Reclaiming What Was Always Mine Pt.1 Breast reduction & bilateral Brachioplasty; a warts and all review

Moving on in to the back half of the recovery from BR/bilateral Brachioplasty, the final weeks I had off work were more or less uneventful. The only swelling I observed in my arms or hands was after particularly long walks. This actually lasted to some degree for about 6 months. If I wore the compression gloves/arm sleeves it prevented the issue altogether.
I was actively driving and working on my range-of-motion for my arms by gently stretching as directed by my Dr., he had shown me simple arm stretches that helped loosen the feeling of tightness and stricture that I had in my upper arms. The first time I did a proper fist-thing-in-the-morning stretch while lying in bed both my shoulders popped simultaneously, it felt sooo good.
I did notice around week 4 that the muscle mass and tone in my arms seemed to have decreased. I had not expected that to be so immediate, but it's definitely going to happen esp if you have done any weight or strength training to slim/define your arms. Happily arms are one of the fastest body parts to respond to exercise so I wasn't too bothered by this.
I attended the Game of Thrones concert in Chicago, IL during this period. (I live about a 4 hour drive away). It. Was. Awesome! I mention this because I seriously vacillated about going in the first place, wondering if the drive and concert would be too much, too tiring etc. Let me tell you, if there is something you really want to do/attend during your recovery and you're reasonably certain you won't suffer any ill effects for having done so: go. A big part of healing is being good to yourself and a little honest self indulgence is healthy.
During this period I also noticed a fleeting feeling of small electrical "zings" in my arms. Apparently as nerves are growing back in to the remodeled tissue they fire randomly. It wasn't painful, just weird. Loss of sensation can be an aftereffect of brachioplasty, so I was happy to know that I was regaining normal function and feeling.
My breasts had definitely shrunk a small amount from their inital PO appearance, but not as much as I would have expected. I noticed they did swell with my menstural cycle. They probably had before but I was working with so my mass I guess it didn't really register then. My incision lines on my breasts were healing nicely. I was instructed to preform lymphatic massage2x per day as well as massaging the incisions themselves to help break down the sutures and give a better looking incision scar. I ended up using a handheld facial cleanser vibrating device from Neutrogena (without the cleansing head attached) to massage the scars. It was gentle and felt good against the residual soreness. The attachment point is just a smooth flat plastic disk, so it's ideal for small scars and gentle massage.

I had noticed very early on that my nipples were MUCH more sensitive than they had ever been before.
I believe this is due in part to the procedure used in my BR : I had anchor incisions with a central pedicle leaving the nipples attached. The incision line actually extended further back in to my armpit/axillary area than I would have anticipated. Over time the scars have faded to nearly invisible on my breasts, they look totally natural and in proportion.
Because my nipples stayed attached to their original tissue base (and this pedicle was the bulk of my new breasts) I believe the sensitivity was not just maintained, but actually enhanced. I'm speculating that because my breasts were so oversized they weren't very sensitive-too much surface area and tissue competing for a finite number of nerve endings. I actually had erect nipples for about 5 months straight. I tended to forget about that...random men, not so much. The nips didn't hurt, it was just like "calm down girls, we didn't just meet Kit Harington". I guess the upshot is perhaps invest in padded bras if this would be embarrassing for you.

I had another upper respiratory infection about a week before I was due back at work, probably due to combo of stress and anticipation of my return and the allergy season coming in to full swing.
I returned to work starting what was supposed to be 1/2 days for 2 weeks (it was 1). I had some lifting restrictions, IIRC I was told to not pick up over 50# until fully released at the 90 day mark. I wore CG at work, arm, not hand and had minor swelling for about a month at the end of each workday. I really didn't feel tired, and my flexibility hadn't been comprised, so my return was physically uneventful.

I had my 1st PO visit 2 days after my surgery.My operation had been outpaitent in a surgical center operated by Springfield Clinic. I got my first look at my new arms and boobs. At first I was taken aback at the drastic difference in size of my breasts-I had been a 30K prior to the reduction. They seemed so small, and I learned that I had 3.5# removed from my breasts, and 3-4 # from my arms. Even so, I quickly decided "I can work with this".
I will echo what others have said about not weighing yourself PO, you'll most likely be retaining enough fluid that the number will be a disappointment. I had actually gained a couple of pounds, and the fluid I was retaining had filled out the excess skin I had around my lower belly and hips :(. I looked like I had at my highest weight, in fact.
I was definitely pleased with the immediate results for my arms, however. They looked amazing, and even though I had to foot the bill for that part of the surgery, my decision was completely affirmed.
I had 4 drains located appx in the middle of and just below where a normal bra band would be located. I was told that I could take a shower the following day (4 days PO) thank god.
Showering with limited movement in my arms was an Adventure. I had help-much needed and appreciated-and 2 pieces of essential equipment: a shower stool and an acrylic bead lanyard for my drains to hang from. The whole process from disrobing to exiting the bathroom took almost 3 hours. There's definitely a learning curve to washing yourself and not tearing stitches in the arms. I did tear a stitch turning on my bedside light night 1, so I learned my lesson about reaching for things early. I had some bandaging materials-which quickly proved to be not nearly enough in quantity- and at first was using tape/gauze/pads. I had an issue with the tape tearing my skin in the following days, not certain if this was due to an allergy or if my skin had simply stretched with PO swelling and tore b/c of that. Those open sores did end up with mild scaring, but we had no idea this would be an issue heading in to the process...
I quickly adopted using menstrual pads from the dollar store as my main padding in my bandages for my breasts especially. In order to hold the dressings on my arms and protect the bandage tubes i had purchased a couple of arm shapewear garments: SlimMe Reach Arm Slimming Sleeve Shaper - Shapewear; labeled "MeiMoi" from Amazon. They worked really well but did not provide a great deal of compression. The major advantage was that they could be worn under almost anything and didn't make me hot, nor did they interfere with the drains or incisions from the BR.
I was also advised to get front zip bras-I was able to go clearance shopping at the local Meijer, and scored some decent quality sports bras on clearance for 3-6$ each. I got 6 bras for less than 25 bucks-so if you're ambulatory it pays to shop around a bit especially since this was clearance season for exercise gear :).
I developed bronchitis the following week. I woke up in the middle of the night, covered in sweat, feeling smothered and attempting to yank the surgical drains out of the right side of my chest. I'm thankful the tubing was tough enough to not break off b/c holy crap that was awful enough. A short course of antibiotics fixed me right up, and I got the added bonus of seeing my PCP giggle when I compared my JP drains to having testicles :P.

