12 days post op.Pain when raising arms..anyone else???

[dave2009]

Hi guys,

thank goodness for this site to share our experiences!

i'm 12 days post op, bi-lateral mastecomy and lipo....all is going ok according to my surgeon and i am pleased with my flatter chest, but i'm wondering if any of you guys had/have problems lifting your arms higher than shoulder height?

i tried to reach to a high shelf and it's like my pecs are really pulling?

not sure what to do, whether to do gentle movements to stretch them, or not raise my arms above my shoulders at all until further into my recovery?

having researched fully i didn't expect my recovery to be so long and drawn out, still feel sore and can't move that well. no way can i return to work yet either.

any of your advice/experiences would be very much appreciated. i can't keep bothering my surgeon with all my ailments!

kind regards.

[Dr. Elliot Jacobs]

In general, I do not recommend strenuous exercise, lifting, stretching, etc for at least 3-4 weeks after surgery.  You are in a very active healing phase -- there is undoubtedly swelling.  The skin is also in the process of tightening and attaching itself to the tissues beneath.

Don't rush things -- be patient.

Dr Jacobs

[dave2009]

Thankyou so much Dr. Jacobs.

That has really reassured me.

Kind regards.

[zane949]

You have to be patient bud, I am 6 weeks out and just barely started sleeping on my chest, just getting ready to return to work on Mon.  Of course I have a very physical job so wasn't able to return to work like all the desk job folks.  The healing process has definetly been longer and more drawn out than I expected, we just gotta learn to be patient you will get there.

[dave2009]

Thanks Zane, that also reassures me. Yeah i guess patience is a virtue with this!

it's just when i fully researched before having the op' a lot of sites seemed to suggest i'd be back at work within a week or so, i even told my boss i would! so has come as a bit of a shocker really, BUT worth it!

i was beginning to think something was wrong with the op, but after reading on here and other's posts, i'm not the only one, and when you think about it, to have all that taken away in our chests, it's not going to heal over night.

thanks again, really appreciate your time.

[wantnewlife]

so after surgery one shouldn't even try to raise arms above shoulders for 3 to 4 weeks?

[thedomino]

im now 5 or so weeks post surgery.
For the first 3 weeks say, I couldnt really reach high up at all. i reckon after 2 or 3 weeks i could just about put a tight t-shirt on, without any help! but that was by bending over and looking like a fool wrestling with the t-shirt lol. about a week after my op i went on a train and had my laptop. I tried to put it on the overhead storage bit, and managed that, but when i had to get off, i couldnt get it down! well embarassing. a random woman got it down for me. haha.
after a month i'd say, I felt completely fine again and can reach for the ceiling and not feel anything weird. frustrating times, but it's all worth it! and a month has flown by!

TD

[wantnewlife]

hey TD

i just checked your post-op pics.. in one of the pics (http://s80.photobucket.com/albums/j178/thedomino/Gynecomastia/?action=view&current=Photo0836.jpg), i can't see your nipple and only saw some kind of a scratch in areola

was nipple there and probably not visible to my eyes??.. what's that scratch.. did that heal..

[thedomino]

Both nipples are there..i assure you lol.
Scratches all gone, all scabs and bruising gone. I'll post some more pics up soon so you can see the extent of how much ive healed

TD

[ddh]

I'm 21 days post op and I couldn't comfortably extend my arms straight up until after about 16 days.

The last couple of days I'm been doing some slow stretching by extending one of my arms straight over my head using a door jam. It aches a bit but in a good way. I have a couple of hard lumpy areas between my nipples and my underarms and I've begun to carefully massage those areas. I hope it decreases the chance of the lumps turning into scar tissue.