NOLA in September?
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Tammy - Yes! She told me that one of her patients had sent her a huge bar of really good Belgian chocolate and she definitely liked and appreciated it!
Oh, and Alice just came in here again, and she actually says, "Thank you very much!"
And it is now almost 4 and Dr. T is nowhere to be seen. Maybe he forgot about us and we'll get to stay another nite! They came around and took our dinner orders just in case.
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I'm thinking of maybe trying to take a quick shower so as not to have to, maybe, tomorrow morning. But I know as soon as I step under the water, he'll arrive!
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Hi ladies. Sorry I disappeared; we were busy with appts and then getting ready to leave, and then coming home...didn't make it over to update. So I saw Dr S on Thursday and he was certain it wasn't a drainage issue- in fact, he pulled the drain for me. He said it looked to be normal swelling, but that I did have a minor hematoma that should get better with time (I hope so- I read that others had surgery for theirs?). So as for the swelling and major discomfort, he said he's certain it has to do with the fact that he put double the amt. of tissue into my breast pocket than I'd had before. He said I had 189g of breast tissue removed, and he'd inserted 400g of fat. !! Wow. He said that makes for some discomfort for a few weeks until I adjust. He said women have told him it feels hot & swollen like when their milk came in while nursing--I said YES!!! That's what I've been saying all week; it feels like I'm engorged with milk! He laughed and said, "I guess that's true, then." LOL So with that, I felt a lot better, hearing that it seems to be common with such a big difference in amount of tissue. I'm not sure why he put that much, other than to be sure he has plenty to spare when it comes to reducing/revising at stage 2.
Dr. S was SICK that day- coughing and miserable sounding. He said he had a cold. I sure hope he didn't share. lol.
So once I knew I didn't have anything bad going on, we left town and came home yesterday. It's a 3 hr drive for us, and it wasn't too bad. I still don't feel so hot, a week after surgery...my recovery time in town this time was awful. I didn't get to do anything but sit at the hotel and feel miserable and worry about what was going on with the swelling. SueinFL, if you read this, I'm so sorry I never got to go back to Fairway and see you. I surely thought I'd be feeling a lot better than I did this past week, but it was a rough time every day. Oh well, I'm thankful that he didn't feel anything was wrong. Hopefully I'll start feeling better soon. The low-grade fever still comes & goes...they just said to watch it.
I hope everyone is doing well. Minnesota, I hope you get to stay an extra night if that's what you want, otherwise I hope you get to go!
Bettye- If you see this, I read about your news and I'm sorry to hear that, but you are right to look to God for help and healing.
He can and will; just believe. I have a couple more questions I want to ask as well, but I don't have time right now; will be back later. Love and healing to you all. xoxo
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what a busy thread!! Happy to hear things are smoothing out for everyone!
Question - Dr. S. was able to harvest 500 grams of tissue for each breast during my stage I - my breasts have been fairly even up until the past week or so - my right side seems to have 'shrunk' quite a bit - there is now a noticable difference in size between the left and the right. Stage II scheduled for April 23 - has anyone else had this issue??
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LouAnn, Did you have rads on the smaller side? I have one side that appears smallerer to me, it's the rads side.
Sally, are you able to ask your surgeon about your incision??
Minn, did you ever leave? we were often discharged very late in the day. My DH would be about to pop!!! Hang in there...
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Spring - No, my rads were on the left side....Dr. S added the football shaped skin to the left side, so it has always had a bit more projection. The skin on my right side was already stretched (the tissue expander was removed during surgery, and then Dr. S added the tissue) The only difference betweent he two sides is the additional skin..............
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Well, if you get to have dinner, I highly recommend the sliced beef "something or other", delicious! So glad you are feeling good enough to enjoy the food!
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Eve I ended up with 3 pts of blood I think they thought I was a vampire..... I had two the next morning after my surgery and felt much better and then they started sticking me twice a day to test my blood levels and I swear they took out a pint. On day 3 they wanted me to have another pint and I said no, but then I didn't feel any better so I ended up having another pint the next day. That did the trick and I felt much better after that and I was able to get up without passing out. I was worried for stage 2 but I leaped out of bed after my surgery and I was out of the hospital 24hrs after surgery. Much easier recovery. BTW I got my info packet from Sloan Kettering for the cancer study. I am sure yours is waiting for you when you return. I am very excited they are doing a research study on this.
I have one breast that is larger than the other. I had asked Dr D to reduce it some to match the other but it still looks larger. It is still early and I may have some swelling so time will tell.
OK Nordy I am drain free. I pulled that last sucker today and it feels so good not to drag those things around.
