8/7/15 surgery done with paul levick

[james66]

How to start guys. The last 24 hours has been pretty mental. Flew over yesterday at 1 o'clock a fee trains and a bus later I was at my hotel. As soon as I checked in I was of to the priory to meet Mr levick for the first time. 
The consultation was really relaxing any doubts you may have will be washed away from just a small dialogue with paul, he puts you at ease straight away. For those of you that are a bit shy I would say I had my top of for no longer than 20 seconds so there is really nothing to worry about. I always knew I was going ahead with the surgery so this was just something I had to go through with.
I left my hotel at 7.40 this morning and made my way to the priory. Traffic was very busy and I was 4 minutes late but no harm done. I got shown to my room and was informed I was second to be operated on so I had about an hour and a half to chill out. Next thing I knew it was time to go. I am currently sitting with my feet up watching the tennis.
Chest is quite tight but was expecting worse to be honest. The anesthetic hasn't really affected me. The first thing I done when I was back to my room was get up and walk to the toilet for a pee, this shocked the nurses quite a bit. I haven't slept since the op and would say I feel no more than a We bit tired. There are two things attached to my legs to stop clots which are extremely annoying filling up alternatively every 10 seconds but I think they will come off soon. 
My final mention for now goes to all the staff at the priory. They are all so pleasant and down to earth. Can sit and chat to all them and they all enjoy having a bit of banter wich helps. Paul has my photos which I will upload tomorrow I will attach one I took this morning to show what my before chest looked like.

[james66]

Any ideas how I can upload photos from my phone the size seems like it is too big to upload

[hammer]

Try using the smallest photo size setting in your settings menu of your camera. Sometimes it will have JPEG or email setting, or just use the very 1st one.

[rotors]

m p

[james66]

Hopefully this works.  I will be able to show the photos paul took whenever he calls in and see me later

[james66]

And finally the burger shot. He said that they weren't in the category of big but extremely big lol when I look at the photos of the before surgery I wonder why I have never got it done sooner

[rotors]

m p

[james66]

Beginning to swell up over the binder now. The tape pulling on my armpit hairs is a real bitch too but the glance I got yesterday was surreal. Stay of the booze and plenty of rest  no exercise for 3 weeks to help with the recovery will be the real killer. 

[rotors]

m p

[james66]

Haha should have shaved them off. Am sure I can last two days till I take them off. The whole experience is so much more stress free than I imagined. Just have to be patient and keep the compression on. I actually like the feel of the binder being tighter. It was very loose when I left this morning and it didn't feel secure at all. Will post my update shot next Thursday. Haven't taken any paracetamol yet since this morning. Will the pain get worse?

[mart356]

Haha should have shaved them off. Am sure I can last two days till I take them off. The whole experience is so much more stress free than I imagined. Just have to be patient and keep the compression on. I actually like the feel of the binder being tighter. It was very loose when I left this morning and it didn't feel secure at all. Will post my update shot next Thursday. Haven't taken any paracetamol yet since this morning. Will the pain get worse?

I was generally ok the first few days after, but about 5 days post op i started to get more pain around the nipple area. Just had my first shower and look and the whole area is quite numb so I assume its the nerves and things playing up, just keep up to speed with your paracetomol taking and it wont get too bad

[Stan19]

Congratulation hope recovery goes well for you. Crikey the burgers are huge you must be thrilled. Did mr levick mention his retirement?  

[james66]

It's a strange feeling at the minute. I feel like I'm only starting the process. I've had a few peaks at my chest and it's hard to know what's going on. Hard to tell how it looks so will be anxious to see how things are this time next week. Yea he mentioned it I think it is around October November time. He video recorded my procedure for teaching purposes so whoever is replacing him will be applying the same techniques. 

[mart356]

It's a strange feeling at the minute. I feel like I'm only starting the process. I've had a few peaks at my chest and it's hard to know what's going on. Hard to tell how it looks so will be anxious to see how things are this time next week. Yea he mentioned it I think it is around October November time. He video recorded my procedure for teaching purposes so whoever is replacing him will be applying the same techniques.

Just remember, anything you see of your chest now or when you take it off in a week will be nowhere near the finished article. I took my binder off for the first time today, its bumpy, theres fluid build up, bruised, looks a bit of a mess, but its a very long healing process and this is just the beginning

[wbay21]

Just a point on the painkiller bit. I am no doctor and not medically trained so take this with a pinch of salt, but Paracetamol is great for pain, so is Ibuprofen and that has anti-swelling properties. Check out the labels and guides in the respective packs and your own allergic reactions etc.
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Painkillers-ibuprofen/Pages/Introduction.aspx
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/painkillers-paracetamol/pages/introduction.aspx
I chose Ibuprofen as my pill of choice.

I still swelled up over the binder in the early aftermath, so much so that Mr Levick joked that he missed a bit! lol.
But afterwards, given a few days it was largely controlled.

And just wow on the pre-op size, I bet you're as pleased as Punch!