I Made It!

[AndrewB]

Hey guys! Just wanted to update everyone who sent me well wishes before my surgery, as I'm nicely recovering in the hospital after a cushy overnight stay. Everyone here at Kaiser Permanente (the Sunnybrook Hospital in Clackamas, OR) has taken such good care of me, and I feel like all this has really contributed to how good I'm feeling already.

Pain-wise, I guess it just feels fairly sore, but not above a 4 or 5 as far as a ten-scale would go. My surgeon told my doctor that everything went well, and the surgery took about 3 hours from start to finish, so I guess she was just gentle with my new chest.

I'm really excited to see my new bod, but obviously that won't be for a while, I assume. I'm not quite sure, they haven't entirely gone over post-op timelines yet, but I think I have to keep compression on nonstop for 48 hours (so until about 5-6 PM tomorrow. I'm definitely excited to show everyone, and see what I'll be working with for the next few decades at the least!

Thanks to everyone here who has helped me feel so prepared for this point, and for all the encouragement I received before and the day of my operation. This community is amazing, I seriously couldn't ask for better.

[Laura_7]

Congratulations 

Wish you a speedy recovery 


hugs

[AndrewB]

Congratulations 

Wish you a speedy recovery 


hugs

Thanks Laura! I get to go home pretty soon, I don't feel bad all things considered. Hopefully recovery goes uneventful. 

[Tessa James]

Congratulations Andrew, You did it!  Way big step and we can only expect you are going to heal fast--young people usually do!  We can also look forward to your feeling even better about your presentation.  I used to do anesthesia at the Sunnyside Hospital and am delighted to hear you are being treated well.

You Rock Dude!

[RaptorChops]

YAY ANDREW!! Congrats I'm happy to see you're finally done!

I'm glad to hear that she was very careful with you and took her time. Now get recovering so we can see the nips!

[FTMax]

Congrats bud! If it goes anything like mine, you won't get above a 4/5 in terms of pain. Just some soreness. Get some rest!

[Clever]

Thanks for updating us! Great to hear you're doing to well. Really rooting for your speedy recovery!

[HeyTrace19]

Congrats Andrew!  Your first shirtless run is going to feel amazing!!!

[palexander]

congratulations man!! glad to see all went well and you're on the road to recovery.

@ andrew (or max): how high is your pain tolerance? pre-op anxiety has me concerned about the recovery. i've heard it's not that bad... also, my pain tolerance is on the higher side.

[AndrewB]

Thanks for the encouraging words everyone, they definitely lifted my spirits when I was a little run down yesterday (after I went home). Soreness seems about on-par with yesterday so far, I just had a little trouble sleeping and figured I'd wind myself back down.

congratulations man!! glad to see all went well and you're on the road to recovery.

@ andrew (or max): how high is your pain tolerance? pre-op anxiety has me concerned about the recovery. i've heard it's not that bad... also, my pain tolerance is on the higher side.

My pain tolerance is on the high side of medium, if I had to guess. A lot of it can depend on how your surgeon works, I believe, how they rid your body of the fat and mammary tissue, and how gently they go about doing that. But so far, I haven't been crying for the excessive amount of oxycodone they gave me, and I've taken more stool softeners (2) than pain pills.

Also, a quick question to those of you that have had your surgeries: I'm allowed to remove the ace wrap after 48 hours, so around 6 tonight, and then just reapply it after maybe cleaning up a little, but... there's gauze and loose dressing I think, under the wrap. How do I reapply that, or should I just toss it, should it fall loose? I'm also a little worried that my mom will have trouble reapplying the ace wrap as tight as is needed. Tips? Should I just keep the wrap on until my first post-op on Monday?

[RaptorChops]

When I went back after my surgery (The day after) the nurse opened up my binder and just put on new dressings. I was told  I could take the foam off under the binder the next day. I tossed them and put the binder back on. Keep as much compression on it until you go back to get your drains out.

Good luck on recovery and enjoy the time off. I get to go back to work now :p

[FriendsCallMeChris]

Congrats, Andrew! So glad to hear your recovery is going well. And thanks for report on the hospital, too.  Kaiser Permanente in Oregon is one of my options in October, if I change insurance companies.