Have a great weekend everyone. Happy Easter.
PS Anyone hear from Plainjane???? Jennifer where are you?????
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Shay - you are right to be excited over having your surgery at the same time as Laughlines. We all recognized her immediately. She looks exactly like her picture, except that she is majorly gorgeous! But gorgeous not in an intimidating way but in a really warm and friendly way. And she has the same great attitude in person as she has on the boards. And as I recall, when we all went into the bathroom at Cafe Maspero for the reveal, she was the first to lift up her shirt! LOL! She is especially one of those young, vivacious women with a heart of gold that you wonder how in the heck the universe ever had the gaul to let cancer get its hold on her! Not that any of us deserve it, of course, but she is just so young and even glowing... And I didn't even have any drugs in my bloodstream when I made that assessment.
Camie - I am so relieved it turned out okay for you. I just hate to think of you so miserable and worrying all that time. Sometimes we just can't stop worrying, no matter what anyone tells us over the phone, We just need to have that reassurance from the doc, in person, knowing they're seeing what the problem is and not just assuming we;re exaggerating or something...
Talk about worrying - I had this whole scenario in my mind that your flap had failed and you were the mysterious woman in the room across from me at the hospital, who never left her room, always had the lights out in there when the door was opened and had someone put up a "Please do not disturb sign" on the door! (I mean, who is there to even disturb her) I worried that maybe I had been too raucous in our room or something, and Gary reminded me that I had been practically comatose for most of the time! Weird. I really felt sorry for her and wished I could have talked to her or something. (Maybe she was right to put up that sign).
I thought maybe you had cracked, or something - LOL! Well not really funny. Anyway, I finally got a look at her and it was this gal who had been in the pre-op area with me across the room. She had looked sooooooo horribly distressed! I felt so bad for her! She had lots of family with her for support but must have had a hellish ride up to this point (not like any of us don't) But I thought again how lucky I was to have all this support on this site and elsewhere and how alone I would feel without it - which I guess us how I felt for the first 1st stage. So I eavesdropped and found out she was having DIEP and then when she was alone, I kind of hollered across the room to her that I had had DIEP 3 years ago and had come thru it just fine and so would she. And she looked like those words were a life preserver for her and then I eavesdropped again and heard her tell her family this. Unfortunately I didn't get any more opportunity to talk to her and felt weird enough with my yelling across the pre-op once, let alone doing it again!
And then they brought in another lady to the left of me, behind the curtain, and I kind of deduced that maybe this was Jinger, who had posted on this thread, remember? So since I had already yelled across the room at someone I didn't know, I thought it wouldn't be any weider to call out, "Jen? Is that you? This is Minnesota." (Luckily I knew her real name - or I would have been calling for Jinger (pronounced with a soft g) and the nurses probably would have wheeled me right back out the door and deposited me in the front lobby, saying "No surgery for you" (Loose Seinfeld reference).
So it WAS Jinger and then we met up later walking the halls of SCSH. So that's probably all I should write for now and get back on th bed because my husband said he would rub my head and I don't want him to fall asleep and not do it! And we did stay for supper (had eggplant Napoleon - delicious!) AND I squeezed in another shower and Gary got to rehearse the drains and helping with the dominatrix before we left and now I don't have to worry about another shower until tomorrow!
And guess what! How did I almost forget to tell you guys again? I succeeded at what so many of you women worry about and take a whole suitcase of herbs and drugs and dried fruit to address - before I even left the hospital. In fact, yesterday! And the nurse said this was rare! And then I succeeded again here at the hotel! And I never did anything special. Is this perhaps a side-effect of a blood transfusion? Mack6?! Spring?!
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camiam, what'd you think of Dr L ? you can PM me if you want
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Nordy,
This is Eve's husband, Gary, responding to your question about your childrens' behavior since you've returned home (Eve suggested I write this in light of my profession). As I am sure you've suspected, just the very act of you being absent for a period of time is a significant stressor for your kids. They have had to deal with staying with relatives, different routines, house rules, parenting styles, limit setting etc. not to mention their worries about your well being. All of this is anxiety producing for them. Under normal circumstances, they would turn to you or your husband, when they are stressed, for reassurance and cues as to how to cope well. In your absence, it is more likely that they felt left to their own resources. They probably held their feelings in and coped by keeping a low profile. Now that you and they are all back together, they can feel freer to process their pent up stress. It sounds to me as though some of this is spilling out in the form of misbehavior. I would suggest taking some time to speak with them about their experience of you being gone. Have them draw some pictures about how they felt and what they were thinking during your abence. I would ask them to recount what they believe was the reason for you being gone and clear up any misconceptions or worries they have had about it. Provide them some extra attention and nurturing, keep things rountine and simple, and make sure they have access to the things they find comforting. This will resolve itself soon.
