It’s been two weeks since surgery and the longest two weeks of my life. From my own medical issues to those affecting various family members, I feel like I’ve been on a roller coaster that has had mostly downhills. As if I hadn’t already gone through enough, last night my Dad was hospitalized for pneumonia, and then later that evening, my Poppa passed away. My Dad is where he needs to be, and I trust that the doctors will help him get back on his feet. My Poppa, he was a really great man, and, based on my planned topic for this blog, I think he would have approved. Those of you who knew him will know what I mean momentarily.
First, let’s start with my check-up with the surgeon yesterday. I finally got to see my surgeon for the first time after surgery. I should have had a one-week check-up, but that whole PE thing threw that right out the window. The appointment went a lot quicker than I had anticipated. Although, I guess I’m not really sure why I thought so. He came in, inspected my incisions, removed the steri-strips that hadn’t already fallen off, and then asked if I had any questions. He said I could start wearing a bra any time now, and while I was there, I felt like I might not have been ready, because I still had some discomfort in the incisions under my breasts. So I declined the bras they had in stock there, and he wrapped me back in the bandage with a little bit of dressing in case my exposed incisions drained a bit.
At that time, I couldn’t think of any questions, so we set another appointment for two weeks out.Of course, once we left, I remembered all the questions I wanted to ask. I’ll post them here so I don’t forget again.
- When can I soak in a bath?
- When can I try to sleep on my side?
- When can I resume sexual activity?
I’m still under weight restrictions, and although he said I could probably do a little more arm movement, I shouldn’t overdo it, and should continue to keep arms in for a while yet. He did this because I was still a little bruised, which is likely taking longer to go away due to the blood thinners I’m on. As long as I’m bruised, I’m still at risk for bleeding. Add in blood thinners, and we’re taking extra precautions. I do NOT want to end up back in surgery or the er or the hospital. So we’re playing it safe.
After he left, the lady who runs the front desk came in and asked if I had wanted any of the bras there. I told her no, but she insisted we take one home. She said that the pressure from the bra on my incisions would probably feel really good. So, we guessed at the size (they run small and are hard to fit), and grabbed one on the way out.
I tried it on at home that night and she was right, the sizing was really off. It didn’t fit. I threw the bandage back on over a t-shirt. I’d have to look at buying some bras soon, just to try it out. We’d bring back the one that didn’t fit.
This week I’ve been back to work, which has been nice, but also exhausting. Monday I petered out at 1 pm, today I petered out at 1:30 pm, but pushed through to 2 pm. I left and spent some time relaxing over at my Nana’s house. It was nice to spend some time with her, but also sad to think that Poppa would never be back. All afternoon I’d been experiencing some discomfort. I wanted to crawl out of my skin. My incisions, my skin around the incisions, and even my skin nowhere near my incisions was crawling. Add that to my exhaustion and I was going crazy!
I left for my INR appointment (we’re finally over 2.0 and I get to stop the Lovenox!), and afterwards got a boost of energy or something because I decided to go across the street and try to find a bra. Anything to get out of the bandage, which I was now sure was what was driving me crazy.
I spent way too much time there. First I looked at shapewear. I hate how my belly looks right now because it sticks out in really weird ways. I wanted to find something to just smooth things out a little. That was hard because most shapewear I can’t pull up due to my arm/weight restrictions. They were just too hard! I also looked for a bra, the main reason for the trip. I found a couple that looked like they would be comfortable. They were the same brand, just different cuts. I tried them on and I couldn’t stop smiling. I looked in the mirror and not only was the bra extremely comfortable, but it looked amazing. I looked amazing. Okay, so my belly was hanging out and not quite so amazing, but this was the first bra I’d tried on in a store like Kohls in 10, 15, maybe 20 years. I kid you not. 20 years.
I was so excited I took a picture. I’m going to be extremely vulnerable here and post my picture because I’m just THAT excited about it.
The brand is Bali Comfort Revolution. If you are reading this because you are considering a reduction, these bras are amazing. If I could have walked out wearing it, I would have. The band is soft and wide, so it stretches over my incisions and doesn’t cut in. There’s no underwire (which is not necessary anymore anyway), and they stretch. The sizing is not typical bra sizing, but they have a chart included that helps find your size, I just happen to be a Large, which corresponds with 38D perfectly. They happened to be on sale buy one get one 50% off, so I grabbed two.
High on the excitement of this new bra, I went into the clothing section. Now, I have plans for a major shopping trip after the holidays, but I’ve been feeling really bad about my current wardrobe. Most of my clothes now get caught on my belly, which makes me feel awful, or, they’re big and bulky and don’t fit in the chest anymore. So, I tried on a couple things and picked up two shirts that I felt good in. For the first time in two weeks, I’m excited to get dressed tomorrow. I’ll get dressed thinking about how, if my Poppa could just see me, he would have approved.
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