NOLA in September?
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KristyAnn- they can do some juggling here and there to make it work for you. The bottom line is that you specifically want these plastic surgeons. You can also look at other groups: Massey/Kline/Craigie in Charleston, Allen in NYC, and PRMA in San Antonio. Each of their sites shows before and afters. I had a very good experience with the NOLA crew, for sure, but I was looking at insurance issues, too. It just so happened that my insurance worked for me there, but had it not, I'd have been looking at these locations.
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OMG Ladies this back working full time sucks... Just kiddin Glad to be back but tire very easy.
Kristy I have and HBO and there is something called a TRPP ( I think it stands for Three Rivers Physician Plan) any ways I researched because I too was discouraged because my understanding is NOLA is not in any ones network. This Physicians plan pays for the surgery if there is no comparable facility with in a certain radius from you. And Nola takes even up what this plan pays. Before you get totally discouraged do some more research. Hang in there.
Ladies good luck tommorrow. I will be thinking and praying for ya.
I did not have dom outfit for Stage 1 I was told only for Stage 2 but it probably depends on the type of surgery you have.
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Kristy Ann, I sent you a PM. 22K is a lot of $$ (and that's just phase 1!!) and although the Center with Dr D and Dr S is to me the ideal place, there are a couple other surgeons who may take different insurance that I personally would trust. This is a very personal decision, weighing the amount of $$ and your surgical options! Good luck and let us know if we can help.
Jamie!!! Would you consider going back to let Dr. S take a look at you? Or send a pic and see what he thinks? Following up on what Minn said! In any case: I would in no way do ANYTHING at this point. You need to wait for Wow nipple to settle down, it will continue to fade away for some time to come. I had one nipple recon, and mine started out as va va voom and now is a barely there. DO NOT AMPUTATE NOW!! (didn't mean to shout!) I would wait at least 6-9 months or more. then you can see how that one looks and decide! This will also give the other one time to heal up...
Marcia, that Fleur de Lis Pin is really pretty!!! Next time I am in NOLA, I think I am going to buy one to commemorate my successful restoration! II love them.
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Thanks Spring and Minn. I am just trying to get any possible surgery done before my $4000 deductible resets 10/1. I really do not want to have to head back to NOLA for surgery again but I just want to get everything as even or normal looking as possible. I don't expect perfection by any means but you know I want to be the best that it can be...lol... I sound like a commercial.
I do have to say that my girls are looking good
I just now need to find a bathing suit that doesn't show the football flaps (they are a different color and it is noticable). I tried on a bathing suit that was $150 the other day and it looked horrible. I was not planning on buying it BUT I about fell over when I got to the dressing room because of the price. It was just a solid color blue color. Trishia if you happen to stumble acrossed my mumbling where did you get your suit ?? It looks awesome and I think that it would work with my FF. 0 -
Jamieh,
REALLY nice mix and match bandeau style bikinis at TARGET (@ $40 for both pieces ). Perfect for those of us with football shaped flaps,
Marcia
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Just checking in... even though it took me an hour to catch up on the reading!
To those who commented about my pages, thank you. I make myself cry when I look at them... LOL... !
PJ - Glad to see you here!!!
Kristy - talk to the center again and see if they would be willing to work with you some on that price. You may have to fill out a financial statement form, but would be worth it in the long run.
Laughlines and Shay!!! You should be on the other side by now!!! I hope you are both resting well in St. Charles, pressing your pain pump button as needed and that the girls are giving you nice strong doppler readings!!! Wooooooohooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gin - I hope you are feeling well. Just to let you know, my last bloodwork for stage 2, my white counts were a bit low. When I spoke w/my oncologist about it, he said that many cancer survivors will have low white counts... indefinitely. But they weren't that low and I am not that tired anymore, but I will tell you I was exhausted for the first year after treatment!
Trishia - you are rocking the hot body girl!
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You ladies are always so good for my ego...LOL! But yeah...I am pretty damn happy with how I look right now. My sister put in a pool this year and this weekend was the 'grand opening'. Never in a million years did I think I would be sporting a bikini! Her daughter's 17 year old friend told me I was making her look bad...LOL!
Jamieh~2 things. First bandeau tops work awesome to hide the football scars...just like Marcia says! I got mine at Penney's...$40 for both. I need to get another one, so I am headed to Target tomorrow. Second, I had one nipple nearly fail like yours. My right one is perfect now, my left one is just a little nub. But I dont' mind at all. My sister's real nipples aren't even, so no worries there! Also, once you get the tattooing..you don't even notice!!! I have had the biggest reaction to my nipples from the people I have shown. They can't believe how real looking they are. So hang in there!!
