1 week down
How do I feel a week after surgery?
This time a week ago, some annoying nurse was telling me to wake up after my surgery. Seriously I’m so groggy after anaesthetic that it takes me a few hours to truly return to any level of alertness. The last time I wrote was two days after surgery, so how has my experience been?
Yesterday was the first day I made it through the day without a nap, and on the first couple of days I had two naps a day. I chose to nap in different locations, because I have a couple of couches in the house, and I didn’t want to spend all my day in bed.
The underarm cushions came in handy, as did the full body pillow (like this) we already had. It meant I wasn’t tempted to sleep on my side.
I haven’t used the breast ice packs I was given much. I tried early on, but they were too cold, however yesterday I used them for a little while.
My first drain came out on day 3. For me, the fluid had to be less than 20ml in a 24 hour period, so the Health at Home nurse took the first one out on Monday and the second one out on Tuesday. The first time, it didn’t hurt much, but the second was a lot further in and felt like she was ripping my nipple out from the inside - so I recommend taking stronger pain medication beforehand if you know your drains are coming out!
Having the drains out gave me more freedom of movement which was wonderful and made showering easier.
That’s one thing I noticed was different from others I know who’ve had the operation. They had different monitoring on their breasts, and weren’t allowed to shower for two weeks. I’ve been making do with body wipes when Mr B isn’t around, but we have a hand held shower head which made washing the majority of my body easier. I am still looking forward to the first proper shower when I can get my boobs wet, but I have been able to wash my hair a couple of times with his help.
On Tuesday I had an outing to Kmart to get more surgery bras, this time a size 14-16. The larger ones I had were 16-18 and weren’t feeling as supportive as the swelling went down. I wore the 14-16 for two days, before I finally fit into the 12-14 I originally bought. Today was the first day I could actually get into the proper, expensive surgery bra I bought without feeling I was in a corset and unable to breathe, so I think the swelling is reducing significantly.
I’ve finished my course of antibiotics, and I’m reducing my anti-inflammatories because I’ve had so little pain for which I’m incredibly grateful.
My sleep is getting better. I’ve had good nights and bad nights depending on if I’ve managed to set up the pillows comfortably. Mr B was a little concerned when I was sleeping with an arm above my head, but I don’t have any stitches that are pulling, so I think it’s all right.
My post-surgery instructions said I could take the dressings off after day 5, so I took the majority of them off this morning. I had tape under the breast which was really beginning to itch, so it was a huge relief. I have left the tape on over the cuts around the nipple though.
I’m seeing the surgeon again on Tuesday, which is four days from now and I’ll write another update afterwards.
If you’ve got any questions, make sure you leave a comment and I’ll answer it when I can.