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Spring I did send pictures regarding the black incision to Jeanine. She is going to call on Monday. Yesterday I had a temp of 102 in the afternoon and evening and then it went away just as quickly as it came. At what point did you ladies schedule your Stage 2? Just wondering because of FMLA paperwork and I am trying to get the whole process as 1 absence. Question 2... As most of you know I am BRCA 2 positive and did not have the dreadful disease. So when I had pre op for stage 1 DrDellacroce explained nipple sparing and he said think about if you want to save nipples and let Dr Laguard know. After talking with Cat1 and Dana I decided to have them removed. Well during the surgery Dr Laguard could not remember if she was to take or leave them so she left them. Dr Dellacroce said it is no big deal he can take them during stage 2 but now I am not sure. Does anyone have any advice... My understanding is that by saving the nipple there is still some (however minute) breast tissue there Thanks for your suggestions
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seems like Dr. Legarde should have known what she was supposed to do for your surgery!
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Sally - that's a bitch. She should have known exactly what you wanted before she ever started. With all you've been thru if there is any possibility of breast cancer in the nipple, I still say get rid of it. Hang in there it gets better every day! Jeannie has been great calling and checking on us!
Feeling better every day - I'm hoping to get the last drain out Monday when Jeannie calls.
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Greetgs
I have a question re the arnica, I am sorry I didn't oay attention when the info was posted earlier! - I'll be having lipo on both breasts to make them smaller, and the left side lifted, since it is about 1/2 lower than the right. This is cream, right? How often do you put it on, and when do you start? I assume you can get it Rite-Aid?
Margit
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Sleeping
Has anyone else had trouble sleeping since surgery? I fall asleep, but keep waking up at 3 or 4 and can't get back to sleep. I've tried Tylenol PM --doesn't help. I don't want to go the route of drugs like ambien, lunesta, etc. I tried them once, walked in my sleep, fell down the stairs, and didn't remember it in the morning!
Margit
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I am finally home( I had been staying at my mom's because I dont have a DH to help out) Seems really nice to actually be home as it has 2 weeks since I left for NOLA. A little nervous about changing the dressings and getting my boy around for school. I have got an open sore around my incision on my stomach that has not healed , when they pulled off the tape my skin came too. My sister who is a nurse thinks I should leave it out in the open to air but the center has me putting bentadyne and bactrim on it and covering it. I guess I will ask Jeanine tommorrow when she calls Did any one else have this issue ?
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Sally - I know there are some women on here that had issues w/incisions closing... I bet they will post soon. I am sorry to hear about the dilemma with your mastectomy/nipples. I have heard pros and cons to both - I think if you are thinking about keeping them, I would make certain that Dr. L cored the inside of them and removed as many ducts as possible.
Margit - the arnica is either in cream form, gel form, or little pellets. I have been taking the pellets and I really and truly believe that this is the main reason I have been able to d/c my drains so soon... plus my incisions were not so deep this time... maybe a combo of the two. Anyway, do you have a Whole Foods near you? They sell it and the recommended strength is higher post surgery. Typically they don't want you to take it prior to surgery because it is an anti-inflammatory so it may change bleeding tendencies, but post surgery nursing told me I could start it as soon as I left the hospital. I would just double check w/your MD to get the green light, but I really, really love it. I don't know if you can get it at RiteAide, but if you can't find it locally, you can order it online. I will look on my bottle downstairs and find the strength for you.
Eve/Gary - Thank you so much. We figured it was all about our being gone and the kids' having the opportunity to act out now that we are home. My 5 year old is very aware of why we were gone, but had said to me several times before we left, that she did not want me to have another surgery. So, I am sure combined w/being the quiet observer in my in-laws' home, she is just trying to re-acclimate to home life. I always hate it when I see that the behavior she has picked up while we were away is the negative behaviors I see from my nephews! I will take your advice and talk to her about everything again today. Thank you! On another note, did you guys get my text on Tuesday? (Okay Eve, so maybe i should ask if Gary got it, since I know you were under and then out of it on Tuesday!) We were thinking about you and wishing you well.
Stephanie - Hurray for drain free!!!! My hubby pulled my last one Friday night (normal I would pull it, but it is kind of difficult to see around to the top of my crack and not cut the wrong thing back there!) and I am one happy woman!
Oh, by the way, my two year old has decided that my new nipples are "ucky" and she doesn't like them. LOL I keep telling her they will get better - but yes, I have to agree, if I were two and looking at the "hairy" brown nipples (from the stitches and the dried blood/glue) I would think they were pretty ucky too!
