Home after Brachioplasty

Hi!
Well I had my Brachioplasty done 3 or is it 4 days ago...I've lost track of time....it was Thursday morning.  

I ended up staying in the hospital for 2 days ( I also had lipo done my thighs so I originally planned on staying 1 day).

The first night I was there I had such BAD pain in my left calf that they did a dobler (spl?) test to check for a blood clot...fortunately there were none.  :-)  Long story short....... I starting telling the night nurse about the pain in my leg around 7pm...by 10pm it was really bad and she still was very nonchalant about it.  I finally asked her to take off the stocking and leg pump to check if it was red or hot....I kept saying cramps is a sign of a blood clot and since I had a surface clot about 7 years ago I am paranoid about blood clots.  I asked if a Dr could come look at it and she told me there were no doctors available!!!!!!  I got so upset!  A few mins later Matthew told her to call my surgeon, she did and he ordered the dobler test AND he came back to the hospital at midnight to check on me.  Needless to say I did not like the night nurse!  Thank God Matthew was there to help with all of this and to keep me calm. (poor guy slept on a folding chair for 2 nights!!!!)

My right arm was much more painful than the left and the right hand blew up like a balloon.  I kept complaining about the hand that first night.  Thank God on Friday morning when I got a new nurse she helped me.  The first thing she noticed was how swollen and hot the right hand/arm was.  She said, "why isn't this arm elevated?"  I said I don't know, last night the nurse but a pillow under the left arm/hand but not the right one (even though I kept complaining about the pain and swelling in the right hand).  Anyhow, the new nurse immediately put pillows under the right arm and almost instantly I felt some relief...within an hour or so I could see the swelling was going down in the hand.  She was a TERRIFIC nurse.  Of the 4 nurses I had there was only one I was not happy with (the Thursday night one).

I starting feeling much better late in the day on Friday but opted to stay one more night since I had 2 hours travel time between me and my surgeon AND if I stayed over the Dr said there was a good chance he would remove the drains on Saturday morning.  I stayed and the drains were removed so I came home drain free. 

I still have more pain in the right arm than the left...most of the pain is pretty high up on the arm closer to the armpit.   Matthew tells me he saw no bruising yesterday morning when the Dr was removing the drains and re-wrapping the arms.  I'm surprised but very happy to hear that.  Matthew also told me the stitch lines look GREAT.

I'm just starting to have some pain in the legs from the lipo and my butt is numb from sitting so much.   I'm keeping the compression garment on which I guess is helping to stop the legs from swelling.

All and all things are good....... I had a rough first night but I am feeling pretty great right now.... I just get sleepy from the pain pills.  I have to force myself to be a couch-potato (Dr's orders) so that I don't over do things and injury myself.  I tend to overdo once I start feeling a little better.   BTW - I think all my previous exercise (squats, crunches, etc) has made it much easier for me get up and down by myself.  I was worried I wouldn't be able to get out of bed without using my arms but so far so good.  :-)  

I can't wait to see the arms unwrapped.....I hope I'm happy with the results.  The Dr showed us a picture of the skin he removed from the arms, it looked like a good amount...  Maybe he'll take more pictures on Tuesday when I see him again.
I can't tell about the lipo on the thighs yet either,  but sure hope I'll be happy with the results of that too (if the saddlebags are gone I'll be happy).

Sorry this was so long...thanks for reading.
Have a good day!
Ruth

Hi Moosie,

Sorry to hear about your bad nurse experience.  I am a nurse and when I hear these sorts of things, it just makes me ill.  One, because she shoulda been more proactive about calf pain, thats just nuts and two, well I hate to think ANY patient would ever be this dissatisfied of me and my care as a professional.  

I am glad you and your husband stayed proacive, better to be safe than sorry.  Sounds like she was dismissing your cries as not that important or thought you might be overreacting.  Sorry to say.. that's just too bad.

Pray for good continued healing and progress for you!!!  I am sure your arms will be stunning!!!!

Congrats!

I bet those arms will be worth it, though I hate hearing about inattentive nurses and such! Good luck, they'll look fantastic!

Shira

Thanks!  I hope you are right about how the arms will look.....can't wait to see them...

Hi!
Thanks for the note!
I'm just so glad that all the other nurses were TERRIFIC!  Other than that one rough night it was a great staff of nurses, so I'm really pleased.

I'm very lucky Matthew was able to stay with me all that time.........
Ruth

 Ruth - I've been thinking about you...so glad to hear your home and having a good  nurse is everything.......take it easy (I'm not good at it at all!).....and keep the arms propped up......can't wait to see pictures.......and hear how you're doing.     Susan

Hi Susan,
I'm having trouble sitting still, I know you can relate..lol

I'll try to get some "after" pictures taken later today or tomorrow, I'll post asap.

Hope you are doing well with your recovery.  I hope you are not going to the gym yet !!

Have a great day!
Ruth

Congrats. Your husband is awesome for staying with you.  I know having a good support system helped me alot.   My mom and husband stayed in a hotel room right down the street since we are also 2 hours away from surgeon's office.

Take at easy and don't over do it!

Hi and thanks for the note.
Yes I'm very luck that Matthew was able to stay with me.  He's being really good about doing EVERYTHING around the house now that we are home.  I cooked up a storm and have a bunch of meals in the freezer to make it easier on him but he cooked a GREAT breakfast for us yesterday morning...I just don't have much of an appetite.

Trying to take it easy and not get too bored...
Thanks
Ruth

it's great to see you posting!  sorry about your nurse, but it sounds like everyone else was on top of things for you!  nothing worse than bad care.

continued good healing to you!