X-post: Care after plastics--may have little help...

Why can nothing be simple? Oh, because it's MY life--I remember.

Anyway, some of you may remember my plastic surgeon offering me a surgery date a month sooner than originally planned. Well, I went ahead and shot them my deposit with the intention of doing just that. Well now I am not sure I am going to have the aftercare support that I thought I would. I have a dear friend who has offered to help with getting the kids to school. I can probably make arrangements of somewhere for them to go after school until she or my husband can get to them. But now I'm facing down possibly being home alone during the day as soon as 3-4 days after the surgery. 

Do you think I will be able to handle it with drains to be stripped and difficulty moving to get to the potty, grab a bite to eat, etc.? I will hire someone if I absolutely have to, but I hate to pay $$$ if they will sit here reading a magazine all day.  I just don't know how often drains have to be tended to or if I can even do them myself. I can get my husband and friend to set me up with a cooler of food/drink so I don't have to get around much, but getting to the potty is another story all together!

Any suggestions/opinions about the feasiblity of doing this without much help?

Thanks,

Denise

Remind us what you are having done...?  LBL or just TT? A combination of procedures?

I was alone starting with day 3 after my tummy tuck without any problem.  My mom was just a few minutes away if I needed help, and I could ahve stayed with her for more than the first 2 days but I really wanted to be at my own place.

Lora

Lower body lift with breast lift and implants. Whew--sounds a little spooky when I write it all out!! Did you tend to your drains yourself? That alone freaks me out completely. Not the blood, but I remember my friend complained of it hurting a lot when we did hers after her plastics.

I had no drains with my TT, but had two drains with my panniculectomy and I took care of them myself.  (Emptying them is really quite simple, and I have had them for a couple of surgeries and did not have any pain from the drains until they had been in a more than a week and the area where they exited the body became sore.)  If you are having abdominal muscle tightening (I don't know if they normally do that with a LBL or not), it would make things more difficult, but otherwise I think you will be able to get around well enough to be alone during the day.

Lora

I flew from Singapore to Thailand to have mine - FL, BL, BA and Abdominoplasty (11.5 hours total surgery) - left hospital on day 3 and was out shopping on day 4!   I will say that I was incredibly fit (having been a gym bunny for 2 years) and at optimum health.   My drains were all removed 24 hours after surgery and I only really had swelling if I overdid it a bit ...

I flew back from Thailand to Singapore (2 hour flight) 10 days after surgery and managed my own suitcase, immigration queuing etc.  This was the minimum my surgeon recommended ...

I am not superwoman, but I have never needed a lot of recovery time from surgery either.  I think it's an individual thing - if you are someone for whom anaesthesia wipes you out, you need to take that into consideration, if you are someone for whom pain is an issue (we all deal with is differently) you will need to take that into consideration.  

Good luck with whatever you choose to do!

I had an anchor cut TT, brachioplasty, BL w/implants done all at one time.  I did have someone there but I didn't need help getting around.  I stopped pain meds on day 3 (spent 1 night in hospital).  I have a fairly high pain tolerance.

If you can have help for the little ones and prepare for the day, getting to and from the bathroom should be ok.  The drains really aren't that big of a deal to strip I did my own.  You are going to need to walk anyway some.  I suggest having someone a phone call away in case you need something but having someone sit with you I wouldn't worry about.

My mom was w/ me for the first 5 days 24/7 but wasn't really needed but I took advantage of her just getting me things but could have done it on my own. I had an LBL & brachio. Just make sure someone is there the first time you take a shower. Also when on your own try to have everything within reach so you don't have to do a lot of reaching. You should be fine barring any compliations. The first few days I had my mom do my drains but she's a nurse. After a few times I actually liked doing them myself. I may be weird but I liked the satifaction of seeming them flat and empy for just a minute.