I had my breast lift and implant exchange on Monday, July 20th, and if you read my previous Downsizing Diaries posts, you already know I was freaking out before surgery. I had spent so much time worrying about the surgery itself that I really didn’t think much about the recovery part.
Turns out, recovery gave my anxious brain plenty of new material. 😂
This is my full recovery timeline from surgery day through six weeks post-op, including the pain, swelling, sleeping, walking, exercise, bloating, anxiety, and what I would do differently.
Quick disclaimer: This is my personal recovery experience and the instructions my surgeon gave me. Always follow your own surgeon’s post-op instructions.
This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Day 1: Surgery Day
I dropped my girls off at my parents’ house, and my husband drove me to the surgery center. Once we got there, I changed into the gown and compression socks, got hooked up to my IV, and had my hair put back in a cap. I got to meet everyone on my surgery team, and they answered all of my questions. My doctor came in to go over everything with me and draw on me before surgery.
I kissed my husband goodbye and walked back to the surgery room with the team. I got on the table, put my arms out like a T, they secured me to the table, and my anesthesiologist told me they were going to give me some medicine. The next thing I knew, they were waking me up and I was back in recovery.
Waking Up After Surgery
They gave me ice chips to chew on and started getting me hydrated, and I just felt so sick. I kept asking for my glasses, and they finally told me they had accidentally given them to the lady who had surgery before me. 😂 She was going to bring them back to my doctor’s office the next day for my 24-hour post-op appointment.
I was sleepy, kind of borderline drunk-feeling, and so nauseous. When I had talked with the anesthesiologist before the operation, I told him that anesthesia makes me super nauseous, and they gave me medication to try to counteract it, but I was still really sick. I was drinking water and sucking on ice chips, but nothing helped.
I threw up twice before I even left the surgery center. Not fun ever, but especially not fun when your whole chest was cut open an hour ago.
They were giving me peppermint to help, but nothing worked. They sent me home with more barf bags for the drive, which unfortunately I also had to use. 🙁
Recovering At Home
When we got home, my husband helped me set up a bunch of pillows on the couch so I could lay back without getting stuck because our couch is really deep. We put on TV, and at first we tried to watch Project Hail Mary, but there was just way too much going on. I was sleepy, drugged, and could not focus, so I had him switch it over to one of my ultimate comfort shows, Schitt’s Creek. Perfect.
I had Sprite, saltine crackers, and a barf bowl nearby just in case. For the first 24 hours, I was supposed to have someone with me watching me at all times, so my parents drove the girls back home. They were so sweet and gave me little side hugs because they knew they had to be careful with me.
I was in and out of naps most of the day. Once I started to get more alert, Selene and I started watching Elle on Prime. My husband had to go back into work for a few hours, so my mom came back over to help with the girls and help me.
I felt like Mulan with all the bandages wrapped around my chest so tight. 😂 That was probably the most uncomfortable part. But I was just so happy to have what I thought was the worst part — the actual surgery — over with.
Made A Mistake At Dinner
I ate saltines and Sprite most of the day, plus a few Jell-O cups. Around dinner time, I felt like I was doing really well and thought I could handle an actual meal, so my husband ordered me a Chipotle bowl because I wanted to get some protein in.
I ate two bites and instantly felt sick.
Threw up again.
It was nasty. I really have to give it to my husband because he took such good care of me, dumped out that disgusting bowl, cleaned everything up, and didn’t even get annoyed with me. It was just too soon.
That night I tried sleeping on my wedge pillow, and no. Absolutely not. I could not get comfortable to save my life. I ended up going downstairs, and my husband helped me get set up in the recliner.
When you have surgery like this, you really can’t use your arms to push yourself up or move around normally, so getting comfortable was harder than I expected. I got some sleep, but it definitely wasn’t great.
Day 2: First Post-Op Appointment
The next day, we dropped the girls off at my parents’ house and went to my post-op appointment. They took off the big bandage wrap, and I felt instantly better.
That’s when I realized how much of my discomfort had actually been coming from how tight that wrap was.
My doctor looked everything over, and then I got into my surgery bra, which felt so much better. He told me the surgery went perfectly. I didn’t need drains, my 14-year-old implants were still in perfect condition with no ruptures, and he just did a quick cleanout before putting the new implants in.
He reminded me of all my limitations: nothing over 10 pounds for six weeks, no baths, swimming, or submerging, but showers were okay. Button-up clothing only at first, nothing over my head, and no reaching too far. I could wash my own hair, but I needed to take it easy. No major housework, and lots of rest.
So that’s what I did.
The First Week: Breast Lift and Implant Exchange Recovery
That first week I rested. A lot.
I watched way too much TV, and honestly, I got so bored. Staying in the house and not doing much is depressing after a while.
