I took this picture a little sooner than 3 weeks post-op, but it looks the same.
After two weeks, all my bandages were removed ( HUGE relief cuz I hated them) at my final appointment at the Papillon Center. The numbness and tenderness in my chest is mostly gone now. Not that I can feel much, but that it doesn’t feel so strange anymore. The nipples are scabbing now, which is normal. I was told to let them get some air, and that they would scab and then turn pink. I took all these pictures once I was able to scrub away all the ink and adhesive around my incisions.
Yeah, the nipples look kind of gross now, but Dr. McGinn and Heather told me they look really good. So I can’t wait to see how they turn out after a few months.
Soon I can put silicone strips on the incisions (but NOT on the nipples) to help them heal faster. Heather said I could even use them for a year.
Not all of my stitches are out yet, but I feel very little discomfort. I am allowed to reach above my head now, but I can’t lift anything too heavy. I’m allowed to return to work July 18. Yaay…. >_>
I do want to note that I had some severe, sharp pain in my shoulder that started about a week after my surgery. It was kind of excruciating, and mostly only flared up at night. I was able to make it bearable by taking my prescribed pain medicine and applying Icy Hot frequently. The pain got worse, remaining in my shoulder and spreading to the middle of my chest, especially when I took a deep breath. Thankfully, that all went away by the time I ran out of pain meds. I don’t know what it was. We speculated that it could have been from my posture. I was slouching a lot because of the bandages around my chest. Once they came off, it was easier to straighten up.
I have one word of advice about getting top surgery. If, after the surgery, you are not able to urinate, I suggest calling the doctor and telling them right away that you are experiencing urine retention. They will give you medicine for it. It reeeaaally sucks having a full bladder and not being able to get a drop out. And once you get the medicine, drink tons of water (which you should be doing anyway after surgery) because that medicine can give you low blood pressure, which causes bad headaches.
I also want to say that there was a lot less pain but a lot more discomfort involved in this whole thing than I expected.
But I’m really happy about my results, and so grateful for the supportive people in my life. Really wish I could go swimming soon, but I’m about 3 or 4 weeks away from that activity.
Thanks for reading. 🙂 If anyone has any questions for me about the surgery or the Papillon Center, leave a comment.
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