Surgery in 3 days

[morpheus11]

So, my surgery was originally scheduled for November 1st, but because of some additional tests I needed, the surgeon rescheduled it for Wednesday, December 7th.

Anyhow, I'm kind of excited and scared at the same time.  I've never be put under general anesthesia, and for that matter, I've never had any type of surgery.  I'm just hoping all goes well. I'm already all prepped.  My compression vests came in the mail, I bought arnica and bromelain, filled my prescriptions, bought my embolism stockings and a zip up hoodie to wear after the surgery. 

Does anyone have any other suggestions regarding aftercare or pre-op surgery preperation? Anything they might suggest?  Recovery time?  I only took this week off, so I need to be back at work next Monday (office job).

Thanks guys.  I do plan on putting up some before and afters once the surgery is done on Wednesday.  I'm getting both a bit of lipo and excision.

[opus_dei]

you'll be perfectly fine bud. I was scared about going under general anesthesia too, but once you are in the OR and they hook up the IV, its done. You won't remember a thing and its all over when you wake up with minimal pain. Morphine and Oxycodeine is given if you feel any pain.

Sleeping on my back was the hard part for me. But again, oxycodeine to the rescue as a pain killer ;-). It makes you drowsy and you can sleep anywhere.

The first two days after surgery are the worst - all the general anesthesia chemicals are still playing havoc on your system. Relax all you can and sleep all you can. Subscribe to Netflix and watch movies all Day.

After the first two Days I was able to do pretty much everything, but I took it easy for another week. After a week I was shopping, driving and doing pretty much all my chores.

Best of luck!

[M31]

i see why you bought the vest but what are embolism stockings and why a zip up hoody? sorry i dont know much about post-op

[morpheus11]

thanks for the reassurance opus, it really does set me at ease.

regarding embolism stockings, they're suppose to help prevent blot clots.  people wear them during flights, surgeries and other things. as for the zip up hoodie, well, surgeon said to wear something i can easily slip into since after the surgery, i won't be able to lift my hands above my head because i'll be sore.

[cms5402]

Zip up hoodie is a GREAT idea.  I wore a regular one to my operation without thinking about it, and I couldn't put it on myself, lol.  Nurse had to assist me.  Not super well thought out.  Good luck, though!  I am sure you will love your result.  I'm a month out and still can't believe my gyne is gone.

[morpheus11]

surgery is in 2 hours and i'm nervous as hell. funny how right before the surgery, i'm thinking of every reason to back out. oh well, it's time.

i took pre-op photos last night, i'll post them later today.

[shaknbake]

Good luck Morpheus, hope all goes well.  My surgery is mid January, so I'll be in your shoes soon enough!  I agree about the zip up hoodie thing, never thought of that....perfect!  We are all waiting to hear how things went, keep us posted.   

[morpheus11]

thanks for the kind words people.  All went well. I'm still in shock that it did.  I was a nervous wreck and before I knew it, I was awake and prepping to go home.  Total time at surgeon's office, 2 hrs and 30 mins.  I got there at 7:30am, and they put the IV on exactly at 8am, and I was being wheeled to my car a little before 10:30am. 

So far, I'm really impressed with the surgery. I don't have any drains, and I took a peek at the results when I had to swap out the dirty bandages for clean ones, and I'm flat as a pancake--I like to call it "emo chest". that being said, can't wait to recover to add some muscle to it. 

Anyhow, I took plenty of pre-op photos last night and will take some post op photos on Friday, so I'll be sure to post them no later than this weekend.

As for the surgery shakenbake, do it man.  It was a breeze and I'm sure you'll be pleased with the results.

[cms5402]

Just remember to take it easy as you get back to the gym.  I worked out for the first time yesterday.  I am one month post-op.  I jogged for about 15 minutes before the motion started to make my chest ache and stopped.  I did some weights except chest (biceps, shoulders, abs, obliques) and that felt good.  Just don't rush it!  It was tough to wait a month before going back to the gym, but you could mess up your results or hurt yourself by doing too much too fast.  You are flat as a pancake now -- just keep that in mind.  There is plenty of time later to make your results even better.  Congrats on being on the other side!

[yoshi123]

congrtzzzz mannnn...you must be really happy.....i have surgery scheduled for dec.22, mannn i havnt trained properly in over 2 years, just been off cuz of th gyno, cant wait to hit the weights hard after 1 month post op.Im getting pretty nervous too, every time i think about it, i trip,lollll....anyways cant wait till its all ove 14 days to be exacttttt......take it ezzz....restttt welll...and getttt jackedddd mannnnn...

[shaknbake]

Congratulations Morpheus!  Good to hear all went according to plan, and you are home healing well.  As far as my surgery goes, it's a done deal.  Signed the consent forms yesterday, had my pre op blood work drawn and sent in today.  I'll be sitting in your shoes soon enough!  Can't wait to see the before and after photos   

[morpheus11]

thanks for the gym advice cms--I do plan on waiting at least a month before I really hit the gym again.  although, I might start doing some treadmill walking in two weeks.

shaknbake, i posted some photos in the "photos" section.  they're only side views because my front shot photos weren't really much of a difference.  my gyne was really noticeable from a side view only.

[cms5402]

Just remember to listen to your body.  There are many posts on this site about people who developed hematomas because they exercised too early (generally within the first month).  Anything that gets blood pumping, even walking on a treadmill, can cause bleeding due to increased blood pressure on vessels that have not had a chance to heal strongly yet.  It's obviously up to you whether to take that risk or just wait an additional 2 weeks before easing back into it.

[shaknbake]

I'm trying to find the pics in the photos section, but no luck.  I'm looking for your name in the "thread started by" column.