Hello all,
My story is pretty much like the rest of yours. I'm 33 years old, 5'10" and around 210lbs. I had to deal with all the same issues the rest of us have had. No beaches/pools/swimming, seat belts suck, walking down through town and having to see my profile in the windows reflection. I went to three different doctors, but I knew who I was going to pick before meeting any of them. My choice was Dr Jacobs. I had the surgery on November 10th. I was fairly calm the whole time leading up to the surgery. I really only got nervous when I arrived. I was actually doing this. Over a decade of dealing with "issue" and it was going away that morning. Dr Jacobs is just awesome. He asked if I was nervous, I said yes. He said, that's okay, I'm not. lol. Gotta love that. Everyone on his staff was very professional, and truth be told it was over in an instant. My biggest concern was everything I've would have to deal with post-op. For those of you concerned about the procedure, don't be. The worst part for me was the IV (I hate needles). So like I said I was concerned with the post-op. Night 1 was rough, I wouldn't say I was in a lot of pain, but there was some. Extra strength Tylenol was all I took. I didn't sleep too much, maybe 5 hours total. But when I woke up in the morning I felt soooo much better. The pain that I had to deal with the day before was gone and I was just sore. The binder sucks, its the reality of the situation, but as others have written, its 4 weeks of dealing with a pain in the ass for the rest of your life of FREEDOM. I'm on day 2 and I feel even better today. What I didn't read too much about until after the fact was the ITCHING. Day 1 was was bad, today appears to be better. I haven't taken off everything to shower yet, I will later this afternoon. I'm nervous and excited, but I know that this is only a glimpse and that I have a long way to go. So that's it for now, I'll update this thread with more info and pictures to follow. Feel free to ask me any questions.
Update #1 (11/12/11): So I just got that glimpse. WOW. Pretty amazing stuff. For the first time that I can remember, I have a flat smooth chest. My binder was sitting a little low on my left side so it seemed a little uneven, but the time my shower was over it was already leveling out. My wife and I made sure everything was nice and even wrapping me up. There was almost no blood on my left side, but there was a lot on the right. Either way, I'm happy to have those bandages off. The bruises were minimal, but I've never bruised easily. Everything seems to be going well on the path to recovery. More updates to come...
Update #2 (11/13/11): So today is day 3. I didn't take anything for pain yesterday because after the shower and getting the bandages off, I felt great. This morning I was little sore so I took 1 Extra strength Tylenol. Still itchy though but that to be expected as pointed out in the paperwork I received from the Drs office. Other than that things are good. Heading back to work tomorrow and I have a follow up visit on Wednesday. More to come....
Update #3 (11/14/11): I'm back at work today. I'm a tech support rep, so most of my day is sitting at a desk taking calls. I'm wearing all my compression gear with a white cotton tee, and a button down over that. No one noticed anything, good or bad. I definitely think I look better. I feel better and ALL the little things that would cause me to be upset about my gyne (looking in the mirror, catching my profile in the window) all provoke a smile now. The vest and binder aren't that bad anymore and I'm in practically no pain. Its still a little awkward for me to be out of the compression garments. For some reason I feel vulnerable out of it. This surgery is the most trauma my body has ever suffered so its a little weird for me. I don't really know how to describe it. But I move very slowly when I'm not in my binder during shower time. The bruising is minimal now, I'm sure they'll be gone by the end of the week. I have my first follow up on Wednesday and I'm excited to hear what Dr. Jacobs says. So far the itching is my only gripe. I slept pretty good last night only waking up once. Other than that things are going well. My wife thinks I look great but I'm not making a judgement call on anything until I'm at least 2 months post op.
Update #4 (11/20/11): So I'm going into my 10th day and things are going great. I had my 1 week post op check up and Dr Jacobs said that everything is just perfect. I only see myself once a day without the binder on, and I'm already very happy with the results. My wife thinks I look great and I feel great. I'm very much looking forward to wearing just t-shirts. We're going to a wedding at the end of December and I can't wait to see how I look in a suit. I'm in no pain at all. Every so often I'll reach for something and I'll feel a tightness but that's it. No one has noticed anything about me at all.
Update #5 (12/1/2011): Three weeks in the books! Things are still going well. The bruising is completely gone and I haven't been in pain at all. The binder has just become normal, I don't even notice it, but I am looking forward to next week when I switch to the secondary. I have really itchy skin this time of year anyway but the binder is adding to that. After I shower at night, I put moisturizer on and then just sit in a tee for about 30 min before getting back into to the "post-op gear." I started doing this about 5 days ago and it's really helped. The itchiness is mostly on my back and along my sides, so I know its my skin and not my operation. The chest itchiness subsided about a week ago. One thing I have noticed is that when I'm out of the binder my chest isn't super smooth, it almost looks like cellulite, but could be muscle? I can really tell when I put my arms behind my back and lock my thumbs. It not bad, but noticeable in certain light. But I'm only 3 weeks post-op so I'm not too worried about it. I have my 6 week post-op appointment with Dr Jacobs after the New Year so I'll ask him about it then, if its even a problem. I can't wait to hit the gym next week. I was always reluctant to go because no matter how much weight I lost, the gyne would always be there, so it was like why bother. The scars, according to my wife are almost gone. They're not, but there are getting smaller by the day. Last Friday I switched from Neosporin and band-aids to just the Vitamin-E oil. Everything has been smooth sailing. So no complaints from me thus far.
Topic: My Story (11/10/11) -Dr. Jacobs * Updated 12/1/2011 (Read 4005 times)
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