I've been strapped!

Well the first 2 weeks weren't horribly slow, but I truly haven't missed having to plan my wardrobe around sports bras!

At my 3 week check, Dr. Vanek and I noticed a little tension area at the bottom of my right breast, which is what I saw before my capsulectomy, so Dr. Vanek recommended that I wear this strap thing for 6-8 hours a day to help the implant move in and down. At first the strap didn't seem so bad, but within a few hours I was already sick of it! It sort of rubbed right under my arm, in the armpit area, and made it difficult to wear anything but baggy shirts to hide it. I've gotten to the point where I make sure it's on by 7:30 in the morning so I can have it off at 3:30 in the afternoon when my kids get home and I have to start working on dinner. It's a huge sigh of relief every day when I can reach into my shirt and release the Velcro....ahhhhhhhh!

Dr. Vanek informed me that I would probably wear the strap for a month or 2, and warned me that it would annoy me but not to get so nuts with wearing it all day and driving myself crazy. Unfortunately, it's been almost 3 weeks since I started wearing it, and I swear, my left side is bottoming out because of it. It's like since my left side was already perfect and fine, the damn strap caused the implant to shift too far down. I am hoping and praying that I am imagining things, but I did call the doc today and he told me to stop wearing the strap. I already have an appt. with him for a check next week, so I'm going to stay calm until then. I was planning on actually running at the gym tonight, my first time since my capsulectomy, but he advised me against it. I guess I'll stick to walking for now, maybe the stationary bike even. I really hope that I am just crazy and there's nothing wrong with my left breast. Keep your fingers crossed for me please!

Recovery

When I woke up from surgery, there was a nurse taking my vitals, and asking me how I felt. I was surprised, but I had some pretty decent pain, like maybe a 6 on a scale of 1-10, so I asked for some pain meds. My vitals were stable, and after a second dose of pain medicine thru my IV, they transferred me back to the little cubby I was in while waiting for surgery.

I was shocked, but the nurses had me stand and transfer back into that recliner chair. Now, I don't know about everyone else, but after surgery, I'm still a little groggy and sleepy from the anesthesia. Imagine how tough it was to try to get comfortable and rest while sitting up in a chair, without the legs reclined or anything. At this point, not having a tv or even a small radio was more than a small annoyance for me. I was too groggy to try to read anything, too uncomfortable to sleep, and there was nothing else to do. Now I realize it was my fault that I didn't have my hubby there to keep my company, but quite frankly, I didn't want to talk, I wanted to rest.

I continued to have like this burning pain in my right breast, and at one point I did hit the call button and ask a nurse about it. She checked the incision, said it was oozing a little bit, which was normal, and then left. After Dr. Vanek came in to check on me, he did ask them to give me 2 Percocet for the pain, which is twice the amount ordered for me to take once I get home. Anyway, the nurse gives me the meds, and 10 minutes later comes back to let me know that my husband is outside waiting to pick me up. One of my little ones fell asleep, so he just stayed in the car. She hands me the bag with my personal belongings in it, tells me to get dressed, walks out and closes the curtain. I'm sitting there thinking, " Well, this should be fun. All drugged up and I get to get dressed without any help!" Anyway, I got myself dressed, coat and shoes on, and I opened the curtain up to let them know I was ready to go. The nurse comes back after a few minutes, and has me walk out of the recovery area and out to the waiting room to meet my husband. Seriously, women have babies and fricken get a wheelchair to take them to the car. But I guess since it was an elective surgery for my boob, I get to walk. Add some Percocet and the whole thing becomes a lot more fun for everyone.

I did make it to the car, just about the time I thought I was going to vomit all over the place. Fortunately, I got the seat to recline back a bit, and I closed my eyes while my hubby drove us to get some Boston Market. I had only eaten some Lorna Doone cookies and that was after surgery and not nearly enough to combat the nausea that Percocet can cause. We also had to stop at the drugstore to fill some antibiotic prescriptions for the little ones, who had been at the pediatrician while I was in surgery and diagnosed with ear infections and colds.

By the time we made it home, I really didn't think I could eat anything. I tried several times to eat small bites of vegetables and some turkey, but each time I felt like it would be jumping back out of my mouth before I could get it swallowed. I was very upset with the care I received, and called my mom to have a good cry about the whole thing and just to get some reassurance that the pain and nausea would go away and that I would be fine. Talk about being a baby!

I got thru the night with the help of Percocet. Sleeping in the Lazy Boy isn't nearly as comfortable when you know you have to be there instead of your bed. Fortunately, HSN and QVC seem to run the best darn stuff in the middle of the night, so I had a whole list of things to buy by the time my hubby woke up in the morning. ( I was with phone but without credit card during the night! ) It's funny, but after just a few days, even my kids knew to put the TV on Home Shopping Network before they went to bed hehe!

The pain was more of a burning feeling, and I definately felt yuckier than I did with my initial BA and lift. I met with Dr. Vanek the day after surgery and was transferred into my sports bra. God, how I didn't miss having to wear those 24/7. The next 2 weeks are going to drive me insane!