I can't believe it but in less than a week I'm having surgery! The works I'm not even nervous.(I will be if I decide to have a facelift afterwards) I bought bandages ,peroxide gloves and gauze etc. I'm ready. The only thing is my surgeon says I will not need to wear my bandages.. Little nervous taking two months off from the gym. And then if I have my facelift another two months. Does anyone have any tips. I want to make sure I'm fully healed. My surgeon doesn't even recommend in scar gel he said he just doesn't believe in it or some of the massage that the other surgeons recommend it.(they had spas attached to it their offices) In a year he does a technique to get rid of scars in his office . Any tips are welcome. Actually go ahead pylon all the tips you can give me.I will call the office but, I forgot to ask how many ice packs I should have on hand. Thanks everybody. Enjoy your week.

DO NOT walk as much as they tell you to! I over walked and it ended up costing me. I thought I was dying! You wont need peroxide, gauze, or gloves after surgery lol. Your going to be fine! Good luck !

I also wore no bandages.

No1 - Get some micropore tape - Keep it on the scar line for 12 weeks

No2 - Compression garment - wear 24hrs a day (minus showering) for 10-12 weeks

No3 - Personally I had tea tree wipes (facial wipes) and whenever I wanted to clean round the scar line, or hands before and after - I used that - tea tree is great stuff, and I had no problems with infection or anything - over 5 ops - Methinks I did pretty well

No4 - After that 12 weeks, use E45 or diprobase (not sure if called something different in US) and massage the scar twice a day - every day

No5 - Take it easy - Rest - Relax, and take it easyyyyyyy - You will be healing - You must take care of the work - If you want the work to end up at its best - YOU - Must be the one to look after and protect it :-)

You will be ok- Just take care of yourself

I didnt need bandages or ice packs of anything like that to be honest, but I would say Design Veronique compression garments are worth their weight in gold! No they aren't the cheapest but having used them - I can say I loved them and the moment after surgery I woke up - I couldnt wait to put them on - As they felt like protection of all my scars etc

Good luck <3

I didn't need ice packs or bandages etc. either... Except for I needed some sterile gauze, tape and triple antibiotic ointment for an open wound I got on my breast that healed rather quickly!

A chair in the shower.. I almost passed out first shower..

What are you having done?

I had alot done at once and the number one thing is to take it easy. surgeon told me to walk like a 95 year old lady with arthritis. Sorta hunched over and SLOW. He told me how to get in and out of cars etc. Slow and easy. Wear the compression garments and all the other advice given here.

I also built up on the Protein, both a few weeks before surgery and the healing period. when you have BIG procedures like i did, it totally takes it out of you and the body needs healing support so eat healthy healthy.

Good luck!

Yes the extra protein is a must!!! Your body needs it to speed recovery and to heal...

Wear your compression garment! It's going to suck SOOOOO bad, but you really need to do it. Also, assuming you are getting a tummy tuck, you might want to get some later stage compression garments. I went to a lighter "full body" garment a few weeks out and then kept wearing a spanx-style high-waisted shorts kind of garment for a couple of months.

Note: I had all-over lipo (including in my knees and calves) so I needed to wear the long pants kind of garment for the first two stages.

Edited August 19, 201411 yr by JamieLogical

<p>DO NOT walk as much as they tell you to! I over walked and it ended up costing me. I thought I was dying! You wont need peroxide, gauze, or gloves after surgery lol. Your going to be fine! Good luck !</p>

lol. Maybe I went overboard with the gloves but I heard peroxide helps with the itching . The gloves I got for my tubes; when I need to drain them… My doctor told me to have gauze. it's in my notes but forgot why. They will provide me with compression garments but he doesn't feel the necessary. I'm having the work done by the left,flankadplasty, branchiopasty and finally breast. All done at once I feel that I also need my inner thighs done but he said that the body lift should take care of it. I used to look extremely young and now I don't. So scared, but I am debating a facelift. I'm going to listen to you about the compression garments ; are ace bandages do is okay for the arms? They will provide me one for my abdomen and I have an extra one here. I guess I just need to order something for my boobies. I'm taking two months off from the gym I hope that's enough time but also hope it doesn't cause any damage.

