44 Yrs Old, 36DDD, 5'4", 145lbs - Optimistic!

Hi! I'm a week post-op and feeling good so far. I'll retroactively describe my surgery experience in other posts. Below are lists of "wish I'd knowns," what I got to prep for surgery, etc. I've attached two before pictures.

I chose BR for the same reason so many on here have described: Neck and shoulder pain, inability to do high impact exercise comfortably, inability to buy a bra that hadn't been engineered by NASA (and cost as much). I was also tired of being defined by my large breasts. They've been a defining feature since high school, when I hit a D. Then I hit a DD after the kids, and have been a DDD/F for a few years. I think because I gained about 20 pounds in a year - but then I lost 15 of those pounds and the boobs stayed! So maybe the further growth was due to hormones, or maybe when you gain weight there it just won't come off. (After I lost 15 lbs 2 years ago, I promptly gained the weight back. My PS told me to lose as much weight as I could before surgery so my new books wouldn't sag after losing more weight. I took 14lbs off since January and got to my current 148. Goal is to lose 8 more - the surgery has hopefully taken a few lbs off!)

Some things about my situation, in case it helps you identify:
--I work a desk job and can do my entire job from home - it's a lot of conference calls, emails and creating docs on the computer. This is good - I don't have to take a lot of time off to recuperate. My boss was fine with me working from home for 2-3 weeks. I didn't work the two days after surgery. Did some meetings on Friday after surgery and was ok, but wish I'd taken that day off. Was very tired.
--I have a great, supportive husband.
--Two kids, a tween and a teen. They had school off this week. My tween stayed at Grandma's and my teen went on a trip with friends. It was kind of nice to have the house to ourselves the first few days after surgery.
--We have a dog, a sweetheart golden retriever who is super affectionate. I feel bad, but I really avoided her to the first few days - she jumps up, likes a lot of attention (we spoil her, admittedly), and I was nervous around her. We put her in the kitchen if my husband wasn't at home, so she wouldn't jump on me. She was confused by my lack of affection for those days. In retrospect, I might have sent her to "dog camp" for a couple of days so she could have fun, and so I wouldn't have been nervous.

Here's what I got before my surgery, which I have found helpful:
--Wedge pillow. We don't have a recliner so the wedge has been super helpful! Luckily I don't mind sleeping on my back, so sleeping hasn't been a problem so far. (Other posters have mentioned it's hard not to sleep on their side/stomach.)
--Pre-ordered compression bras my PS recommended. Contemporary Designs Super Silky Compression bra. So far they are good!
--Bought a comfy button-up shirt. Like most of you with big boobs, I have NO button-up shirts. I bought one before the surgery and wish I had gotten at least two more! At this point, I'm able to put on loose t-shirts with my husband's help so haven't bought more button-ups, but they would have been nice.
--Got Colace stool softener. I haven't had a significant constipation problem (just slight) from the Percocet, but maybe it's because I took 1-2 of these a day the week after surgery.
--Gauze pads - good for lining bra to reduce irritation.

What I wish I got:
--More button-up shirts.
--One of those extender things you can use to grab stuff off the floor, or from a shelf.
--Frozen peas for icing

What I wish I knew:
You're not supposed to take aspirin or ibuprofen the week before surgery. And depending on who you talk to, you're not supposed to drink alcohol anywhere from 1 week to 48 hours before surgery. You're also not supposed to take any herbal supplements. I don't take those, so that wasn't a big deal, but I did drink a few glasses of wine the Friday night before my Tuesday surgery. (Didn't drink anything after that.) And I just happened not to take ibuprofen that week. My PS's office didn't tell me any of this before the surgery; a friend mentioned that she'd been told not to drink alcohol or take those medications 10 days before (a different kind) of surgery. I called my PS office the day before the surgery to make sure it was okay that I'd drank wine on Friday night and they said it was fine, not to worry, but wish they'd told me these guidelines before.

Hi! Here's what happened the day of my surgery:

Surprisingly, was able to sleep the night before (exhausted from trying to get a bunch of work done before taking a few days off). Dressed super comfy, and in my one button-up. Arrived at outpatient surgery wing of hospital at 6am, was prepped, marked up by PS, talked to anesthesiology nurse, and taken into surgery at 8:30am. Was nervous but just kept trying to put it out of my mind. Talked a lot to stop thinking! :-) Everyone was very professional; felt like I was in good hands.
In OR, was awake one minute and out the next! No nausea from anesthesia.
Woke up in Recovery Stage 1, where I stayed for 3 hours. Nurses there were very nice. Woke up with some pain (5/10) but had some apple sauce and was able to take a Percocet and it went to 1 or 2 quickly. My PS didn't visit me. She is nice and professional, but I was a little disappointed about the non-visit after the surgery. Maybe non-visits are normal?
Was in Recovery Stage 2 for another 3 hours (delayed due to dressing/bra change due to a little bleeding). Everyone was nice.
The ride home - ugh!!! Make sure you've taken pain meds before that. Ended up not being painful exactly, but stressful. I was freaked out about the idea of my newly sewn boobs moving around. There are so many potholes in NYC! My poor husband did his best, but it felt like a very bumpy ride home.
Fine sleeping at night, thank goodness. Think the Percocet helped with that. And that I'm normally a back sleeper anyway.

Hi! Here's what happened each day. I've attached some pics, one when I was 3 days post-op and one when I was 6 days post-op (Monday).

Wednesday 4/12: Tired, sore, uncomfortable but no real pain. Took Percocet. Dear hubby did EVERYTHING. So great; I was really able to take it easy.

Thursday: Shower! Felt good to shower but weird seeing lumpy swollen boobs. But nice how small they are! Belly is bloated, no #2 yet, and left boob is very swollen. My husband stayed home with me again today - it was really nice having him around. Having a caretaker these first 2 days post-op is great.

Friday 4/14: Worked most of day (conference calls). Did #2 for first time since surgery but still really bloated. Both boobs swollen, left more so. Didn't take Percocet during day, just one at night.

Saturday: Had lunch at restaurant a few blocks away. Felt lightheaded walking but ok. Was glad my husband was there to grab onto. Didn't take any Percocet. Took another shower in evening. Pain in the underboob stitches after shower, so took a Percocet. Saturday night was most uncomfortable I've been since Tuesday.

Sunday: Went for short walk in park with my husband and out to dinner. It was nice. But every time anyone came near me, I held my arms in protective way over the boobs :-).

Monday 4/17: 1st Post-op appt - things looking good according to PS. 700 grams taken from left breast, 550 grams taken from right. She and her assistant removed the Steri-strips - ouch! And they trimmed off a few stitches trimmed. Ugh. A bit of pain, but not horrible. Car ride was stressful because of my own fear, but was fine. Took a percocet before appt, but doing Tylenol for rest of day.

Tuesday 4/18:
Took only Tylenol. Worked all day. Feeling swollen but ok. Still big bloated belly - ugh! Hope it goes down soon.