NOLA in September?
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Stage 2 question: Do we have to get blood thinners after stage 2 ??0
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No blood thinners at Stage 2. You get so much bruising from the lipo that you would be in a mess. Just get walking as soon as possible!
Anne
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Gin52 - I am thinking of you and wishing you some easier days ahead.
Margit - I'm so sorry you've had such a hard few weeks. I hope you get some relief and help soon.
Sarab - Thinking of you too and hoping this next surgery goes well for you.
I am glad you all can come here and let us know how you are doing - even when things are rough.
And please know that your voices here will really help those of us who aren't lucky enough to have (as Margit said earlier) "average" outcomes after surgery.
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ok random question again- I've been trying all day to get ahold of anyone on the phone there (literally for 6 hours now) and it rings and I get the Center's recorded message but then no one answers and it just cuts out eventually. I'm not calling for anything super important- just to make sure they got my fax about my FMLA papers. But is that weird? It kinda freaks me out- what if this was after my surgery and no one answered?
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Its Fat Tuesday. The Whole Center may Be closed ? ?
They are on the Parade Route.
Pam
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Ohhh, never even occurred to me. Thats most likely it but they definitely need a message stating that!
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You guys are not going to believe this..... I am now recovering from legionaires disease!! I was poiisening my self with a moldy humidifier, and I slept with it running for a whole week. I got to the Dr. 5 days ago and he got me onto a heavy duty antibiotic. He listened to my lungs and told me he thought i would be okay to have my surgery on 2/23. Can you believe that??? If my dad hadn't called me and expressed concern about me using the humidifier to get better I would have never thought to do the research and been able to tell the Dr.about it. I was TEXT book on the symptoms, and the scary part is, it can be fatal! Good grief! I'm feeling better, but I still have that "tickle" cough. I hate to ask "what next?"!!!
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Tammy - that is scary! Glad you figured it out in time! There won't be a "what next" your going to get better and make it thru surgery with flying colors! Glad you don't have to cancel!
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Cat - we walked around near the Lodge - but were told by our driver on the way in that it was not really a safe place to walk around after dark. I was not aware of the bus - but great idea Jaimie! - and I do not know the exact distance from the end of the St. Charles line to the lodge... But I do know that we walked it in 90+ degree temp when I was 6 days out from surgery - and it was brutal! I thought I was just booking it in my flip flops and was thinking the distance was a couple miles with an average 15-20 minute mile. My husband just looked at me and said, "Do you think you are walking that fast?" When I told him that of course I did, he just laughed and told me how super slow I was walking! SO... long story short - I do not know the real distance! I would think a mile at minimum - probably between one and two.
Tammy! Oh my! Glad you caught it in time! Yes, be careful with the humidifiers! You always have to make sure you clean them out completely when you are not using them and make sure you change the filters! But that advice is a little too late - so maybe a mute point! Just glad you are getting better!
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Mileah...I stayed at the Hope Lodge before and after my surgery in December. I liked it a lot and you can get a free shuttle to and from the hospital if you don't have a car. They also have free laundry. Everyone that works there is very friendly and you can make friends easily with other cancer patients. The ONLY downside is that you cannot eat in your room. There is a strict policy about that and is totally understandable, but it is hard after surgery to have to get out and get something to eat somewhere or eat in the kitchen area where it is not as comfortable.0
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Pam and Melinda....I heard on the news tonight that they had to move the parade onto St Charles Ave today because the other street was too narrow. That is where the center is and may be why they weren't there.0
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I have started my count down to NOLA. I will be there in two weeks. I am so excited. Is there any advice for stage 2 that is different than stage 1?
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Gosh,
So much to comment on!
Sarab.....You, my love, are in my thoughts and prayers and I have been meaning to say so!.........Have a GOOD, peaceful, positive preparation and KNOW good thoughts and wishes are w/ you! ESP in the next 2-3 weeks! No doubt Dr. S knowing your past issues will do all he knows!
Ginnie! Girl!...........I have been keeping you too on the prayer list. Ugggg! I hope your body is now getting the serious break it needs post surgery and w/ a break n the chemo schedule. PLEASE keep us up on what's going on....I want to hear more about the area they used? the lat? fat tissue? VERY interesting! I still have my own spongy area below? fibrotic (post rads? skin). We shall see......still giving more time for 'settling' but able to soften the hard places as they are probably fluid beneath the skin w/ swell spots and other stuff recommended by my LE girl. I'm almost 10 weeks out from stage 2.
