I’m just two days home after my operation. I had the op on 21st August and came home on 27th. The operation went really well and I’m pleased with the results but really, really sore still as you can imagine!
I had superb nursing whilst in hospital but coming home was quite a shock. I came home with one stomah type bag over a devaced wound and another wound drain still in place. This made dressing impossible! Without all the specialist hospital equipment simple things are really difficult so I thought I’d share “what I wish I’d known”.
Bed: - in hospital you can sleep (!) in a nice banana shape in an adustable bed. This bed can also be raised to help you get in and out once the catheter is out. But at home I found getting into bed agonising and pillows were simply too soft. Therefore do order a wedge pillow to go either under or on top of your mattress before you go in as they take 5 days to arrive.
Sitting - in hospital they get you up quickly into a straight chair with arms. At home I’ve found the sofa too difficult to push myself off so we’ve borrowed a nice low chair with arms and a comfy seat. It’s really useful.
Picking things up off the floor is also nigh on impossible - I’ve not yet found a solution.
If you come home with a drain a man’s nightshirt is handy to wear.
Bra - I bought cheap sports bra’s from ASDA (the wound may leak). However what I’ve found is that the wound site swells during the day (particularly if you’ve had lymph node wounds too) and the bra that fits in the morning is uncomfortable by later on so buy a variety of back widths (cup size remains the same really) so that you can keep comfortable.
Visitors - I’ve had a steady stream, which is lovely but exhausting. Do think about limiting visit lengths!
I hope someone finds this helpful and that others add their own hints and tips to help others going through recon surgery.
Hello 
I am 14 days post surgery (same type). My last drain was taken out 2 days after getting home, and it was OK for this short time.
I fully agree with the bed issue. Get more pillows/cushions to achieve a comfy position that suits you. I always lean on a wall of 4-5 pillows and have a blanket under my knees as well (it´s still stretching too much in the tummy now to be completely flat on my back).
For sitting I found it most comfortable to sit in an office chair with back reclining functions and putting the feet up on a stool. If the office chair has little wheels it also gives you some mobility while sitting, because you can push yourself around in the room as soon as you feel confident/strong enough 
The picking up issue… I don´t have a solution for everybody, I personally found I could rely on my “yoga skills” (balancing and flexibility) to get most of the things balancing on one foot and picking the object up with the other to place them somewhere higher where I could reach them. Soon it is possible to slowly kneel down with one or both legs and reach things on the floor though…
In hospital I had forgotten to ask how to actually clean the wounds at home (e.g. HibiScrub antimicrobial skin cleanser), and which dressings or plasters to buy. You might want to ask that before they sent you home. In hospital they have it all there, but at home you stand in the bathroom and all of a sudden you wonder how to do that…
I bought the bra they showed me at the breast clinic, and it´s more comfortable than the other 2 bras I bought from M&S, definitely worth the 20GBP.
Visitors have to understand that when you´re tired, you are tired. I also found that when I did a lot on one day, the next day I would be very exhausted and needed a lot more rest than when I balanced activity/resting time evenly throughout the day.
The most important thing: if everything goes well, every day you will find that something has changed for the better and that will feel really good!
All the best…
Hi Lollymum,
Just wanted to say I found everything you said very helpful. I have aggressive stage 1 and reconstruction so going to hunt down a wedge pillow as well as some sports bras in two back sizes.
Hope you are feeling better, and it must be a relief to have it behind you. I just want to done and over with. My problem is that the cancer surgeon and plastic surgeon are there at the same time and takes 2 weeks longer for op for them to coincide.
Regards
Marion