My Story! May 6th travel for my BA

[creative123]

I chose a PS in a larger city that is about 2 hours from my home. Although there are a few PS in my city, I didn't like the pictures of their work on their site. Also, I wanted to use a female PS. The one that I found practices in Palo Alto, California, I loved the natural look of the pics on her site and she had a great, honest and straightforward way of telling me what everything involved. But the bottom line to making this decision was that I had to stay at a local hotel for 2 nights after the surgery, in case there were any complications then my PS was nearby. Also, traveling right after surgery would not have been a pleasant experience! So a short trip to a hotel was much better than a 2-hour car trip home.

I started out as a 34B, and have had 3 children (all breastfed). I decided that the girls needed a little something and so, during my pre-op, I decided to get 350cc silicon unders. As I have a very small frame, my ps showed me that high profile would fit my natural size the best. We also discussed that the left side had less tissue due to a recent biopsy, and so I told my PS that she should put in 375cc if she thought that looked best during surgery.

My surgery was scheduled for 1:30 on May 6th. I wasn't allowed to eat from midnight the night before, and wow did I get hungry by the time that surgery time arrived! Fortunately, I was able to drink clear liquids up until 9 am the day of the surgery so that helped a lot.

I was very nervous waiting for the surgery to start---having second thoughts about doing it, wondering why I was doing it. I realized though, that this was something that I'd wanted to do for a long time and that if I called it off now it was never going to happen. Really, it was just pre-op jitters. At 1:30 exactly, I was wheeled into the operating room and that's all I really remember until I awoke at 3:10. My doctor said that everything went well, I was in an ace bandage and dizzy as anything. I was put into a wheelchair and then my husband drove me back to a local hotel where I was going to spend the next few days.

I started my pain meds (percocet, valium) right away. Although I was pretty naseous and dizzy for about 10 minutes, I settled down right away in bed and actually felt pretty good for the rest on the night. I felt a sort of dull ache but it was very very tolerable. I had my husband go to a local store to buy a few dozen bottles of water and some soft foods like yogurt and things. I started drinking water that evening, and continued to do so for next few days.

My husband, who had spent the first night with me, left by mid-morning of the first post-op day. I took the advice of all you ladies and stayed on those meds during the next two days like clockwork, and it worked like a charm. I started by antibiotics today also. The pain was never more than an ache, and I was even able to get myself dressed and shuffle down to the pool to read some magazines for a few hours. I brought along some rented DVD's and generally the first day post-op passed really easily.

My first post-op appointment was on the second post-op day. Again, I took all my meds, and was able to take a bath and even wash my own hair. For some reason, I had no problem raising my arms to do so. I was careful not to get any of my bandages wet at all, though. I got dressed and made up, and my first post-op went really well. My doctor said that I was softening up really well. She had thought that she might prescribe singulair to help soften them up, but she decided that she didn't need to. She showed me how to do the message/exercise and gave me the strap. Because I as coming long distance, I bought an extra strap just to have (I haven't opened it yet, so I probably didn't need to do that).

Now that I'm home, I've been taking the antibiotics regularly but the pain meds only at night to make sure I can sleep. Things seem to be going really well---I don't feel any significant pain although I'm not doing any heavy lifting and not doing the regular excerise routines that I usually do. I so happy that I did this, already I can see that this was the right decision for me. Now I can't wait to see what happens with the d+f!

Thanks to all of you for your great support!! I'm really happy with this decision! It's tough to go through something that I'm not comfortable sharing with friends and to know that there are others out there ready and willing to share their stories!!!!

[SpecialK]

Congratulations. I am glad to hear that things are going well for you. Here's to a happy and painless recovery.

[creative123]

You are only 2 days away!!! Honestly, I was more worried about post-op pain than I needed to be! Staying on top of the meds and making sure that the kids were taken care of by someone that I/they trust were both huge factors for me... I hope yours goes well too!

[zephyr love]

great story enjoyed reading it!

glad you can tolerate the pain and on top of your meds!!!

[Robyn79]

Great story. Thank you for sharing it with us. I am so happy that you are dealing well with the pain and I hope things continue to go well for you! Good luck d&f'ing.

[Bella2215]

Congratulations...I am so happy to hear that everything has gone smoothly for you. Hopefully when i get mine done it is as smooth as it was for you!!

