5'4", 120 Lbs, Pre Op 32/34 A; 500cc Saline Under Muscle - San Antonio, TX

I forgot to add these two pics to my last post. Taken one week post op. Got my sutures out the next day.

The first day after surgery (Wednesday), Dr Lawton removed the bandages. I couldn't even get up onto the exam table by myself because you can't use your hands at all to lift yourself after surgery. They're completely useless. Initially it felt so good to relieve that pressure when the bandages came off. Then I realized I still felt a ton of pressure. He said, "they look great." It was a really quick appointment. I was really mobile, but not my arms. It was better than the day of surgery though. On the day of surgery I couldn't even pull my sweat pants down or up to go to the bathroom. At least I could a day later. My husband had to help me get my zip up hoodies on and off but I was able to zip them up....slowly. I remember looking at my breasts really quickly at that appointment and thinking they looked hideous, lol. But I honestly didn't check them out until I got home. The pictures in this post were taken as soon as I got home. I didn't even take my hoodies off because it was too unforgettable to get them on and off. It was like having boobs attached to my clavicles because they were so high. Not only do they look high when you see them, but they feel high. I know everyone's post ops look and feel different, but this is how I felt. I also noticed the day of surgery that my stomach wasn't as flat as usual and it was the same the day after. Maybe fluid retention because it wasn't sore.
So as you can see from the pics, they looked "crazy". I wasn't worried or freaked out though because I had total trust in Dr Lawton. Although when he said, "they look great", I thought he was out of his mind, lol. They were ugly.
That day was pretty much the same as day one, but I was a little more mobile and could move my arms more. I had bought a bean bag type reclining pillow in advance because I didn't want to deal with trying to keep my pillow propped and you're not allowed to lay flat. That was a good purchase. It has arms on it, but they don't make much difference. It was most comfortable to lay against that bean bag thing with a small square throw pillow under each arm for support. That was actually the most comfortable position for a long time. I still do that sometimes. I got to shower that day. I made sure to shower everyday because I wanted to keep my incisions clean. There was NO way I could wash my hair, so my husband had to do it. He actually had to wash my hair for the first 5 or 6 days. Dr Lawton's recovery includes no bra for the first 4 weeks. Every doctor is different. I wore my zip up hoodies a lot. It wasn't too long before I could move my arms enough to get tank tops on, but I always got stuck trying to get them off and needed my husband's help. I wore tank tops under everything. But beware that your tank tops can't ride high enough that they reach your armpits because it does not feel good when anything rubs your incisions. Tank tops with adjustable straps are best. I was most comfortable in tank tops and hoodies. My areolas and nipples were super swollen and looked like domes sticking through everything, so wearing several layers was a good thing. It was cold outside so it worked out that I needed layers.
On the fourth day after surgery my daughter had a dance convention in Houston. It's about a 3 hour drive. The drive was fine, and thankfully the schedule worked out that she had no dances on that first night, so we got to the room and I just did my usual laying around, lol. So day 5 post op was a big challenge and I hope Dr Lawton doesn't read this because he'd be pretty disappointed that I didn't follow his instructions to do nothing for a week. However, I did not break the no lifting over 2 lbs rule. My daughter had three dance numbers throughout that day. That meant multiple costume, hair and makeup changes. My husband is obviously not allowed in the dressing room, but the other moms were a huge help. One in particular knew about my surgery, but I didn't tell any others. They just knew I wasn't feeling well. So that other mom and my daughter carried everything for me into the dressing room (which is a lot of stuff). My daughter usually needs a lot of help getting her costumes on, but she did her best to get them on that day. I helped as much as I could, and the other mom helped when she needed to. I did her hair, but it did not feel good at all. It was definitely a challenge. I made sure if anything started to feel like "pain" though I didn't do it. Make up was pretty easy. I will tell you though, after each change, I was exhausted and really sore. It was a long day and I used my pain meds right on schedule because I needed them. Day 6 was the last day of the convention (Sunday) and the girls had classes but no competitions. There's a lot of shuttling your kids from class to class, bringing them lunch, etc. My husband was taking care of our crazy 3 year old, but helping me as much as he could. We drove home that evening and I was so glad to be home. That weekend wore me out. Day 7 (Monday), my husband took my 7 year old to school, the 3 year old to daycare and I was home alone all day and it was awesome. I just wanted to rest and do nothing. My 7 year old had dance class that afternoon, so I decided I'd pick her up from school as usual and take her to dance. That was a big mistake. Just driving to her school was really difficult and hurt. I had another mom take her to dance and I went home. My husband picked her up from dance after work and took total care of both kids the whole rest of the evening, showered them and put them to bed. I seriously needed that. I am not a whimp when it comes to pain, but it was just hard to do anything (open the refrigerator, car door, etc.). Dr Lawton said no pushing, pulling, lifting, etc., honestly he wouldn't have had to tell me not to, because I didn't want to anyway. It hurt. I was able to have a husband who was willing and able to to everything I needed. Oh yeah! And for the first week or maybe even more, he kept complete track of all my meds and the schedule. He started at first because I was so out of it, I couldn't anyway. I was taking so many things (vitamins, antibiotics, herbal supplements, pain meds, stool softener). You're not taking them all at the same time and you're taking 3 of this one, 2 of that one, etc. It was way too much to keep track of when your mind isn't 100%. He even set his alarm every night to keep me on schedule. One, because he didn't want me to wake up in pain or be uncomfortable, also because it was such an ordeal for me to get in and out of bed or get to my nightstand that he would wake up anyway and have to help me. I'm telling you, you cannot use your arms to lift yourself. And the ability to reach or extend your arms far comes back gradually.

