*****BIBLE OF PRE/POST OP TIPS ***** Started by: george85

Take food with you to the hospital in case they forget to feed you *cross*

Get any pre-existing conditions sorted before you have your op. Battling with a tooth abscess through my BA recovery has NOT been fun. It’s one less thing you need.

Take at least a week off work, 2 if you can manage. You might feel like you can start everything right after your op, but your body will thank you for the break x

Pure natural shea butter is brilliant for scars and stretch marks

Tips I think would have helped me:

– try not to compare yourself to post op girls on this forum. Even if you have the same stats on paper as someone, having the same size implant will not necessarily give you the same results. Discuss with your surgeon exactly what you want and they will know what you need.

– if you’ll be wearing a sports bra straight after your op, go for a bigger size than you’re expecting, even a bigger back size, to accommodate swelling

– get a v pillow. I didn’t bother and I can’t believe how difficult and uncomfortable it is to sleep sitting up! I thought it’d be fine, but no.

– take plenty to keep you occupied at the hospital. The last thing you want is a delay and you’re left alone with just your thoughts and worries!

– take snacks and drinks to the hospital for after the op

– take the painkillers from the start. Don’t wait until the pain hits you like I did

– get wipes and dry shampoo. I finally had a bath today on day 5, but it was still fairly difficult and if I didn’t have strapping on my plasters would have got wet no matter how much I tried to keep them dry

– make sure you have someone to help you post op for the first week at least, the easiest tasks become quite difficult – things you wouldn’t have even thought of like reaching and pulling to shut a window

– get things in for your week off to keep you occupied – film, boxsets, magazines, books. It’s really boring!

great idea this george!

Firstly, do your research! research your surgeon, the implants and go well prepared to your consultation with plenty of questions, because u always walk away wishing u had asked more.

Id say the main thing is prepare yourself for an emotional journey.. try not to get to nervous or worry about things pre-op, i got myself that worked up over thinking things i nearly talked myself out of having my BA. take some calms, they help, or batch flower remedies. it is a natural thing to worry but it can drive u insane. for the last week my mum put me on batch flower remedies and it helped so much.

be prepared that friends or family may not be as supportive as u want them to be, but just remember u are doing this for yourself, no body else, and dont let any body put u down, coz believe me..some people will try. just remember u will ALWAYS have your boob buddies on this forum who know EXACTLY what u are going through.

Like the other girls have already said, just prepare, take as much time off work as u can get so u can rest and heal properly, i would say ideally 2wks. v-pillow, arnica cream and tablets and charchol tablets are a must!! arnica to help with swelling and charchol for bloatedness. plenty of front fastening pjs and tops for the first week.

U neeeeed to have someone to help u as much as poss for the first week! i didnt have a great recovery and just lifting a glass to drink was agony for me. u need complete rest for the inside bruising and your incisions to heal completely. my mum literally did everything, i stayed on the sofa with a stack of dvds, magazines, water and tablets and she looking after me amazingly! when i went for my weeks check up to my nurse, she said i can tell u have been well looked after because of how your incisions look, some peoples look pluckered if they have done too much. so it is well worth being a lazy bitch and getting pampered for the week

It is normal to question what u have done after, to have a good cry, to worry that u dont like them. all this is normal. u become one hell of an emotional wreck, your body has just been through a lot. believe me.. after the first 2-3wks, u will start to LOVE your new assests! when u get to 6wks post op u will think your surgeon is a GOD! and as the months progress u will get the dreaded boob greed! u just have to always keep the pic of you pre op, and remember what u have now is a million times better than what u had before, and it was money well spent!

Dont get measured to early, even tho its way to exiting and the main thing u want to do. try wait until 6 wks! take all your surgeons advice and if he says dont wear wired bras for 6wks, then DONT! they can only do damage to your healing process.

Dont be too shocked my what u do get measured at, remember implants do measure bigger than what they look, because of the projection. also every place u can measure different, so shop around. Dont be to disheartened if u cant get a cleavage of your boobs arent soft enough, dont compare your healing process to others, everyones different, and your boobs will change daily, just be patient and shop around for bras that suit u, its not necessarily worth paying more money, i have some great ones from primark and asda!

