Getting back to physical activity - Post Surgery

[thezombie]

Hey guys,

those of you who have had the surgery how long would you wait for :

1. Taking dog for walks.
2. Jogging slightly...
3. Gymming - (body parts like legs and glutes  and hamis and stuff..in short lower body workout)
4. Gymming - Upper body workouts?
5. Going for a swim - local swimming pool
6. spa/sauna?

I hide mine on the 23rd of november and My bandages will be removed on the 1st dec...

thanks..

[JamesDawson]

I was walking 2 days after the operation.
Tried to jog after a week but my chest hurt so it was about 2 weeks before I was comfortable jogging.
About 4 weeks and I was back working in construction, light manual work.
I'm on week 8 now and I'm back weightlifting and heavy manual work like lifting bricks and shoveling gravel, pretty much back to normal apart from raising things above my head because the area is still quite tight.
My gym membership expired but in the next few weeks I hope to go for a swim, I'm just waiting for the scar to fade more so its not as noticeable but the main thing is I can wear tight t-shirts without a protruding chest so I'm happy.

My advice is to take things slowly, everyone heals differently. Just try to walk as much as you can and eat healthy to keep your energy up.

[thezombie]

thanks mate:)

yeh m gonna walk my dog twice evyday now..
the evening bit when i used to go to the gym will be replaced by walks/runs:)

i m looking forward to wear tshirts...i have been avoiding them.. i have been wearing shirts mostly..

[dadz]

I would say just take it as it comes to you. I was walking around the next day after surgery, but definitely had some discomfort. I wouldn't classify anything I went through as pain. As far as jogging goes, it probably took me 3 or so weeks to feel well enough to do so. I'm 4+ weeks post op right now and have been playing full court basketball again as of 3 days ago and am just getting back to my weightlifting routine as well. You'll feel better as the days pass. Just do whatever your body allows. Thats probably the best advice I can give.

[Fatboyslim]

I was really worried about my "down time" but I am really surprised (and happy) how fast recovery has been. Below is what I have done for exercise, all with very little pain. I wear pretty tight compression shirts to make sure nothing moves. Tomorrow morning (Day 16) I plan on running ~8-10 miles.    

Day 3 After Surgery: Walked 1 Mile
Day 4: Walked 2 Miles  
Day 5: Walked 5M
Day 6: Walked 5K (Turkey Trot Thanksgiving Day race)
Day 8: Walked 2M and Jogged (very cautiously) 1M
Day 10: Spin Class for 1 hour. Walked 1M and Ran 1M
Day 11: 30 minutes on Elliptical Trainer (Fast pace but no arms)
Day 12: Spin 1HR. Walked 1M Ran 2M
Day 13: 35Min. on Elliptical and Ran 5.25M
Day 14: Spin. Light weights on the arms and some abs. Ran 3.25 M

...but the main thing is I can wear tight t-shirts without a protruding chest so I'm happy.

I have so many shirts that were banished to the bottom drawer because they "didn't fit". This morning I was going through them and was psyched that I can actually wear them and look "normal"! 

[thezombie]

fatboyslim.thats so amazing u started activities from day 2.
i have been strictly advised by the doctor - no physical activity till 4 weeks..
but m happy u enjoying

[Fatboyslim]

I suppose every doctor has a different opinion and no doubt he has his reasons. My doctor, who is also a competition bodybuilder for the last ~25 years, told me to use my head and only push myself as hard as I feel comfortable. Obviously if it hurts I know to not push myself, but today I ran 9.30 miles at a 4:15 marathon pace and I felt absolutely no pain in my upper body. Legs on the other hand, were not as happy! lol 

I am really curious in your doctors reasoning for why you should not due any physical activity for 4 weeks. I am honestly asking this just to make sure I am not doing some damage to my body that I am not aware of so it's always good to hear other opinions. It may be that we have very different situations. BTW, my doctor said I was about a "6" on a scale of 1-10.   

[303MattS4]

Congrats on your transformation Fatboyslim, your story is very inspiring! I too just had surgery on 12/2 and have been advised to avoid any aerobic exercise (pulse > 90) for at least 3 weeks, but I will probably up that to 6-8 weeks to be safe. I think the main reason for not jumping right back into working out, especially cardio, is due to the increase in blood pressure. Your body is in the very early stages of healing and increasing your blood pressure can put undo stress on healing tissues and cause bleeding.

But as you stated, it's best to follow your doctor's orders.

[thezombie]

ok my 2 cents

according to my understanding

layer 1 = skin
layer 2 = fat
layer 3 = breast tissue
layer 4 = organ tissue

layer 3 is removed completely..
so now layer 2 has to "stick" - (cudnt think of a better word) to layer 4 - and hence the internal stitches..
and layer 1 has to "stick " to so called layer 2- and hence the outer stitches..

so the bodys undergone a fair bit of trauma here.. and healing process here wud be longer than 2-3 weeks..

i wud give it 5 weeks with no physical activity wat so ever.
then week 6 - start running.. and then basically progress as i feel comfortable

[Fatboyslim]

After I read the above posts, I was concerned that I may be doing potential damage to my body so I called my doctor and had a discussion about my recovery. I chose him because this type surgery is his specialty so I feel very comfortable putting my trust in him.

As he said, every patient is different and he bases his opinion on past experiences as well as the individual patient's history and surgery. I am (ironically) considered to be in very good shape now because I am constantly training for marathons now (~4 per year). According to my doctor, as long as I take precautionary measures I should be fine. I do wear very tight compression t-shirts, don't overly push myself and I never felt any movement or any pain when running or other exercises.

I was also concerned about the increase in blood pressure from aerobic exercises (ie running, spin, etc) but in my case that was only a concern for the first week after surgery according to him. Again every person is going to be different but I feel very fortunate.

BTW, I only posted my past work out schedule to let others know that, under certain instances, you may be able to get back to working out sooner than you thought. Personally I kept putting off surgery because of the downtime I thought I would have to have, but I am very encouraged by my recovery and extremely happy that I finally did it.