As a word of advice, I was taking colace with the Norco as a stool softener because it often causes constipation. I wasn't eating much because I really didn't have much of an appetite for a long time. I knew it would be best to eat fiber rich foods but since I couldn't eat a lot, I put fiber in my protein shakes at day 6. I don't know why I didn't think of that sooner. I didn't have a BM for almost a week. Sorry if that's TMI, but this is supposed to be helpful info, not just my personal story. I finally took some dulcolax before I went to bed and the next day I drank mucilex mixed with prune juice. That actually didn't taste that bad. By the end of the day I was finally relieved, lol. So a word to the wise; Figure out what works for you sooner than later.

Please ask questions if there are things I haven't covered. As I said, I'm writing this 3 1/2 weeks after surgery and some things aren't fresh in my mind.

I included some pre op pics with this post because I never did a pre op post. I had surgery on February 17th. I actually wrote an entire description of that day earlier. Then I have no idea what happened, but I lost the whole thing. So I'll just tell you in a quick synopsis, that surgery was quick, easy and uneventful from a patient perspective. Best experience with anesthesia ever. Thanks to Dr Melish....the best anesthesiologist ever. No waiting in the waiting room. Just took me right back to a little pre op room, got me into a gown, started my IV and then I hung out for a while. It was probably about 45 minutes actually before Dr Lawton came in to make the marks on my skin. Waited a while longer before they came back and pushed a sedative into my IV and took me right into the OR. They got right down to business getting me ready. Dr Melish came up from behind my head and asked me how I was doing. Then he said I wouldn't remember anything after that. I was still talking and looking at some random picture on the wall in front of me. Then we were talking about TV shows (The Walking Dead and the Americans). Dr Melish asked me if I felt any pain and I remember looking at him with a confused look. Why would I be in pain? Then I looked at my chest, saw the bandages and thought , "Holy Crap! It's over!" No nausea at all. Best surgery experience ever. Two times in the past I woke up with terrible nausea and vomiting. Julie, the nurse, got me dressed, took me out to the waiting room where was husband was waiting. He and another nurse wheeled me down to our car and that was it. I was definitely not comfortable, but super groggy and a bit out of it. Took my meds when I got home as directed. I made sure I didn't take them on an empty stomach so I had to force myself to eat some crackers. I could barely move my hand to my mouth. I definitely was not comfortable and at times in pain, but the meds helped A LOT. I couldn't raise my voice at all. It hurt when I tried. So if I needed something when my husband wasn't in the room, I was stuck until he came back. But he hardly left me alone. I did make myself get up once in a while and walk around the house, but didn't make it far before I had to lay back down. I slept off and on, but felt like I was pretty alert a lot of the time. Apparently I wasn't because my husband kept laughing at me because I was asking him the same questions over and over. The most significant thing I remember from that first 24 hours was when I woke up in the middle of the night in a TON of pain. I could barely move my arms but managed to slide my hand over until I felt my husband's arm. I couldn't move my arm to "tap" on him to wake him up so I just dug my fingernails into his arm until he woke up. I asked him what time it was and could I have another Norco for pain yet. When he told me it was 2:30am and I couldn't take another one until 4am, I thought I was going to die. I just laid there in disbelief, but I did doze off and on. My husband had set his alarm for 4am to give me the Norco and I was so happy when 4am came. That was probably the absolute worst of what I felt through the whole recovery. Made it through the rest of the night without any issues. I may be forgetting something because it was almost 4 weeks ago. But if I don't remember it, it probably wasn't that big of a deal.

But just to reiterate, Dr Lawton and his staff were all awesome. The surgery was great.