Recovery

After such a smooth surgery and hospital stay, I have to say I expected to fly through this recovery process and be back to my normal self after a week. So it came as quite a disappointment to me that this was not the case. The recovery, to me, has been tougher than the actual surgery. The first few days my arms and chest were sore, like I'd worked out too hard. The biggest thing is I tire so quickly. Any visits longer than a half hour make me so exhausted, I sleep the rest of the day. Also the expanders are a pain in my you know what. They're uncomfortable and hurt.

Also, because of the way my nipples were bandaged and secured, (creased upward) blood flow was an issue. So when I went for my check up, the tips of my nipples and random spots on my aureola had darkened to almost a blackened color. The skin on these parts were rough feeling. So my PS removed the bandaging and order me to not wear a bra in the hopes that the crease would smooth out and I'd get enough blood flow to my nipples so that they'd survive. After my appointment I met up with an old friend I'd recently reconnected with and then Josh picked me up. By the time Josh picked me up, I was in EXCRUCIATING pain. My thoughts are that the expanders had moved around since they were no longer secured, basically rubbing against flesh that had been cut during the surgery. Luckily I had percocet at home because I needed them BADLY. It was the most pain I'd been in this entire time. By the next day the expanders seemed to have settled and I had no pain. Now it was just a matter of waiting for the crease in my nipples to smooth. Eventually gravity did its job and they flattened a bit. The darkened skin on my nipples and aureolas began to toughen up almost to scab form. After that the drain sites began hurting me pretty badly. With the advice from a friend I met, going through the exact same surgery (the day after mine), I taped the tube to my waist and that seemed to help, along with pain meds of course. :) My newest pain is the oddest. My upper chest is hyper-sensitive. It's the oddest feeling. If I touch the skin on my chest over my expanders repeatedly, even VERY lightly, it begins to hurt and I start getting back pain. It feels like a sunburn with direct triggers to the muscles on my back. I have an appointment tomorrow with my PS so I'll ask about that.

There are plenty of good things that came out of my surgery though! First of all, my friends and family have been bringing Josh and I meals, driving me to appointments, running errands and my mom has been spending time with my during the day while Josh is at work. I am so grateful to all of them for this and big thanks to my sister-in-law G for arranging the meals. Yesterday morning my friend L brought me a smoothie for breakfast! It was the sweetest thing. Also, before the surgery I rebuilt a bridge I had burnt with an old friend and reconnected with a childhood friend. She and I are working on trying to get back to where we used to be and I couldn't be happier. Speaking of friends, I've made a new friend through the FORCE website who I mentioned earlier. She had her PBM surgery the day after mine and she and I message through FB and compare war stories or just chat. She understands me in a way that others just can't right now. I'm so grateful to God for putting her in my life and we're already talking about meeting face to face one day.

Advice for those of you going through or who will be going through this process. Use your recovery time to RECOVER. Don't overdo it. I know it's hard, but power through a tv series, read books or magazines, and REST. It is the key to a quick and full recovery. Just because the pain is gone, does not mean you are better. You will not be better for months. Also, my next post will be a list of recommendations and tricks to help you through your surgery and the recovery period. XOXO

-Rosanna