Exchange City
Comments
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My kids mom
sounds like the exchange goes so much easier than the mastectomy. Since I have a natural breast left that will be augmented so that I have symmetry, I didn't take into consideration about the numb chest area, mine is still numb and the nagging tingling-itching is very annoying on the right side. I wonder how long the tingling-itching lasts? I would imagine that the other side with full feeling may be a little sore after the "lift". I appreciate you telling me of your experience and it does help prepare me for June 15th. Keep up the good spirits, it is contagious. Jan
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Thank you, Sheila, for letting me know I'm not the only one having problems with focus and concentration post-surgery. It's been such a problem for me at work that it finally drove me to a therapist. I'm lucky that I can retire in December; if I had to work any longer, I don't know if I could make it or not. Just last week, a co-worker (20 years younger) screamed at me for losing one of her files, and that she was sick of putting up with me. (I found her stupid file in the cabinet where it was supposed to be and threw it on her desk thirty seconds later.)
Kmmd, your DH is very wise. Everyone else has short memories and wants to forget what happened to us. But it's not over for us, and it never will be. How are we supposed to forget?
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Sheesh1961-Sheila. Wow, someone like me! My oncologist wanted me to take Evista, but she is doing studies on medication and recurrance, I heard this through the medical grapevine. I did my research on Evista and the studies didn't show it to be effective for DCIS, so I opted to not add any more stuff into my body.
Sheila, did you have bilateral mastectomy? or are you a 1 boob wonder like me? I was offered a bilateral prophy for the left breast, but thought I would wait and see if I developed BC there. I was 11 months post menopausal, when I got BC for my 52nd birthday ; ) It was felt by my oncologist that the BRCA gene was most likely not a concern for me. Next mammo isn't until October.
I hope you didn't overdo cleaning the bathrooms, hold that couch down as long as you can. Sounds as if you and I are alike, take it easy, milk it as much as you can, because those that don't "GET IT" will think you are milking it anyway, so might as well reap the benefits of their presumptions. Jan
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Lorraine: Oh boo hoo....don't tell me this!! I have some new Hermes perfume I just love....I use nail polish on my toes....and I am on my laptop with the monitor 18 inches from my face for hours a day! What's a girl to do???
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I know!! who knew!!! not I until this friggin BC crap!!!! now I question it all!! Teflon friggin pans for Gods sake! can't use them anymore either!! arg!!!! whats a girly girl to do! LOL!!!
L
ox
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Good Evening Ladies, I haven't read in a day or two and came on site tonight because I am overly anxious about tomorrow morning exchange surgery. How come we wait for months for the big exchange day and then when it comes I am a nervous wreck? Well, i must say that after I caught up on all of the weekend posts, i feel so much better. All of you lovlies give me such strength and encouragement! To all who personally wished me well, bless you for reminding me of the softness! I am also so relieved to read your comments about other people's comments about our surgery. I was almost made to feel guilty for getting nervous about tomorrow with a comment like "well, you wanted reconstruction!" Can you imagine? The timing of this discussion was perfect.
KMMD- my thoughts and prayers will be with you this week as well. We can and WILL have an easy recovery and beautiful SOFT foobs!
Gentle Hugs and again thanks to all for always being there for me! I thank God for each of you daily. Terri
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Best wishes and sweet dreams to dietcokemom and kmmd. My thooughts will be with you this week.
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Thanks for the very kind words Janet! You really said it all right there. Life is truly what you make it. I have never heard of the botox thing....makes sense though.
Jax -girl my heart goes out to you(((((((((((((((((((Jax))))))))))))))))))))) I totally understand your frustration and am hurting for you!! It just needs to stop already so that life can seemingly get back to normal, whatever that is. I too just miss the long soaks in the tub and bubble baths. One day girlfriend we will be over these leaky boobs of ours!! Hang on...we will get there!
