Day 9: HALLOWEEEEENNNN!!! Also, one-week checkup... and shower details.

So, I woke up way late today (Mr. Right stayed up all night watching the World Series of Poker but I finally took Valium at 3 am because I couldn't get to sleep).  About 11:30 I was out of bed, and quite miraculously didn't feel the need to take anything for pain : )

SHOWERING:  THE GREAT LONG-DRAWN OUT DETAILS...

My surgery follow-up "1 week" appointment was today so I decided a shower was in order.  I've also decided that today is the day where I'll show you how I get all my stuff ready before I take a shower, so that when I get out, it's there waiting and I have no frustrating "OMG WE'RE OUT OF THE GAUZE I LIKE!" kind of thing happening.

First, I get a clean hand-towel and spread it out on the bathroom vanity.  Our washer has a "sanitary" cycle, so we've been washing the towels in that to be sure and kill any germies we've gotten on them while drying off.  I figure having a "sanitized" surface to lay out gauze on is better then the plain old bathroom counter, because God knows I'm not cleaning that with bleach every day while this surgery recovery is going on.

Then, I start laying out my gauze.  Here's my favorite gauze:

(crap, i forgot to upload the pic.  It's CVS brand "Sterile Gauze Pads" in a "12-ply design".  4x4" (of course, this is measured before you unfold them), 25-count, latex-free.  They are soooo soooooft and they don't stick to you when you try and take them off.

***REMEMBER TO PUT THE GAUZE PICTURE IN HERE LATER***

Each little packet has one giant sheet and one littler sheet.   From one pack, I snip the little sheets in half and fold for nipple coverage (see squares on top left and middle left).    When I place them over my nipple, I place them in a "baseball diamond" orientation, with the corners pointing up and down so that the piece covers the round-the-nipple incision as well as the bottom-o-nipple-to-bottom-o-breast incision.  The longer sheet, I fold over a couple of times lengthwise then cut in half to make a nice cushion for underneath each breast.

From the second pack, I separate the sheets and fold up the smaller one for my belly button, and the long one for my tummy incision.  This way, everything's cut and ready to go once I'm out of the shower and ready to rumble.  Planning is key in avoiding that "I CAN'T DOOOO THIS!" moment.

Remember we're all different, and what worked for me might not work for you.  I'm just here to tell ya how I did it, so you can maybe think in advance : )  This gauze is also really stretchy-- and once you stretch it, it retains the stretched length... which is why I like it for my tummy incision.

Here's my layout:

You'll also want to have your triple-antibiotic ointment, a clean bra, and some tape for the gauze.  The gauze will kinda stick to the ointment, then your bra can hold it in place... but you will need tape.  

I liked this tape the best, because it doesn't stick like its life depends on sticking to you forever.  It comes off easily with makeup remover... and let's face it, this tape is gentle.  Nice and gentle.  Says right there on the package!  If you wanna be really freaking OCD you can cut small pieces of tape in advance too, but I never did, so no gold stars for me.

Don't forget your clean bra (and compression garment if you're a tummy tuck patient).   : )

Next get the shower all ready.  I bought this shower chair at Walgreens for about $40.  Due to my tummy tuck, I never sat on the shower chair, but if I'd only had the breast reduction that might have been a good option for me.  It functioned as a place to put stuff, especially my surgical drains.  Anyway, have someone put the chair into the shower for you, and a washcloth, and your soap/shampoo/facewash/whatever.  Since our shower just has a regular showerhead, I also put a big plastic cup in there for getting water into hard-to-reach places (like under the breast).  Ideally, you'd have one of those showerheads that has a detachable handle but alas, I do not, so big-plastic-tumbler it is!  Don't forget to get your towel too.  For me, a hand-towel worked well for my hair, then I used a regular towel for my body.  With new incisions, ALWAYS use a clean new towel every time you shower! 

Now that everything's in place for the actual shower, I usually close it up and turn the water on so it can get warm while I'm taking off my bra/gauze/garment and all that jazz... I tried to do this on the OTHER side of the sink so I didn't get the old dirty stuff all mixed up with my beautifully laid out new clean stuff.  If you have any trouble with tape sticking/hurting, use some makeup-remover and it should come off.  I Just grabbed the MAC stuff I had in the cabinet, got a little bit on a q-tip, and rubbed until the tape-goo came off.  Some of the stuff they used in the hospital was realllly sticky and I had a hell of a time with it on that really sensitive area betwixt the breast and armpit!

Doc's wife told me that you don't want your shower too hot the first few times, so go in lukewarm and adjust until you're comfortable.  I was scared that water on the incisions would hurt (like when you scrape yourself, and it hurts the first few times water hits it), but for me that wasn't the case.  Even my anti-bacterial soap didn't hurt or burn at all.

Always have someone in the room with you when you're showering, and make sure they're ready to jump in there and get wet if you need sudden help.  If you feel at all like you need help, ask.  Have someone hold you steady if you have to step over the shower threshold.  If you're showering in a bathtub/shower combo, put something anti-slip on the bottom.  You won't know your personal limitations until you're in there, so have a helper.  I was okay by myself, but had my helper wash the part I couldn't reach (my back, my butt, my legs).  I found that instead of getting slippery soap all over my feet, just throwing the washcloth on the floor of the shower and running my feet back and forth over it seemed safer.

