Mastectomy

Hi Milva​ , I'm sorry that you have to go through this, it's such a hard road. I'm maybe a bit late to respond but I'm about 8 weeks out from my bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction and I feel like recovery has been better than I expected. It has still been really hard but manageable if that makes sense.

Pain- I didn't really have a lot of pain but I keep on top of pain medication and took Panadol etc for at least 3 weeks. My main discomfort was things feeling like they were pulling as I moved around- not pain just a weird sensation. 

Drains- drains were really frustrating and i felt they really limited my movements til they all came out. I had 5 in total and I think the last one came out 12 days after surgery. 

Tightness and heavy feeling chest- my reconstruction was DTI (direct to implant) and I think this freaked me out the most as they felt so foreign and heavy. I found it really scary having a shower and taking my bra off initially. I definatley wasn't prepared for how the implants would feel. 8 weeks on they still feel foreign but feeling more normal for me.   

Showering and movement- I had waterproof dressings so could shower the day after my surgery. You might just need some hooks to hang up your drain bags in the shower to keep them out of the way. I saw the physio day after surgery and had a list of exercises to do pretty much straight away. They were terrifying initially but became easier as i did them more. I went a bit crazy with button up/zip tops but didn't really need them, i just wore comfy tops and got dressed really slowly.

Sleep- I used a long whole body size 'u' shaped pillow, it was nice having support on each side. I'm still using it now as its nice and cozy! I'm starting to test lying a bit on my sides but quite happy still sleeping on my back (despite being a side and tummy sleeper before). My body obviously knows it's not ready for tummy sleeping yet. 

I hope your surgery goes well and best wishes for your recovery xxx