Dr. James Parker

[haeden]

So I had a consultation with him a few days ago and I think it went really well. I had to wake up  far earlier than I like so brain function wasn't at it's highest so I forgot my paper that had my questions on it but he answered a lot of the general questions and Katie said to just send her an email when I think of anything else.

*The consultation was free and the staff was nice
*The surgery will happen in office for privacy and takes about an hour to an hour and a half
*current cost 6,500
*he uses drains so if the dog ears don't go down by the next pre-op then he will remove them free of charge
*you can go do light work by day 2 or 3
*go back to normal life in a week (bandages come off)

I have more questions to ask so I'll probably email Katie this week but that's what I got from the first meeting

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[Alexthecat]

This for DI right? The operation time and cost sound right and the free removal of dog ears is great (though if you are skinny and he cuts right there won't be dog ears). I remember one guy on here having trouble with a surgeon about dog ears because the surgeon said it was just fat, forget his name. I would not recommend going to a desk job until 2-3 weeks post op and a heavy lifting job is 6-8 weeks.

[haeden]

He didn't really say which style it was. I have large boobs so I didn't think to ask.
Yeah I'm glad that's something they do because most of the post op pictures have them so I was concerned.
He said he has people who go to serious hard lifting jobs about 3 weeks in. He said as long as you aren't lifting anything within the first week you are fine IF you feel like you can do it if not then go home and rest or take a break

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[FTMax]

For most surgeons doing DI, I've heard 2 weeks to return to a desk job and 4-6 weeks to return to normal activity. So I'd be cautious about making any firm plans about returning to work very early post-op. I went back to work a week later, as soon as my drains were out. It was really tough for me - not physically, but just exhausting.

Honestly, his advice is a little worrying to me. It's contrary to everything I've heard from other surgeons.

[haeden]

I don't plan to go back until after my drains are out since my boss is very understanding and won't have me on anything too extreme. She'll probably keep me in the back filing.
He seems to follow the same rules for breast implants because my other boss (there's 3) said I wouldn't need a week for chest surgery and at 16 she went from absolutely nothing to a D cup

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[Alexthecat]

I don't plan to go back until after my drains are out since my boss is very understanding and won't have me on anything too extreme. She'll probably keep me in the back filing.
He seems to follow the same rules for breast implants because my other boss (there's 3) said I wouldn't need a week for chest surgery and at 16 she went from absolutely nothing to a D cup

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I would not listen to advice from people unless they are a doctor or another FTM that went through the same thing. Generally random people do not know as much as they think they do.

[haeden]

Sorry I meant she said I didn't need 2 weeks not a week. She said a week is probably all you need.
She's not random thought she's my friend and boss and has always been very open about her surgery. It's different since she got boob's but she went from being completely flat to a D so it's still pretty extensive

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[Alexthecat]

Sorry I meant she said I didn't need 2 weeks not a week. She said a week is probably all you need.
She's not random thought she's my friend and boss and has always been very open about her surgery. It's different since she got boob's but she went from being completely flat to a D so it's still pretty extensive

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I meant random as in everyone who is not a doctor/FTM. You can hear her advice but I would not use it as a basis for your own surgery.

[haeden]

Oh yeah no I just gave her account because it matched with Dr. Parker so either you really don't need 2 weeks before doing desk work if you feel up to it or he goes based off of his other surgeries. He say his other ftm patients depending on their job go back within a week and after 2 weeks it's up to you as to what you want to do.
He is very "it's your body and only you know it best" so that could be a good or bad thing. To me only needing a week off is great especially since my bosses are cool with me taking it easy if I need it. I was really concerned about having two weeks off of work

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[invisiblemonsters]

i went back to school a week after my surgery. even though i was fine and had my drains out, etc. i was just exhausted physically. i did not want to be there but the week of my surgery and the week after i was just drained. i went back to work after 3 weeks and i have a physically demanding job. i would see how i felt the day i went back and if it was too much, if my bosses were understanding, i'd ask for a week or two off. i had to book mine in advance and get a doctors note to get my 4 weeks off because it was considered a leave of absence.