You need actual compression garments for your arms, surprised they aren't providing those. You can order them online. For your boobs, any good sports bra should do. Not the little donkey ones with spaghetti straps. I'm talking the maximum support ones.. No underwire either!!

Oh and front close was a life saver for me when it came to sports bras!!! Trying to wrangle one over top of your head after a breast augmentation AND an arm lift isn't gonna happen so try to find one that fastens up the front

For my boobs I had to have a special bra with a strap that went around the top of my boobs to force them down. It was so uncomfortable and I had to wear it 24/7 for a ridiculously long time. You know that feeling you have at the end of a long day when you can't wait to take your bra off? I felt like that ALL THE TIME. I seriously think I had to wear that bra for like 10 weeks. It was something like this:

http://www.makemeheal.com/mmh/product.do?id=214395

I was only allowed to take it off when I showered.

I bought 6-8 treatments (can't remember now just how many) hyperbolic treatments. Many of the Plastic Surgeons in Phoenix send their patients to get these chamber treatments right after surgery. Since I was traveling to have surgery, I used these as my insurance policy for a good recovery. They ward off infections (this is the only method that will heal those with the flesh eating disease) they speed up healing and they lesson the look of the scars. It was pretty cool I went into a chamber and it was decompressed as you wear a oxygen mask. Each session lasted 1 - 1 1/2 hours...sorta relaxing...The company submitted the charges to my insurance company as wound care, and they paid...even though it went towards my high deductible I thought it was great. You can google hyperbolic treatments in your area and see if you have a private center. Most all hospitals have them but I bet they cost a whole lot more. This center also gave a PS discount. I believe this was a very important key to my fast and eventless healing...

❤️❤️❤️ Yes I'm going to look into it again.(I believe it was a year or two ago I did some research for work) I want to thank you and everyone on this site for their advice. I can't believe how fabulous everyone is looking!!!

How exciting! I am one week post-op on my own surgery. I had a breast lift and augmentation, abdominoplasty, and lipo to my hips, inner and outer thighs, and lower back. I think I read every possible post about how to be prepared for surgery and the three things that ended up being most valuable to me were:

#1. a nightlight I could reach from my bed without having to move from my sleeping position. I bought one of those LED touch lights that are like $5 for 2 at most stores. You just tap them and they turn on and off. It was the #1 most awesome thing after surgery, because you can't twist at all, you can't really pull yourself up, and in the middle of the night when you're all drugged up and feel awful, it's really nice to slide your hand over to the edge of your nightstand, push the light, and have more than enough light to see, get comfortable again, and then just turn right back off without having to move much. The back has 3M sticky tape, so I just stuck it to the edge of my nightstand and I guess I'll take it off after I'm done- it didn't peel the paint at all.

#2. A clean house and squared away everything. I made sure there was nothing I had to worry about after surgery. All my bills were paid at least a month out (lest something horribel happen and I come home weeks later and have my electric off or something), my house was spotless, and everything was set up to be within easy reach. I also set up a spot in my bed and on my couch so that I would have to move back and forth, which prevents a DVT or PE, but I could be very comfortable in either position.

#3. A fully stocked pantry. I had a friend stay with me for a few days, but if you live alone it's really nice to know that if you feel like garbage you aren't going to starve, lol.

Other than that, it's nice to have gauze and tape, abdominal pads the first day if you're having an abdominoplasty, a lot of pillows, all of your meds close to you and picked up before surgery, antibiotic soap so you can take a shower before and whenever after surgery your doctor lets you shower, and oh, for the shower, a lanyard to hang around your neck to attach your drains to (if you have drains). At least two pair of compression garments so you can toss one in the washer and dryer and not have to wait for it to finish is also a good idea, grippy socks, stool softener (taken before surgery- trust me, lol), Arnica Montana (taken a few days before and after surgery-helps majorly with bruising- I have almost no bruising at all), and Gas-x.

So that wasn't exactly only three things, but of everything I prepared, this was what I really needed and was very happy to have during the last week. The first week will be kind of unpleasant, but I was off pain meds by the 4th day completely and today I cleaned my house and worked a regular work day from home (sat in front of my computer for a few hours, lol) and I feel completely fine. So...when you are miserable right after surgery, don't worry...it only gets better from there.

Best of luck to you!

That was so helpful - thank you AvaFern!