Surgery Completed With Karidis 21.05.13

[Era]

Wow i cant believe i'm finally on the other side of all this and on the long road to recovery. I didn't feel nervous at any point leading up to me going under, i think its because i had read so many logs on here i knew exactly what to expect.

The hospital and the staff where all great, im a bit disappointed karidis didn't visit me after the surgery though. I know he doesn't for any of his patients but i really think he should take 5 minutes out to see how his patient is and tell them how the surgery went himself etc.

Peeling the dressing off the day after the surgery was a bitch its so sticky, my skin was stretching really bad and i suddenly felt light headed and got a cold sweat. When i took the plasters off my nipples i was amazed i couldn't even see the incision site.

My right nipple was the first to be uncovered and i was amazed again at how flat and small it was, before the surgery it was quite large and stretched so i'm so happy to see a normal nipple under there.

My left nipple was bulging out on the left half almost as though there was gland left there, im not going to worry about it as i'm sure karidis would have never left it like that so i'm just going to say its swelling.

I'm getting about 4 hours sleep a night the position you have to sleep in is really uncomfy and i was told i had to sleep like this for a full week. The vest can get pretty itchy it times but its not too bad.

I wish i had this done months ago, me and my gf split up about 4 months ago and 2 months ago i met a lovely new girl. She knows all about my surgery and is totally accepting of it, she's absolutely awesome. My problem is we cant have sex and we are both gagging haha, but i want to wait until i can support my own weight and be able to take my t shirt off and do things properly!

I have not got much of an appetite iv'e been managing to get down maybe 800 calories and that's including pineapple juice. I'm thinking this is maybe from the anaesthetic?

I stayed the night in a hotel rather than travel back to manchester. Part of me wishes i went back the same day so i could be in my own room but part of me was glad for staying because i felt really tired and stiff.

I'm now 3 days post op and i haven't had any leakage of any fluid what so ever, also im not even bruised :S am i superhuman haha? Im disappointed that i don't have chest muscles under the gyne because i have a pretty strong chest iv'e been training for around 8 months. i look like i have no chest muscles at all

i have a few questions if anyone knows the answers it would be great

When can i start running again

after the first week of sleeping upright can i then sleep anyway i want or flat on my back

how long approximately does it take for the tenderness and tightness to go away

how long do i need to keep plasters on my incisions for

after wearing the vest for 24 hours a day for 2 weeks would you wear it for 12 hours a day for 2 more weeks or 4

3 Months Pre Op





3 Day Post Op

[Donut]

Wow!! Amazing result, must be over the moon!!  When we ever get some summer it'll be tight t-shirts all the way then?

[improving]

Excellent result, congratulations dude.

[Era]

Thanks guys i am over the moon . When i can take the plasters off i will take some more pics. My mobility has improved loads over night i feel much better.

[thetodd]

Excellent result!

Dont things through so much, just relax and let nature take its course because in terms of recovery you are in the honeymoon period it may get a bit bumpy. As long as your incisions are scabbed over, you can take the plasters off.

Depends on what sort of running you are doing, road running will be harder. Id say three weeks to a month and get a nike underarmour vest to keep everything tight.

I think sleeping upright is just for the first 24 hours, its to do with blood circulation. You wont want to lie anywhere but your back because it will hurt.

I wore the vest for a week, and then just at night afterwards. It seems to change everytime someone has surgery to be honest it wont really hinder your recovery eitherway two weeks sounds more than enough.

you probably wont have to much of an appetite because you may be constipated from the painkillers. But try and eat a bit because your body does need sustenance i just ate loads of fruit packs when i was recovering.

[Era]

Thanks todd. I woke up this morning with a hard lump between my nipple and armpit. Is this swelling? I'm 10 days post op.

[sjwsjw]

Won't be anything to worry about. I had a couple of hard areas after a couple of weeks. Mine was scar tissue but through massage I flattened it out to be invisible from the outside.

You'll still be healing and things will be changing pretty drastically for the first few weeks. Don't worry about any lumps bumps or tender spots atm it's totally normal. Your body is dealing with the internal trauma of the surgery and going through a healing process.

Take care to not over do any activity and eat well, rest as much as you can. Usual really.

Once the tenderness has gone and the healing is a little further you can massage the area and increase the blood flow. Really does wonders and gives you (literally) a feel of the stage your chest is at. Don't want to massage before you have healed enough as to mean you are causing the healing area to be damaged though.

You shouldn't be too far off being about to massage. I think I started at around 3 weeks. You'll know when you feel comfortable touching and applying gentle pressure.

[sjwsjw]

Pics looks good btw. Just keep that end result in mind it seems a way off atm but time really does fly once your over the drastic daily appearance changing stage 

[improving]

Thanks todd. I woke up this morning with a hard lump between my nipple and armpit. Is this swelling? I'm 10 days post op.

Wouldn't worry too much about this, i had it and it didn't hang around very long. Maybe 2 weeks or so.

[KSS24]

Thanks todd. I woke up this morning with a hard lump between my nipple and armpit. Is this swelling? I'm 10 days post op.

Any more pictures on your progress mate? How are you getting on with the vest etc?

[Era]

Thanks for the info sj i was going to massage at week 2 but i think im going to wait another week like you say because the lumpy areas do feel very tender. Hey ks actually i was going to upload pics for day 7 but missed it so on tuesday im going to take some 2 week post op pics.

Does anyone know if i will be contacted to sort out an appointment for a check up? And also if i will be sent a letter or email or something with the amounts of fat and gland that where removed.

[Era]

Oh and the vest hasnt been too bad to be honest, yeh it gets a bit itchy but its not that bad. I took it off today for like 4 hours and by the end of it my chest felt really numb and tingly, was very weird.

[sjwsjw]

You will get a letter with the info as to what was removed any time now really. If I remember right the letter reminds you to contact them for the follow up.

I just did all that through email. He obviously does the same days of the weeks for follow ups and first time consultations.

[Era]

Received my discharge letter by email i have 600ml of fat removed in total and 40g of gland in total. What is the average for gland removed on here?

Will definitely have 2 week post op pics up tomorrow iv'e took them i just have to upload them now.

I didn't wear my vest all day today it felt weird but so good to look flat in a t shirt i cant describe the feeling i kept looking down at my chest consciously and then realising my moobs weren't there any more.

There are a lot of hard lumps all over my chest now, they don't hurt but they do ache a bit, i fell asleep for 2 hours before without the vest on after not having it on all day and my chest was throbbing when i woke up.

[Era]

The left half of my left nipple pokes out in a puffy fashion after not wearing my vest for a couple of hours, i felt the area and i cant decide if it feels lumpy underneath or not (the area feels numb so im struggling to decide). Its obviously some kind of swelling or scar tissue but its so funny the other voice in your head that is saying shit your gyne is growing back.

Im back at work this week and wearing the vest at night, we are wearing our own clothes due to the pretty nice weather and i have to say it feels awesome to stand up straight in a tight t shirt and feel absolutely confident.