DDD to a C (I hope!) - Saint Louis, MO

My BR surgery is in just one week, so I thought that I should get on here and see about chronicling it. I'm still trying to get my head around the fact that it is happening, and until a couple of days ago I was still unsure about having it done. What changed my mind was a five day stretch where I didn't go to yoga class. Vinyasa yoga has done such a good job at reducing my pain that I forgot how awful it can be without it. Needless to say, the pain that I am currently in (am unable to support my own head as I'm writing this) is a good reminder of why I'm having this surgery done.

My biggest concerns are post-surgical pain and the healing process, taking care of myself, and going back to school shortly after surgery. I'm sure that all of you ladies can relate to the worries over the unknowns of how your breasts are going to look after the surgery and how well you will deal with the pain. My concern over that has started to subside, but now I'm more concerned over having my sister leave only three days after my surgery and the fact that I have to return to classes only 11 days after the procedure has been done. After reading about how many of you have been in significant pain for weeks after has me a little concerned. I am a graduate student and am taking a couple of classes and will be starting as a teaching assistant in my first class on the 29th. I have a feeling that I may have to come into campus only for those classes and then head home. Hopefully I'll be able to do that well enough.

I'd really appreciate any advice or comments on these concerns if you all have them!

Also, I'll be uploading better pictures before the surgery.

Here's an image of the current state of my breasts. There's some definite stinging at the bottom of my breasts where all of the incisions come together, but only when I'm walking and trying to reach down to wipe after urinating. Doc said that the drainage tubes will be coming out in the morning before I go home. I'm so glad. The worst moment that I have had so far was the first time that I got out of bed to go to the bathroom. I made it there okay, but my nausea worsened as I sat on the toilet and by the time I got out of the bathroom I was shaking and hot and covered in sweat. I nearly vomited, but thankfully the urge wore off as I sat on the edge of my bed for a couple of minutes. Since then I have been up twice more, and it gets easier each time and no urge to vomit anymore.

As for my breasts, I am wondering what size I will end up with. I'm thinking that I'll have a C of some sort. I really really really hope so. They're definitely swollen, so only time will tell. :)

Hey all!

Today has been a bit tougher than the last two days. That may be because I'm finally at home and everything is hitting me. I have been sleeping SO MUCH. I think that it's the pain meds mostly. I made the mistake of eating some rich, cheap Chinese food, and ended up throwing it back up. :/ Thankfully the force of it didn't hurt my incisions. I've definitely learned my lesson on eating lighter foods for the next few days.

I have just settled back down onto my couch after taking my first shower and getting to fully see my boobs for the first time out of the surgical bra. They are really swollen, and I have a bit of aching pain on my right one where the drain came out yesterday. My sis says that it looks more swollen there than on the other side. The shower wasn't very difficult. We used dial soap to wash my hair and other parts of my body and then a fresh wash cloth and soap to pat down the surgical area and clean it as best we could. There's no way that the blood is going to come off anytime soon. My sis is awesome. She not only helped me bathe, but helped wrap my breasts back up in their gauze and a fresh bra and got me into my new nightgown. <3 Now to sleep some more.