I officially paid off the last of my dues for my top surgery today! (my insurance didnt cover any of it )
Im set to get my procedure done on the 23rd, any other post op FTM's wanna give me any advice or tips? How long should i take off school (im in college) and work? What was the pain like afterwards? Whats the first week like? Any tips and advice is very much appreciated, thank you!!

If I could go back, I would've taken off 2-3 weeks. I took off 1 and then went back to work. It was fine, but my scars did stretch. No real pain. I was sore, but I can't say for sure how much of that was from surgery and how much was from laying in a recliner for almost a week.

My first week was fine. I hung out at home, ate food, walked my dog every few hours to force myself to get up. It was a pretty easy recovery for me.

In general, the sooner you can get active, the better. Try to get up and move around every few hours. Cook a bunch of food and store it in advance if you don't have someone staying with you that can cook. Make sure you take your medication on a schedule.

I haven't had top surgery yet, but from what I've read 6 weeks off for work and maybe 4 weeks off uni if you sit a lot is the best, especially if your job involves heavy lifting, restrict heavy lifting for 6 months and don't go to the gym for a year, that gives lots of time to recover without making scars worse or causing  damage to your chest.

Keep the scars out of the sun until they fade

Quote from: Nikolai on November 29, 2016, 10:20:28 AM
I haven't had top surgery yet, but from what I've read 6 weeks off for work and maybe 4 weeks off uni if you sit a lot is the best, especially if your job involves heavy lifting, restrict heavy lifting for 6 months and don't go to the gym for a year, that gives lots of time to recover without making scars worse or causing  damage to your chest.

that is imo too strict and unrealistic for someone in the real world with responsibilities like school and work where they cannot just...pause their life. i also heard someone who did very minimal like you are describing then once they DID do normal every day things with lifting their arms, etc. their scars stretched anyway. i understand wanting your scars to heal properly and not stretch but honestly, it is inevitable. i had my top surgery during march break when i was in school so i took the week after my top surgery off and went back to school. it wasn't bad. i took 4 weeks off work and my work requires me to lift heavy things constantly (cement, vanities, fridges, etc.) my scars are not stretched more than a normal persons would be.

my first week was fine though, i had more pain in my back because of having to sleep on my back then anything and the drains were awkward and uncomfortable 95% of the time but when i got them out, it was such a relief. just make sure you follow your surgeons directions because every one is different. just take it easy really. depending on what you do in college, you could probably take a week off and be fine. i wasn't in college but i was sitting around for a few hours a day in class like you normally do in a lecture. as for work, same applies. generally 4 - 6 weeks for healing should be enough. if you have a job where it does not require you to lift your arms up too high, you should be okay to go back in 2 - 3 weeks.

also, button up shirts, etc. anything that will make your life easier where you do not need to raise your arms is good. buy baby wipes because you will not be able to shower for a week and you will smell. hell, even when you CAN shower you will still smell because you can't lift your arms enough to wash under them properly.

just make sure you are keeping an eye on your incisions for infection, etc. my doctor was great about looking after my incisions to make sure they were healing properly and so were my nipples.