Phase II: Getting Arms High and Tight - Southlake, TX

Hello ladies. Just a quick note. Work has been insane lately so have lost track of time. I need to update all the latest and greatest and will do my best to do so this weekend. In short, range of motion is getting better, in full swing of scar management, though the scars have stretched a little. No pain; swelling very small to non-existent...depending on how hot it is outside. Pics and more detail soon to come. Hope ya'll are doing well.

As promised, here are some update pics. :) Stretching has been helping. I can lift my arms now so that my elbows are in-line with forehead. Tricep soreness is now gone, but the incisions are still really tight. A ways to go. I think I might be able to start silicone lotion next week. Only a small bit of glue to wear off then onto scar management. Tightest spot is just under the shoulder, on the tricep. Not quite at the shoulder. Surprisingly the elbows sealed up quickly. No longer sensitive there.

Visited my surgeon yesterday to check on everything and get a few stitches removed. Doc said the arms are looking good. The incisions are starting to seal. Nurse said she thinks it might take another week for all the glue to finish coming off.

Asked the doc about stinging I've been feeling at the top of my arm, right at the joint of the armpit. The stinging happens when I stretch too far, like when I put on a t-shirt or reach across my body to grab something. So he laid me back in the chair and moved my arms around a bit looking at the range of motion and the incisions. He said that he wants me to slowly start pushing through the stinging a bit to start to improve the range of motion. The stinging is the skin tightness....not splitting of the incisions (which is what I was thinking was happening).

Right now I can only lift my arms partially up....elbows at about eye level. I can reach the back of my neck only if I dip my head forward. So I'll be starting slow stretches starting today to try and improve that. Also still wearing compression sleeves. I'm starting to get used to them. I showered before my post-op appt yesterday and left the sleeves off while driving to the docs office....thinking why bother, I'll just have to take them off again in 20 mins. They swelled up in as much time! So back on they went, as soon as the doc was done.

My next post-op appt is in 3-weeks. Due to my incisions still not being fully sealed I can't start my silicone lotion/ tape yet. Still have a tiny bit of bruising at my shoulders and along the back of the arms, but the Arnica and the Tart Cherry Juice I've been taking seem to really be helping. I'm thinking in another week all discoloration will be gone. Oh, and since Sunday I've started feeling small, short zings episodically at different points along the incision lines. My nerves are starting to regenerate (yay!). Don't have as much numbness as I thought I might, but there is some.

Well, that's about it for now. So far so good. Will post update pics at week's end.