Fat Tuesday. Tomorrow is ash wednesday. Hard to believe but gosh I am SO ready for spring I think! This has been quite a long cold winter. And QUITE a year! For SO many of us! Still getting back into the groove and it is a process! Life is just different now, esp after waiting to do ALL this, going thru it, and almost 12 weeks total off from work, getting thru all stage one and 2, recovering, and getting back to full speed. But YES.....NO regrets! And I sure as heck do NOT want the old breasts back! still waiting for the rest of my voice to return ! Hope we can all find a time to get together next sept? or ???? esp those of us who started this last June? July?.
Stay in touch ladies! Love and miss you all! Pacific NW girls....may need to come visit in July/august/ or sept?......I so cannot take any time off for the next few mos....struggling to get all my hours at work!
xoxo,
jennifer
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TAMMY!!!! HOLY friggin' COW!! I am so glad you figured this OUT!!! so they think you'll be all good to go on the 25th?? HEAL UP!!!
Ginnie, thinking of you.
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Belly button question - when did those stitches come loose for you? My glue is half off on my breasts, all off on my tummy (DIEP), but that belly button is holding on for dear life.
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OMG Tammy! Legionaires Disease?!!!! I had no idea you could get that from humidifiers - clean or not! Are you sure your lungs will be okay for surgery that soon?
Yes, Mardi Gras - closes the Center down! Look how many of us are scheduled for surgery this week?! St. Charles is the main route for many of the biggest parades - note the trees along that road, next time you're there - beads that look like they've been hanging there for years! And they have!
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Thanks for reminding me about Fat Tuesday, helps knowing thhere is a reason they're not aswering
Tammy- I am in disbelief about the legionaires thing! I have to inspect mine ASAP now. I hope you get better soon.
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Melinda - once you have your surgery - they give you a number to call for after hours that will get you to the call service and then they call the doc and he contacts you. NO worries - they don't leave you out in the cold!
Jenn - SO good to see you!
Carolynn - hoping all went well!!!
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Tammy, Wow! So glad your Dad was Worried & you saw your Dr! That is scary.
I hope you are all better before your Surgery date!
Margit- Hope your appt went good yesterday- Let us know.
I am sick- (I never get sick) I think it is from stress & not sleeping for a month. Nordy My ribs are starting to ache : (
I am Impatiently waiting for my stage 2 date to get scheduled.
Pam
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Tammy~ That is really scarey. I am glad your Dr, thinks you are going to be okay.
I figured out why my right drain had me in so much pain yesterday the opening had blisters on it
I think from an allergic reaction to the neosporin I took some benedryl last night and it seems to be hurting so much less than it was. So hopefully that will help get rid of the reaction. 0 -
Tammy! That is so scary! So glad you caught it. Makes me think I need to go get a new cleaner for mine now..YIKES!! Hope you heal up quickly.
Pam~why are your ribs aching? That is no good.
Jamieh~you poor thing! I hope you feel better too.
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Yes, I know it was unbelievable! The basin of the humidifier was cleaned thouroughly each time, however, the mechanism that crates the steam had been siitting in a box for a year (after being used 2X) and when I "fired it up" it was already moldy! You should see the black stuff that came out of it when I tapped it on the counter! My parents feel awful (they are the ones who let me borrow the thing so I wouldn't go out and spend more money!)
Anyway, I have a bit of a residual cough, but I feel better and I think by next wek I'll be good to go. I don't even want the Dr's to hear me cough!!!
Thanks for your good thoughts, and let this be a warning to check your machines before "firing them up" after not using them for a while
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Tammy, I'm amazed you got the right diagnosis. Legionnaire's Disease is just not on too many radars these days! What were your symptoms--cough and fever?
Hope you have an uneventful recovery and get to have your surgery!
Anne
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Oh ladies, I'm so sorry for not posting here but I like to catch up with everyone before i post but this is the chattiest thread and well, I give up! lol I hope everyone is doing well and please let me know if I missed anything important!
I updated on the shorter Jan 2010 thread but my surgery went super. My surgery was in NY and my PS said the diep part went textbook perfect and he shaved an entire hour off the diep part of my surgery. what took the longest was lots of implant scar tissue that needed to be removed, pocket repair and even some breast tissue that my original BS had left behind! My doppler numbers were great. One started out in the 80s and the other in the high nineties and then both were in the high nineties pretty quickly. My glucose shot up to 177(and I don;t have diabetes or anything) and my hemocrit went very low to 25. The PS said he would give me a blood transfusion if it went lower or if I didn't look as good as I did. The flaps were pink and warm even with the low hemocrit but I felt so weak. The hemocrit stayed the same so I didn't need any blood.
