#I'm literally recovering from one surgery and preparing to have another in 1 week and i don't have the energy for this

[ijustwantedtobeclever]

why do people gotta be homo/transphobic

[villnis-archive]

Hey! I've been following you for a while (since before you had top surgery) and I was wondering if you have any tips for the recovery period after top surgery? Mine is soon (omg!!), and I'm not looking forward to the time after;; Thank you very much!

aaah omg that’s super exciting!! good luck !!! I’m super happy for you! :DD

okay so first of all people are really different when it comes to this stuff so whatever worked for me might not for you and so on, but I’m just gonna write a nice long post for you about some stuff I did while recovering and some stuff I wish I’d known/thought of/remembered xD

before you even go have your surgery you should prepare some things. idk if you live alone or if you’ll have anyone around to help you or what but keeping the following in mind is probably a good idea: in your kitchen, move some plates, glasses, and other stuff you’ll need down on the counter so you can reach them without having to stretch. put a stool in your kitchen too in case you have to sit down while preparing food. try to prepare as much as you can ahead of time, at least for a few days, because I’m not gonna lie you’re gonna feel like shit. I didn’t have any appetite whatsoever for like four or five days but you can’t live on just a few sips of water every now and then + painkillers so just get something simple and plain to keep you going. you don’t have to eat a lot or as much as you usually do, but you have to try to eat something.

also, stock up on stuff to do that doesn’t require you to move so much. tv shows, movies, books, maybe some handheld games if you have them (I tried to sit by my computer just to browse the internet on like day three and I had So Many Regrets after 20 minutes). if you’re anything like me you’ll probably end up sleeping a lot but having something to occupy your mind for when you’re awake is a good idea!

speaking of sleep, I highly recommend either getting a shitload of pillows to lean on for your bed or just sleeping in a comfy chair if you have one. my dad let me borrow one of his recliners from the living room for a couple of weeks and it was a godsend honestly. sleeping straight out on my back was fucking torture. not only was lying down and getting up incredibly painful, but because I couldn’t move onto my side or anything I ended up feeling extremely stiff and uncomfortable and even when I managed to fall asleep like that I usually just woke up again after a couple of hours at most. finding a way to sleep in a semi-sitting position will make everything so much easier and more comfortable!

ASK FOR HELP. I have this issue where I feel like a burden and a monster if I ever even mildly inconvenience someone but the fact is this is MAJOR SURGERY and you’re just not gonna be in shape to do shit for a while. if you can, ask someone to cook for you or at least get takeaway for you, ask for help to wash your hair and to change the tape on your scars, ask for help getting out of bed if you need it, there’s no shame in asking for help even for really simple things ok

so apparently surgeons tell their patients a lot of different things about this thing but I had to wear a compression vest for 4 weeks after surgery (2 weeks around the clock, another 2 weeks just during the day). it was all right for a while but after the first week or so I started hating it almost as much as I ever hated my boobs, I kid you not. I wanted to burn that thing and dance around the fire. it’s going to suck, but it’s worth it!!! you’ll get to take the vest off eventually!

this really goes for everything tbh... it’s going to suck. the first couple of weeks at least are gonna be weird, shit’s gonna hurt, you’re gonna be nauseous and lose your appetite, your chest is gonna look like a t-rex chewed on you and spat you back out, you’re gonna start feeling gross because showering’s gonna be a bitch, that fucking vest is gonna start smelling too and digging into places and your sleeping schedule will go to hell.BUTit’s gonna feel so so wonderful. less than two minutes after waking up I was crying because I was so happy, and now it’s been 5 months and I feel fantastic and it’s honestly one of the best choices I’ve ever made. I don’t regret a single thing. I feel so good, nonny, and you will too I’m sure of it!

(a final note on surgery day: so idk if you have any problems with this but personally I have a lot of issues with you know, memory loss and dissociating and stuff so I needed a lot of reassurance that things would be fine before I got knocked out. it’s fine. it literally felt like two seconds had passed and it was the best couple of hours of sleep I’d ever had tbh. and people say and do a lot of weird shit when they’re just waking up, but the nurses around you are 1. probably used to it and 2. not allowed to tell anyone about it, so don’t worry if you cry or ramble or share personal shit (all of which I did lmao). it’s fine I promise