Can I cook and cut salads for myself after MTF SRS?

[Ruth Ruthless]

Hello everyone!

My SRS + BA two-in-one surgery was supposed to be in August 2017, being 1 year and 9 months after it was scheduled but it was just bumped to end of March in a month and I am really excited that it is really close now!

I have a bit of a specific question about recovery. I was told after 5 days they will remove the packing and I will need to start dilation. Then they will want to see that I can go to the bathroom okay and I can then resume a normal fiber diet and if all goes well, 1-2 days after packing is removed I get to go home.

It will be very difficult for me to get round the clock help and I want to know if I will be able to manage on my own in my apartment, i.e. can I expect to be able to walk alone to the bathroom, the kitchen, the bedroom, wash dishes, cook food, cut salads, hygiene and self-care... can I expect to be able to manage taking care of myself after discharge? I don't expect to go shopping myself because I understand heavy lifting isn't allowed.

I'm not working and have enough money for 3 months recovery, I just want to know if there is a time when I will need nursing or should I expect to be able to feed and clean myself?

I'm going into surgery in healthy fit shape, don't smoke, don't drink alcohol, 37 years old. Just finished two marathon runs in the last two weeks, one was practice and the second one was my first marathon race. I am vegan and avoid processed food, so lots of fruits, vegetables, whole legumes and whole grains, lots of anti-oxidants in my diet. I'm scared of having to go low fiber when I'm used to having a lot of it, but I have a plan how to eat vegan low fiber and get nutrient needs met on a basic level until I can go back to eating normal fiber.

I managed to do everything on my own in the house after forehead surgery, rhinoplasty and trachea shave. Wondering if I can expect the same after I'm discharged from SRS + BA?

[Dena]

When you leave the hospital you should be able to take care of your self as long as you can divide the work into short tasks. For example when cooking you may not want to be up for more than 15 or 20 minutes then take a sitting break. It varies from person to person and you may be affected more or less. If you can, prepare and freeze some meals to be use when you first get out. The more time you can spend on your feet (within the doctors restrictions) the faster you will be able to recover.

Now days, they have you on your feet 2 days after surgery so you don't lose nearly as much strength as I did after being confined to bed for 6 days. After 6 days in bed, I had to take it easy sitting up and the first time I was on my feet, it felt like I would end up a pile of person on the floor.

[Ruth Ruthless]

Now days, they have you on your feet 2 days after surgery so you don't lose nearly as much strength as I did after being confined to bed for 6 days. After 6 days in bed, I had to take it easy sitting up and the first time I was on my feet, it felt like I would end up a pile of person on the floor.

Oh, that's bad. Where I'm doing it I understand I am to lie down for 5 days. Maybe I am wrong. If that happens, does the training I've done so far running help my chances of still having strength after 5 days of lying down?

[Dena]

Being fit in advanced will help but the funny thing is the heart seems to be the thing that loses strength the fastest. When I first went to sit and stand, I felt like I was going to pass out because my head wasn't getting any blood. There is something else as well. I had to lay flat the entire time and wasn't even allowed to incline the bed. If they allow you to sit up in bed, your endurance will be better.

[apsharas]

Depending on your dilations and work schedule, it may be easy, or it may be hell.

The day I was carried back to my hotel room after three days in the clinic I was moving around and doing very basic cooking stuff, as days passed I walked more and would lay less. At two weeks post-op when the catheter came out and I was allowed to leave the hotel room, I would be walking every day to the mall, doing a bit of shopping... One week later and we did the first "long distance" tourist trip. Lifting weight was ok up to 4 kg (my laptop is 3 already), but taking stairs with weights was a bad idea.

So the first month was just relaxing and self cooking. Things started getting worse in the second, even if I still was not working. Dilation took a lot of time, I was still not strong enough for stuff like cleaning the toilet and I needed help from my parents, but I would force myself to go out and walk a bit every day.

By month 3 I went back to work. I'm pretty much 99% healed, just banned from doing pilates, yoga, spinning. The worst part is the time since I still dilate three times a day and I don't have a lot left. It's being the worst one.

I was quite fit before surgery, being a gym nut. Upper body and arm strength was key to recovery to position myself in bet without using my legs / torso, and to get up from chairs / bed. Most people were surprised of how much energy I had and that I felt as if I had not had any surgery. So that probably helped a lot, but the truth is that you barely feel pain the first month. Things get much worse on the second.

