Recovery Advice - Returning to Work?

Hey girls  

Steph here again to annoy you with more questions!

Ok so I am booked in for BA Thursday 28th November and am having Nagor overs (I think but could still decide on Allergan at sizing appt!) Also not entirely sure on size yet, hoping to go from an A to a full C.

I live & work in Dublin but am originally from Northampton which is where I am having the surgery at Three Shires with Adrian Richards.

My question is with regards to recovery.....


I will be flying from Dublin Wednesday evening and being admitted at 9am on the Thursday morning, I will spend 9 nights in Northampton with my Mum before flying back to Dublin the following Saturday 7th December then back to work on Monday 9th.......

Can someone else who has had overs give me any advice on how I'll be feeling 9 days PO and also will I be able to wash my own hair etc....

Another thing is that I am not telling work so if I wear baggy jumpers etc. will I be able to hide it? Currently wear a padded bra so shouldn't be too much of a difference....


Thanks in advance for any help ladies, much appreciated!! xxxx
One more question! How long after the op did you have your first night out?!

I'm still pre BA so I'm sure girls with more experience will be able to give you a better idea, but usually your surgeon will give you guidelines depending on how it went but recovery is such an individual thing (as is pain threshold) it's very hard to guess how you will feel as an individual. Good luck and congrats on your booking :) xx

I'm still Pre BA, but work in healthcare which is ALOT of manual handling, may not be the advice your after but at consultations I've been told I can return to my job 10 - 14 days post op, they were more worried about me being infection rates for myself then they were me lifting, pushing, pulling etc...
Guess healing process, pain threshold etc are individual to you though, have to listen to your body!!
Hopefully some of the more experienced ladies will be able to give better advice

xxxxxxx

I'm 7 days post op with overs and my right breast is extremely sore and I can't even open a tin of dog food or push down a heavy handle on a door with it ATM! X

hi there, 

firstly, welcome to the forum! :)

in regards to hiding it from work, don't worry at all!! i went from an a to a 30E cup (sounds bigger than it is), and in loose clothes i look the same as before with padded bras. if you want to hide it, you will easily be able to do so.

and about recovery and going back to work, of course everyone's recovery and pain threshold is individually.
in general surgeons recommend between 7-14 days off work, and it does depend on how physical your job is. if it is office based, you should definitely be fine sitting at your desk by that time.

again hair wash is individual, but at nearly two weeks, definitely yes, i would say you'll be fine. this is just judging from my personal experience though.

maybe some more ladies can give you an insight into their recoveries as well.

but it'll be good having your mum look after you for 9 days, she'll be able to make sure you do a minimum amount of arm work etc, so you have maximum time to recover :)

x

Nobody can tell you how you will feel after your op. You may well feel "well" enough but I found that things like opening doors or anything using my arms was pretty hard work for a few weeks.

It does depend on the job you do of course and lots of ladies go back to work a week after their op, you just have to be sensible really.

Yes you will be able to hide your boobies fairly easily, baggy tops or blouses and cardigans!

I found hair washing fine after the initial few days - I used to wash it in the shower bent over iykwim! It also depends on what instructions you get given with regards to getting your wounds wet from your surgeon. I got the all clear to wash properly at my first check which was twelve days post op.

By "going out" I take it you mean "dancing"?! I was about 4 weeks post op when I first went out properly, but we are all different!

Hope this helps a bit! Enjoy your day x

i went to meet some friends at a pub (sitting down!) at 11 days post op and i was fine, but also very glad to fall into my bed at the end of the night :)

Hi. Work wise I took 1wk hols and 2wks working from home. I was lucky enough to have this as a option for me, as I was still exhausted and struggled to concentrate. Even when I went back after 3wks, heavy doors and high shelves were a struggle. But every one copes differently. I started being able to reach up to wash my hair slowly in wk2, but I was still hunching to meet my hands. As everyone has said, it'll be down to you and what job you have

As for disguising them, you'd be surprised how wrapped up everyone is in their own world's to notice! I went AA to DD, and only one colleague has noticed, but only after I told then (i thought you were looking bigger!). But even then, if someone asks and your not comfortable saying, just don't, it's not their business.

I went for a large glass of red at week 2, but didn't go out on the lash til about 4wks for birthday shenanigans.

Yes your be able to hide it easily, your be wearing clothes to hide a sports bra plus it will be winter so don't worry about that :)
Day 6 was when I started to feel better and day 8 I was able to wash my own hair over the bath however still limited in movements, as long as you take it slow you should be ok but I think your just have to see how you feel :)

Night out- I'm not ready for any clubbing etc lol! Ild be ok to go to a pub or bar etc but wouldn't want to be anywhere to busy as getting hit in the boob by accident would make me cry, I'm still very sensitive lol... Xx

Hi Ladies,

Thank you all so much for your helpful advice! It is greatly appreciated :)

Guessing I am going to have to miss the office xmas party this year then which is 2 weeks PO! This will raise a few eyebrows in itself haha let the rumour mill start! People will probably think I am pregnant as not one to miss a beverage!!

