Drains are out, and some other fun stuff...

Two days ago I got my drains taken out, finally! I was pretty freaked out about it because I find the concept of drains extremely disgusting. But it really was quick and easy and painless. I had this chart I had been documenting my daily drainage on, and I had to be around 30-40mL a day in each side for two days before they would take them out. The PA took them out. She snipped the stitches and then told me I'd feel a tug, which is a pretty accurate description. Then I felt the tubing inside my body sliding out. It was so bizarre. It actually felt like someone was running their finger along my skin. It felt like it was outside rather than inside. After she took out the drains she said that she could do a fill. But I took one look at those giant syringes and chickened out. Plus, she said I would swell after the drain removal so I figured it would be better to just tackle one problem at a time. I scheduled my first fill for next Friday. 

After that appointment, I went downstairs for my appointment with Dr. F. He said that my chest might look scary right now but that its going to look fantastic when its done. I had plenty of skin to spare in the boob area lol!  My boobs kind of look like puckered mouths. Like they just ate lemons. There's a lot of extra skin and it all folds and puckers towards the incision sites. I told my mom they look grouchy. Anyway, back to the appointment. Dr. F made me put my arms above my head.  That was the first time since surgery and I was scared it would hurt but it didn't. I actually don't have any pain at all anymore. My arms feel weak and its hard to stretch the muscles but my exercises will have me back to normal soon I think. He told me to go ahead and start my phase two exercises and to start trying to ease back into normal life some, but not to push myself. He also told me that based on my pathology report and what he saw during surgery, he estimates my breast cancer risk to be around 1%!  That's amazing news!  From 87% to 1% is absolutely amazing. I'm so happy that I made this choice. 

One other thing I want to mention is swelling. Prior to surgery nobody ever mentioned swelling to me. I was not aware of this. It's awful and uncomfortable. I have huge lumps under my armpits and the fronts of my boobs. The swelling is so bad on the right that my expander is poking out weird and really bugging me. I'm not in pain, it's just annoying. Plus when I put on clothes I look like I have man boobs with all the underarm swelling!  The worst part is that there's nothing I can do about it. I can't use a heating pad because I have no feeling in large patches of my chest so I can't feel if its too hot. And massage isn't helping. Dr. C's PA told me that I can take ibuprofen for swelling and that I should keep a tight sports bra on all the time, and that too much activity can cause extra swelling. She also said that if my body doesn't start to reabsorb the fluid they can drain it with a needle at my next appointment. So I'm hoping my body starts to cooperate and absorb this fluid already!  

The upside to all of this is my recovery. Last night I took my first normal shower. I was able to face the water and I didn't have to have a lanyard with drains hanging around my neck. I even washed my own hair for the first time!  The whole thing was very exciting. I've always enjoyed my hot showers and I've missed them. It was really nice to be able to feel normal again. One weird thing I'll mention is that I could feel the water hitting my expanders and it was strange. I can't feel the skin directly above the expanders at all so it was odd to know water was hitting there and I couldn't feel it. I know I've lost some feeling forever but I hope some of it comes back, especially under my armpits. I'm sure I'll get used to it quickly if the feeling doesn't come back, but it would be nice :)

Other than all that, there's nothing new to report. I'm feeling good and recovering quickly. I hate not being totally independent yet but I'm getting there little by little. For only 12 days post op I think I'm doing excellent!