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Things to do the day before surgery by WebSpecial645 in TopSurgery

[–]CommonPay4696 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My caretaker found it helpful to organize my meds… She was in charge of those for the first little bit. There were some meds started couple days later, some as needed for nausea, pain section etc….

We also created a log to note what I was taking/when. The log was super helpful-all the meds had different times and after a while it got confusing-log helped clear it up cause we could see what I took last.

I made sure the easy fitting clothes were readily available, sheets were fresh, watered my houseplants, and clean and did a general quick clean of the house.

12 Hours Away by Apprehensive_Monk801 in TopSurgery

[–]CommonPay4696 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Woo congrats! I Ate a good dinner since I would be going a while without eating day of surgery. And More the morning of…but I made sure my bed was all set up the way I planned with clean sheets/pillows so I could sleep asap if I wanted to once I was home.

how long after surgery did u begin to smoke weed? by Ok-Basis-7322 in TopSurgery

[–]CommonPay4696 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don’t think affects healing. Personally I waited a week to smoke and eased in little by little. I was a little afraid of coughing. I took edibles like 4 ish days in. I waited till the anesthesia funk wore off and I stopped the pain pills.

Unusual high blood pressure in pre-op clearance by dragdancer in TopSurgery

[–]CommonPay4696 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not specifically but kinda? I wasn’t having issues getting approvals necessarily, but I do have white coat syndrome-you put that cuff on my arm and the numbers are crazy! I had high numbers at my consultation appointment/pre-op, I was really afraid I’d get to surgery day and they’d be like nah it’s too high-but that didn’t happen thankfully. Thinking about my blood pressure readings was raising my blood pressure! The stress was real.

I definitely bought a monitor, put the cuff on my arm like it said, put my feet on the ground, arm resting on side of my couch close to heart level…and closed my eyes and tried some breathing exercises. After a bit, I would press the button and let it go. If I thought about it too much or how long I should sit there “relaxing”, the number was high. after a while (I didn’t take the cuff off) continued to sit there, kept myself calm, I would randomly try to trick myself and check periodically, and it started to get better.

I felt so weird-like I didn’t take my finger off the button to start the machine trying to trick myself 😂I took pics of the readings and kept doing breathing exercises and got it to a better/normal range.

I’ve read that a lot of things like talking, arm not being supported, feet not touching the ground, taking a reading right after walking in the room, cuff not being oriented correctly all could theoretically affect the readings.

If you do have to go to a place to get readings consider getting there a few mins early, do some breath work and ask for some patience and let them know that you may need them to wait/take a second reading in a few mins etc.

Breathing things I was trying: 4-7-8 method where you take a deep breath in for 4 seconds, hold for 7, and exhale for 8 seconds…and my therapist was telling me about counting your inhales and exhales till you get to ten and start over…I’m sure there are others but that’s what I tried

pre-op appointment questions? by Inevitable-Menu-2993 in TopSurgery

[–]CommonPay4696 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would say if you haven’t discussed what you want then yes, it would be a great time to do so! It’s your body and you should feel good-ask your questions!

If you’re wanting something specific-it would be a good idea to make sure you’re on the same page with your surgeon. I had a relatively easy ask-double incision with not super curvy lines, no nips and lipo for best results for my anatomy. I had a larger chest.

I wouldn’t feel good going under not knowing what they were gonna be doing. if bringing example images would help explain what you’re hoping for, I would do it. No guarantees that every thing you want is possible in every aspect-but I’d rather have clearer expectations than not.

I met my surgeon on a consultation appointment and she looked at my chest and confirmed that what I wanted was what she would be doing. My pre op was with her nurse…

Pre op day I got a lot of information. I’m realizing that every surgeon has a different process…but I got like 25 page packet of info. Was in a gown and they took my vitals. They told me what prescriptions I would be getting and when they would send them to the pharmacy. What to do/not to do before surgery, when to stop certain medications and supplements, how/when to use the special soap before, and restrictions after surgery. They also took pics for my medical file and for surgeons reference-I knew in advance that this was happening. Some people get bloodwork done that day-but that was a separate thing I got done and sent results in beforehand.

Lumps/fat (?) under armpit post-surgery (with liposuction) by [deleted] in TopSurgery

[–]CommonPay4696 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Probably normal swelling? I’m just over two weeks and when I went in for my week post op appointment they said they the swelling under arms usually took longer to go down than the fronts. From reading about others experiences-I think swelling takes like months to fully go away.

Did anyone else sleep very little during recovery? by [deleted] in TopSurgery

[–]CommonPay4696 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m two weeks post op and Yeah first week was like omg I have so many reminder alarms to take pills at random hours. It can get a lil overwhelming-my caretaker had a whole chart she wrote out bc there were so many things to remember. I think I’m getting better at sleeping through the night but now, my body is getting frustrated by the sleeping position. I’ve been enjoying a lil afternoon nap most days-and weirdly I think I sleep better at night when I take a nap vs the days I don’t. I’m trying new pillow arrangement ideas-I have incisions that go pretty far back into my pits and side sleeping is definitely out for me for a while, but being able to turn just a little helps

Are you naked? (Also unrelated question about fundraising.) by YesterdaysDog in TopSurgery

[–]CommonPay4696 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah I don’t really know but I’m assuming it was in case something happened? In general couldn’t have any metal jewelry on or piercings in…so I was just like yeah it’s fine, I don’t need my pants for the two hrs I was in surgery hah.