JenniferJane! HELLO!!! I've missed you!!!
KC~I didn't have any more lipo...only tattooing at stage 3. I did totally change my eating and exercising habits after stage 2 though! I keep saying there is nothing a like a little lipo to make a chubby girl motivated...LOL! In that picture I had lost 15 or so pounds from stage 2, I think. I've lost another 10 since then. I keep debating whether or not I want to lose 10 more or not.
I started a Biggest Loser contest at a local gym here 3 weeks after my stage 2. Stage 2 was so much easier for me to bounce back from than stage 1. I didn't have plication, but I did have extra fat excision from my hips and underarms and a bunch of lipo. At 4 weeks I started hard core exercising. I work out 5-6 hours a week at the gym and totally revamped my food.
I've struggled with my weight my whole life. And I am an emotional eater. So, when I would diet...I would reach for fat free this, low fat that, sugar free this. I was raised this way. When I hit a MAJOR plateau January and February...only lost 2 lbs that whole time despite working out 5-6 hours a week and counting calories....I knew something had to change. I'd read several posts on different boards about raw food diets...and I knew that was too extreme for me, but there was something to eating NATURAL. Then I read 3 different books on metabolism and processed food.
It has been SO freeing! Ingredients are the first thing I read now. I dont' even look at fat or calories. NOTHING with high fructose corn syrup or partially hyrdrondated oil. Those are my 2 nazi issues. If I want something sweet, I buy the real stuff or I actually bake it. I use real butter. I definitely eat way more fruit and veggies than before. That's important. I use whole wheat pasta, breadds and quinoa. We built and planted garden boxes this year. I still splurge. I still have a blizzard every once in a while. But my body actually craves the good stuff. I feel SO much better. I still eat red meat. I eat carbs. I don't deprive myself of anything. If I want to eat cake, I put in the time at the gym.
Wow! That was a book! But it really has worked for me. Exercise is SO important for us. I was having low back issues, ab weakness and tightness before I started exercising. But you need to find the type that works for you. For me, I am very music motivated. I LOVE LOVE LOVE to dance. So I go to a gym that has a ton of Les Mills classes that are all choreographed to awesome high energy music. It works and I love it. Find what works for you!
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Trisha, what you say makes sense and is doable! And it apparently works like a charm! I take a very similar approach. I exercise nearly every day (generally 2 miles a day, 6-7 days a week, 90 minute studio Yoga once a week, Weight training at the gym 2 times a week). I cut out almost all sugar, but once i a while I indulge. Generally, I try to keep the amount of any sugar below 5g if I can. I don't eat much meat any more (very little beef, little chicken) but I do eat wild alaskan salmon, I stay away from big fish like tuna and Atlantic Salmon. I take a lot of supplements, some that are specifically targeted at "anti-cancer" like DIM, Curcumin, Green/White Tea, (I also drink a lot of green tea each day - ~70+ ounces! fresh brewed!) Calcium D-Glucarate, Vit D, and a slew of others. No alchohol, low dairy (I have not been able to eliminate cheese altogether!) Plant based diet, grains, beans and lentils! Berries! (organic!)
The activity is important though as well. I think the sweating is detoxing and freeing. I feel like I am doing everything I can do from a homeopathic angle. I feel and look GREAT! Nobody can believe I had cancer and went through treatment. Our bodies are amazing.
Nordy - my whites are still low, hovering around the low 3's. (3.2 - 3.4 - is this where you are? 4.0 is the start of "normal"!) My ONC said that if they had not recovered by 6 months out, that it would likely take 2 years. She did NOT tell me they may never recover!!! ahhhhhhhhhhhhck!!! Mine bounced back after chemo, I was so happy! But then after RADS, they tanked and never recovered. My red also low and I can't take Iron supplements or I get terrible constipation! I am finding I need a lot of sleep - like 9 hours and more on weekends. But, I also wonder if this is just part of my body recovering...
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Jaimie, I agree with Eve and wouldn't allow anyone else to mess with your NOLA nips. If you decide you want one reduced, I would book it in NOLA for just before your deductible kicks in again because the nips will continue to shrink for a while. Did your doctor mention what would be injected? I've had Radiesse in the past, and the result only lasted for 3-4 months. I would consider trying it again now that I've had the nips re-done, because with more of a structure I think it might hold up better.