[WorkingOnThomas]

I had a friend who went back to his desk job after a week, managed about half a day, and had to go home. He really did need two weeks, and that's what I'm planning on taking for sure.

[haeden]

Dr. Parker says after day 2 or 3 you should definitely be walking around lightly do you guys think that's why he says some of his patients have gone back to a desk job after a week? Are you guys so exhausted because you have been in bed for a week on painkillers? Or is it more plausible that his patients don't care to wait and just jump back in regardless of the effects?

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[Alexthecat]

Dr. Parker says after day 2 or 3 you should definitely be walking around lightly do you guys think that's why he says some of his patients have gone back to a desk job after a week? Are you guys so exhausted because you have been in bed for a week on painkillers? Or is it more plausible that his patients don't care to wait and just jump back in regardless of the effects?

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The first day home I slept on and off. After that there is no problem walking around and eating and going potty. Painkillers aren't going to make you bed bound in the sense you will be stuck there, some just make you tired. You want to wean off of them when you can.

[FTMax]

You can walk around around immediately post-op. It's recommended to get up and around as much as you're able to.

Personally if I could go back, I would've taken a whole two weeks off of work. I didn't take painkillers after the first day, and I was up and as active as possible the first week post-op before my drains came out. No matter what, it's exhausting. You may feel like the anesthesia has worn off after a day or so, but it takes a while to fully leave your system. As a procedure, top surgery is not terribly invasive and not as huge a deal as other procedures. But it's still surgery. You will be tired. You will be less mobile than you're used to. You will be uncomfortable.

Not telling you what to do, I just think you're underestimating it and I don't think your surgeon is giving you a realistic picture. I had a very, very easy recovery and I regret only taking a week. I would highly recommend taking the full two weeks off, even if it means you need to postpone surgery to save up more money to handle the extra time off.

[Dex]

I also stopped pain killers after the first two days post op. My surgeon didn't use drains on me (he didn't feel it was necessary in my case).

He insisted on 2 weeks off of work. I am a manager in IT so I literally sit, type, sit, walk to a meeting, sit, etc.  He wanted me to really restrict any arm movement for those two weeks. I will say that I don't think I could have gone back to full time work after the first week.

Obviously everyone is different but I would err on the side of caution. If you only plan to take one week off and even one small thing sets your recovery back, you could be cutting yourself short on recovery.

[haeden]

I still plan for two weeks but I'm hoping for one. I'm sure tho with my lupus I'll need the full 2 and I'm trying to stay away from painkillers since the hospital kinda screwed me over and I have a slight addiction to hydrocoden. So I will most likely need the full two since I'm such a baby when it comes to pain unless self inflicted like getting a tattoo or something like that.

I know for sure I won't go back the first week since I'll still have the drains in but given the fact though that after a kidney biopsy I had a doctor tell me to do light walking (the complete opposite of what the discharge papers said) and I ended up in the worst pain I've ever felt just by walking to my moms car which was parked in front of the apartment. I'll most likely need the full 2 weeks. I just wanted to tell people that he is cool with you going back to light work after a week if you think you are up to it but he definitely wants you back to resting if you realize you can't do it.

I'm a workaholic so it bugs me knowing I'm supposed to be scheduled that day so I'm just being super hopeful about recovery time lol

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[Ayden]

My recovery was complicated by international travel, but honestly I'd be skeptical of a one week recovery period. After one week all I had to do was pull a 7 pound wheeled suitcase through airports with assistance getting it in the overhead and I was not very well after that. It took at least four days to recover from the flight and another week of being on the couch. I had a hard time even sitting up and according to Dr. Garramone I was healing better than most.

I hate being idle,  I do, but I couldn't even write as a hobby for about two weeks. So don't bank on a recommended recovery period less than 2 weeks in my opinion.

When you're thinking about recovering from a serious surgery, it's always best to air on the side of caution.


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