My 1 Week Recovery Experience

[December_boobs]

Day 1 -
Pain was about a 3/10 because I kept on top of the medicine and have been resting my body the best that I can. I've been learning the hard way what my body is and is not capable of doing.
For example, I didn't realise I engage my chest muscles to open the fridge, pull a door handle and flush the toilet. I've had to readjust how I do these things because the pulling sensation I experience is very uncomfortable otherwise!
Aside from these few hurdles Day 1 has been very smooth. I slept soundly through the night and my pillow fort was surprisingly comfortable. I did wake up with the dreaded morning boob every one speaks about, but after moving around the tightness eased and I was back to a 3/10 on the pain scale.

Day 2 -
Pain is still minimal! There's the obvious tightness in my chest but it's manageable and to be expected. 30 minutes after taking panadeine forte I felt intense nausea and migrated to bed soon after. My reaction to the medication has thrown me a bit. I've decided to steer clear of codeine in general and will take panadol as required. Hopefully it offers enough relief and if not I'll be visiting the pharmacist / my local GP to see what they recommend I take instead.

Day 3 -
Panadol has offered me enough relief throughout the day, am going to decrease dosage amount tomorrow and see how I go. My main focus right now is going to the toilet. I am yet to naturally rid my body of waste so will speed this process up by taking metamucil during the day and Coloxyl with Senna in the evening before bed. The bloat from not going to the bathroom is actually causing me more discomfort then my chest. Started moisturising breasts today, made sure to avoid incisions during application.

Day 4 -
My chest has felt uncomfortably tight today and whenever I move from sitting to standing my right implant makes a farting sound. It feels like fluid is moving around in my chest cavity while the sound is going on. My breasts look a little bigger, especially my left. Not sure if this is because of fluid or because they're starting to settle.
Taking them out of the post op bra was quite uncomfortable tonight as they felt super heavy. I have not noticed their weight previously so was surprised when I did today. The laxatives are yet to take effect so I will have some more tonight.

Day 5 -
Enough is enough! I'm tired of being constipated. Visited my GP and she recommended an over the counter laxative called movicol. It comes in different flavours (I picked chocolate!) & didn't taste too bad. I walked to and from the doctors (3km) and grabbed a coffee along the way. Constantly checked my heart rate reading on the fitbit to ensure it stayed below 100bpm. Had to be super aware of speed because I unconsciously power walk. Fatigue has not set in like expected and my breasts and ribs are not feeling any sorer then they were before I left. Am now in almost no pain at all which is great!

Day 6 -
Returned to my pre-operative weight and no longer bloated. Went for my first car ride since surgery and every bump, crevice or dip in the road caused me pain. They say fake boobs don't bounce but they do! The movements made my breasts feel as though they were detaching from my chest...damn my partner for driving like a hoon. Tightness, fatigue and a killer headache hung around all day. Inactivity is starting to affect my moods; I'm irritable because I'm not able to move around in the way I'm used to. Keep reminding myself this is only temporary and everything will return to normal in 5 weeks.

Day 7 - Had a busy day with family and partner and was actively walking because of this. Fatigue set in and a terrible headache followed.

Day 8 - Had 1 week Post Op appointment today. Incisions have healed beautifully and the nurse explained in specific detail what I can and can't do. How to massage my cleavage and what exercises I am able to engage in at the four week mark. She also told me to begin massaging incisions and full breasts at the three mark and mentioned being able to go swimming when they'd fully scabbed over. 

[HarpersBizzar]

Glad to hear your recovery is going well and I hope the headaches subside too. I know what you mean about the fatigue. I lay down for a rest at 1.30 this afternoon and I and didn't wake up till 4pm!! Body knows best I guess. Thanks for sharing your journey so far  

[Meg.92]

Thanks for sharing! Movicol is great! I'm a registered nurse and we use it at work all the time   hope your pain settles soon lovely 

[Picojunie]

I hope the headaches ease for you soon @December_boobs, I haven't so much had that, but the tightness and weight is pretty uncomfortable for me. I feel like I did when I really needed to feed my babies when I was full of milk, but no relief will come that way ?. I'm getting itchy now though, I think it's the skin stretching so I'll be moisturising as often as I can now! 

[prue]

One week down December ? my week has been similar to you minus the sickness from codeine and i ate a crapload of prunes because the bloating was driving me insane too. Today i felt ill and really unloaded.

You have made me realize that the reason i am snappy is most likely because i am not as active and independent as i am used to either. Its driving me insane, i feel so guilty for doing this and taking away the kids fun i could be having with them. ?

I have my follow up tomorrow day 8 so looking forward to getting tape removed ?

Good on you for walking so much, i did walk around the yard but found i needed to walk on tiptoe to stop the bounce. Not looking forward to car ride tomorrow ?

Thanks for sharing your week ?

[Emmy2015]

Thanks for sharing. I hadnt even thought about all the things we do which involve using our chest muscles! It must feel like a roller coaster ride. All worth it in the end though! Here's to a speedy recovery