First-Hand Recovery Tip’s After Breast Augmentation

Breast Augmentation Recovery Checklist

These were emailed to me from a patient and worthy of posting, regardless of whether they overlap with other checklists. These tips will help you to avoid simple mistakes and help make recovery a little easier. As always, check with your surgeon before you take any medication or put anything on your incisions, etc..

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1. If you haven't already, try to schedule your surgery around your period. As far away from it as possible. That's the last thing you need to deal with!

2. If you have kids, send them to Grandma's for a few days. I did. It was a blessing. It would have scared the hell out of them to see Mom like that.

3. Buy a mulit-vitamin and a bottle of vitamin E gel caps and start taking one a day now and keep taking them afterwards. NOTE: Taking any vitamins or supplements before surgery should be cleared with your surgeon.

4. You will probably want to take many soaks in the tub. I did and if just feels great. I did about 3 or 4 a day. Buy some neosporin. I alternated after one bath I'd put neosporin on the inscisions and the next time, I'd cut the top off of the vitamin E caps and smear the gel on your incisions. It helps with healing. Also, the vitamin E has worked better than any lotion on keeping the sore nipples at bay. Your nipples will be sore......trust me! Don't buy the bottles of Vitamin E. It is more expensive and it's not as potent as just cutting the tops of the caps.

5. If you don't have one, buy or borrow a TV bed tray. That was a lifesaver to eat on. Also, get a mug or a cup with a lid. Or buy some bendy straws to make drinking easier. I used my kids' old sippee cups. That worked like a charm.

6. If you don't have some get two of the ice bags that are filled with gel and you can refreeze them. The ones they send you home with from the surgery are worthless.

7. Go get at least 2 sports bras. One tight one,and one kind of loose one. You will alternate on how much support you'll want. The surgical bra you will wear for a few days, but it will eventually drive you nuts. Trust me on this one. Don't be left hanging!

8. Buy a little inexpensive pill holder that you can easily open. If you have to be left alone for any reason, have your hubby leave you one pain killer and something to drink next to you on your tray. You might not be able to get the tops off the bottles. Also, it is a good idea for your husband to write down what he gives you and what times to keep it straight. Also, have him keep your meds up, and out of your reach. You will be foggy and your memory will suck for the first couple of days. I tried to take a pill and my hubby luckily caught me. I'd just had one and I didn't remember taking it.

9. Buy a box of Benadryl capsules in the little pink and white box. Your boobs will itch. Trust me on this one. The itching will eventually start and you'll want it handy when they do. They especially itch between your boobs and the sides. Try not to scratch too hard, I almost made a little blood blister on one of mine today. A friend of mine scratched her incision and it's been 3 years since hers, and she screwed up her scar and it's gnarly looking. Make sure you consult your Doctor about taking Benadryl with your perscribed medication.

10. If you are having trouble sleeping through the night ask your Doctor to recommend an over-the-counter sleeping aid that if safe to take wtih your medication.

11. My doctor told me to get some Pepcid AC and take one the night before the surgery.I thought he was crazy, but I bought it anyway. I wasn't nervous, but very anxious, and I'll be darned if I didn't need that Pepcid AC to calm my tummy down.

12. Take a pillow with you for the car ride home. Also a Coke or other carbonated beverage. My instructions were to sip on Coke after the surgery beccause soda will help settle your belly. Have your ride pick up your medication while you are in the surgery. You may need to take one on the ride home. Take it with your Coke when you get in the car. There's no way of knowing how long it will take the rib blocks to wear off. Take one just to be safe. Mine didn't wear off for a long time, so I don't remember any pain at all, just discomfort. Take a bucket or something to throw up in on the way home. I gagged a few times before I left the surgery center and they sent home a barf bucket with me. I never threw up, but anestesia affects people differently. Just to be on the safe side. Take some magazines for whoever drives you. My hubby said it was about 2 hours. He got to stay with me before they took me in and was in the recovery room with me. Which was nice.

13. Lay everything out before you leave the morning of the surgery. Have your pillows stacked. Lay out Pj's, I got some that buttoned so I didn't have to go over my head. I never once had a problem lifting my arms over my head. I think that was totally due to the blocks,  I went under the muscle and so did my friends and yet they couldn't life their arms even an inch.

14. Sip the Coke when you get home. Don't take the antibiotic they give you until you've had something to eat. Toast was my hero. The antibiotics are potent. If you are prone to get yeast infections when you take antibiotics, tell your doctor, and they'll give you a diflucan pill. I get yeast infections when I take antibiotics, and I had to use the diflucan pill. A yeast infection is also the last thing you will want to deal with!

15. When you first wash your hair. Have hubby do it for you, or if your doing ok with lifting your arms, at least have the shampoo bottle low so you don't have to reach real high to get it. I have long and very thick hair. My first hair washing was not real great. I wish I would have just made an appointment with my hairdresser to go in and just get washed and dried. But, at least it's a suggestion for you.

16. At night, put a big pillow between you and your husband you'll need him in bed with you. ( I thought it might not be a good idea for mine to be in the bed cause of the moving, but you'll be knocked out and you won't care) But elbows tend to fling in the night, so put the pillow between the two of you for that.

17. My friends who didn't have the blocks, could not get up and down by themselves. I could. My husband just put his arms under my back and pushed me to sitting position. You learn to use your legs. The first 2 days he would walk with me to the bathroom to make sure I didn't fall, but I did it all myself. When you get back to bed have hubby get in first. Sit on the bed and have him brace you all the way back down to the pillow. That technique works the best. Or it did for me.

18. Don't be surprised to get constipated for the first few days cause of the meds. Then for some reason, I went the other direction. Doctor said it's normal. Also, it was weird, I'd needed to pee, but I couldn't. It would take a while. Make sure you ask your Doctor about all the common side-effect's of the medication you are taking.

19. One more thing, if you are going in under the breast, you will have a long stitch. Thread hanging out each side of the incision. Take a pain killer 30 minutes before you go to get them out. No one warned me. It HURTS when they take them out. I've had stitches taken out before, and it was no big deal. But for some reason, this long stitch is woven in and out in there and it HURTS. TRUST me. They just tried yanking on it last week and I was sore for 2 days. I'll be taking the pain killer Thursday when I go in to see if they can get them out this time.

20. When they say don't lift or bend for 2 weeks. They mean it. Don't be a twit like me and do any of that. DO not over do it. I'd feel real good,and do some laundry and pay for it later. You'll know when you've done too much. You'll ache and swell.

21. Don't forget to have some Advil or Motrin, also have some kind of anti-inflamatory on hand. Most perscription pain killers have a large amount of acetometophone, active ingredient in Tylenol, so make sure you ask your doctor before taking any additional anti-inflammatory medication. Always ask your Doctor before taking anything in addition to your perscription.

I hope you can incorporate a few of these into your website. I really used the TV tray and the little pill holders. I wish someone had have told me how bad it hurt to have the stitches removed. I wish I'd have planned it around my period. I wish I would have had the benadryl and the Tylenol PM handy. A lot of women experience yeast infections with strong antibiotics. I wish I'd known how STRONG the antibiotics were gonna be, or I'd have had my doctor call in the yeast infection pill ahead of time. Last but not least, it's pretty inexpensive to have your hair washed and dried. I SO wish I'd have just went and pampered myself at the salon instead of trying to blow dry my hair with my arms raised for way to long.

I love your website, and I hope some of these suggestions make someone else's breast augmentaion a little easier!
- Tina