Yesterday's Surgery with Fielding

[Travelbum]

Well, the big day has finally come and gone.  I had my surgery yesterday and just returned home to my hotel after an overnight stay at the hospital.  The meds they gave me made me totally loopy but they have done the trick.....no pain.....just spacey as hell.  LOL  The good doctor has given me a perscription for morphine so we will see how that goes when I finally need one.  I had them cut my dosage in half at the hospital because they worked too well.  No one enjoy s a good buzz more then me but the first doseage after surgery on an empty stomach really sent me flying. LOL

Dr. Fielding came to see me this morning and has told me that I can go back to Quebec anytime I want.  Everything looks good.  He said that he removed 500 somethings from each breast (I told you I was spacey.  I can't remember if he said milliliters, cc's, pounds or tons LOL).  Anyway, he assured me that there were no added surprises once he got inside.  So far I can see NO drainage on my vest.  Is that normal?

Brebguy, thanks for the e-mails with the kind words of confidence and good wishes before my surgery.  It sure made my trip to the hospital yesterday easier.  I re-read those e-mails mentally over and over while I waited the 3 hours (I always have to be early) for my name to be called for the operating room.  LOL  I will e-mail you personally and offer some information that I have collected that may or may not be helpful to you in your search and persuit.


Thanks to everyone who has helped give support since I started asking questions on this site last May!  What a great site!

Radio, are you out there?  How did your surgery go yesterday?  I was hoping that we would run into each other somehow so I could put a face with the e-mails.  Unfortunately, that did not happen.  Where did you end up staying?  I am at the Sheraton with the St. Joe's promo code (thanks to Canadian1987).

I plan to pay a visit to Leslie this afternoon and thank her for all her help and patience.  I think I was on the phone asking her questions daily.  She is a great lady and the doctor, of course, is tops.   

[billygoat21]

good to hear everything went well. 1 week from now you will be BLOWN away at how good it looks when you remove the padding. Best of luck with recovery, make sure to take it easy as much as you can.

[Grandpa Bambu]

Congrats dude... 

GB...

[Travelbum]

Thanks guys!  At the advice of Dr. Fielding I took a long walk this afternoon.  So far, so good!  :-)

[radio]

Travelbum, I'm glad everything went well! I'm also going to use your thread to share my surgery experience with Fielding. As you know, I had my surgery yesterday too. I was nervous about receiving general anesthetic more than the surgery itself... strangely. An irrational fear, considering flying on a plane to get here posed more of a life risk than being put under! In the end, everything turned out great.

I didn't get much sleep the night before. Thoughts and nervousness kept me up late. When I awoke, I made sure to have an extra long shower, knowing I wouldn't be having another one for a week. I was nervous prior to surgery, but Fielding (as always) made me feel comfortable in the surgery room just before I was anesthetized.

I spent the night in the hospital, and after surgery I didn't need ANY pain meds until around 1:00 a.m. (about 12hours after surgery). I was surprised at how comfortable I was, considering. I spent the evening reading, watching television, and sleeping intermittently in my hospital bed. It was only after getting up to take a walk at 1:00 a.m. when I realized my soreness/stiffness. I was given 2 tablets of Percocet. Throughout the night, I sleep for about 1.5 hours at a time, then took short walks around the halls to stretch my legs. I was surprised at how big my appetite was after surgery. I ate half my dinner at 5:30, the other half at 7:00, 2 sandwiches and 2 juices at 10:00, 6 cookies at midnight, and hospital breakfast at 8:00am. I was then discharged, and given a prescription for Percocet.

I'm staying at the same hotel as you Travelbum. I'm thankful for the St. Joseph's patient discount. My room is $100/night CAD; the non-discount rate is near $235/night. When I got back, I ordered more breakfast from the hotel restaurant around 11:00am. I napped all afternoon. Later I ate a banana, fresh carrots, and green beans. Is it normal to eat this much after surgery? I was expecting to have trouble eating after surgery, but I've been constantly hungry. In fact, as I write this, I'm waiting for my take-out! I'm going to stay in my hotel room tonight, eat food, take naps, and order a movie. I'm kind of excited!

Before I was discharged, Fielding visited me in my room. Such a nice doctor! He told me everything went well, which was assuring! Throughout the night, the nurse kept checking my bandages/padding to check for bleeding. Everything was fine, there was no bleeding that permeated the bandages. I'll be meeting again with Fielding tomorrow sometime before I leave the city.

Thanks for inquiring how my surgery went Travelbum! The support from you guys is great. I owe so much to these boards. A few years ago, I didn't even know my condition had a name. Now I just had surgery from one of the world's best gynecomastia surgeons, and had Alberta Health Care cover the costs of excision (I had to pay for lipo). Again, thank you so much for all your support. You folks are great!