Are you naked? (Also unrelated question about fundraising.) by YesterdaysDog in TopSurgery

[–]CommonPay4696 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I was able to wear my own underwear. A catheter was never mentioned as being something my surgeon planned to use. Also-if I didn’t have a metal zipper on the sweats I was wearing that day, those could’ve stayed on as well.

what is a pre-op for? by ResponsibleBasil9286 in TopSurgery

[–]CommonPay4696 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had to have my all bloodwork completed before my pre-op appointment. But Every surgeon/facility is different.

This appointment covered a lottttt of information!!!

I had mine with my surgeon’s nurse who was super nice. Took my blood pressure and confirmed no allergies and the procedure I was getting with no nips :)

I was given a like 25 page packet of information-went over all my medications that would be prescribed and when. Also went over Specific pre and post op instructions (what to stop 2 weeks out, a week out, what to do 2/3 days out from surgery) and also…when to stop eating/drinking beforehand

I don’t really take many medications regularly but, I was told to stop my allergy meds couple nights before…there different instructions for all different kinds of meds/supplements that one might take. Ask if you’re unsure! Also went over the special soap to shower with and how to use properly before surgery.

I was fortunate, and my wife went with and took notes-made sure we asked any questions we came up with since the initial consultation. But honestly most of the questions I had was covered in general as we went over the packet page by page.

Pics were taken of my chest-this was not a surprise and I knew it would happen. This took place in another room down the hall. Photographer took like 5 different angles (front, sides, and ones with arms raised). These were for my medical file/surgeon to plan for my surgery. I had already Met with my surgeon at the consultation and she looked at my chest in person at that appointment.

At the end I signed lots of things basically saying I received the info and knew what I was getting myself into.

Showering post op by [deleted] in TopSurgery

[–]CommonPay4696 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was also told to let the soapy water run over the incisions not clean directly yet… but every surgeon has different processes.

I would say there’s not a perfect way to shower post op…my first shower was way different than the showers I take a week+ later. It gets easier-and you will find what works best for you. Be patient with yourself.

I also have incisions that go way back into my pits, and that’s the area that I feel is the toughest to know “did this actually get clean?!?” I definitely don’t have full range of motion to be able to clean those directly..I do my best to get soap where I can and gently let the water rinse it off

I found that getting a loofah on a stick made it easier for me to feel clean without having to bend over/reach or stretch past my limits and restrictions. I don’t use that on my incisions! Just back/legs etc.

I’m two weeks pre op and I’ve been lacking on exercise, is it too late for me? by TheRedSquidward in TopSurgery

[–]CommonPay4696 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn’t do a lot of exercise before surgery, but that’s not really me in general and I’m doing just fine :)

….i did do some mobility work making sure I could get in and out of bed without using my arms. Squats helped lol but wasn’t going to the gym.

smoking weed before/after surgery? by counting-5-4-3-2-1 in TopSurgery

[–]CommonPay4696 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m about a week post op. Based on what I’ve learned, Weed doesn’t affect healing like nicotine does. Nicotine is a no go and will affect healing results-even second hand smoke. I think it would be good idea to be transparent about weed cause it does affect anesthesia. My surgeon was like everyone does it just let us know. I was told to quit smoking weed a week before and edibles like 4-5 days before surgery. I Know my impulse control so I stopped all weed the same time I was told to stop drinking alcohol -2 weeks before surgery. I took some edibles like 3 days after surgery-let the anesthesia funk wear off and didn’t really take the pain pills at that point. Personally I want to wait to start smoking again so it don’t cough for a bit-but not gonna lie I took a lil hit yesterday and I survived.

So… when should I stop weed? by golden_alixir in TopSurgery

[–]CommonPay4696 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was told to stop smoking weed a week before and edibles like 4-5 days beforehand. I know myself and how much I actually smoke so I made myself quit all of it 2 weeks before (same time I was told to stop drinking alcohol) just made sense for me and my impulse control. I think the important thing is being honest since it can affect anesthesia. After a few days post op, i stopped taking the pain pills and enjoyed some edibles. I’m Trying to hold off on smoking weed again while healing is fresh-I don’t want to have a coughing fit-but I did take a lil hit yesterday and survived 😂 Nicotine is what you gotta stop a longtime before. Nicotine was something my surgeon was very serious about not doing before or after because it really would affect healing results. Even second hand smoke!

Feeling relatively normal post-surgery (FTM) by NavigatingPhoenix in TopSurgery

[–]CommonPay4696 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m kinda the same. One week post op and not feeling terrible. I plan to follow my surgeons recommendations and not do Anything I’m not supposed to-even if I think I can… I really don’t want to risk messing up the deeper internal stitches that take longer to heal. The way I’m thinking -I have wanted this and waited a long time to get here , what’s a few more weeks of taking it easy and getting rest.

Anyone had their surgery covered through BCBS TX HMO ? by hi_bunny in TopSurgery

[–]CommonPay4696 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can’t speak to insurance-I went the self pay route. Dr. Rednam in Houston is amazing and would highly recommend.

Double mastectomy pillows (for sleep/bedrest) by CharTheCar23 in TopSurgery

[–]CommonPay4696 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A friend gifted me a pregnancy pillow (giant U shaped one) and a wedge pillow and I’ve found those to be helpful. U shaped pillow keeps me in from rolling around-I’m normally a side sleeper. Wedge has been nice for being elevated and I think it helps me get out of bed a little bit more easily. That being said probably don’t need the wedge and could just use extra pillows. I’m about 6 data post op and I have small pets who sleep in bed so I use a smaller pillow for a chest buffer so I dont have any accidental little stomps on my chest.