♥ Boobies For Noobies ♥

There are a lot of things that aren’t necessarily covered pre and post-op at your surgeons office. Some things that are so bizarre they could potentially scare the crap out of you! Here’s a list of some things I couldn’t live without, I wish I had known before my breast augmentation, in addition to tips I’ve learned along the way.

This is pretty lengthy, so read it at your own convenience.

PRE-OP

♥Add money to your surgery cost, it makes it less shocking. I spent about £500 on things, extra bras because I swelled so bad I needed a new one, extra ice packs, a cleaner, drinks and snacks, button-up pajamas, pillows, traveling, childminder etc. Having a set amount put aside allows you to get it, or send someone to get it for you.

♥Research around, look here for tips we’ve all posted about must-haves post-op. Make as much usage of the Search Feature as you possibly can.

♥Wedge pillow, back pillow (with arm rest), and/or V-shaped neck pillow. You can find these at Argos, dunelm, ikea, eBay, Amazon and similar places for under £15 These are necessary because you can easily “turtle” and get stuck on your back. Sleeping in a reclining position is the best way to sleep, most of us slept this way the first week. If you have a reclining chair, all the better.

♥Ice packs; ideally you want something that is not hard and will easily mold. Peas are great but if you fall asleep with them, they can bind together (and stink). I’d recommend using gel packs and buy 6-8. I used 4 at a time, 2 for the top of my breasts and 2 for the bottom. Having a spare set lets you rotate them. You need to use ice to help with swelling. Boots sell therapearl icepacks and they are amazing!

♥Moist heat pack; Do NOT use heat on your breasts, this is for your back. You will hunch a lot and it caused my back to hurt more than my chest. Moist heat and even a 3 minute massage on the muscles on either side of your spine 3 times a day will help with this. Try not to hunch, don’t worry – you won’t hurt anything sitting up straight.

♥Have a box or bag you can keep next to your recovery area, put all things you need in it. Your surgeons phone number, emergency contacts, a baggie or easy-open container to put your meds in (opening pill bottles is HARD and nearly impossible), remotes for the TV, crackers, straws, and anything you can think of that you want nearby. Keep extra blankets as some of us had a lot of pain that can put you into shock (you shake and get cold).

♥Have an alarm of sorts that you can set as a pill reminder. I used my iPhone to remind me to take my pain medication every 5 hours. Keeping a medicinal level in your system is helpful (if you’re having problems with pain).

♥Get someone to help you; you should want someone for a week at least. Have them help with things you normally do, and help you out so you don’t have to get up and down as much. Don’t lose control because your house is messy and overdo it and risk hurting yourself. This is a big investment; add the price of a cleaner to your surgery cost if you must.

♥Ask your Surgeon if you will be coming home in strap or bra. If it’s a bra, Get an extra one that’s a size bigger. Swelling can get pretty extreme.

♥Ask your PC or check paperwork about what costs you’re responsible for in the event a revision is necessary due to complications or inability to place the desired size (some of us couldn’t get the size we wanted because it wouldn’t fit).

POST-OP

♥You may wake up from surgery pain free, You may not, A good way to avoid waking up in pain is to take a pain pill as late as possible before you go to bed.

♥What is that squishy, bubbly feeling?! Air and blood can and probably will be in and around your breasts going up high or down low. It’s a squishy bubbly feeling and it’s normal. Air gets in when they’re doing the surgery and there’s obviously going to be bleeding. This is perfectly normal, can be uncomfortable but should go away in usually a week, sometimes two.

♥Did I just hear something? Oh yes, the air can make sounds, too. It’s been named everything here from breast gurgles to boobie farts. This can take a week or two to pass, also. It’s normal as well; try to see the humor in it.

♥Why do other things hurt except/in addition to my boobs? Surgery is a pretty big shock to the body, and what our body goes through during an augmentation is very intense. Watch some surgery videos if you can stomach it. Your shoulders, arms, back, ribs, etc. can hurt. Not only do we go through a great trauma, but we are guarded post-op and over compensate to avoid hurting our boobs, we end up using poor body mechanics and can cause pain elsewhere (like your back). Hunching puts a lot of strain on your back muscles as well as pulls on your SI/lumbar area (tailbone region). If you have a history with sciatica, don’t be alarmed if you have a flare up from doing “the robot”.

♥UH, why am I bloated? This is NORMAL. Don’t panic; don’t go on a crash diet. I have seen a ton of people come out bloated. We want to take new pictures and the best part is looking at most people’s first week post-op pics, we all conveniently tried to crop out of bloated bellies. This will go away much like the gurgles; it can take 1-3 weeks. I really have no idea why this happens, but I do know it’s common. You just have to suck it up and remember it will go away.