[AndrewB]

When I went back after my surgery (The day after) the nurse opened up my binder and just put on new dressings. I was told  I could take the foam off under the binder the next day. I tossed them and put the binder back on. Keep as much compression on it until you go back to get your drains out.

Good luck on recovery and enjoy the time off. I get to go back to work now :p

I guess I should have been more thorough about my setup. I actually have bolster dressings on top of my nipples, which are sewn into the grafts to keep them from moving. I was told I couldn't wear the binder they gave me until next Monday when they take out the dressings, but I'm guessing the thing about not needing the foam and such would be similar, just the bandages. I'm going to call my surgeon's department just in case, though. There's no good spoiling perfect results over stupidity. 

[HeyTrace19]

You might think about keeping that wrap on until your next appointment.  The compression helps to minimize swelling and to keep the dressings in place.  I wore a post surgical compression type vest for 3 weeks post op!  If you do decide to remove it, that loose gauze/dressing is very helpful to cushion the very tender skin underneath, protecting against bumps and bruises, so try to get it arranged back in there before re-wrapping the ACE. 

[palexander]

Thanks for the encouraging words everyone, they definitely lifted my spirits when I was a little run down yesterday (after I went home). Soreness seems about on-par with yesterday so far, I just had a little trouble sleeping and figured I'd wind myself back down.

My pain tolerance is on the high side of medium, if I had to guess. A lot of it can depend on how your surgeon works, I believe, how they rid your body of the fat and mammary tissue, and how gently they go about doing that. But so far, I haven't been crying for the excessive amount of oxycodone they gave me, and I've taken more stool softeners (2) than pain pills.

Also, a quick question to those of you that have had your surgeries: I'm allowed to remove the ace wrap after 48 hours, so around 6 tonight, and then just reapply it after maybe cleaning up a little, but... there's gauze and loose dressing I think, under the wrap. How do I reapply that, or should I just toss it, should it fall loose? I'm also a little worried that my mom will have trouble reapplying the ace wrap as tight as is needed. Tips? Should I just keep the wrap on until my first post-op on Monday?

my surgeon is medalie, so i'm guessing that would mean things won't be too painful? i did not personally look into his past (though i should've) but i've heard great things.

great point about the dressing, though. i'm going to mention it when i go in

[AndrewB]

So I did get in contact with Kaiser's Plastics Department, and found out that the post-op instructions they gave me for my surgery had some conflicting advice. I am allowed to briefly remove and replace the bandage if it's too tight, I want to clean up via sponge bath, etc., but as I suspected I'm not supposed to shower with drains in. I'm going to talk to the RN about that little error on Monday so they can look into correcting it, to deter a less informed guy from making a mistake like that based on incorrect handouts.

They also said that if the bandage wasn't bothering me, I could just leave it on until Monday, especially if I thought reapplying it as tightly as they had would be a struggle. I'm just going to leave it undisturbed, as suggested on here, so the loose padding can remain effective and I don't have to worry about poor post-op care. Thanks for the help everyone!

[FTMax]

@ palexander: Mine is very high. Painkillers are basically useless to me, because if it's to the point that I'm asking for them, I should probably just be sedated.

I was worried about recovery because I'd never had any kind of surgery before, but it was much easier than I ever imagined. Don't let the internet scare you! You'll have meds for pain and sleep (typically) - take them as directed and listen to your body more than you usually would as far as needing rest, water, etc.

@ Andrew: I didn't have an ace bandage, I had a compression vest with all the gauze and dressings underneath. I didn't take the vest off until my post-op appointment to have my drains removed. Most of the gauze was cut away then, and the remaining pads (over the nips) I removed in the shower the next day. I'd keep the wrap on. It should help with swelling as well.

[RaptorChops]

I bought myself some bathing wipes because I knew i wouldn't be showering for 7 days. I was able to stick my head under the shower faucet and wash my hair. I just wiped down my arms, legs, butt, privates.. giving myself the good ol' whores bath. I was able to get my friend to wipe my back down a little bit too.

I still had some pain medication left over and I needed it a few times 2 and 3 weeks after my surgery. Be careful too with the sleeping pills it messed up my sleep schedule for a few weeks and I'm now just trying to get back into the swing of things.