My first check PO is at 6 days I think, or maybe 7....then it is at 6 weeks or in my case maybe 7 or 8 depending when I can fly back again.....then if all ok 1 year!

So how long do you have to wear a sports bra PO until you can start wearing underwires/"normal bras"?

Also do you think the size of the implant impacts recovery? I.e larger implant, longer recovery?

I just want to be recovered and ready to rock 1 day PO haha especially with it being so close to all the Xmas festivities! But I know that is not the case and will need to slow down and listen to my body.

Also hopefully I will be able to get away with not doing anything too strenuous....I am going to tell work I am having an op of some description so they will take it easy on me! It is the returning to work that is stressing me out as I have to fly back etc. but I am sure it'll all be worth it next summer :) 

Thanks again girls xxxxxx

It's normally a sports bra for 6 weeks but it depends on your individual instructions, some ladies are told not to wear one at all for a while XX

It'll be dependant on your surgeon and what he thinks is best for 'your' recovery. Personally I had to wear a compression band 24/7 for 6wks, plus sports bra 24/7 for 8, but even then I didn't go for full time wires until after I got the surgeons all clear at 3months. Plus a lot of girls find it painful to go straight into wearing wires, preferring to break them in for an hr or so at a time. Im now in wires daily for work, but by about 7pm I start to get a bit achy and swap back to my sports bras!

Thanks so much for all your help girls, really appreciate it! And Jennifer - I see you're 15 days PO - hope it is all going well for you :) xxx

Aww thank you!! It's all going great so far :) best thing I've done!! Xx

You'll be fine to wash your hair 9 days post op. You'll have no problem hiding your BA, especially wearing baggy clothes. And first night out, a couple of drinks sitting down in a pub will be fine around 2/3 weeks.. but a proper dancing all night in a busy club, around 3/4 months x

hiya welcome

Just home form a wee wkend in Dublin, stayed at the Gibson Hotel at the O2 for the Fleetwood Mac concert and what great weather we had!!

Anyway congrats on ur upcoming BA, I washed my hair the night I went home and dried and straightened it, with a tiny bit of help from my husband and by god i felt so much better with clean hair lol

I unfortunatly had a really bad time with pain for about 3 weeks and was on strong pain killers for a long timem I o have a high pain threshold as Ive had a batural delivery and a c section where my spinal wore off!!

We are all different last time I def needed 2 plus weeks off work and im due a reop in 3 weeks and have taken 10 days off and think that i might need more but we shall see

Im sure that all will be fine for your return to work

Top tip listen to your body xx

Hi  Princess - thanks a million for the advice really helpful, I'll have to restrain myself from going wild during the festive season this year haha! xx

Hi Tinkerbell,

Thanks for your advice, again really helpful :)

Oooooohhh did you have a good time here in Dublin? You were very lucky indeed with the weather and Dublin winning the All Ireland on Sunday - some buzz about the city, great time to visit!

Ok you're right, I just need to listen to my body. Just worried about the time off work but I will say I am having some sort of op so if I need to take it easy/take more time off etc. it should be ok...

I see you had unders the first time, are you having unders for the re-op? If you don't mind me asking why are you having them re-done?

I'm having overs so apparently recovery is slightly easier....but then again as you say everyone is different, I'll just take it day by day I guess!

Thanks again for all the help girls xxxxxxxxxx

hi yeah we stayed in the gibson hotel and it was heaving with players and family and they had the dnner there at night we left as they arrived lol

I had fun ef be back

I have 360cc MP and changing to 350cc HP and also having  my breast crease lowered and then the surgein needs to see whats going on in the left breast when he opens up he knows it CC but not sure how bad or what needs to be done when in there

so basically my boobs are too hard high sore and round lol xx

Yeah it's a great city, good fun for a weekend away! Just very expensive!

Ah ok, sorry to hear that! Did they ever heal or have been feeling like this since you originally had them done?! Hopefully you'll be all sorted soon......is it covered as part of your aftercare arrangement?

Having the crease lowered seems quite common, I think my surgeon mentioned doing that to mine (it was such a whirlwind!)

xxx

yeah very expensive

my aftercare is great!! my surgeon moved from glasgow to manchester but as i want him to do my reop hes paying flights etc. ges fab

never healed just always been crap lol xx

Can I just ask what having your breast crease lowered entails and why would you have the op?  Sorry to be clueless but keep spotting posts about this and I am interested to know what it's all about.

Thanks.

xx

Hi Siamese,

I am fairly clueless too at this stage haha! But I think it is something to do with changing the distance between the nipple and the curve under the breast? So when the implant is in place you have enough space for the proper curve?!

That probably made no sense but it did in my own head!  

xxx