Nicole's Recovery Journal - The Day of Surgery
The morning of the surgery, I was still pretty clueless about how
much pain I would be in afterwards. Having had other surgeries and two children, I figured
that all of the women I had heard from were just wimps. They weren't.
On the way into surgery, my surgeon and I confirmed what we had
discussed. The anesthesiologist and nurse were reassuring. My nurse told me to promise her
that I would not freak out when I first saw them. "They are going to be very big,
very firm and very high," she said. They will get soft, natural and smaller with
time. No problem, I said. "As long as I know that in advance".
The day before surgery, I had to start taking an antibiotic, which I
took for about a week. I also had to take a steroid or anti-inflammatory the day before
and for about 5 days. I also got a prescription for Vicodin filled the day before to start
taking when I got home.
Surgery was only about 45 minutes. I received smooth, round, Mentor
implants filled to 425 cc’s via the navel incision. The surgery can take longer with
this and other methods.
When I woke up another hour later, I was in pain. I had a great deal
of pressure on my chest and I was wrapped in an ace bandage from my armpits (way up in my
armpits) to my navel. A corset-like bra was stretched over that and Velcroed shut. An
elastic and Velcro strap was also wrapped around my upper chest about two inches in width.
I couldn't really move and when they asked me to get into a
wheelchair to go the little post recovery room to meet my husband, I really thought they
were kidding. They weren't.
I dozed a little in that room while my husband helped me drink juice
and eat some cookies. Now I was sure I was crazy. I have two kids at home, I am healthy
and happy, and now I've crippled myself! The first day was difficult. I sort of felt
like an elephant was sitting on my chest and had stiffness like soreness after working out
really hard.
My husband had to help me sit down, get up and lay down. And I
couldn't really lie down. I had to be propped up with several pillows around me and I
didn't sleep much. It was difficult for me to do things but my husband was a huge help and
handled everything around the house, especially the kids.