My food just arrived. I'm hungry, and a little light headed from the Percocets. Bye for now. If anyone has questions, ask away.

[canadian1987]

Hey Guys,

I am 16 days post-op and boy what a difference. I am still in pain but more of a stretching pain and the vest has become quite annoying. I can't wait to take it off. I love the feeling of not having to wear wife-beaters right now to compress what use to be man boobs. I had pretty well no bruising and not one ounce of a sign showing any bleeding under the skin. As for taking the foam pads off, I think that was the nerve wracking point. I actually made an appointment with my family physician and he removed them... just to be safe he inspected for anything that could be potentially dangerous but ALL was fine. I will eventually get pictures up in here. I still can't believe how flat my chest is compared to before. Let's all keep each other updated

[Travelbum]

Canadian 1987,

That is fantastic news! I am leaving Toronto this afternoon.  Getting excited to get home again.  Can't wait until Wednesday to take this vest off and exam the work.  :-)

[brebguy]

congratulations to all of you guys!
Have a good recovery!

[Travelbum]

I arrived at my house in Quebec last night about 9:00 p.m.  Thank God for the VIA train system.  I would take a VIA train over an airplane ANYDAY!  (Remember when flying on airplanes was considered "FUN"?)  It sure felt good to be home again.  I slept 10 hours last night to make up for the lack of sleep in Toronto.  Today I plan to lay in bed and watch TV all day.  Tomorrow  I will take a long walk to keep my muscles working correctly.  This morning when I got out of bed my right breast felt like something was pulling on it and it hurt for a minute or two.  It subsided so I think there was nothing of any importance going on under the bandages.  Actually, that was about the first time I have felt any pain under those bandages.  I assume that is a good thing!  So far no blood or leakage of any kind coming through the bandages.

Fielding told me that our Friday post op appointment was not necessary so I came home yesterday without seeing him.  Radio, on the other hand, went to his appointment so I am waiting patiently to hear what happened at that visit.  Hope I didn't miss something crucial to the healing process.  :-)  All in all, everything seems to be going in stride!  Very excited and a little nervous to see the unveiling on Tuesday or Wednesday (which day am I supposed to take the pads off?).

I think Radio would agree with me that the hotel was a real good bargain (with the STJOE's promo rate $100).  The boardwalk across the street was a great way to spend the post op days mildly exercising.  Rocco's Italian Restaurant up the boardwalk was an excellent choice for food and price.  The only drawback to the hotel is that there were no other services in the area.  You had to take a bus ride in order to find a grocery store or pharmacy.  I did, however, walk home from Fielding's office the day after the surgery.  I good walk to work in sore muscles.  LOL   

[Grandpa Bambu]

This morning when I got out of bed my right breast felt like something was pulling on it and it hurt for a minute or two.  It subsided so I think there was nothing of any importance going on under the bandages.  Actually, that was about the first time I have felt any pain under those bandages.  I assume that is a good thing!

Yeah, the same thing happened to me dude... It went on for a few weeks. That was the only real discomfort that I noticed during recovery.

Very excited and a little nervous to see the unveiling on Tuesday or Wednesday (which day am I supposed to take the pads off?).

You can take the pads off on Tuesday dude... 

I think Radio would agree with me that the hotel was a real good bargain (with the STJOE's promo rate $100).  The boardwalk across the street was a great way to spend the post op days mildly exercising.  Rocco's Italian Restaurant up the boardwalk was an excellent choice for food and price.  The only drawback to the hotel is that there were no other services in the area.  You had to take a bus ride in order to find a grocery store or pharmacy.

Yeah, you're right there dude...  Not much around in the way of life's essentials...

My wife worked at that hotel at one time. She was a Sales Administrator...

GB...

[radio]

Travelbum, you didn't miss anything important. He just went over what was already written on the "instructions for care following gynecomastia surgery" sheet. Fielding also instructed me "not to take it TOO easy." So I'm not. I'm just living my life, and doing what I'd normally do (aside from anything I'd consider exercise of any form, and "moving furniture" (Fielding quote)).

The hotel was a great bargain! The bed was considerably more comfortable than the hospital bed. Proximity to the lake was great. Travelbum's right, the only  negative aspect was the lack of services; I took a streetcar down Queen to get some coffee one afternoon. It was nice to get out of my room though.

I'm home now as well! Today is day 4, if we count Wednesday as day 1. I'm looking forward to removing my bulky dressing on Tues/Wed. The recovery has been going well. I've stopped taking my pain medication, but I keep them handy in case I need them, especially at night. I feel more mobile, more flexible, stronger, and more capable of using my body. Things are going well.

[Travelbum]

Well, tomorrow will make a full week since surgery.  I have to admit that it was not nearly as bad as I had expected.  The hardest part for me seems to be sleeping on my back at night.  Last night I rolled to each side during the night.  It kind of squashes up your chest so I imagine it is not the best idea in the beginning while your healing from the incisions but I am thinking that things are healed well enough at this point. 

