5 days out.. arm lift and tt HELP ME

Had 5 hr surgery on Fri May 4th. Dr took out 2 arm drains on Monday. I still have 2 drains in tummy. Hopefully they will come out Friday since they are barely draining anything anymore. Guess Im healing well. I feel so fatigued and tired alot. Havent had a BM since thursday before surgery. Took stool softners and nothing yet. Anyone experience this ? I am so swollen on my arms mostly. tummy is swollen but not as much as my arms. I am numb.. i cant feel my arms or tummy where the dr made the incisions. Is this normal ? Will I get feeling back ? How long should it take ? I'm a nervous wreck. Getting depressed since I cant do much either. Husband has to wipe me since I cant reach behind me. I feel so useless. Someone please offer some advice if you went through any of this. Thanks everyone

 Everything you describe sounds pretty normal. I too was a little swollen, but mostly in my hands. It took maybe a week to see improvement for me. I too had no energy. Everything I did took tons of effort. Taking my shower and getting dressed was such a chore. It was all do-able, but such a chore. As for he numbness, that was such a weird feeling. I would touch my stomach but feel it in my foot. (I think my nerves were just confused). This happened the first week or two and seems more normal as time goes by. I am 10 weeks out and I can feel all parts of my body. But even though I can feel pressure on my stomach, it still feels different than it used to. I think I worried a lot after my surgery. I was constantly googling symptoms just to make sure I was healing normal. I think just knowing that nothing is wrong is such a relief. Oh and as e BM, I know I took a while. I don't remember when, but it was a while. As long as you feel okay I wouldn't worry. BTW it sounds like you have a good husband. Don't worry, it gets better. Its a long journey, but worth it. I am only a couple months ahead of you and at his point I pretty much feel 100%. Hang in there. 

Jennifer

I remember those days well!! Hang in there!! Being constipated was the worst. I think I didn't "go" until day 7. I was so worried I'd split in half when I finally went...lol.

Yep sounds normal to me....how I remember that first week!  Very tough!  hang in there!

the pain meds are very constipating...are you drinking enough liquids?  What are you taking for a laxative?  you need something stronger.  Miralax is a great one (over the counter).  you need to take something stronger and have lots of water.
   The swelling this week is awful..I felt pregnant!  Are you wearing a binder?

Hang in there...it really does get better!

hugs
Patty

 I'm 11 weeks out from the same surgery & I empathize with you! I didn't have a bowel movement until day 6. In retrospect, while I was taking 3 stool softeners a day I wasn't eating a whole lot of food. I do recall that when I finally did go what a relief it was to finally go! It did hurt a little to get things started but after that there were no problems. I totally understand about not being able to wipe yourself. That was the worst part, second was not bring able to blow dry my hair. I thought that my arms were the area with the most swelling but as the weeks past I was thrilled to see my tummy get smaller, so don't rule that out! It's just easier to see swelling in the hands & with the tummy once the excess skin is gone its difficult to imagine there's swelling. The numbness takes getting used to & yes it is normal. From all that I've read it may take monthtomorr the numbness to subside. In your arms you're going to experience shooting, tingling sensations which will tell you the the nerves are regenerating. A great thing which will at times drive you nuts! :) As for being tired...totally normal...go with it...don't fight it! Your body needs to rest to recover. I have found that when I listened to my body I healed quicker & felt stronger. When I felt guilty & tried to do too much my body & I paid for it with a slower recovery & more discomfort which in turn only defeated my original intent. Hang in there it will get easier!

Well good news. I finally had a bm this morning and I feel so much better, My arms are very swollen. I wear my binder most of the day and at night when Im sleeping. My arms stay wrapped in the ace bandages at night. I take them off during the day to let my arms breathe. Am I supposed to wear the arm bandages all day ? Do the arm bandages and binder help reduce tbe swelling ? I will do whatever I have to help the swelling go down faster. How long have you ladies wore your binders on your tummy and arms ? Any advice is appreciated. Thx so much . Your replies have helped me so much

That's great news...congrats! It's always best to follow your doctor's advice on how long to wear compression garments, that being said, you're very early & it is generally advisable to keep compression on 24/7 other than bathing. Ask your doctor if you can switch to compression sleeves. I switched at 6 days, wore them 24/7 for 6 weeks & now I'm wearing them 12 hours a day. He wants me to do that until 3 months post-op. personally I will probably wear them longer as there days that I know I need them. Here's something I am doing now with the warmer weather. I didn't want to go out in a short sleeve shirt with my flesh colored compression sleeves sticking out. I bought black compression sleeves which I wear under athletic tee shirts & it looks totally normal. It just looks like I'm wearing a compression shirt under a tee shirt. Just something to consider. 

That is great advice about the black compression garment.