[tupperware_mama]

Thanks for your story! Congrats on a great surgery and good recovery!

[biggies]

Congratulations...hope you have a smooth recovery

[MMLynn]

Happy recovery. Isn't it nice to have a place to share it with?

[tumyumsoup]

wow good for u!!! congratulations!!!

[ashleycf]

Congrats!!!! I have a question (whenever you feel up to answering). I also am going to be traveling a few hours for my ba. (actually to sac from reno ) Did your dh only spend the first night with you? How did you get to ps and home after he left? (This could be a blonde moment on my part)
your story was very positive and inspirational!!

[creative123]

Hi Ashley, Your question is excellent---my husband spent the entire first night with me (he drove me from the surgery center to the hotel). In fact, the doctor would NOT have gone forward with the procedure unless we had someeone (DH or hired nurse) to be with me through that first night. The medication is pretty strong, and so there is a concern that the patient can hurt themselves, lose track of their meds, or otherwise not be safe if left completely alone in a hotel. We had to find child care for our kids, who stayed behind at home.

So my doctor told us that it was okay for my husband to leave 24 hours after the surgery as I was resting in the hotel. I felt fine in the morning, so he left mid-morning. But if I had not be feeling okay (meaning I had to be lucid, calculate the times to take meds, not in a lot of pain), he would have stayed.

My first post-op appointment was the second day after the surgery. My husband came back from our home to drive me from the hotel to the doctor's office, and then he drove both of us back home. On that second day, I was still on meds (valium, percocet) that would not have left me clear-headed enough to drive. Keep in mind, a lot of BA patients can't raise their arms well during that first few days so that makes steering difficult too.

I stopped taking percocet and valium last Sunday (5/11) and was able to drive the distance to my 2nd post-op appointment today without any problem. I do feel like I'm a lucky one though---pain levels seem to vary a lot person to person (just from reading the boards here). I don't even need tylenol and it's been 9 days since surgery day.

Hope all goes beautifully for you--it will be here before you know it! I guess bottom line is to check with your PS on the travel. My PS had a "no cab" rule--she didn't want to put a medicated patient into a cab for safety reasons. So thinking through all these logistics ahead of time can be interesting!

[ashleycf]

Originally Posted by creative123

Hi Ashley, Your question is excellent---my husband spent the entire first night with me (he drove me from the surgery center to the hotel). In fact, the doctor would NOT have gone forward with the procedure unless we had someeone (DH or hired nurse) to be with me through that first night. The medication is pretty strong, and so there is a concern that the patient can hurt themselves, lose track of their meds, or otherwise not be safe if left completely alone in a hotel. We had to find child care for our kids, who stayed behind at home.

So my doctor told us that it was okay for my husband to leave 24 hours after the surgery as I was resting in the hotel. I felt fine in the morning, so he left mid-morning. But if I had not be feeling okay (meaning I had to be lucid, calculate the times to take meds, not in a lot of pain), he would have stayed.

My first post-op appointment was the second day after the surgery. My husband came back from our home to drive me from the hotel to the doctor's office, and then he drove both of us back home. On that second day, I was still on meds (valium, percocet) that would not have left me clear-headed enough to drive. Keep in mind, a lot of BA patients can't raise their arms well during that first few days so that makes steering difficult too.

I stopped taking percocet and valium last Sunday (5/11) and was able to drive the distance to my 2nd post-op appointment today without any problem. I do feel like I'm a lucky one though---pain levels seem to vary a lot person to person (just from reading the boards here). I don't even need tylenol and it's been 9 days since surgery day.

Hope all goes beautifully for you--it will be here before you know it! I guess bottom line is to check with your PS on the travel. My PS had a "no cab" rule--she didn't want to put a medicated patient into a cab for safety reasons. So thinking through all these logistics ahead of time can be interesting!

Thanks for the info!!! my ps wants me to stay at least 1 night with df there before I come home. I'm glad ur doing so well, makes me hopeful. I'm really worried about the after pain also. I guess I've had 4 kids with no drugs so it can't be that bad?? lol.
happy recovery, happy boobies!!

[creative123]

You had four children w/o meds? I'm an epidural gal myself--so yes, I think you'll be just fine.