My final thing would be Dermatix Scar Sheets! the have already been mentioned above, u can get them cheap off ebay, cut the sheet to size for your incisions, and from 6wks use for at least 12-24hours a day and rinse thoroughly and leave to air dry. they are known for reducing redness and raised scars. they are totally worth the money, im 6 months post op and have used them constantly, my scars are now amazing.

Last but not least..GOOD LUCK girls! think positive, dont question what u are doing too much, if this is something u have always wanted and dreamed of, of having the boobs to suit your figure/frame. then go for it, dont let anybody stop u or tell u any different. it will change your life, its the best thing ive ever done, and completely worth it. but i wouldnt have got through it all without my boob buddies! xxx

MY SURgeon swears by bio oil, she said use it religiously.

take something to read as you are likely to be waiting a long time, i down loaded comedies onto itv player and took my laptop as there wasn’t much on tv.

make sure you have really comfy clothes for the way home that you can put on easily

start taking laxatives as soon as your discharged from hospital, believe me you’ll need them.. my pharmacist gave me Movicol which is more effective than senokot or standard laxatives, Its £10 for 30 sachets.

Arnica is natural and can help reduce the bruising, check with your nurse but it doesn’t thin the blood so you should be ok

Eat plenty of fruit and veg and drink plenty of water to help you heal afterwards

Take the pain relief so that you can get on with your day, if you let it get on top of you, it’s hard to boost yourself and feel positive again.

Make sure any wipes you buy are antiseptic to ensure that you are as clean as you can be to prevent infection, tesco do good ones for £1.99

Charles Wothington do a good dry shampoo spray in tesco for £1.99, takes away the dirty hair look,gives it volume so you can tie it up for a few more days whilst you can’t shower. Not ideal but better than getting your strapping wet. xx

Take eg. some belvita biscuits or cereal bars to the hospital as they did forget to feed me in the morning, and I was awake from 2am til 9.30am waiting for them to give me some food so that i could take some meds which couldn’t be taken on an empty stomach, despite me asking 4 times!, just saves you feeling rubbish if they are really busy.

So some of it post op, but good to be prepared x

tahts been so helpful thanks ladies u all seem to no ur stuff lol xx

xx

Push your bed up against a wall so you can lean up against the million pillows you will be surrounded with without feeling like you are going to fall off the bed!

Move cups, plates, tea bags out off cupboards before op so you don’t have to reach up for them afterwards.

Wear cotton knickers if you don’t want to wear the sexy paper ones to theatre.

Throat/boiled sweets are good for after theatre as the ga can leave your mouth feeling dry and throat sore.

Post Op:

Don’t over fill kettles, saucepans or anything like that in the kitchen, you’ll feel it pull on the stitches if you lift too much..eg. lifting up full binbags, pushing chairs under tables etc.

Learn to bottom shuffle to move up your bed, or adjust yourself against pillows – its easy to pull yourself if you use your arms.

Avoid walking a dog that pulls – ouch!

Rest a lot and listen to your body.

hairdressers v good idea, now feeling mingin using dry shampoo at 4 days post op!!

knowing i wouldnt have anyone at home to help me after my op i left towels, underwear pj’s and clothes out on a unit.

cups and plates on the drainer, saucepans on the cooker and tea coffee next to the kettle and all my toiletries on the shelf in the bathroom.

this has saved me having to bend or reach for anything, i defo wish id invested in a v pillow tho ive got 8 pillows on my bed and am still uncomftable and im sure im gonna end up with a pressure sore on my bum from sitting sleeping up so a pillow under your bottom works a treat.

this BIBLE is brilliant! THANK LADIES!!!!! can’t wait to add to it (if i have anything of importance to say thats not been said

my ist op i took in sports drinks which are full of mineral salts ….you could even take sachets of electrolytes as not only are you dehydrated through loss of water but you need to replace the minerals ect lost too …

I took an empty sports bottle with me to hospital.

Told nurse to fill up my sports bottle with water after my op, no need to constantly keep topping up my glass, there no way I could sit up to drink, easier with sport botte. And no way could I lift that water jug.