Diane - Love the glue-like vibes!! LOL I can feel ‘em coming!! I was raised on a farm so bag balm was the heal-all back in those days. I should maybe consider it??? I just remember that it was soooooo sticky and didn't smell great but who knows, maybe it comes scented now!! LOL (Sorry Lorraine...just read your thread....getting worried)
Sheila - The reason I can't have steristrips is because my skin is so compromised that it pulls off when anything adhesive has to be taken off again. It is now just the few layers of surface skin that just doesn't heal over. It is getting much better but just can't seem to get tough enough to stay. I am using cocoa butter (haven't discussed this with the PS yet but you all seem to know more than he does anyway) on the healed parts and I'm hoping my skin gets more pliant.
I think part of my brain was removed during my MX too!! I have real concentration issues sometimes lately and between that and feeling overwhelmed I sometimes think I'm losing it. It is SSSSOOOOO nice to know that I'm not alone with that either. I do think it is because I have been trying not to share so many of the feelings I have with my friends at work because they are truly thinking I'm "over it". They just don't get it and I don't think they ever will unless they have to go through it. So....I'm coming here to share those feelings! What a Godsend you ladies are!!!!!!!!!!
Lorraine - You are really freaking me out!!! No nail polish???? No perfume??? These are some of my little pleasures!!! Sometimes I just want to put my head in the sand and not know all the things that are bad for me, but that just doesn't make any real sense.0 -
NV Diane--I have been struggling since I went back to work in January. I work in a HIGH demand university academic center. I'm a program director and sit on the senior management team of the center that covers scientists at 5 universities across the country. I wake up each morning with enough energy, more than I had before because I now get 10 solid hours, happy and ready for a new day. By 3PM I can hardly keep my eyes open--a level of exhaustion akin to the sleep deprivation that comes with the first few days with a new baby. At work I feel 20 steps behind everyone. I don't want to get worked up about the things that bring frenzy into the center, I actually say no when scheduling something will cause me to rush or add too much pressure to my day. My center director has been great, but I know he is concerned that I'm not the superwoman, travel around the country, work nights and weekends, and my hand no longer flies up to volunteer for anything. I don't know how I did all that. I'm a single mom, my boys are older teen and 20s' now (but I've been a single mom for more than a decade--only working like this for the last 3 years), I guess it was organization, sheer determination, and control to make everything work. It was like a living ballet. For 10 months after I got my job I commuted from a town called Corvallis to one called Beaverton, about 190 miles a day. My son was a senior in high school and this was an amazing professional opportunity. I made it work for everyone. I had both boys without medication and my first was a 50 hour labor with contractions 3-5 minutes apart the whole time. Like Fairy---I don't take anything, I sweat about taking Tylenol if I have a fever of 102, I actually have to think about it. In the last 6 months I've had more medical intervention than I had in the 48 years prior, combined. Now, I'm more like Ferdinand the Bull. I want to smell the roses. If that is from the shock of the dx, the surgery and worry about upcoming surgery, returning to work before I was really ready, or Tamoxifen blocking my estrogen--I don't know, but it some ways, I'm a little grateful. I tell my therapist, "I don't know why I'm so tired, distracted, and struggling to concentrate." He laughs at me and reminds me of the enormity of getting the dx and all that follows. How can we not be distracted? Tired?
The day I walked to my car, to begin my leave for my BLM, I knew I wouldn't be coming back the same person, but I had no idea how differently I would feel. The job I loved 6 months ago and am grateful to still have feels like the stress generated there will only make me less healthy. I feel trapped because I bring the health insurance into our home. When the time is right, I will find another job, or go to grad school, and let my life make the corrections it needs to make to live a healthy, peaceful, and happy life.
Please forgive me for straying from the thread. To tie back into it, I think the exchange will help me move forward. The softness is needed in so many ways.
Hugs,
Karen
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yea ladies... Well I'm going back to work tomorrow and after work I'm seeing my PS and getting my stitches removed from my new nipple. Today was a little tough day. I had a chilhood friend who's dad has been dealing with cancer and other health issues. This morning he took his life. Cancer sucks but we have to remember to try and find the positive things that we have in our lives no matter how much at times it sucks.
