Post op questions

kaidenhendricks89 · June 28, 2015, 10:49:44 AM

Hey guys, so I had my top surgery done 12 days ago and I am curious about a few things... first, how long were you told to wear your compression vest? My surgeon told me six weeks...
Second, did any of you switch out your vest to an under Armour compression t shirt? ... I'm just sick of this vest irritating my arm pits!
lastly, When healing did anyone else experience random sharp pains? My guess is that is just the nerves healing and whatnot.

Thanks

AeroZeppelin92 · June 28, 2015, 11:29:12 AM

Hey man, can't answer for the vest questions as I'm only 5 days postop and haven't had my first appointment yet.

But the random pains, yea I get them. Especially where my nipples are now located. They don't feel like my nipples yet, if I touch that area over my vest I can't feel it. But I randomly will feel a sharp twinge right there every so often.

Tossu-sama · June 28, 2015, 11:39:21 AM

Might be a bit crummy answers but anywho, I'd wear the compression vest as long as the surgeon has recommended. That way you're far more likely to get the best result. I can understand the frustration, though. I was aching to not wear anything excess under my t-shirt.

I don't remember the time in my own case, it was almost two years ago.

About random pains, I had them and still do sometimes.

Alexthecat · June 28, 2015, 12:47:56 PM

Stick a piece of cloth like a wash cloth in your armpits so there is a barrier between skin and vest.

kaidenhendricks89 · June 28, 2015, 12:55:00 PM

Good to know I'm not the only one getting these weird sharp pains ... I will wear the vest for as long as I've been told ... I have cloth in between the vest and my armpits and is not helping much at all ... I have quite a bit of hyper sensitivity to my skin right now so that's part of the problem too ... just gonna have to suck it up

RaptorChops · June 28, 2015, 02:50:22 PM

I am almost 2 weeks post op and I can definitely tell you I am having the sharp pains. Sometimes it's dull and achey and other times it feels like someone whacked me with something. When I asked the doctor about the pains she said it's the skin and the nerves basically reconnecting. So feeling these pains is a good thing.

She also told me I only needed the vest for about 2-3 weeks and then to switch to a Spanx tank or t-shirt. I'll have to try the wash cloth idea and tuck it into my vest because it created large marks under my arm pits. It's extremely irritating :p

kaidenhendricks89 · June 30, 2015, 10:19:14 AM

Quote from: RaptorChops on June 28, 2015, 02:50:22 PM
I am almost 2 weeks post op and I can definitely tell you I am having the sharp pains. Sometimes it's dull and achey and other times it feels like someone whacked me with something. When I asked the doctor about the pains she said it's the skin and the nerves basically reconnecting. So feeling these pains is a good thing.

She also told me I only needed the vest for about 2-3 weeks and then to switch to a Spanx tank or t-shirt. I'll have to try the wash cloth idea and tuck it into my vest because it created large marks under my arm pits. It's extremely irritating [emoji14]

I feel ya on on irritated armpits man ... tried padding but I still have some nice marks even some blisters showed up ... which is apparently a thing for my recovery as I got blisters on my sides from the vest pushing the drain tubes into my skin, thankfully the drains are now out! ... I think I'm going to have to switch to like an under Armour t-shirt in the next week or as soon as I can manouver into a tight shirt

Bimmer Guy · July 01, 2015, 08:24:28 PM

Quote from: kaidenhendricks89 on June 30, 2015, 10:19:14 AM
I feel ya on on irritated armpits man ... tried padding but I still have some nice marks even some blisters showed up ... which is apparently a thing for my recovery as I got blisters on my sides from the vest pushing the drain tubes into my skin, thankfully the drains are now out! ... I think I'm going to have to switch to like an under Armour t-shirt in the next week or as soon as I can manouver into a tight shirt

Hey, Kaiden.

I would strongly suggest you ask your surgeon if you can wear an UA shirt instead of the vest. He may not be ok with that.

FTMax · July 02, 2015, 04:46:44 PM

After my drains were removed I wore a t-shirt between skin and vest, because the vest was causing me to break out. I stopped wearing mine after two weeks (after confirming with surgeon that it was okay to stop if it was causing me more pain) and switched to compression shirts.

I'd check with your surgeon's office before you do anything. I sent one of the nurses at mine pictures of various things throughout the first three weeks and she gave great advice on how to handle each thing that came up.

RaptorChops · July 06, 2015, 11:08:18 AM

I started to wear a cotton tank top under my vest just to keep it from making me feel itchy. I think maybe after the surgery there was a little swelling under the armpit and maybe that's what caused the vest to cut in under my arms. I'm 20 days post op now and the vest doesn't feel like it's cutting into me anymore.

I am still swollen on my left side so I am keeping the vest on until it goes down some more. Some of the medical tape from the surgery is still on there.

Out of curiosity does anyone know when you can start showering again with your chest facing the water? I still feel gross only washing my chest with a rag.

FTMax · July 06, 2015, 03:06:51 PM

Quote from: RaptorChops on July 06, 2015, 11:08:18 AM
Out of curiosity does anyone know when you can start showering again with your chest facing the water? I still feel gross only washing my chest with a rag.

Once your drains are out you can stand facing away from the water and let it run down your chest from behind. I don't think there is a set timeline for that, just turn around when you feel comfortable. I waited until my nips were totally healed.

kaidenhendricks89 · July 06, 2015, 06:33:06 PM

I was told I was not allowed to shower until my drains were out, they came out at just shy of two weeks post op (I'll be three weeks post op tomorrow) and I've been showering normally since they came out

Thanks for your advice on the vest ... I'm just dealing with it at this point, tried a compression shirt but I couldn't tell if it was the same amount of pressure or not so I didn't go that route. My vest still cuts in a little but my skin is just more irritated than anything and has broken out like crazy! I think I'll try wearing a thin shirt underneath to help my skin

RaptorChops · July 06, 2015, 07:46:53 PM

Quote from: ftmax on July 06, 2015, 03:06:51 PM
Once your drains are out you can stand facing away from the water and let it run down your chest from behind. I don't think there is a set timeline for that, just turn around when you feel comfortable. I waited until my nips were totally healed.

Yeah I figured I'd wait until the medical tape fell off on my incisions, and until my nips heal a bit more. Just feel so gross ugh :p

FTMax · July 07, 2015, 10:21:29 AM

Quote from: RaptorChops on July 06, 2015, 07:46:53 PM
Yeah I figured I'd wait until the medical tape fell off on my incisions, and until my nips heal a bit more. Just feel so gross ugh :p

Fischer must have upgraded her tape since my surgery

My tape came off the day after my drains were removed. But I sweat like nobody's business so that might have had something to do with it.

RaptorChops · July 08, 2015, 09:42:28 PM

Yeah most of it has come off but I still have some that's still near the middle of my chest. I started using the Scar Guard strips on the areas that have no tape. Guess I'll see how that goes.

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Post op questions