Breast Reduction Surgery!!!!

[dwshrty77roc]

I am scheduled soon to have breast reduction surgery and I wanted to know what to expect afterwards. Now i've had 4 c-sections and 2 other operations, but nothing like this before...It will be my husband taking care of me days following my surgery. The doctor said that it will an outpatient procedure that I wouldn't need to stay over night...I beg to differ on that. I would love to have a nights stay over in the hospital. Any and all advice is wanted. What to expect, how much pain will i be in, how long is the recovery, how soon can I get back to my regular routine and what do I need to have done in advance before my surgery. I want to try and cook a few meals and freeze them in advance, what are some meals that I can freeze and he can easily fix up. My mom was here for all my c-sections so he didn't have much to do. I will have friends that will be coming by tohelp with the kids, but what can I tell him to expect when its just the 2 of us. Thanks HCW family for giving me your 2 cents

Note: I've had a full rack for years and they've been giving me back and shoulder troubles for years. Now I'm able to have the surgery

[jennspen]

I am scheduled soon to have breast reduction surgery and I wanted to know what to expect afterwards. Now i've had 4 c-sections and 2 other operations, but nothing like this before...It will be my husband taking care of me days following my surgery. The doctor said that it will an outpatient procedure that I wouldn't need to stay over night...I beg to differ on that. I would love to have a nights stay over in the hospital. Any and all advice is wanted. What to expect, how much pain will i be in, how long is the recovery, how soon can I get back to my regular routine and what do I need to have done in advance before my surgery. I want to try and cook a few meals and freeze them in advance, what are some meals that I can freeze and he can easily fix up. My mom was here for all my c-sections so he didn't have much to do. I will have friends that will be coming by tohelp with the kids, but what can I tell him to expect when its just the 2 of us. Thanks HCW family for giving me your 2 cents

Note: I've had a full rack for years and they've been giving me back and shoulder troubles for years. Now I'm able to have the surgery

I had a breast reduction in 2004. It was the best decision I ever made for myself! My "full rack" gave me lots of back and shoulder problems as well as migraines. Not fun!! My procedure was performed mid morning and I had to stay overnight (this is normal procedure). I was discharged the next morning. I had drainage tubes in from the surgery that were removed at discharge. That was one of the most painful things I remember. If you are given the opportunity I would ask for pain meds before they take out your drainage tubes. I was off work for 1 week. Really not a whole lot of pain after the first few days. Dont make quick movements or pick up heavy things for a while. If you take care of your scars and change your bandages as they tell you to, you really should have no problems. I put Mederma on my scars for months after the surgery. It really helped my scars. You can barely see them now. I also heard that Vitamin E oil and Crisco both help with scar reduction.
As far as your children, you might be "out of it" for the first couple of days but you should be ok soon afterwards.
As far as meals, my suggestion would be to make "extra" of things you will be cooking until then and freeze the extra so that they can just be pulled out and reheated?!
Good Luck!! If you have anymore questions, dont hestitate to PM me.

[melodyjg]

Oh I am soooo jealous!!!

[3timesoccermom]

I'm sure Jennspen's advice is all good but in addition, for a procedure that serious I think you need to be doing a lot of googling for info on the medical forums. It seems to me the doctor should have gone over all this with you, at great length. But good luck with it!

[thecooperhouse]

I don't have any advice, but wanted to say good luck!!

[dwshrty77roc]

I'm sure Jennspen's advice is all good but in addition, for a procedure that serious I think you need to be doing a lot of googling for info on the medical forums. It seems to me the doctor should have gone over all this with you, at great length. But good luck with it!

Yes I thank her and all the others that are stepping in to give me advice and so forth. My doctor did go into details about the procedure and what to expect after the surgery. I just wanted to hear from some of the people here that has it done and their personal experience with it. I am definitely doing research on my end and will continue to do so. I just wanted to know what these gals had to say

If you some of that has some advice or want to just tell me their personal experience and would prefer to talk private, you can always PM a little note.

I want to thank those that has already given advice and those that will give advice later and those that just want to wish me luck. I love hearing what the people here have to say. This place is like my comfort zone and I appreciate all the love that I've felt since being on here.

[puakinikini]

I have had several friends have breast reductions and not one has ever stated that they had regrets. For all of them it was health related. I took care of one of my roommates in college afterwards and she was not really in pain after day 4. The only advice I would give is take the pain meds they give you regularly those first few days so that your pain does not get away from you.

I wish you the best!

[shelleyf]

I will be praying for you. I am glad you are able to afford it. I must admit I wish I could do this but am happy you can.

[Zade]

Good Luck with the surgery. My DH's aunt just recently went through this. The only issue she had was that on one side the incision did something funny and got really big and thick - this was while it was still healing. The doctor did an in office procedure that fixed her right up and she had no problems after that. Please note that she is in her 60s so her stuff could be pretty abnormal for someone your age.

As for food that you can freeze - most things will freeze well with a few minor adjustments. If a recipe includes rice or pasta don't cook it fully before freezing. That way it won't get mushy on you. If you are making a dish with eggs (quiche or breakfast casserole) freeze it raw and thaw completely before baking. Most casseroles I freeze uncooked. If you forget to thaw a casserole in advance you can still cook it from the frozen state. Cover it with foil and bake like you normally would but you will probably need to double the baking time. Remove the foil about 1/2 way through the baking process. You can always recover it if it is getting too brown.
My favorite website for freezer cooking recipes is 30daygourmet.com. I have been using their recipes for 7 years now, since I had my first baby. Check out their forums - there is a ton of information there.

[dwshrty77roc]

I will be praying for you. I am glad you are able to afford it. I must admit I wish I could do this but am happy you can.

I'm glad we can afford it too. I'm using DH work insurance. With my son having Down Syndrome it requires lots of dr visits so we are very close to meeting our deductible and co-insurance. W/o that, there is no way I could afford it our to pocket. That's why I've waited so long.