one month post-op blues

[frodo]

Hi, this is kinda long, but it's been on my mind 24/7 the last few days and its literally eating away at me... I guess I just have to write it out in the hopes someone will understand.

I'm nearly a month post-op now, been wearing the compression vest 24/7. Here are my pre-op pics, so you know what I'm talking about...

PRE-OP:

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/frodo_gyn/pre-op-front.jpg (note how its bigger on the left side)

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/frodo_gyn/pre-op-profile-left.jpg

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/frodo_gyn/pre-op-right.jpg

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/frodo_gyn/pre-op-left.jpg


And these are pics that were taken 1 WEEK POST-OP:

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/frodo_gyn/post-7days-front.jpg

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/frodo_gyn/post-7days-profile-left.jpg (named the file wrong, this is actually my right side)

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/frodo_gyn/post-7days-right.jpg

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o4/frodo_gyn/post-7days-left.jpg

The swelling on my left side has gone down, but I'm still large in the chest area, when I look at myself sideways in the mirror my chest curves outwards in a semicircle. (see the pic of my right profile for an idea of what I mean... I'm kinda hunched over in that pic, when I stand straight its even more) Which bothers me cos I figured after the surgery I'd be able to walk tall and proud for the first time in my adult life......

I'd like to mention that time and time again on this site I read about how immediately after surgery ones chest looks awesome, completely flat, and then later gets bigger because of swelling/scar tissue and stuff... and finally shrinks again. Mine on the other hand was raised even right after surgery, I could make out through the compression vest... I just attributed it to swelling at the time, but now I suspect that not enough was taken out of the the upper chest, if any at all.

I'm gonna ask the PS when I meet her in a couple of days, but what do you guys think? Is it likely that no fat was removed from the upper chest if the lipo was done from the nipple inscision itself?

This is bothering me lots, I can't sleep at night... I didnt think i'd have to consider revision... that first meeting with the PS keeps coming to mind, when she asked me how much she should remove, and I was like "huh?" cos at that point I didnt think this was a question of degrees... I mean it would be obvious I wanted it all out right? Anyway like I said, I told the PS I had a bit of a belly and to remove what looks natural (cos I heard what happens when too much gets taken out)...

Thing is I had only put on that extra weight a few months before surgery... (eating a lot cos I was tense and nervous about it) maybe I should have mentioned that? It's not like it was something permanent about me, and I've already started losing those extra pounds. Through dieting, cos exercise makes my compression vest sweaty and stinky   and exercise for me is basically cardio... running, walking up ten floors, push-ups (which I obviously can't do for a while now) that kinda thing... I dont do weights, and I dont plan to do them just so I can "bulk up" the rest of my body so my chest looks normal in comparision. I'd rather be lean.

I also read somewhere on this site that.... if you have 8% body fat, you want to look like 8% body fat in your chest, which is hard for the PS,  but if you are 15% or 20% you don't expect your chest to look like it is 5%.  So, it might be easier for a PS to deliver a chest that looks 15%-20%

So does that mean if you bring your body fat down, your chest won't reduce? Mine never would before the surgery... I'd lose weight everywhere but my chest would stay the same.

This is driving me crazy. Sure, my nipples looks flatter now and thats great, the chest is smaller overall, but the upper chest still is large, and when i stand absolutely straight, it sticks out.   Oh why, oh why didn't I just tell the PS... "yeah take it all out, what do you think!!!!" Cos all I know is she said she'd make it look "normal"... so if I'm sitting around without a shirt no one would think anything was different about my chest.... which seemed to make sense at the time... now I find myself noticing other people's chests on the street, and its obvious mine is bigger... its nowhere as flat as the average man's.

Maybe some liposuction in the upper chest might sort this out? I really dont like the idea of going for a revision, but I really do want to sort this out, and not wait half a year or a whole year... just want to get on with my life and look like a normal flat chested person.

Again, if you read this far.... thanks for listening

[Mr_Nip]

Frodo,
In the pictures your upper chest doesn't look soft like fat.  It looks more solid to me which I would have assumed was swelling.  I don't know if swelling can appear so suddenly and uniformly after surgery.  I had a large firm area in my upper chest that turned out to be fluid that needed to be drained.  I would say to tell your P.S. everything you just told us in your post.  See what she says.  I know it's easy for me to say, but try to not get too worried about it until you speak to your surgeon in a couple of days.