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BTW - Happy Easter!!!
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LouAnn- I have two very different sized breasts. One is a small c and the other is a full D. No reason that I know of, just how it is. Definitely do need a Stage2.
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Nordy~ How many drains did you have ??
Happy Easter
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Sally, after stage 1 one of my incisions on the breast opened up a tiny bit and ended up about the size of a nickel. It wasn't what I would call a sore, no puss and not infected but it was weeping a bit and needed help. My PS had me do a wet-to-dry compress where I soaked gauze in a 10% sterile saline solution, packed it in the opening and placed lots of dry guaze over it. Changed that every so many hours. Anyway, the opening cleared right up, although it took a bit of time to totally close. Each type of condition is different, though, and your PS would know what works best given their experience with your type of issue. If your doc says do a compress like I did, be sure they show you exactly how to do it. I wasn't doing it right at first and the opening got larger, but once I realized I had to pack a soaked gauze (avoiding the good skin) it started responding right away.
I had another small spot (about the size of a pencil eraser open on my donor site, but it was too small to pack without the saline bothering the surrounding skin. I believe I just used a small amount of antibiotic with gauze to keep it from getting on my clothing. It actually took a bit longer to close than the larger area. Never was told to use betadyn, but each case is different.
Good luck!.
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sallym I had the same issue with tape. There were two areas on my back after my last surgery where it took the skin and left a big sore, and one spot left a big blood blister. We put A&D ointment on mine for the 1st week, and then switched to betadine. the betadine is to help it dry up. The "cover" is more to protect your clothes from the treatment than anything, I think. It does work to help it heal even though I understand how you feel about thinking it needs to be uncovered. I felt the same, but it has worked pretty well. Just hang in there and do what they say. They deal with this stuff all the time, and know the best way to deal with these issues....Be sure to ask any questions, and send any pictures that you have concerns over, and they will address them. Hope all had a blessed and wonderful Easter!0
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When the tape came off, leaving blisters, my nurse told me that's normal, they see that all the time. I was not happy about the blisters, and at first they were very uncomfortable. But they do dry up and go away.....just not overnight, like I wished.
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Ladies - did you see the 60 minutes piece tonight about BRCA patents? My jaw almost hit the floor - check it out here:
I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!
P.S. You're a sweetheart Minn.
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Laughlines - thank you so much for that link. Unbelievable. I guess maybe that is just one more reason I should be happy that I tested negative for the gene... but then again, it makes it impossible for anyone else to try and identify any other genes that may be responsible for my family's history. Again, unbelievable.
Jaimie - I had 2 drains - one above my crack and one for the mini-tuck.
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I've had a pretty long weekend- Friday night my temp got up there and I was having problems breathing deeply (which I am assuming is because of pulling muscles from sleeping so weirdly) and I called NOLA. Dr T was great but wanted me to go to the ER to test for a UTI and to get a chest xray to rule out any issuees with the lungs. So I drove myself to the ER by myself Fri night. Long story short- nothing is wrong with me just a shit ton of pain in my back.
They gave me some muscle relaxers but they put me out immediately so I cant take them all the time.
Today I tried on the girdle and the binder because I know my last drain should be pulled within the next week or so. Ok- so the binder doesnt fit at all- and that says one size fits all. The girdle allllmost fits- but it would be so tight to wear 24/7, i think im going to call them and ask for the next biggest size of that. I'm supposed to wear that thing for a full week 24/7 after the drain is pulled? Im freakin dreading that.
I've seen posts in passing on here about spanx and stuff like that- but this thread is so hard to go back and find stuff lol! Were the spanx for after the girdle? for how long? ANd were they the high waisted panties or more of a body shaper?
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Hi guys!
Last nite, post-SCSH, we thought maybe we'd just hang at the hotel, maybe go down to the bar, but not go out, just rest. But, as often happens when we visit here, we decide we can't stand just staying in our hotel when New Orleans is happening outside! So it's about 10:30, and out we go, me with my leather coat covering my pajama top (it is soft and buttons in front, I need say no more) as well as various tubing, etc.
Bourbon Street was quite lively, of course. We're walking along and hear this incredible Dixieland jazz up ahead, and at Cafe Beignet (it's that outside place with some statues by the entrance - one of Louis Armstrong) there they are. So we walk on in and sit by the fountain and we recognize the trombone player. It tuns out it's Delfeayo Marsalas! And he has come by to play with the band there, just for the heck of it, I guess! He played for several more songs, including, "It's a Wonderful World" and "When the Saints Go Marching In" - which you would think you'd hear a lot of bands play around here, but in our experience you really don't, because I guess they get kind of sick of always being asked to play it. I know that at Preservation Hall, you have to give them a extra tip to have them play it and they said right out that it's because they're sick of it!