I sat up the next day and walked laps the day after. And the day after that I learned how to go up and down stairs and went to my friend's house until my first appt a week later. 4 of my 6 drains were removed at that time, leaving just my hip drains. Those were taken out by my GYN on day 13.
My PS told me I'm gonna love my belly and so far at week 3, I think it's developing pretty nicley. I forgot to ask if he repaired my ab muscle but I already see good definition. My incisions for the most part are skinnier than I thought they would be except for my right hip which is puckered.
My new diep breasts started out very flat and have since come forward but they're still smaller than I had hoped for! He did say he used every scrap of belly and that stage 2 would be for more shaping and for lipoing the side breast fat and hand injecting it into the center of the flaps for the projection. The shape of them is pretty darn good but maybe I want them with a little less diameter. He called my side fat pure gold so I really hope he can get me the projection I need with it. Oh and nips for stage 2 of course. He said I could do stage 2 at 2 months because i'm healing so well and so fast. I feel so grateful not to have run into any healing issues so far.
I can't lift my arms all the way up yet and wonder what the time frame on this is? I started cooking dinner for the family into my 2nd week home, did some wash and cleaning today, started walking and stepping with the wii fit yesterday, am standing straight with a little pulling sensation but start to droop when I get tired.
Other than the tightening/muscle spasms, there's been little pain past the first few days.
I've been in my bed since night 9 with the help of the most wonderful invention, the bed wedge. Truly, worth it's weight in gold!
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AnneW.....horrible "crackeling cough" fever, body aches, chills, headache. Alll the flu symptoms. Parents were worried I had H1N1. Not until I read about the humidifier lung symptoms and how it was linked to legionaires did I really believe it! I could hear the "bubbling" and crackeling in my lungs. A couple of times I thought I was choking to death because I couldn't get a breath! I told my Mom iI felt like Ihad soap bubbles in my lungs, really wierd!
Okay, enough of this, on to the important topic of surgery!
HOLtbolt (Cindy), HellofromCt (Susanne) and I will be in NOLA next week!
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Whinner checking in with another drain question. My left drain is just normal and while it's a pain it isn't so bad. My right drain.....dear god..... all day long it has hurt my backside right below the incision. There is no reason it will just be all of a sudden horrible pain and then it slowly goes away. It's not red or anything but I am having such issues with this drain. If I strip the tubing I get extreme pain in the backside. Did anyone else have issues like this (please tell me it's normal and to suck it up...loll...) ?? I remember Nordy talking about extreme drain pain.
Besides this sill issue everything else looks great. Slowly losing the glue.....incisions are I think the best I have ever seen on my body
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Thanks to everyone who replied. STILL waiting for my call from the insurance lady, but hopefully tomorrow. DANG Mardi Gras!
I guess I should have filled in the blanks. This will be a redo from implants that I HATE! I have the allergen 410x, and they just don't look good.
DX 07/2007
Very impatiently waiting for the call with a date. Did you get to help pick your date? Were you given options? Did anyone bring a kiddo with them? My daughter will be 5, so I thought maybe her and hubbie could come and stay in a hotel?
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Hi Jaimieh,
Sorry you are having so much pain with the drain.
I had days where my pain was also very bad on my Back/hip area. Felt Like I had a 2x4 lodged into my back.
The next day my drain output was always way higher...it would go from 65 up to 175!
So I figured it was something with the fluid...But who knows.
Sorry I do not know if its normal...Nor have any advice.
But Id be curiuos if your drain output is higher tomorrow.
Hope it feels better soon.
Bayyyy- good to hear from you. I still dont have full range of Motion. But I didnt do anything for 12 weeks post surgery- because of my Drain issue & being told not to do Anything. So I am now stretching & trying to get back the full use of my arms.
Pam
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Jaimieh. I had that kind of pain in my mastectomy drain on the right side only. when it finally came out, I thought I was going through the roof. On the left side, no problem ever. The Dr. told me it was next to a nerve, and when it was "milked" it was creating a suction that felt like I was being stabbed. When it came out, same thing, excrutiating. I had to lay on the table and catch my breath it hurt so bad. I'm wondering if you might be experiencing something like that with your drain??? So, rather than you sucking it up.. it's sucking you up!
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