9 days postop from brachioplasty...not doing so well, how did you handle swelling and pain?

I'm 9 days postop from brchioplasty.  I am having issues with healing and I don't know if it's normal or not.  I was only given keflex(antibiotic) for 3 days.  3 times a day so 9 pills in addition to pain pills.
the first few days, i was feeling out of it probably from the anesthesia and pain pills.  but all this week, i have felt what seems to be extreme swelling in the arms.  I am wearing compression sleeves but at times the pressure of the swelling seemsl ike my arms are going to burst!  i am elevating and icing.  Ice seems to take away the feeling temporarily but the feeling seems to come right back.

I've been able to shower after the second day after surgery.  I am showering every other day.  The incision is together for the most part but some areas seem to look like it's not attached and i can see fleshy parts.  I 've been putting neospirin on it after the shower and guaze before pputting the sleeves back on.  But right after this, my incisions will burn for a half hour or so.  Also during that time, my arms get extremely red.  So i'm wondering if my incisions are infected and is why they haven't fully attached and healed? 

The pain i have, not sure if t's pain or swelling or if it's incisional infection. I also occastionally get little ripping feeling too. 
Can you guys tell me what your incisions looked like at this time?  DId you have extreme swelling that felt like your arms would explode?  When did your swelling subside?

could you be allergic to the neosporin ointment?

Call the doctor. Its the best advice I can give you.


Dani

 I'd call your doctor.  Does the area feel warm to the touch?

I wouldnt panic, but a call to your doctor, or maybe a picture you can email him, wouldnt hurt at this point.  

I saw my surgeon for a follow up on Tuesday of this week and I told him about this and he checked out the incision line and said it looked ok,

i guess the infkammed red and hot feeling only happens for that hour after my shower.
the extreme swelling now seems to have subsided these past 2 days ( knock on wood). 
But my arms feel so so tight.  The surgeon did an excellent job and the line looks great but there doesnt seem to be good closureon the wounds if that makes sense.
there's som fleshy parts which the doc said it could look like this from the swelling.
i'm nervoud because i'm supposed to go back to work on Monday and I've been laying, elevating all week.

I think I would call the dr. about  this.  I'm about two and a half weeks out of my brachioplasty and my arms do feel like they are going to explode sometimes.  I can't wear sleeves because I have developed an infection in both arms.  If your arms feel warm to the touch when they turn red, I would definitely check with the dr.  My PS has sent me this week to the infectious disease drs. and I have taken two IV treatments so far.  I do hope your problem turns out to be a lot less than mine.
  Good luck and I hope you feel better soon.

oh no.  sorry to hear about your infection.  was your incision red and hot too? all the time or just some of the time?  did that keep the wound from trying to close?  if you don't weat sleeves what is keeping your swelling down? Are you wearing ace bandages?
well,  i suspected that 9 keflex pills were not enough..i asked the surgeon about this the day of my surgery and he seemed to think that was enough.   i happenned to have a bottle of them from a previous ailment so i started them up on my own last night to see if that would help.  So far so good. Just praying that the swelling subsides drastically in the next 2 days so i can go back to work.

Hi sweetie, sorry that you are having trouble. I know that you are not supposed to use neosporin on large or open wounds. I have also heard that hot and red "usually" mean infection but not always. Go with your gut! See your primary care if the PS won't do something different. I prefer a 10 day round of antibiotics because I know if some infection tries to creep in on day four or five that I will be ok. Also, emotionally and psychologically you are fragil right now, however, I still say listen to your intuition.

T.

My incisions are red and hot all the time.  So far, the incisions are all closed, and I'm praying they stay that way!  I have some scabbing still.  Not wearing ace bandages, dr. doesn't want me using any compression while I have the infection.
  I admire you for going back to work so soon.  Good luck with the swelling.

 I'm sorry your dealing with this. I had extreme swelling in my hands. Not really my arms, just my hands. I had a garment with sleeves. My nurse ended up making a small cut in the band around my sleeve. (probably around day 4) it improved in about 24 hours. But if you have swelling everywhere I'm not sure that will help. I do know that red AND hot are signs of infection. So keep an eye that it's not hot. I had my stitches in my arms for 3 weeks. At week 2 I had one small place where I could see flesh. I wasn't to worried because I still had my stitches in to kep it together. I just kept it clean and dry with ointment a couple times a day. Maye after you shower you can take a pic of your arms each day. That way you can compare each day and see if it's improving or getting worse. I would also maybe take a few extra days off before you return to work. It's better in the long run. If something were to actually open up you would be off way longer. Better to take a few extra days now instead. You just might be a slow healer. Maybe our bodies just heal differently. I do think mine were pretty closed up by day 9. 

Jennifer

hmmmmm.... i am starting to suspect the neosporin after all.  I will have to see what tomorrow brings with no neosporin.  So if i don't use neosporin then what should i apply? seems weird to let it just heal with nothing on it.
As for my surgeon, i do trust him.  I just like to get more explanation out of things.  He did ask if i was allergic to neosporin.  I didin't even think of it because I've used it on cuts and scrapes before and didn't have an issue. 
Thanks everyone!  Hope this helps!