Sleeping, massaging, vitamins... eeek!

Hi girls,

I was just wondering whether someone could give me some of your time to answer a few pre-op questions for me...... I'm sorry if they appear to be stupid and naive - I'm sure they are for all you post-op peops!! :/ Your help would really help me though and I really appreciate your time.

1. I have heard that I need to sleep upright after surgery. Is this right and for how long?

2. I'm a belly sleeper - will I be able to sleep on my belly again!? :/

3, My surgeon told me that raising my arms above my head after op helps with the pain - is this true?

4. After the op, is it a good idea to massage/ move the implant?

5. I am fully expecting nipple pain after the op - does Lanisol help?

6. I have been told to take Echinacea before the op.... had anyone else used this and why? :/

7. I have read on here that some people use B12 after surgery - is this any good and why?

Also, any other useful advice would be fab - you guys are the experts on here!!!

Sorry for the long list. Loadsa big squeezy hugs before it is too painful to give any to anyone for a while.....

xxxxx

Hey hunny right ..
You do sleep upright after surgery propped up with pillows, invest in a Vpliiow amazing things!
Yes you wil be able to sleep on your belly again im 4 months post op and iv been sleeping on my tummy for about 2 months
raising your hands over your head hurts! i dont know why he would suggest that!
you wil be told to massage implant and how to do it. it helps you not get cc
i didnt have nipple pain i had numbness!
the only tablet i was told to take is arnica because it stopped bruising
hope this helped xx

Hi hun,

There is a January buddies thread for us girlies who are having our op this month if you fancy joining us.

I will answer the questions I can but I am still pre-op so not 100% on everything.........

Upright - yes, not sure how long for, think it's a week. V-pillow comes highly recommended by the girls. I got mine off ebay for £9 but argos do them too.

Belly - I think you will be able to eventually but not for a while.

Arms raised and massage - don't know

Nipple pain - not everyone gets it. What is Lanisol? Remember you will be on pain relief for the first few days I believe.

Echinacea - if your surgeon told you to take it then take it. It is a natural antibiotic sort of. It helps boost your immune system. I take it when I feel run down and can feel a cold coming. I am taking it at the moment to try and kick this bug into touch so I am healthy for my op. Most people also take arnica which helps reduce bruising.

B12 I don't know I'm afraid but I know it is good for lots of things so maybe.

Hope that helps a bit x x x

Ah great! Thanks Barbiecon and Aurora - I will go get me a 'v-shaped' pillow pronto!!! How long do you sleep upright for!? I have never done that before - tis gonna be sooo wired!! :/

GREAT news about tummy sleeping! Yay!!! I found it sooo hard not sleeping on my belly whilst I was pregnant so I don't know how long I can do that for again!!!

Ahhh, arnica! Doh! Thats what I mean't (instead of Echin) Duuuuuh! What a numpty! How much Arnica do you have to take?

I will have to take a look at the Jan thread.. I didn't know that existed..... Thanks! :D

xxxx

Thread re arnica:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Hey

I am also a belly sleeper and thought I would never get used to sleeping on my back, I was also really worried about turning onto my front whilst I was sleeping but your body instinctively knows not to and after the first week you will sleep on your back just fine.

I am 6 weeks po and have been able to sleep on my side for the past couple of weeks.

Moving implant, I have just had 6 week follow up appointment, I was told to massage to help move the implant down as mine are still pretty high up and firm, some surgeons say massage will help with cc others take a different view.

Nipples can become hyper sensitive or you may get burning sensation although this is not like an unbearable pain, just a sensation that you will be aware of. Not sure if Lanisol helps.

I would also recommend arnica, I took this for 3 weeks after the op, it totally helps with swelling and bruising and I swear it helps with pain management as well, I only had to take pain killers for two days after the op, the rest of the time I just had the arnica.

good luck, you will get loads of useful info on here.

Hi cheekimunki I'm 12 days post op and was also a front sleeper! Not had too many problems sleeping, got my v pillow and other pillows stacked up!

Took my arnica, had some bruising but had mastopexy as well as BA! Not took any of the pain killers the hospital gave me, I have genuinely not needed to! (had overs)! I went back to work after 5 days! Felt fine just a bit tired, still feel a little tired!

Enjoy your booby day! U will be surprised how quickly u get use to things!

Good luck! Xxx

1. I have heard that I need to sleep upright after surgery. Is this right and for how long?
No you will not have to sleep sat up, but you will have to sleep propped up, which means your head needs to be elevated above your shoulders. I was told I needed to do this for 2 weeks.


2. I'm a belly sleeper - will I be able to sleep on my belly again!? :/Yes you will, however it will depend on how you feell in your recover as to when, I didn't sleep on my belly for 7 months.

3, My surgeon told me that raising my arms above my head after op helps with the pain - is this true?
Never heard that before, but surgeons recomendations differ. You should follow your surgeons instructions as they are tailored towards what he has done to you.


4. After the op, is it a good idea to massage/ move the implant?I was told not to massage. But again everyones surgeon tells them different.

5. I am fully expecting nipple pain after the op - does Lanisol help? Couldn't feel my nipples for months so I dont know.

