8 months gyne/2 months nip post-op; swelling/pain

[ih8gynec]

Hi,

I'm 8 months post-op for removing gland and fat below the skin, and 2 months for nipple reduction. Up until about 2 weeks ago I was religiously wearing the compression vest per the doc's instructions. I decided it was time to get out of it and get back to normal.

Well, when I'm not wearing a shirt things are "ok", it's not all that painful. But after wearing a shirt or shirts for a couple of hours, the whole region "swells" up and it's very soar to the touch. I also have scar tissue building up on both sides. I massage 15 minutes a day with cocoa butter per instruction.

Anyone have something like this? It's really discouraging to pay that much money and now I'm back where I started; puffy and self conscious and a lot of $$ in the hole!

When the swelling and pain onsets, it almosts seems like I can feel mass under the skin. When it's not swelled, it feels fine. Can scar tissue do this?

TIA.

[monzo]

ya I know that swelling can fell like hard mass is under the skin.. when you massage it cant you feel it?
I dont think u should be taking off the vest.. thats my opinion from what you have stated.. I think you should do anything to keep the swelling down and make sure you heal faster..

[ih8gynec]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

The only thing that drives me nuts about that is so far I haven't heard anyone tell me they've worn the compression vest as long as I have. Nearly 8 months is a long time! And not to mention the doctor right before my last procedure said he doesn't see much benefit in wearing it much longer. Of course, I haven't seen him since that statement. I will week after next however.

[Spleen]

8 months seems at least 7 months so long.  What swelling could it possibly be addressing at this late date?  It might not really be swelling as much as returning to "normal" when the vest is off.  Imagine wrapping an ace bandage tightly around your wrist.  When you remove it the wrist is gonna look thinner because of the compression, and then "swell" (or actually return) to it's proper dimentions.

[tonysoprano]

agree with the spleen.  wore my vest for 4 weeks 24/7 and 3 weeks 12/7 and my ps said that I could have left it after 4 total. then again... I guess it might vary depend on pre-op severity..

but 8 months... never heard anything remotely near that long b4.

[ih8gynec]

I did 24/7 for 1 week and then only when active and it's been that way like I said for 8 months.

I happen to agree with things being under pressure for so long now I'm just seeing the "final result". Unfortunately, I'm not all that happy

Hopefully there's some light at the end of this tunnel somewhere. I was feeling so free for a while but now I have that hindered feeling again which sucks.

[jonQ]

* months is too long,post some pics for us..

[ih8gynec]

Ask and you shall receive.

Visit: http://www.PictureTrail.com/gid7520019.

Not the best quality pics, but I certainly think they show why I'm not thrilled, especially the one labeled #2.

[jc71]

If i'm reading you correclty, your chest looks fine when not wearing a shirt but when you put one on it becomes swollen and when you take it off, it goes back to normal?  Am I reading this correctly?

That's weird, i've never heard of that before. Maybe you're having some type of allergic reaction to the laundry detergent.  Why else would it go back to normal when you take off your shirt?

To everyone:  He only wears the compression vest when he's active. That could be a couple hours every week.  Who knows.

[ih8gynec]

Sorry, let's clarify a bit:

What you see in the pics is what it looks like with or without a shirt. Though, wearing a shirt is at times painful. You can see especially in pic 2 it's got that puffy conical look.

And I shouldn't have said when I was active. I should have said when I was awake. 24/7 for 1 week, and then when awake. And like I said, I did this up until earlier this month and my surgery was in September last year. I've been faithful about massaging as well, although I have no clue when to stop that.