Man, I just really felt so relaxed and happy in the shower.  Warm water makes everything all better.

My drains rested happily on the shower chair with my washcloth... this allowed me freedom to move around without the tubes pulling.  My drain tubes are in deed long enough that if they fall tot he ground, they don't tug at the site where they're stitched to my body but this just made me feel more comfy.  It seems like stepping on them in the shower might be inconvenient.  Also, when you're in the shower and everything's slippery, it's a great time to "strip" your drains.  "Strip" means "squeeze all the goo into the bulb".

I'm a big giant fan of the Clarisonic products (I have used the face and body brushes for some time now), so I would run the buzzy brush over my face, then use the body brush on my decolletage, shoulders, and stomach-- careful to avoid sensitive areas, and not going anywhere NEAR my incisions.

It was funny to feel the numb places on my breasts and belly!  I have absolutely no scientific basis but in my mind I just feel like if I use the vibrationy brushes on me it'll stimulate my skin and tissues to heal up.  Crazy cosmetic lady dream sequence complete ; )  Really, it just felt good and was relaxing.

So... all done with shower.  Out, dry hair, dry body from top down.  I used a clean dry washcloth to get my incisions good and dry.  Don't rub too hard, just pat them gently.

I would then begin the ointment-gauze ritual... put ointment on one incision, cover it with gauze.  It's helpful to have a mirror for this if you're annoyingly controlling like I am.  I didn't really want anyone else doing this for me, but I did need to see places like the underside of my breasts, so the mirror was helpful.  Repeat until done with breasts, then put on the bra.  Moving right along, ointment and gauze for tummy, belly button, and drain entry sites.  Suit up in the compression garment, and VOILA!

ALL DONE!  I was usually dying to blow my hair dry at this point, because I'm one of those people with a hair-do that really looks horrid if it isn't blown dry.  I can't do that cool "wrap it up in a clip" thing because it's too short.  Most days, my sweet husband would put lotion on my legs and feet for me post-shower because there just wasn't a way for me to physically do it myself.  Man, I love that guy.

MY ONE WEEK APPOINTMENT!

Pretty uneventful, actually.  I got gowned up, saw Doc, Doc's wife was there too and really excited to see that my breasts were happy and round and healing up beautifully.  I provided my med chart, drain chart, and happily reported to them that I was up and around and hadn't had any meds that day... wasn't really "needing"pain meds.  

Doc's wife suggested that I place something between my drain tubes and my skin so I don't get irritated... for instance, wear a soft tank or camisole tucked into the compression garment, or stick some gauze there.  She's worried about my skin being so sensitive and the tubing causing me to blister.  I hadn't been feeling any discomfort, but definitely took note.

I was told that I don't need to do the ointment/gauze business anymore that I'm sealing up nicely, and should begin using some stuff they gave me in the office called Scarguard MD.  It should help with keeping my scars minimal, wheeee!  It comes in a little bottle that looks like nail polish (as does the brush).  You just brush it on twice a day.  While it smells like wart remover, it doesn't hurt or sting at all... just tickles because of the brush.

We also looked through the compression garment catalog to see if we could find me something with a crotch.  The one I have right now is crotchless, which is really convenient, but the thought of handling a potentially heavy period in a crotchless sort of garment gives me the heebie jeebies, so she's having something sent to me that'll perhaps work a little better when that time rolls around.

HALLOWEEEEEEN!!!!!

All was well!  We left, went to eat (I got a kid's meal at Fuddrucker's... my appetite is not as big since the surgery), then went by Target, and headed home.  I was excited about Halloween and feeling well enough for Trick or Treaters!  At some point, I did go ahead and take a Valium because I was just all-around touchy and obsessing about one of my drain line stitches being really annoying.  I came to the realization that just because you physically CAN go without your meds... it's not necessarily really a badge of honor.  I'm 9 days out from the biggest surgery I've ever had, stitched up with stuff still draining out of me.  It's ok to take something if it's gonna make me more comfortable!  It totally did.  I bet it made Mr. Right more comfortable too.

At home, I put on a poofy black swingy dress (yay!  It hid the drains!) and a bunch of crazy makeup, donned a witch hat, and sat on the front porch in a chair all night oohing and awwing at the little cuties that came up to our door.  Mr. Right was out there with me.  Our kids are big enough to go running around on Halloween with their friends, so we hung out to pass out the candy and watch all the crazy.  Our neighborhood is a crazy fun place on Halloween-- I'm totally glad I took that Valium and loosened up enough to enjoy the night.

Later we had an awesome picnic-in-bed watching Big Bang Theory and eating chicken salad and crackers with a side of fresh fruit and almonds.  I'm trying to pack in all the raw fruit and veggies I can because I really want to give my body what it needs to heal and get on a good path.  I wasn't always amazingly super at eating before, but I have the knowledge of what my body SHOULD eat, so I'm working on using it.  No sense in going through all this just to trash it, man.