I got my drains removed PO day 9, and was cleared to start light walking exercise "Until you're tired". (we will circle back to this later) Bear in mind: "until you're tired" is NOT a number. (Little WolfHart needs a number) Happy circumstances: my BFF had her own surgery the day after mine on her hand and was also off work, so we arranged to meet for daily walks at the local mall until she would be returning to work. We generally walked no less than 4 miles, and usually hit 5-6 at an easy pace of 3-3.4 MPH. I felt no strain and the only issue I saw was mild swelling in my hands toward the end of our walks.

I was due for a period appx 22 days PO, but it ended up being delayed by about 10 days. I'm not certain if that was a contributing factor, but I had horrendous swelling in my hands/arms at about the 21 day mark. I ended up getting Rx compression garments for my hands/arms which helped immensely, and I wish I had them from the beginning. I'm very certain that just the BR or just the Brachioplasty alone wouldn't have disrupted my circulation so much that this level of swelling would have taken place (balloon animal hands people) but both simultaneously was more than my poor battered circulatory system could handle. You definitely want to get something like that under control-it may lead to chronic lymphedema and having that issue in your hands could be disastrous.

I had never stopped walking and had generally hit 3-5 miles per day either outdoors or on my treadmill. At my 3 week PO appointment my Mom (generally in attendance and designated helper) out Mom'ed herself by ratting me out on the distance I had walked the previous weekend with my BFF: 8 miles.
Dr. Sinha was Not Amused. Actually his eyes about popped out and he yelped 'NoNONoNoNoNo!".
I had to point out that my instructions were : "until you're tired", and that is not a number. (WolfHart REALLYREALLY needs a number) Ironically, I had not felt tired while walking. I work a physical job, and had been working out regularly prior to my surgery, and I am a touch ADHD. I was chastened, and given more specific guidelines as to activity going forward. As a side note I got a sunburn on that 8 mile walk. In February. While wearing SPF30. In central Illinois -_-. #palegirlproblems

Some background about me~ I'm a survivor of molestation as a very young child. I developed disordered eating patterns as a young teenager, and subsequently struggled with my weight for the majority of my adult life. I had stabilized my weight and fitness until becoming involved in an abusive relationship 10 years ago. During the course of that relationship I became very depressed and gained over 100 pounds. I hit rock bottom in early 2012 & decided to dedicate myself to my own health and wellbeing, and that the "end" of my journey would be reclaiming the body that I should have always had, and that I would only achieve with the help of a gifted plastic surgeon. * I knew going in to the first surgery that I would also want my lower body issues-namely excess skin, & diastasis recti addressed in the future. My Dr. would not preform all of these procedures simultaneously, and frankly unless you plan on getting out of bed and wiping your bottom with your eyelid muscles I heartily agree.

I decided years ago that I would get breast reduction surgery as soon as I had insurance that would cover it & I could afford to take the time off work. I was referred to Dr. Raj Sinha by my PCP, as he is a member of the same Springfield Clinic network.

During my initial assessment I realized I had exceptional good fortune to be matched up with this Dr. He explained exactly what the criteria for Insurance coverage of the BR procedure is, and quickly confirmed that I was a candidate for insurance covered BR. I also spoke about the possibility of combining a bilateral Brachioplasty (which I would pay for out of pocket, sharing OR/anesthesiologist costs with my insurance. This saved me about 3,000).

Dr. Sinha told me he did not recommend any liposuction as my anatomy didn't lend it'self to that aggressive of procedures.

I made the appointment about 1 month out from surgery, and tried to not bounce off the walls with anticipation. The only pre surgery prep I wish I had made were 1) more bandaging materials 2) asking for compression garments for my arms/hands, I had pretty bad swelling with my first period post surgery. my poor hands looked like balloons.:(



The day before surgery I did not hear from the outpatient surgery center until 445 pm, I was pretty annoyed that I only definitively found out when I was supposed to be at the clinic about 12.5 hours before hand. They could have done better, IMO.

My presurgery was pretty uneventful, though I did have to get my IV in my foot. That was pretty terrible, no lie. I informed the staff of my phobia of restraint, and they were very understanding.

I was rolled back in to the OR at 7AM and the next thing I remember it was about 2PM, and I needed to trudge over to the toilet.

My throat was pretty raw that night-I would suggest soup or any kind of liquid for initial food post surgery. I was actually choking a bit, and it wasn't pleasant.