Breast Augmentation: Priceless Recovery Advice

Getting breast augmentation can be an exciting experience. If you aren’t ready for it, however, the recovery process can be a bit daunting. Though certainly less intensive than other forms of plastic surgery, you will nonetheless be recovering from a fairly invasive procedure. Soreness, swelling, and bruising will be things you’ll have to deal with for the days following the operation. If you’re prepared, however, and you listen carefully to everything your doctor tells you, you can have a safe and successful recovery period. Here is some indispensable advice to help you through this time and make it to the other side with your health intact.

The Buddy System

It may be difficult to do things for a few days after your breast augmentation surgery. You’ll certainly need someone to take you home after the operation, as you will probably still be feeling the effects of the anesthesia. That said, if you can arrange to have someone stay with you for at least the first 24 hours, it will make things a lot easier on you. If you can have someone with you for a couple of days, that is even better. You may be surprised at how difficult and unpleasant doing even the simplest tasks becomes in those first precious hours after surgery.

Manage Expectations

Some women battle depression following breast augmentation surgery. The soreness, the bruising, and the fact that their chest does not look quite like they expected can lead to dire thoughts that they should have never done the procedure to begin with. The days and even weeks following an operation are no time to evaluate the success of the procedure. It will take several days for the swelling to go down and it may take longer than that for your implants to settle in and start to look like they should.

Eat With Medicine

It’s not uncommon for people to scoff at the “take with food” advice that comes on many bottles of medication. After your breast augmentation, you’ll probably be given a prescription for pain medicine to aid your recovery. Use this as needed, but heed the food advice. This can help to prevent getting sick to your stomach, as some of these medicines are likely to cause nausea. Just a half of a sandwich or something similar can do wonders for this nausea and it can also help shuttle the pain medication through your body in a quicker fashion.

Quit Smoking

Smoking is not only terrible for your health, it can also represent a real impediment to both a successful surgery and a complication-free recovery. Most doctors advise at least limiting your cigarette smoking in the weeks leading up to the procedure, if not stopping altogether. The ingredients in cigarettes constrict blood flow and can make it difficult for the needed nutrients to get to your incisions. If you’ve been thinking of quitting for some time, this would represent a very nice opportunity.