Trishia, good work on the raw foods! Some of my favorite small meals are guacamole with raw zucchini "chips" and bellpeppers with hummus. My assistant made the best red bellpepper "mayo" the other day (no mayo--just a bit of olive oil mixed with pureed bellpepper and basil), and we dipped into it with celery and raw zucchini sticks.
My trainer makes us run during every workout, and the other day, she told us to never stop the running because it's such a gift to be able to do it. She had me do some jumping/bouncing on a mini trampoline yesterday because it's supposed to help the lymphatic system. Yesterday, I discovered that I can now do a situp with my legs straight out on the floor, and that made me so happy! I'm not really into situps because I've read that the transverse abdominus muscles are more important for a nice waistline and flat tummy (too many situps can actually cause a rounder lower abdomen), but still, having the strength to do them showed me how effective the workouts have been.
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Kristyann-
There are definitely excellent plastic surgeons who do not require an upfront fee-- $22,000 Yikes! I went to Dr. Richard Kline in Charleston. Not only is he a phenominal surgeon artist, they took care of all of my insurance issues-- I never worried about it, although it was out of network for me, too. I've told many people how very different this practice is. The physicians are very compassionate and the staff just does whatever it takes to make you comfortable. (Plus, it's Charleston, SC!) I sent you a PM to give you some more info.
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Hello, all, reading through a pile of pages, catching up from a few weeks away! We drove out to the Central Coast of California, took our bikes, and rode 30-50 miles every day, through the hills and valleys of Paso Robles and Santa Ynez. Training for our big Tour De Wyoming ride next month...
Kristyann, I would have faced similar costs had I gone to St. Charles. But I found Dr. Marga Massey (before she started working with the NOLA group) and used Roper Hospital in Charleston. I have nothing but good to say. So, there are excellent options for you!!
Trisha, I agree with the exercise and "clean eating" plan. I've read the books on metabolism, sing the praises of healthy oils in the diet (the basis for the "Flat Belly" diet plan) and eating adequate protein.
Hope everyone's having a fun summer. Mine is going by way too fast already!
Anne
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Much better day today- talking to Dr Klines office in Charleston and also getting information from PRMA in San Antonio. NOLA also called back and had me do the Financial form- but it still came back higher than I had indicated as possible. Right now I am gathering options and talking to the different offices- one nice thing about Charleston is that they talked to me about the medical side before the financial side- so Im still waiting on the insurance side from both Charleston and San Antonio.
Kristy
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Kristy, In Charleston i think you can get Dr. Massey or Dr. Allen or Dr Klein?
Interesting isn't it that New Orleans and Charleston seem to be the Microsurgery HUB!!!!
That Red Pepper "Mayo" sounds great Sandy! I am growing Basil in the garden! Did she use a blender?
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I have spent the day talking on the phone and via email with the Charleston group- I am tentatively assigned to Dr Kline at this point who will have Dr Craigie, Massey or Allen as the second surgeon. MUCH better response on the financial side and things are falling into place to have DIEP done in Charleston.
There is another microsurgery HUB down in San Antonio but I can hardly get a response from them via phone or email so Charleston is sounding better and better!
Im going to get of caffeine (I dont drink a lot- just unsweetened tea) and continue my walking and exercising to be in the best readiness for surgery! No dates yet- but things are rolling along nicely so Im optimistic today!
Kristy
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Funny, I'm not a patient of PRMA but I've chatted a bit via Twitter and Facebook with Dr. C, who is very nice and generous with his time and expertise. Maybe you should try getting in touch that way.
btw... that scar cream I've raved about, Invicible, was created by Dr. C (a microsurgeon who does DIEP, etc.)
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Yeah Kristy! Glad Charleston looks like your place! You will adore Dr. Kline.
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Back from NOLA---docs spent a lot of time with me and I was happy to have met them and the staff. The breast surgeon answered all of my questions and I am feeling more and more comfortable every day. Again, thanks to all of you and your support. Scheduled for July. Anyone with hip flaps out there who can share their experience with me....would love to chat. Please PM me.
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Oddball, let me know if you want to be added to our listing above. See above for the stuff needed!
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OH... we have started talking food... Don't get me started. Just watch "Food Inc" or read "Omnivore's Dilemma" or "In Defense of Food"... , THEN let me start ranting...