PS: With Chett you will be walking less than 24 hours after surgery, so it's not as crippling as people think. I woke up from SRS at night and the next morning I was up from bed and taking the stairs to the recovery room where I would stay for the three days. At the second I would be given back my laptop and allowed to incline the bed a lot more.

[mszoey]

You should have no issues. I just had both done with brassard and they don't Change anything. You are expected to be able to take care of yourself within 3 days post op and I did. I just found I was a little more limited in my upper body movement but still no issues

Honestly I had no real pain from the b/a part. I was even climbing in and out of my truck and driving the day I got home 1.5 weeks post op. The only issue I can see is just standing for longer then 10 min at a time so give yourself lot of breaks but you will be fine.


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[julia-madrid]

Hello Ruth

My key suggestion is for you to be pragmatic, and avoid trying to do too much, especially at the beginning - it's really not a race :-)  One thing is related to how much your body will permit you to do, and the other is related to time:  at the beginning you will very likely be spending an astonishing amount of time on dilation and breast massages.  As much as you might love to cook (maybe), it just becomes another chore in a quite chore-filled day.

If you do want to cook, maybe do this before your surgery, and freeze things.  Or buy frozen items that need very little time to prepare.  I'd certainly recommend fresh food over anything else, as long as you don't need to expend much effort for this to arrive at your home.

Hugs
Julia

[Ruth Ruthless]

How much rest do you think I will need between standing 10 minutes? 10 minutes rest? It takes 30 minutes for the pot to be ready. I have a stew I make that I love eating every day. It takes me about 20 minutes of work, cutting vegetables, mushrooms, using a kettle and a pot. My guess is they will weigh up to 2 kilograms with food/water. It tastes sooooo much better fresh to me. So could I stand 10 minutes, rest 10 then stand another 10? I could also wash vegetables then sit to cut them but I understand sitting is a challenge too. I guess I could lower the heat to give me more time to work or cut everything ahead of time with breaks.

It's very important for me to eat fresh if possible. Frozen tastes horrible. I guess from what everyone said I can work around the limits if I plan properly how to account for my physical limits.

Would I be at risk of fainting or falling if I stand too much without noticing? Or will I feel pain or fatigue that will compell me to sit down and all I have to do is be ready to listen to my body signals and plan around them?

[Ruth Ruthless]

Also, I won't be working until I finish recovery so no problem having my life be all about chores such as dilation for a few months. I just want to feel confident that as long as I make chores my full time job during recovery can I expect to be able to do them myself, except groceries which I will order delivery or get friends to help carrying them. Or in other words whether I will need a nurse to continue eating fresh healthy food and not have to resort to ordering out.

[Barb99]

I was home 6 days after SRS. Cooking and doing laundry the day after I got home. I could stand and walk around for an hour but much more became tiring, not painful, it just wears you out. Sitting, on the other hand, was not comfortable. I could only take 10-15 minutes at a time.
For the first month you will probably take a lot of naps until your energy levels come back up. I really liked being able to take naps all day. It made the day go by much faster!
If you don't have any serious complications you will get by just fine.

[Dena]

I think your cooking plan is doable. You many not even need the breaks but you have a fall back plan should you need it. Another possibly is if you have a lower work surface or a bar stool, you might be able to do the prep work sitting down. You may want up to 12 hours of sleep a day but as long as you aren't working, you should have enough time for cooking, dilating and any other self care you require. Just be careful about adding additional commitments until you know how you feel after surgery.

[Ruth Ruthless]

That's great! I'm glad to know I can expect to get by alone.

On a somewhat unrelated note... when can I expect to be able to wear my tight dresses? Could my breasts hurt if I wear something tight on them due to breast augmentation? Or could I have trouble flexing to get the dress on? (I was told the incisions would be under the breasts, not armpits) Some issue with pressure or discomfort down under that would force me to wear huge underwear that would ruin the look?

I have been stuck wearing boxers otherwise I'm uncomfortable until now, so I couldn't wear my higher dresses until now unless I would also wear tights and my breasts are very small compared to my waist, whereas after surgery they should be proportional to my waist... I'm kind of excited to wear my dresses as soon as possible. Just wondering how soon after surgery I can expect to be able to wear them comfortably, if there would be any pain or other issues wearing them.

I ordered two dresses that have buttons in front, perhaps that will help?

[Dena]

You would have to ask the doctor about the tight dresses. I suspect it could be a month or two because you will need to wear proper support until the surgery has healed. If you don't follow the post surgical care to the letter you risk the implants slipping from their proper location.