But here Marsalas is playing it right outside there! So it was really great and everyone sang along to both of those songs and he linked it to Easter and it was one of those magical moments that happen alot in this town, and that you think how close you came to missing it, if not for making yourself get up and go out one last time before you go to bed, because New Orleans is happening out there!
Today we went to 3 Easter parades! First was this deal where the ladies dress in their fancy Easter clothes and bonnets and take carriages to church at St. Louis Cathedral. So we got there after they had already gone in an got to stand in the back and at least hear part of the servic. I would have loved to be there for the whole thing, but no way could we have made it that early (mass was at noon. LOL!) So then we saw them come out after and ride off in their carriages and big hats and hand Easter eggs and little stuffed bunnies to kid along the way.
Next we went to the parade led by that 82-year-old stripper who has a place on Bourbon. We knew the parade route and were able to get a table right on Royal and sat there with beverages in the shade until the parade came - so I had plenty of rest! We got lots of good pictures and beads and that woman does not look 82! I decided that I want to see her show, but Gary says he's not intersted. So I told him I would get Sandy to go with me. Sandy, will you go with me?
The last parade was the Gay Parade, as it is called. And as I suspected, it was the best, in my opinions. The dresses and hats were much more flamboyant than those worn by the ladies at the church! And again, lots of beads, tho we noticed that certain males along the parade route got the best beads!!! But still I got a good load!
Oh, I forgot one more thing about last night, and then I'll go to bed. After seeing Marsalas play, we thought we'd walk just a bit down Bourbon and back, and they were throwing beads at several places. So I lift up my arms to try to get some, waving them like you do. "Over here! Over here!" And I think, hey, this is pretty good exercise for post mastectomy! And novel to NOLA! But then when beads came arching my way, I got pretty enthusiastic about trying to catch them, and I really stretched my one arm (on the newest breast side - I think I might call it the Resurrection Breast, but haven't decided yet) and it hurt. After that, I forced myself to use only my other arm.
Then I started to really worry that maybe I had injured the new breast, and I'd torn something. Geez! Then I imagined having to call whichever doc was on call and that I would have to say that I had injured my breast trying to catch beads on Bourbon Street! How humuiliating would that be?! But luckily, I think it really is okay. There's so much bruising I can't tell if I did anything to it or not, but there hasn't been any big increase in the drainage or anything. So today, at the other parades, I only used my right arm and hand to catch beads.
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Getting used to real breasts
I was having a hard time getting used to my new breasts. Perhaps it was because I had implants for so long. I didn't remember what "real" breasts felt like. (I had implants for 20 years). "Feeling like the old me" meant feeling like woman who had implants.
I think hugging was the first thing that really hit me. For 20 years, I was aware every time I hugged someone that I had these two hard shapes on my chest...I wondered what it felt like to others. Now, I marvel at what a hug feels like... "So this is what it feels like to be normal..." I had forgotten.
Yesterday, my husband played with my breasts, and I felt it! It was not, perhaps, what a woman who has never had mastectomies feels, but it was a world apart from what I felt with implants. It wasn't that I had missed this feelng when I had implants. I didn't miss it, because I could not even remember what it was like.
To those of you who went right from real breasts to SGAP or DIEP, this may not make sense. But to me, this surgery, these new breasts, seem like a miracle. In many ways, my new breasts are still wierd...still different from the implanted breasts I had become so used to..but with time, I will grow accustomed to them. Even being normal takes getting used to.
Margit
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laughlines... unbelieveable about Myriad Genetics... I had no idea you could patent a gene...wonder if we should all buy stock... MYGN is at $24.12 a share... if they are going to keep their patent.. I guess that's the real question.... I am supposed to have the add-on BART gene test now... I guess they have a patent on that as well...?
I have a question about Stage 2... in general.. is a "breast lift" usually included in the plan or not always.... I guess I'm wondering how many of you received a lift at Stage 2... all, most, few?
Minnesota - wow, sounds like your timing was excellent in NOLA.. I'm glad you had a little fun.... and YES.. that would be embarrasing to have to admit you injured something catching beads.... I think I would make up a little white lie...lol
Nordy.. can you PM me the strength of the Arnica too... does the Center ok the use of this for all of us or do you think I would have to call about it also?
General question. sometimes, not always, the tops of my breasts (above flaps) have prominent red blood vessels or red blotchiness... then it goes away (or at least fades) and then it comes back... does this sound familiar to anyone?
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