more sensitive to the touch than before the surgery. Maybe because the skin tissues are more stretched now?
Overall, the first 2 recovery days were pretty smooth. I m thinking about also uploading the timeline boyfriend made for me, indicating when to do/not do certain activities pre/post surgery. This would be for your reference only so that you don't have to duplicate much effort. However, listen to your surgeons' advice first and foremost, since your situation could be very differ from mine.
More to come!
THE BIG DAY!!!
Couldn't believe 1/12 actually arrived.. It felt very surreal that I would finally have boobs after a quarter century!
PREP WORK:
I carefully washed myself in Hibiclens the night before and the morning before surgery, per instructions from Dr. Rapaport. Hibiclens is a pink antiseptic fluid. I washed myself with normal bath soap first, then generally covered my body with Hibiclens. I also shaved the morning of, since I'm going through underarm incision.
Birth control, vitamin pills, and aspirin products were stopped a while before the surgery as well.
I did my basic blood test about 2 weeks before surgery, and a blood pregnancy test 5 days pre-op. You don't technically need the pregnancy test, but I like to overkill than leaving any chances!
PRE-OP IN OFFICE
At 11am, we arrived exactly an hour prior to scheduled surgery time (noon). I was so nervous/excited I forgot to bring my prescribed medication with me!!! So the boyfriend went back to get it for me. Hope you girls don't make the same mistake lol.. I was supposed to take the anti-nausea medication an hour before the surgery!
When it was about time, the medical assistant Rachel measures my basic vitals, the doctor came in and listened to my lungs, etc. to make sure I was in good condition. He also marked me for both the BA and the lipo (boyfriend was in the room also and was terrified at this moment...) Then the anesthesiologist came in and told me about what he was going to do.
GOING IN...
I was super nervous at this moment.. I have never gone through any major surgery in my life (besides wisdom teeth removal). All the BA risks I read up on were all running through my head, though I intellectually knew they were highly improbably.
Then my medical assistant Rachel said to me, "Dont worry, you are gonna be okay, cuz you are with me!" with a warm, confident smile on her face. Not to be cheesy or anything, but I felt so uplifted and comforted in an instant. It was like a ray of sunshine. Okay that's too cheesy but really though I can't say enough of how much it meant to me to hear that from her. Dr. Rapaport can be very straight forward sometimes, so he doesn't appear to be the most comforting per se. I have seen Rachel a few times accompanying Dr. Rapaport in my pre-op visits, and I always felt she was very caring and professional. I couldn't say enough thanks to her bedside manner!!
Anyway, I went in to the surgical room around 1:30pm, and Rachel painted my whole body in this orange fluid (anti septic purpose I supposed). There was music playing (classic rock?). Then she helped me lie down on the surgical bed. The anesthesiologist came in and put the IV into my right wrist. It hurt a little but he assured me that was the only pinch I would feel. It was a surreal moment.. I couldn't believe I was there. It felt like I was in some sci-fi movie, lying there to be opened up, with that music playing in the background... The anesthesiologist chatted with me as he did his thing, and I passed out in less than a couple of minutes..
WAKING UP..
I woke up in a medical chair, clothed and shivering. Rachel was the first person I saw. She s such an angel!! I felt fine - no pain - just very very cold. I couldn't stop shivering. Then my boyfriend came in to keep me company. I had no pain or hunger, but was woozy. The chill passed after about 30 mins, but I was definitely still under the effect of the anesthesia so I was in and out of it. The doctor came to check on me too. I think the first thing I said to him was "I AM ALIVE!". He smiled and said everything went very well, that it was a "textbook case". I was so happy and relieved!!
I rested a little longer then finally left the office around 6pm.
According to my boyfriend, the doctor came out to tell him that the surgery was finished at around 4:30, which is 3 hours after I went into the surgery room. It was longer than I expected. But I guess they needed to wait for me to fully go into sleep, there were lipos on the inner and outer thighs, they repainted me after the lipos when I was still sleeping, then the BA, etc. Overall a big endeavor.
GOING HOME
I was very exhausted after the surgery, and passed out in bed for about 3 hours after getting back. I woke up around 9:30pm to boyfriend's super delicious split pea soup. We chatted for a little, and I was so tempted to see the new boobies!
So I took off my shirt but didn't dare to take off the surgical bra. There was one thin bandage looking tape over the incision on each side. The boobs felt very hard and cone like.
As far as pain medication goes, I wanted to take as few of the oxycodone-acetaminophen as possible. This is the pain killer that the doctor prescribed to me. It's stronger but can cause constipation and nausea. I took one at 6pm, then the anti-nausea medicine and 2 extra strength Tylenol after I woke up around 9:30pm right before eating dinner. But I threw up before 10pm.. I think the anesthesia also makes me nauseous and I was still under its effect. So I took another anti-nausea medicine and waited for it to settle before eating again.
THE NIGHT POST-OP
I went to bed around 1am. I was not able to lie down myself so the boyfriend layed me down slowly. It was a sore, pressuring kind of pain.