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(((((((((((((((((((((Sandy))))))))))))))))))))))))))) Cancer is such a horrible thing. I am so very sad for you.
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I am sorry Sandy.. your poor friend and her family...
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Dietcokemom - You're up!!! Good luck to you and prayers going out to you tonight and tomorrow!
Kmmd - You're on deck!! Just a few more sleeps!!! Thinking of you too!
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Sandy.........f..ck...that just hit me right in the gut. Cancer just sucks, that poor man, my prayers are with him, his family and you, I am so sorry.
I am thinking of all of the ladies having surgery this coming week, you are all warriors, can we all just get our head around how much we have gone through to get to this point, can we have imagined months ago when we were diagnosed that we would be at this point, acutally laughing and joking and making the most incredible connections with people we have never met? If there is ANY postitives from all this, its here, with all of you, because without you all, I honestly don't know if I could have come this far........
Love
Lorraine ox
p.s. sorry for the ramble but Sandy's news just gob smacked me as we say in England......
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Terri -- good luck today! I'll be thinking about you and I hope the jitters are down a bit for you. It's your turn!!
Sandy -- that is just awful -- so much tragedy for one family. My thoughts are prayers are with your friend.
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Karen - I know you are having two surgeries at once, but the exchange surgery is almost "fun" - so that will help. I will be thinking of you that day.
Kathie - Your enthusiasm is contagious. Thanks!!
Jan - Most likely your lift side will be more sensitive than the exchange side, but the results will make it all worth it!
((((Sandy)))) No words to express the sadness of your news.
Dietcokemom - You will prevail!! Gentle healing hugs going your way!
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Karen - I can empathize. I've had three surgeries plus chemo over the past 12 months, and I find myself struggling to keep up to my old pace and to remember simple things (like radio programs I've listened to, or things my daughter has told me). I did a little search on the Web and found this info:
First, from the now-defunct Seattle newspaper:
Q. My mother recently had surgery and now is experiencing significant memory loss. The doctor said that anesthesia sometimes affects memory. How long will this last, and is there anything we can do to help her recover?
A. Surgeons and anesthesiologists call this condition postoperative cognitive decline (POCD). There is controversy as to whether the problem is brought on by anesthesia or by surgery itself. Some commonly inhaled anesthetics like isoflurane and halothane have been linked to dementia in mouse research (Neurobiology of Aging online, March 7, 2007). Injected anesthetics such as propofol and thiopental may be less likely to cause such problems (Neurochemical Research, August 2005).Also this from the World Journal of Surgery:
Abstract Uncomplicated major surgery is followed by a pronounced increased feeling of fatigue extending throughout the first month in about one-third of patients. Postoperative fatigue correlates with the degree of surgical trauma but is not related to duration of general anesthesia and surgery or to preoperative nutritional status, age, or sex. Fatigue also correlates with postoperative deterioration in nutritional parameters and impaired adaptability of heart rate during exercise. Furthermore, a postoperative decrease in muscle force and endurance is related to postoperative fatigue, whereas psychological factors are of minor importance. These findings suggest postoperative fatigue to be mediated by the endocrine-metabolic response to surgery, impaired nutritional intake, or immobilization, but the relative role of these factors remains to be established. Until then, therapeutic measures against the development of postoperative fatigue should aim at reducing the surgical stress response, effective treatment of pain to facilitate mobilization, and exercise to increase postoperative nutritional intake.
Also this from the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine:
The response to surgery is not purely physiological, but also behavioral and subjective: feelings of malaise and reluctance to mobilize commonly continue for weeks postoperatively.
It helps, I think, to know there is a REASON we are tired and forgetful. I couldn't find anything suggesting that these effects are cumulative (building up after multiple procedures), but I would guess that they are.
SANDY - So sorry about your friend's father!
