had surgery today...need help fast please

[alexgon]

my chest is killing me and i think its b/c the vest is on too tight.can i loosen it or should i just suck it up.It was fine at the hospital, maybe its swelling? the pad on the left is put on alittle lower so theres a downward pull thats causing some pain.the thing is on pretty tight...i cant really sit or stand up completly straight.

so can i loosen this thing or not?

overall it went well.i mean i just showed up, lay down one second and woke up the next in recover.worst part was ripping the tape off my arms lol.

any help is great,thanks.

[marx]

Your doctor should have given you an emergency number to call.  I would call it.  You should also be taking the pain killers the doctor prescribed, so that you are not in pain.  I think you can loosen it slightly, but the swelling has to be kept down with pressure.   

[mtl99]

If your vest has the velcro straps for each side at the top, then you can loosen them if it is too tight. Mine was on pretty tight, but it didn't hurt...I would ask your doctor...but make sure you wear it because it's important, especially the first weeks after your surgery.

BTW it was my doc (Dr. Fielding) who told me I could loosen the straps if it was too tight.

[gabbyhey]

A good reference for how tight it should be:

If its so tight that it physically hurts, you can loosen it.

If its so tight that your are uncomfortable, it's probably fine. 
The pressure reduces the swelling and gives you the best result. 

[Grandpa Bambu]

The pressure reduces the swelling and gives you the best result. 

I'm not sure about that dude...  When the body has been hurt/damaged, the affected area 'swells' up. Why, I am not sure, but the body must do this for a reason. So why is everyone so hell bent on preventing swelling?

Also, how do you know that you will get "Best result" by restricting swelling?

GB

[gabbyhey]

GB, my dad's a R.N.  That's what he told me, so I went with what he said.  The other thing is that if we wanted swelling to happen we wouldn't ice down twisted ankles and other injuries.  (which I have been told by doctors  to do in those cases to "reduce swelling").  That's what I know, but I could be wrong.  ??

[alexgon]

OK  i let it go abit, its still pretty tight around my chest and upper rib area.the pain isnt so bad.the pain is restricting my movments quite abit.i cant move my arms around without pain so ive stayed in bed mostly.think ill wait till tomorrow and loosen it up abit more.

how do ppl put up 2-3 day post op pics? isnt this thing suppose to be on for a week?
im really anxious to have a look, but i dont want to screw around with the pads.

thanks for all the advice, ill keep you all updated.

[Grandpa Bambu]

How do ppl put up 2-3 day post op pics? isnt this thing suppose to be on for a week?

I have second day post op pics.... I cheated!   

My PS was not happy with me for it....   

However, the end result was good.... 

GB

[alexgon]

this thing is getting really really itchy.would it be so bad to take if off for abit to clean up?

[MRD]

In my opinion i dont think loosening it for a little bit would hurt. I also dont think it should be so tight that it causes pain, when you get pain that means your body is telling u somethings not right.

[loman1]

if you can take it off and get yourself cleaned up in a minute or two its not a bad idea.  I have kept mine on the whole time since the operation. I briefly (less than 30 seconds) undid it to tighten it more this morning. 

And since we are on the topic. I am thinking about taking the whole shebang off on monday to get thru airport security without a fuss. That would be 5 days post-op. I think I will remove the foams at the hotel room and then take the vest off at the airport to get thru the gate and then put it back on.  The vest should be off for less than an hours because I will use the web checkin.  Anybody see a problem with my plan?

[marx]

Actually I went through airport gates with the vest on and thought I hope the security wand or security gate does not pick up on the metal zipper.  It didn't on a number of occasions.  I didn't think of your plan but it sounds good. 

[loman1]

hey alexgon have you figured out how to clean this vest? I'm wondering how I should do this before it starts smelling too bad. 

Hows your recovery coming? Any pics soon?

[alexgon]

i just washed it by hand real fast and let it hang dry lol.i put a tensor on while i waited.

recovery is going well, its feels better everyday.theres no bruising or swelling really.the outside of either side of my chest, going towards my arm pits is abit tendor if i push on it and the skin is numb but all this is getter better everyday.
the right side of my chest is abit bigger, not sure if thats swelling or if Fielding left it uneven, or simple because im right handed     not a big deal at all.

i do have a few pics, only post-op.my pre-op looked almost exactly to what you had actualy.my nipples were bit more puffy.

im rambling...all is good, very good.ttyl

[ddaavviiddd]

suck it up.