Around the second day, the bloating kicked in BAD. I was huge. About 10 pounds up from before surgery, and it hurt. I tried doing little walks around the house, and at one point I tried walking around the neighborhood.
We made it maybe five minutes at the slowest pace imaginable before I felt like my boobs were going to fall out, so we turned around and went home.
My husband said I walked around like a little T-Rex because I always had my hands and arms tucked up near my chest. 😂 I think I was doing that partly to protect myself subconsciously and partly to remind myself not to use my arms.
I was also kind of hunched over. My scars were a lot wider than originally planned — basically four to five inches on each side — and I think I was subconsciously afraid to sit up tall and pull against them. That ended up causing extra tension in my shoulders and back.
I did eventually figure out my sleeping setup. I needed more pillows on top of the wedge pillow, plus my body pillow to support my arms. Once I figured that out, I was sleeping like a baby.
One thing I was really focused on during recovery was sleep. I made sure to close my book around 8:30 or 9:00 so I could get eight to nine hours every night.
The Anxiety Was Worse Than I Expected
On Wednesday, basically day two after surgery, I took a shower and washed my hair. I was feeling pretty good until that night.
Somehow I convinced myself that I had taken a shower too soon and was going to get an infection. Then I started wondering if the bloating meant I already had an infection. Then my brain went full crazy. Decided I would have some complication, be totally oblivious to it, and die.
I had spent so much time worrying about the surgery itself that I hadn’t really considered how anxious I might feel during recovery.
My girls missed me and just wanted to be around me and cuddle, and I couldn’t get comfortable. Meanwhile, I was spiraling in my own head.
I ended up hiding in another room while they were watching a movie. Texted my husband to sneak away and come sit with me because I was having a mental breakdown. Crying uncontrollably, I told him everything I was thinking, and he talked me off the ledge.
I was convinced something terrible was happening. It was SO bad.
He was so patient with me — more patient than normal — and that made me cry even more. 😂 He promised me he wasn’t going to let anything bad happen to me. Eventually I was able to calm down and go back over by the girls.
I didn’t want to crash out in front of them and make them worry about me too.
Week 1: Getting Back to Normal Life
After resting that first week, I was BORED. I called my surgeon’s office and asked if it was okay to start going on longer walks. They said yes, so I started driving myself back to the gym just to walk slowly on the treadmill.
It helped so much because the girls could get back into their routines. They could see their friends, do gymnastics and classes, and I could start getting my steps back up.
I started around a speed of 2.0 and slowly increased to about 2.5 as I felt better.
I also started driving the girls to their activities again. That first week, my parents had helped with practices and everything else. After about a week, I felt good enough to drive. I just did everything slowly.
Selene helped me a ton. If I needed something from up high she would grab it for me. When it was time to do laundry, she would carry the laundry basket downstairs.
One of the hardest parts was not being able to give the girls big hugs, especially during that first week when everything hurt more.
I never took the hardcore pain medication. I only used Tylenol if I felt extra sore during the day, and most of the time I took it before bed so I could sleep better.
Week 2
By Week 2, everything just kept getting better and better.
I started walking faster and eventually got up to a speed of 3.0, which meant I was walking about three miles a day at the gym. I used a little magnetic phone mount so I could watch YouTube or a show while I walked, which made it so much better.
The bloating was still there, but it was starting to go down and I felt much more like myself.
I wasn’t freaking out anymore. I finally got to stop taking my antibiotics, and I just felt good.
Week 3
At my three-week follow-up appointment, my doctor told me everything looked good.
I could start wearing clothes that went over my head, and I could sleep on my side.
I tried sleeping on my side, and my body said, “No, we aren’t there yet.” 😂
So I went right back to my wedge pillow.
That became my approach to basically everything during recovery. Every time my doctor told me something was okay, I would try it, but I still listened to my body and took it easy.
6 Weeks Post-Op
Once I hit six weeks, I was cleared for regular bras, regular clothes, sports bras, swimming, baths, and lifting weights again.
This was SUCH an exciting milestone.
I also finally got to see that I really didn’t need to buy a bunch of new clothes because everything just fit me better. My bras fit better, most of my swimsuits fit better, and there’s really only one swimsuit that might be borderline too big.
I did buy a few new halter tops from Vuori because they are so flattering, and I’m obsessed. One in every color. 😂
I started lifting weights again, and my body loves it.
Everything was sore, shaky, and honestly felt like I was starting over, so I kept everything extra light and eased back into it. Anything that didn’t feel good in my chest, I skipped.
I don’t need to rush back into bench press. I’m not a dude. 😂
After about six days back in the gym, I tried a little interval jog/run. It felt really good everywhere except my chest. I think I just need an even more supportive bra for running right now, so I’m going to try again with the right bra.
