What to expect after brachioplasty, time off work, assistance needed, etc?

I'm still planning on having my brachioplasty in 2 weeks. I need to divide my time off from work...total 7 weeks FMLA (not all that paid but I will make it work) in between my arms recovery and my lap hernia repair to follow sometime after Sept. 19th. I work in an office, with a computer, I run the office though so I have some control over what I will have to do. Another concern for me is what I will be able to do for myself after surgery, how much and what level of assistance will I need from someone. I have a roommate but she gets freaked out by anything medical...couldn't even let her see the drains after my panni. I don't think my mom can make it down here for this, or if she can only for a few days after, not the month she stayed after the panni. I also have a close friend who has offered to let me stay with her afterwards. So basically when I say how much and which level of help....I really mean...will I need someone to wipe my butt? I know it's blunt but you know I need to know because if I will then yeah I need to have someone with me full time, if not and I can deal with someone just helping with my meals, etc...then that will change my arrangements.

LOL  The good news is that you've lost the weight and had the panni removal, and once the arm skin is outta the way, you won't have any problems, uh, hygienically!!! Before I can say about how much help you will need, how far under your armpit is the incision going to be and where will he place the drains?  That was the biggest factor for me. Mary

Sarah, I had help for a couple of weeks for changing the dressings and being wrapped in ace bandages.  You can't lift things for awhile so you may need someone for that as well.  I think that after 2 weeks, I was dressing myself, showering, etc by myself.  Just needed to have hubby or daughter help with ace bandages and openings in armpit that required certain meds. Hope this helps...I know you are excited! Sandy

I had my arm lift at the same time as my TT and BL but if I had only had my arms done I wouldn't have needed much help at all.  My arms never really hurt.  The only help I needed with them was to wrap the ace bandage around them, that's a little hard to do by yourself.  Some people have problems lifting their arms for the first week or two so before your surgery you may want to put things that you will be using down at a lower level so that if you are home alone you can reach everything.  Best of luck!

I love the question because Im having my arms done Sept 20th along with BL/BA axilla skin removal, I wanna know as Sarah does, will we be able to wipe our butt????

 

Bridgette

I think everyone is different in their recovery but I didn't have any trouble wiping my booty.  I have read on here before that you can buy some kind of extender to assist with your wiping if you need so if you are concerned then you may want to look into buying one to have on hand just in case.

I had my arms done, breast lift/reconstruction, and some lipo to my saddlebags in june.  I didn't have to wear ace bandages but did have to wear a compression vest with arms.  I needed help getting it on and off for about a week or so.  I didnt have any problems wiping - I think you will be fine in that department.  However, I was not able to lift my arms to brush my hair (put in ponytail) for atleast a week  if not more and I needed help washing it that first week.  Ouch!  My mom also gave me a couple of sponge baths.  I passed out twice the first time I tried to shower - more from looking at the stitches than pain.  I'm a wimp!  Ha! Since its just your arms you won't need as much help as I did.  I'm thinking you will want a lot of help (full time) atleast for 4 or 5 days.  Maybe two weeks for recovery before you go back to work???  Just make sure you have shirts that button up the front.  Also move everything you might need the first few weeks low - easy to reach.  I still have problems with one arm reaching high - pulling in the armpit area.  I had help for four weeks - my mom.  The first two weeks I was VERY glad she was there. Dawn

I'm single with no family around. I had brachioplasty and breast lift with augmentation on Tuesday July 3rd. I stayed in the hospital for three nights but after that I was pretty good. I was back at work full time on Monday and driving by Tuesday. Lifting my arms has been the biggest problem. I filled baggies with ice and kept them close to the freezer door so I wouldn't have to reach to get ice cubes. I kept bottled water and crackers near my bed. No problems wiping. Hair brushing and blowdrying was probably the hardest. I washed my own hair from the beginning. Just had to bend my head forward in the shower. I wore ace bandages around my arms. You'd be surprised how quick and fast you learn to do it yourself if you have to. I'm still wearing paper tape on my incisions. What took me about an hour to apply the first time now takes about a minute and a half. You'll do great! First week stinks but after that it gets better. I was cleared for full exercise at two weeks. I didn't really feel back to normal till about 4 weeks though. I'm still having trouble raising my arms fully. Something isn't right there. But it's getting better all the time. As long as I'm seeing some progress I'm ok with it. I may start freaking out when the progress stops.

Well good thing I have short hair, and actually I've went through several periods when I had either my post accessed or a central line where I could wash my hair either...I just let it go, or when I really needed it done...I went and paid just for a shampoo and condition. I'm sure I'll figure things out. Thanks to everyone for their replies!

I had just an arm lift and axilla repair.  I took one week off from work. 

The first 2 days I needed help with everything.  The first week I could not wash my hair and I had to go to Supercuts for a wash every other day. I couldn't stand having dirty hair. I had to wear the same clothes all the time that were really stretchy for the first two weeks, because of the armpit cut. When I went back to work I was really tired, but I made it through.  Butt wiping is OK, your arms are down.  It's anything above chest level that's out.  I actually had Aunt Flo and had no problems with tampons.

I needed my fiance to leave me dishes on the counter every day because I couldn't reach into the cabinets.  Also, I had healthy protein food at reachable levels in the fridge.  I also had two straws put together so I could drink water, it was too hard to put a cup to my mouth. I brushed my teeth, but didn't do the best job ever.

I drove after a week. REALLY SLOW. It was hard to make turns.