At 3am, I woke up for water and to use the bath room, and took another oxycodone-acetaminophen, as well as 2 extra strength Tylenols. 6:30am, woke up again for water and bathroom, and took another oxycodone-acetaminophen.
Overall, the pain was not overwhelming and I regained energy pretty soon. More to come on the next few recovery days!!
PREP WORK:
I carefully washed myself in Hibiclens the night before and the morning before surgery, per instructions from Dr. Rapaport. Hibiclens is a pink antiseptic fluid. I washed myself with normal bath soap first, then generally covered my body with Hibiclens. I also shaved the morning of, since I'm going through underarm incision.
Birth control, vitamin pills, and aspirin products were stopped a while before the surgery as well.
I did my basic blood test about 2 weeks before surgery, and a blood pregnancy test 5 days pre-op. You don't technically need the pregnancy test, but I like to overkill than leaving any chances!
PRE-OP IN OFFICE
At 11am, we arrived exactly an hour prior to scheduled surgery time (noon). I was so nervous/excited I forgot to bring my prescribed medication with me!!! So the boyfriend went back to get it for me. Hope you girls don't make the same mistake lol.. I was supposed to take the anti-nausea medication an hour before the surgery!
When it was about time, the medical assistant Rachel measures my basic vitals, the doctor came in and listened to my lungs, etc. to make sure I was in good condition. He also marked me for both the BA and the lipo (boyfriend was in the room also and was terrified at this moment...) Then the anesthesiologist came in and told me about what he was going to do.
GOING IN...
I was super nervous at this moment.. I have never gone through any major surgery in my life (besides wisdom teeth removal). All the BA risks I read up on were all running through my head, though I intellectually knew they were highly improbably.
Then my medical assistant Rachel said to me, "Dont worry, you are gonna be okay, cuz you are with me!" with a warm, confident smile on her face. Not to be cheesy or anything, but I felt so uplifted and comforted in an instant. It was like a ray of sunshine. Okay that's too cheesy but really though I can't say enough of how much it meant to me to hear that from her. Dr. Rapaport can be very straight forward sometimes, so he doesn't appear to be the most comforting per se. I have seen Rachel a few times accompanying Dr. Rapaport in my pre-op visits, and I always felt she was very caring and professional. I couldn't say enough thanks to her bedside manner!!
Anyway, I went in to the surgical room around 1:30pm, and Rachel painted my whole body in this orange fluid (anti septic purpose I supposed). There was music playing (classic rock?). Then she helped me lie down on the surgical bed. The anesthesiologist came in and put the IV into my right wrist. It hurt a little but he assured me that was the only pinch I would feel. It was a surreal moment.. I couldn't believe I was there. It felt like I was in some sci-fi movie, lying there to be opened up, with that music playing in the background... The anesthesiologist chatted with me as he did his thing, and I passed out in less than a couple of minutes..
WAKING UP..
I woke up in a medical chair, clothed and shivering. Rachel was the first person I saw. She s such an angel!! I felt fine - no pain - just very very cold. I couldn't stop shivering. Then my boyfriend came in to keep me company. I had no pain or hunger, but was woozy. The chill passed after about 30 mins, but I was definitely still under the effect of the anesthesia so I was in and out of it. The doctor came to check on me too. I think the first thing I said to him was "I AM ALIVE!". He smiled and said everything went very well, that it was a "textbook case". I was so happy and relieved!!
I rested a little longer then finally left the office around 6pm.
According to my boyfriend, the doctor came out to tell him that the surgery was finished at around 4:30, which is 3 hours after I went into the surgery room. It was longer than I expected. But I guess they needed to wait for me to fully go into sleep, there were lipos on the inner and outer thighs, they repainted me after the lipos when I was still sleeping, then the BA, etc. Overall a big endeavor.
GOING HOME
I was very exhausted after the surgery, and passed out in bed for about 3 hours after getting back. I woke up around 9:30pm to boyfriend's super delicious split pea soup. We chatted for a little, and I was so tempted to see the new boobies!
So I took off my shirt but didn't dare to take off the surgical bra. There was one thin bandage looking tape over the incision on each side. The boobs felt very hard and cone like.
As far as pain medication goes, I wanted to take as few of the oxycodone-acetaminophen as possible. This is the pain killer that the doctor prescribed to me. It's stronger but can cause constipation and nausea. I took one at 6pm, then the anti-nausea medicine and 2 extra strength Tylenol after I woke up around 9:30pm right before eating dinner. But I threw up before 10pm.. I think the anesthesia also makes me nauseous and I was still under its effect. So I took another anti-nausea medicine and waited for it to settle before eating again.
THE NIGHT POST-OP
I went to bed around 1am. I was not able to lie down myself so the boyfriend layed me down slowly. It was a sore, pressuring kind of pain.
At 3am, I woke up for water and to use the bath room, and took another oxycodone-acetaminophen, as well as 2 extra strength Tylenols. 6:30am, woke up again for water and bathroom, and took another oxycodone-acetaminophen.
Overall, the pain was not overwhelming and I regained energy pretty soon. More to come on the next few recovery days!!