Anyway, tomorrow morning I plan to take off the vest and bandages to see what it looks like down there.  I can tell that those adhesive pads are going to be difficult to remove.  Hopefully, they are not sticking to the incisions.  OUCH!  I stopped the pain medication days ago.  I think the only reason I took it the first few days was to sleep at night.  There was discomfort in the beginning but no real pain to speak of after the first day.  I plan to post pre and post pics once I take a look at the results.  I have already doctored up the before pics (cropped my head and family members from the picture LOL).  Now lets hope we see real results from the after pics.  I am well aware that I can expect swelling so I have no real expectations at this point in time.

Radio, how are you doing?  The last time we talked your recovery was pretty much the same as mine.  Still no pain?  Hope everything is going well. 

I would be happy to answer any questions anyone has.

Canadian 1987, Billygoat, and Actorboob how are you guys doing?  You guys are weeks ahead of us in recovery so I love hearing from you!   Your experiences have sure made this much easier.  Thanks for posting!  Grandpa Bambu, you are a saint!  Without your advice I might not be on the "other side" now.  :-) 

[radio]

Hey Travelbum, I sent you a message a few days ago. Check your inbox.

Yeah, I'm also in the same place as Travelbum. Everything seems to be going well. I plan to remove my padding and dressing late tonight (midnight-ish). My procedure was last Wednesday, around midday; that's close enough to one week, right?

I've also (mostly) stopped talking pain medication. I stopped after a couple days post-op. But last night I took one tablet of Percacet. I was noticing a very minor soreness in my chest (side of my pectorals, near my armpits), and also a very minor burning/tingling sensation in and around my areolas. Nothing major, but I took a pain killer anyway.

I'm avoiding lifting anything heavy, but I do carry things like my grocery bags, and stacks of books for very short distances. Nothing major.

I'm very excited to get this dressing/padding off my body. I imagine showering, after a week of not, will be sublime. Can't wait!

I'm not expecting any amazing results immediately. I'll be realistic, and remember that it takes 3-12 months to get final results. Still, it hasn't fully sank in yet that I'll be looking at a chest—MY chest—without gynecomastia. I was only a child the last time I did that...

[canadian1987]

Well today marks 3 weeks - I had to slowly peel the tape off in the shower... I only have one more strip to go tomorrow... I slowly peeled it little by little the past week. So far looks great - I wear the vest 24 hours a day - only time I take it off is in the morning when I shower for about 10 minutes. Other than that, it is very itchy and very tight, so I am constantly trying to adjust it. It isn't that noticable I think however I went shopping and felt great to actually try on ANY t-shirt/sweater and it looked fantastic on me... I can now where a medium instead of a large - :-) VERY happy. However I will not judge anythin till 3 months post-op. I will make a follow up appointment too. Hope you guys that just had it done are doin ok. Pictures will come eventually - been so busy. Kinda cool we all had it within the same time. Good luck ripping the bandages off... I had my family doctor do it!

talk soon.

[radio]

Okay, so today is day 10 (counting the day of surgery as day 1), and the healing continues. Each day I find myself more mobile and flexible. I'm able to carry out my daily activities without much hindrance.

I removed my dressing/padding on Tuesday night (night of day 7), and since then it looks a little better each day. The bruising and discolouration improves with each day as well. The tape over my incisions is difficult to remove however. I was told it would come off on its own in the shower, but it isn't doing so. I'd like to remove it so I can apply both vitamin E and polysporin to my incisions (not at the same time). Anybody have any experience with this? Is it safe to just pull off, or should I wait until it falls off? Canadian1987, you wrote that yours took 3 weeks to come off, correct? That's too long for me, I want to start using topicals to help the wound heal.

I've noticed that on both sides, from the center of both my nipples outward (radius of approx. 2 inches), there is swelling. I was told this was normal, so I'm not concerned. However, over that same area, I've also noticed that my chest is almost completely numb. I have very little feeling over the skin. when I run my hand over that area, it almost feels as if both pecs have been anesthetized. Is this normal? Has anyone else experienced this? Please let me know.

Finally, the other thing I noticed was my nipples: when I first removed my dressing, I felt they were sitting a little low on my chest. This could be 1 of 3 things: 1) the nipples are actually low, and will continue to stay that way, 2) the nipples are actually low, but will improve with time as my chest contour improves, or 3) the nipples are exactly where they should be, and my perception of a "normal" chest is just skewed, considering I've never had one.

Can anybody comment on the "low nipple phenomenon?" From the 3 month to 12 month phase, have people noticed an improvement in how their nipples sat relative to their chest? GB, can you shed some wisdom onto the subject?

Oh, and congrats on feeling good about clothes shopping Canadian1987!! You can wear t-shirts again!!