?s for all who had chest surgery or know enough abaout it

[jaded]

hi everyone as some of you know i had my chest surgery  done last friday:)and  i was wondering 1)how long after surgery should or did you wait b4 wearing a t shirt?(i already did)2)how long b4 lifting your arms?i can take pain preety well so i dont know where to draw the line.i dont want to strech my scars  and i need to figure out what i can or cannot do.....for exaple driving  i know is out of the picture for a few weeks.um anyhoo any little tips or advice would be awesome
thanx all
jaded

[Dennis]

Listen to your body. Don't lift your arms if it feels tight. I think it was three or four weeks before I did (except occasionally when you just need to). I think I waited the same amount of time before wearing a t-shirt. And definitely longer before lifting weights.

Dennis

[mikke]

I guess I'm weird in that my scars haven't felt all that tight. I'm almost 3 weeks post op now (monday) and I started wearing t-shirts about a week or so ago, maybe a little longer. I started driving as soon as I was off rx painkillers so...about the same time I started wearing t-shirts. I just moved my seat a little closer to the wheel than I usually have it so I didn't have to reach as far when turning. I can lift my arms ok, I just don't do it for any extended amounts of time. Sometimes you just have to- like reaching things off a shelf and stuff. I still haven't taken to sleeping on my stomach yet though...that just feels too weird.