6. I have been told to take Echinacea before the op.... had anyone else used this and why? :/ No but we're all told different. I was told to take arnica

7. I have read on here that some people use B12 after surgery - is this any good and why?
Your breasts will probably feel somewhat numb early on, and at the same time, they may be extremely sensitive. It sounds strange, but it happens. The good news is that it's temporary, it's to be expected after this type of surgery, and the sensitivity issues resolve on their own. Most plastic surgeons will tell you that it may be up to a year before normal sensitivity returns. some have taken vitamin B supplements, since vitamin B is good for the nervous system

Ohh, I'm glad I found this thread, especially your response misf1! The closest I've been able to get to sleeping on my tummy was lying on the beach last week and digging wee 'boob divots' for my boobs to fit into so that I could lie on my front without feeling weird.

It still feels really uncomfortable and a little painful for me to lie on my front, and it was getting me down a bit, but if it can take as long as 7 months... then I'll grit my teeth and take one for the team!

xx

Aw I slept with my support bra on until 7 months and I found it was much easier to sleep on my front then, must have been because my bra was squashing them and keeping them together. They could move about better when I didn't have the bra on. If I wear a support bra now I find it uncomfortable to sleep on my front. I still have to dig boobie holes in the sand lol

Hi Hun,

1. I had to sleep sitting up for a good 3-4 wks. myI used a few pillows, a v pillow and a neck support thing. i didn't have too many problems but i was given strong painkillers which made me drowsy so that also help to start with. main problem is either back pain when you lie down and not being able to get back up as you can't really lie on your side and roll up and you can't push down with your arms.

2. i am also a belly sleeper, i have not yet been able to, i sleep on my side again now but my PS told me i would be able to once i'd healed.

3, not that i know of - as said it hurts! however one lady i know of was given exercises to do straight after surgery and many times a day and that involved putting her arm ovewr her head!

4. i would say no - not straight after the op, the area around the implant needs to heal and your scar tissue needs to hold onto the implant. I have been told that at 6wks i will be given massages to do to avoid CC but it needs to settle before then to make sure it's secure.

5. no idea what that is! i have used boi oil to massage nips twice a day since about 3 days as they were sore. this was due to them being too sensitive (i thought they just hurt!) but i needed to over stimulate them to get them back to normal.

6. i was told to stop taking any vitamins i was taking and i just used arnica for bruising. i had no bruising on boobs at all, one bad one on arms though.

7. no idea.

xx

3, My surgeon told me that raising my arms above my head after op helps with the pain - is this true?
Never heard that before, but surgeons recomendations differ. You should follow your surgeons instructions as they are tailored towards what he has done to you.



I was actually to try and keep my elbows at my sides constantly for 3 weeks! (I had unders) to avoid hematoma...follow your surgeons orders but ask him to specify what movements EXACTLY you should do to relieve the pain.

xxx

Think the girls have got it covered here Hun I defo recommend arnica worked wonders for me and I've been sleeping on my belly since week 5 and my boobies have been fine it happened naturally cause if I tried to do it consciously I thought they where gonna pop (mental I know)

Enjoy every minute I wanna do it again good luck xx

Ahhh, thank you so so much for all of your advice girls! :)

Its great to get some first hand advice from people that actually know what they are talking about!

It seems like everyone has slightly different experiences with pain/ pain management so I'm guessing that I will just have to see how I fair after the op :/ Eeeeek!!!

I have my pre op on Monday so will ask the surgeon his advice on what I should do before and after the op - I will take a list of all the things that you girls have written here :)

I am currently sat at my desk at work in my 10oz rice boobies in a sports bra today Lol!! Anyone for a curry!? ;) I don't think that they look obvious - I'm just trying to get everyone subconciously used to them before the op (even my husband didn't notice this morning!!!) I'm just worried about if I start shedding rice on the floor

Thanks again as always girls

Mwah!

xxxx

BTW, 'boobie divits!?!' Lol!!!!

i was sleeping flat after 9 days, and have been sleeping on my front braless for about a month now. Echinacea helps to prevent you getting a cold before your surgery, not sure how much to take though. i was told not to massage until i was 6 weeks post op, but didn't need to if i didn't want to.

best of luck!!

xxx

ps, ur avatar is AMAZING!!! LOVE IT!!!! xxxxx

Cheekimunki that is so funny, I have this vision of you standing up and showering everyone with your rice boobs!

Hadn't considered making rice boobs - how do I go about this pls?

there's a section on the forum on how to do it..... will try and find it for you now xxx

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

xxx

Thanks hun, will go and try this

Just beware aurora, they seem bigger as rice boobies than they will as implants inside you :)

1. I have heard that I need to sleep upright after surgery. Is this right and for how long?
I used a v pillow - brilliant! Slept well most nights. Now laying on my side.

2. I'm a belly sleeper - will I be able to sleep on my belly again!? :/ I hope so!

3, My surgeon told me that raising my arms above my head after op helps with the pain - is this true? PS told me not to raise or reach with my arms for 2 weeks.

4. After the op, is it a good idea to massage/ move the implant? PS not mentioned this

5. I am fully expecting nipple pain after the op - does Lanisol help? I have mostly numbness but can feel a little sensitive but not sore as such

6. I have been told to take Echinacea before the op.... had anyone else used this and why? :/ No idea about this one

7. I have read on here that some people use B12 after surgery - is this any good and why? zinc is good for healing. B 12 is for anaemia. I used to take for my periods as they would wash me out.. You aren't meant to lose much blood with a BA operation.