The more healed I get, the less I think that will matter, but for right now, they need to stay still while I’m running.
After all those miles of walking, my bloating is completely gone, I’m actually down in weight, and I feel great.
I’m just taking it day by day, slowly adding back movements that use my chest for support, and listening to my body first.
How Bad Was the Pain?
Most of my pain was that first day, and honestly, a lot of it came from the super tight bandage wrap.
After that, I would occasionally feel sore during the day, but it was most noticeable at night. I primarily took Tylenol before bed so I could sleep better.
Sometimes I would wake up after it wore off and feel a little uncomfortable, but I was usually able to fall back asleep without taking more.
By Week 2, I wasn’t taking Tylenol anymore either.
Sleeping After a Breast Lift and Implant Exchange
The first night was definitely the hardest because of that tight wrap and because I didn’t have my pillow setup figured out yet.
Once I added more pillows on top of my wedge pillow and used my body pillow to support my arms, I slept really well.
I did wake up about halfway through the night pretty often because I had slid down the wedge a little, but I would readjust and go right back to sleep.
My biggest sleeping tip from my own recovery: have more pillows than you think you need. 😂 The wedge pillow and body pillow helped me so much.
Exercise After Surgery
My steps were somewhere around 400 to 2,000 per day during the first week.
Once I started going back to the gym just to walk, I was doing a little over two miles during Week 2. By Week 3, once I got my treadmill speed up to 3.0, I was walking about three miles a day, six days a week.
After I got fully cleared at six weeks, I went back to my Ladder program six days a week.
I modified whatever I needed to modify, skipped or swapped chest-focused movements, and kept all my weights light. Haven’t started progressive overload again yet.
I want to make sure my body is responding well to lifting and keep an eye on my chest before I start pushing my weights back toward what I was using before surgery.
My Results at 6 Weeks
The results are great. I absolutely love my lift.
It was so needed.
My size really hasn’t changed as dramatically as I originally expected. I can still wear all my clothes, and I definitely don’t need to go on a full shopping spree.
Before surgery, my bust measurement was 39 inches. Now it’s 37 inches.
It has definitely been an adjustment getting used to being smaller.
About 90% of the time, I am completely happy with the size I am now. The other 10% of the time, I see girls at the gym with their big boobs and fresh boob jobs and I’m like, “OOO pretty!” 😂
But then I think about running again, wearing my cute little sports bras, and not feeling like I’m spilling out of the top of everything, and I’m really happy with my size.
It feels more like myself and how I’m supposed to be.
What I’d Do Differently
This is going to sound really silly, but the one thing I would probably do differently is go a little bigger.
Maybe around 300–325cc.
It truly is silly, and it might partly be because I spent so much of the first six weeks wearing a surgery bra, so I didn’t really know what I was going to look like in a normal bra or swimsuit yet.
But I think I could have gone just a touch bigger.
Then again, 50–75cc really looks like almost nothing when you compare implants side by side, so it’s kind of silly to think it would have made this huge difference.
I wanted to look natural but also not natural.
So I was walking a very fine line of crazy. 😂
To think I was originally close to going with only 170cc is wild to me now. My husband helped talk me into going with 255cc, and God bless him because he knows me better than I know myself.
I would have been very disappointed if I had gone with only 170.
I Would Have Followed the Glue Instructions More Closely
Another minor issue I had was the glue over my incisions.
My doctor told me I could start peeling it off around 10–14 days post-op. I tried at two weeks, and it felt a little scary and hurt a tiny bit — probably mostly from little body hairs — so I stopped.
I ended up waiting until around day 19 or 20 to remove it.
I didn’t fully understand that the timing mattered for healing. A few small areas got a little irritated because I left it on longer than my surgeon wanted.
Nothing crazy happened, but I wish I had understood that it wasn’t just, “Take this off if it starts bothering you.”
For me, I should have followed the timing my surgeon gave me more closely.
I Would Have Meal Prepped
The other thing I would do differently is have a bunch of meal prep ready to go for when my appetite came back.
Of course I’m saying that now because apparently I can turn everything into a dinner system. 😂
But seriously, once I stopped feeling nauseous, having easy protein-heavy meals already made would have helped a lot.
Would I Do it Again?
Overall, this was the best recovery experience I’ve had between my two breast surgeries.
I’m so happy with my doctor’s work, how well I healed, and how supported I felt by his entire office.
The scars I was so worried about are already practically disappearing, and I haven’t even used any scar treatments yet.
I’m still adjusting to the smaller size, but I love my lift, I love how my clothes fit, and I feel much more like myself.
Would I do it again? Absolutely.
Would I maybe sneak an extra 50cc in there if I could go back?
Also maybe. 😂
12/10 experience.