I do have to say, we slowly started changing things in our house - first we went to organic milk (and not just any organic milk - you must know your dairies - refer to Cornucopia.org for info on organic dairies); then we purchased 1/4 of a grass fed steer for our beef. We eat veggies from our own garden and also through a local farmer's co-op where they do not use a bunch of pesticides. We purchase eggs from people who raise their chickens the right way and don't feed them a bunch of antibiotics and hormones. I don't believe in "diet", just to eat more fresh, local, and organic foods. Any greens that we have but don't eat in a salad are thrown into a blender with tofu, berries, wheat bran, flax seed and whatever else looks good - and we drink it! But it doesn't stop there... body products and facial products are thoroughly scanned to make sure they are void of Pthalates and parabens. Sometimes it is work, but has become much easier. However, for those who live in more rural areas it can be more difficult. I am at my sister's in another state and I want to poke my eyes out with the frustration in finding nutritious/whole/organic foods! It is one big processed diet here! ... Okay, getting OFF my soapbox now...
LOL Kristy - Glad you are making headway somewhere.
Oddball- I had hip flaps - PM me any questions you would like, but it may take me a while to get back to you - I am with family right now!
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If you have a good 90 minutes, this may interest you....
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Good Morning, I just thought I'd check in. Laughlines and I are two days out now. I saw her yesterday and she looked really good. I tried posting my before/after pictures on the picture site last night, but I couldn't figure out how to resize and wasn't in the mood for putting a lot of effort into it. I'll try again today. I ended up with a Hip Gap and everything is going well. I was a bit discouraged at how they looked when I first saw them, but I'm hoping with the swelling subsiding they will look much better.
- Shay
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Shay, yes they will look better and better, and then there is stage 2 !! So glad to hear that you and Laugh are good!
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Hello all! Yes, I am on the other side and doing very well. My surgery took about 7 hours. I had a rough first day post-op but am now feeling better every day. I love my new breasts already! Dr. Sullivan did exactly what I wanted.
Shay came strolling into my room yesterday looking like she'd just finished a day of spa treatments - she was glowing and chipper! I hadn't moved from the bed yet so she got me motivated to get moving.
Today is shower day so I will finally get a look at my bum. I'll report back soon.
Thank you to all you ladies on this thread for leading me here!!! I feel so lucky and know this was the right decision for me.
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Good to hear from you both!
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Not such good news here.
All surgery plans are being put on hold. Mets were found in my sacrum, so we're now treating those - I've been switched from tamox to Femara and will be getting Aredia. Since it's only one place, the onc is optimistic about NED, but obviously we're dealing with that now and not surgeries.
Leah
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Leah, I am so sorry to hear about the mets and hoping the switch to Femara does the trick. Sending healing thoughts your way...
Shay and Laughlines, so good to hear your progress and can hardly wait to see pics. I am 2 1/2 months out now and only have twinges of discomfort. I started swimming laps two weeks ago, so you will be good to go before you know it! Just be good to yourselves and not overdo it.
Sue
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Shay and Laughlines, good to hear from the Hip Flap girls... glad everything went well...
(((((Leah))))))).... hoping the delay is short and you can get back to surgery talk soon....
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Leah, I am so sorry about your mets. My bone mets were found with the CTA before surgery. I did not find out about it until 2 weeks post op. I am on AROMASIN and ZOMETA. I pray our treatment works for both of us.
Shay and Laughlines, you are on your way!!!! I am so excited for the both of you.
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Leah, first things first. Are you happy with your medical team? I am so sorry to hear this. I will remove your name from the list for now, just let us know if you reschedule. Please keep in touch.
Shay and Laugh! Go Girls!! Nice you are together!
One of you had Dr. D and the other Dr. S. maybe you can do a compare and contrast!! LOL. 0 -
Thank you Nordy--I will do that.
Springtime--as soon as I know what procedure etc, I will add my information. I am still in deciding mode....YIKES! I am running out of time. Thanks for your post.
Shay and Laugh---Hang in there....you have done Stage 1!! I wish you a speedy recovery.
Nordy--Thanks..I appreciate that very much.
Sueinfl-Thank you as well. You were great to talk to today and I love your new breasts!! Can't wait to see your final results!
MRI tomorrow to prepare for surgery. Consumed right now with decision making....
DIEP-full B. small C or hip flaps full C/small D
I am a "big tall girl" so one doc thinks hip flaps for my body size, but both say DIEP would work too! What to do, what to do. I swear I want to just have one whole year of sitting on a beach not having to make any decisions when this is all over....just dreaming.
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