Janet
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dietcokemom: thinking of you too
Thanks everyone for your kind words, don't know what I would have done without this board over the last several months
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Thank you ladies for your kindess and cyber words of care. I will think of the exchange as fun, I'm off soon to see my PS. It is good to know there are reasons, and that it isn't just me, thank you for the information.
Love,
Karen
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KMMD... are you home?
DietCoke... Praying...
((((((KMMD DIETCOKEMOM)))))))))))
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Janet thanks for that bit of info. It is reassuring somehow to read it and have those feelings substantiated. We all know that it is real but seems to be validated now.
KMMD and Dietcokemom - Thinking of you lots today....wishing and hoping and thinking and praying....(that could be a song
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Yes Yvonne I agree the validated part sure makes a difference!
{{{Sandy}}} SO SAD! My heart goes out to the family and friends.
Dietcokemom I'm thinking and praying for you today!!! Sending lots of positive vibes your way!
Have a GREAT day gang! HUGS! JazzyJ
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Sorry I am so late in getting back on here. I'm out of the hospital, and recovering nicely. All of my nodes were removed on the right side- yes all of them, because they found untreated cancer ( i had months of chemo) in one of them. The results of the pathology report will be this Wed. on the others.
As for pain, none really, just some soreness and I only have 2 drains. YAY. I went into this with the combined knowledge of all the Ta Ta Sisterhood. It was so comforting. Thanks to you all.
(((SANDY))) I am so saddened to hear of your friend's suicide. We can never know the depth of pain he was in, we can only hope he is in a better place.
.
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since my last post was a somber one it's time for a funny one
I'm looking for this gum but I would be willing to share it and only have 1/4 a piece of it
watch and laugh...
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Again... Sandy.. that is just not right.... 0
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Judy, glad you are home and in little pain..
I am , however, worried about the node involvement left. I had all my nodes out too sister... I had the months of chemo first too. My cancer was gone after chemo, but they new I had at least one node positive prior to chemo.. so it was rads for me .
If you wanna talk about the radiation.. feel free to PM me....
(((hugs)))
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Janet - Feeling validated here also. Thanks! The information you shared is very interesting.
Karen - Thanks so much for sharing your feelings. I identify so much with your experiences. It's so weird to be sucked up into the medical establishment when it is all so unfamiliar. When I was diagnosed last year, I was 53 years old, had never had surgery or been a patient in a hospital, and in 30 years of having Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurance, I had never met my deductible before. You have to learn a whole new language, very quickly.
Just reading about the schedule you used to follow makes me tired! I know I'm not the same person anymore, either. When my coworker screamed at me last week about her missing file, one of the many thoughts running through my head was, "Why should I give a s**t about your stupid file? Why does it matter?" Unfortunately, that's how I seem to feel about any crisis at work now. I just don't care anymore. Work doesn't seem to matter. I hate it. If I can just make it through the next eight months until I can retire, maybe then I can try to figure out who I am now.
Hooray for Ferdinand! He knew how to enjoy life! I do know that I want to be like him. And Karen, I can guarantee that you will love getting rid of those horrid expanders and enjoying softness!
Diane
p.s. I'm thinking of getting rid of my ovaries too, just to prevent any future nasty surprises.
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OMG Sandy that was hilarious!!! LOL I had to click on some of the other videos...FUNNY!!!
Diane, That is why I am having a complete hysterectomy in June. If I can prevennt cancer, I think I'm stupid not to! But then again it's my opinon and decision for myself. Everybody knows what's best for themselves. It's so awesome that we as women have choices! YAY!
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I'm going to wait for the results to come back. I had an isotaope based and a dye based SNB. The results are due Wed. I may PM you then.
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Facecrafter - You have been through so much. My thoughts and prayers are with you and hoping only good news is coming your way.
Sandy - That is one of the funniest youtube videos and can be appreciated in a completely different way on this site. I saw you posted it on "anyone not happy with nipple projection" which totally cracked me up.
I hope everyone has a GREAT day today.
Peg
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