♥I can’t poop! Try to take stool softeners BEFORE you take your pain medications. Find one that says clearly on the bottle “Stoll softener”. Pain medicine can block you up faster than you can imagine and the last thing you want to do is being struggling on the toilet post-op.

♥I’m nauseous! If you have had problems with nausea in your past when taking medications. Get a prescription for anti-nausea meds before you even go home from surgery!

♥My post-op bra hurts me! If the seams in your post-op bra irritate you, wear it inside out. If you have crease incisions, get an old t-shirt or something that’s cotton and cut it into strips. Place it under the band of your bra to prevent rubbing. It should help out tons.

♥My nipples are stuck “ON”. If you DON’T have areola incisions, you can use silicone nipple petals to chill them out. You can buy them anywhere from boots, eBayand etc I had high nipple sensitivity and found these were very helpful. Lansinoh cream helps too.

♥I think I messed something up!! A lot of us did this; you lose footing and hear a pop. Most of the time it’s OK. It’s scarier than anything, heck; a lot of us had no pain. Call your Nurse if you experience any pain after a “pop” incident. You’ll know what it is when it happens to you, it probably will – it’s scary, and upsetting. You’ll probably be OK.

♥There’s a hole in my incision! Call your nurse! This could be a few things. You could have torn it; your body could be rejecting internal sutures and is basically “spitting them out”. If there’s discharge, your Nurse may clean it and use steri strips. I tore mine and it was OK, I was put on antibiotics (oral and cream), I’m not sure about stitch spitting but lots of girls here had it happen and turned out OK.

♥Scar treatment! Do NOT start this without approval by your Nurse. If your incision isn’t fully healed (it may look like it) and you put silicone scar gel on it you can cause yourself some problems.

♥Burning pain on sides of breasts and under breasts. Basically, any burning pain is usually because your nerves are healing. Nerves are sensitive and when they are stretched, they will need to heal. Healing nerves can cause bizarre and sometimes painful sensations. Vitamin C is known to help nerves heal. If your pain is constant and severe a few months post-op, you may be put on Neurontin. It will eventually die down (except in rare cases). It can feel scary, and most of us think something is wrong because of it. ice packs help with this.

♥If you think you have problems, look for signs. Increased pain, increased swelling, redness, warmth (your skin on the painful area can get warm, could be an infection. Call your Nurse to get checked.

♥Your breasts can heal any way they want; right to left, inside out, outside in, etc. They can also drop and fluff any way they want. One may drop before the other, keeping pictures of your progress really help you to keep track of changes.

♥BE PATIENT. I wasn’t, none of us are – but we like to say this a lot!
They may look too big, too small, uneven, higher, lower and everything in-between. Your breasts will keep changing up to a year post-op. Wait at least 3 months for solid changes. Your breasts will be high, hard, maybe even rectangular or square, and so on. This is normal. We all had crazy boobs.
Morning boob. If you’ve heard about morning wood, you can figure this one out yourself. It’s normal.

♥Remember this♥ You paid not only for pre-operative care and your surgery, but also for post-operative care. Don’t worry about sounding needy, dramatic, or anything else. Call your nurse if you’re worried about something. Be your own advocate, and if you can’t, find someone who will be. This is a wonderful informative website, but don’t use it as a replacement for your surgeon / nurse. If something truly worries you, check with your nurse/ surgeon. You cannot take any chances with your health.

♥Finally, ENJOY this for what it’s worth. This is, in most cases, something we’ve all dreamed of. Try to make it the best experience possible and think of the end result. Protect your investment. Remember life before this, save your before picture to reflect upon if you forget how things were. This helps for boobie greed, too.

Congratulations on your new and/or upcoming boobies!

Hopefully although this is very long, you were able to learn some of what to expect or have on hand to make things easier.

Love this very well written 🙂

Thank you ❤ really helpful read. Getting nervous already and still 9 weeks to go

So helpful hope don’t mind the add xx

Love this! 👏😃

I’m 1 week post op today and reading this is so relatable!

Thanks Hun this is very helpful and answers a lot of questions for us pre op girls some that I hadn’t even thought of! But what is this pop you talk of does it happen to everyone or only if you knock your boobs? X

Great post micha 😁

❤️

Fab!! Xx

This is brilliant and well written!!x

Xxx

So helpful!! Thank you xx

This is so helpful! Thanks for taking the time to write this up 🙂

Your a star for writing this :-)xx

So so helpful thank you so much! I was even taking notes haha! I have my surgery on Saturday (1st aug) I was so unsure of things till I read your post!! ??

🙂 xx

Love this! Thank you xxx

This is so helpful, such a good read…still got 9/10 weeks until my surgery but I’m really excited. So glad I’ve read this ????

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