Surgery ... done and not feeling good at all

[znilracd]

how's the healing process comming along brebguy?

[brebguy]

its actually going pretty good. i mean my recovery has always been fairly easy (i thought i would have been worst). i was worried about my hematomas but they started to get smaller 2 days ago as predicted. i'm almost not itchy anymore and have never had bruising or swelling. the bandages fell off and the whole thing looks pretty good. you cant tell i had lipo with the whole. you just see that the nipples are healing now...

the only thing i said was that my left side is bigget than the right one. the left side reduced a bit but is still bigger. anyways, i know its kinda early to tell so i'll a few more weeks before i start thinking about bugging the Fielding about it...

but i can finally wear a tshirt without a problem.... some friends actually noticed i look different. i think some of them know that i did something to my chest. oh well as long as it looks good now i'm happy about it.
so all in all, the whole thing is totally worth it.

sorry i couldn't take pics...

[Give me Life]

Brebguy:

About comression belt, do you think I should buy the one you bought from makemeheal? (One for $70) or better one (your suggestion) or the one Dr. Firlding give is good enough?

How long you have to wear the belt for? I read somewhere that first 2 week, 24 hrs. and then for another 5-6 weeks for 5-6 hours a day. Is that right?

What you are following in time?

[brebguy]

hey Give me life,

well the compression belt i have is 53 $ + 35 $ shipping + tax...came out to about 100$.
but i'm not sure its all that worth it. the compression is not incredible as its made out of pretty much the same fabric as a bathing suit.

i think a tight under armor shirt should do the job and its a lot less expensive. but i would still suggest buying one. The tensor wrap Fielding gave me kept falling off because of my body shape i guess.

while wearing both, i had a more uniform compression and it felt more comfortable. (besides, living with gyne, i was already use to wear very tight undershirts to hide the whole thing so the tightness wasnt a problem for me.

Fielding tells you to wear the tensor for 3 weeks so wednesday is the big day for me (although i think it will come off tomorrow).

talk to fielding about it though, he might be able to give you a few good hints ( i should have talked to him before i bought mine to see if he though the compression was enough or things like that)...

good luck buddy!

[Give me Life]

Thanks Man.

Now just a week left. So excited but tensed too. Hope all go well.

[BCGUY]

Two weeks from tomorrow for me....... getting pretty excited......

[brebguy]

Hey guys... really happy for you two...
Fielding's great guy, he'll make you really comfortable.

dont stress too much about it, you'll see it should be pretty smooth.

take care guys

[Give me Life]

Thx man.

Keep us posted for any more imp stuff to remember. I am going to pick up compression T from sportscheck tommorow.

[Give me Life]

Hi Guys:

Picked up my compression vest from Sportcheck in Eaton for $35+tax. It's Nike. And tryed on as well. It's really tight. Good Stuff.

But surprised !!! West buffalo, NY on sat'day and doing some shopping. And found same compression vest, same material for just US$15 meaning CAD$20. It's Reebok but same stiff. Can't even find single difference betweej both beside Nike/Reebok sign. So happy.

Guys, make sure that you buy compression vest for same size you wear. Meaning to get better compression don't go one size down. They already make tight (or say one size down) to get better compreesion. Guy from Sportscheck told me that when I was looking for L size instead of XL. And he was 100% correct.

Now only 3 days left. I will have my compression vest with me on dy of surgery and it get a chance, will ask Dr. if this is perfect one or not? Or My wife will check out with Doctor for sure as I will be in "dreams" !!!

[supaaman]

Best of luck man.  It's a breeze and I'm sure it will be for you too.    The vest will be fine.  I'm still using mine 2 weeks in.  It's really not that important for the compression (the tensor does that) but it keeps everything in place, nice and snug (stops it from falling down).  This is more important once the pads come off.  The pads kind of help keep the tensor on nicely.  Get your wife to trim them of a 45 degree angle with scissors so the profile is less obvious.

