A little scared dmx/ expanders.

LOJ,

My surgery was 10 years ago so my memory may not be entirely clear. I had the same surgery that you are having but had my permanent implants put in, so no TE's.

One of the biggest effects that general anesthesia has on me is that it warps my sense of time. My memories of waking up are vague and definitely drug tinged. I do remember that the bandages or binding around my chest were too tight and I asked to have them loosened, which they did. The rest of my memories were very fuzzy as general anesthesia takes some time to wear off completely but it was not unpleasant. I have no memory of the catheter being removed but do remember being somewhat shocked at how soon they got me out of bed and moving but that is actually a good thing! Overall, it was far easier than I would have imagined. I was actually quite surprised by how not awful it was! For me, the biggest key to quick recovery was to rest when needed but to be more and more active each day (without overdoing it). The day I got home from the hospital was a beautiful day. My younger dd and her fiancé (now husband) helped me walk around the block, very slowly. It felt good but it wiped me out. However, each day I added a bit more activity and I think this really helped in my quick recovery. Honestly, don't sweat the details of the surgery/hospital stay. It goes by quickly and is probably not as difficult as you may be imagining. Take care.

My single MX and ALND (no reconstruction) was about 3 hours. The last thing I remember beforehand is my husband kissing me goodbye in the prep area; I don't remember entering the operating room at all. My memories of the recovery room are very fuzzy so I don't know how long I was there before they moved me to the actual hospital room where I stayed one night. They didn't remove the catheter or the leg massagers (to prevent blood clots)until early the next morning and I was very unsteady on my feet at first. One thing that surprised me was how I was SO THIRSTY but not hungry afterwards.

I'm very glad the hospital relaxed its visitor policy shortly before my surgery. This meant my husband was allowed into the pre-op room. He wasn't allowed to stay in the waiting room during the operation, so he went to his office for a couple of hours until the surgeon called him to let him know I was in recovery. He then came to my room for the remainder of visiting hours.