hey, i saw you answered another ask about your breast reduction (already a while back) and if youβre ok with it i was wondering if youβd be comfortable talking about what the healing process after surgery was like for you. did you have a lot of pain? what kind of pain was it? how long did it take for you to be able to do things relatively normally again without too much pain or getting tired? could you do most things on your own or did you need help from your family? please donβt feel like you have to respond though!!
Don't worry, I'm totally okay with questions!
Question uno : was it a lot of pain? I wouldn't say a lot, mostly uncomfortable but not painful in my experience! The most physically painful moments I would say are right when you wake up from surgery. It's not even exactly pain, more like, your brain hasn't registered it yet, far as you know a minute ago you were still in the surgery block (anesthesia is crazy hfhf) and all of a sudden you're waking up with this huge pressure from the compression bandages around your chest, no one told me about it so that was wild hfhfh. Then obviously the next few days can be hard, so if you'll be going through this alone I'd recommend getting enough food and all the supplies you need before surgery, because you won't exactly feel like going out. And yeah, you get bruises from how compressed your chest has to be, and the scars can itch (which is good! It means they're healing!). Overall it wasn't painful for me, the only moment where it was painful was on day 5 for some reason? I couldn't do anything. So here's some advice : if you have a huge pillow or a bean bag, put it behind your back in bed, it'll make getting up much easier. If you are alone, get everything to a reachable height, you kinda get dynosaur arms hrhr. I didn't need medicines to help out with the pain, except on day 5, so have them ready! Gather as many distractions and friends as you can, and remember that is is so SO SOO worth it.
Then how long till you can do things normally? I'd say that depends on your activities and on the person, but the worst is the first week, second and third weeks are uncomfortable but not painful, and then start of the fourth week post-op, you can very much become a human again! Just avoid sports and swimming and all that. :]
And if you need help from friends/family, I wouldn't say it's absolutely necessary, again get all the supplies/food you need before hand if you're alone and make things reachable. Obviously, having family/friends can make it easier. My sibling got me to the hospital and filled all the needed paperwork when I wasn't in the headspace to do it, my mum went to the pharmacy for me when I couldn't, and my dad drove me to and back from the hospital to avoid the metro. It's definitely do-able alone, but as always the power of friendship is pretty cool, even if we're just talking discord friends!
One last little advice, if you're spending the night at the hospital before or after the surgery, get a comfort object, something that reminds you of home. I wish I had taken my teddy bear Bart for that first night! π»
Overall, it sure was an uncomfortable month, and I had quite a few strangers see some places I didn't want them to see (they were very professional about it, they see this stuff and much more everyday, if you're anxious about that I promise it's going to be okay. It's just another Thursday for them), but WOAHWIE is it amazing now. No more backpains, I get to be myself and wear all the clothes I want, I can run??? And this weird heavy, dark sensation in front of you, and all the eyes you constantly feel staring at you, it stops. And that's incredible.