[brebguy]

very true about the vest. use both. for me it was more comfortable to have both of them and lots of compression...

anyways... i am now 4 weeks post-op quite happy about it and feeling good.

i still wear my tight under shirts (the ones i used to hide gyne) because the chest is not flat yet. sometimes it scares me but i know its way too soon to be expecting a flat chest. what i saw the first time when i removed the pads was incredible. i just hope it will look like this in a few weeks.

the nipple scars appear just a bit not too much on the right side, a little more on the left side which also developped a lot more scar tissue under the skin (i hope it wont show too much)
all in all so far the chest is pretty round (compared to the conic shape i had before surgery so that is already a very good improvement.

never had pain and bruising  and still dont today. i started going to the gym a few days ago and the pain  from working out has never felt so good lol...
the lipo scars are a bit darker (i'm black so i expected that to happend)

the left side was bigger at first but now, both sides are pretty much the same.

still have a hematoma on the left side but its slowly but surely getting smaller. so pretty good for now. looking forward to the next few weeks.

anyways, cheers guys.

[supaaman]

Hey Brebguy,

Same as you... left side has more scar tissue underneath and not healing as nicely for far.

Did Fielding say when you could hit the gym? At 4 weeks or earlier?

Also, did he say to firmly massage the scar tissue and if so, when?

Cheers

[brebguy]

i started gym on third week (thats what he told me)

i was scared to work out my chest at first but then i said what the hell... so i did and it feels good.

he did say to massage the nipples to avoid scar tissue but i started to do that after about 2 weeks and a half (i was just scared to massage the left side to hard because it had been bleeding while i removed the pads) so i might have waited a bit too long before i started massaging. so far the scar tissue doesnt show so its alright. i just hope it wont show when the chest is completely flat.

i think Fielding said that when someone develops a lot of scar tisse, it can be removed but i did not really pay attention.

i donc car about it that much unless it shows through my shirts.

the only weird thing is that when my nipples are hard it really shows a lot more through my tshirts...i mean HELLO!!!!

it wast like that before... lol
am i the only one to have noticed such a change ?

[supaaman]

Thanks man,

Yeah I started massaging a bit a few days ago (at about 9-10 days) with the scar tissue, but I will call him Monday to see how vigourously and how much it should be done.  I got a fair bit of scar tissue on the left side only.  My concern isn't the scar showing through, but distorting the areola shape.  I am not sure how much swelling I have (doesn't seem like much), but the symmetry is off between the left and right side.  It appears the left is still more swollen.  The left areola folds at the top a bit when the area isn't under compression for a few minutes (after a shower).  Seems like the areola is sticking to the scar tissue underneath maybe?  I'll ask him.

I'm still wrapped up here, so can't say if the nipples would poke out yet.

The chest contour looks good, but the areola distortion is a little worrysome.  I guess it is waaay to early to worry, but want to make sure I do everything right.

I'm jealous man...I can't wait until I get this damned tensor off and canhot the gym!

[Give me Life]

Hello Guys:

I am just 3 days now after surgery. By grace of god, no pain. But worst time is when I go to sleep. I cann't sleep just on back. It hurts a lot. It is 4.15AM and I am on computer. I can't sleep more than 4-5 hours on just back.

After 2 days, still no pain on left side. but slight pain on right side. Near nipple. May be stiches. I just feel he forgot to do anything on left side. That's why no pain. But I feel lots of difference. I know the size I had (that's why paid highest $$$ so far) and with tensor belt and form pads everything, still i feel difference. Even my wife told me that you have smaller chest than before. I hope all goes well when I remove the wrap on Tuesday when I am going to see him for 1 wk post op.

One thing also, I wondered that how people can go on work on very next week. Today is Friday and I really don't feel comfortable going to work on Monday. Well, I have taken another week off from work. But I think if i feel uncomfortable, I will take another week off. I have very easy work (computer & Chair) but still !!!